Love & Fear

We've had a fun couple of weeks watching Eleanor literally learn new things daily. She's at a really fun age (most of the time) where she can communicate more, interact, and even help a little. 

We had Eleanor's 18 month check up, and here are her stats:

Height: 31.5 inches (46%)
Weight: 21 lbs (13%)
Head: 47 cm (64%)

She really sprouted up but continues to be a bean pole in the weight department. I continually assure our doctor that we feed our daughter, but she is so active that she burns everything she eats. Like immediately upon digesting it.

Some other tidbits:

: Ellie chats all day every day. Sometimes it's just gibber gabber, and other times it's new words like - boots, wind, soap, raincoat, vroom vroom vroom (when she plays cars), airplane, etc.

: The newest obsession is rain, which is a rarity in Austin. A few weeks ago, I impulsively bought her some adorable rain boots and immediately felt guilty that I bought them. It rarely rains here, and her feet grow so fast! However, we were miraculously blessed with multiple downpours since I bought the boots, and playing in the rain is Eleanor's new favorite activity (as seen below in videos). She insists on wearing her boots around the house as if she'll will the rain to come. Then, upon the first droplet hitting the ground, she screams, and runs for the door. When she gets outside, she dances/shrieks with delight/splashes/rolls in puddles. Needless to say, the rain boots purchase was one of my better investments;)

: On the flip side, Eleanor actually showed fear for the first time. She watches her "shows" on the iPad, which consist of very G-rated PBS programs. She was calmly watching the other day on the couch, when she leapt out of her seat and raced over to me on my side of the couch, clutching me as if the boogie man was coming. I looked over at the iPad screen and saw Grover and a innocent looking robot. I couldn't figure out what had happened. Then, this reaction to the robot scene repeated over and over again. We soon realized that our daughter is afraid of robots. Which we think is hilarious. The funniest part is that we think she's trying to overcome her fear because she constantly taunts herself with the very show that scares her.

For kicks, check out the super frightening clip that continually scares our daughter: http://www.iptv.org/kids/story.cfm/video/sesa_20130924_kunal_nayyar_helps_grover/video

: "Helping" continues to be a big theme in our house, wiping down a surface, pretend sweeping, throwing trash away, etc. Not only does she love to be given a job, she takes a lot of pride in being our little helper.

: Hand holding has also been a big theme. Eleanor wants to hold hands whenever we walk, and if Justin's near, she wants both of her hands to be held. This came out of nowhere from our little independent daughter... pretty sure she just senses the competition in the wings;)

: With the weather being so nice here (finally!), we've spent tons of time outdoors with our neighbor friends. Audrey, our 2 1/2 year old neighbor, is such a sweet little girl. Another neighbor had her 18 month old grandson, Emerson, visiting for the week - the three of them had a ball playing together. So much so that when the other kids had to leave, Eleanor gracefully threw herself on the pavement and threw the most unnecessary tantrum. You'd think we keep her as a caged animal. Fingers crossed that she can get into a school program later this year.

: The Thomas Casa is about to get to maximum occupancy, and no, not because of the new baby. Our nanny, Laura, has decided to travel for a few months in India to volunteer for a school and teaching program abroad. While we are devastated to lose her, we are happily supporting her journey. In her absence, we are lucky enough to have Aunt Katie move in with us for 10 weeks and watch her beloved niece. The two of them are going to have so much fun together - hopefully Katie doesn't get sick of us!

Nothing like a little pant less sweeping in your rain boots.

Still pretty infatuated with stickers.

Eleanor + Audrey

Exploring in the backyard 

Justin's dream of buying and cooking Jiffy Pop came to fruition. Crazy Saturday night in our house!

Visit to a local coffee shop. Eleanor plops down, and declares "ooooOOOOOOoooo" (basically means she's delighted in whatever she sees or is doing).

Love affair with rain. That was the first and last time she wore that adorable dress because of the asphalt stains from rolling on the ground in the rain.

Our soon-to-be new house! If the rain stops, we'll pour the foundation this week. Delivery date? Oh, around the same time as our human delivery date. March Madness, for sure.

Grocery shopping is always more fun when you get a balloon.

Rain coat is a now a staple in our house. 

Justin and I went to a charity event for the Dell's Children's Museum, and as you would expect, they had a monkey in a tuxedo ready for photo ops. Justin couldn't pass this up, obviously.

Attending Laura's fundraiser for her upcoming trip. Eleanor is going to miss her best friend!