Quote of the Day

Eleanor (after a few minutes of being in her room for her "nap"):
"I seem to not be sleeping."

True enough.

She is Three!

My big girl is three years old. I remember the first moments she was home with us so vividly -- the sweet little tiny thing in our arms, the dusting of snow on the ground, the joy of holiday warmth around us. It was a wonderful time. Now I see a preschooler, full of imagination, words bubbling out of her mouth, jumping and playing, growing up strong. As she moves into her fourth year on this earth, here are a few answers to questions [with a couple of follow up notes by me].

1. What is your favorite color?
Blue!

2. What are your favorite toys?
Yellow. Yellow toys. Like blocks. [I think she was kind of stuck in the favorite color question. And also, she is mimicking Henry quite a bit these days -- so a one word answer like yellow is common. Other things she loves to play with, from my observations, are her Giraffe and Blankie, little cars, trucks, animals and things she can set up little scenarios with, and books.]



3. Where do you like to go when we go outside?
The musesum [museum]. The one about trains I like. [She still loves trains. The B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore is a huge favorite. And also, the transportation exhibit at the National Museum of American History, which has many trains. As for outside activities, she is fond of the playground and generally mucking about in the backyard.]

4. What are your favorite trains?
The one in Baltimore. The William Mason. [One of the trains in the collection at the B&O Museum. The William Mason did a passby during Steam Days so we got to see it in action.]

4. What is your favorite book?
A train book. [We have lots of favorite train books, see the list here. She has also been reading lots of library books, many of which she has already memorized!]



5. What things do you like to do or play with?
I like to play. I like to play with the blocks. [She also loves to read to Giraffe. She will sit him up on her lap and go through a pile of books. She has done this for more than an hour at a time on several occasions.]

6. Who are your friends?
Arthur, Caitlin, the two Gracies (one named Grace and one named Gracie), Henry, Nona, Mathurin, and Sammy too, Mama. [Also, Anna, Riley and Spencer, and many other classmates from school that she mentions on a regular basis.]



6. What is your favorite food?
Macaroni, sandwiches. [These are funny to me. I wouldn't have thought she would answer this way. From my experience she loves pizza, turkey chili, and, of course, chocolate and ice cream.]

7. What else do you like?
Trains!

Thanksgiving

So my Halloween post was two weeks late, why not make the Thanksgiving post nearly a month late? Things have been so busy around here. Henry has had terrible ears, cough and nose for such a long time I can't even remember when it began. The tubes have only minimally helped, though we had a hopeful appointment today where his ENT said that the right tube is, in fact, still in the ear and starting to function properly. I feared that we would have to go through the whole process again since our pediatrician though the right tube had fallen out. Anyway, I was going to post about Thanksgiving...

We had an early Thanksgiving meal at Sarah, Karl and Anna's house with a bunch of other friends. It was so much fun and the food was amazing. I still need to track down Cate's sweet potato/marshmallow goodness recipe. The kids all had a great time running around and tearing up the house.



Mu and Tada came for the week of Thanksgiving and we had lots of adventures. We had another lovely meal, though the kids were on the verge of sickness so they were a bit restless. The only picture I got of the food was the pie. I just can't help myself with pie.



We also visited the newly re-opened National Museum of American History, which has a fantastic transportation exhibit called American on the Move (trains, trains, trains).





While on the mall, we stopped into Natural History for a meal and a quick trip through their new Sant Ocean Hall.



We also got a Christmas tree and decorated it. Since the kids were feeling so crappy, we just picked one up at a nearby nursery instead of going out to cut our own. I think they still had fun putting the "decorates" up.

Quote of the Day

Eleanor: I don't want to see that growley thing that growls.

We learned the hard way that the Abominable Snow Monster from the classic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer TV special is still too scary for a three year old. After some fast forwarding (thank you DVR box) and much reassurance that he was just growley because he had a toothache, which Hermy the Elf rectified by pulling his teeth, she seemed somewhat satisfied that he was not in fact so scary. However, she is still talking about how they don't have stores where the Abominable Snow Monster lives that sell big toothbrushes.

