Play time before bedtime...

Our evening routine ends quite fun for Eli and the family. After dinner, we head upstairs to the playroom and begin making a mess and exploring the toys. Around 8pm, Eli gets a bath and bottle. Sometimes we let him have a little more playtime before the bottle and bedtime. Eli loves to open and shut doors.
playing with the door to his bedroom

He is so pumped about playtime.... look at those eyes!!

crawling all over the place.... a lot of times he is chasing Miss Willow around the room. Sometimes she lets him capture her and give her kisses on the back.

playing peek-a-boo in his room

He loves books!

I sometimes read to him while he plays in his toys....

he also likes to take the books away from me and read them himself!

Practice Run....

Eli has had a couple practice runs on eating cake all by himself. I want him to dig in on his birthday and not be afraid to get his hands and face dirty. This is his first experience with a cupcake and icing.... he placed his fingers right on in the icing....I realized that I needed to add a bib before I let him get too messy...
checking out the texture with his hands.... already put some in his mouth....
after a bit, I put the cupcake to his mouth for him to try the cake part.... he loved it! Then I tried to sample it myself (hey.... gotta try it too) and he threw a fit! He was not up for sharing!

Eli is 11 months today.... only a few more weeks 'til the big day!

croup again....

Eli came down with croup (AGAIN) after 4 days of daycare. He had a steroid shot this morning. Here he is with Grams, hanging out in the car.

Where the Wild Things Are....

Before our road trip home, we stopped by the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch north of San Antonio. Uncle Michael joined us on this little adventure. Here are several pics that we took of the fun and excitement. However, I still haven't uploaded the pics from the other camera.... so more to come...

Eli and Uncle Michael....

at the petting zoo area.....
Eli wasn't to thrilled about this....

There were several peacocks running around.... oh are they beautiful!

Eli LOVED this part! He got to ride in the car standing in his car seat. Here he is looking out the window at the wildlife just beyond his reach.....

Eli and Mommy

posing for the camera... yes, we got your "good side"....

Michael feeding the critters....

okay... so this is a funny story....

Michael opened the sunroof for pics and to feed the ostrich (which is very aggressive) thru the top of the car.... this is the view from the backseat looking up....

Eli is starting to freak out... "what is this??"

Not sure what to do here.... cry or yell or just be quiet.....

watching Uncle Michael crawl thru the sunroof with this ostrich poking at him and going for food

another coming up from behind the car!!

And then all of a sudden, the ostrich pokes his head into the vehicle and almost get Jeramy! Hahaha! It was so funny! Jer was a bit taken back! "oh crap!"

Eli never made a peep... I think he was too scared to get a noise out....

At the end of the tour through the park, Michael went back to his truck and Eli decided it was his turn to drive.....

Happy Birthday Grams! We hope you had a wonderful time! We sure did!!

Shoppin' and Swimmin'

On Sunday, August 1st, we went to Boerne to shop and eat lunch and then back to the B&B for a swim.

Eli wanted to push the stroller with Grams....

Eli and Uncle Jamie shopping
back at the pool....

Eli had a great time at the pool. His little fingers and toes were wrinkled.... and cute....and his smile went from ear to ear

playing in the pool with Uncle Michael, Mommy, and Uncle Jamie

New Book

Grams purchased a new book for Eli in Fredericksburg..... Miss Spiders Suprise. Eli fell in love with it in the store and it has been by his side ever since. It is full of bright colors and cute pictures. reading it that night...
he was really interested and had to be close to the book.

Grams Birthday Trip

The first weekend of August we went to Comfort, TX to celebrate Grams' birthday. We all stayed in a big house at Meyer Bed & Breakfast (http://www.meyerbedandbreakfast.com/)

On Saturday, we ventured out to see some bat caves, go to Luckenbach, check out the shops in Fredericksburg, and hang out at the B&B. Eli striking a pose on the rocks near the bat caves
The Moffitt's in Luckenbach

Eli and Daddy-- his first trip (and definitly not his last) trip to Luckenbach

checking out the bat cave area

Hangin' out at home

This summer has gone by so quickly. Eli has two teeth, learned to crawl, started sleeping in his own bed upstairs, and gone on his first roadtrip out of Texas.

I am starting back to work full time on Friday, August 14th... not looking forward to it! Eli will be going back to daycare and our adventures will be less than what we have done in the last couple of months. We have had a super busy summer full of fun and snuggles!

Here are a couple of recent pics of Eli with his Daddy and one of his kitty, Miss Willow.

Aunt Debbie and Construction Bob

Aunt Debbie came over to visit Eli one Friday after work (July 24th).

Eli jumped for joy! Look how high I can go!
Construction Bob showed up as well. Eli and Bob are great pals.

striking a pose for the pic!

Thank you Aunt Deb for coming to visit!