We were lucky enough to have Nana come to stay with us for a few days and take care of Eleanor while our nanny, Laura, was on vacation. They had a great time and Nana managed to keep up with the little maniac. I was busy with work and prepping for our vacation, so these were the only pictures I was able to capture.
Post bath, running around like a wild animal, and managed to capture this.
Eleanor loves being serenaded to with the Rock Chalk chant and insists that one of us wear the Jayhawk hat.
A last minute surprise - we didn't realize that Nana was on our flight to Houston (connection to Panama City and KC). Having an entire row and 3 laps for Eleanor to bound around on was a treat!
Next up, Watercolor! We rented a house for a week with The Lunds and Dreilings, and we had a great time. There wasn't much relaxing with a toddler that goes NON. STOP. Nevertheless, the scenery was beautiful, and it was nice to unplug and not work for a week. Eleanor and I caught a bit of a cold while we were there, but all things considered, the trip was a success. Eleanor was on her best behavior because 1) there was constant action 2) big kids 3) babies 4) adults constantly doting on her.
Eleanor loved the sand but didn't so much care for the ocean or the pool. She preferred the constant roaming and checking out the scene wherever we landed. That translated to me and Justin "herding" her during her waking hours. We were lucky enough to have Bama, Gampa, Uncle Nick and Aunt Jane there for a couple of days, so the extra hands on deck were helpful.
This weekend we had my cousin, Katherine, in town with her husband, Joe, and adorable 1-year-old daughter, Joslin. The little cousins had a great time together, and we got a taste of life as a family of 4 (we babysat Friday and Saturday while Joe and Katherine were at a friend's wedding festivities). Lucky us, we get to see The Shipleys in a few weeks at my cousin, Liz's (Katherine's sister), wedding in Santa Barbara. Even luckier is that we'll aunts, uncles, grandmas, great grandmas, etc as extra hands on deck. Probably a bit more relaxing than the 2 on 2 action we had this weekend while babysitting.
New happenings:
: We have a parrot on our hands! Eleanor tries to say almost everything we do, and she retains more than we ever thought possible.
: E loves being a helper now. If you give her a "job," she'll gladly help out (most of the time). See grocery unloading video below.
: We have a super snuggly daughter right now, and I can't get enough of it. Lots of unprompted hugs, kisses, and cuddles. She was never like this as an newborn or infant, so I feel I'm due for some backlog of love from her.
: On a similar note, I'm pretty sure Eleanor has a pretty good idea that something is up... That "something" being a baby on the way. She ONLY wants me to hold her, and she's super aggressive with my stomach - lots of rough housing.
: Ellie has a new obsession with counting and ABCs. While she still has a lot to learn, she does a remarkably good job for an almost 18 month old. It amazes me how much she learns each day and how nothing gets by her - she does not skip a beat.
: She's now started calling me "Mom." Huh? She'll throw out a "Mama" every now and then, but I'm sort of stunned with this shift. Don't I have a few more years of Mommy before we graduate to Mom? It's like she's already too cool for me;(
The Crew - Grant & Lucy Dreiling, Ellen & Georgia Lund, and Eleanor
Our walk to The Great Southern for breakfast before hitting up the beach. The Lund and Dreiling kiddos had never been to the beach - a fun first for all.
We rented bikes for the week, and Eleanor loved the rides.
The older kids had a glowstick party on the dark front porch... Ellen Lund showing off her goods.
Daily color time was a life saver as all kids loved partaking.
We were able to catch the 2.5 seconds that Eleanor relaxed on vacation.
E showing Gampa her prized tape.
Family beach pic before dinner at The Pizza Bar.
Frat Dads on the beach. I was up by our beach chairs, and our neighbors, 20 year old sorority girls, asked me, "Um, are your husbands frat guys?" Huh, what tipped you off, the loud music, cracked beer immediately upon arrival, a touch of arrogance?
Eleanor's first introduction to beach sand (other than when she was there at 6 months old).
Justin venturing out with Lucy and Ellen.
Beach babe.
This was about a far as she'd go in the water. Not a fan.
Sticker time.
More coloring and sticker fun.
Building sandcastles with Bama and Gampa.
Gampa burying E's feet with sand.
Thanks to Lynn, Allen, Nick, and Jane's babysitting services, the adults were able enjoy a delicious meal at Fish Out of Water. We overate and were even able to see the Watercolor Labor Day Fireworks before dinner. Great evening out!
