Breakfast

This morning, right after getting up, Eleanor mumbled that she was hungry.  Granddad asked her what she wanted and she told him "I'm only talking to Mommy."  After chiding her, I asked her what she wanted.  She waited a minute and told me she wanted a Blue Bell Popsicle.  I told her no way, to which she replied "I'm only talking to Granddad!"

Eleanor Sayings and Doings

Yesterday Eleanor had a small accident in her panties.  She's been taking herself to the bathroom for a few weeks now, so I didn't know until I went to see what she was doing in her room.  She told me about her accident and I asked her where her panties were.  She giggled and told me "They're invisible!"  She had hidden them in a basket!

Just now she found the pencil she put in the refrigerator yesterday.

Last night Eleanor was standing in the middle on her room with her blanket over her head. She was being invisible. She stood there for a minute before my dad gently touched her foot. She jumped and the blanket fell off. Later she told me "Granddad touched my foot and my heart was bumping!"


At dinner last night she informed me that when I was little I liked to dress up as a picture frame.  The best part is the way she pronounces picture, with a drawn out emphasis on the ict.

Flap Your Arms Like A Chicken ......

She only looks like she's doing the chicken dance!

This isn't her Halloween costume.  She was just playing dress-up in the backyard.

I'm Back

I just couldn't give up on this blog! I was actually planning too and (as you can tell) haven't posted in forever. But I started rereading all the posts I'd written and I realized how much of that stuff I'd already forgotten. I don't journal, so this is where a lot of my memories ended up. So, even if now one else reads this, I've decided I'm going to try to keep it up.

Deciding

You have probably noticed the huge lack of posts lately. There have been many reasons for this. Eleanor is busy all the time and wants me to help her/play with her/read to her all the time. And blogger isn't always the easiest program to work with. Pictures, especially, are a pain in the butt and take forever to put in a post. It wasn't so bad when Nora took two naps a day and I had a tiny house to take care of, but now it's hard to find the time to fool with pictures and write long posts.

On the other hand, Facebook, as much as I don't always like it, is quick and easy to use.

So I'm thinking about shutting down the blog.

Do you Believe in Magic?

Nora came up with a trick! She came to me this morning and asked me to come see her magic trick. She told me she was going to make her bracelet disappear. She put it on her bed, said "Zappa" and swiped it off her bed with a foam sword. She has since repeated her performance for Granddad and Daddy and has added a "Tada!" and a bow to the end of the performance. Best part? She came up with this all on her own.

Not Much Going On

That about sums it up. Nora's taking swimming lessons. She's getting better about clinging to me in the water, but she's still far from being a little fish. I think the best thing about them is that they are right before lunch, so she eats and then is wiped out for a good, long nap.

It's been so hot that we haven't been able to play outside much. We've been working on the alphabet and doing some workbooks instead. Yesterday she could identify all but three of her capital letters! On the other hand, coloring is just not her thing. I don't think she'll be an artist.

Smart Girl

Mommy: "Eleanor, go tell daddy I'm starting dinner."

Eleanor: "Daddy, Mommy said she's making dinner."

Daddy: "Tell Mommy she's cooking too slow."

Eleanor: "Uh - uh!"

Changes and More Changes

Right around the time that Jack and Amanda left we caught Eleanor trying to climb out of her crib. Twice. So we decided to change her crib into a toddler bed. We had gotten her a convertible crib and it came with side rails to use as a toddler bed. So a few minutes of work and we had a toddler bed. Nora loved it and would play on it all the time.

Until ... About a week or so later I found out that her crib had just been recalled. And that the company had been sold. And that the company that had bought it had gone out of business. Luckily we had bought the crib at Target and they would give us a cash refund if we brought the crib to them. Here is what we ended up getting her instead.

She absolutely loves it! It's her big girl bed and she helps me make it every morning. Here are some other new additions to her "big-girl" room.

I made the curtains and I got the rocker at an antique mall. We've caught her many times sitting in it and singing lullabies to her dolls or reading them a bible story.

Today

Nora and I went grocery shopping today. As usual, she started the trip in one of those carts with a little car in front for the kids to ride in. She got a cookie at the bakery and looked at the toys on the cereal aisle. Then she wanted to help me grocery shop. She would walk next to the cart and put the items I pointed to in it. Every time she did she would say "I'm a mommy just like you, mommy!"

More Catch Up

We left Savannah on a Friday and stayed the night at Aunt Scotty's condo in Perdido. Matt loved it (he had never been before). He fell asleep on the balcony listening to the ocean! It would have been nice to stay longer but we wanted to get home on Saturday so he could rest before having to be back at work on Monday. By Saturday we were all tired, cranky and ready to be home. This was all topped off when Nora threw up in her car seat!

It was great to be home for the few days we were. That Thursday Mom and Dad went to the airport to pick up Travis, Amanda and Jack and from there went straight to Houma, LA for Easter with Aunt Scotty. We left that afternoon to join them.

