New Scooter

Eli got a scooter for his birthday from his Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen. They gave him a really cute 3 wheeled Spiderman scooter but when we got it out he said that he wanted a "big" scooter which meant one with 2 wheels. So Friday night after he went to bed I went to the store and exchanged the scooter. I put it outside his bedroom door so that he'd see it when he woke up. Well at 6:30 Saturday morning Eli was awake and when I told him that it wasn't time to wake up yet he whispered "I have to tell you something." I said "what" and he said "thanks for the scooter." It was so cute. I sent him back to bed but he was too excited to sleep so he spent Saturday riding around the house on his scooter. (He had a fever so he couldn't go outside.) Today we took him outside so he could practice and he's pretty good at it.

Oh, and I did remind him that the scooter was from his grandma and grandpa even though I really wanted to take credit for the gift! He was so happy!

One more

Eli loved this! He thinks that is hilarious and kept saying look at my stomach! When it was done he said "that was funny when my stomach was disgusting."

Giddy-Up Y'all

I had to copy Alicia's siblings! I thought that these were so funny! I had to do my face twice...not because I'm so freaking hot but because I didn't know what other girl picture to do.

Jungle Jims

We took Eli to Jungle Jim's Playland today. It was so fun! I would recommend it. Eli got to ride on the rides as much as he wanted and there weren't any lines or anything. I am stupid and forgot to take a camera but Eli had a whole lot of fun. Then as a family we played this game that was like whack-a-mole except it was alligators. That game was so easy! We totally got the high score! We wasted all the other kids scores*!

*yes I'm just joking about that. We did waste the other kids but we did cheat.*

Henry, I'm getting boobs!

I have just watch a great episode of Punky Brewster. This was my favorite show growing up. I remember crying my eyes out when they took Punky away from Henry. They took her away and then she ran back in and hugged him. It's the only show that I remember crying in. But this episode http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDY-L8DKa9w is not that episode. This episode was the one where Punky needs a bra for the 1st time. It's so great and filled with many quotable lines. Such as "I must, I must, I must increase my bust."

PUNKY POWER!

On the Contrary

So Eli is in this little (annoying) stage where he contradicts whatever you say. For example:
Me: "Eli you don't have to lay down to put on your pants."
Eli: "Yes I can, if I want to."
M: "I know you can but you don't have to."
E: "Yes I can, if I want to"

Eli has 2 sets of glasses. He likes the "moon" ones but not so much the "star" ones. I wanted to see if he really would choose the opposite of what I said.

M: "What glasses do you want to wear? Your moon ones?"
E: (pause) "I want my star ones."

He NEVER wears his star ones!

Tonight at my moms house the following happened 3 times:

E: "mom?"
M: "what?"
E: "oh, I was just talking to grandma."

And when he asked for help to make a train track and I said I would help him in just a sec, he said "I just want grandma to help me."

He's not all bad though (well really he's not any bad, he's just 4). When we were leaving for my parents I told him to get some pajama's and he got really excited and said "ok but 1st let me give you a hug and a kiss."

So far I'm not really sure about this 4 year old age. Maybe it will get better soon?!

Too smart for his own good

Eli wanted to go outside yesterday but I was working so I told him that he couldn't until I could watch him. He tried to open the door but the top was latched so he said "if you won't let me go outside I'll go get my stool." (He like to give little threats like this.)

He came back with his stool and since that wasn't tall enough he put all the old newspapers on top of the stool. That helped a little, but wasn't quite enough.


Next he put the stool on this box and that worked well and he was able to undo the latch.

I did let him go play outside after this because I was so impressed with his problem solving skills and cleverness.

Great deals

Wow I got some more good deals! If you buy 5 Post frosted shredded wheat cereal at Albertsons you can get a gallon of milk for free. (Watch for the coupon by the cereal or they might have them up front at the cashiers station.) So I got:
5 cereals
1 gallon of milk
10 quaker items (buy 10 for 10$ I had coupons or this stuff)
2- 3 oz tuna packs (for .09)
for 12.24
Then I got 2-3 dollar coupons. So really it's like I spent 6.24

Then I went back and got 10 more quaker items and the total was 4.46 but I used one of my 3 dollar off coupons so I spent 1.49.

with coupons some of the stuff was free. I thought that I got such a great deal on the tuna but if you have the coupon you could get it for free at Smiths! And here I am paying .09 cents for it! Hello what a sucker I am. I know it's only .18 cents but it's the idea behind it! Bargain shoppers will know what I mean.

