The story of 'Duh and the Llama'

We traveled to North Carolina last weekend to attend the MusicFest 'n Sugar Grove (see http://musicfestnsugargrove.org/). Little did we know what we had in store!

The drive up wasn't too bad.... we left Wednesday night and drove a little more than half the way and stayed in a nice Holiday Inn in Columbia, SC. Eli was a little freaked out by his new surroundings, but quickly adjusted the next morning when he realized they had a 'tt' and mom turned on Noggin.

He enjoyed Aunt Sandi's a great deal. When we were there last around Chrismas, he wasn't quite walking. This time around he was fully mobile and took complete advantage.

Uncle Doug took mom and Eli to visit the cashmere goats and Silverado, the llama. Silverado is responsible for protecting the goats and takes his job VERY seriously. Eli was absolutely SMITTEN with Silverado, and Doug by proxy since Silverado wouldn't come up to anyone else, and only to Doug when he was offering grain.


Eli wasn't very interested in the goats, but wasn't afraid at all when they all rushed in to get their share of the grain.

Pretty much the whole trip long there was no more mama. Mama became llama (or as best as Eli could pronounce it) and Duh (Doug) was Eli's new best friend. We took several trips down to see the llama and goats, and Eli enjoyed everyone!

Eli did go to MusicFest 'n Sugar Grove both Friday and Saturday... he really enjoyed the fact that there were a ton of other children running around! The first thing he did when we went Friday evening was run up to one poor hapless little boy and put his hands on his throat. I calmly explained that Eli was trying to tickle him and although the little boy looked terrified, he smiled weakly and said OK until Eli took his hands away and decided to chase down another victim.

Granma accompanied him at the festival for a little while Saturday while dad enjoyed the music and mom went to an auction. After a few hours of chasing Eli around, granma was worn out!

He even decided to adhere to what he thought was a llama practice, only to find out later it was closer to an Austrailian Shepherd.... herding. Here he is in action!


Eli also got to visit the cows up the road from Sandi and Doug. There were several calves, and it was very sweet when he saw one of the calves nursing and turned around to mama and made the sign for milk. He catches on quick (or now thinks his mom may a cow, we're not really sure)


He also got to see a few donkeys (standard and miniature!), burros, other goats, sheep and another llama, but he remains true to Silverado and can't wait to see him next time!


The ride home was pretty uneventful... we went half way again, this time staying in a Ramada Inn in Beaufort, SC. Not as nice as the hotel on the way up, but I guess sometimes you get lucky and sometimes not so lucky when booking your stay on Hotwire...

Thanks Aunt Sandi and Uncle Duh!

Task Master!

Here he is vacuuming... we do have 1 long haired cat, two dogs and a mama that sheds like crazy... how do you think you keep wood floors clean?

Reading books to those that can't (OK, Uncle June (in Eli-ese) was reading 'The Wheels on the Bus' to Eli in an attempt to upstage Gampy D)


Paying homage to those we hold in high esteem (Buddha in the bamboo garden at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville - http://www.kanapaha.org/)

Picking 10 lbs of blueberries in heat and standing water with mosquitoes to make dad happy. OK, this trip near Gainesville was a little over a couple of pounds. A later trip for which we have no pictoral documentation yielded a little more than 10 lbs and Eli was extremely happy to help us eat blueberries right out of the bucket).


Making a nutritious and satisfying meal for those you love... OK, granma cooked the spaghetti here, but Eli obviously enjoyed it immensely!

Taking the family car out for a spin... ok, maybe that's a stretch, but here's Eli enjoying RAM (http://www.riversideartsmarket.com/) his way.

Giving friends tours of local attractions... (here are Eli and Holden at the zoo in the Asian exhibit. Funny enough, Holden was explaining to Eli how he was the grown up and Eli was the baby)...

But after a long day of chores, there's nothing more relaxing than kicking back and playing dress up:

Enjoying a little fun in the sand and sun

Catching up on all those library books before they become past due (Eli really enjoyed the Knut book to his left in this picture)

Enjoying a little liquid libation. What can we say... he likes his straws!

Sharing a smooze with Holden on the front porch

Enjoying the surf at Ponte Vedra with Amanda

And of course, wearing mom's shoes!

