water!

It was a very hot day!
So we met up with uncle J and went to a nearby park with a water feature.
Eli played so hard in the water once he figured out how fun it was.

sushi baby

Who needs 2 chopsticks really?

5 minutes with daddy

And we love every second.

water

Eli just discovered that the patio/terrace of our building has a water feature. He picked a dandelion on our walk and then enjoyed dunking it over and over in the water. Thankfully it's a shallow water pond and he shows no interest in using it like a pool. Just drowning dandelions.

the tape measure

Over the weekend we took our trusty tape measure with us places, you know, just in case we might need to measure something, or even swing it and swipe it against things. And now the weather is finally pretty sunny, so we'll be shedding the coat! Though our morning walks are still chilly...

Busy!

The days have been full. The weeks sometimes long. We are counting down another week until a big stretch of "the difficult" is behind us. No doubt more difficult lies ahead, but we need to enjoy each little step and more importantly each little break. They are so good these breaks when we are all together for more than a few hours a week. In the meantime, we still find time to get outside and find sticks and climb on things and pass the time. And I love watching a little boy who is oblivious to days and weeks and just really wants to play and be full of joy. Such a simple, sweet existence childhood is. And often the best of all toys for this guy is the outdoors!

Smiles

Of a boy with a balloon!

Where is that baby?

I was getting Eli ready for his bath, clothes off, turned around and his feet went pattering away. He does love being naked. So I took a minute to put his dirty clothes away and then went on a hunt to find him here. Happily in between our pillows with his beloved duck and dog. He was pretty proud of his hiding spot.

Frozen strawberry!

On a hot day.
We both enjoyed it.
Until it met it's end in the sandbox.

little reader

this busy little guy will slow way down when there's a good book! he really loves looking at books on his own. then he'll bring one to us and make it known he'd like some lap and reading time. it's quite sweet.

sunniest may weekend portland has ever seen!

We lived it up.
Pulled out the burley, if not to just remind myself how I love a Craigslist deal. No biking, but it works well for long walks on rugged-ish terrain. We went for breakfast to our favorite walkable spot and then trekked over to the farmers market. Post nap we went to happy hour at an awesome Peruvian place where Eli sat like a little angel for such a long time. Maybe we need to acquire an etch a sketch? Is that how you spell it? Anyways, after eating we went to the park and let him ruuuun. Great day! Truly felt like we were on vacation. Oh, and the night before a friend came over to hang out while Eli slept and we went out for a late dinner with friends (the kind where entrees arrive at 10 and we linger over glasses of wine).

So we feel the blessing of these sunny, special days together. They really do come at the right time. Given when we need them.

Sandbox!

We returned from a walk to our first long sandbox play time. He loves it. And is finally understanding its not edible after many reminders from his mama! I've even figured out that if I strip him down to a diaper when coming inside that sand coming in is kept to a minimum. But he just loves it so a little sand is a small price to pay.

to the beach we go!

Our day in pictures...