And, I should mention that I have more posts to come, I am way behind on account of the big birthday, the holidays and sick kids.

Nursery School Portrait

I am so pleased with how Eleanor's school portrait came out. Apparently, the photographers were amazing with the kids -- and it really shows. So, here is our big girl and her class:

Quote of the Day

From a couple of days ago, while driving in our blue mini van with Eleanor and Henry...

Eleanor: I don't want a car.
Me: Which car don't you want?
Eleanor: This blue one. I want a yellow one instead.
Me: You'll have to talk to your dad about that one.
Eleanor: This is a stinky diaper truck. Full of GARBAGE!
[Me: laughing. A couple of moments pass.]
Eleanor: Who eats garbage?
Me: I don't know, who eats garbage?
Eleanor: The GARBAGE truck! And, Henry!

Halloween -- Two Weeks Later

I know this is late, but the saying goes "better late than never", right?

Halloween was an exhausting and fun time. It was bigger than just the day of Halloween itself -- we had the pumpkin patch with Nonna and Granddaddy two weeks before Halloween,





Boo at the Zoo a week before, a trip to the pumpkin patch with Eleanor's school the Monday before, a Halloween parade the Wednesday before,



carved pumpkins on Thursday,



Halloween itself on Friday (including a photo shoot in last years costume and trick-or-treating in this years costume),





and then Sarah and Karl's Halloween party the day after.







My grand intentions to make costumes for the kids didn't pan out, despite buying the pattern and fabric for Eleanor's blue dinosaur costume. Luckily, World Market had a blue dinosaur hoodie towel-cape thing that was perfect -- easy on, easy off, went over clothes/coats, and most importantly, Eleanor liked it. Henry ended up being Yoda. A costume that I had bought for him at a consignment sale a year ago. It almost didn't fit but I made a few minor adjustments to the hood and we squeezed him in.

Halloween itself was somewhat anticlimactic, but luckily the weather was warm and perfect for being out in the evening. After about a half a block of trick-or-treating with Anna and Karl, Eleanor declared that she was done. So we went home, ate a bit of candy and that was that. She did enjoy seeing a few other kids come to our door though before she went to bed. Henry enjoyed it all, especially the chocolate.

Tubes

So much has been going on the past couple of weeks, I have hardly had time to sit down. Henry had tubes put into his ears about a week and a half ago. We are hoping this will reduce the incidence of ear infections, which have been plaguing him month after month. He was really sick with a terrible cold and croupy cough the day they did the surgery but I think he may finally be getting better. I hope!

There are also lots of other Halloween updates that I am far behind on, those will go up later (hopefully), now that the pictures are on the computer.

Potty Training

I don't know exactly what happened but something clicked this week for Eleanor in the potty department. Not to be too graphic but I haven't had to change a dirty diaper (at least from her) all week. Hooray. We are still working with pull-ups but we are on the brink of a huge transition.

VOTE!

Don't forget to get to the voting booth today.

Quote of the Day

Eleanor:
Pat a cake
Pat a cake
Bakers man
Bake me a cake as fast as you can
You roooooollllllll it
And pat it
And mark it with a B
And you put it in the oven for....
THAT GUY [pointing at illustration of a little boy in a book] and me.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all!! Looks like it is going to be a beautiful evening for tricking and treating. More pictures and a full Halloween rundown to come in the next couple of days.

Mr. Tegafy

I was just talking with my dad (Tada) about Farmer John's cheese and he reminded me of a story from his own youth that I have heard many times and it always gives me a good chuckle. When Tada was little, my grandparents, who were both geologists, used to discuss work at the dinner table. My grandma started hearing Tada talk about Mr. Tegafy. Not knowing anyone by that name, Gran asked Tada who he was talking about, to which Tada replied, "Dad's friend Mr. Tegafy." I guess Gran and my grandfather pieced it together that Mr. Tegafy was "my stratigraphy" -- a term used in geology to describe the layering of rocks. The way Tada tells the story, my grandfather was always talking about "well, my stratigraphy tells me...", so Tada assumed that Mr. Tegafy was a pretty important person. Kids are pretty clever, and it is funny to think about my dad, my children's Tada, being so small and clever.