Well, now that he's walking, we might as well put him to work!

And put him to work we did! First the lawn:

Then we made him clean the yard art, with his tongue none the less.

Then we made him go off in the wild exploring for exotic butterflies at the Natural History Museum in Gainesville. He really liked the museum because there were quite a few Eli sized things for him to get his hand on.... all except butterflies, though he tried a few times.

Then we made him model his new sunglasses (Julbos) and flip flops that Andy got him when he was a newborn.

Then we made him eat chocolate ice cream at the Florida Folk Festival. As you can see, he really didn't like that chore.

We also made him swing with Uncle John, just because Uncle John needed some special Eli attention.

Then we made him play on the jungle gym at Spring Park in Greencove.

Then we made him travel around the house in his backpack... he needs to start getting ready for school after all. Here he is taking a quick breather. He can't believe what a task master mom really is.

When it was all said and done we let him have a little rest in Harper's Hello Kitty playhouse,

before making him play at the splash park at the zoo with Holden and show off his summer abs he's been working so hard on...

Though we don't have pictures as evidence, we also make him put dirty clothes in the hamper (he also likes to take his clean wipes, one by one, and place them in the hamper, just to mess with mom) and vaccuum the house.

Harper decided Eli needed a little break and decided to share her swing with him... for a little while at least, until he started man handling her.

I tell you, Eli's got it pretty rough. Next on the list, rubbing mom's feet!

Eli's 16 Months and Walking!

Believe it or not, he's walking all by himself! Granted, he's been walking for a few months now when it suited him, cruising around the coffee table, going from chair to chair, pushing his walker wagon down the sidewalk, but now, he's walking all by himself! Game on, dad! :)

Since we haven't been as diligent lately in posting notes and pictures, here are a few since last we updated everyone on Eli's progress.

Eli's quite the social butterfly! He loves to hug and kiss on other children, much to their shock and awe. He attended the Green Expo, the Riverside Arts Market (RAM) and a farewell to Jennifer at Down to Earth Farms (his CSA - see http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110308/lif_350415269.shtml for more details about the farm) this weekend. Here's Eli enjoying the strawberries from his own front yard that he loves to pick and eat by himself. Notice the new sign recently added, courtesy of Victoria. Eli's an urbfarmer!

This is a picture of Eli and his new friend Sydney enjoying the zoo and Harry, the new baby jaguar...

He loves his new bed that Gampy made for him. In fact, we joke that he camped out in it for a few days. In all honesty, he does spend much more time in his bedroom than he ever did before and loves to sit in the cab and look at books or blow kisses - literally- on the window.

He's had a lot of fun in his new turtle pool courtesy of Victoria (thank you).

He can imitate the dogs, cat, a lion, a cow, the train and has come up with a new logo for mom and dad - mommydada and loves being pimped out for St Johns Riverkeeper... see him below modeling the new spring line, the envy of toddlers everywhere:

We'll shoot some more video that's more accurate of his walking capabilities, but here's a taste of what's in store from when he first really started getting around by himself without any props... check out the Robot Walk:

Mom's Birthday Extravaganza Weekend

Eli spent mom's birthday extravaganza weekend this year at Indian Springs State Park in Georgia. We had a lovely cabin that Eli thoroughly enjoyed exploring and got to spend some quailty time with Uncle Joe, though it was colder than all get out... seriously!

Never one to let tradition die, dad maintained the annual tradition and treated mom to a dinner of mixed veggies and chicken and dumplings from the local Dollar General... no, Eli did not sample them this year.

Won't you be my valentine?

Y, Eli

It seems like it has been forever!

And looking at the last post to Eli's blog, it has been! Wow, where has time gone? Since the last post, before his ONE YEAR birthday, its a different ball game!

Eli is still pulling up on things, with much more grace than he had in months past. He's even got a bit of a daredevil streak. He likes to go no hands for a second or two. He's starting to crawl on his tippie toes with his behind high up in the air. He likes to peek out the front door... the only problem is that he's also decided to take a taste or two of the door which is scary in a house as old as ours.

He has amazing dexterity, or so his dad claims. To be honest, he does have really good fine motor skills and loves to pick the lint or cat hair off the throw rug and proudly present it to you.

