Eli is One!

Our other exciting news is that Eli has officially turned ONE! It was bittersweet for me, but I'm very thankful we have a happy, healthy, growing boy. We celebrated his birthday on July 13th, the day after his actual birthday. Though we tried to keep it small (Eli's grandparents, aunts and uncles, my godparents, and a few of our close friends), we still had a big turn out, which we appreciated immensely. It's always fun to have a houseful of people, and it was great visiting with everyone.

On Thursday my dad and step-mom and my brother and Bailey made their way down to Missouri, so we got a little extra time to visit with them. Friday I spent most of the day (with a lot of help from Bailey) getting everything prepared for Saturday. We also picked up Eli's cake, which was super cute! I ordered it from Cakes by Candace here in Rolla, and I was very impressed with her work. I know I posted a picture on Facebook already, but here's another!

I'm really not going to post a lot of pictures from his birthday since I already put most of them on Facebook, but we truly had a wonderful day. The rest of our out-of-town guests (which included my mom, step-dad, my aunt, uncle, cousin, Mason's mom, sister, and nephew-- I hope I didn't miss anyone) arrived on Friday or early Saturday morning. Eli was incredibly well-behaved, especially considering he didn't have much of a nap. He ate like a champ, which didn't surprise me, and went to town when it was time to eat his cake. He didn't really know what to think about opening presents, but he certainly liked playing with all of his toys once they were set up for him. He made out like a bandit, and to be honest, I don't know where we are going to put most of his stuff! He's very blessed, and so are we to have such thoughtful friends and family!

After the majority of our guests left, we just lounged on our deck with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and my aunt, uncle, and cousin. We ended up starting a fire and had some smores as well. It was such a great day and we were so thankful to everyone who was able to come or that sent gifts for Eli!

Us with the handsome birthday boy!

The other day Mason and I took Eli in for his one year checkup. We found out that he is in the 95th percentile for weight (26 pounds), and the 90th percentile for height (31 1/4 inches), which didn't really surprise us given the amount of food that boy can put away. He also had to get three shots, which he definitely wasn't fond of, but he was a trooper! Then we had to go down to the lab to get some blood drawn to check his iron. We actually just found out this morning that he is slightly anemic, so we are going to have to give him drops for three months to help with this. His number was 10.9 and they want it to be at 11.3, so his doctor isn't super concerned at this point, but she obviously doesn't want it to get any lower. And in another month we have to take him back to the lab to check his iron level again. I guess we're just going to have to buy the kid some steak! ;)

Eli is definitely getting around now! Though he's not walking (yet), he climbs and pulls up on everything, and can stand by himself for a very short period of time. Once he gets that balance down he will be gone! He still doesn't have any teeth, but the doctor said his gums are very swollen, and we could actually see the nubs of where his four top teeth are getting ready to come in, so it shouldn't be long! We've been calling him "Rex" because he has gotten into this stage where he likes to growl when he "talks." It's actually pretty funny because he will hold up his index finger and just yammer away at us. He's still a really good sleeper and usually takes two naps everyday. He has also been sleeping about twelve hours every night, which Mason and I appreciate. :) It's nice to sleep in! Overall, he's a very happy little boy, and we have enjoyed getting to spend the summer with him!

This is Eli's last monthly picture, minus his 12-month sticker. I have no idea where I put it, so this is what I got! ;)

Fourth of July Fun

Well, my intentions of blogging a couple days after my previous blog went right down the pooper. But, I am blogging sooner than I normally do, so I think I deserve some props for that! ;)

We were especially excited for the Fourth of July because we were finally out of school for the summer! I think I mentioned before that Mason and I decided to do summer school. This year it was full days, which really made the days drag, especially with it being summer. We didn't have super huge plans for the fourth, other than spending it together. But we were excited to hear that we were going to have some unexpected visitors! My friends Ashley and Ben came down with their son Cooper and my brother JJ to buy a four wheeler as a surprise for Cooper's birthday. They came down on the third and had to leave by mid-afternoon on the fourth. It was a very quick visit, but good to see them nonetheless!

