Eston holding very still while getting his haircut this morning.

He kept that look on his face the whole time. Barely said a word as Pamela was talking to him. Travis went first, then his turn, so he had a little time to warm up to the idea. He did really well!

Eston the Tool Man

Eston at my parents' house standing by the "naked lady" flowers this summer. I've only known those flowers to be called that. This was his expression when we asked him to smile.

Eston has watched his dad use so many tools lately working on our house. Uncle Corey and Aunt Whitney got him a work bench with tools for Christmas last year. One night after watching dad use his drill to put in a garage door, Eston went around "Mimi's" house fixing everything. This picture isn't the best, but I think he's using his battery operated saw that makes lots of noise on the walls.

Working on the cabinets....

These are not recent pictures, but I wanted to get them on here. The first one is Eston in time out. He put himself there...I had nothing to do with it. Time out does nothing to phase him. He thinks it's fun. Sometimes he suggests that he go there for no reason at all. Maybe he is striving to be like some of the other kids at school?? (The bad ones...hope this isn't true.)So, when he does get in trouble, time outs really are no punishment. Travis and I decided we would take away a toy that he really likes instead. He loves his big yellow Tonka dumptruck. So, lately it has spent some time on what I've been calling the "naughty shelf." Any other creative punishment suggestions are appreciated! During the summer, Eston and I were at my grandfather's house. (Papa Troy) He sits outside quite a bit and watches the traffic pass by. It was a beautiful day, with a nice breeze, so Eston and I sat for awhile and counted cars and trucks.

Eston (AKA Swiper the Fox)

The other day, I was making my bed, and I looked down to the floor between the footboard and the mattress. There was a spatula. Funny how I never noticed him playing with it. Somewhere in our little duplex is also a tube of mascara and eyeliner. He loves to get out things in the bathroom while I'm putting make up on. Most of the time it's lipstick. I've looked everywhere for those things and I can't find them anywhere!

Eston's first school picture. They took these at his daycare. I don't think he liked the fact they put clothes on him. Actually a smock type of thing over his clothes. And he didn't know what to think of it all. (Natalie, you'll love this.) I think he's making a triangle with his fingers. Mom taught him how after seeing it on one of his videos.

What have we been up to? Time flies. Last weekend Eston and I went to the "blue store" and the "orange store" several times for Travis. (Lowe's and Home Depot) That's what Eston calls them. And there's the store with the gas...Wal-Mart. Between those errands, working and dinner a couple of nights a week at my parents' house...that keeps us busy. Eston is loving to sing the ABC song and also likes me to sing "I've Been Working on the Railroad." He's discovered that mom and dad have real names, and often yells Trabis, when Travis isn't paying attention to him after he calls out Dada.

Razorback Game

This past Saturday was the first Razorback football game of the season in Fayetteville. Mom was able to line up nurses for the day to stay with my dad, so she got to go with us to the game. Mom, Travis, Eston and I drove to Fayetteville for the day...it was a late night driving back since the game was at 6:45 pm. I didn't know if Eston would enjoy the game or become so bored with it that we'd want to leave as soon as the game started. He did great though! Actually, he didn't watch the game. I think he just "people watched" and ate and played around with us. The kid loves popcorn, so we bought some kettlekorn upon arriving. Here is a picture of him stuffing his face like he hadn't eaten any type of food in a month! He ate popcorn the whole first half.
Two of my brother's friends sat next to us. One of them, a close fraternity brother of his, played with Eston the whole second half of the game....kept him occupied! Then, at halftime, Corey and Whitney joined us. Their seats are elsewhere, but we squeezed in. Here is a picture of Eston and his Aunt Whitney. Although she didn't like the picture very much, I'm posting it anyway for Eston's sake of having this online diary/history of his toddlerhood!

By the third quarter, he was jumping up and down off the bleachers and playing with the chairback cushions. Getting a little tired as it was getting late. The noise didn't seem to bother him at all. He did notice the big trailer on the side of the field that housed the mascot "Big Red." (He's so into trucks and trailers right now.) I think that is really the only thing on the field that he felt was worthy of his attention. Razorbacks lost, but we had a great time getting "Mimi" out of the house and introducing Eston to his first Razorback football game. First of many many more to come.

Frank Truck

Eston is all about trucks and tractors. He loves them! Mr. Frank has been driving a truck for awhile now that he is no longer working at the daycare. The Masottos live in the same neighborhood as my parents. So, every time we pass by their house on the way to Mimi's house, we have to see if Mr. Frank's truck is parked at his house....aka "Frank Truck." One day, Eston was so excited to see two Frank Trucks. An identical truck parked across the street. Apparently Mr. Frank got his neighbor a job with his company. My mom gave Eston a toy truck that looks just like this for his birthday. He takes it everywhere. Occasionally sleeps with it too. So, a few months ago, we stopped at the Masottos' house to sit in the truck. Eston loved it.

