9 months old

Eli turned 9 months old on Sunday. As hard as that is to believe, it also feels like he's always been a part of our family. Eli is truly a GIFT to us! He's such a loving and happy boy!
Here are a few stats on my bouncing baby boy!
-He's weighing in at just over 20 lbs.
-He is VERY mobile, but he scoots on his belly-not a real crawl
-He loves the orange vegetable baby food, not the green stuff
-He started saying "Mama" on Saturday while we were in the car. He's said it a few times since.
"Da-da-da-da" has been going on a couple of months, but mainly when he talks, he and Sawyer are yelling back and forth at each other...VERY LOUDLY!
-He has 7 teeth-four on the top and three on the bottom and can chew like a champ.
-He's the favorite in the nursery at church. The sweet nursery workers fight over who gets Eli. Doll face! :)
-You can see his defense mechanism against his big brother...he'll pull the stew out of his hair, but he's also in awe of everything Sawyer does.
We're definitely in love with this little boy!

My Big Boy

Sawyer is a "big boy" these days. He's officially given up his paci and crib, so I wanted to make sure I document these monumental occassions.

About a month ago, late one night after bathtime, we talked about how he might need to give his beloved bah-bah to the cows (THANK YOU, Shonna, for the idea). Sawyer said, "I do want to give my bah-bah to the cows." I figured I better jump at the opportunity while he was excited about the idea, so I take him in the dark to a pasture near our house. I grab Walker's boots on the way out the door to try to avoid a snake bite in the process, and I tie dental floss to the OLD paci, so I can tie it to the fence for the cows to come get. When we get out of the car, the cows start mooing LOUDLY in the dark and head for us. Sawyer was scared of this whole situation (I can't blame him-they were LOUD and BIG) and wanted to get back in the car quickly, so I tell him we'll just throw it to them. He says, "Okay!" (like let's just get out of here.) He did great until we pulled back up in the garage, and he said, "bah-bah!" He was so sad when he realized it was gone, but he was also proud of himself, so he pulls it together and comes in to tell Walker he gave his bah-bah to the cows. He does fine until bedtime, and as part of our routine, we say our prayers. Then, he gives me a kiss. This has always involved the bah-bah. So, after our kiss, he reaches for his mouth to pull out his bah-bah and realizes it's not there. OH NO! That night was ROUGH to say the least....after about 10 minutes of crying, we let him get up (which is VERY rare), and he comes and lays down on the couch. We try the bed again after he gets really sleepy, but he cries again. I go to my bed and squall. I feel like a terrible mama for making him give that piece of plastic up (thinking...was it really that bad for him?), and I also hate that our little baby is growing up. The next three nights he cried some over his bah-bah but surprisingly, not too much. (I, of course, went back to that pasture the next morning to save that precious, nasty bah-bah.)

Now, he just tells me he's a big boy, doesn't need a paci, and he gave it to the cows. He's so proud of himself, and to say I'm proud is an understatement...amazing what these little boys do to me! :)

So...anyway...over the last month, he's told me lots of times and lots of other people that he's a big boy. So, last night, he was EXCITED to move into his big boy bed.
He's never tried to crawl out of the crib, so I thought I'd leave well enough alone, but he's just been so proud of the paci deal that I thought I'd give him another reason to claim "big-boy status."
OH MY STARS! I love being these little boys mama!
We've been to Hartselle this week to meet Baby Caroline (finally). I hate we missed being in Enterprise for the arrival of Miss Allie Beth Colvin, but we did have a fabulous time. The trip was complete with a trip to Point Mallard Tuesday with my friend, Suzanne (you know? my friend, Suzanne!), during the day and back with Katie and girls Tuesday night. We also visited Decatur's splash pad and new park-both fabulous! I loved our time there. Caroline is PRECIOUS! I hate I don't have a new picture of that TINY girl, but she's precious!

Sweet Shelby....I could eat her up!

Granddaddy & Eli enjoying the Splash Pad

Katie's mini-me....(aka Grace)

Sawyer & Julia running at the Splash Pad...When Walker asked him what his favorite part of the trip was he said, "Julia!"

Little Eli's getting to be a big boy too! :)

McClelland's Critters & Williams Beach Trip '09

Last week, a group of girls from church and our kiddos ventured up to Banks, AL to McClelland's Critters. It was once a zoo for handicap children only, but in order to pay the bills, they have opened to the public. We enjoyed it. When we parked the car, the goats met us in the driveway. We ate our lunch, and then Mr. Mike (who's an Austrailian man with a thick accent) took us on the tour of all his critters. He tells you all about all of them and makes the lions and tigers growl, and he gets the snakes out of the cage so you can wrap it around your neck if you're feeling brave. We enjoyed it. I'll go back if anyone wants to go.

It was about 105 degrees on this particular day. Can you tell Eli's ready to go? :)

Sawyer didn't know what to think about the monkey.

He drank a Diet Coke and another one ate a bag of chips and got MAD AS FIRE if Mr. Mike tried to take it from him.

The next day we headed to the beach...

Last weekend was our annual beach trip with the Williams side of the family. We went to PCB Thursday and came home Sunday. We had a lot of fun, but I admit having two kiddos at the beach is also a lot of work! It's AMAZING how much stuff is required for a weekend getaway! I love these boys more than I could try and explain, but I watched ladies lay on their floats out in the ocean without a care in the world, and I thought that sure does looks nice!

Actually, Walker did keep both boys with him in the condo for nap time, so I did spend a couple of hours each day just soaking up the sunshine. I am very fortunate to REALLY like my sister-in-laws! I got to spend some quality time with Jennifer and Diana, and the more time I spend with them, the more I like them.

Eli was a trooper the whole time. He seems to enjoy life in general, and I think he's about as easy going as any eight-month old (definitely my easier one right now). Sawyer liked the ocean, building sandcastles and loved the pool...but when someone shot a firework while we were out looking for crabs Saturday night, he had a BREAKDOWN! It scared him to death. He just buried his head in my chest, and there were no words to console him until we made it back to the elevator. He told me about 50 times, "I don't like that noise." I HOPE we'll have fun tomorrow night watching fireworks. He's acting excited, we'll see! There really is no telling!

We didn't quite make it down for a beach shot...Maybe next time! :)

Here are all the blonde Williams children (with the excpetion of Eli so far!)

Thank you to Mendy & Beth for my fun day today! Y'all make me want to move back to Andalusia tomorrow! Y'all better come here next time!!!!