Our Little Spelling Bee

Eleanor does not like to have her diapers changed or get dressed. It's a struggle just to get her to hold still on the changing table. We're constantly having to think up ways to entertain her or keep her occupied so she'll hold still long enough for a new diaper. One thing that keeps her happy is spelling her name and pointing to the letters (which of course spell Eleanor) on the wall just above her changing table. Eleanor loves hearing the letters spelled out so much that she's started doing it herself. No, I'm not trying to pass my child off as a genius who can spell her own name at 18 months old. She likes to point to the letters and make her own vowel sounds. It's so funny! She's also started "spelling" other words and letters she sees around the house. One example is the big, magnetic letters E and S that are one the fridge. Eleanor will walk up to them and start "spelling" using her vowel sounds. Of course she knows we love it, so she always looks at us when she's done and waits for our excited praises. Maybe this is a sign that she'll be better at spelling than her mom :-/.

Snow day = no way

Just like the sand, Eleanor hates snow :(. Actually, she likes looking at it through the window, but she wants no part of standing, walking, or sledding in it. She immediately started screaming as soon as we set her down outside. Of course, being the great parents that we are, we made her sit in the sled and pulled her around the backyard while she cried. It's a good thing I didn't spend very much on snow gear.

Super-dooper pooper

I think potty training might be just around the corner. Eleanor just came up to me, holding her bottom and saying, "shew, shew." Sure enough, she pooped. Good thing Santa brought us a potty chair ;).

Twas the night before Christmas...

Merry Christmas! Ok, I know it's a day late, but we all know I'm not good at keeping up with the blog :(. Eleanor's second Christmas was great! And exhausting. Christmas started on the 20th at Grandma and Grandpa Schierding's house. Diane made a wonderful meal of Chicken and Dumplings (I vote that this becomes the yearly tradition over there) and Kate brought a yummy Greek salad. After dinner with tore into the mountain of presents. Eleanor was perfectly content watching Caroline open her gifts. We had to coax her into opening her own. The biggest hit for both girls was from Aunt Mary. She gave them crayons and coloring books. Simple and fun. Caroline is an intense colorer. They both "shared" Eleanor's crayons and had a blast. Eleanor also really loved the baby that she got from Grandma. After presents I headed to the kitchen to whip up some Nutella filled Ebelskivers. Yum! We had so many gifts to bring home. Soon Brian is going to set up her table and chairs in the basement. She's going to love it!

Christmas at the Meiser house was on the 22nd. Eleanor was still exhausted from the first round (and because she sleeps horribly in her pack and play). Dinner was the usual Christmas appetizer feast. So fun and so good :). We actually had to wake Eleanor from a 3+ hour nap to come and join the party, not to mention that the kids were getting tired of waiting on her to open presents. The look on Eleanor's face when she came down the stairs was priceless. She was so excited and happy to see all of her cousins and family in the house. She could not stop smiling. Of course she didn't want to eat anything, so we jumped right into the gift giving. Eleanor enjoyed searching through her stocking and loved carrying around her $5 bill. I think this would have been enough for her. Once again, she enjoyed wandering around and watching all the other kids open their gifts. After everyone was finished, we helped her open hers. She loved the shopping cart from the Fanks. Grandma's rocking horse wasn't such a hit. Eleanor was, of course, scared of it :(. Since we've been home, she's really enjoyed pushing her baby in the stroller that the Stecker family gave her. She's a luck girl :).

It was great to get home on the 23rd to get some rest before Santa came. Brian and I exchanged gifts that night. He loved his Muppets shirt and Thomas Keller cookbook, and I got a beautiful locket and a sewing machine! Both things I really, really wanted! I hope everyone likes homemade gifts...

On Chrismas Eve we all opened one gift - pajamas to wear that night/the following day. It's the beginning of a fun, new tradition for us.

Christmas morning! Santa came in full force! Eleanor must have been extra good this year ;). The first thing Eleanor ran to, after some giggling and looks of surprise, was her wooden train set. She immediately started driving her choo-choos around and making "train" noises. So cute! She was interested in her new, green potty chair, and even said, "pot" and "potty" when we told her what they were. Then she spotted her Little People doll house. And that was it. Nothing else mattered. Just as before, we had to kind of make her open the wrapped gifts, which included lots of books, a Haba color game, animal flashcards, a huge Pooh and Tigger blanket, wooden blocks, a hooded bath towel, a wooden frog with a string to pull him along, and some dinosaurs, which she calls "cuggies" for some reason. It makes me laugh every time :). Some of her other unwrapped gifts were a Rody, which she refuses to sit on, Little People legos, a yellow Bilibo, a Sit and Spin that plays music (baby techno music), some wooden puzzles, a Tickle Me Elmo, and a My Pal Scout dog that she loves. He says, sings, and spells her name and knows all about her and her favorite things. It's adorable and always makes her smile. She also got a ladybug that displays stars and the moon on her ceiling. She likes it a lot, too. I thought she would like it on in her room when she when to bed that night, but she didn't. Eleanor is very much a creature of habit. Santa also left some great things in her stocking, like chalk for her easel, ballons, play-doh, and some slippers that she actually likes to wear around the house. They're great for the cold basement, too.