Eston reached up and grabbed the horn. Mr. Frank is laughing at Eston's reaction to the LOUD horn.

Here are some other pics of Eston at my mom's house blowing bubbles and playing outside.

Blackmail picture

Eston is potty trained...at daycare. He knows what to do at home and can do it, but doesn't all the time. He won't take the time to stop and go to the toilet, which is common, I'm sure. Here are some cute pictures that I'll be sure and black mail him with when he's a teenager! I can hear him now! "Mom! That's so embarrassing!"



He took his new potty seat and step stool all around the house trying it out with his clothes on. I was happy that he was excited about it!

I've been making several trips to Home Depot lately getting supplies for Travis. Eston loves the cart because they are shaped like race cars and he can drive them. One day it was pouring rain, and he cried and cried because I quickly lifted him out of the cart into the truck to leave. The rain didn't bother him a bit. He wanted to stay in the cart and drive. Here he's kinda kickin' back.

Other cute things that he is learning to do is jump and he knows how to count to 10. They are doing construction on Hwy 62 that we drive by on the way to school. He points out all the tractors and "Rolly Tractors" (off Bob the Builder), and dump trucks on the road. We are going to have a boring ride once the construction is complete.

Here are some pictures of Eston at our house we are building. He likes to go out there and play. So much to get into! Some pictures of Travis taking him up on the bulldozer and tractor.

Also, today is Travis and my 10 year anniversary!

Eston's 2 year old pictures that Amber Lanning took are now on her site. http://www.photoreflect.com/pr3/store.aspx?p=40460

Select K Ford, and password is Eston. She did a great job with a 2 year old that didn't really want to look at the camera. All he wanted to do was play with his "Frank truck" (white semi truck) and trailer And he was in desperate need of a nap. He fell asleep as soon as we left her studio. Also, the one of us laying on the ground, is a picture that she did when he was 4 months old. I wanted to do it again to show how much he had grown. I'll post them both side by side later.

Saturday, Eston got to play with Sam. He loved playing with Sam's trains! What cute little boys! And check out these adorable blondes in their getaway jeep! Eston wasn't so sure about getting in to ride with Amber. But she was such the mother hen to him trying to help him learn how to drive her jeep. Good practice for her since she is going to be a big sister any day now!

Last night, Travis and I played hide and seek with Eston. He always wanted to be the seeker with one of us, so Travis and I took turns hiding. He had so much fun. He would just giggle when he found one of us. As I was sitting in the corner of my bedroom hiding, I was thinking about a time I played the game with my friends several several years ago. They both read the blog, so I thought it would be funny to mention it.

I lived with Carolynn at the time and we were both in college. A bunch of her friends were going out one night to play hide and seek at the First Baptist Church in Fayetteville. I can't remember if Tina was over at my duplex or if I had called her, but she and I went with Carolynn, not really knowing what to expect. The FBC Fay is a big multi floor building. There were about 10 of us there. And we played in the dark. The only way you could see where you were running to hide was from the light on the emergency exit signs. It was scary! Tina and I hid together every time....less scary that way. I remember one time that Tina and I were hiding in the corner of a Sunday school room in the dark. As the seeker passed by the doorway of the room, I turned my head from side to side to look. When the coast was clear, Tina told me not to move because my hair was making noise against my shoulders! It was so quiet sitting still in that dark room, and she swore she could hear my hair making noise! We were barely breathing trying to hide so well, that I believe her!

Eston is still hooked on Dora, Shrek, and some videos called Cedarmont Kids....kids singing songs. He already wants to pick out his clothes. He has a couple of shirts that he wants to wear every day. I may have to hide them to get his other clothes a chance! He knows his numbers by looking at them. He can mostly count to 10. He'll skip one now and then, or jump up a couple. But it's usually different numbers so it won't be long before he can count flawlessly. The hide and seek game will help that too. He loves going to his Mimi's house, and gets upset at me if I drive past the turn to her house. He tells me "that way, mama, that way."

We are so Proud!!Some days I think Eston's smart. Some days, I wonder! ;-)

I was in the kitchen talking on the phone with my mom at 10:00 at night. Yes, Eston was still up. The kid doesn't sleep. I was looking away from him and he's tugging on my pants, saying, "mama mama mama mama." I finally turned around and this was what I saw. He's got a child's toilet seat on his head! I laughed so hard, hung up on my mom, and snapped this picture real quick with my phone before he could run off. Don't worry, the toilet seat is clean. Good that it's clean, bad that he won't use it. Eston is potty trained at daycare. Goes for them with no problems. Even tells them when he needs to go. However, he will not go at home for us. I've been told this is common. Anyone out there have the same thing happen? I'm sure it's the peer pressure that everyone else is going at school so he will too. It's the thing to do there! However, he can still be a baby at home with mom and dad. I'm such a pushover.

