An apple a day...

Grandma was given some small apples from an apple tree and she gave some to me as they are the perfect size for my little hands. I LOVE apples! Mommy sometimes cuts them up for me but I prefer to eat the apple in one piece. I love them so much when I was at Auntie Jenny's I ate the whole apple, core and all!

Look what I got!


Mmmm...


Mommy asked for a bite of my apple and I tried to offer her toast instead!


Oh, you want some apple?


Here you go!


Nothing goes better with an apple then milk.


I have been going to daycare now for over 2 months and I really do like it there. I still cry when Daddy drops me off in the morning. And when Mommy drops me off in the afternoon, often I will cling to her leg and not let her go. I am making progress though as the last morning Daddy dropped me off, I didn't cry, I just gave him the lip. I was brave though. I knew he would be back for me...and he was! There are lots of kids for me to pay with there. So I am a busy boy all day long!

My latest thing to do, which keeps Mommy and Daddy busy, is I like to throw my toy balls through the baby gate and down the stairs. I throw one at a time, watch it roll all the way to the bottom, and then I go and get another ball and do it again. It is so much fun to watch the balls bounce down the stairs!

Well, it is time for my nap. I am pooped!
Talk to you all again soon.

Love Eli

Camping Trips and Birthday Parties

So I am officially done camping for the season. My last camping trip was in the middle of August with Mommy, Grandma and Grandpa Jarina, Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Hume, Auntie Jenny and cousin Cailey. Uncle Terry and cousin Jeremy came out for supper one night as well. We went to Loon lake. The weather was nice and I had a lot of fun. My favorite thing about camping is the swimming. I just love the water!

Grandpa showing me a turtle he caught with his bare hands! I have never seen one before.


Tuckered out and sitting in my wagon after a busy day of swimming


My puppy Berkley loves to swim too


Chillin' in my playpen


This past Sunday Mommy, Daddy and I went to my friend Graysen's 3rd birthday party! We had so much fun. I ate lots of cheesies, ran around chasing after the older kids, got my face painted, ate pizza and cake, and did crafts. Graysen got lots of princess toys and clothes. I got a great gift bag full of toys and treats. I was tuckered after the party and fell asleep on the way home.

Me with a balloon tied to my pants


Smiling for the camera


"Talking" with my new friend


Mmmmm...Cheesies!


Lion or Kitty?


Graysen the birthday girl


Thanks for looking,

Lots of Love,

Eli

From Babyhood to Toddlerhood!

So I had my official 1st birthday party on Saturday July 14, two days after my actual birthday and I had so much fun! There were lots of people who came to help me celebrate. Grandma and Grandpa Kirby came down from Regina. Auntie Jennifer and cousins Ashley and Jordan came as well. Also there was my Grandma and Grandpa Jarina from Sparwood, Auntie Jenny, Auntie Jenn and Graysen. I got a lot of neat gifts and had my first taste of birthday cake. It was a bright blue Finding Nemo cake and boy did I make a mess! It was a hot day so we spent a lot of it outside enjoying the weather. Thanks everyone for coming!

Of course what is a birthday without messy cake pics!:

That is me, the birthday boy!


Here is my 1st birthday Finding Nemo cake


All smiles


Testing out how far these crazy adults are going to let me go with this cake!


Diving right in


Yummy! I think I can get used to this cake eating thing...


...but not quite used to the mess. I am a Kirby you know!


Happy Birthday to me


They day after my birthday party, Mommy went back to work after being off for 13 months. She was sad to leave me, although that day I was at home with Daddy. Daddy had to get up bright and early that day. The next day, Monday, Grandma and Grandpa Kirby babysat me. I am sure they were tired by the end of the day. For the rest of July I was taken care of by Auntie Jenny and Mommy's friend, Courtney. It wasn't until August 1st that I actually spent my first day at Julie's house, my day home provider. Daddy had to wake me up bright and early, just after 6:00 am and when he dropped me off at Julie's house around 6:30 am, I cried. I cried again tne next day and still have not gotten used to being dropped off there. Julie says I am fine though once Mommy and Daddy leave. Daddy picks me up from Julie's around 5:00 pm so it is a long day there. There are lots of kids for me to play with and I even have a girlfriend, Hannah, 18 months, who I love to chase around. Julie can't believe how much I can eat and wonders where I put it all. So far I am doing well at my day home, much to the relief of Mommy and Daddy. I only spend maybe 2 days a week there so it isn't too bad at all.

Mommy and Daddy cannot believe how smart I am. The other day Mommy gave me some crackers to snack on. I was sitting on the floor eating my crackers out of the bowl. Mommy was filling out some forms on the coffee table. Mommy looks up to see my carrying the box of crackers from the kitchen. I finished my crackers and obviously wanted more so I went to the pantry and found the box on the bottom shelf and brought them to Mommy. I sure do like to eat.

I went camping with Mommy, Grandma and Grandpa Jarina, Auntie Shelly and Uncle Terry over the long weekend of August. Daddy had to work so he stayed at home. While camping I met some new friends who were camping close by. We also went into the States for a couple of hours to do some shopping and on the way home we stopped at the First and Last Chance bar and Grandpa had me sitting on his lap playing Keno. He said I kept wanting to hit the max bet button but he didn't have enough money. Nothing like starting me young hey? That was my first gambling experience. Daddy would have been proud.

