Catch up (again)

Samuel is 7 weeks old today! It's unreal to say the least. I love that he's becoming more social and giving us smiles daily now. I know it's wrong to compare the kids, but I'm going to. Eleanor hardly made cooing sounds at this age. Of course Brian and I were terrified that there was something wrong with her. Obviously there isn't since I'm sitting here listening to her sing and talk to her animals as she's supposed to be napping. Sam has proven to be the opposite of his big sister. He's quite the talker for such a little guy. We'll see if he'll be able to get a word in before his big sister when he's older. Doubt it.

Eleanor continues to be a super big sister. She's never shown the slightest bit of jealousy - wait...one time she got mad and said I was her mommy and not Sam's, but other than that... - and she's always so concerned about what he's doing or that he's crying. Today when we were getting ready to go to play group, she touched his face and asked him if he wanted to come with us. So sweet! He gets plenty of kisses from her, too.

Eleanor has also mastered the words to many songs lately, including The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Ring Around the Rosy, Row Your Boat, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and the ABCs. It's so fun to sing along with her!

Eleanor is a big sister!

Samuel Jude joined our family on the morning of January 6th! We are all so happy that he is a part of our family. So far he's a sweet, quiet baby. And Eleanor is truly a perfect big sister. She's been so patient and loving toward Sam and really welcomed him into our family. She loves holding him and giving him lots of kisses, and she just recently started reading books to him before her nap and bedtime.

Brian and I feel so lucky to have two amazing children! Our hearts are so full of love for each of them individually, as well as for our new family as a whole.

We ordered our announcements today from Shutterfly (LOVE Shutterfly!). I cannot wait to send them out and introduce our sweet Samuel to our friends and family who cannot meet him in person.

Potty Training...ugh

It's day 3 (or really 2.5) of potty training in the Schierding house. It's exhausting! Luckily Eleanor is very good about sitting on her potty until she goes. However, I feel like she's sitting there for too long most times. This morning it was over 2 hours before she peed after waking up. I feel so bad for her because I know the little potty chair is uncomfortable after a while. The good news is that she's recognizing that she's peeing as soon as it happens (this didn't happen at all the first day), but it doesn't seem like she's at all close to recognizing WHEN she needs to go. I know it will happen, but it really doesn't seem like it.

It's also been a lesson for me. I realized that I'm expecting her to go more often than she really needs to. Hopefully the end is nearer than it seems.

Christmas cards!

Here are the free Christmas cards we were able to get from Shutterfly. I'm so excited to see them when they arrive. Of course I'm going to have to address them all very quickly to get them out before Chrismas, but it's worth it. Come on quick processing and shipping!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5...soccer tots!

This fall we let Eleanor do Soccer Tots, or an expensive, 8 week, pain in the rear, headache where Eleanor listened half of the time and ran wild the other half. I could go on an on about why we didn't like it. However, I'll keep it positive.

At the end of every class the instructor and the kids would all put their hands in a circle, count to three, and yell, "soccer tots!" Of course she never once did it during class, though. We haven't been in over a month, but now all of sudden Eleanor wants to put her hands in with ours and do the soccer tots cheer. She counts to five, though, and sometimes she keeps counting and forgets about yelling, "soccer tots" altogether. It's so cute, though, and it makes her very happy. :)

Capturing her Christmas cuteness.

I have been debating sending Christmas cards this year. On the one hand, we'll be sending out birth announcements in a few weeks that will most likely include a picture of big sis Eleanor. On the other hand, Eleanor is so darn cute, and part of me thinks that it's unfair that she doesn't get one more Christmas card to herself. So I've decided to dress her up in either her fancy Christmas dress (which was actually labeled a Hanukkah dress on the receipt) or the casual, Christmasy outfit I bought her and try my hardest to capture her Christmas cuteness! Oh, and I'll be using Shutterfly for my Christmas cards. This year I'll need to find one that captures just who she is - a spirited, inquisitive, and oh-so adorable 2 year old.
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

Over the past year we've ordered several photo books from Shutterfly. I can easily say that they are Eleanor's favorite books! She loves to look at pictures of herself, along with friends and family over the past year. Her play group friends like looking at her "Eleanor books," too. Everyone we show is always so impressed with the quality that Brian and I decided to order one for each of our moms this year for Christmas. I know they'll love them! And the grandkids will love looking at them, too! They have made me a big fan of Shutterfly, which is why there's no doubt in my mind that I'm getting Shutterfly holiday cards!