Eston is a good eater. Eston is not a good sleeper. I'm still a little surprised about this next picture. He fell asleep sitting in my lap eating a chicken nugget. Nuggets...More words I have eaten since I've been a parent. Lesson to anyone out there without kids (C & W)...don't ever say, "I won't let my kids do that," or "when I'm a parent, I won't do that." Believe me you will eat your words. I have seen nuggets being made when I worked at Tyson. Not the most appetizing process. I walked through the plant in Rogers watching those dino-nuggets roll on the conveyer belt and said, "My child will never eat those." There's nothing wrong with them...they're white meat! Just looks like meat toothpaste being squirted out into a mold. But when they are cooked, they taste good! And when you don't have time to cook something else and a child is cranky from being hungry. Nuggets are great! Let's see, I was never going to let my child sleep with me, either. Ha, that went out the door the first few weeks. I was never going to let my child get hooked on a pacifier. Ha, he had one for two years!

Brrr...someone forgot to tell Minnesota that it is June. We left Thursday evening and got back on Tuesday afternoon from our trip to see Travis's mom. The weather was cold and rainy the whole time we were there. In the 50's. I borrowed a sweatshirt from Travis's mom and wore it for 3 days. We went to the Mall of America Saturday. There is an amusement park in the middle of the mall, however, Eston wasn't big enough to ride any of the rides. I thought surely there would be some smaller kid rides. Maybe next year. He did get to see a big statue of Dora and Boots that we took our picture by. And G'ma bought him a Dora bus - like a hotwheel car. It's the only Dora thing Travis would let her buy since Dora is kinda "girly" he said. The next day, we it quit raining long enough to go to the Minnesota zoo. We walked around with sweatshirts and jackets on looking at the animals. Travis and I enjoyed the animals more than Eston did though. He really didn't seem to care too much. He'd look at them when we pointed them out and then would keep on walking or push his stroller.


Here is a picture of Eston and Travis swimming at the hotel pool in Kansas City. We stopped there on the way up and back to break the trip up for Eston. However, he was a pretty good car rider for a 12 hour trip one way. He watched videos and we looked for big trucks.

Eston posing as a bug, wearing my sunglasses.

Here are some pictures of Eston's birthday party! It was at my parents' house. Also, Eston has been pacifier free since then. Yipee! He called it his "gigi." Italian for paci. Remember our daycare owners are Italian. It has been nice to not have to keep up with it! It has been tied to a stuffed pig for months now. We did that to try to break him. In order to have the gigi in his mouth, he had to carry around the pig. It's more of a hassle and he'd set it down periodically.

Stratton Smith, Eston, and Travis eating lunch on the deck.

Me, Eston and Aunt Whitney inside Eston's play tent. Notice he has a white truck in his hand. More about this later.

Eston giving Stratton a hug goodbye! They are 6 months apart.

I'll post more pictures later. We are taking off to Minneapolis to see Travis' mom and spend a few days there. Gotta go pack!

Happy Birthday Eston!!

My little guy is 2 today! The past two years have flown by. Seems like not long ago, he was so small. I had no idea 2 years ago today that he would be born so early. Definitely caught us by surprise. But it was good that it happened that way, because I would have made myself sick with nervousness and anticipation if I had to wait closer to my due date.

I'm so proud of him. He knows his colors, and his numbers. He counts everything, but sometimes skips 4 and 5! He loves for me to read books to him before bed, and has memorized some of the pages. He knows names of several body parts, even things like wrist, shoulder and neck. He's all boy--loves cars. Loves hot wheels and bigger cars. Loves to play outside. Hates to go to bed! He's never been a good sleeper. And lately he doesn't like bathtime. But I think it's not the bath but the association that bedtime comes afterward. He's a big eater when he wants to eat. He'll out eat most of us except Travis. Loves tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, green peas, chicken, pickles, most all fruits, and meatloaf. He's a pretty big kid. When I took him to the doctor last week, most of the nurses and office staff commented that he looked bigger than his age. He's 35 inches tall, and 33 lbs.

He's always saying "mon" for c'mon, and says "bye bye mama" when I wake him up in the morning and he's not ready. I guess he thinks I'll leave?!

Here are a couple of pictures from a ride we all three took on Travis's dad's property. He really enjoyed it.

Like Father, Like Son....

Thanks Lori for reminding me that it's been a month since I've posted anything. Sorry. Lots going on. The biggest thing is that I quit my job at the foot doctor and am now working with my husband at his law firm. I guess you could say I'm the office manager? Vice President? CFO? Anyway, I've completed 2 weeks now and am much less stressed. I've got alot to learn since I've never done anything in this area before. But I have my own office and I get Friday afternoon's off! Yipee.

