Camping and Such

This weekend, Sean and Nathan went on a campout with the men at our church. I hear that they had a blast. All of you moms will appreciate this one...I got a call Saturday morning, and the other voice on the end of the phone said, "Hi, Mommy!" What a way to start the day! :) And THEN, I heard, "I pee-peed on a tree!" Oh, great! I proceeded to tell him that he could ONLY do that on campouts...after he told me that he wanted to do it when he got home!!!

While they were gone, Elijah and I spent some fun Mommy and me time together. Well, we didn't really spend time together on Friday. I had actually planned to take my best friend out for fondue (she'd never had it!) for her birthday on Friday night long before the other campout was ever planned. Two other great friends of ours watched Amber's two boys and Elijah so that we could go out (thanks, Carol and Carin). We went to The Melting Pot in Addison. Can I just say, "Yum!" I forgot how much I love that place!!! Fondue is some of my favorite food. We did the Big Night Out - a splurge, for sure. However, after further debate, Amber and I both agreed that next time, we can do the cheese fondue and dessert and totally skip the meat! :) Of course, we can probably go more often if we skip the meat because that's the most expensive part. LOL Anyways, we had a great time and had lots of laughs...which was something we both needed!

Saturday was really the day that Elijah and I spent together. Did I tell you that this kid's vocab has exploded?! Yeah, I guess I mentioned that. Well, the "quiet weekend" that I thought we'd have turned into something quite loud. He really does have a voice when big brother isn't talking all.the.time. "Mama, tootie-ta -tootie-ta-tootie-ta-ta pease!" Tootie-ta is a song that the boys like on a Jack Hartman CD that we have. I just could not believe that my 23 month old was requesting it!!!

On Saturday morning, I took Elijah for his 2 year photos. They're adorable, and I promise to post them when I get them via email. I'll post Nathan's then too - just realized I never posted them. And, if you ever need some awesome studio portraits, I suggest Target! They have done a great job on my boys this year. They are very reasonable too.

We had to pick up a few groceries after pictures, and Elijah did well since I brought his lunch along to keep him occupied. However, as we were checking out, he decided he wanted out of the cart and tried to stand up. When I asked him what he was doing, he looked at me in annoyance and said, "Done!" This is similar to his "Stuck!" when he's in his carseat. Did I mention he's becoming vocal??? LOL

After pictures and a bit of grocery shopping at Target, we had to go to Willow Bend Mall to pick up a birthday gift for a dear friend. So, newly independent, we did it without a stroller! Elijah did well - although I carried him through much of our walk through Saks. :) After getting the gift, we went to take a peak at Santa as I knew he had arrived at the mall that day. Of course, he was at lunch when we first got there but was due back at any moment. So, we waited...and what better way to pass the minutes with a toddler than to ride the escalator up and down! As soon as we got up, we saw that Santa was going down. So, we raced over to go down and say HI to Santa before leaving. As soon as we got to the bottom of the escalator, Elijah started saying "No!" very adamantly. But, as I explained that Santa was nice and our friend, he relaxed. We went to the fenced area in front of Santa where Elijah waved and blew kisses to him. It was so sweet. We plan to visit Santa and his reindeer later this month when they arrive here in Allen.

We then headed towards the house, and Elijah took a nap in the car on the way home. He stayed asleep at home, but we didn't stay long so his nap was cut short. We met my mom and sister at a local church where my MOPS group was holding a children's carnival. Elijah went dressed a Elmo - will try to post a picture of that soon too. He was so cute! His favorite games were those that involved balls. LOL

We stopped at Dollar Tree on the way to my mom's house to pick up items for a shoebox we are filling for Operation Christmas Child with our MOPS group. Yet again, Elijah decided he was too big for the cart. So, he walked alongside me as I pushed the cart, and he did quite well - esp. considering how busy the store was. He found a small outside/bouncy ball and carried it around happy as a lark. He followed me when I said, "Come on" and stopped when I told him to. Hmmmm...I wonder if he could teach his brother and Deuce a few of the obedience tricks.

We then met my mom, sister and future sister-in-law for dinner at Chick-Fil-A. That's when Elijah showed them his distaste for CFA nuggets - I do not KNOW what is wrong with this child. He likes McDonald's nuggets and not CFA?! He doesn't know what's good! It was there that he showed them his new trick - holding food in his mouth until it is mush, gagging on it and having to spit it out. And he thinks we haven't figured this one out???

From there, we went to a local Christian bookstore that was having a big sale Saturday only. We got some CD's for $8 each!!! We then closed the evening at my mom's house before returning home to meet Daddy and Nate (who was asked about ALL weekend..."Mommy - Nate?!") before bed.

We had a great weekend, and I hope to have pics soon. It's too late to edit them tonight, but maybe tomorrow. A friend got some of Sean and Nathan at the campout too so I'm hoping to get copies of those as well. Oh, and I found out something new about my Nikon point and shoot (the friend from church has a similar one)...I can take pictures in black and white, sepia, vivid color, etc. I've had this camera for 5 months now and didn't know that. I guess I should check out my camera more!!!