Tuscaloosa, Pittsburgh, and Everything In Between... by Eli

Eli dictates:

We're starting with Thanksgiving.  There was something where your mommy and daddy get to come to my preschool and eat with other families.  So that's one thing that happened.

Sebbie and Ila looking happy

Now we're doing Christmas.  We went to Grace's house for a party.  It was a going-away party.  I watched The Cat in the Hat with Sam and Ben.  Granddad watched some people and then went home and watched Eli and Sebastian.  Haylee met some of our Tuscaloosa friends there.  We went to a party with Santa and Daisy and there were doughnut holes on the table.  Me and Daisy danced.  Now let's move on.  We couldn't have a Christmas tree because we were moving.  Now let's move on again.  Then we went to Grandma Vivie and Grandpa Doug's for Christmas.  There was a pretty tree.  And I got to decorate the Christmas tree and put ornaments on it.  And then there was a big snow storm and it took a whole day after Christmas.  Sebastian got sick, I got sick, Mary got sick, Grandma Vivie got sick, my mommy got sick, and then Grammy Candie got sick, Pop Pop got sick, then Wendy got sick, and then Gina got sick, and then Gina's mommy got sick, and then a bunch of other people got sick.  We had a nice Christmas after that.  And we went back to Pittsburgh.

Eli and Sebastian in our sweaters

The family at Christmastime

Now we're talking about the movers that came and moved our furniture.  They let me onto their truck. They were nice.

Eli's Shoe {excerpts from his photo essay about moving} 

The mover's legs

The ramp to get off the moving truck

Now we're talking about my preschool.  You get to play instead of working.

Now we're moving on. In Pittsburgh you get to go up a tall incline that brings you to a space where you can get ice cream.  There's a huge tower and there's an overlook. The overlook is where you go on a round space and you can look down on the tall buildings of Pittsburgh. Now we are naming the buildings: UPMC, K&L Gates, a bank, a jail.
Now let's move on. There's a light rail of some kind that goes through a tunnel and there's many stops to go to.
Now we're talking about K&L Gates.  Abe works on things.
Now we're talking about why I had to say "Abe" instead of "Daddy."  Because there's many daddies on Earth and one of them is Abe.
Now we're moving on again.  I went on many trips.
1.  I went on the light rail of some kind to Steel Plaza.
2.  I went to Utah to visit Granddad and Grandma J and Marty.  I skied at Brighton and Alta.  I played with trains at Annabelle's house.
3.  I saw what house my mother lived in when she was a kid.
4. Granddad took me on a bus then the light rail then a Frontrunner to Ogden.  At the museum in Ogden I got to see pictures of where trains went instead of going through the GREAT SALT LAKE.  Then I went back on the Frontrunner, back on the light rail, and bus, and I came back to Granddad's house.
I had a goodbye birthday for my friends back in Tuscaloosa on December 4th.  Then we had some friends come over at Barnes and Noble.  We read Choo Choo and I had cupcakes with Daisy and Sammy and Michael Thomas and Michael Thomas's mom and Michael Thomas's sister, Ally, Daddy-I-mean-Abe, Seb, Daisy's mommy, Sammy's mommy.  We did my celebration the day after I had my celebration of life on January 6th and I turned 4.  Now that I'm 4, I get to read chapter books at night and I get to go to Montessori school.  Now we're naming the books I've read:

• Winnie the Pooh
• Stuart Little
• The Cricket in Times Square
• A Bear Called Paddington
• Farmer Boy

Now we're naming the ones that are my favorite:  A Bear Called Paddington, The Cricket in Times Square, Farmer Boy, Stuart Little.  That's it.

At my school back in Tuscaloosa there was a huge set of sidewalks with bikes stored on them.  And you get to ride the bikes on the huge set of sidewalks.

Eli's drawing of that huge set of sidewalks from his old school