Next, Travis has been working his tail off on our property getting it ready to build on. If you know him at all, you know nothing ever goes smoothly. He worked for weeks on a bulldozer to use to clear the trees on the 3 acres we now own. If he got his dad's bulldozer up and working, it would save us some money. So, Eston and I have been hanging out together several nights and weekends. When Eston sees a tractor he automatically says "Dada, tractor." Right now they are widening Hwy 62 East on the way to daycare and at every tractor spotting, I hear, "dada, tractor" or "another tractor." So, as of now the lot is cleared and he's now on to leveling it in case you wanted to know.

The picture above is Travis and Eston laying in my parents' living room watching tv. Kids are such great imitators aren't they!?! My guess is that they are watching Dora. That's Eston's new thing now. Elmo no more...now Dora.

Good 'Good Friday' to everyone! And Happy Easter! Here are some pictures of Eston's first Easter egg Hunt. It was the weekend before at Cooper Park. Junior Auxillary puts it on every year for free to the community. I had to work it, but Travis brought Eston to it. I got to be there with them when it started, though. I wasn't sure if he'd understand what to do, but he did.

Eston also wants to "drive" all the time. Every time we go to get in what he calls Mama's truck, he wants to hope in the front seat and drive. He says, "I sit?" and points to the driver's door. I am then reminded at how much these young ones observe of their parents. He turns the knobs and pushes the buttons and goes through all the correct motions just about! He will push the radio station buttons and say the correct number on the button. 1, 2, 3, etc.

Thank goodness he's moved on from Elmo. Still likes him, but requests to watch Shrek and Dora, now. And he's constantly telling us, "Mama sit" and "Dada sit."

These were all taken this past weekend at my parents' house. Corey and Whitney came in from Dallas.Eston in his wagon.
He loves to sit on mom's kitchen island and eat snacks. There's always good snacks at Grandma's house!

The girls are hoping we drop a piece of popcorn. Notice they aren't looking at the camera like usual! Eston loves popcorn.

Bath!

Mom and Corey this past weekend with Zoe and Derby in their laps.

Eston with Aunt Whitney

Alli and Zoe watching out my parents' front door. Eston was playing outside with his wagon in the wonderful spring weather.

Is it just me or does Eston look so grown up?

I keep meaning to post some pictures...someday I'll get some on here. Travis is opening his own office next week, so we have been busy with that, JA meetings, Good Samaritan meetings, and of course, playing! We are also mentors for a class of high school seniors. I chuckle to myself when I say mentors, because it's pretty much been a title only. Travis and I meet with the same group of seniors one hour a month. Our class is pretty unruly. We've tried a few things that haven't gone over so well. And afterwards, Travis and I swear we were never like that when we were that age. Really makes you feel old. Especially since it's in the same high school halls that we once roamed. Going back and seeing some of our teachers really makes us feel old. Next class, we have a guest speaker who is in the nursing/health education field. Hopefully she will be more interesting than we are!

Corey and Whitney are coming in this weekend. Yea! I'm loving this warmer weather. Eston wants to be outside constantly. I so wish our house was complete and we had a good yard. We are waiting on the health department to approve the septic plans and then we can start. So, it's looking like the wait for the yard is going to be awhile. Eston throws a little tantrum when we make him come in to either eat dinner or when it gets dark. But then again, that's less Elmo for me if he's outside! He grabs our hand and leads us outside saying, 'mon mama 'mon. (come on, mama come on) He says c'mon so much, that we were in the truck the other day stopped at a stop light and he was yelling from the back seat, " mon mama mon." I wasn't moving fast enough for him, I guess.

Can I give Elmo up for lent? I'm pretty tired of that little red guy! He is all Eston wants to watch. We've put in Shrek and Nemo and such in a few times and they go over okay, but nothing like Elmo. Elmo is the first thing out of his mouth when we get home! It's sad when you are singing the songs in your head while you are in the shower. So, I try to limit Elmo time and get him interested in cars and puzzles. He loves his puzzles too.

I've been really busy with volunteer work. I joined Junior Auxillary, so I've been going to monthly chapter meetings and other committee work. I babysat at the women's shelter one night. We are gearing up for our annual Easter egg hunt on Apr 4th. I'm also on a committee for the Good Samaritan Society that is putting on a fundraising event May 30th. Band, dancing, dinner, auction. Should be a great time. Good Sam has also asked Travis to be on their Board.

Happy Birthday Travis!!

Hope you have a wonderful day. Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father. Thanks for being so hands on with Eston, and sharing all the responsibilities of parenthood. Thank you for doing more than your share of duties around the house...grocery shopping, laundry, dishes, cleaning the toilets! (I'll give you today off! :-) ) Thanks for being such an honest, caring friend. You said 9 years ago that life with you would not be boring. That has been true! Eston and I love you so much!

"If I had it to do all over, I'd do it all over again."