Aunt Abigail & Uncle Joe!

On the way home from Pennsylvania we took a slight detour to see Ab & Joe. Abigail cooked us a fabulous breakfast, and Joe surprised us by taking his lunch break really early. Abigail inspired me to put effort into decorating with her super, super cute apartment. (Perhaps I should add some color to my house?) They are some of the people at the top of my need-to-live-close-to list.

Elijah had a fun time playing with Jackson. He kept crawling into the dog carrier - yuck! (But we let him do it because he thought it was SO FUN...that's the kind of Mom I am.) Elijah was also fascinated with their cat, Humphrey. Jackson liked Elijah; Humphrey did not.

When we were sitting down to breakfast, Joe said, "Wait. What does Elijah's shirt 'I'm a big brother!' mean?" Abigail jerked around from the stove, staring at me with her mouth wide open. It was so fun to be able to tell them in person. This new baby will have cousins very close in age on both sides of the family. Best friends???? ~:-)

Two Mommas and THREE Babies:

Pennsylvania Day Four: The Two Millards

Millard Filmore & Elijah Millard:

A sweet kiss: (How many of these dear kisses have I received?)
All of us:

My little boy, looking sweet, with his great-grandparents:
Which soon turned into:
We have never been able to get Elijah happy on GiGi's lap!
"Elijah. Would you like to see my bracelet?"
Grandma telling a story and making a typical face:
Elijah happily playing with his sticks:

Pennsylvania Day Four: The Pool

While Great-Grandpa and GiGi took a nap, we headed to the neighborhood pool. The pool/park are frequently visited by us during any Pennsylvania trip because it "has the best swings in the world" per Eric, is a short walk away from the retirement community, and is located near Ye Ole Bake Oven. The walk allows you to take in the rich, manure-filled air - a trademark of the Pennsylvania countryside. (And, yet, the above-mentioned air is often preferable to the aforementioned heat of the apartment.) After decades of visiting, I've actually become fond of the odor. Really.

The kiddy pool is so huge at this park. Elijah was delighted to find it partially full of balls. Daddy taught Elijah how to throw them into the water.


My Daddy is so cool!
Then, we helped Elijah ride this little teeter-totter. He LOVED it, and let us know by screaming with delight the whole time.


This makes me want a neighborhood pool; it was so fun.

Pennsylvania Day Three - Visiting

We were able to visit Aunt Janet (Elijah's great-great-aunt!) in the morning at "Hemlock Hill the Second." Annie and Elijah got along quite well (of course). Aunt Janet fixed us sandwiches with meat from the Market and strawberry-rhubarb pie, per my request. Elijah even took a nap in the spare bedroom!

Next we visited U.A.T.P. (Uncle Al's Tomato Plantation). The title is not much of an exaggeration because his tomato plants are completely out of control. Elijah broke two things within the first five minutes of our visit (one being a present from Mike and Mags - sorry guys!); after that we kept him outside. I was feeling particularly nauseous that day so I attempted to take a nap with Elijah. He found this HILARIOUS and, of course, never went to sleep. We ventured back outside to enjoy some grilled hot dogs and hamburgers.

A few of the crazy plants: Uncle Al let Elijah pick (and taste) a couple of the cherry tomatoes. He also enjoyed eating this rubber ball:


It was so nice to see you Uncle Al!

Infanticide

In light of the good news we are celebrating in our home and with many of our friends, this is even more despicable.

Why do we persist in killing those who are most vulnerable?

Baby Explosion!

Elijah is a BIG BROTHER!!!

AND a BIG COUSIN!!!

AND a BIG COUSIN AGAIN!!!



One set of the happy grandparents:


We are super excited that God has added to our family in these three ways, and especially for the little baby that will be living in our home. Praise the Lord with us...for children are indeed a blessing!

Pennsylvania Day Two: A Fall

At our house, Elijah often peeks around the shower curtain when Daddy is in the shower. It is so funny because he tries to be sneaky, but never succeeds because he is so loud. Eric still gives Elijah a big reaction each time. This has been a safe activity because Elijah has not (yet) been able to get into the bathtub.

Alas, in our Pennsylvania dwelling the shower curtain merely shielded a shower - a shower with only a 2" rim around it. Elijah burst into the bathroom ("Whaaahahha" is typically his noise of choice), flung open the shower curtain, and promptly fell into the shower with Eric. Sadly, Mr. Moose also fell in the shower. Eric said, "I just looked down and saw my Teeny laying on the bottom of the shower." Eric and I could not stop laughing, despite Elijah's startled and upset countenance. That is what I get for getting Elijah ready for church first.

We succeeded in attending church without any more major incidents. After church, we ate in the dining room with Great-Grandpa and GiGi. Our table was right by the exit. Elijah quickly discovered the enormous hallway just outside these double doors. It was slightly more appealing to him that staying in his highchair for two hours~:-) Down the hall, outside the bank, Elijah found an entire basket of DumDums. Thereafter, he immediately ran down the hall to the basket every time we let him loose.

Eating in the dining room always involved a little drama, mostly because there was about a 70 year age gap between Elijah and the rest of the diners. Since we sat by the entrance, EVERYONE stopped and said hello to Elijah. He was sometimes friendly, sometimes shy, and sometimes stole their canes.

Great-Grandpa & GiGi's - Day One

First let me say, Pennsylvania is a VERY, VERY LONG WAY AWAY. We love our family very much; unfortunately, this does not shorten the TERRIBLY LONG DRIVE. Momma and Elijah tied for most complaining during the TRIP THAT WOULD NOT END. I think we need a tv in our car. Oh, wait, Elijah won't watch tv.

Elijah helping unpack: This may be a sign of things to come; he is really good at emptying containers.

Much of our time at Great-Grandpa & GiGi's was spent on the deck due to the temperature of their apartment (think warm, exceptionally cozy). This was just great for Elijah. He found little pieces of wood which he could BANG! BANG! BANG! and a broom, which had uncanny similarities to the aforementioned oar. He was often tempted to "drop" one of these fun toys through the railings, but was kept from doing so.






My grandparents are so fun - they even have His & Hers rocking chairs!