Last Summer Outing

The boys and I had a treat. We got to go camping for 1 night with Grandma and Grandpa. Now when I say camping, let me explain before you start to think that we are crazy to take 2 little boys. We went to the campground in Decorah (only 2 hours away) and stayed in a very nice trailer. We ate out the whole time, so we were not really suffering. Elias loved the outdoors and kept us all busy.

Elias and Grandpa feeding fish at the Fish Hatchery

Throwing rocks in the stream

Enjoying the 'Big Kid' swing!

Bonding with Uncle Jibber (we don't hold hands with too many people!)

A "BIG" Week

The theme in our house this week is "Big Boy". Elias is becoming a big boy. First, the paci...

About a month ago, Elias had his 18 month check up. The Dr. said he looked great, except for his mouth. Due to his love for his paci, Elias was developing a ridge in his mouth caused by sucking. The Dr. strongly encouraged us to discontinue paci use and as he put it, go "cold turkey". Since we were leaving for vacation the next day and wanting to enjoy our vacation, we let Elias keep the paci while we were gone. Well, we got home this week and last night was THE NIGHT. After dinner, Elias threw his pacis away, saying a good "bye bye" and headed outside for a popsicle. When bedtime came, he asked for his pacis but was told that they were "bye bye" and "all done". The first few minutes were great...and then the crying started. To his credit, he only cried for 1 hour 45 minutes, after which he fell asleep, exuasted and slept through the night! Todays naptime and bedtime have been much better. What a big boy!

Now for the second....Elias got his first haircut today! That is right, 19 months and no haircut. The 'wings' were starting to get really long and he was beginning to look a little girl like, so we thought it was time. Since Ben has always gone to a good, old fashioned barber and has said that Mathew men will only go to barbers, off we went to Daddy's barber, Fred. Elias did a GREAT job, no crying or fussing...and Mom did pretty well too!

Fred the barber. Note the long hair!

A little smile, but at least no tears
Elias checking out Fred

This haircut is serious business

A great smile

Admiring his new look

A big boy now

Canada 08

We did make a trip up to Canada this summer to introduce Zach to Ben's family. We spent alot of time playing with Ammachi and Appacha, and the cousins...but we didn't get too many pictures.

Zach's favorite pastime...and Appacha's too!

Like father, like son...

The Mathew men in plaid

An afternoon nap at camp

Elias loved looking at the 4-wheelers...and was so excited to get a ride!

With his namesake, Davey Elias...

Elias Grooving

It doesn't happen often, but when the beat is right, Elias can lay down a mean groove!

Slip n Slide

There is a hill behind Grandpa and Grandma's house...great for a slip n slide, or so thought the adults! A slide was bought for the kids to enjoy, and they did, but not how we thought!

Elias did slide down a few times, after slipping and falling while walking across

Playing in the water was much more fun...

The water was a bit cold!

Family Vacation

A Van Dine family camping trip was planned for a week in June. But since this has been one of the worst years for rain and flooding in Iowa, the camping trip was cancelled and a trip to Chicago was planned instead.

Monday, 7 adults and three kids under 2 set out in a 15 passenger van for the city. Needless to say, we had a great time. The kids loved swimming, playing together, riding the elevator with Grandma and Aunt Kara, watching movies in the van, eating the yummy treats Grandma bought...oh yeah and seeing some sights of Chicago.

Looking at the sea lions at the Lincoln Park Zoo

Enjoying the zoo

An Iowa boy on a John Deere at the Museum of Science and Industry

Probably Elias' favorite Chicago spot...a water fountain by Navy Pier!

He loves water and getting wet!

For a few more pictures, you can check out Elias' cousin Addy's blog.

June...the first few weeks

A quick recap of June...

• A week at Horton Haven Christian Camp where Ben spoke
• Enjoying the beautiful weather, after all the rain we had
• Elias enduring one of his first big injuries...a fat lip from colliding with our table
• A Van Dine family vacation to Chicago. Originally a week of camping was planned, but due to the rain and flooding we thought Chicago would be a better option. (pictures to follow)

One of the few pictures I got at camp. It is hard to stop to take pictures with two boys!

I thought that washing the car together would be a fun afternoon activity, but Elias just liked to play in the soapy water. His favorite part was dipping his pacifier in and then putting it in his mouth.

The fat lip. His smile for a few days was a little lopsided. No permanent damage was done (we think!)

Matching D'Backs outfits from Great Grandma and Grandpa Barth in Arizona. ( I am not a huge fan of matching them, but every once in a while it happens)

Our laid back son chillin with his laid back grandpa:)