My Deal

I got this plastic house at a garage sale for $5. I thought it was the greatest deal ever. Thank goodness I was shopping with Sarah though because I have a feeling Vince would have vetoed the purchase. He tried to give me $10 to take it back. That was before it was all cleaned up though -- now it looks almost as good as new. Eleanor really enjoys it and Vince has even come around.

Garden is in!

We got the garden in this weekend. An extra special thanks goes out to John, who ploughed up our garden (twice!) and to Grandaddy who gave the earth one final tilling before the veggies went in. The area is almost twice as big as last year (yikes!) but it gives us a bit more space to spread out, which is nice. We will hopefully have lots of nice tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, carrots, radishes, squash, cucumbers and sunflowers.






As I was going out to get the plants -- a solo trip in order to get it done quickly on a busy weekend -- Eleanor came to the door and said, "Don't forget the marigolds." So, of course, we have lots of marigolds, too.

Kisses in the Wind

Look out ladies and gentlemen -- Henry is officially blowing kisses. The first kisses I actually saw him blow were aimed at Anna. How cute!

(Picture courtesy of Sarah. Thanks!)

Quote of the Day

Eleanor just had her hair cut (again) the other day because it was getting too long and dreadlocks were starting to form. So, it gave me a pretty good crack up when she came outside, where Henry and I were sitting, with a little comb today and pronounced:

"I have long gleaming hair today."

And, if you are wondering how she might have decided to put that particular phrase together, it turns out Thumbelina also has long gleaming locks in the version Vince often reads to her before bed.

The Rain

I am exhausted today, which I am sure is from Henry's multiple wakings and early rising time. In his defense, I think he is getting 4 teeth at the same time. At any rate, I am tired. And being in the house right after dinner wasn't cutting it. Both kids were screaming for one reason or another and it seemed that nothing I could do would assuage them.

So, the three of us set off, Henry in the Ergo, Eleanor walking, for the park that is just a couple of blocks away. The weather looked somewhat threatening, a cool wind was blowing and the clouds were looming to the west, but we forged ahead -- the promise of a couple of pre-bath minutes of peace on the playground were worth the risk.

We got there and Eleanor was instantly in seventh heaven. She LOVES the little play house. I started to feel a few drops of rain though and told her we would have to go soon. She adamantly refused. I had to lift her kicking and screaming, with Henry strapped to my front, mind you, and we slowly made our way back down the path. The rain started to come down harder, it was a very cold, blustery rain and, though we didn't have far to go, I was muttering under my breath about how, of course, this would happen. Eleanor stopped walking and, like a stubborn mule, wouldn't start again. I grabbed her and slung her up on my hip. I must have looked like a pack animal myself, trotting down the path with two babes in arms, in the pouring rain and wild wind.

Then, out of nowhere, Eleanor sang, "We're singing in the rain, just singing in the rain." Henry and I both laughed. She is so sweet to teach me the beauty in every moment, even when I am tired and grumpy.

Frogs at National Geographic

Almost a week ago we went down to the National Geographic Museum to see the Frogs: A Chorus of Colors exhibit. It was a bit busy, probably because it was the last day and it was pouring outside, but it was still quite enjoyable. There were all sorts of aquariums full of the most beautiful frogs at the perfect height for a girl like Eleanor.





It was a nice small exhibit too, it only took us about 10-15 minutes to see all of the frogs, though we didn't do any of the activities or read much of the signage. That was alright though, with a 2.5 year old and a 10 month old, there is only so much you can do. We all enjoyed it, even Henry!

Quote of the Day

While scrubbing the kitchen counter this morning, Eleanor said, "This looks awesome."

Hear hear!

Uh-oh

Yep, Henry's first word is "uh-oh". He will deliberately drop something, look up at me with a smile and say "uh-oh". My heart is melting!

Ali

I finished Eleanor's doll. Well, except for the clothes. Luckily, we had a dress on hand, which is a tiny bit too small, but it works for the time being. Eleanor named her Ali, which I imagine is for a girl in her music class.

I got the complete Waldorf Doll kit from a place in Ann Arbor, of all places, called Weir Dolls & Crafts. The kit came with fabric for the body and head with the pattern already printed on it, matching thread, yarn for the hair, floss for the eyes and mouth and a bunch of wonderful wool stuffing. I also bought, on their recommendation, some dollmaking needles and ball point needles for my sewing machine. I figured I would make it look (approximately) like Eleanor so I chose a light skin color, blue eyes and blond curly hair. The hair color isn't exactly like Eleanor's but I think it is still pretty cute.

It was so much fun to make. I felt like I was pouring a bunch of love into the little doll body every time I added a new wad of stuffing. I found the trickiest part to be sewing the body and head together, but hopefully they will stay joined! I am looking forward to making the clothing so that Eleanor really feels that it is her doll. I am going to let her pick the fabric and (hopefully) make matching dresses.

And, let me introduce Ali:

Fish Picture

Here are a few of the fish. I can't tell you how hard it is to get a decent shot of the fish through the cloudy fish tank in a dimly lit room. I probably should have waited until it was daylight but I am impatient. So, without further adieu, here are JoeJoe (big silvery one), Orange Fish (I think Orange Fish is going to stick as the name for both orange fish), and Mercy (or Clossy, I can't really tell which is which):

Quote of the Day

In the car on the way home from Target, where we had dilly-dallied way too long waiting to see a train pass on the tracks behind the store, Henry was fussing and carrying on.

