What a wonderful memory last night. Eliana and I were at the park late (by late, I mean 5:00) and by ourselves (doesn't anyone else need to get outside in the Seattle winter??) and before we were heading home, she said, "Mama, swing." That meant she wanted to swing with me!! This happens sometimes, but most of the time, she likes to swing by herself in the baby swing.
It was dark and cold, but we were bundled up. I thought, "why not sing some Christmas songs?" When I would run out of words or songs, she would say, "Mama, song...." I loved every minute of it, looking out at the Seattle city lights, while the entire time I singing carols. Thank you, sweetie, I love that you don't mind swinging in the dark and singing Christmas carols with me, even when I don't know the words to every song.... I love you.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
"Poop"
I had to write this down before I forget. The first time Eliana declared this, she was right and we went and changed her. But then the other night right as we were about to lie her in the crib and say good night, she said, "Poop." Feeling like we had to take her word for it, we checked her diaper and no, she had not pooped. But, she was pretty proud of herself for getting us to fall for her delaying bed time tricks:)
Thursday, December 8, 2011
We Moved!
Only 3 blocks up the hill and still on the same street, but we are up and running and loving our new space. Eliana runs around in circles between the kitchen and rooms and can really play her favorite game, "run away" now. We couldn't have done it with my parent's help. Moving with a toddler is quite different than the other times we've moved and having extra hands was very helpful. Plus, Nate picked up 4 friends from the Home Depot on 99 to help us; if it weren't for them and Grandpa, we'd still be hauling stuff. There's still boxes everywhere, but we do have a Christmas tree up! The best part is that we have a view of downtown and Rainier (when it's out). Elle Belle loves the space, but it's been a tough adjustment for her getting acquainted with her new house. I think she feels like we're going to leave being in a foreign house. Bed time has been really hard the last couple weeks, but thanks to the time of year at least we have lots of Christmas songs to sing to her!
View from our front room
All cleared out of the old space....so weird
Helper and mini helper
Monday, November 14, 2011
Falling Leaves
Eliana loves to walk now, on her own. So we find ourselves walking around the block lately, walking around the Magnolia Village or walking in short bursts. Last week after her nap, we walked down Crockett to see the construction site (of a huge condo complex) around the corner and we were pleasantly stopped by this beautiful tree losing its leaves. I started collecting piles of the fallen leaves and dropping them from up high, and Eliana giggled as they would land on her face, her head and her hair. We ended up being out there for a while, me picking up the leaves and dropping them over and over. It was so precious to watch her smile and hear her laugh at one of nature's purely simple yet beautiful surprises, the falling of the leaves. Magical memory for me.
Monday, November 7, 2011
1.6666 (20 months)
It's hard to believe Eliana is closer now to 2 than to 1 year old. I love this age; she is such a little person now and such a happy, fun, energetic little girl. We love you so much, Elle Belle, and are so lucky to have you. You are a ray of sunshine.
Here's a few Elle Belle stats from her 18-month check up:
Height: 32" (57% tile)
Weight: 26 lbs. 6 oz (76% tile) and at a current visit when we were in Paris at about 20 months, she was at 28 lbs!
Head circumference: 48 cm (85% tile)
And a few tid bits:
*Her talking has exploded in the last two months and I can't keep up with the words that surprise me every day, but some of our favorites are "pun'in brey" (pumpkin bread), "Unkuh Matt" (Uncle Matt), "edmame" (edamame), "Katya" (Katherine, a good friend of hers), "Mih beh" (Mr Bear). Tonight, she just tried to say aquarium; took us a while to figure it out, but now I get it. It's amazing to watch the speech development.
*She loves to sing and can sing the tunes to all the songs we sing. In fact, her new favorite is "Slippery Fish" and sings her "Goodnight Song" to everyone she knows. We'll hear her singing, "Goodnight mama, goodnight Dada, goodnight [input name]...". Her latest trick is to ask us to sing and she does that by saying, "Mama mama mama." I say, "What would you like?" Her saying "mama" repeatedly means she wants me to sing. I list all the songs we can sing and she says, "Yeah" or "no." When we start singing one and she doesn't like it, she says, "No no no."
*Her favorite "friend" is still Mr. Bear and he goes everywhere with her; to school, to the park (although we try to limit this as a two-handed tire swing becomes tricky with Mr. Bear in tow), in the car, on walks, etc. She loves him and it is so sweet to hear her say his name.
*She is definitely not a vegetarian. I think broccoli is still a favorite vegetable, but tonight she ate two chicken sausages!! She loves fish; any kind, including sushi and will eat all kinds of meat and pork. She loves carrots and edamame and will scarf down goldfish (who doesn't at this age?), but remains a very big fan of meat and broccoli. We are blessed with a great eater and can take her to any ethnic food and she will chow.
*Her favorite outdoor activity remains the park. She still loves to swing. I think she somehow takes a "second nap" in there. When Grandma was taking care of her, they would swing for 30-45 minutes. She loves it. She loves the park, in general, but LOVES the swing. When asked yesterday if she wanted to go to the zoo or the park, she said, "Pak."
*Her favorite indoor activity is reading. She will read with us for a couple hours a day (spread out) and it is wonderful. For about a week, she went through a phase where she only wanted to read on her own and by herself; but luckily, she's come back to sit in our laps. I love this activity; it is so fun to see her delight in books and such a treat to snuggle.
*She has some tantrums, but they're mostly around leaving the park or getting too hungry without telling us.
*Elle Belle is now really into coloring, stickers and play dough. It's so fun to have another activity to watch her explore shapes, textures and senses.
*And, she is still really great at playing by herself. I can get a quick dinner done or a load of laundry done and come back to see her reading her books.