My sisters and I always get my mom a wall calendar, too. Usually it is a last minute thing (even though we know we're doing it) that my sister takes to Walgreens to get printed days before Christmas. This year I suggested using Shutterfly for our calendar since I love the way the one I ordered last year turned out. I truly love that you can add a picture and name for birthdays, anniversaries, and any other special occasions. It's also super easy to make if you have great pictures and a little time.
http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars

In a few weeks we'll be placing another big order from Shutterfly for birth announcements! I've been looking at them for months just trying to narrow down the cutest ones. It's tough! I know that I definitely want a card that will showcase our new little boy as well as his amazing big sister. We still have Eleanor's birth announcement on the fridge, so a great looking announcement is important to me. I know the quality of a Shutterfly birth announcement will exceed my expectations, just as the many photo books, the canvas, and the calendar that we've ordered over the past year have done.
ttp://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/baby-cards-stationery

Preparing to be a big sister

Tonight Brian and I were highly entertained by Eleanor reading a book to Marley. It was so sweet. Eleanor kept getting frustrated, though, because Marley wouldn't hold still and look at the pictures. It made me realize how sweet she's going to be as a big sister. Just a few more weeks and she'll be able to read to her baby brother. :)

Warm fall day

As soon as I type this, we'll be waking up Eleanor from her nap...scary, I know. We're going to head to the park to enjoy the beautiful weather, play in the leaves, and hopefully get some cute pics!

Quick update

I'm so embarrassed that I haven't posted in months. My new goal is to do at least a post a week, if not more.

The biggest news is that Eleanor is going to be a big sister! Her baby brother will be arriving sometime by mid-January, and we all could not be more excited! She talks about baby brother, and even "hits baby brother" in her words when she lightly hits my belly. Yikes! Hopefully it isn't really foreshadowing of what is to come. Although she talks about baby brother and knows where he is, I can't imagine she has any idea what's coming.

Eleanor has become quite the talker lately. There isn't anything she can't and won't say. Luckily there isn't much that Brian and I say that shouldn't be repeated, but we still have to watch what we say sometimes.

Some of her favorite things right now are baby dolls (the littler the better), dinosaurs, Dora, Diego, Little Einsteins, the Toy Story movies, chalk, soccer, and playing with her friends.

More to come soon...I promise.

Where have I been?

Every single day I think about the fact that I haven't updated this blog in months. MONTHS! And everyday I hope that Brian doesn't ask about it, since it seems to make him really sad when I don't update.

I promise to do a major update soon, but for tonight I'll just run through a few things that are new in Eleanor's world.

She's a lot more willing to repeat words when asked. I say willing because I'm positive she can say anything she wants.

Eleanor really likes talking about and playing with her friends. What would we do without Jacob, Addison, and Ben?!? And Melanie and Cathy of course :). She loves to talk about Ben and Addi and the slides and tunnels. She won't even try to say Jacob, but he cracks her up all the time, and I know she thinks about him when we're reminiscing about our play dates.

She's still a great sleeper. Bedtime is 8pm. That does not mean that she's asleep by 8:15, 8:30, or even 9 most nights. I would love to see what she does in her dark room at night, other than sleep. We can usually catch a glimpse of her marching around her bed or playing with her pacifiers when we go to check on her. However, when she sees us coming she immediately drops to the mattress no matter what she's doing and fakes sleep. Where did she learn to be so sneaky?? It always makes us giggle, which makes her happy, and it seems as if sleep is even further away. When she really and truly is asleep, she's so peaceful. Brian and I often stand there to watch her as she makes her way through dreams of cookies and baby dolls, playgrounds and a land filled with easels, crayons, and papers in need of some color.

Now that I've started writing I feel like I could keep going for hours. But it's late, and our days are more fun when we're both well rested.

I have to add, though, that my heart melts when she says, "pees" and "tay-do", and most of all "happy." Beyond adorable. I do lover her so.