Quote of the Day

Eleanor: Momma, are you sprinkling some Farmer John cheese?

Now, I don't want it to seem like I am making fun of Eleanor because that is not what I intend to do with these quotes. I am just amazed at how she is learning to rhyme. The cheese I was sprinkling was Parmesan, which does in fact sound quite a bit like Farmer John.

Why?

Eleanor has figured out the proper use of the word "why". Need I say more?

Lots of Fun

We have been having LOTS of fun lately. We have been going on adventure walks, like in these pictures with Grace, Nancy and their new baby Sam.





We went apple picking out at Homestead Farm with Sarah, Karl, Anna, Caryn,Chris, Riley and Spencer.





And, we went to the B&O Railroad Museum for Steam Days. Yes, I said Steam Days. This was like heaven for little (and big) train lovers. We were fortunate to take a ride on a steam train pulling old MARC train cars and to see another steam engine (the William Mason) puffing up and down the tracks as well. Aunt Jenn and Grandaddy joined us for the fun.





We have also had some good old fashioned fun around the house.







Special thanks to Aunt Jenn and Sarah for their pictures -- I have been forgetting the camera lately.

The Rest of the Big Trip

I am going all the way back to the very beginning of the big trip, so far back I can hardly remember. We were all exhausted, Eleanor had started school three days before we left, I was staying up really late packing, cleaning and generally fussing about, and Henry had been waking up early. I don't think any of us realized how stressed out we were until we arrived in Pittsburgh.

When we pulled in, it was like arriving at train heaven. The hotel we chose was conveniently located next to the Duquesne Incline, a little train that goes up a steep hill to neighborhoods outside the downtown area. As if that wasn't enough for our little train aficionado, the hotel itself was entirely train themed and located alongside the regular rail lines. I wasn't quite sure what to do when the woman offered us a little gift bag with conductor hats and tickets for a free train ride at the mall across the street. We had a nice meal at Hard Rock Cafe watching a dancing fountain (think mini-Bellagio) and then headed back to get settled in for the night.

The kids settled in pretty well but both were up before the crack of dawn -- a trend that continued the entire 2.5 weeks we were gone. An early morning activity was not a problem though, we hit the Starbucks down the street and then took a ride on the Incline, which runs early to serve commuters. We got a fabulous view of the sunrise from the top.





The next day we headed on to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Along the way, we managed to get pulled over by one of Ohio's finest. I was so nervous my palms were sweating but Vince played it cool and we got off with just a warning. A few minutes down the road we came across another officer and I was sure we were going to be pulled over but somehow, we managed to make it through to Michigan without a ticket.

The third leg of the trip took us to the wedding destination. We were so happy to arrive, it had been a long three days in the car. And, poor Henry, who had diarrhea the entire way, managed to blow out all over his car seat just as we pulled in to the hotel. At least we were there. We were so happy to see everyone, there was palpable excitement in the air. And rain. It rained and rained and rained and rained. You would not believe how it rained. Jess and Ryan had planned all of these lovely outdoor things for the wedding, we just took to calling it the monsoon wedding.





Everything was really lovely, despite the deluge of water. Eleanor made it down the aisle, with a bit of moral support. Henry didn't manage to walk down, but he did look extraordinarily cute in the tux. Jess was radiant and the service, which ended up being held in the barn, was very romantic and cozy. It was such a special wedding for all of us to be a part of.






(Yes, I should have taken the Pirate's Booty out of Eleanor's hand before taking these pictures, but she was not having it.)

