More Picknik'n

With the temperature nearing 70 today Elijah spent the majority of his day outside

I just thought this was fun... notice the date

One of the few times he smiles for me
His birthday party...
Look at that dimple!
Daddy's favorite!

Elijah Turns 2!

Tomorrow is Elijah's second birthday and, let me tell you, I have realized that your child's birthday is probably a bigger deal to you, as a parent, than it is to them. My baby isn't a baby, anymore. He's a true big boy. And I really do sit and reflect on the past 2 years... starting at the top.
We had his birthday party tonight. Elijah has taken so much to tractors that we went with a John Deere Tractor theme. We don't have a whole lot of money for decorations, so I found some yellow and green crepe paper at The Dollar Tree and printed some clip art of tractors off and colored them. Pair that with a few balloons and the boy was in heaven! My only problem is that he is the worst at looking at the camera and smiling so the only smiles I catch are directed at someone or something else. Oh well, at least the boy smiles. He's such a happy little camper.... And speaking of camper, mommy & daddy bought him a tent set (clearance at MC Sports!)... He just loves it. In fact, he's sleeping in his tent tonight (if he ever decides to go to sleep but that's another blog).

I win, again

Each year, for as long as I can remember, my dad and I would always have a contest to see who can spot the first robin (our sure sign that spring was on it's way). Well, since I have lived in Missouri, my poor daddy hasn't stood a chance of winning- as we get spring about a month earlier down here. But it even seems early for us this year. Anyway, here it is... Two pregnant mama robins in our backyard today- checking us out through the window.
Dad, this is for all the years you lied about already having seen a robin two weeks prior to me announcing my win. Love you!

Line 'Em Up

Elijah is a Tractor Boy, through and through. This day, he was playing so quietly with his tractors. He lined them up perfectly. He was so proud of himself that he stood up and clapped saying "yay, tractors".
Once he finished his job it was playtime.

Measly

So, this is my measly little snowman measuring in at probably less than 12 inches. A few weeks ago when we got some snow I shoveled the walkway and driveway. I collected enough snow to make a small pile in the corner of the grass. Then, I went to work, building the smallest snowman I've ever seen. I'm both ashamed and saddened. I remember when our family lived in Onalaska across the street from our cousins, the Fischers. One winter the people next door to the Fischers built a snowman that was like 10 or 12 feet tall (I'm not exaggerating) . It was awesome.... Mom, you should dig up that old picture and scan and send it so people believe me. Anyway, I don't believe we'll ever see a snowman that big again.

Randi's new found quiet time activity

So, my new favorite website, picnik.com, is way too much fun! I can totally use these pictures for scrapbooking and make my pages ten times better... if I can ever get around to doing them...This first picture is just Elijah hanging out and being cute one evening. It's a rare thing to get him to look at the camera and smile. In fact, he just happend to look at me as he was laughing, telling me that daddy was going to get him.

Here is Elijah at Chuck E Cheeses for his first time ever. He had lots of fun, until Chuck arrived... he was not fond of the huge mouse walking around. But paired with the tickets mom and dad won him and some extra cash, he walked away with a mini football and some stickers... yay!
My mother hates this, but I had to do it... why, just look at that evil smile. He hugged his little friend so hard that she fell over (that's her in the background on the floor, still trying to get up).

Snow!

We have finally had some snow accumulation here in Columbia in the last week or so (it all melted today, though). Here is the pond behind our back yard. You can kind of see the snow falling from the sky in this picture but have not learned enough about our camera to really capture things in their true beauty.

Elijah watched the snow fall from his bedroom window for like 20 minutes (which is a long time for a boy his age).In the spirit of winter, mommy offered her artistic skills and drew a snowman to color. Isn't Elijah's coloring BEAUTIFUL?!