*Eliana can now use a fork and spoon pretty much by herself. She'll ask for help from time-to-time, but is definitely able to eat on her own.
*Pictures below are from 18-20 months
18 months; loving all swings
Here's a few Elle Belle stats from her 18-month check up:
Height: 32" (57% tile)
Weight: 26 lbs. 6 oz (76% tile) and at a current visit when we were in Paris at about 20 months, she was at 28 lbs!
Head circumference: 48 cm (85% tile)
And a few tid bits:
*Her talking has exploded in the last two months and I can't keep up with the words that surprise me every day, but some of our favorites are "pun'in brey" (pumpkin bread), "Unkuh Matt" (Uncle Matt), "edmame" (edamame), "Katya" (Katherine, a good friend of hers), "Mih beh" (Mr Bear). Tonight, she just tried to say aquarium; took us a while to figure it out, but now I get it. It's amazing to watch the speech development.
*She loves to sing and can sing the tunes to all the songs we sing. In fact, her new favorite is "Slippery Fish" and sings her "Goodnight Song" to everyone she knows. We'll hear her singing, "Goodnight mama, goodnight Dada, goodnight [input name]...". Her latest trick is to ask us to sing and she does that by saying, "Mama mama mama." I say, "What would you like?" Her saying "mama" repeatedly means she wants me to sing. I list all the songs we can sing and she says, "Yeah" or "no." When we start singing one and she doesn't like it, she says, "No no no."
*Her favorite "friend" is still Mr. Bear and he goes everywhere with her; to school, to the park (although we try to limit this as a two-handed tire swing becomes tricky with Mr. Bear in tow), in the car, on walks, etc. She loves him and it is so sweet to hear her say his name.
*She is definitely not a vegetarian. I think broccoli is still a favorite vegetable, but tonight she ate two chicken sausages!! She loves fish; any kind, including sushi and will eat all kinds of meat and pork. She loves carrots and edamame and will scarf down goldfish (who doesn't at this age?), but remains a very big fan of meat and broccoli. We are blessed with a great eater and can take her to any ethnic food and she will chow.
*Her favorite outdoor activity remains the park. She still loves to swing. I think she somehow takes a "second nap" in there. When Grandma was taking care of her, they would swing for 30-45 minutes. She loves it. She loves the park, in general, but LOVES the swing. When asked yesterday if she wanted to go to the zoo or the park, she said, "Pak."
*Her favorite indoor activity is reading. She will read with us for a couple hours a day (spread out) and it is wonderful. For about a week, she went through a phase where she only wanted to read on her own and by herself; but luckily, she's come back to sit in our laps. I love this activity; it is so fun to see her delight in books and such a treat to snuggle.
*She has some tantrums, but they're mostly around leaving the park or getting too hungry without telling us.
*Elle Belle is now really into coloring, stickers and play dough. It's so fun to have another activity to watch her explore shapes, textures and senses.
*And, she is still really great at playing by herself. I can get a quick dinner done or a load of laundry done and come back to see her reading her books.
*Eliana can now use a fork and spoon pretty much by herself. She'll ask for help from time-to-time, but is definitely able to eat on her own.
*Pictures below are from 18-20 months
18 months; loving all swings
Wreaking havoc at the doctor's office
Beach time at Discovery
Reading her "Child's atlas" from Tia Ana Rosa
"Muh Bah" (aka Mr Bear)
Another favorite activity is to transfer things; stuffed animals, clothes, cups, etc. Here she had handed me every one of her animals from her toy box....until I was stuffed animal camouflaged.
Big girl barrette
Time to tame the curly mullet
"Organizing" clothes
19 months
Tackling Mr Bear, Sally and Otto
Pig tails!
Thanks, Auntie Amy for my new rain boots!
About to pass out in the swing
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Napping Record...
I have to write this down before I forget, but Elle Belle for the first time, surpassed the 2 hour mark on a nap! I don't think this is a trend, but I'm so happy our cat napper could rest longer than 1 hour :)
Pre-Halloween Cousin Weekend
Dear Beckett, I had such a great time visiting you last weekend! Thank you for making my Halloween complete with a trip to the Portland State farmer's market, the pumpkin patch, Rock Creek Tavern, and lots of crazy shenanigans with our parents. I can finally say your name now and your parents! I also loved seeing your Halloween costume; you are the perfect Bat Man. Next time, let's try to not wait 5 months before seeing each other again - you've grown so much and we just have too much fun together.
Love, Eliana
Making our way to the farmer's market
Making our way to the farmer's market
Mr. Bear goes everywhere we go!
Exploring the farmer's market
Looking sleepy, little cuz'
Elle Belle and Uncle Matt
Playing at Uncle Matt and Aunt Lindsey's house
Rollon Farms Pumpkin Patch
Uncle Matt, Beckett and Aunt Lindsey
Nate's head cut off, but we have all 3 of us looking at the camera!
The light and background were perfect to take pictures; some of the best we've got lately...
Snack time!
A special thank you to Sean and Jasmyn for letting us stay at their house. We unfortunately, can't stay with Matt and Lindsey because I am allergic to their cats. But, having this place to stay less than a mile from their house was perfect. And, what a beautiful house they have! Thanks, Maddens! We really appreciate it. 
Sunday morning we spent playing in the Madden's basement; so much space and brand new carpet made for lots of fun games including: "run away" where Eliana would chase Nate and Beckett would chase Eliana, blanket rides, horsey rides, hammock swing in the blanket and last but not least, Elle Belle tackling Beckett. What fun!! 
Uncle Nate is sometimes fun, but sometimes scary! Help, Daddy!
Blanket ride
Hammock ride with both Becks and Elle Belle inside...
Quick dress up for a Sykpe with Nonna and Grandpa
Fast asleep on the way home to Seattle
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