Guess who's 2....Eli!!

Happy 2nd birthday to our sweet Eli! Matt and I cannot believe that our baby boy is 2 as it seems like just yesterday that we were holding him for the first time in the hospital. My how time flies! We feel so blessed to have him in our lives, and we are excited to see what the next year brings.

From last year...

to this year.

Such a big boy now!

Now for a more detailed look at what Eli is like at this 2 year old stage.

Personality- Eli is a sweet boy who already likes to joke with people. He is very energetic and is definitely 100% rough and tough little boy! Although he loves to play outside and run around, he can get very focused at times (particularly when his favorite shows are on). Eli can be quite strong-willed at times, but when he is corrected, he has quite a sensitive heart. He is strongly attached to Mama and Daddy (since that is who he spends most of his time with), and it takes a little time for him to warm up to other adults. However, if you get on the floor and play with him, then it does not take too long (just ask Aunt Dusty). ;)

Speech- Eli's vocabulary seems to grow daily, and I am constantly amazed by what he says (and what he associates with certain things). Some of his favorite phrases are "Where'd it go?",

"What are you doing?," "Where's Daddy?" (he asks that in the morning when he wakes up & Daddy is working), and "You ok?" (I ask him if he's ok when he falls down so he has picked that up and says it when he falls). In the past month, he has learned how to sing the "A,B,C's" though sometimes he skips a few letters. He also has learned how to count 1-10. Tonight, when I put a cupcake in front of him for his birthday, he started singing "Happy Birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday Eli" before Matt and I even started singing. It was so cute! I guess he learned it from us singing to him at his party on Saturday, and we sang it to him this morning when he woke up.

Play-Eli loves to play with cars, trains (and his train table), balls, stickers, bubbles, dinosaurs, and blocks. Also, he loves playing with the ride-on toys that he has (Maw Maw and Paw Paw just got him a Radio Flyer bumper car that he particularly loves). Eli loves being outside, and we make many trips to the nearby playground as well as the pond. We also go to the zoo often where he loves seeing the hippos, petting the pigs and goats, and riding the "choo choo train." Plus, he enjoys reading books, especially ones that have flaps for him to lift up. Some of his favorite TV shows are Super Why, Dinosaur Train, and Sesame Street (especially Elmo). Recently, he has fallen in love with the movie Jungle Book, and he starts smiling big when he sees Mater from the movie Cars.

Eating- Eli is quite picky at this stage (must have gotten that from his Daddy), but I am trying to broaden his horizons. He does not like vegetables, but he loves fruit. His favorite foods are pizza, chicken nuggets, nutella on wheat bread, yogurt, smoothies (which he calls "minis"), scrambled eggs, and cinnamon rolls. For drinks, he loves milk and water. I try not to give him juice very often, but he gulps it down when he gets it.

A few photos from Eli's birthday today:

(Eli actually got this for Christmas, but he was having fun on it this morning.)

The face of determination

At the zoo

You would think they were looking at an animal, but they were actually checking out some mini loaders that were moving dirt around.

Riding on the miniature train..Eli's favorite part!

We love you so much, Eli! And we are excited to see you become a big brother soon!

Love, Mommy & Daddy