Spring Break 2008

Well, we have had a busy few weeks.  The Santa Rosa school system was on Spring Break the week of March 31- April 4.  During that week Eli and were two busy people.  It all started with a visit from my sister Mandy and her husband Jon.  They came down for a weekend with us and then headed over to Orange Beach for a week.  We kept Tucker their dog while she vacationed and he was in meetings.  That week Eli went to the zoo for the first time with some friends.  The Northwest Florida Zoo isn't the fanciest zoo around but good enough for a 10 month old.  You actually get pretty close to the animals at the NW FL zoo sometimes maybe a little too close as some of our friends have had interesting experiences there.  One friend had a gorilla throw a small tree branch at the train as they rode through the so called "santuary" while another friend's husband was sprayed with scent by the male tiger.  We saw gorillas, tigers, bears, alligators, hippos, and tons of monkeys, birds and other animals.  The peacocks were amazing and would walk right up to you with their feathers on display.  It was funny to watch Eli and his friend Ashley(three weeks younger than Eli).  They had a hard time focusing on the animals for all the leaves and plants.  They were really cute though and it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.  The next day we headed down to the beach with Ashley and Eli's friend Jackson for a little picnic.  It wasn't the sunniest day at the beach but it was fun to watch the three of them and their reactions to sand, waves and each other.  Eli is slowly warming up to the sand but is still not crazy about the waves.  Then on Thursday we went and visited with Aunt Mandy in Orange Beach.  It was a day for fun in the sun.  It was beautiful and we enjoyed spending time with Mandy and some new friends that Eli met.  We soaked up some rays and played in the sand a little but mostly lounged around.  Finally, on Friday Eli's Mimi (Jeff's mom Bettie) came down for a visit.  Eli had lots of fun while Mimi was here.  They played and strolled and talked and laughed.  We made it to the beach once while Mimi was here for a short visit.  We took Eli's baby pool just to see if he would get in but he let us know he's not ready for that yet.  Bettie stayed with us until Wednesday morning and her visit allowed me to finally get the living room painted.  Yea!  It took me a full week to do but I am so pleased with the outcome.  We enjoyed Mimi and can't wait for Eli's other g-parents to visit us too!  Well that's about it for our Spring Break.

As far as Eli's accomplishments...he has started to pull up to his knees and is finally getting up on his hands and knees in a real crawling position.  He has also taken a few wobbly steps with aid of his walker and he is learning to self-feed.  He hasn't got it yet but he's close!  He seems to be doing great otherwise and I am praying he is gaining weight at least an oz or two.  I'll post pics from our Spring Break in a separate post.