Sunday, August 12, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair.
Guess where we are?
Oh, can't you tell? Don't you see that beautiful bridge in the background?
Recognize it yet?
We are in San Francisco, and having the time of our lives.
After our successful trip to Wisconsin, I decided that it was time to stop being afraid of traveling with Ellie, and start showing her the world. So last night we went wheels up at 7pm, and drove straight up the 5 to stay with our friends Bob and Nancy. Beans was a pretty remarkable traveler - she fell asleep right before we wanted her to, which sort of sucked, but after we got her in her pjs, she did eventually consent to going back to sleep (because I got in the back seat and stroked her sweet little face.) Slept in until 7 this morning, and took a great nap at my friend Anne's apartment in the city while we were off exploring.
Then she was DESPERATE to ride a bus, so I told her we could ride the cable car. There was much screaming about wanting to go to the cable car. We got there, and the line was an hour long, so we convinced her that she just wanted to sit on the cable car (thank goodness for the nice operator who let us sit her up there for a minute.) Then of course, once she got what she wanted, she whined nonstop about it. This is basically the only picture where she appears to be a decent human being.
It's the best trip ever!
After our successful trip to Wisconsin, I decided that it was time to stop being afraid of traveling with Ellie, and start showing her the world. So last night we went wheels up at 7pm, and drove straight up the 5 to stay with our friends Bob and Nancy. Beans was a pretty remarkable traveler - she fell asleep right before we wanted her to, which sort of sucked, but after we got her in her pjs, she did eventually consent to going back to sleep (because I got in the back seat and stroked her sweet little face.) Slept in until 7 this morning, and took a great nap at my friend Anne's apartment in the city while we were off exploring.
Then she was DESPERATE to ride a bus, so I told her we could ride the cable car. There was much screaming about wanting to go to the cable car. We got there, and the line was an hour long, so we convinced her that she just wanted to sit on the cable car (thank goodness for the nice operator who let us sit her up there for a minute.) Then of course, once she got what she wanted, she whined nonstop about it. This is basically the only picture where she appears to be a decent human being.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Floaties.
Hey, I don't know if you guys know this, but Ellie likes swimming, and we love to take her swimming, even if the Resort and Spa's pool is not as warm as we would like this summer.
This week, Gigi took it to the next level by buying Ellie some floaties. Or as the floaties like to call themselves these days, "Aqua Leisure." They are hot pink and we love them. It gives Ellie a chance to work on kicking her legs without having to worry about keeping her head above water, and unlike the wet suit with floaties inside of it,the Aqua Leisures don't cause her to drift to her back, and then onto her front with no way to get her face out of the water.
She can still blow bubbles if she wants.
As she does with Auntie Sara
Meanwhile, she has to ruin my floating by climbing up and giving dirty looks
She is really such a delight in the pool. She will suddenly scream with happiness "I'm swimming!" The other day when I asked her who was a shark, she yelled "I'm a shark!" Grizz, Sara and I are also sharks. Gigi is not. She also likes to splash, and much to Grizz's delight, doesn't mind getting splashed square in the face. I love her fearlessness in the water, and I hope she stays this way forever.
A milestone: we have reached the point in our lives where Tim can go see a movie with his buddies and I am not tearing my hair out trying to get Ellie to go to bed. She has always been a tough nut to crack when it comes to bed time. As a newborn, she'd nurse for hours and then cry for hours in Tim's arms. And since we're not fans of the cry it out theory, it has traditionally meant that someone had to lay quietly in bed with her while she wound down at the end of the day - no sneaking out until she was completely, stone cold asleep. After a long day with her, I was rarely capable of such a feat of patience - lying with her made me want to smash through her bedroom window and run screaming through the streets, tearing all my hair out. But recently as she's gotten better at understanding English, we've started a bedtime routine that involves less work on our ends. We get into her jammies, brush her teeth with her fancy electric toothbrush and then bring her into her room for a round of Goodnight Moon (looking for the mouse on every page) while snuggling with her friends. Then we turn off the lights and I rock her and sing her a lullaby, and then into bed. Now the parent who sits with her just has to sit in the rocker at the foot of her bed. It's SO much easier than laying silent and still with her. PLUS I get to screw around on my phone while I wait for her to fall asleep. It still takes her awhile to settle down, but it's sort of funny - she'll be rustling around and I'll say "Missy!" sort of sternly and she stops kicking her feet, rolls over onto her kitty and lamby, and usually is out within five minutes. It is SUCH a relief. I finally feel like someday we'll be able to lay her down and walk out. Or, she'll go to college, and it'll be her roommate's problem.
This week, Gigi took it to the next level by buying Ellie some floaties. Or as the floaties like to call themselves these days, "Aqua Leisure." They are hot pink and we love them. It gives Ellie a chance to work on kicking her legs without having to worry about keeping her head above water, and unlike the wet suit with floaties inside of it,the Aqua Leisures don't cause her to drift to her back, and then onto her front with no way to get her face out of the water.
She is really such a delight in the pool. She will suddenly scream with happiness "I'm swimming!" The other day when I asked her who was a shark, she yelled "I'm a shark!" Grizz, Sara and I are also sharks. Gigi is not. She also likes to splash, and much to Grizz's delight, doesn't mind getting splashed square in the face. I love her fearlessness in the water, and I hope she stays this way forever.
