Cousins Time!

Eli has been enjoying time with his cousins lately - cousin Isaac came to stay with Eli while his parents went to a wedding and then it was off to Iowa to celebrate cousin Kinsley's baptism. It is so fun to see all the kiddos together and wonder how exciting these family gatherings will be when all the little ones are on the move!

Uncle Cory enjoying Isaac time while Eli napped

Aunt Katie loves to snuggle with those little boys

Isaac was very interested in whatever Eli was doing...and Eli liked to check out Isaac's toys

Yum - dinner time!

Uncle Cory proves he can handle two kiddos at once (good practice for the coming months!)

Dinner outside

Cutest badger fan

Say "cheese!"

Ready for the Badger football game (before we realized we don't get the channel it was on...)

Trip to Iowa for Kinsley's Baptism

Gelato stop on the way - yum!

Snacking with Papa

Waiting patiently for the baptism to start

Beautiful family with beautiful (and well-behaved!) little lady

Failed attempt at a family picture

Getting in a few rounds of golf with the uncles, Daddy, Papa, and Grandpa in Uncle P's backyard

One of many attempts at a picture of the three cousins and grandparents

Baby girl sneaks in the picture - soon there will be 4 cousins!

Thinking Happy (and Healthy!) Thoughts

While Eli and Mommy are laying low this week to fight a fall cold, here are a few pictures from recent fun (and healthy) times.

Helping Dad get some after-hours work done

Cereal bars in the car may be messy, but they sure are delicious

Eli and Mouse play "diapers vs. shirts" football game

Eli working on the plane that he and Daddy constructed from an old shoe box

Ready for the cooler mornings at the farmers' market - thanks for the great hat, great-aunt Jayne!

Everybody Loves a Parade

While Daddy was out enjoying some time on the golf course last weekend, Eli and Mommy met up with a few friends to watch the crazy-costume-fun-filled Willy St Parade. For some reason, the parade went by this spot twice, so it gave the boys a chance to warm up to the idea on the first pass, and then be more engaged parade attendees on the second run.

Here comes the parade

 Umm...do you see the dancing monkey over there?

One of the fun floats - bubbles!

Ben is up and ready to boogie!

An Apple A Day...

Eli went on a grand adventure to the apple farm with Mommy, Mimi, Gigi, and Papa. Everyone got in their exercise for the day hiking up the hill to pick apples; although, numerous apple samples did help fuel the group for the hike back to the car. It was wonderful to enjoy the beautiful fall day with family!

Ready to hike to the orchard

Let's find some apples!

It seems as though every apple farm has one of these

Conquering the hill

Finally - we found apples!

Gigi and Eli were in charge of loading the apples into our bag

Mimi found some apples at Eli's level

Time for a sample

Papa and Eli hauling back our pickings

Eli and Mommy Adventures

As an attempt to take advantage of the lovely early fall weather, and to enjoy that precious Eli-only time before baby #2 arrives, Eli and Mommy have been on the go to explore some new fun and old favorites around Madison. Recently this included Eli's first ride on a carousel and a his first ride on the train** at the zoo.

**Not really a train, but super cute and still high on the toddler-fun scale.

Giddy-up, horsey!

Let's go again

 Happy boy walking around the zoo

We brought our own giraffe and elephant to the zoo

Cutest little joey we saw all day

 Extreme close-up on the "train" (it was a cozy ride with mommy, toddler, and baby belly)

Eli is very good about playing with toys or books at the store and then saying bye to them, but this item prompted a question of "take home?". He was very understanding when Mommy said not today, but perhaps we have something to add to his wish list...

Ready to help Daddy with the yardwork

 And...a clue as to why Eli likes wheelbarrows so much (this one happens to belong to Uncle P):

 

Labor Day Weekend

Eli celebrated Labor Day weekend by taking part in a few Madison events: Dane Dances and Taste of Madison. This was Eli's first experience with Dane Dances, and he enjoyed eating dinner outside and just a little bit of dancing with Mommy and Daddy. Eli is a Taste of Madison veteran, having enjoyed the Taste as an infant (slept right through it), and also last year when he was a new walker. This year, Eli perfected his strategy for Taste - sit on a blanket in the shade with Mommy and send Daddy out into the sun on the food-procuring runs.

Big smile

 Goofy smiles with Daddy

Silly smiles with Mommy

Besides the music, the flower bed and sticks were quite exciting

 Where is Daddy with that food?!

Enjoying gelato (more than just a taste!) before heading home

One Last Splish Splash

With the continued hot weather, Eli was able to make a trip to Devil's Lake park to celebrate the end of summer with some buddies. The kiddos loved playing in the sand, wading in the lake, and having a picnic. Time to start planning some fall fun to help ease the pain of saying goodbye to summer!

Sand? check. Toys? check. Buddies? check. Ready for sandy fun.

Smashing sand castles with Tia Erin

Venturing out into the deep

Back in the sand