Playtime with Michael

More of Ireland

Ruedesheim, Germany

Ireland

We stayed at this wonderful thatched roof cottage about 20 miles North of Dublin. The cottage in the back is that of the owner. Ours was just a little ways up the path.
Beautiful day, but just the night before there was a constant 20-30 mph wind along the beach. It was amazing how fast the weather could change in Ireland.

Time for a beach walk.

This is the jellyfish that Eliot stepped on while coming back from his beach time with Mom. I watched him do it. It was intentional. I thought to myself, "Surely, he wouldn't step on that would he." I was wrong. Didn't seem to phase him though.

Yeah, we were just as amazed as you. (Usually, he spells it with two Ts)

If you look real closely, you can see a stringer from Eliot to the top of my head. Now, that's some quality father son bonding.

The StorehouseIt wouldn't have been a true trip to Dublin if we missed the tour of the Guinness Brewery (i.e. The Storehouse)

Enjoying our complimentary brew at the 7th story gravity bar. The 360 degree view of Dublin was very cool. We had a hard time convincing Eliot that they were now making orange Guinness, but he eventually believed us. If you can't trust your parents, who can you trust, right?

Digger

I wonder where Eliot ever got the idea that digging could be fun.?

Maybe it's even better to manage other diggers.

We'll see.

Happy Day

Today, Eliot made his first poo on the potty. We've had a couple of successful pee pee trips, but this was the first productive #2 on the potty. Such a proud day in a parent's life :) For all of you waiting on more pictures, we thought we'd omit this one. Some things are just not made to be Kodak moments.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth

I must say, I am truly impressed with Dave's investigational skills. He even beat out our resident entomologist, "the golden child" by a few minutes. However, Scott did provide a link to a very nice website with a description of these interesting moths: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphingidae

First Beaver Blog Competition!









So we had this really cool bug in the backyard, and Andy decided to get all fancy with the camera. The little critter was fast though, so these are the best photos he got. I am offering up some good German chocolate to the first person who can correctly identify the genus and species (and common name for those of us not so scientific). There should be a certain member of the audience with a distinct advantage... no pressure :)

Aquarium Trip

Eliot likes to drive, whether it is cars, his tricycle, or this boat. Let's just say he likes to be in charge. Don't know where he gets that from...

Aquarium petting zoo - Eliot got to touch a starfish, sea anemone, and spiny urchin (OUCH!)

Dad and Eliot wowed by the shark and ray tank.

Fishbowl

Such a boy (or should I say, such BOYS!)

Eliot has been recently fascinated by all of the following things: Trucks, Bulldozers, Excavators, Tractors, and Dirt Diggers. Let's just say that yellow is certainly the favored color, and John Deere is a dirty word in this house. Once a CAT family, always a CAT family.

Sometimes it's hard to get the monkey off your back.

OK, if you want to be academic about it, it's not just any monkey, it's a Lemur. And it's not just any Lemur, it's a Duke Lemur. This Lemur traveled all the way from North Carolina with the help of Aunt Onika first to Maryland, then with mom over the Atlantic, to find it's way on Eliot's back. For even more academic information about Duke Lemurs, click here.

Eliot (Randy Beazdan the first), Andy, and I would like to introduce you to Randy Beazdan, Jr.

Eliot's little sister or brother is due to join us on January 2nd, 2008, and we're going to do our best to keep her/him in for a full 40 weeks this time! OK, if Andy gets his way, we'll have a 2007 baby (for tax purposes, of course!) We are all very excited about our new member of the family :)

Blast from the past (OK, only 2 months ago)

These are from a couple of months ago when my mom was visiting. She had a lovely time with her son and grandson in Bingen (a beautiful wine town on the Rhine River), and Eliot loved spending time with his Babcia.

This is us all tuckered out on the train ride home. I don't know, but I think Eliot's got the best seat in the house.

We had a fun time together for 2 weeks, then she travelled to Poland, and then came back for some more fun with Eliot while Andy and I snuck off to Paris!!! Thanks mom!

I can't hear you.

After a wonderful 3 day vacation with the neighbors, Eliot needed just a bit of alone time. Here he is practicing his budding ignoring skills. Michael just wanted to play more...and ultimately won out.

Looking a little quilty.

I think Kaya is ready for Mom to come home too. She's gotten a little extra attention from Eliot and is ready for a break.

Brushing Teeth

I know I said I wasn't, but I even got Eliot to brush his teeth. Renee will be so proud. I hear a superdad accolade coming.

See, I am feeding him.

Normally I wouldn't include a plate of half eaten food in the picture, but it is important that Mom sees that Eliot is getting some nourishment while she is away. Yes, it is corn two days in a row, but hey it's a vegetable. The spicy Italian sausage was all Eliot's idea.

Happy Mother's Day
(a sad, mad, glad greeting)

So I had to remind Eliot this morning that mommy had taken a plane to the States yesterday. He was sad that he could not wish her a Happy Mother's Day in person.


I said, "Don't worry she'll be home on Friday". We'll evidently Friday was a little too far away and Eliot was a little mad.

But then I told him that since it was just the 2 of us here alone...pizza and no brushing teeth all week! He was happy again.

Almost a month....

Wow, sorry, it's been almost a month since our last post. We'll we're almost done with our extended round of visitors and we have accumulated lots to post. Here's just a few until we have a bit more time.

Julie, Ron, Debbie, and Tony prior to our trip to Munich

Eliot and Michael all decked out for the zoo.

Gramma and Grandpa in Heidelberg