Happy girl at the pool.
Refused to get in the pool, but dumping water onto herself wasn't a problem.
One of the few moments where she has an angelic face, rather than an ornery one.
Playing peekaboo around the corner.
Family shot in front of our house. Photo courtesy of Mr. Jeff Dreiling.
Barefoot nature walk. In all her glory.
Our adorable home for the week: 134 Mystic Cobalt. It was perfect for our needs.
Erik with his good luck charm pre Fantasy Football Draft.
Ellen and Eleanor watching some "shows" on the iPad.
It's hard to believe it's been 3 years since I made this walk to meet Justin at the altar. Our first house built, 1 beautiful baby, our next home in the works, 2nd baby on the way. So much to be grateful for!
Justin and Jeff at dinner
Lucy and Ellie snuggling.
Cousins! Joslin and Eleanor's bathtime.
Justin/Joslin snuggle time.
Shipleys at Taco Deli doing breakfast Austin style with breakfast tacos.
Eleanor strolling her baby while Joss practices her walking skills.
"Joslin, check out my sweet library."
Bookworms.
Playing ball in jammies.
Eleanor teaching Joss how to master the stairs. Highlight of Joslin's trip BY FAR.
In the interest of time, I'll get down to business with top news. Despite the crankiness, teething, temper tantrums, etc, we've decided to give Eleanor a promotion - she'll become a big sister in March! We are excited and terrified at the same time. I've spent the last 2+ months feeling pretty awful, but I'm hopeful that I'll get over that hump soon.
We had our ~12+ week appointment this week, and everything is looking good. Baby is growing, and so is my belly. The bump made a much earlier appearance this go around. I wasn't this size with Eleanor until I was ~20 weeks (currently 13 weeks).
In other exciting news, we're off to Watercolor tomorrow for a family vacation with The Dreilings and Lunds. 6 adults + 5 children + 1 roof = wish us luck! I think Eleanor will be in heaven with the constant action, big kids, and change of scenery. She's officially over the heat and bored with Justin and me. Lucky for us, Bama and Gampa and Uncle Nick and Aunt Jane will meet us at the beach... we have no shame in pawning her off on various family members to "herd" her while we try to regain some of our sanity.
Speaking of which, Nana was here this week to help with Eleanor while our nanny is on vacation. I'm not sure what we would have done without her - they kept busy with trips to the park, children's museum, Dollar Store for stickers, walks in the neighborhood, swinging, counting, music class, ball throwing... Nana might need a vacation from the "work" week.
More photos to come in the next post - time for bed!
She has no idea what's in store... The past 17 months have flown by. It's unbelievable that our baby will be the BIG sister!
We're trying really hard to keep Eleanor entertained in blistering triple digit weather (usually 100 degrees by 10:00 am), and it's proving to be quite the chore. For an outdoorsy girl, she's ready to lose her mind. We have tried just about everything, random trips to Target to walk around, baiting her with stickers and tape, playing in the shower (without running water), hide and seek, chase, and unfortunately, more TV than we care to admit.
We're typically pretty strict about limiting TV watching, and so far, it's worked well. She really didn't know what she's missing. But, the heat, coupled with some aggressive teething moods, we've had to resort to our quick fix. You can tell Eleanor is getting used to this new routine because she hands the remote to us, says "show," settles into her spot on the couch in her "relaxing" stance, and promptly sticks her fingers in her mouth. The good thing is that we can only have it on for 10 minutes, and she thinks she's watched a full movie.
Last week, Justin and I were lucky enough to sneak in a weekday date night. We were a little ashamed that we'd never been to Blues on the Green before, so we ventured out for some music, beers, and sweat. It's at Zilker Park and basically a smaller (and free) version of ACL. We started out with dinner at Shady Grove, and walked to Zilker. We had so much fun relaxing, people watching, and not chasing our daughter around.
The very opposite of the aforementioned relaxing evening - We went to Bubblepalooza last weekend at the Long Center, and it was a total bust. We could have recreated the bubble action in our backyard and avoided the crowds and overall mayhem. We thought we were smart to get there by 9:30 am, but it was already 95 degrees by then, so our stay there was short lived. Eleanor ran around chasing bubbles, danced at the live "kindie" music, and aimlessly walked around dodging hundreds of other kiddos.
