Ryan, Steph, and the Boys: January, February, and March

Hello world! Yes, we are still here. Somehow I blinked and it is already the end of April. Where did the past few months go?!? We have some catching up to do.

January was pretty low key. Our resident team of superheroes have been joined by their newest member, Super-Eli. He now loves to run around the house with his brothers wearing a cape.

Saturday fun with Dad is always exciting when tanks are involved! Dad and the boys all make their sturdiest tank out of Duplos and then battle each other. The last tank standing is the winner!

Eli has a new obsession...Disney's Planes. He will watch that movie over and over with a little smile on his face and planes in his hands. Each morning, he runs downstairs, points to the TV and says, "ZOOM!"

No one was more exited than me to have "Gammy" come and visit for a few weeks! The boys loved spending time with her. They read Farmer Boy, played with toys, ate yummy food, and chased each other around the house every day.

There may have been some teasing involved. ("Grandma-Boston" and "Austin-Boston")

It was a sad, sad day when Gammy left. Please come back soon!!!

Happily, we were able to have Grandma Susan visit in February a few weeks later. The boys showed off their dance moves for her.

Grandma Susan was nice enough to stay with the boys while Ryan and I escaped to the Oregon Coast. We try to have one trip together each year. In the past we have traveled to Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean. This year has been branded "The Year of the Budget" so we wanted to do something a little more low key. Turns out staying close to home is so much fun and way less stressful! No airports or flights to worry about, no planned excursions to coordinate, no schedule of any kind to keep. Ryan's parents were nice enough to let us use their beach house so all we had to worry about was which restaurant to try next.

Even though it is winter, it was sunny and fairly warm the whole time we were there. We took advantage of the great weather and found some great hikes. Our favorite was Drift Creek Falls. Look at this amazing bridge!

A view of Drift Creek Falls and the bridge from down below.

Love that there is forest right next to the ocean

We did a lot of walking while we were there, usually just around the neighborhood. Who knew buoys make such great yard decor?

This is the reason for all the walking. So much amazing food!

Beach walking by Proposal Rock

Checking out the Newport Harbor

The sights (and smells!) of the Newport Harbor

Beach walking again so we could be hungry for dinner.

This was our splurge dinner with a gorgeous view. The food was great too.

Nothing better than watching the sunset with your sweetie while you eat a yummy dinner!

The last morning we found some nearby tide pools.

We are excited to show these to the kids, they will love the mussels, sea urchins, and starfish!

Coming back to reality was harder than expected. (What? I have to cook again?!?) Fortunately, we really missed our goofy kids. Sweet moments like these made it easier to adjust back to real life:

Eli crashing while Austin tickles his back

Sam writing furiously in his notebook. He loves to write more and more!

Sam's writing has some surprise consequences. Now we are confronted by "Keep Out" and "Sam and Austin Only" signs all around the house. Thank you Kindergarten :)

In March, Eli turned 2!!! I still can't believe he is so old now. Here are his 2 year old stats: 31 lbs (84%ile), 36 inches tall (92%ile). He still loves to read books and if I sit down for more than a second he will plop down on my lap, book in hand. He is starting to play with Duplos and will run over to show me his latest creations. Eli has the greatest smile in the world, despite having chipped 3(!) teeth already. Luckily they are not too noticeable. Cars, Cars 2, and Planes are his favorite movies. He will ask all day to watch "Zoom!" (Planes) or "Car!" (Cars 1 or 2). His big brothers have gotten a little tired of those selections but will sometimes still let him watch his favorites.

Eli learns new words every day and can mimic pretty much anything. Some of my favorite are "Yummy" and "Ma-ee" (Mommy) and "Da-ee" (Daddy) and "Sam". We are working on saying "Austin" but it is still a little tricky. I love that he usually says the sound an animal makes rather than the name. So, if we show him a picture of a dog he will say "Ruff Ruff!" or a cat he will say "Mee-ow". I will be sad when that stage is over.

Eli loves to be outside and will ask me "A-Side?" (outside?) 10 times a day. Luckily for me, we have a cute neighbor named Abby who will play outside with Eli and help me keep an eye on him.

"Eyes"

We sure adore our little man and all his goofy expressions!

We had a family dinner that night to celebrate his birthday. Uncle Carson and Aunt Catherine were nice enough to join us for burgers and tres leches cake.