Eli walks - No Really!

Ok, we've posted an "Eli Walking" video before, but this time he is really doing it!

He was going a few steps from me to his chair in his room and then I left him to quickly go check on dinner. I was interrupted because Eli was standing behind me in the kitchen!! That's right - he had walked from his room down the hall and into the kitchen.

I was VERY surprised and excited to say the least.

Lisa came home to us doing laps in the kitchen - hence the video.

Hopefully they'll be longer and more challenging walks to follow ;-)

P & E Tour ENDS - Brooklyn

It all ended well in Mommy's arms.
Eli enjoyed seeing everbody. Thanks so much for your warm welcomes.
See y'all later.

- Mom & Dad, sorry that we missed getting a photo of you both with Eli
for the blog.

P & E Tour Day 7 - beach break

We just had to stop at Cedar Beach after being so patient in the car.
Ahh Long Island Sound always relieves the anxious mind - touring,
dude, it can be exhausting

P & E Tour Day 7 - parking lot picnic

We stopped at Target on the way out East and had a picnic in the
parking lot of Target. Then we filled the little space left in our car
with All-American MEGA-Sized packages of all the stuff we needed for
home.

P & E Tour Day 7 - Huntington

After a nice nap in the car, we arrived at the Lopez house which was
unusually quiet. Uncle John showed Eli how to go down stairs easily,
the girls came home from a "mani-pedi" and we hung out in the kitchen.
The night was a fun one watching "So You Think You Can Dance". That's
why Eli won't look towards the camera in the photo - he just can't
tear his eyes away from that show.

P & E Tour Day 6 -Flushing

A visit to Aunt Rosalie, Uncle Beaky, Aunt Teddy, Uncle Vic with
surprise guests Auntie Virginia, Aidan and Chlöe was a blast! A tea
party with Rosalie, playing on the terrace and a delicious lunch with
Teddy... What more could you want!

P & E Tour Day 4 - Ireena, Lela, Stuart uptown

Lela and Eli napped as IreeG and I strolled through Morningside Park.
This waterfall was surprisingly big and beautiful, Ireena threw some
gang signs (you know... living "uptown") so I stopped to snap a photo.
We also visited St. John's Cathedral, saw some very frisky
peacocks, but mostly spent some time with friends we hadn't seen for
way too long.

P & E Tour Day 4 - Saitz visit

We got there a little early and stayed a little late and had fun the
whole time. The Saitz boys were very nice to Eli, and included him in
their "reindeer games". Eli came home exhausted from so much fun, that
the minute he hit the bed he rolled over and passed out. A sign of a
day well spent:-)

P & E Tour Day 3 - u.w.s. baseball

As promised, a Rose visit. In particular a baseball game with Jasper
who pitched 2 innings, played 3rd base and was catcher for 1 inning.
Phew!

P & E Tour Day 3 - struttin' in the AM

Cruising the neighborhood in the morning, before the heat of the day
gets on us. We have a big day planned with the Roses. Yehaaaw
(don't worry this tour will break out soon!)

P & E Tour Day 2 - farmer's market

Farm fresh apples - Yum !
Lisa giving little bites to Eli. Great way to start the weekend - and
- much better weather than Day 1 of the tour :-)

P & E Tour Day 2 - morning coffee

We're on our way... But of course a quick stop at Starbucks helps kick
start the day!

P&E Tour Day 1 - sleepin' late

We start our tour like real rock stars and wake up whenever we feel
like it!
(Eli us still sleeping as I type this!)

Eli walks, well almost.

We had just finished dinner and Eli and I were playing for a moment in the hall. Suddenly he was standing, all by himself, for almost 30 seconds. Then he took some steps towards me, again unassisted! We tried it again and it worked!

So, we did it again and again... he was so excited and so proud. We all laughed it was a grand time.

--

One small step for Eli.

One giant leap for the Schlopez Family

Eli & Mom play catch - 1st time ever!

Last night while I was putting the final touches on another gourmet dinner here at the Schlopez Foundation (we fry only the finest Bologna), I heard Lisa and Eli having a grand time in his room. Lisa called out telling me, "I had to see this!"

I sneaked in, cam in hand and capture Eli's first official game of catch with his Mom, on video.

Ahhh... that was a fun 8 minutes

Sometimes Lisa and I let Eli pull stuff off the pantry door shelf to keep himself occupied while he sits in his high chair. Well, this one morning Lisa and I were both running around trying to get out of the house and kept him in his chair a while letting him throw anything he wanted. At one point he beckoned me over and pulled the belt right off my pants - you can see it on the floor mixed in with everything else. He thought that was hilarious. So I snapped a quick shot before we cleaned up, pulled him out and made a run for it.