Getting the chores done...

The only way to get any chores done while Eliel is around is to get him to help.  And Eliel loves helping me with chores (we'll see how long that lasts!), especially vacuuming!  He likes the large vacuum until I turn it on but he really loves the handheld one much more.  He's happy to vacuum up the dog hair from Nugget whenever I ask him to!  The best part is that the vacuum eventually runs out of power before needing to be recharged so we can never do it for long!

Over here?

I'm just vacuuming

Excuse me Nugget

Another chore I make Eliel do is get the eggs from the chickens in our backyard. No, I'm of course kidding although it would be fun to have fresh eggs all the time!  Eliel and I went to Heritage Farm with my friend Chrissy and her two little girls.  It was quite chilly and a drizzled a little bit but the hens loved it!  Eliel had a ball chasing them all over the farm.  When we got there, the lady working there opened the chicken coop for us and we were able to see the nests and freshly laid eggs.  We also got to see the rooster and hear him practice his 'cock-a-doodle-dos!'  Unfortunately we just missed the cow getting milked so we'll have to go back.  Daddy would like it too so we'll have to bring him back with us.  They also had goats, horses and supposedly sheep but we couldn't find those.

 Finally, although it's not really a chore, Eliel has learned how to feed himself with a spoon (without making a HUGE mess!)  He ate a whole bowl of oatmeal the other morning without any help and none of it ended up on his lap. We had a little more trouble with our Harvest Bean Mix from Trader Joe's in the picture below but in Eliel's defense, those are harder to keep on the spoon!  He does really well with yogurt and cottage cheese and Daddy started him on cereal yesterday.  Another new adventure for us!