Brian and I stayed in our jammies all day. Eleanor would have, but she smeared Nutella all over her face, hands, and hair and needed a bath after breakfast. So she wore her cute Chrismas outfit instead. It was a great day of doing nothing other than enjoying our wonderful little family :).

Eleanor meets the Christmas tree :)

Brian and I put up the tree and lights last night while Eleanor was sleeping. We were so excited for her to see it this morning. She looked pleased, but not as excited as I thought she might be. Maybe next year. We're going to let her help with the ornaments tonight. That should be interesting.

Eleanor had yet another weight check today. She has gained 4 ounces since October. Not great, but at least it's something. I think the doctor and nurses are starting to realize that she's just a petite little girl. Although, I wish she was a better eater. That would make life so much easier for everyone. She will not eat any veggies at all. Sometimes she likes meat, and sometimes she doesn't. Eleanor will not touch mac & cheese or cereal of any kind - crazy kid! I just can't wait until she can tell me what she wants to eat and what she does and doesn't like.

We'll be able to keep Jimmy John's in business

Eleanor is an extremely picky eater. The child will not touch macaroni and cheese or cereal of any kind. Unless she automatically recognizes the food she's about to eat, she will stick out her tongue and barely touch the food to it just to see if she likes it. Usually she doesn't :( However, the girl will devour a slim 4 with cheese from Jimmy John's. We shared one tonight for dinner, along with an apple and some of Jimmy John's yummy chips. It was a fun and yummy meal, and one we might have to start having more often...

I stink at this :(

It's a good thing writing this blog isn't my livelihood. Every night I think that I'll definitely update the blog tomorrow night, which of course never happens. Poor Eleanor. I hope she's not too disappointed when she looks back at this someday.

It's two days after Eleanor's second Thanksgiving, and we are all sharing a nasty cold. It breaks my heart to hear her coughing through the night. Brian did teach her to blow her nose, though, so something good has come from this I guess. She HATES having her nose wiped, so I have to sneak in and catch her off-guard.

Thanksgiving was a success, even with our illnesses. We chose to have it at our house again this year because it could possibly be our last year in this house (fingers crossed). Brian's parents came over, along with my entire family minus Katy and Livy. I think the food was good, but it's hard to tell since my taste buds are dull (again because of the cold). Eleanor was pretty crabby at first, but after some rest time in her crib and little Tylenol, she was so excited to play with her cousins.

This coming week is Brian's last week of classes, and then two weeks of finals. We can't wait to have daddy's undivided attention :).

Getting smarter everyday...

Although Eleanor still isn't a big talker, it is amazing how much she knows and remembers. A few nights ago Brian was reading one of her favorite books to Eleanor - Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin. It's such a cute book. Anyway, without being prompted by Brian, she started saying, "no" right when she should in the story. It was so cute! I also managed to teach her where her knees were after just a few times of saying, "knees" and pointing to her cute little knees. Toddlers are so fun!

The other skill we're working on right now is getting Eleanor to feed herself with a spoon. She did pretty well on her first night, and even better tonight with her applesauce. Her first go at mastering the spoon included a big bowl of yogurt. So messy but so fun. I'm sure the she ended up wearing at least 50% of it, but she didn't neglect the yogurt on her bib. She promptly sucked it off of her bib after the yogurt in her bowl was "gaw gone."

Birthday catch up

I'm so sad that I didn't find the time to write about Eleanor's birthday right after it happened :(. Better late than never...(I guess)

What's the best way to start a birthday? Presents, of course! When Eleanor woke up on that beautifully mild July morning, I put her birthday shirt on right over her jammies. It is an adorable shirt that I purchased from Etsy. In pink and green, it had a big number 1 and her name on the front. So cute! We brought her into the living room our little apartment and let her open most of her presents from us while she sat in her new polka dot chair (our big gift to her). She also got books, a pink elephant, some puzzles, a shape sorter, a Little People dvd and cd, and a Little People mini van. Of course nothing beat playing with wrapping paper while sitting in her chair.

