"New" Bed

I took the side railing off the crib last night. Daytime is almost under control, but still having issues with potty training at night- he is such a deep sleeper, nothing wakes him up- as we could tell from our trip home in Feb when he slept through getting off the plane, in line in the cold, travel in the van, checking into hotel- all without ever waking up!

We went upstairs to pray and tuck him in. I wish I had a camera to take his picture and catch the excitement when he realized the side railing was missing! He ran over to it, excitement evident in his body, pantomiming where the railing used to be.

Then he ran and jumped onto the bed, jumped up and ran over to us.


"Can you believe it? Mommy Daddy look at this!!"


We checked on him a few hours later, and I had to get my camera.... This is what we saw....


He slept through putting him back to bed- and this morning, didn't remember this at all- wondered how we got this picture :) Yes, that is him, sound asleep on the floor next to his bed, curled up into the fetal position to stay warm.

First Bike Ride

On Thursday, Eli I met with my friend Amy and her little girl, Haley. Amy said Haley was bringing her bike, did Eli want to ride, too?

So, I knew Aunt Paula had a bike that Wes had outgrown and they had been storing it for us for when Eli got big enough. So we went over and got the bike and gave it a bath, got it all cleaned up, put air in the tires and on the way to Kidzville, we stopped at Walmart and picked up a helmet and elbow and knee pads.

I have some great pics and video on my iphone- hopefully soon to be on the blog :)

He did great!!! He got right on the bike and went and went and went. Sooo amazing!

At end of day, he said he couldn't wait until he was big enough to get a bike that had emergency brakes on them, like his cousins/.....

Papaw's Surgery, Papa's birthday

Papaw was scheduled for surgery to replace his old, worn out knees. The day, time and number of knees to be replaced all changed the week of surgery.

Eli went to visit Miss Melanie- whom he loves to go and play with!! while we all went to the hospital. Papaw did great!!

We brought Eli the next day to visit and say hi to Papaw and got there just in time to go for a walk down the hallway with the PT guy. Papaw went slow and steady- we were so proud of him!!

Later that evening, after I got Eli all ready for bed, we made one last trek down the hall to go potty. He stopped, and I thought he was doubling over- like maybe cramping. I became concerned and asked him if he was ok. I realized he was going very very slowly, and then he said-...I'm walking like Papaw!

Papaw did so well, he was able to come back home on Monday- just 2 days after his surgery!! Also, Tim's birthday. I had planned to take Eli to Daddy's work along with a cake and surprise Tim there for his birthday. However, he stayed home that day so he could go help his dad home from the hospital, and Eli removed any surprise we might have had by asking about 20 times for the chocolate cake we were making later that day to eat for breakfast!!

So, surprise thwarted, cake made, I brought over lunch which we shared with the family and then Tim went to Tat's and got pizza for supper with chocolate cake with Tim's family celebrating with him, instead of just us. It was a great day all around!! Daddy's cake!! Perfectly chocolate chocolate cake with reeses cups in the batter and a peanut butter chocolate frosting in the middle. Yummy!!

God is good!! We are all so thankful for Papaw's speedy recovery and that he continue to heal so quickly!

Forrester

Yesterday we went shopping. Big ticket!! We bought a new Subaru Forrester. It is so nice. Eli has been telling people you can put a hole in the roof!!

Too funny- when we went looking the first time, Eli said he wanted a balloon. Yellow is his favorite color. Guess which vehicle was the only one with a yellow balloon on it?? hehe

More pics to come, once I find out how to transfer pics from my iphone...

Palm Sunday

Tim sang beautifully in our cantata today. We were able to break for a minute and get a snap shot together between services. It was nice he sang- it meant he was here today- and then back to work tonight- but we got to have a little breakfast and lunch together. Whooo Hooo!! We are so thankful for any extra time with Daddy!!

Here we are
I have several more posts I am working on- but can not get the pics to load- so, sometime soon, scroll back and view the happenings over the last 2 months :)

Blessings and May you all have a WONDERFUL EASTER!!

Easter Sunday- We went in a little early, and Eli got his picture with Papaw!! He picked out the suit at the store all by himself... He said, I want to get a suit to look just like Daddy!!


Eli and Papaw
Then we got a pic with Papa, who had gone in early to sing.
Happy Easter!! Love, the Swingle family!!

Subaru vs Deer

There once was a big boy named Daddy. One day when he was driving to work, at Newton, he hit a bump. When he got out, he saw it was a deer, and the car was jacked up.
The adjuster came and looked at the car, and said he could not get a new car, because he had to get it fixed.

So is how the tale is told by Eli, of the day that the Subaru was side tracked by the deer. Or maybe side smashed, no, hmmmm, well- you can determine that.....

Thankfully, no damage was done to Daddy!!

I do chuckle, because every time we see the deer crossing signs on the road, Eli begins the tale told above, with few deviations.

We had to wait a long time for the adjuster to show up yesterday. "I'll be there around 1- probably quarter till" turned into around 2, maybe quarter til 2. But what blessings God has for us when we least expect it.Eli and I arrived at about 20 til 1. As we were sitting there in the truck, next to the damaged vehicle (Tim had left it at the Fire Department where he worked the day the car tangoed with a deer) the terribly gray clouds and rain we had dealt with all morning, gave way to big, picture worthy clouds, bright sunshine streaming down, a gently breeze wafting through the open windows of the truck, birds singing cheerfully all around and such a wonderful Spring feeling.
Sitting behind the wheel, with the book propped up on the steering wheel, we finished our library books we were going to return while we were out and about. Then we began to notice the thwack thwack of a helicopter. It got continually louder, until finally, Eli leaned over toward the window and said, "Mommy, look!!! The helicopter!!"It landed at the helipad the department had installed a few years earlier when working with Medflight. It needed to refuel, and had been able to land there rather than flying further into town for another helipad.
Oh the excitement!! As we were standing there watching the blades slow down, the alarm went off at the fire station and we watch the medic, with all the bells and whistles, tear out of the garage and speed down the road.
The Chief of the helicopter is one of those wonderful child friendly folks, who love to watch the wonder unfold in the faces of children. He came over and told us once they were done refueling, Eli could sit in the cab, if he wanted to......
His face says it all....

The adjuster showed up just as we were ready to sit in the cab. So, we let him know we'd be right over once Eli got to sit in the cab. What a wonderful day!

On our way home, we got to meet with the woman who will be watching Eli for me on the Wednesdays that Tim works. We all hit it off very well, and I think all three of us are looking forward to the next day that Eli will be going to visit with his new friend.

Gotcha Day

Gotcha Day
Wow- what a day in our lives- the day we celebrate becoming a family. Our first day as parents. As Eli has been saying- the day we got married.

So, here are the last few years of gotcha days:

I love this painting. I have had it hanging on my fridge since we first started thinking about our son. Still there :)

Just found this pic- this is how I imagined Eli until we met him. I prayed and prayed that God would hold him close!
This was our first picture of Eli- not quite gotcha day- but our first view of him, none the less.
Our first few minutes as Eli's parents, just before we left the baby home to start our new lives together.
Last year, we had Eli dedicated on Gotcha Day. It was such a special day to be able to dedicate Eli to God.

This year gotcha day was a combo celebration- we celebrated at Tim's family get together along with Mamaw's birthday, and had our own little celebration the next day as a family- have that video on my new iphone- hopefully will be able to share soon- anyone know how to get pics and videos from iphone to laptop?

Thank you, God, for the amazing things you did to bring our family together!! We celebrate so much today!!