Anyway if you want to get the really great deal buy 5 shredded wheat cereals, a gallon of milk and you will pay about 7.00 then you will get 6 dollars back in coupons to use next time you go to Albertsons. (the coupons are just like cash) That basically makes it 1 dollar and some cents for 5 cereals and milk.

Eli is 4!!!

I am the mother of a 4 year old boy! That is crazy! 4 years ago at this time I was in the hospital staring at Eli. I know because that's pretty much all I did for like 3 weeks after he was born. I actually get kind of sad after his birthday because it makes me wish that he'd stay my little boy forever and makes me wish that I had another baby too. I remember after I had him just loving him so fiercely and I still do feel that way. It can be overpowering.

Anyway Eli had a really fun birthday. Our tradition on birthdays is that we wake the birthday person up with donuts and chocolate milk. (Tradition is a term used loosely in that Eli and Stewart get this treatment and if I buy my own donuts and chocolate milk and kick Stewart out of bed to go get them I get it too.) Well, because Stewart had to work so early we woke poor little Eli up at like 6:30.


Later that day we went to the zoo with Valerie, Avery, and Holland. Then Eli took a nap and then his grandparents and uncles came over to see him. Eli got to open some neat presents and he had a really great time. Word to the wise: don't cook a whopper in the middle of a cupcake AND if you ask your 4 year old what he wants for a birthday dinner it might be mac & cheese with hot dogs cut up in it.


This morning Eli woke up and started playing with his toys and was kind of laying in the middle of all these gifts. He started to giggle and I said "why are you giggling?" and he said: "I'm so glad it was my birthday."

All in all it was a very fun day for Eli. He is the sweetest little boy and I'm so happy that he's mine.

A Pirate Party

Today Eli had his 4 year old birthday party. His actual birthday is tomorrow but he got to take treats to preschool for snack time and have his birthday party for friends. Eli is WAY into pirates (no I don't let him watch "pirates of the Caribbean" It's from the Backyardigans.) right now so he wanted a pirate party. He really wanted a pirate ship cake that he saw at Albertsons but since I didn't think that i wanted to spend $40 on a cake so I made my own.


It wasn't as cute as the Albertsons one but I was happy with it. Eli invited 9 little friends over and we played the favorite pirate game of duck, duck, goose and pin the pirate on the treasure. Eli opened presents and the kids "had" cake. I say it that way because I planned on that taking up at least 10 minutes and it didn't. They didn't even hardly eat it. Then the kids went on a treasure hunt and found a treasure box that had some hooks and swords and other pirate booty in it.


It was really fun but I'm SO glad it was only an hour! Here is a picture of all the scurvy little pirates.




From L-R Brooklyn, Andie, Eli, Anna, Abe, Jacob, Betsy, Emma, Asea. Avery was there but wasn't having any of this!

Eli says:

We were just at the park and Eli made friends with a little boy who was there with his parents. As soon as they were introduced Eli said "Let's go bug those girls." The girls were 10 year old girls who were there playing also. So the boys went and bugged them the best that they could. That's my Eli. He loves to get the attention of girls any way that he can.

Timpanogos Cave

Today we went and hiked to Mt. Timpanogos and went into the caves. Eli did pretty good hiking up the trail but Stewart did have to carry him a lot of the way. Eli took many breaks to rest his muscles and get drinks. Here is a picture of one of those breaks. I think it's cute how he's adjusting his glasses.
Stewart thought it was funny how this sign said "restroom . Last chance" If you click on the picture and enlarge it you'll notice the face Eli's making. That's his worried face.

This was one of those outings that after you are done you wonder why you did it. Eli was so tired and ornery after it was all over it makes you wonder why you try and do these fun things. At dinner Eli spilled his spaghetti o's and also pulled out all the toilet paper of this huge pack that I just got. I was ready for him to go to sleep at 7:30 but he got himself so wired that he didn't fall asleep until 10. I was tired too and ornery myself.

So the day started out well but did end on a sour note. I guess I just need to go to bed and sing primary songs tomorrow and I'll feel better!