Eli's starting to sleep through the night! For the past few nights (and hopefully this won't jinx it, considering it is mom's turn to put him down should he wake up), he's slept from 8P to 6:45A relatively soundly. Once he wakes though he is immediately signing for a bottle of milk.

Oh, and he's signing! Just a few key signs, but it helps him communicate what he wants - food, milk, his own version of more. Amanda is focusing on please and thank you now. Next I think will be poopy or new diaper though its pretty obvious now when that is needed. He's starting to eat by himself with utensils. Amanda is a little braver than mom and dad with the runny stuff, but he LOVES to mix raisins into his yogurt in the morning then eat with his spoon, kind of, as his 13 month picture to the left demonstrates. He doesn't always make it right in.

He has a few words - mama, dada, uh oh, meow and quack are pretty clear. He'll kind of say Amanda, imitates spaghetti o's(as in uh oh spaghetti o's), imitates the dogs barking, kind of calls for the dogs and Antigone by name. Mom and Amanda heard him say thank you once, but we're still working on it.

Eli loves to wave hello and bye bye. He'll kind of blow kisses - more like hold his hand to his mouth and get it nice and slobbery. He does love to give big open mouth kisses though.

Eli's started to exhibit attachment to stuffed animals. He has a tiger from Victoria and a beaver from Nina that have been in his crib for forever, and just last week, he started wanting to carry them around with him and will motion for them. He'll even growl like a lion for a reaction.

Eli had his first bout with a stomach bug. Not fun for dad or Amanda, since dad's back seat and Amanda's hair received the brunt of his wretching. The actual vomiting only lasted a few hours or so, but it was a pretty scary time considering he's never had anything like that. The next day he was back in action for a belated birthday picnic with Harper, Brian and Gayle. Too bad Eli ended up sharing his bug with the Rice family.

Transportation these days is a backpack mom wears (a Becco Baby Carrier for all the baby wearers out there), a stroller (which Bonzo prefers so he can ride underneath when he gets tired), his Radio Flyer car or his gi-normous wagon (again, favorite of Bonzo's), or dad's shoulder's in a pinch. He likes to crawl up and down the sidewalk out front, but has a tendency to try to eat dirt and mulch.

He's still pretty much eating anything you put in front of him. Green beans and veggie dogs are favorites, but he also likes munching on peeled apple slices, LOVES raisins and dried blueberries, likes fish sticks and chicken pieces. Sweet potatoe is acceptable now too, especially if it has OJ and maple syrup to sweeten it. He tried kale for the first time... I'm not sure it was a huge hit. He loves to eat out, especially at the Fox for breakfast so he can be a voyuer like mom. He still likes to share his food with Jordan, though mom and dad are trying to stop that habit.

He loves to sneak a peek of mom in the shower (over the shower rod, since dad can lift him), likes to take showers with his dad and will submit to a bath once a week or so (he likes to do his part to conserve water). He loves to play with his ducks, pirate figures and the shampoo bottle in the bath, but doesn't like getting water in his face too much.

He still hasn't had a haircut! His hair is pretty long when it is wet, but as it dries, it gets pretty curly in the back.

Here are a few pictures of Eli from the last couple of months:

The big '#1' birthday party - all the kids marvel over the plastic toy. Eli with Uncle Shawn, the plastic toy offender.

Eli at Sandi and Doug's in Vilas, NC. Eli's with Dusty (a neighbor's cow that had a calf just for Eli to see!) and with Lydia, one of Sandi's cashmere goats (betcha didn't know cashmere came from a goat!)

Eli peeking out the front door:

Eli wearing his oh so trendy hat Aunt Sandi knitted. Doug liked to call it his Hail Hitler hat.

Eli watching President Obama's inauguration. Mom and dad don't typically let him watch tv, but in this instance, made an exception.

Dad and Eli at Hontoon Island.... we really wanted to go to Blue Springs to see the manatees, but there were already too many people in the park, so we went to Hontoon Island instead and almost spent the night (sans food and diapers) since we got lost on the trail. Mental note to self... ALWAYS get a map, no matter how much dad trusts his instincts.

Eli practicing with a spoon...

And grandpa reliving the poopy diaper experience first hand: