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 .....