Yoplait

Yes this post will be dedicated to yogurt. Today I went shopping and bought 30 Yoplait yogurts for 3.37. Yes, you read that right, 3 dollars and 37 cents! That averages out to be about 11 cents per yogurt.

Last week I bought spaghetti o's for 7 cents and Cambells tomato soup and chicken noodle soup for 17 cents and Cambells chunky soup for like 43 cents! I bought 45 items and they averaged out to be .37 cents for each item. Isn't that amazing. Getting good deals is a major rush so I had to come home and blog about it. Plus now we have some good food storage.

The secret to good deals is coupons and my sister tells me all the good deals (and supplies me with coupons ) then I call her 5 times before I actually go and do them because I'm always afraid that it won't work.

I seriously DARE a disaster to happen. We will be home laughing and laughing and stuffing our faces with yogurt before it goes bad.

Young Love

Eli has a girlfriend. Her name is Avery and she is so freaking cute. Eli has said that he is going to marry her in the temple and that he will send her flowers. Avery likes Eli but she might have to warm up to the idea of marriage. Good thing she has like 19 years or so to get there. Of course usually it's Avery's little sister Holland that pays more attention to Eli so maybe there will be a little triangle!

We went over to Valerie's house today for a play date. Eli and Avery are playing in the sand. They play really well together. Isn't Avery cute. Her cheeks are to die for.

girls night out

Last night I went out to dinner with my friends Valerie and Alicia. (You can read all about Alicia in her blog that is linked to my page. Sorry you can't do the same about Valerie though. Maybe she should start one!) Alicia and I tried to guilt her into starting one at dinner so we'll see if it happens. Anyway we had so much fun!

We went to Alicia's classroom because she is a high school teacher...which is hilarious because we were freaking brats in school. I was too scared to ever actually teach because what if what goes around REALLY does come around.

Then we went to dinner where, much to the chagrin of our waitress, we stayed for HOURS. We have so much fun reminiscing about all the fun or naughty or fun AND naughty things that we used to do.

Next, Valerie and I (minus Alicia because she had to go take care of her ailing hubby) went to see Hairspray which was so freaking great! Valerie and I each ate like 5 pounds of ice cream on top of the 20 pounds of Asian food that we had for dinner. So all-in-all it was great!

The amazing pee-pee

Sorry mom, but I have to tell this story! So I was in the living room and I hear Eli from the bathroom say "oh no! I had a little accident! My pee went on that thing." So I went in there thinking he had probably peed on his pants a little or something but no it was on the edge of the counter.

When you are sitting on the potty you face the sink and you are pretty close to it. The tub is immediately to the right of you and the pee was on the corner of the counter close to the tub. So I went to get the disinfecting wipes and Eli was feeling really sad about it. I was really shocked because he had been sitting down and I just am not sure how the pee could have gotten go high.

So I came back with the wipes and started to clean it up and noticed that there was pee clear up by the handles on the sink! So not only did the pee-pee get height it also got distance!

THAT is some amazing pee-pee.

The First REAL Day of Preschool

Today was Eli's first real day of preschool He got to wear his new clothes and take his cool new backpack and he was pretty excited. I wasn't really excited though! I didn't sleep all night and I am a little emotional today. I am the kind of mom (well maybe all moms are like this) that doesn't really like these milestones. I miss Eli when he's not around and even though I like that he's growing up I wish that he could stay a little boy forever. If I could make myself invisible I'd follow him around everywhere then I wouldn't mind him growing up so much.

He did look really cute walking to school.

When he saw that backpack he said "I don't need a suitcase, huh mom?" that means "I really want that but I think you are going to say no." I showed him how you can wheel it or put it on your back like a backpack and he loved it!

Man this is making me miss him! I can get him in 40 minutes :)

naked baby

This is the phrase that we say whenever Eli gets naked well it's more like this...naaak.ed babeeeee


but really I'm just trying to link pictures from a flickr acct to see how it's done. This picture is from a shooting the tube excursion and everyone was ready to go and all the sudden Eli was naked and wanting to go swimming. You can get a glimpse of a naked baby bum.

The Weekend

Well my weekend has been pretty uneventful. Friday night I had some fun with Eli and made him into a care bear. I know I'm a bad example. He is silly heart bear and that is supposed to be a clown nose and clown hair.



