He Pulled Up!!!

He did it! He pulled up for the first time last night! He had been pulling up to his knees at his Leap Frog learning table, and last night, he just put his feet under his knees and stood up! I was just amazed! I grabbed the camera, but was too late...ka-boom...back to the floor. But not much longer 'til he crawled over to our leather footstool and pulled up on that! So, I got a couple pictures there before he plopped back down to the floor. I'd better clear off that coffee table! I can just picture his little hands and arms sweeping all the contents to the floor...and then into his mouth.

Starting to Pull Up!

Eli is showing a lot of interest in pulling up! Yikes! Right now, he is mostly pulling up on his knees, but there's a stool by the couch where he will put his feet on the floor and his hands on the stool, and then put his hands up onto the couch. It doesn't last long, though, as you can see in the progression of pictures. He is also crawling at very high speeds! I had to build an "enclosure" in our downstairs family room with baby gates because he was going everywhere and it was hard to stop him! I would have to get up every couple seconds to catch him, and he does not like to be moved from where he is! Hannah is still wenjoying her Storybook Ballet class. This past week, they did the story of the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" (I don't know this story) but the outfits they used were beautiful! They were handmade by someone, and they were just gorgeous! I took pictures with my camera phone and here are a couple.

Going to the Park

It's finally getting warmer! Today was the first "outing" of Spring for us! Hannah, Elijah, and I went to the Purple Park in the neighborhood. Hannah got to ride her bike and Eli rode in his stroller. I was so proud of Hannah! She did a wonderful job riding her bike over there! It still has training wheels, but she was so good at controlling herself on it, and she learned to use the brakes and everything very quickly. Once we got to the park, Eli got to try out the swings, and he loved it! The first time I gave him a little push, he started to giggle. Hannah got some swinging in, too. It got a little breezy and chilly, so we didn't spend a lot of time out there, but it was great to be able to get out for some fresh air finally after the long Wisconsin winter! :)

Atlanta

We had a wonderful trip to Atlanta last week! We were there for six days, and had the opportunity to see many, many friends! Eli was so good--he was willing to be passed around from one person to another, and enjoyed all the attention. Of course Hannah loved all the attention she got, too! Ms. B even took her for a manicure/pedicure!! That was incredibly special! On Saturday night, we had a pizza party where many of my friends from North Springs (high school) were able to get together and meet each others' kids who had fun coloring together on the floor as the "grown ups" socialized. On Sunday, Alison, Virginia, and Alison's friend, Mary, took Hannah and Eli to the Georgia Aquarium. We saw some really amazing fish there! Later that night, Eli finally crawled for the first time...across the room to get Hannah's sticker book. It was great to see so many friends in Atlanta, and the whole trip was really great! I hope we can go back again soon!

Beth's Visit to Madison

Last weekend, my friend, Beth, came up from Chicago to visit. We had a really great time! She got to meet my grandparents who are here for the week, which was wonderful since they hadn't met yet. We had some great food while she was here, too--we had pizza, went to Hubbard Diner, and went to Bluephies! We also went snow tubing at Cascade Mountain! Of course the kids love having her here, too! Eli got to practice crawling and standing with her, and she helped Hannah count out her 100 crayons for the hundredth day of school. It was a really fun weekend! :) Come back soon, Beth! :)

Eli's First Ear Infection

Well, it had to happen sometime. Eli caught his first cold/cough over the weekend (from Hannah, who has had it for a week or two). He had a lot of trouble sleeping at night, and it got progressively worse. By Tuesday night, I couldn't put him into his crib without him screaming, and I couldn't get him to eat solids at all. We spent all of Tuesday night sleeping on the couch. So, I took him to the doctor on Wednesday morning, and she said that he had a very nasty ear infection in one ear and one starting in the other ear. So, now he's on antibiotics and is already starting to feel better. Unfortunately, I now have a sore throat, so I guess I'm next on the "cold list." Inevitable, I'm sure, from being sleep deprived and covered in Eli snot and drool!

Spinning With Eli

Maybe this was funnier in person, but Hannah brought her Sit-N-Spin downstairs last week, and somehow Elijah ended up on his tummy next to it, and loved just putting his arm out and spinning it. He did this for a really long time, but as is always the case, as soon as I pulled out the video camera to record it, he decided he was done with it. But I got a few seconds of it to share. :) (and now that I've really got the hang of how to put videos onto the computer, I'll probably be posting more of them!) :)