Eleanor: No, NO! Henry! Its my turn to try!! [She means cry but it comes out with a "t". This is said in a voice that escalates in both pitch and volume].

Shrieks and wails from both children. They feed off of each other and the racket reaches a frenzy. A few minutes pass. She calms down, he is still screaming.

Eleanor: Henry is so tie-RED. [Tired, accent on the "red" -- in a perfectly calm voice.]

JoeJoe and the Orange Fish

Mercy and Clossy have three new tank mates. I can't remember exactly what kind of fish they are now, but the big silvery one with orange stripes is named JoeJoe. The two orange fish (a male and a female) still have no names. I think we were (are?) hesitating to name them because we were (are?) afraid that the female might not make it. Maybe that is just me. Either way, the orange fish still don't have names. So if anyone has suggestions, let us know. I guess it might help if you had pictures to go by, but I still haven't gotten any shots of the fish worth putting up yet. So, use your imaginations. I'll eventually get some images up.

Box. Or Boat.

Sometimes I am appalled at how much packaging material Amazon uses to ship things. For instance, I recently ordered some cute wall stickers (so that Henry's room has a bit more personality than a hospital ward) and they came packaged in a very sturdy tube. However, instead of just mailing the tube, Amazon picked a rather large box to put the tube in and then stuffed it with probably twenty feet of brown packaging paper. I was fuming about the waste when I realized that Eleanor was sitting in the box and singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" at full volume. And, not just once, she kept pulling this box out and using it as her boat. Anyway, I stopped fuming for a while and just enjoyed Eleanor's imagination.

Eleanor taking Rosemary and Teddy Bear for a boat ride:


Eleanor paddling furiously down the river with one of her train tracks as an oar:

She's at it again

Eleanor has been really enjoying our old digital camera. She has been running all over the house taking snapshots of things that interest her. She has really mastered the camera since I last mentioned that she was a budding photographer; she can now turn the camera on and get a shot of the things she wants. The only problem is the camera is slightly large for her little hands so some of the pictures are at a bit of an angle. Though, maybe that is the way she intends for them to be! It is interesting to see what her view of the world includes. I have put a few of her pictures up on our Flickr feed in the Eleanor's Photographs set. Happy viewing (and guessing what things are).

Buttercups

One of my favorite things about the spring at our house is the buttercups all over the yard. I know some people think they are weeds and interrupt the golf course look but I love seeing their happy little faces shining up at the sun. Plus, they are fun to make crowns with. Just braid together the long stems and voila! Eleanor was a bit small last year but I made crowns for a little friend in the neighborhood who I occasionally watched. This year, Eleanor is about the right age but seems much more interested in having other people wear the crowns.

A sprightly little elf:



And, a fairy princess:

Spring is for Picnics and Grilling

We have had some lovely weather lately. It makes picnicking so much fun. Eleanor, Henry and I had a good picnic the other day.



Then, to celebrate Jeff's birthday and Uncle Mike's visit to the area, we had a fantastic barbecue feast yesterday. Thanks to Uncle Mike and Grandaddy for providing so much delicious food and drink, and of course to Jeff for having his birthday.

Mercy and Clossy

We have two new family members, Mercy and Clossy. They are marbled mollies and very cute. We made an expedition to Congressional Aquarium which ended up being a huge ordeal. We just wanted a couple of goldfish and ended up spending an hour trying to figure out which tank we needed, if we needed a heater, etc., while the kids festered in a pre-nap state. In the end we came home with a three gallon tank, two little mollies and no heater. Vince is now so concerned that we are going to kill the poor little things, he is considering a return visit to the shop to get the heater.

Eleanor picked the names. I'm pretty sure that she chose the name Mercy because of one of her friends from art class. I'm not entirely sure where she got Clossy but she often uses that name/word when talking about art class so maybe it is the way she hears one of her other classmates names.

I'll get some pictures of the new additions and put them up when I have a chance.

Cheerios, Crawling and Spitting

Three things.

First, Henry is eating Cheerios. I've been offering them to him but for the longest time, anything coarser than a completely smooth puree would make him gag. Well, last week he started using his new found pincer grasp to put Cheerios in his mouth and simultaneously, he figured out how to chew/gum them to a swallowable state.

Second, Henry is still not crawling. Though he is getting much closer. He lays on his belly like a fat frog (not that he is really fat, just what it reminds me of) with arms and legs flailing frantically but only manages a circular movement. And, boy, does this tick him off. He is, however, able to creep along while standing, which I recently read somewhere likened to vertical crawling. I think he will be moving soon though, he seems to be getting the idea that if he gets his legs under him he can propel forward a bit.

Third, Eleanor has learned to spit. Quite well. I thought I might try to teach her so that we could use some fluoride toothpaste. So, we pulled out a small cup (ok, it is really an applesauce cup that we have repurposed as her bathroom cup) and practiced swishing and spitting back into the sink. Now she is absolutely obsessed with swishing and spitting. It makes her laugh though so often we have water not only in the sink but also all over her pajamas, me, the bathroom floor, etc. She really can expectorate (love that word) with some velocity. I think she's rather proud of her accomplishment.