clap and paint ...

causing more trouble ...

As you can see, Eli continues to explore. He's getting really fast -- he'll zoom towards the open freezer door or crawl as fast as he can to see what's going on the bathroom. Not confident enough for standing/walking, but getting close!

He has two big teeth now, bottom center, I'll see if I can get a good photo of them this weekend.

He's starting to do some helping. When he eats, I'll put the spoon in his mouth, he takes it out, and puts it back in the bowl. You'll see a video of how he helps us clap. Have we mentioned he is just so fun to be around? Every day is a good day with EZ. We are doing well too, getting our garden and house together. Happy Memorial Day!

#1 ~ The last day of swim lessons involved going down the slide. Eli didn't like that part too much ... we signed up for another set of classes though, just to keep the routine going, maybe he'll like it in a few months ...

#2 ~ Eli with his swim buddies. He really liked singing the songs and laughing together ...

#3 ~ VERY interested in the tp ... we lost a whole roll that day ...

#4 ~ He rushed over to the freezer every time it opens, and this is what he really wants to do in there.

#5 & 6 ~ V and Eli making cards for mothers day. This was a really fun day.

#7 ~ Really likes to push the chairs around. We got him a little toy walker, but that is not nearly as fun as non-toys

#8 ~ sleep, after a hard day of play-around ...

Eli the swimmer and other accomplishments ...

Eli is really gaining confidence in his movements -- he's properly crawling, likes to walk with support, and walks around the edges of the furniture, making transitions from piece to piece. He's exploring every part of his environment to see what he can do, what makes noise, what tastes good, what he can get away with ... he is starting to sound out syllables and repeat things we say to him. He really seeks both of us out now and will crawl across the room and pull himself up to standing by holding on to our legs and ask to come up. He is, as always, a very joyful kid.

As you can see, we've started swim lessons! The first lesson was the best, he was so amazed and excited by the sensation of being in the water and floating. The lesson is only a half-hour long tuesdays and thursdays, but it really tuckers him out! J came to his second lesson just to watch Eli have fun and we had our third lesson today. So far, we've done floating on back and stomach, dunked under water a couple of times, and lots of bouncing up and down and playing, singing songs. The big accomplishment today was that Eli voluntarily blew bubbles in the water! It has been a lot of fun, and a relaxing way to learn and have fun together.

#1 & 2 ~ Eli and V at the end of his first lesson
#3 ~ Eli and V at the Japanese garden. We visited the garden with our friends Doyle, Katya, and Nikolai
#4 ~ A nice picture of Nikolai and Eli having fun ...
#5 ~ This is one of my favorite pictures so far. A great example of how he is exploring his environment
#6 ~ Eli checking himself out ...
#7 ~ What can I climb on, where can I go?
#8 ~ And what is good to stand by

Eli plays ball ...

Visit from Grammy Linda ...

We had a visit from Grammy Linda this weekend! We had a lot of fun, and went on many adventures -- to Cannon Beach, to the Columbia Gorge, on a little shopping trip to Ikea. We had a lot of time for hanging out and playing too!

#1 ~ Hanging out in front of the house, enjoying the fact that spring has arrived!
#2 ~ Eating dinner -- mom makes me eat split peas! Yuck!
#3 & 4 ~ Looking good with Grammy Linda
#5 ~ Getting rocked to sleep by the pro
#6 ~ Reading books with Grammy ...
#7 ~ The Columbia Gorge, which Eli slept through
#8 ~ Crib time ...
#9 ~ Showcasing our new kitchen rug ...
#10 ~ LOVE YOU ALL!

Greens go camping ...

First camping trip of the year, as turkey season opens. J did a lot of work to get all of our gear ready, and we drove out to Mt. Hood National Forest Friday night and met up with friends from Jason's work. We set up our new tent and stayed toasty warm! It was palatial for a tent, more like being in a little cabin. Eli was pretty quiet taking it all in Friday and Saturday, but Sunday he was all squiggles and ready to explore! You'll notice he looks a little rough in these pictures ... that is because he cut his first teeth during the trip (three coming in all at once on the bottom right side). He did have a good time though and even though no turkeys, it was a successful and relaxing trip overall.

#1 ~ Mom and Eli in the tent ... what kind of tent is big enough for a playpen, bed, woodstove, and woodpile!

#2 ~ Our little campsite

#3 ~ Eli and Phoebe hanging out. Lynne and John, he's wearing the suit you gave him!

#4 ~ More Phoebe. She had a good time and was a good camp dog

#5 ~ We went for a little family walk and Eli crashed out pretty early into it. He's missing the view!

#6 ~ Our friend Everett and Eli hanging out

#7 ~ Forest view

boat adventure with mom and dad ...

Last weekend we took our boat out on Hagg Lake -- tested out the new motor and tried out the new tent, in preparation for this weekend's first camping trip of the year. Eli was pretty crabby for the whole trip and we think it was a pretty overwhelming experience overall -- he crashed out asleep about halfway through.

#1 ~ in the car seat ready to go ...
#2 ~ hanging out in the tent ...
#3 ~ searching for leftover crumbs ...
#4 ~ EZ and V with the tent
#5 ~ EZ and V at Hagg Lake