Eli has been singing "Happy Birthday" at every opportunity, throwing himself little birthday parties in the sandbox or at snack time. Here I caught him singing into his pretzels them blowing them out like candles. The video is a sort of pitiful reprise.
At the end, you can hear him ask for his "own camera". We gave him an old one we found in a drawer as a birthday present. We may be cheap, but we're creative!

The party was great. Our friends Esther, Robert and CC came with their parents as did Baikal and Rybolt and their parents. Cupcakes were a big hit. We played backyard baseball and Robert (age 6) showed Eli how it is done. Then Eli showed off his sandbox skills.

Eli had his first big boy haircut at a professional salon!

Eli had a birthday a couple of weeks ago. It was a great day topped off by a fun party with friends, pizza and cupcakes. We're having a bit of a problem with Eli and cameras right now. He is completely obsessed with them and so won't let us take a picture before he melts down and wants to grab it. Photography is slim these days.

Here he is getting ready to ride to the zoo and then a few while we're there. I keep thinking he is such a big guy until I see him next to a big kid and realize that he's still small fry.

The garden, in case you were wondering, was a great success. So much so that we never want to see another tomato again. I pulled the tomato vines out a few weeks ago because they were eating the backyard. Attack of the killer tomatoes for real. Poor Eli couldn't make it down the path from the house to the car without getting tangled in the vines. He did like plucking grape tomatoes (may-nohs) and eating them straight from the garden. We also got piles of serrano peppers and a few bells. The basil, rosemary, oregano and thyme did well, too.

These pictures are just a fraction of the harvest... one evenings' worth!

Holy lack of posting, Batman!

First I'll back up and tell you a little about our great trip to go see cousin hunter about two months ago. Hunter is one year old and so danr cute you want to eat him. They live out in the country in Virginia in a beautiful area near a lake and lots of farms. Eli got a kick out of looking for animals and "finding" tractors. We went on lots of bike rides with Eli and Hunter in Hunter's bike trailer. Very fun!