Eli & His Betrothed

Eli and Gracie. Gracie and Eli. No matter how many miles separate them, no matter how many months go between their visits, they still seem to have a connection. Maybe it's because they were born within 48 hours of one another. Maybe it's because Gracie is pretty much the only girl Eli has ever had in his circle of friends. Maybe it's because they're both so darn cute and they can't resist each other. Whatever the reason, I'm glad they get along so well.

The last time Eli saw Gracie was almost six months ago. (A recount of their other visits is found here.) He has a few pictures of her up on his bulletin board, so her name gets brought up from time to time, but for most kids, outta sight = outta mind! When I told Eli over the weekend that we were going to see Gracie, he got all excited. He immediately reminded me that she had an 'coo-stick' guitar. He also told me that he was going to play (guitars) with her. So this morning came and we loaded up the car, guitar in tow, per Eli's request. We met Gracie and her mom (whose name Eli knows very well, even though we haven't discussed it since January when we last saw her) at Monkey Joe's. It's your typical 'jump castle' gym; very similar to our Kangazoom. The (BIG) upside to MJ's was the three separate inflatables that were designated for ages three and under only. They were interesting enough to hold Eli's and Gracie's attention while still allowing for Maddux to be in there with them. Speaking of Mad Dog. She ATE. IT. UP! Loved crawling through the tunnels and over the obstacles. Her favorite part was exiting the netted area and sliding down the exit ramp. Good thing I was there to catch her, because it was a long way down and she would have ended up on the ground. Not that she gave that any thought!

After the kids jumped for about an hour, we drove over to a nearby park to eat lunch. After we finished our food we walked around the pond (full of ducks and a few varieties of geese) on the paved path. Maddux was in the stroller and the older kids walked a little ahead of us. All of the sudden we looked up and Eli and Gracie were hand in hand. Just like that. I'm not sure who initiated, but it was not a forced situation, so obviously they both thought it was a good idea! A few pushes on the swing later, I packed up the kids for the drive home. Maddux was asleep before we even hit the highway (it was 1:15 by this time and she played right through her morning nap). Eli is still talking about his date with Gracie....the kid is in love.