A milestone: we have reached the point in our lives where Tim can go see a movie with his buddies and I am not tearing my hair out trying to get Ellie to go to bed. She has always been a tough nut to crack when it comes to bed time. As a newborn, she'd nurse for hours and then cry for hours in Tim's arms. And since we're not fans of the cry it out theory, it has traditionally meant that someone had to lay quietly in bed with her while she wound down at the end of the day - no sneaking out until she was completely, stone cold asleep. After a long day with her, I was rarely capable of such a feat of patience - lying with her made me want to smash through her bedroom window and run screaming through the streets, tearing all my hair out. But recently as she's gotten better at understanding English, we've started a bedtime routine that involves less work on our ends. We get into her jammies, brush her teeth with her fancy electric toothbrush and then bring her into her room for a round of Goodnight Moon (looking for the mouse on every page) while snuggling with her friends. Then we turn off the lights and I rock her and sing her a lullaby, and then into bed. Now the parent who sits with her just has to sit in the rocker at the foot of her bed. It's SO much easier than laying silent and still with her. PLUS I get to screw around on my phone while I wait for her to fall asleep. It still takes her awhile to settle down, but it's sort of funny - she'll be rustling around and I'll say "Missy!" sort of sternly and she stops kicking her feet, rolls over onto her kitty and lamby, and usually is out within five minutes. It is SUCH a relief. I finally feel like someday we'll be able to lay her down and walk out. Or, she'll go to college, and it'll be her roommate's problem.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
No More Monkeys!
So, Beans loves her stuffed animals, but until recently, she loved them all about equally. She'd have a few days carrying one baby around, then ditch him for a hop hop, and then perhaps it would be about two hop hops, but then back to puppy. But over the last few days, she has been carrying her little white cat around pretty much nonstop. Because she comes from a long line of pillow-snugglers, she is currently in bed, basically smothering Kitty Cat under her body.
I love when she starts singing. It's also amazing to me to consider that a year ago, she was this little blob - barely crawling, not very communicative, and here she is, chattering up a storm. It makes all those long days spent talking to her (ie: basically talking to myself) feel very worth it. Especially today when I was getting her ready for swim class and she wrapped her fat arms around my neck and yelled "mama loves YOU!"
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Sad, lonely baby.
She has no friends at all.
From Saturday Night
Ellie, Clare and Julianna
Piggietail partners
Ellie, Clare and Penelope
Sunday Night
Lexi, the two Elizabeths and Hunter
Host Dean checks on his guests (Ellie lets her baby slide.)
Loving the sprinkler
Perhaps loving it a bit too much
Lex and Ellie head out in their smart car.
From Saturday Night
Sunday Night
Lexi, the two Elizabeths and Hunter
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Pets.
People have joked with me that Ellie's love of rabbits and dogs means that I need to adopt one or both for her. To which I laugh, because I am a cat person. I don't want some big dopey smelly dog running around my house (I already have a 6'6" husband) and I don't need some little rodent creature pooping everywhere (I already have a Thor.)
Plus, Ellie has so many stuffed animal friends, that who needs a real life animal?
Please witness today's nap time:
She has a rabbit in each hand, including the one on the right, that she basically stole out of Granny Janny's house. When she woke up, she spent a good half hour pretending to feeding him yogurt, and then asked to bring him to bed again tonight. He is her new bestie.
Also, here is her new dog, Sweet Puppy. He's one of Sara and I's old pull toys. Mom brought him out the other day after Ellie was scared of the bear pull toy (because Gigi said it was chasing her.) Ellie was all about the dog until mom goes "he doesn't have a tail, but that's okay." Umm... that is NOT okay. Ellie cried until Gigi cut him a little tail out of ribbon and taped it to his butt. She loves him. Several times a day, she insists on walking him down to check out the hop hops. Here she is holding him up so that he can see the early moon before bed time. When we got to Mimi's house, Mimi ALSO has a Sweet Puppy for walking, and apparently Ellie tortured Mimi into walking the puppy around the house for several hours at a time.
With that in mind, WHY would I ever adopt a real dog? You know as soon as I got some living, breathing, NEEDY animal, she'd refuse to go walking with it ever.
Plus, Ellie has so many stuffed animal friends, that who needs a real life animal?
Please witness today's nap time:
She has a rabbit in each hand, including the one on the right, that she basically stole out of Granny Janny's house. When she woke up, she spent a good half hour pretending to feeding him yogurt, and then asked to bring him to bed again tonight. He is her new bestie.
Also, here is her new dog, Sweet Puppy. He's one of Sara and I's old pull toys. Mom brought him out the other day after Ellie was scared of the bear pull toy (because Gigi said it was chasing her.) Ellie was all about the dog until mom goes "he doesn't have a tail, but that's okay." Umm... that is NOT okay. Ellie cried until Gigi cut him a little tail out of ribbon and taped it to his butt. She loves him. Several times a day, she insists on walking him down to check out the hop hops. Here she is holding him up so that he can see the early moon before bed time. When we got to Mimi's house, Mimi ALSO has a Sweet Puppy for walking, and apparently Ellie tortured Mimi into walking the puppy around the house for several hours at a time.
With that in mind, WHY would I ever adopt a real dog? You know as soon as I got some living, breathing, NEEDY animal, she'd refuse to go walking with it ever.
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