Cooper and E playing on the floor.

Eli with his Uncle JJ after eating at The Tator Patch.

Me and Ash

The morning of the fourth I ran a color run 5K over at Ft. Leonard Wood with my friend Paige. Mason and Eli came to cheer us on. I'd never done a color run before so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, other than I'd get "colored." I didn't realize that the color they throw is actually a powder. There were A LOT of participants (including some of my former students) which made it difficult to truly run at times, but I still managed to beat my last 5K time by about five minutes, which I was very happy about! And I ran the entire thing, which was my main goal!

I didn't think to take a before picture, but this is what I looked like afterward. Somehow I managed to get my birth year for my race number.

Paige and myself

Eli didn't know what to think of all the colorful people everywhere!

Once we got back home and I cleaned up, we went for lunch at The Tator Patch before Ash, Ben, Cooper, and JJ had to head back up to Iowa. Mason, Eli, and I had intentions of going down to the river after they left, but we decided to take a nap first. I was pretty tuckered out and so was Eli. However, once we got down there we took Eli for his first boat ride. He didn't seem to care for his life jacket very much (mostly because it's so bulky), but he loved riding up and down the river. He only got antsy and whiny when we stopped!

He's excited about his first Fourth of July!

Checking out the water with Grandpa Heavin. Eli LOVES the water!

Getting ready for his first ride!

He loved it!

That evening we went back to Rolla for the fireworks. They don't start them until 11:00, so Eli slept for a couple hours and then we woke him up to go watch. He's never really been bothered by loud noises, but we weren't sure how he would react to the fireworks since we were so close to them. Turns out, he loves them too! He would flinch with the big booms, but didn't seem scared.

Waiting for the show to start with his dad.

I sure loved my cuddle time!

The same place where the fireworks were held (it's actually the same park where we had our wedding reception), is where they have the Fourth of July carnival as well. Obviously Eli isn't quite big enough to really ride many of the rides, but we went with Paige, her son Colton, and her sister Madison to enjoy the festivities. Eli seemed content to watch from his stroller, and he thoroughly enjoyed the funnel cake he got to share!

My favorite little boy and I before heading to the carnival!

Checking everything out!

All in all, we had a really great holiday weekend! I'm definitely looking forward to next year when Eli can ride the rides and have a better idea of what is going on!

Summer Happenings

I absolutely adore summertime, and so far it's been wonderful! Although, Mason and I both did summer school, which was pretty painful at the time, given how nice it was outside. It was full days this year which was a big switch from the half-days we are normally used to for summer school. But, it was only four weeks and we managed to survive!

Luckily, right before summer school started (the first week in June), my best friend Lindsey (and Baby Klocke) were able to make a trip down to visit us. It was a pretty laid back visit, but we got to catch up, eat some yummy food, and do some retail therapy down at the outlets at the lake. I wasn't feeling so hot, but I was bound and determined to go shopping and not spend the entire time in bed! Because of some bad weather, we had to spend one evening over at Billy and Brittany's house (some friends of ours) to ensure we didn't get blown away since we don't have a basement! Fortunately, nothing happened, but we figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

Lindsey with Eli and the sweet jammies she bought him for an early birthday gift!

