A Roadtrip to Meet a New Cousin

Eli took a little road trip to meet his first girl cousin! (due to a parent fail by Mommy and Daddy, there is not actually a picture of the cousins together...) Eli enjoyed seeing his new cousin, as well as Aunt C and Uncle P, and he also had all sorts of hotel fun during the brief visit.

Proud Aunt

Proud Uncle

Fascinated by the hotel pool light that changed colors

Love to swim

PJ snack time in the big bed

Breakfast picnic with Daddy

The hallway was perfect for a ball-throwing game

 Daddy's helper

Dig Dig

With the return of at least a few drops of rain, Eli got a chance to test his green thumb by helping plant a couple bushes. His favorite parts seemed to be digging (of course) and riding in Daddy's wheelbarrow. This week a tree will be joining the backyard, and while the pros will be taking care of that planting, it is likely that Eli will still be on hand to "supervise."

Love to dig dig!

One small scoop at a time...

Busy landscaper

Fore!

It has been tough to get a tee time recently on the Brasel golf course...many thanks to Papa and GG, Eli has been playing golf multiple times throughout the day. There is both an indoor and outdoor course, and thus far Mimi, Mommy, and Daddy have all taken Eli up on his invitation to play on the course. The golf carts, clubhouse, and drink girl are all still works in progress. Here are a few pictures and a video of the golfing fun.

Ready for an early morning tee time

The WI rocker is the favorite "hole"

Ready for another round in the afternoon

The boy does like sports equipment

Hard to tell who is more excited about the golfing - Eli or Daddy!

Fun at Mimi and Pa's House

While Mommy and Daddy were in Oconomowoc for a night to celebrate their anniversary, Eli enjoyed hanging out with Mimi and Pa, and visiting GG and Papa. Here are a few of the interesting things he learned about during that stay:

Monkeys look cute in pajamas

 Papa's house is good for perfecting your golf swing (hat and shoes required)

Papa has a super-cool singing bear ("don't worry, be happy")

Sunglasses are a necessary car ride accessory

Enjoying Being Two

Here's a catch-up post with some of the random fun things that Eli has been up to lately. At the start of the month, Eli went to get 2-year-old pictures taken at the photo studio. This year, Eli was considerably more mobile, and thus it was a lot more challenging to keep him in the part of the room that picture-taking was supposed to be happening. Luckily, they still captured a few shots of his sweet two-year-old smile.

 With the required "two" block

Oh, those eyes! 

The photographer tried to go beach-y - Eli thought the props made good drums 

Eli was a fan of whatever ball props were in the room.

When he is not participating in photo shoots, Eli has been enjoying being two by taking advantage of other fun summer activities: baking brownies with Mommy, helping put in a flower bed, and tasting produce fresh from the garden.

Just a little taste 

Yum! 

 Showing Daddy how to measure out the flower bed

Mommy and Eli pick up the grass pieces 

Helping Mom unload the sod pieces

Green beans fresh from the garden are great!

Just Playin'

This summer Eli has been lucky to spend a good amount of time playing with his buddies. Here are a few pictures from recent fun with friends.

Busy evening at the swing set

 

Getting the hang of how to drive the John Deere

So cute!

Eli showing Jovi his crawling skills (we tried to encourage him to teach her to walk!)

Closing Out the Season

Eli made it to the last two games of Daddy's summer softball season, and even got to see the team win the league championship! Eli was a pretty cute fan in the stands, although he did not spend much time sitting down; he liked to "warm-up" by running back and forth carrying a batting glove, ball, and bat, enjoyed eating a picnic dinner, and would often shout "Go Daddy!". He is already counting down the time until opening day next season...

Snacking at the game

Post-game shoulder ride

Ready for the championship game

Warming up