Mommy gave me another haircut as the last time I went and got it cut at the hairdressers, Mommy wouldn't let them take much off. With the heat in Calgary my hair seemed to be bothering me as it was over my ears and I was always scratching at them. So Mommy pretty much gave me a bowl cut. The first day it looked really funny but it has grown a bit and actually looks cute.

That is all for now...

Eli

Update - We have a walker!

After Mommy posted the birthday entry of my blog, her, Aunty Jenny and I went to the waterpark to cool off in this hot weather. While at the waterpark, I was walking quite well holding on to one of their hands. Soon after though, they would let go of my hands and I started walking!!! Mommy and Aunty Jenny were so happy. I would even get back up by myself if I fell down and did quite well walking up a small hill. I was walking all over the place at the waterpark. Now that I know I can do it and it doesn't hurt so much if I fall, I think I kind of like this walking thing!

~*~*~ Happy 1st Birthday ~*~*~

Since today is my birthday, Mommy wanted to say a few words.

Well, my little baby boy is now 1 years old today, July 12, 2007! You can hardly call him little anymore, and he definitely doesn't look like a baby. He is growing up so fast! I get comments all the time, when I tell people Eli's age, how big he is and how he looks a lot older then he is. He looks like such a little boy now, with his full head of crazy blonde hair and his jack-o-lantern smile. It seems like so long ago that he was a newborn with that sweet newborn smell.

Today, unfortunately, his birthday started out with his 1 year immunizations. He got two needles, one in each arm, and he was not pleased at all with those! He cried hard but recovered quickly. He was in such a good mood while we were in the nurse's office spinning his strollers wheels and humming away like he always does when he plays. Then the nurse had me sit Eli on my lap, which I did, and he just sat there smiling at the nurse. It was hard for her to poke his arm when he was looking at her with that big grin of his. But she did it and he survived. Upon weighing and measuring him, it was determined that he is slightly above average in both height and weight categories when compared with other children his age. He now weighs 23 lbs 3 oz and measures in at 30 1/8 in. On average babies will triple their birth weight by age one, but Eli a few pounds short of that as he was 8 lbs 15 oz at birth. The nurse was pleased with how he is doing through. No worries there. Now will just work on dropping his last bottles of formula in the day so he is strictly on homo milk, which so far, he seems to be doing very well on.

Not only is Eli growing like a weed, his little personality is growing stronger everyday. He is definitely a stubborn little guy and if he wants something, he will let it be known with the kicking of his feet and screeching. He can be very loud! His latest favourite thing to do is to throw things, anything he can get his hands on. He throws his toys just to see where they will land. He will pick them up over and over and throw them back down again. This is a fun game for him. An unfortunately target has been the glass panel on our t.v. stand. When he is in his high chair, he will throw all of his food on the floor, then look down at it on the floor as if to say "what is my food doing on the floor?". Berkley loves this game and has gained a few pounds as proof.

Along with throwing things, Eli loves to explore the drawers and cupboards and everyday he seems to take out our collander and cheese graters and throws them on the floor. Once he does this, he then proceeds to push these items across the floor. He also likes the pots and pans cupboard and throws the lids on the floor every chance he gets. When you open the dishwasher, no matter where he is in the room, he crawls over as fast as he can and pulls himself up and tries to take the utensils out of the dishwasher. He also opens the t.v. stand door and takes out his Einstein dvd cases and plays with them.

Not all of his activities involve throwing things though. He has mastered his ring toy stacking the rings on the post in the correct order and claps his hands along with Mommy when he is done. When reading a certain book he loves, if we ask him "where's baby?" he opens it to the page with two babies on it. He waves bye-bye by opening and closing his hand. He loves his Daddy to chase him on the floor on his hands and knees. He has mastered walking with his push toy and can get around the house in no time maneouvering the corners all by himself. If he sees a blanket, he will put it over his head and play peek-a-boo. He is always discovering new things everyday.

Eli is not quite walking yet, he still prefers the fastness of the crawl. He has taken five steps. He stands for quite a while by himself and I can tell he wants to move his feet and walk, but I think he is scared. So for now he is happy walking while holding onto our hands or pushing his toy. He will walk when he is ready.

Today Aunty Jenny is taking Eli out for lunch for his big day and this evening we will just have a quiet night at home. On Saturday Eli will have a birthday party with family and friends.

This past year has been the best year of our lives. Being parents is the most wonderful, exciting and rewarding experience we have ever had. Chris and I are truly blessed to have Eli in our lives. We looked forward to the years to come as Eli continues to amaze and amuse us every day! Happy Birthday monkey. Mommy and Daddy love you more then you will ever know.

Here is a look back at Eli's first year:

Welcome to the world


2 weeks


1 month


2 months


3 months


4 months


5 months


6 months


7 months


8 months


9 months


10 months


11 months

My first Calgary Stampede with my friend Graysen a few days before my birthday


1 yr old today playing in my new sandbox that I got for my birthday