Stewart went rabbit hunting Saturday morning and Eli and I went to the zoo. Then Stewart and I had a date night. Sorry I don't have any funny stories. Oh wait I do have some good news! I won a cruise. To ensenada or the bahamas. Cool huh!

The curse

So you know how parents will curse their children to have children just like themselves. (umm did that sentence make sense?) For instance a very naughty child could one day hear his mother say "I hope that you have a son that behaves just like you!" and the kid will think, "that would be so cool. I would be the best parent. We'd have fun all the time!"

Well it doesn't work like that! Eli has discovered a great love...and that love is...SCISSORS! (That sound you hear is my mom praising the Lord for listening to her prayers.) I MAY have liked to use the scissors occasionally. On my dolls, my stuffed animals, my bangs, Katrina Robinson's hair, one of my pigtails, and probably Jill's hair. (I can't remember for sure on that one though.)
Eli was having fun with scissors tonight, (I know! Someone should totally watch that kid!) He has cut up things before and luckily nothing important...except a 2.00 off coupon...but when I stopped him tonight, and he was about to cut the couch along with the paper, I suddenly realized that this was not the end! This was the beginning of the curse!

Eli is so sweet that I have been thinking that I deserved him. When my mom wished for me to have a child like myself, I thought she meant that I was so sweet and she hoped that I would someday experience that sweet of a child. NOW I realize that she meant it in a bad way!

So now what do I do? Do I pass this curse down to future generations? Will Eli be cursed with children that like to cut up other peoples coupons...or hair? I am going to think about this long and hard before I make this sort of decision. It could change the world...but if he cuts my couch he is DOOMED.

Labor day

I know this is late but I just got the pictures! (none of me because I look like a cow.) We had a great labor day. We went over to the Broughs to break in the new fire pit...well not so much a pit but an area where you could have a fire if you had something to put the fire in. We made smores over charcoal. Hey a smore's a smore!




Baby Charlie isn't in these pictures because he was banished to the house by Eli. Eli doesn't like the sound of babies crying so he told Laurie to take Charlie into the house because he didn't like that sound. Charlie did go take a nap but not because Eli said.

I have really awesome in-laws. Stewart and I got lucky because we both like each others side of the family (we like our own sides too!). My dad takes Stewart hunting and Stewart's mom takes me shopping! Really it's perfect!

When Mommy's away

I went to the bank for a few minutes last night and when I came home I went into the kitchen and heard a little voice say "I'm having fun in here Daddy." The voice was coming from under the sink. I figured that Eli had hidden under there without his fathers knowledge so I told Eli that there were dangerous things under there and not to touch them ever. Then, later that night Stewart showed me the pictures that he took of Eli:

Eli at school

Eli had his "first" day of school. It was just an open house where the parents could stay with the kids and let them get use to the classroom and the teacher. We did a craft and had a snack and Eli made sure that every other child in the room knew that they needed to share.

This is Eli's picture that he made. After we made this he said that he was going to hang it up and trick his dad. So I warned Stewart that he needed to think that the picture was Eli. When Stewart came home Eli hurried and hid. Stewart talked to the picture then Eli jumped out to scare Stewart. Eli thinks that he is pretty tricky!

.73

On Saturday we went on a hike. Who has ever been to Mt. Olympus? It's kinda steep. Well our son wouldn't let us carry him or let up be in the front because he HAS to be the engine. So here is what happened: he would run so that we couldn't get in front of him, then he would get tired so he'd need a rest every 5 minutes. Stewart and I would tell him that we needed to keep going and ask if he wanted a piggy back ride. He would then run so that we didn't get ahead of him. It was a vicious cycle.

At one point he didn't feel that the hike was hard enough so he started to do some "exercises"





These are the exercises. They consisted of him bending up and down and saying "ew ee ew ah" over and over.

Well after about 1/2 a mile that took an hour Eli consented to being carried ONLY because we told him that he could see the squirrels better from up there.

I have to say that there is nothing better than seeing your little boy on his dad's shoulders. (I'm sure this is the same feeling if it's a daughter.) So we hiked .73 miles and then were done and Eli rode the pack horse all the way down.

Eli took a 3 hour nap that afternoon. Proof that running up hills is hard work!