Yet another milestone on this sunny day in Austin. We celebrated month 11 with a brunch with The Greagers, where Eleanor proceeded to act like a total maniac because there wasn't enough action at the restaurant. The dining experience consisted of our daughter climbing out of the highchair, thrashing to and fro as we held her, trying to eat pebbles on the ground, and various high pitched squeals (not the cute kind).
Bama and Gampa visited last weekend, and we had a great time with them. Saturday we walked one of our favorite neighborhoods, Clarksville. We've never been to Waterloo Records, an Austin institution, so we perused aisle upon aisle of music, old and new. Gampa was in heaven. We also popped into Paper Source, where Bama insisted on buying her granddaughter an adorable bunny. Eleanor LOVES this bunny - super soft, and just her size. Ellie sleeps with the bunny, and when she wakes up, she plays with it for a few minutes before calling out to us. It's the sweetest thing ever to witness on the monitor;)
We ended Saturday with an early dinner at Cipolina in Clarksville. We were the first diners in there at 5:00 (for Ellie, of course), and by 5:30 the restaurant was filled with families.
Sunday we had lunch at Ellie's favorite spot, Casa de Luz, a very "Austin" vegan spot. Laura, our nanny, takes Ellie there often, and when we went on Sunday, she acted like she owned the place. You know the food is good there when our daughter was evening dabbling in the kale. We ended the afternoon with a walk on the hike and bike trail and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
Monday, Ellie showed off her swim skills (video below is courtesy of Gampa). I think Bama had a few panic attacks when Eleanor went under water. Little miss is up to 6 seconds of submersion - no fear whatsoever!
New happenings this week:
: Lots of gibberish... we have a Chatty Cathy on our hands
: Clapping like it's her job
: Eleanor definitely knows "no" now. She clearly understands when she's doing something she's not supposed to be doing. As we say "no," she gives us a smirk and bolts in the opposite direction. I envision lots of time outs in the near future.
: Teething has been our nemesis this weekend, leading to 5:00 a.m. wake up calls from Ellie. We realize how lucky we are that Ellie is a good sleeper when we encounter weekends like this one...
Eleanor marveling at her new bunny
We had lunch with Great Great Aunt Sally on Friday. Ellie ignored Sally for most of our meal as she tried to entertain the patrons at neighboring tables, except for this fun game of napkin peek-a-boo.
As you can see, we have a very cooperative Ellie here.
Well, it's been a VERY eventful couple of weeks. Our entire family was struck with the flu, and it was brutal. I was hit first, then Eleanor and Justin... we were a sad bunch. We were so sick that Ellie and I had to postpone our trip to Naples. But, we eventually made it and had a great time while keeping it low key since we were still recovering.
I flew solo with Ellie for the first time, and for the most part, she was a trooper. Or should I say the neighbors sitting next to us were? Ellie's social graces made up for her fussing a little as she settled down to sleep. Our neighbors were so enamored with Ellie that multiple people asked to hold her on each leg of our flights. Since our daughter doesn't know a stranger, I took everyone up on their offers.
Naples was beautiful! We checked out Bay Design where Aunt Katie works, had lunch downtown, strolled 5th Avenue, went on walks, and hung out at Katie's apartment. It's was a great Girls Weekend, considering we weren't the healthiest pair.
New tidbits with the little bit:
: Ellie loves eating finger foods and prefers that to us feeding her.
: Clicks her tongue all of the time.
: Knows how to sign milk, more, dog, and all done/finished.
: Continues her dog obsession.
: Our daughter LOVES eating out. Her favorite spot is Casa de Luz, a local vegan co-op place.
: Non-stop finger sucking. It used to be only when she was tired or hungry, but now it's constant. We're not sure if it's because she may be teething, bored, or just really orally fixated. If we continue at this pace, we'll need to start an orthodontia fund ASAP.
Bama and Gampa come for a visit today, so Eleanor is sure to be spoiled rotten.
Ladies Lunch... Too bad Eleanor is so shy
Love that Florida sunshine
Photo op at the beach we never made it to... so picturesque!
This retiree circles downtown Napeles everyday with this camel head. He talks to it, swivels the head so that everyone can see, and even kisses the camel. We were thoroughly entertained driving behind the "show.
Nana and Ellie having a picnic on the porch
Swimsuit model
Heart tights for Valentine's Day
Ellie showing off her tongue clicking to Daddy
It was impossible to get a picture without her fingers in her mouth.
Ellie had her first pickle a couple of weeks ago. Here she is again, shuddering at the taste but then going back for more...
We had a fairly quiet week in the Thomas household. The weather in Austin has been gorgeous, so we try to spend as much time outdoors as possible.
One of Eleanor's new favorites is going out to eat. We took her out last weekend for the first time where she could actually fit into a highchair (most are too big and she can climb out). We made the mistake of sitting in a corner with Ellie's back to the restaurant. She basically did backbends to see the surrounding tables and screamed "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" It was a lost cause to have her join us, so we turned the highchair around so that she could socialize with the surrounding tables. It's really too bad our daughter is so shy...
I took Eleanor for a check up post ear infection last week. As the nurse walked us to the scale, I told her that Ellie had clearly been through a growth spurt recently, eating lots of finger foods and really filling out. So, I expected the scale to reflect that. Um, no, she actually LOST 1/2 pound since we were at the doctor's office 2 weeks earlier. I made the nurse re-weigh her 3x because I didn't believe her. This lady must have quite the metabolism!
We are Naples bound on Thursday - we can't wait to visit Aunt Katie with Nana! It's my first trip traveling solo with Ellie, so let's hope I survive this adventure.
Ellie now has this super cute crooked smile that's usually accompanied with squeals or heavy breathing.
Story time
Justin got creative with Ellie's scarves... a little doo rag action.
One of Ellie's favorite play areas now. She'll literally come barreling around the corner when she hears the frig door open.
