Arizona Trip - Let the Vacation Begin - Part 1/5

On June 26th we headed to Scottsdale, Arizona for vacation. This trip was special for several reasons. First, it was our first family vacation with Elijah. Second, we were able to keep our tradition of spending our anniversary in a different place for 20 years straight! And it allowed us to see our dear friends, Pam and Gil. They were our neighbors in Sienna and are our travel buddies. From the time we got there till we left, we had a wonderful time and were treated like VIPS thanks to Pam and Gil.

Leaving Texas:

Checking everything out

Safety first

Ready for take off - This was Elijah's first time to fly and he did great!


Arriving in Arizona:
This was a basket of goodies that Pam and Gil had for Elijah when we arrived. This was just the beginning of them spoiling him big time during our visit. :)


Enjoying our friend's pool soon after our arrival. They bought Elijah this cute float and hat.


Sunday, we checked out the Cave Creek area. This is where Pam and Gil live. It is about 15 minutes right outside Scottsdale.

The mountains in the area

A unique shopping center in Cave Creek

Local art work

The restaurant we ate at on Sunday. It is the oldest Mexican restaurant in Arizona.

Elijah enjoying the yummy salsa and view

The remaining 4 parts of this post will be coming soon. :)

19 Months Old

I haven’t done an update for Elijah in two months. So, today as our toddler turns 19 months old, I thought this would be a good time to post one. The posting is mainly for our records, but we hope you will enjoy reading it too. :)

•Enjoys his car seat better now that he can watch DVDs.
•Willing to try new foods, but continues to be a picky eater
•Can make the sounds for a dog, lion, elephant, and duck
•Can walk backwards without falling down, tries his best to jump, and has just learned to stomp his feet -in a good way :)
•Knows the colors yellow, blue, and green – When he is unsure of the color he always says yellow
•Can turn on the washer and dryer :(
•Continues to love being outside
•Interacts with other kids instead of parallel playing only
•Does not have a favorite toy/toys but still loves anything with wheels
•Will be taking his first airplane trip this weekend
•Goes up and down the stairs now with more confidence
•Takes longer naps now and continues to be a very good sleeper at night
•If I say “A” he will say “B”, if I say “C” he will say “D” and sometimes he will say “E” too
•Can show us one and two using his fingers (showing two just started a day ago)
•If we say we are going bye-bye, he will hold up one finger and knows he can go get one toy to take in the car with him
•Waves to all trucks we pass or he sees and says bye-bye
•Waves bye-bye to airplanes when he sees them.
•Goes beep-beep when he backs up in his little Tikes Coupe
•Insist on saying a prayer at meal time & will say amen when we are done
•Repeats bye-bye when he’s in a surrounding/environment he is uncomfortable being in.
•Has eaten watermelon and cherries
•Loves playing at all 3 pools
•Can open doors (We now lock the bathroom door when we go in)
•Gives us squeeze hugs when we ask for them
•Takes our hand to lead us somewhere or show us something

Vocabulary *New Words
Mama
Dadda
Elijah*
Nana
Pawpaw
Tries his best to say Grandma and Granddaddy but comes out Mama and Dada (we’ll get there eventually)
Amen *
binky
off
up
DVD*
empty*
Bac&Mindy* our neighbors/friends
Brayden* - his friend
love you
night night
help me *
Hi
yes*
guac (for guacamole)
book*
ball*
Can sign thank you and please

Mommy and Daddy love so much and we are so proud of you!!

Daddy's Hat

Elijah has come a long way with his willingness to wear a hat. But Daddy's hat is always better. :)

What a Fun Week!

Summer has started off very busy but FUN at our house.

On Tuesday, we started parent-child swim lessons here in Sienna. It is basically a fun class to help children to feel more comfortable with being in the water. We go two times a week for four weeks. Elijah LOVES it and Byron and I have a great time as well. As you can tell from the pictures below, Elijah wanted to hang out at the fountain in the pool.


Wednesday we attened a "Sneaky Chef" play group. It was a great way to have all the kids try new foods. Elijah actually tried several new things and seemed to like most of them. But...

He preferred to play with the toys instead

Mrs. Erin and Sophia - our Sneaky Chef hostesses

On Thursday, toddler story time began at the Sienna library. This was Elijah's first story time. Yes, I know I got a late start taking him to story time, but like they say, better late than never. :) Again, our little guy made us proud with how well he did.

He liked the stories but he seemed to really enjoy the songs/music.

Then Thuray night we had dinner with Erin,Perry, and Sophia. We meet Mrs. Erin and Sophia at Gymboree. We later learned that they belonged to the same play group as us. It was a very fun evening. I didn't get a picture from that night, but you can see Erin and Sophia in the Sneaky Chef hostesses picture above.

Saturday, we had the Boyer's over for dinner. It was a wonderful night! We always have a great time with Danny, Shannon, and Brayden.

The boys enjoying a little story time

Mrs. Shannon and Brayden - our sweet friends :)

Let the fun continue!

New Things at the Start of June

Ready for the first bike ride in the trailer we got Byron for his birthday.


Elijah enjoys being read to. But now he is showing more interest in looking at books all by himself.


Even when he gets one in his kid's meal. I promise we did not pose him for this pic. :)


Our sweet boy has also started eating grilled corn-on-the-cob that his daddy cooks for us. He seems to like the crunching sound it makes when he eats it.


He even ate some watermelon yesterday and like it! But of course, when I tried to get him to eat some again today, he wouldn't. :(

Memorial Day Weekend

Having fun with sidewalk chalk


Seeing his new water/sand table for the first time


Checking it out


Let the fun begin!


Elijah liked going down this frog slide!


Just chillin at the bucket pool :)


We hosted a neighborhood cookout on Monday. It was a lot of fun even though it was HOT!




Elijah had the best time trying to ride this tricycle. It was the cutest thing to watch!


A HUGE thanks to our men and women in the service- past, present and future- we owe our freedom and our very lives to you. May God bless you and your families for all that you do.


I forgot to post a picture of the finished swing set that Byron and my Dad built... so here it is! We enjoyed it as well over our long weekend.

Smile for the Camera!

Today Elijah had his 18 months (year and a half) pictures taken. This photo session was a challenge because Elijah did not want me leave his side. Yes, unfortunately, we are going through another round of separation anxiety. :( Also, we could not get the toy away from him to get a picture without it. Luckily though, in the end, we did get a few good shots. It is hard for us to believe that his next photo session, our sweet Elijah Boo, will be two. Wish we could freeze time! He is growing up way too fast!


My favorite :)

Love all those teeth!

We LOVE you little man!