I also forgot to mention that we made a trip to Iowa prior to Lindsey coming down. My step-sister Leeann graduated high school, and her graduation party was over Memorial weekend. It was a fast trip because we had to be back to school Tuesday for the last two days, but it was very nice to see everyone and catch up. Eli also got his first haircut from his great Aunt Donna after the party. He did a pretty good job and only squirmed minimally!  Daddy's cell phone helped significantly with the squirming! ;)

As you can see, Eli is getting huge! He has had a lot of firsts over the past month, including actual crawling, waving, climbing/pulling himself up on things, walking behind his walker, eating dog food (oops), and falling and getting his first bruise over his eye right before church (he only cried for a couple minutes)! I think I'm forgetting a couple things, but those are the main ones! He still eats like a horse and we have yet to find anything he won't eat. The daycare people at church mentioned just today actually that they are convinced we feed him lead! He is a pretty solid little boy! :)

The second full weekend in June, my brother, Bailey, Ben, and Jay came down for a visit. The boys brought down their four wheelers and went to a park to go four wheeling with Mason. They had a blast! Mason actually sold his four wheeler a while back and had forgotten how much fun they were. So, he recently traded his AR for a new four wheeler. He is very eager for Eli to get bigger so we can get him one as well. He says Eli will be getting one for his third birthday, but we will see. I'm not completely convinced! ;) Anyway, we had a blast with them, like always, and hated to see them go!

Getting ready to make the trip home-- aren't they precious?! Shockingly, JJ actually smiled!

Luckily, the very next weekend we made another trip to Iowa. This time we went because it was my ten year class reunion (Yikes!), Father's Day, and because Mason and I signed up to run the suicide awareness 5K in Dunkerton. I mentioned before that I was sick when Lindsey was down visiting. Well, the week school got out I had allergies and it gradually turned into a very miserable sinus infection. Shortly after, I developed a pretty nasty cough. So the day summer school started (about a week after having all that nasty crud) I sucked it up and went to the doctor, where I was informed I had bronchitis. Lovely, huh? However, I was more than happy to pick up the antibiotic, and I started feeling much better within a couple of days. Because of that, I wasn't able to train very well for the last couple of weeks prior to the 5K, so my time was pretty pathetic. But, it was still fun!

Right before the race-- Mason, me, Jay, JJ, Bailey, and Leeann

After a short nap, we were feeling slightly more refreshed following the 5K, and Mason and I got ready for my class reunion. It was held at Bourbon Street in Cedar Falls (fabulous food, by the way). It was really great to see and catch up with everyone that could attend, and see where everyone's lives have taken them so far! It's still hard to fathom that it has been ten years; it has gone so fast! Mason still thinks it's funny to mention that when I graduated high school, he was graduating 8th grade...*sigh*

Mason and I before heading to my reunion.

Anyway, the next morning was Father's Day, and though my dad had to work, he was able to escape for a couple of hours to have breakfast with us at the truck stop before we headed back, which was nice!

Eli was not being very cooperative with taking pictures, so this is the best I got.

Aside from all our travels, we have finally gotten our flower beds somewhat put together. We will probably continue to add plants here and there in the coming years, but for right now, we are going to leave them as they are. Last summer, Mason did a great job of tearing out the bushes and other weeds that were by the house, and put in flower beds. Because we ended up putting in an additional flower bed we weren't originally planning on, we decided that it would be a bit expensive to also put in flowers last summer. So instead we planted a few tomato plants and waited until this year to do any flower planting. I think they're looking good so far and we are hopeful everything survives!

This is on the left side of the house.

Right in front of the kitchen.

This is my favorite flower. Don't ask me what it is, but it's pretty! ;)

This is on the right side of the house, obviously by the garage.

We've really been enjoying our summer so far! Mason and I were even able to go to the river for part of the day about a week or so ago, thanks to his cousin Laura who watched Eli. We went with a couple of our friends. It was great to relax and soak up some sun! We will be going again here in a couple of weeks so we are really looking forward to that. Otherwise, we've just been preparing for Eli's FIRST birthday party!! We can't believe he will be one in less than a week! Ahh!! Anyway, I'll be posting some of our Fourth of July fun here in a day or two (maybe even today, though it's not likely!) because it's time to enjoy this weather! :)

It's Raining, It's Pouring..

