These are some shots of Eli over the passed week or so.  I tried to add one of Eli and his friend Ashley having snack.  She came over to play for about an hour that day and I felt like a mom!  It was crazy!  Another fun thing that has happened over the last week is that Eli likes to play in his Pak n Play as a fort.  He seems to really enjoy it.  He hates the Pak n Play in its true form but loves it on its side, go figure!  

The pics I was actually able to add are of him standing at the front door playing in the curtain and of his first Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.  He isn't a mess because we broke it up into tiny little pieces.  He really liked it which is great since it is so easy!  Anyway, just wanted you to see Eli and how he is growing!

Eli and Friends

The past few weeks have been lots of fun for Eli and his friends.  We have had play dates in he afternoon with his friend Ashley, his new friend Brian over one day last week and a play date with our Okie friends and their kids.  

Eli is doing great.  This week he is really enjoying throwing his toys all over the house. He is getting stonger all the time and is almost ready to stand on his own.  He can stand for about 2 seconds and then he gets scared and immediately sits.  He is also becoming more and more adventurous with going up and down the stairs that we have at our home.  He loves swimming which is a huge turn around since the 4th of July in Daytona and is just so lovey in general.  He gives the best hugs in town, just ask the ladies in the nursery at church. 

 

I have really been burdened this past week with teaching Eli self-control.  I am learning more and more how important self-control is to his life now and to his future.  So, if you think about it please pray with me that self-control will be established in the life of our young boy.  Eli is such a sweet, smart boy and I'm so glad I get to be his mom!

Eli fans everywhere...

...we had a great week last week thanks to the visit of Gran and Aunt Amy.  They were such a help to me by taking turns changing diapers, playing with Eli, feeding him and giving him baths.  These things can often get mundane for parents so the extra hand were awesome.  I also think they received blessings just by being with our sweet baby.  He is just a joy, a little strong-willed but truly a joy.

The weekend before the fam visited we enjoyed a cookout with friends.  I took yummy oreo pie and allowed Eli to lick the spoon from the chocolate pudding.  I think you can tell by the pictures that he liked it.  We've also been trying to brush teeth which has been a little hard to remember, but when we do remember, Eli loves his toothpaste!  He has also picked up this new style of crawl.  I guess he is going to go through every stage of crawling before he takes his first steps.  Oh well, everybody says they grow up too fast anyway, I guess I'll just enjoy his non-walking for a little bit longer.  Hope you enjoy the shots of Eli!

Random Pics

Friends and Family - These are just some random shots of Eli from the past few days. His latest fascination is pictures so when he took his toys to look at the picture of himself I couldn't resist catching the moment on film.  The next few shots are of  being lovey,  cheesin' for the camera and of his "Rod Stewart" hair.  He's so cute!

Sweet Summer Days

What a great week we've had!  We have been to the beach, shopping, doing yard work, playing in the pool, playing with daddy, out to dinner with friends, and mommy had a colonoscopy!  Eli is doing great.  He is working hard at crusing around the furniture and  of course he has always loved to toss and chase down his toys but now he is interested in the buttons on his toys and putting items in piles.  We are trying to teach him to share things when asked but there is definitely a lot of work to be done there.  I also discovered tooth # 3 today.  His top right tooth has broken through.  This is big news for us here in the Hodges household because teeth mean expanded meals!  I am looking forward to the next few months as Eli's curiousity and speech continue to grow.  God has given us such an amazing little boy!  Enjoy the pics!

First Haircut

Eli got his first haircut on Friday.  I was very reluctant to get his hair cut but Jeff really wanted it so I finally relented.  Eli did great and so did his stylist.  She cut about an inch off of his hair and left it long enough that it still has some curl which I love.  Check out the before and after shots!  I also added a cute shot of Blitz with his bow that he got from his stay at "We Tuck'em Inn".  

Hodges Beach Trip 2008

We're fresh back from our first Hodges family vacation since the arrival of the babies and we had a great time.  It was so fun spending time with Mimi, Papa, Uncle Jason, Aunt Ali and Caroline.  This is the first chance that we've had to really get to know Caroline and it was so great!  She has an amazing personality.  So sweet and talkative, helpful and obedient and fearless as her mommy has labeled her.  She was all about the ocean, sand and pool with literally no fear.  Eli is a different story...

Our trip started out great as we flew from Pensacola to Atlanta to Daytona on Tuesday July 1.  Eli was awesome on both flights and Jeff was equally as awesome keeping our little one happy and calm.  As I stated earlier Eli is not fearless when it comes to the water.  I thought we were making progress since we've had a couple of pleasant experiences hear on the gulf lately but we'll get there.  He actually is fine in the water as long as you are holding him or entertaining him but don't even think about putting him in the water on his own.  Also, Eli's second tooth finally broke through while we were away and all I can say is its about time. 

I wanted to say a special thank you to Mimi and Papa for watching Eli and just being such a great help.  We were able to relax and play and just have a great time; in fact, while we were gone Jeff and I got to have to grown up dinners out which we never do and it was soooo nice!  Hope you enjoy the pics of our family vacation.