Liam and family came up this weekend to go to Disney. We joined them on Saturday for Eli's first trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Although Liam was sick and didn't have the greatest time, there were some highlights for the pair.

Eli enjoyed the rides he went on.

While riding the train over Tomorrowland, Eli saw the racecars below. We pretty much had to make a beeline for them after leaving the train.

The highlight of the day for Eli was the Barnstormer... a real roller coaster. He was barely tall enough, but had no qualms about getting on. I wasn't sure if he was upset or not on the ride, but the first thing he said when it stopped was "more".

Indoctrination

Are we ready for football season? I'd say so.

Or maybe we're celebrating the Women's Swimming and Diving National Championship

... Or rooting for Gymnastics in the NCAA's coming up

Catching up

I've got a lot of catching up to do, so here's what Eli's been up to...

1. Riding his tricycle - he has ALMOST learned how to use the pedals. For now, though, he's getting around quite well Flinstone-style

2. The playground - Climbing up the steps to the slide by himself.

3. Bubbles - Since the weather has warmed up we've spent a lot of time outside. Pretty muchall the time between when we get home and when Mom gets home. He can blow bubbles by himself.

4. Learning how to cook - okay, not quite, but he can list the ingredients of quiche and lick icing off of a mixer.

Eating with Granddad

Somehow, we always end up with pictures of Eli sitting with Granddad eating something.

Papa took Eli and Liam for a ride to the playground in his bike trailer. They thoroughly enjoyed it.

As much fun as the kids had on the ride and at the playground, the dolly ride may have been better.

Helping Grandmother

(These are a little late, but late is better than never)

Christmas in DeFuniak wouldn't be Christmas without decorating Sugar Cookies. Eli got to join in the fun this year.

Eli also helped make Great Grandmother's special Birthday Bread.

Neil Peart better watch out

Eli got a drumset for his birthday. This was within the first minute of setup.

Happy Birthday to me

Happy Birthday 2.0

Eli loves trucks, so his grandmother decided to make a dump truck cake for him. He recognized it immediately and then proceeded to say "have it". The bed was filled with peanuts and M&M's. These were the pictures in which Eli did not have his cheeks full of them.

Musical Genius

Eli learned to play the saxophone in DeFuniak. Sure, it only has four keys, but you have to press at least one of them down to make any noise, so it made him very happy when he finally figured it out. Very Happy.

Baby Goat

Eli met the baby goat at Thanksgiving, and enjoyed watching him. But I'm pretty sure we just upped the cute factor by having a toddler feed a baby goat with a bottle.

Merry Christmas

Okay, to be completely honest, the first picture is not from Christmas morning, but it could be, right? Eli really had no idea what was coming this Christmas. He hadn't opened a present in almost a year, and remembered nothing about it. I'd love to say that by the end of they day he was ripping into them like there was no tomorrow, but he actually enjoyed playing with his new toys so much, he got saved about half of his presents for later in the day.

Every time we get blocks out, we have to build a barn. As an engineer at heart, I have made the barns fancier are sturdier each time, even adding a back door at Eli's request. We thought he might like a more realistic barn, and Santa happily obliged. This barn is all wood and very cool.

New Gator sweatshirt as well.

One of Eli's favorite presents is his tractor book from Aunt Deanna. The book is only about tractors. There are pull tabs, pop-ups, and textures. And it has a lot of tractors.

Thanksgiving

Eli met his newest relative at the wedding, but he got to spend a lot more time with her over Thanksgiving.

You'll notice in all these pictures Eli is wearing a hat. He has connected wearing a hat with riding on the tractor and lawnmower. Therefore, he loves it.

It's not Thanksgiving without a Cane Grinding.

Liam's Rockstar Party

Liam's Birthday party was rock star based, so Eli got pretty tricked out.

We probably enjoyed the rock-star look more than Eli, but he loved the guitars and drums around the house. Papa even went all out and bought Rock Band for the party. The kids loved the drums.

Mama loves her rockstar!

Liam's scooter

Eli had a blast at Liam's birthday party. It was a rock star theme. By this time his hair had fallen down, but it was still blue and he still had his guitar tattoo. Things were dying down in the house, and there was room to play with Liam's new scooter.

Sea World

Eli had a couple of Mondays off with Dad and we took advantage of Sea World being free for teachers and kids under 3. Eli saw the dolphins, penguins, sharks, turtles, manatees, and lots of other fun animals. The things he enjoyed most, however, were watching the roller coasters and playing in the fountains. He started off a little shy with the fountains...

Then he started to get a little braver...

Then he was all in.

He needs to get a taller to effectively use this water cannon.

A close third place was the carousel. Eli love riding on the dolphins, sharks, fish, and octopi.

Party

Eli recently went to a birthday party for Cameron. His favorite part was the inflatable pools filled with balls.

Gratuitous Gator picture with Aunt Kristy

Halloween

Eli was Bob the Builder for Halloween.

He loves his Bob book and want to wear his hat every time we read it.

He enjoyed having tools right on his belt, and could take them out and put the back all by himself.