Staycation & Tiny Dancer

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...

4th of July & Big D

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...

Chi Town, Cousins, and Kissing

We had the BEST time in Chicago last week... friends, family, food, city walking, and most importantly, rest and relaxation (aka minimal work). Eleanor was a champ, and went with the flow the entire week.

We had some serious travel frustrations/delays getting to Chicago. I won't go into the hairy details, but we were supposed to land at 8:30 a.m. and 3 planes with mechanical issues later, we landed at 5:00 p.m. It was a long day, but we survived, and our daughter was the MVP of the day.

We made up the the initial travel woes with a wonderful week in Chicago. We spent most of the time eating our way through Lakeview, and Eleanor managed to kiss about 30 people throughout the week (really into kissing - now puckers instead of the slimy open mouthed kiss). We rented a brownstone in Lakeview, right on Southport, amidst a stretch of restaurants, retail, public transportation, etc. It was the perfect location and the perfect accommodations. We'll likely stay there again next year...

Here's a rundown of our week:

Saturday: A looong, travel day. We missed the The Waller wedding ceremony that we were traveling FOR, but we were able to get there in time for part of the reception. We jumped in and spent the evening with dear friends. When all was said and done, we were up for close to 24 hours once we went to bed.

Sunday: Breakfast as Julius Meihnl, play date at Oz Park with Olivia and Lindsey Clancey, hang time on the stoop of the brownstone we rented with various friends and family members stopping by throughout the day, dinner with The Clanceys, Justin briefly attending the Taste of Randolph to see Lord Huron play.

Monday: Breakfast at Orange, where they have the best orange infused coffee. Then, an El ride downtown to have a pool play date with Henry and Jen Price. We finished the night slamming a bottle of wine and sushi in about 20 minutes at Rise because Eleanor would not sit still.

Tuesday: Breakfast at Bakin' and Eggs, lunch at Harmony Grill, visited the park behind my old condo, playtime with Bama and Gampa, and then a delicious adults only dinner with Alex and Katie Lew at Divanti Enoteca (babysitting services courtesy of Bama & Gampa).

Wednesday: Bama's 60th birthday! Breakfast at Southport Grocer, the The Lincoln Park Zoo with Auntie Val, Auntie Meghan, Cousin Elizabeth, and Bama and Gampa. I had dinner with my good friend, Erin, at Deleece while Justin and Eleanor strolled Southport and visited the Roznowskis.

Thursday: Moved to Mike and Jenny's condo, strolled east to get a glimpse of Lake Michigan, and had a playdate with The Clanceys and Hales and grilled out at The Clanceys. We wrapped up our night at The Clanceys with a combo bathtime for Eleanor and Olivia. Playtime with Clare (Roznowski dog) when we arrived home, and then time for bed!

Friday: Breakfast at Julius Meinhl again, then Justin went to the Cub's game with Mike, Eric, Alex, Ryan, and Dylan. Unfortunately, there was a rain delay, so they passed the time at a bar in Wrigleyville. Eleanor decided to take a 4 HOUR nap that day, so I was able to catch up on work. We finished the night with at dinner an old favorite, Twist.

Saturday: Breakfast at the Lincoln Park Farmer's Market with the Hales and the Clanceys, then a day out in the suburbs with Bama, Gampa, Auntie Val and Uncle John, and Tom/Meghan/Elizabeth.

Some new tidbits with the little lady:

: She's really steady on her feet and doesn't crawl much anymore.

: E's into feeding herself, even if she makes a complete mess. We started off with oatmeal and yogurt using the spoon (sort of).

: We had our 15 month checkup and shots this week and came home with the following stats: Height 30" (30%), Weight 19.2 lbs (4%), and Head 46.5 cm (69%). The doctor insisted that I not be worried about Eleanor's low weigh - she's been 19 lbs since her 1 year checkup. Apparently a lot of kiddos plateau out for a few months at this age. We have a very active daughter, and I'm envious of her metabolism.

: Our daughter has always been vocal and still is. However, she's starting to say a few new words: "wa" for water, eye, hot, "nana" for banana, "ray" for raisins, etc. When she's not saying real words, there's lots of gibberish.

: We're also into animal sounds: Dog (woof woof), Cat (mmmmmmm), Cow (moooooo), Monkey (oooo-oooo, ahhh-ahhh), Lion (roar).

: During our short stay in Chicago, Eleanor managed to remember who most people were. When we asked her, "Where's [insert various friends/family]?" she'd look or point to that person.

Dylan, Preno, Justin and Deck all dolled up for the John and Jess's wedding - super fun evening!

We have a sorter! I gave E cereal and beans all together. I turned around for about 30 seconds, and she had sorted the two. Not sure if that's a good talent or if it's just OCD.

New kicks for some city walking.

Breakfast at Meinhl. Eating her favorite food on earth, raisins.

We spent a lot of time on the stoop just people watching - Eleanor LOVED it.

Gampa and his granddaughters on Father's Day

Clancey, Justin and Clay at Taste of Randolph.

Don't look so thrilled, Eleanor. On our way Downtown via the El.

The one and only Henry Price! Don't be fooled, this chubster is 24 lbs but 4 months younger than Eleanor. "Tank" is one of the most chill babies I know.

Good times at the pool.

Park play date with Olivia.

Girlfriends.

Breakfast at Bakin' and Eggs. Happy girl!

Clancey/Hale/Thomas play date.

Eleanor was Uncle Ricky's grilling supervisor.

The aftermath at 6:00 pm. - wild and crazy night!

Loves sucking on creamer containers.

Strolling down Southport. 

City Girl.

Eleanor loved hanging outside the flower shop that was next door to our condo rental.

One of many kisses given last week... such a lover.

Cousins at the petting zoo.

Eleanor with the Birthday Girl! 60 never looked so good;)

Family photo op - what a gorgeous day for the zoo.

Our last night in our condo, we realized Eleanor fit in the window sill. She spent a good portion of the evening banging on the window and waving to passersby.

Snuggling with Uncle Mike.

Elizabeth is a great big girl cousin - so sweet with "Baby" Ellie.