Party time!

We had Eli's birthday party at our house on Saturday and it was so much fun! I have to admit that I was seriously stressing about it because the 100% rain forcast was putting a damper on our plans to have the party outside on our large deck. I had no idea how we would fit 30 guests in our not-so-large house; but thankfully, God heard my urgent pleas throughout the day and the rain stopped right in time for the party! (big sigh of relief :)).

Here are some pics from the festivities.

Yummy hotdog!




Of course as soon as we lit his candle he wanted to go straight for the flame.

Okay, now go for it! Mommy wants some good cake smearage pics and just knows that you'll tear into it.

No? Here - I'll help get you started.

"Mooomm...." Everyone's looking at me! Get me out of this high chair!

Needless to say, the special little miniature cake that we got for Eli remained entirely in tact. (much to mommy's chagrin :( ....)

Moving on to the loot.




We love you so much!

Also, I realized the other day that it was time for another football comparison shot.

One year!!!!

Eight months:

Five months:

One month:

Happy Birthday Eli!

Has it really been a year already? At exactly this time one year ago we were in the hospital anxiously awaiting your arrival. It seems like yesterday...

One year ago I couldn't imagine what life would be like with you. Now I can't imagine what life would be like without you. You are such a joy and blessing in our lives and it's so exciting to watch you grow and learn new things every day. I do wish that I could freeze certain moments and keep them forever. I feel like our lives have been going in warp speed since you were born and I know that you're going to grow up way too fast!

I'm amazed that it's possible that in 365 short days you went from being this teeny tiny 2 pound baby:

To this active, rambunctious big boy!

And who would've thought that this is how your mommy would look on your first birthday?

Not me.


So what are you up to these days?


The most exciting news is that you've taken your first steps by yourself! You officially took your first steps last Thursday (May 7th) and had a few more over the weekend, but then decided to take a little break and started up again yesterday! You're taking about 3-4 steps at a time, so I'm sure you'll take off any day now. I would post a video showing off your new skill, but you don't seem to want to cooperate with the camera.


You're not saying too many words yet, but you seem to have "Dada" mastered. In fact, most of the time when I try to get you to say "Mama", you get a very mischievous grin on your face and say "Dada" instead. Haha. Hilarious.... :)


You've recently learned how to shake your head "no" and do it constantly. I'm not sure you know what it means yet, but it's cute. I'm sure it will remain that way until you do learn what it means and then it may lose some of it's charm.


I love you, bud. Happy Birthday!

Family Vacay '09

Last weekend, we had our annual Zannis family vacation in Chattanooga. Here are some pictures from our trip.

On our way to the Incline Railway!

Gettin' ready to climb the mountain.

Grammamma and Pop with the kiddos.

Family pics at the top of Lookout Mountain.

Eli and Daddy in Veteran's Park.

Eli and Ali with Pop

I love those curls!

My view looking down. Whoa, what a big belly!

Eli chillin' in the hottub with Aunt Rachel and Ali.

Of course, when we were packing up to leave, Layla parked herself next to the car and wouldn't move. She's always scared that we'll leave her.

So that was our trip! We had a great time!

11 months

Is that crickets I hear out there?

I know, I know. It's been awhile since I posted. But, I'm horrible at taking pictures regularly and my daily life really is too boring for an every day (or even an every week) blog post. I'll try to do better Mom, Granny, MIL, FIL, Aunt Cathy, and the handful of other readers I may still have out there :).

I took this video a couple of weeks ago of Eli laughing at J.C. "fake boxing" behind the couch. He really thought it was hilarious. The video is difficult to see (we have low lighting in our living room), but the sound is really the best part anyway.

Here are a few more random pics that y'all may enjoy.

Eli discovering Layla's doggie door.

Out we go. Fun times...

Ali and Eli havin' some fun in the sun. Look at my big guy standing up all by himself!

Eli knows that it is a big no-no to play with Layla's water bowl, but sometimes the fun to be had is just too enticing for him. I looked up from doing dishes the other day to find this.

Yep - he's sitting in the salad bowl (which I often let him play with while I'm working in the kitchen) while splashing around in the water. Now I do realize that the appropriate reaction would have been to sternly correct him instead grabbing the camera and trying to hide my giggles. But then I would have missed this great photo op. It may not have been my best parenting moment (seeing as how it seems recently that we're back to square one with the water bowl issue), but it's one heck of a pic, don't ya think? :)

Can you believe that Eli will be a year old two weeks from tomorrow? A year old!!! I can't. Time is going by way too fast..... Stay tuned for birthday pics!