I think that title pretty much sums up the past month. It seems like it has been nothing but rain, with some slight teasing from the sun here and there. However, like the preacher said a Sunday or two ago at church, we should be thankful for the rain, especially when we think back to this time last year. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the rain, but I am definitely excited to have some warmer, sunny days now! :)

Shockingly, it has been just barely over a month since I last blogged (high five for me!). In that time we have celebrated Mason's 24th birthday, Carson's 2nd birthday, and Mother's Day. Mason has also managed to find time to build a shed and mow a few lawns (besides our own), in addition to finishing up this semester of class.

Mason's birthday was April 10th, but because it was the middle of the week, we didn't celebrate until the following weekend. Plus, the NJHS induction ceremony was that same week, and I was a little stressed out getting that put together. We had Mason's mom and step-dad come down for the weekend to help us celebrate, and Mason decided that since we had babysitters, we would go trout fishing at Montauk early Saturday morning. To say that I wasn't overly excited about this is an understatement. Since Eli continues to be a good sleeper (fingers crossed), I look forward to my Saturday morning sleep time! But, since it was his birthday, I went along. The whistle blew at 7:00 and within a half hour (give or take), I had caught my four trout, all before Mason caught one! That made getting up at the butt crack of dawn well worth the lack of sleep! And I'd by lying if I said I didn't have a good time with him. After all, he's pretty to look at! ;)

After I caught my fish, we went to have breakfast at the lodge and then found Mason's Aunt Jeanne's campsite. We visited with them for awhile and then we went to another spot so Mason could catch his fish. It didn't take too long for him to catch his four and then we headed home.

Love him!

That afternoon Eli and I enjoyed a glorious three hour nap while Mason, Shelly, and Eric went antiquing. I rarely get the chance to take naps so it was fabulous! Later that evening, we went to Matt's Steakhouse here in Rolla for Mason's birthday dinner and then came home for some ice cream cake, compliments of Dairy Queen. Though we had a great time I somehow managed to smash my phone in the car door. That was a hefty bill we weren't thrilled about, but it could have been worse. Anyways, Mason seemed to enjoy his birthday and his gifts (a new muzzle loader and seasons three and four of The Big Bang Theory). Eli was pretty fascinated by the candles!

The very next weekend we went up to St. Joseph to stay with Shelly and Eric for Carson's second birthday party. Carson definitely made out like a bandit, and we can't believe how big he is getting! I was also very impressed with how well he shared his toys; he's such a good little boy!

To be honest, I don't really even remember what all went on between Carson's birthday and Mother's Day (pathetic, I know). I think we were mostly trying to stay afloat and survive. Mason kept asking if I knew what I was getting for Mother's Day. Of course I didn't, but was pleasantly surprised when I opened a brand new camera! Now I just need to read the manual and figure out how to use it!

My new camera! Please excuse the dusty table..

Sunday morning we went to church and then came home so Mason and Duane could finish the shed. Because of how unpredictable the weather has been, Mason has been working on it off and on for at least a month and he was ready for it to be finished.

The finished product! He did an excellent job!

Since Mason and Duane were working, Eli and I just hung out and watched movies. He officially turned ten months old on Sunday as well! As happy as I am that he is growing and healthy, it still makes me a little sad that I won't have a little baby for much longer. He still has very little motivation to get around too much, but he's getting there. Rather than just sitting, he will at least get into crawling position and then proceed to belly flop! He's not quite as angry now when it's time to eat or when he sees other people with a spoon, which is a nice change. Dinner time was becoming rather unpleasant because we couldn't shovel the food in fast enough! He's an excellent baby otherwise. He loves his bouncer and enjoys playing with his toys! I just can't believe he will be one in less than two months!!

Eli and I right before heading to church.

Well, that's about it for the time being. We have exactly ten and a half days of school left, and we are VERY excited!! Not to mention we have the NJHS trip to Silver Dollar City this Saturday with 150+ seventh and eighth graders! Wish us luck!