She got way too much candy, but loved having her older cousin around. Travis had to leave on Monday, but Jack and Amanda stayed for another week and a half. We took them to the children's museum, Chucky Cheese's, the park and they both went fishing for the first time.
After Jack and Amanda left Eleanor got sick with a bad cold. Then Matt and I caught it as well and we are just getting over it.

So now we are all caught up. I promise I will try to keep this updated better.

Catch Up

Let's play catch-up on the last month and half. Okay, ready?

We went to Savannah, came home for four days, went to Houma for a long weekend, came back and had Jack and Amanda stay with us for almost two weeks, then Eleanor got sick and is just now getting better, even though Matt and I are just getting sick.

There, all caught up!

We drove to Savannah, stopping first in Mississippi to stay with my grandparents, and then in Atlanta for a few days to spend time with Tom and Sue and the girls. Eleanor loved playing with the kids and thought the babies were the best thing ever. When we asked her if she wanted a baby she pointed at Thomas and said she wanted that one! Here are a few pictures from this leg of the trip.

After we left Atlanta we went and stayed a few days with Matt's sister Sara. While we were there we got to spend time with the rest of Matt's family including his niece and nephews. Eleanor tickled everyone's funny bones one morning when she asked her Aunt Sara for a cookie for breakfast. Sara told Matt she asked and he called Eleanor. He asked her if she asked for a cookie. She looked at the floor, ran her foot along and announced that "These socks are slippery." She really enjoyed Sara's house, especially the playroom.

After Sara's house we went to stay with Matt's mom for a few days. She loved it there, too, because there was a playroom and Emily stayed over for much of the time we were there. We tried to get pictures of the whole gang together, but that was easier said than done. Emily and Samuel were very cooperative (he just kept saying cheese the whole time) and Eleanor and Tanner were less so. This is one of my favorite shots.

After Nana's house we stayed in a "Show and Tell" for a night before stayed a few nights at our friends Will and Jill's. Eleanor loved it there because they three new kittens. So, all in all, she had a great trip. I think two weeks was too long to be gone, though and we stay at a few too many places for her taste, I think. One day we had to turn around in some one's drive way. When she saw the house she asked who lived there and was this where we were sleeping that night.

To be continued .....

I Can't Say I Disagree

When Granddad came home for lunch today Eleanor, who had left some of her Hungry Hippos pieces in his room yesterday, ran up to him and yelled "I lost my marbles!"

When the girl is right, she's right.

Show and Tell

Matt, Eleanor, Mom and Dad went to Many over the weekend to Dad's dad before he went back up to Montana for the spring. Since I had to work on Saturday I had two wonderful, quiet ... I mean lonely and boring days alone at home.

Eleanor was so excited to go on the trip and even more excited for "show and tell". This one had me stumped for a while. Show and tell? Show and tell, she'd repeat. Then she asked me what show and tell was and I told. Then it dawned on me. She was excited about the "hotel"!

From all I hear she had a blast! She fed catfish, played ball, ate breakfast in a "school bus" (RV) and ran around the hotel room repeating, over and over, the she was excited.

Who Dat?

Good Dreams?

Last night Matt and I were awakened by a call of "I want ice cream!" from a still sleeping Nora.

Um .... Sorta

Everyday, before she takes a nap, we read Eleanor a bible story and a page from her children's bible. The other day, while I was at work, Nora wanted to read a particular story. She told her daddy she wanted the one where "God told Noah to leave the land of Egypt and take two animals because Adam and Eve can go home now."

That would be a very interesting story to read.

Spotty, Spotty, Polka-Dotty

That sums up Nora right now. On Tuesday morning we noticed a few spots on her arm and face and at first thought it was just from her rubbing when she sucks her thumb. But then my mom lifted up her shirt and had some on her belly and back, too. By the time the doctor looked at her an hour later they were everywhere!

It's a hand, foot and mouth virus and it should go away it a few more days. There is nothing to do for it but wait, but it is contagious. So she's had to miss her first dance class and the story time at the library on Tuesday that I got her all excited about before she became speckled. And, as of right now, it looks like she'll miss her toddler activities class on Friday, too. So to sum up I have a sick kid who can't go anywhere but who feels fine and dandy and wants to go to her classes. It's been real fun.

FYI

According to Eleanor some apples are nocturnal.

Just thought you should know.

That Explains It

Nora went to the doctor yesterday to get her 2nd H1N1 shot. The doc was checking her to make sure she could get the shot and he found out she has an ear infection. That came as a surprise to us, but it did help to explain why she's been waking up so many times at night. It's just a tad infected, with no fever, so she was able to get the shot and she's on antibiotics now. We'll go back in ten days to have them checked out again.

In other news her Nanny was in town over the weekend for a wedding and came by to see Eleanor. Nora really enjoyed having her Nanny around and can't wait to see her again.

Checking out Uncle Jerry's new plane.