Mama, I wuv you...

This weekend has been a little exhausting. In short, we showed our house Friday afternoon, Jeff's been at a retreat all weekend, Riley had a birthday party to go to yesterday, and Eli has decided it's time to have a little more awake time during the day (Many thanks to my great in-laws for their help in getting through the weekend!!).

So last night, I was pretty much exhausted. Riley was wanting to watch "Chuggington" and had been asking (e.g. begging!) for several minutes. Finally, he crawled up next to me on the couch and said, "Mama, I wuv you." Well, after I quit crying and telling him how sweet he was, he grinned that sweet grin and said, "Now can I watch 'Chuggington.'" Wow!

This morning, I was getting him dressed and he gave me a "Mama, I like you." Guess his love for me is waning, too!

He eventually did tell me he loved me again and I was able to get it on video. For those of you on Facebook, it's posted on my wall. When I figure out how to get it from my iPhone to the computer, I'll try to post it here as well. Pretty sweet...

A Special Visit

Last weekend, my brother Shannon and his family came to visit. Eli got to meet his Richardson cousins, Zach (10) and Reagan (5), and his Uncle Shan and Aunt Dee. It was so great to see the kids play together, and I am so glad they are closer (They recently moved from California to Georgia!). Hope we'll be able to go visit them soon!

We got a Wii for Christmas and Sunday night, we had a Wii boxing challenge. Reagan was crowned the undeniable champion as she knocked out every opponent...and some several times! I think the adults felt the effects of the intense competition for several days - I'm just now able to lift my arms without pain. Fun times!

Eli at two-weeks

We took Eli for his two-week check up today, and Dr. Ruff seemed pleased. Eli now weighs 10 pounds and 12 ounces (up nearly 2 pounds from his birth weight!) and is 22 1/2 inches long (+1 inch!). Everything else checked out great and we'll go back in 6 weeks.

When we returned from the trip to Starkville, we picked up Riley from school and took him to get his hair cut. He was very good and Mrs. Mellie made him look like such a big boy! I told him the other night his hair was crazy (and it is!) to which he promptly responded, "I need to go see Mrs. Vicki." Mrs. Vicki cut Riley's hair last time. Smart boy!

While we were at the salon, it started snowing - big, beautiful flakes (that melted as soon as they hit the ground!) so as soon as he got out of the truck, he took off to play in the falling snow. So wish some of it would stick long enough for him to make a "Crosty" (aka "Frosty").

Finally, in honor of yesterday's holiday, I have to brag on my husband for a minute. I'll be honest, I really worried about being able to "handle" two kids. And to be even more frank, I probably couldn't (and maintain any level of sanity!) if I didn't have a great husband who just happens to be a fabulous dad to both of our boys! I am so grateful for his help! Thanks, Mrs. Bobbie and Mr. Johnny, for raising such a great husband and daddy!

I love my baby brother...sometimes.

Last week, Riley came into Eli's nursery where I was feeding him. He loved on him and gave him the sweetest kisses. He looked at me so earnestly and said, "I love my baby brother, Mama." It was as though he was trying to convince me.

Two days later, Eli was in his bouncy seat and Riley was giving him sweet affection. When he finished, he looked down at him and said, "I love my baby brother...sometimes."

This could be the start of a steady decline, I'm not sure.

Welcome to the Walton Boys Blog

There's no way I could manage two blogs so we had to come up with a way to keep you informed about BOTH boys. Hopefully, I will be able to find time to keep it updated.

For those just tuning in...

Riley Ellis will be 3 (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??) March 31. He has gotten to be quite a big boy. He's almost potty trained - we've got the "making a yellow potty" down pat but are still working on the other. He's learning his alphabet by sight now; he can recognize most of the letters and even tell you what they stand for ("R for me!"). He likes to sing and dance which makes for great home videos! He LOVES to be outside playing - swinging, chasing balls, climbing, whatever. He LOVES trains - Thomas and Friends or the new Disney show, "Chuggington." He also still loves Lightening McQueen and the whole gang from "Cars." Overall, he's a pretty easy-going little guy.

Eli Benjamin was born January 30, 2010. He's a big boy (9 lbs 1 oz and 21 1/2 inches long at birth) and so far, has been a great baby. He's eating well, sleeping well and we're starting to get a little more awake time from him. Oddly, he has blond hair and blue eyes at the moment - quite a change from our brown-haired, brown-eyed Riley. Not much else going on with Eli to share yet, but we go back to the doctor Monday for a check up. We'll post his new stats then.