One-On-One Weekend

A few months back, Eli got to fly to Florida with Lehr to see the last shuttle launch. Maddux and I had a great time, but of course a trip alone with Daddy (on a plane!) is a bit more exciting. This past weekend she was able to accompany Lehr on a Florida trip as well. The kids' great-grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday, and since we couldn't all make the trip, Lehr and Maddux represented.

This meant 3 days of one-on-one for Eli and I. I was very excited since the two of us don't get a lot of that quality time together. I had many things planned, but I knew we'd only get through about half of my list. Saturday we played some board games, planned our dinner date, and ran to Target for new tennis shoes. (The shoes are apparently the main thing he remembers about the weekend; he ran around at church yesterday telling EVERYONE, "I've got new shoes!!") Eli had a game Saturday afternoon, so we spent a good portion of the day at the fields. Eli played well, running the ball to first base once to make an out.

After the game, we rushed home to get ready for our sushi date. When faced with the choice of many restaurants for our dinner date, Eli chose sushi immediately. When we got home, we watched a new "Oceans" DVD that I got Eli for his birthday. He was in awe the whole time, watching all of the animals and marine life on the big screen. The movie ended just before the FSU game started, so I let him stay up a little later to watch the first quarter. Eli now knows the FSU cheers and a little bit about how the game works.

Though Eli slept in his own bed Saturday night, he did creep into mine around 7AM on Sunday. Though he stayed quiet, he did not appear to be tired when he first came in, but 15 minutes later, he was snoring again. I obviously closed my eyes as well because the next thing I knew, I woke up and the clock said 9:20. I guess we wore each other out on Saturday! We rushed to eat breakfast and get to church. Eli and I had to then grab lunch on the way back to the field: 1PM practice. It was a GREAT practice for Eli. The coach gave Eli some great tips about things and even let him try his hand at first base. Eli has been able to stand at first before, but he has never been 'schooled' properly in what to do, how to stand, etc. He got that opportunity yesterday, totally to his delight.

After practice we came home and practiced more. Eli loves to play baseball, so the thought of an afternoon still open was too much for him to pass up. We drilled some hitting points and then went into pop flies. Eli does so well at home, but game time often flusters him so much that he misses fly balls that are hit right to him. One day... From there we went to the back yard to make a few tie-dye shirts. We bought the stuff to make them just before school started, but time hasn't allowed for us to complete the project. Eli was so excited to make two shirts. By this time it was close to dinner. Eli had asked for pancakes for Sunday breakfast, but our sleeping in had prevented that. So we ate them for dinner instead!

The last piece of our weekend together was a bike ride. I'd planned on a few of these, but Eli turned me down each time I suggested it until last night. We rode to the pool and back - about 2 1/2 miles by the time we were done. Very hilly (for his little legs) miles. He did great; he never complained about getting off to walk, or run, his bike up the hills. Finally, bedtime. I let Eli sleep in my bed as a special treat, and (of course) I took the opportunity to snuggle with him as he drifted off. It took all of four minutes before he was lightly snoring. I do love that kid!!