Drinking & Playing

Eleanor has gotten quite adept at drinking by herself. She started with sippy cups, but now will put any cup, bottle, or glass up to her lips and tilt it back. She has also started drinking through a straw if we have one in our drink. This is great but can cause some messy situations. Here she is getting ready for her first Comfest while taking a bath.



While we were shopping this weekend we got Eleanor her first glove and ball. Right now it makes for a pretty good hat, but it won't be long til she is ready to play catch in the back yard. She is also playing with her favorite toy of the moment, a Starbucks Straw. Wendy has learned that is she doesn't get an extra straw for Nora with her iced coffee it will go missing from her drink.
Mookie still loves his little sister despite the fact that she can and does chase him everywhere. Here he is giving her some kisses.

Parenting 101

Eleanor and I have been having fun while Wendy has been out of town. Wendy and I did a pretty good job of sharing all the tasks of taking care of Nora, so the real challenge is doing ALL the needed tasks 4 days in a row. But so far it's going well and hasn't been too difficult. A recap.

Feed Nora.

Play with Nora.

Feed Nora and Mookie.

Put Nora to sleep.
Rinse and repeat. The toughest thing has been teaching Mookie to share his food and blanket.


I don't really put her in the dog crate at bedtime we just use it for naps. Although we are doing fine we do miss Wendy and can't wait to see her tomorrow night. Hurry home, honey, we are almost out of dog food.

10 Months

Eleanor turned 10 months old this past Wednesday. . . .boy time is flying by. She is a joy to be around as you can tell by the pictures. She is always ready to laugh and play and sometimes can be a bit ornery . . .not sure which side of the family she got that from. He she is when changing clothes turned into a game.




Above is a picture of her in a springy dress. I picked this one out one day while Wendy was running some errands. I pick out her clothes based on which outfit makes her squeal the loudest when I hold it up. Nora and I are going to get some good quality time coming up as Wendy's job is taking her to Dallas for 4 days, starting tomorrow. So it is going to be me, the kiddo, and Mookie holding down the fort. Although I know we will miss Mama it should be a fun challenge.



He is a picture of a tree we planted in the backyard, an Autumn Blaze Maple. I've been wanting to plant once since we took out all the trees soon after we moved in. We are looking forward to watching it grow and give us some shade some day.

The Bestest Day Ever

I had the bestest day ever last week on Mother's Day. After being totally jazzed about sending a gift to my Mama that made her cry (always a sign it was a good gift), Geoff and I got to have a night to ourselves Saturday. We attended our friends' wedding in Akron where we drank too much, ate too much, and sang karaoke (yeah, how cool is that at a wedding?). Then, on our way back home, we went and picked up Nora, who stayed with her cousins and Aunt & Uncle (thanks guys!) overnight. They made us steaks and we had a nice brunch. Once home, I saw two cards: one addressed to Mama and the other to w-love. They both made me cry (always a sign it was a good card). My husband rocks. Geoff got me a gift card to Kenneth's, so I can get my toes and a massage done. Eleanor got her Mama Lion King tickets for a matinee show in September (for which her Mama has been hinting rather loudly about for weeks)! I am sooooo excited to take EKG to the play/musical, I think she will be captivated by it all. Believe it or not, she will be 14 months old by then *gasp* So, it was the bestest day ever, my first as a mama with a baby on the outside (EKG was on the inside this time last year) and it was wonderful. The holiday itself now ranks among my top 3: right after my birthday and Christmas Eve. We have pictures, we have just been super busy. Here is one Eleanor's teacher sent via email the other day. Doesn't she look like she knows something the rest of us don't?

Quick Update

Eleanor loves the newspaper! So, every Sunday, we give her parts and we read some to her, she helps with the crossword, catches up on her sports, and basically waves the comics around until they are in a big heap. And we can stand in our crib . . .and we DO!
And here she is with a ruffled behind...every girl needs some ruffled PJs
And, we have discovered, Nora LOVES helping Daddy with his shoes in the morning. It is very cute! Obviously, this means she will be tying her own shoes in a matter of weeks, probably before 10 months!