Big Boy

It has only been a few weeks since I last updated the blog but it seems as if Eli has grown exponentially since then. Many of his jeans are now too short and his belly hangs out from under some of his t-shirts. He can reach the pedals on his tricycle and can get things off the counter that I thought were still "safe". His vocabulary also continues to grow daily and he is Mr. Independent. "I do it" and "mine" are two of his favorite sayings right now...much to the chagrin of his parents at times!

Eli was given a special privilege recently when the county brought out a gigantic bulldozer and trackhoe. Scooter let Eli "drive" with him several times as they worked on shoring up a bridge that connects two of the pastures here on ranch. When the county came to pick up the equipment Eli cried. He can make all the noises of the big equipment and loves to ride on the ranch tractors and backhoe.

Jeff and Eli found an enormous snapping turtle in the field one night as they were riding around on the 4-wheeler. It was a really neat find and we watched it for about a half an hour as it made its way toward the pond. It had an armored head and tail and could rise up about 6 inches off the ground if provoked (yes, Jeff tried to get it to snap). Eli would crouch down on his haunches and try to call it like a dog. It was really cute. Eli has also enjoyed looking at the "baby ribbits" in the pond as there are literally thousands of tadpoles swimming around in there right now. I hope they don't all survive into adulthood or the ranch will be overrun by frogs!

Jeff and I recently celebrated our 4th anniversary. He surprised me with a romantic night out. We have really enjoyed our first four years and can't wait to see what the next four hold!

We also celebrated Jeff's birthday this week. We enjoyed a steak dinner at Texas Roadhouse where he could watch some of the hockey playoffs. I caught the ear of our waitress while Jeff was away from the table and later he was embarrassed by a surrounding of waitresses who then made sure the whole restaurant knew it was his birthday. Maybe I should have thought about the paybacks that might come for my birthday in a few weeks...ooops!

Well, that is all for now but please enjoy the pictures.

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