We were lucky that Brian was able to take off work so we could spend the day as a family. We had lunch, and I baked cupcakes and a small cake for Eleanor. Her party was at Zachary's Playground in Lake St. Louis, and as I said, it was a beautiful day. I expected everyone to be sweating at the party, but mother nature proved me wrong.

We kept the invites to family only. Brian and I didn't think we needed to blow things out of proportion, especially since she won't remember that day at all. Attendees included both sets of Grandparents, the Fank family, the Stecker/Hartwein family, the Schierdings, the Scheffers, and the Dankners. As the guests arrived everyone was told to help themselves to pulled pork and turkey, pasta salad, chips, and fruit salad. All very yummy! From there, the kids set off to play on the super cool playground and run through the splash area.

After all the kids were a little worn out (and soaked!), we did presents. From her Grandma and Grandpa Meiser she got a cool pink car (she loved this so much that she cried whenever we took her out of it), and Grandma and Grandpa Schierding got her a slide, jewelry box, and a bracelet. Uncle Bruce, Aunt Katy, and Caroline gave her a Dora car to ride on, the Fank family gave Eleanor a bag full of goodies for the beach and a towel with her name embroidered on it, the Steckers gave her a Little People tractor, Elmo doll, and a cell phone. The Scheffers brought Eleanor a book and some shorts, and the Dankners gave Eleanor a pony to ride on. Brian and I also saved one gift for her - a straw purse shaped like an elephant with a Hello Kitty wallet inside. Eleanor loves playing with purses and bags. She was so lucky to receive so many wonderful gifts!

After presents we had cake and cupcakes. I decorated her cake and the cupcakes with green icing to look like grass, and I put little jellybean ladybugs and bees on them. They turned out very cute, and I hope I can outdo myself next year. Eleanor had no problem digging into her cake. She had green icing everywhere! The icing was surprisingly easy to clean up, and after we managed to get all the icing out of every little Eleanor crevice, it was off to the playground for more playtime. She also got another chance to play in the splash area with her daddy and her cousins.

It was a perfect day with our perfect little girl. Brian and I will never forget it.

Ahhh! Where has the time gone?!?

I can't believe that I haven't written a thing since June! So much has happened...so maybe that's why I haven't updated things. My next series of posts will have to be flashbacks to the highlights of summer. Let's start with Destin.

On August 14th Brian, Eleanor, and I packed up and headed south to Destin, FL. Eleanor was great during our two day car ride. We stopped often to let her stretch her legs and eat, and that seemed to be enough to keep her happy. Of course we made sure that we ate at places she loved, including the Cheesecake Factory. Eleanor and I love sharing Crusted Chicken Romano. Even more impressive than Eleanor's coolness in the car was her cuteness in the hotel room during our first night. She thought it was so funny to peek over the side of her pack n play and see mommy and daddy lying in bed next to her. And of course Brian and I couldn't keep from laughing. It's amazing that she eventually just went to sleep on her own.

We finally arrived in Destin around 5pm on the 15th. Our condo unit was great. It was clean and didn't have too much that Eleanor could disturb (i.e. break.) We ate dinner at Mellow Mushroom, which was great because Eleanor loves pizza (and Brian and I love the parmesan & garlic pretzels.) It was pouring by the time we finished dinner, so we didn't get to check out the beach, but we did get the grocery shopping out of the way. I wish we had a Publix up here. The lunch meat was great, and they slice every order fresh while you wait. No angry workers to deal with when you ask for shaved turkey and ham. But anyway...

The next morning we ate breakfast and headed down to the beach. It was a gorgeous day! One of the best things about staying at Edgewater - the free beach chair and umbrella set up. We grabbed a spot and headed for the ocean. Eleanor hated the sand. She hated the ocean. Good thing we were spending a week on the beach. Throughout the week she warmed up to both as long as we let her do things at her pace. Our beach time was put on hold after Eleanor pooped at the beach (and of course we didn't know it) and got sand in her swim diaper. It made for the absolute worst diaper rash ever. Luckily she didn't get a sunburn, but Brian got enough of one for all of us. He didn't sleep much on our last night, which made for a crabby daddy on the way home.

We had some great seafood in Destin. Eleanor wasn't into eating fish, but she loved looking at any that were on the wall or in a tank. She would very enthusiastically point them out to us while saying, "ish, ish." Too cute!

We decided to leave a day early because of rainy weather. Eleanor did just as well traveling back to MO. We even got to stop in Clarksville, TN to see Sarah Coyne. It was a short visit at 10:30 pm, but worth the stop.

We had such a great trip! Hopefully summer in Destin can become a Schierding family tradition!