After the wedding, we took over Jess and Ryan's place for a few days in Chicago. The weather, after it stopped raining, was perfect and we tore the city up. We saw family and friends, visited all sorts of museums, ate pizza, went to the beach, and generally enjoyed ourselves. The Field Museum was particularly amazing, they have this fantastic kids section that is completely hands on. Henry's favorite was probably Shedd Aquarium, he squealed at every fish he saw. I would guess that Eleanor liked the beach the best (it was hard to get her to leave) but since we have been back she has been talking about the Sears Tower, so it obviously made an impression as well. We also, thanks to Lynda, found this great little diner called the Melrose Restaurant and subsequently ate there several more times -- it was open at the early hours we were up.









The final driving leg of the trip was back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. We spent a couple of nice days relaxing and eating raspberries right off the bushes in her back yard. We also visited Tollgate Farm for a festival they were having and spent the morning doing crafts, picking apples, checking out emergency vehicles and soaking in the sun.



And, since this post is way to long already, I will leave it at that.

First Day of School (belated)

I have been having trouble getting back into the swing here since we have been back from vacation. Eleanor is back in school and the adjustment is just starting to smooth out. So, several weeks later, here is a little post about our girl's first day of nursery school.

The first day we took pictures, got the school bag ready to go, and headed to the school. There was a coffee for parents, so they could be close in case of tears. I'm glad I stayed, I don't think I expressed clearly enough that I would be back to pick her up at the end of the half-day. The funny thing is, I remember worrying so much as a kid that when I said goodbye to my mom, I might not see her again. Now that we are back and into the routine, I think things are a lot easier, and certainly more fun.

The school is a cooperative school, which means the parents are involved in the classroom and also in the day to day operations. It is so much fun to see the kids in action, learning and creating. I think it will be a really great experience as we go through the year, for both Eleanor and me.

Wedding Pictures (the professional ones!)

Here are a few shots from Jess and Ryan's wedding:

Quote of the Day

While we were watching slides at Mu and Tada's house, the first picture was of me, maybe 4 years old, sitting on the couch.

Me: Eleanor, do you know who that is?
Eleanor: Eleanory having a time out.

If I every have a chance, I will scan that slide in because the resemblance really is astonishing -- though I don't think I was having a time out in the picture!

A Little Bit Backward

Since I haven't gotten all of the pictures up on Flickr from our trip yet, I am going to start with the end of the trip first. Then I will eventually get to the others -- as far back as the first day of nursery school!

The trip was really fantastic though. We traveled countless miles, visited 6 different cities, visited with family and friends, and slept very little. Well worth it.

In East Lansing, at the end of the trip, I didn't have the camera because we ran out of space on our memory card. So, unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the first couple of days that we spent with Nana and the lunch we had with Aunt Glee. But the memories are in our minds and it was wonderful to share some time with them.

Mu and Tada had a wonderful list of activities for us and the weather could not have been more perfect so we enjoyed lots of outdoor time.

We took a trip to the farm and planted a couple of small white pines (state tree of Michigan!) that we picked up at Tollhouse Farm in Novi a couple of days before.





It was a beautiful and foggy morning as we walked around what Tada was calling the 50 acre wood.



Eleanor and Henry really enjoyed playing the piano at Mu and Tada's house.



Another day, we visited the MSU dairy farm. To my surprise, Eleanor loved the cows and Henry seemed a bit intimidated by them. There was one huge, but friendly, bull that Eleanor especially liked.



We also saw a small calf that had been born only about 15 minutes earlier. No picture of that either, but the nice gentleman who took us to see the baby said that if there was no other Eleanor in the herd they would name that calf after her. And, of course, the tractors were a huge hit.



At the end of the week, Aunt Lynda and Uncle Mike came in to town and we had a couple of nice days with them.



We went to the apple orchard and had a nice time picking apples and eating apple turnovers ala mode.



I also attended my Albion College reunion, which was really fun. I'll have to see if I can get a few of the pictures from the trip, I know Jen had her camera!

There were lots of other fun moments, sweeping honey locust leaves off the driveway, going down to the playground at Glencairn, a visit with Linda (who had the coolest airplane), eating ice cream at the MSU dairy, listening to the MSU marching band practice, watching slides of when we were young, and many other small but precious moments.