Random Updates

Eli helped Lehr clear the leaves off the back porch this morning. We've had a lot of rain and cooler temps this week, so our yard, driveway, and deck are unrecognizable. Eli and I have raked for the past two days, but Eli's version of raking includes Mommy raking leaves into a pile and Eli raking them out of the pile. He was also little help to Lehr on the back deck. Instead of a rake, it was a broom, but a very similar process.

Last night we went to our bi-weekly small group dinner. We get together with several other couples, most of whom have small kids, so it's usually semi-organized chaos. In the midst of it, Eli picked up a new skill: hugging. Until now, Eli has not wanted to put forth the effort of contributing to a hug. He'd receive or he'd kiss you, but he would not put out his arms and squeeze. As we were leaving he finally decided to do it, and then we could not get him to stop. In fact, he hugged one little girl so much that she finally said, "He's squishing me!" To which Eli laughed and repeated "Skish-me!" over and over. Maddux pulled an 'all-nighter' by not nodding off the entire three hours we were there. Not to mention the 30 minute drive on either end of the visit. She was exhausted when we got home; I think she was actually mad at me for putting her pjs on before I put her in the crib!

While I ran to the store this afternoon, Lehr put Maddux in the backpack carrier. No pictures yet (since I was not home at the time), but he said she enjoyed it for almost an hour while he cleaned the garage.