We also went on a bike ride and to Barton Springs last weekend. Again, due to the heat, these activities are very brief. Is it Fall yet? We're in countdown mode to Watercolor - 2 weeks to go! The upper 80s will seem so refreshing...
New EJT Tidbits:
: New vocabulary: show (TV), open, water, wet, Walter, (music teacher), um, oooOOOOoooo (when she finds something interesting), raisin, apple, and nana (banana). In addition to her independently speaking, she's very into repeating whatever we're saying and tries new words every day. The words she ends up verbalizing often don't sound remotely like the words she's attempting. E for effort, Eleanor!
: We have songs from music where we count. I'll start counting, and she'll mock me with voice inflections, but not necessarily count past 2. She holds up 1 hand and points to her fingers with the other hand while she counts. Pretty darn cute.
: Playing hide and go seek and chase around the house have become big hits. Eleanor is also strangely obsessed with playing in the mini shower in the downstairs bathroom.
: Picking up/sorting seems to be trending right now too. At music class, the kids put the various objects (instruments, scarves, shakers) into a bin when they're finished playing, and Eleanor was queen bee of cleaning up this week.
: We have 8 teeth now with 2 more making their way in. As you can imagine, it makes for some pretty awful, moody/whiny moments.
: E still loves to dance and has added some new moves to her repertoire, complete with clapping.
: Our daughter has been pretty into putting her bunnies (that she sleeps with) to night night when she wakes up in the morning or after naps. She kisses each of them, places them in the corner of her crib, and then covers them up with a blankie, and says "nigh niiiiight." Similarly, if we're laying on the couch, she'll put a blanket on us and put us down for night night.
: Little princess has discovered foot rubs. We randomly gave her one in the car a couple of weeks ago, and now she leans back and kicks her foot up to us. We'll rub for a minute, and then stop. She'll then kick her other foot up and say "mo." We're in trouble.
: One of the more annoying recent habits is that E somewhat refuses to sit in a grocery cart and reluctantly sits in her stroller. She wants to push what whatever contraption we are. So, we've put a moratorium on grocery visits with her - it's literally a 3 ring circus and takes 10x as long to get what we need.
Ruffling through mommy's makeup.
Eleanor showing off her dance moves at Bubblepalooza.
Silly girl.
Lounging at Zilker.
Blues on the Green date night.
Beautiful sunset at Blues on the Green. This was right after we caught site of dozens of bats swarming Zilker.
Last weekend we decided to take a mini staycation while our nanny, Laura, had jury duty. We spent Sunday night at the W Austin, and the best part about it was that it didn't cost anything. I guess one of the perks of Justin traveling so much for work.
Our first stop was the pool, until it promptly started raining as we settled in. Eleanor liked the pool OK, but she much preferred meandering the deck checking out all of the sunbathers. We then walked over to Frank's for a Chicago dog, and then back to the hotel for a quick drink (read: us chasing Eleanor around the empty hotel bar area), and then back to the room for bath and bed. I'm pretty sure the highlight of the hotel stay was our daughter pushing the buttons on the elevator.
Monday morning we ventured to Annie's for breakfast, and then off to tour our first preschool for next year. How is our precious daughter already old enough to be in preschool - time is flying!
We had a busy week of work and play with Eleanor. We think she's working on her 8th tooth, and we've also battled a few nights in a row of night terrors. So sad that such a small little peanut can have nightmares. Oh how I wonder what she's thinking during these fits... probably a life without rocks, dirt, raisins, and doggies.
This weekend was super low key, which was so welcomed after being on the go all summer. We walked over to Zilker Park and hung out there for a bit, and Eleanor was in HEAVEN. She was literally rolling around in the grass and running non stop for an hour. We capped off the weekend today with a bike ride and swim date, complete with popcicles, in the backyard with our 2-year-old neighbor, Audrey.
New happenings the past 2 weeks:
: Eleanor has some new teeth coming in, and when we ask her to see her teeth, she scrunches her eyes, opens her mouth, and covers her teeth with her lips. See below for visual.
: Our daughter has some new dance moves... she's really into spinning, literally until she's dizzy.
: We have a blueberry fiend on our hands. E will snack on blueberries for 10-15 minutes at a time, quickly popping one after the other. If the berry isn't firm, she pokes her finger in it, and throws it on the ground.