  

Total Slacker

Who has two thumbs and is a huge blogger slacker?? This girl! I try to get a blog in at least once a month but I have totally lost track of time. At this point I am just attempting to stay afloat with everything going on with the end of the school year approaching. This is one of those crazy weeks for me, so it makes total sense why it is 2:25 in the morning and I am unable to sleep! ;) Oh well...

I'm going to attempt to remember the highlights of what has taken place the last couple of months, but if I'm being honest, I will have to reach to my planner for assistance, because well, it remembers things better than I do the majority of the time!

Over Valentine's Day weekend, my mom and step-dad Terry came down for a visit. They got in early Thursday evening so they could hang out with E on Friday. Before they ever came down my mom suggested that Mason and I make plans to go out for dinner since we'd have a free babysitter available. We were excited about that so we made dinner reservations at Sybill's restaurant in St. James for that Saturday. It's a pretty fancy place, and I had never been there so I was definitely excited to go! Mason surprised me with a manicure and pedicure appointment that Saturday morning, so my mom went with me. We then did some shopping where I found a cute black dress to wear that evening. I was pretty stoked because it's one of the few items of clothing I've bought since having Eli. Anyway, we got ready that evening and had a fabulous dinner and just enjoyed our time together. The next morning we all went to church and then my mom and step-dad headed out.

Right before we left for date night!

A couple weekends later I had the opportunity to go to Kansas City to hang out with a couple college friends, Lindsey and Alissa. It had been quite some time since I saw them last and it was wonderful to catch up and just lounge around. And somehow, Lindsey was able to keep quiet that she and her husband are expecting! I'm not sure how she did it, but I was pretty impressed, especially considering that babies were the highlight of our weekend conversation! I'm so very excited for them and can't wait to meet that sweet little babe come September!

Everything between then and spring break is kind of a blur. I know Mason and I went to work, and Mason went to school, and we attempted to keep the house intact, but that's about the extent of it! I guess we did manage to get to the St. Patrick's Day parade in Rolla as well. I'm just so thankful Eli is such a good baby and lets us sleep at night because we have definitely needed it!

Eli at the St. Patrick's Day parade in Rolla. He was a happy boy even though it was super chilly!

So anyway, our next trip was over spring break. We got out for spring break on March 22nd, but decided not to head to Iowa right away. Instead, we did a very adult thing and started a will. We still have some stuff to do for it to get it completely squared away, but I feel better that it's in the works, just in case anything does happen (God forbid). The following Wednesday, we made the trip to Iowa. When we got there we went to visit my Uncle Kevin (on my mom's side) in the hospital who just had back surgery that morning. He was in good spirits, and it was great to see everyone who was there to visit! The remainder of that week, we mostly just hung out at JJ and Bailey's house and visited with some friends and family. We got to see some people that we hadn't seen in awhile, including my friend Ashley. It was wonderful to see her since she wasn't able to attend girls' weekend. Eli must have been a good boy because the Easter bunny was kind enough to make a pit stop in Iowa to drop off his goodies! We had a good time and are looking forward to heading back up in May for Leeann's graduation party!

We came back to school on April 1st, and I have been frantically trying to get the National Junior Honor Society (NJHS) ceremony put together. Just like any event, there are a lot of little details to coordinate. I have a few more things to get squared away this morning when I get to school, and then I will hopefully be good to go! All I can say is that I am so very thankful tomorrow is Friday! I planned to sleep in on Saturday to make up for my lack of sleep tonight, but Mason and I are going fishing early that morning. I definitely see a Sunday afternoon nap in my future..;)

Speaking of Friday, Mason's mom and step-dad will be making an appearance over the weekend as well. It was Mason's birthday yesterday so they are coming down to help us celebrate. I'm going to "try" to post a new blog and some pictures of his 24th birthday happenings before he turns 25! ;) I'll hopefully be able to post some updates on Eli as well. Wish me luck!