: In addition to exploring her artistic side, we also have a sticker fanatic. It started with tape, so I thought I'd buy her some stickers for her artwork. A sheet of stickers lasts exactly 10 seconds, after she piles one on top of the other, and she then immediately asks for "mo."
: I'm amazed at how much Eleanor actually knows and understands. For instance, I'll ask her to "go get a diaper, and bring it to Mommy." It's not 100%, but usually she'll comply. I also ask her to get a certain book off the shelf, and she knows exactly which one to grab. If she could only communicate as well as she receptively understands. We still have lots of grunting and annoyed moaning sounds. We're trying to teach her to "use her words" and patiently wait for her to communicate.
: E is really into flowers now and insists on smelling every bud she passes. It makes for a long grocery visit as we pass the floral department;)
Early morning snuggles
Little cabana lady relaxing at the W. This so called "relaxing" lasted exactly 8 seconds. Then, she was running around like a maniac making sure that the all poolside adults knew she was the only kiddo in sight.
Rough life, Ellie.
E taking in the beautiful view from the W, overlooking Downtown Austin and the W pool.
One last viewing before bed.
I brought Eleanor into our room last week in the middle of the night because her night terrors were so bad. Some good old fashioned back rubs and snuggling did the trick, and we got to wake up to this angel.
You missed a spot, Ellie.
"Show me your teeth!"
We found this little guy on the hood of my car as we were leaving for errands today.
Our first stop was Starbucks, and this is what we found, after a 2 mile drive from home. The little critter was scared to death.
Eleanor fully embraces her usual Friday entourage at the park. Too bad she's so shy...
It's been a busy couple of weeks... we had a great long weekend for the 4th. Justin and I both had Friday off, which made for an exceptionally long weekend in Austin. We hung out at our friend's new backyard pool on the East Side, had brunch play dates at our house, and visited our music teacher at a farmer's market for his "gig."
We were in Dallas this last weekend for a PSW event, and it also happened to be Eleanor's first road trip since she was 8 weeks old. Let's just say there's room for improvement on the car riding front. She loved staying at a hotel and walking around Uptown. Saturday afternoon we had brunch with Justin's work friends, and our daughter was a total maniac, doing laps for HOURS at the beer garden, rolling in dirt, and generally just making sure the packed house knew she was there. On Sunday, we had brunch with my Uncle, Aunt, and Cousins (The Schroeders), and Eleanor was happily high fiving and kissing the family until she quickly got bored and had to meander the restaurant.
New tidbits:
: Eleanor now says more "mo," up, down, bubbles, outside "side," ball, and swing "weeeee." Her very favorite words, however, are yeah, yes (with a lisp), and no. OUR favorite word that she says is "nigh niiiiight," which she's starting to say when she's ready for a nap or bed. Gotta love that.
: The newest activity of choice is strolling her baby around in her baby stroller. We went shopping for her first tricycle last weekend, only to find that she's too small for even the smallest trike (welcome to the world of being small, Ellie). So the consolation prize was a $5 stroller that she can't get enough of. We strap her baby in, and she usually finds treasures along her walks such as rocks, leaves, and twigs that she packs in with her baby.
: On a similar note, Eleanor no longer likes to ride in HER stroller - she prefers to push the stroller (behind the low lying basket). Last weekend she pushed the big stroller almost a mile before she pooped out. And she walks with such purpose, really funny;)
: We have a budding artist who likes to color with her Crayons. She also tries to eat them, which we're working on. Needless to say, Eleanor has produced some great fridge art;)
: Our daughter is becoming more independent and insists on using silverware and drinking from our cups.
: Conversely, she's in a sudden hand holding phase while walking. It's great until you realize she. doesn't. stop. ever.
We hung out at our friends new pool over The 4th. But, all Eleanor wanted to do was swim in the rocks. See video below for "rock angels."
We went to the park on Friday, and a summer camp unleashed onto the playground right when we arrived. Ellie ended up having an entourage. Two 8-year-old girls each held Ellie's hand and took turns taking her on the slide and swings. When we had to leave, they asked, "Can Ellie come back and play tomorrow?" So precious. Our daughter was in HEAVEN.
After an hour and half into the trip, 2 DVDs and some crying fits, we finally got Eleanor to sleep.
Happy Hour in Dallas with Evan, Meghan, and (dog) Wells.
Brunch with The Schroeders in Dallas. Of course the boys look so handsome, but we couldn't get E to even look at the camera. This is the best we could get...
