Post #200: A Special Bulletin

Attention please!

We interrupt our normal programming to bring a special announcement from Eleanor (sorry it's a little PG-13). Hit pause on the music on the sidebar so you can hear the video.

She took it literally when I asked her if she wanted to tell the camera. Ha ha! I was about to put her in a bath, so we hadn't bothered to zip her jammies-- sorry for the showy video.

This is the first time ever that she has actually done something on the potty!! We have a little potty for her that we've had out since she was about 18 months old. It had been in the garage since we moved, but we had one of those seats on the big potty in case she wanted to try and go. Last night, I was rearranging things in the garage, and brought in the little potty. I didn't even realize Grant had put it in the half-bath until I went to use the bathroom this morning, and Eleanor came in and said she was going to sit on her potty, too. I got her sitting down there and went and got her some books. I put the books in front of her and started putting clothes in the dryer. A second later, I could hear her going in her potty!! I ran in there, practically screaming I was so happy. Eleanor happily declared, "And now I don't have to wear a diaper anymore!" We had talked to her about big girl pants and getting rid of diapers. I had to explain that since we don't currently have any big girl pants, we would have to put a diaper on, but now that she went on the potty, we'll be going to buy some. I think we'll start with pull-ups. I'm not ready to do all the cleaning up. She got "lots" of candies as a reward. We've been giving her one M&M for trying to go potty lately, and we promised her lots if she actually did go potty on the potty. So, she got a little cup full of M&Ms to celebrate, and we quickly called Daddy to share the news.

She's been showing signs of readiness, but she had never actually gone in the potty. I've known that if we could just get past that step, it should be pretty easy from there. Hopefully it will be. You never realize just how gross it is to change a 3-year-old's diaper until you're changing diapers on a baby in comparison. I'm ready to be done!

Tutu cute!

Last Saturday, Eleanor went to her first friend's birthday party (not her first friend, but her first party). We've been invited to one or two before, but we haven't been able to make it. And, I'm not counting family parties, though they are her friends, too. The party was for Paige. It was a ballerina theme, so we dressed her as if she were in a leotard.


Paige's mom, Alicia, is legendary (at least in my book) for her party planning skills. Her creativity, hard work, and attention to detail make me want to go home and stand in front of a mirror chanting encouraging words that end in ". . . and dog-gone it, people like me." Seriously, if I were to compare myself to her in this area, I'd feel pretty small. But hey, it's not like she just recently had a baby. . . and moved. . . oh wait! She has! Well, I moved twice. Maybe that can help me sleep at night. Anyways, she's amazing. All moms wish they could be like her. 'Nuff said. But I digress. . .


I could have left Eleanor there by herself or stayed with her. The night before, I gave her a choice, and she said she wanted me to drop her off. When we got there, I asked her again at the first which she wanted, and she still said she wanted me to drop her off. I was a little concerned because she's had a few melt-downs at nursery and a friend's house lately, and I knew she didn't know everyone there that well. I didn't want her to ruin the party. So, I watched her for a minute, and then she came and wanted to sit in my lap (she had hit her limit quickly). I asked her again, and she wanted me to stay. I wasn't going to push it. Phaedra had slept in that morning, and since the party was close by, I was baby-free until toward the end of the party when Grant dropped her off after she woke up hungry.

To start out, each girl got to sit at the make up table and get some make up. Eleanor didn't want to close her eyes for eye shadow since she doesn't know Alicia that well, so she closed one eye at a time. Then, Alicia held her up so she could look at all the tutus and choose one.

Later that evening, Eleanor was acting out the events with us. She would tell me or Grant, "I am Paige's mommy." I would chime in and tell her Paige's mommy is named Alicia. She would say, "I am Paige's mommy. I am Awicia." Then, she would proceed to tell me or Grant (it was especially funny when she did Grant) to close one eye while she pretended to put make up on us with her fingers. Then, she did lips and then sparkles on the cheeks. After that, she would say, "You are so pretty!" This was followed by, "I will hold you up so you can choose," and she would pretend to hoist one of us up to get a better look at the tutus. I can't believe she remembered it in so much detail!

Eleanor's friend, "Boo." They tied ribbons to flowers so they could dance with them. Eleanor called them "dancing flowers."

Eleanor getting some flowers put in her hair.

The whole group. Isn't this a cute bunch of girls? Don't ask me to name them all. I'm still learning. Paige is next to Eleanor.

Look at all that tulle!

They're dancing in this picture. I love how happy they look!

Eleanor loves her tutu, and even wore it to help her dad outside, while she blew bubbles-- just part of the party favor she got.

And finally, here's one of the videos I took of them dancing-- so adorable!

Thanks so much, Paige and Alicia for inviting Eleanor to such an amazing party. She had so much fun.

All About Eleanor

Who needs pre-school?

She couldn't come to dinner because she was too busy reading.

• Favorite book: pretty much any book, but she has really been enjoying our A. A. Milne collection. Today, she wouldn't let me read her a story. She followed me around the house with books, but she wanted to read them to me. Some stories, she practically knows word for word. Others, she only knows the title of the book, so she repeats it each time she turns a page. Others, she makes up the story based on the pictures. It's really fun to listen to, especially with her pronunciation. Today, she kept reading me Spot Helps Out, and it was one of the books where she only knew the title. So, she repeated over and over, "Pot helps out." (She doesn't usually pronounce her S-es on the first of a word when followed by a consonant.)



• My nursery super-star, who has loved nursery from day one, is starting to regress a bit. She's had a few melt-downs over getting bumped or scratched, and the nursery leaders have had to bring her to us. She has even asked me before going to nursery, "And if I cry, they will bring me to you?" I don't know if it's the new ward or the new sister-- probably the combination, but she's just not quite as at home in nursery.


• She loves her little sister and loves helping. She's quick to grab me a new diaper for Phaedra any time I put her on the changing table. If I already got one, she puts it back for me, insisting I use the one she got for me.


• She can't decide if she wants to be a baby or a big girl. She wants to use all the things we have for Phaedra as if they were for her. She wants her blankets, her carseat, etc.


• Sometimes she's a baby, and sometimes she's a mommy. She either wants to be Phaedra (but not by name- just a baby, doing the same things as Phaedra) or she wants to be just like me, her baby dolls playing the roll of Phaedra.


• She acts things out lately. She has jumped into roll-playing with no prompt whatsoever. The other day, she told me I was bear and she was sheep, and acted out a scene from Word World, telling me what to do all along the way. She'll even act out encounters she has had with real people, pretending to be them.


• She has gotten so tall over the summer. She used to be so much shorter than her friends her age, but now she is catching up to most of them.


• She has her dad's decision making skills. When you give her a choice between several things, such as colors or varieties, she chooses immediately and rarely changes her mind, even when coaxed. The girl knows what she wants.


• She sounds so funny when she tries out some of her new words and phrases that she picks up (mostly from us), such as "actually" and "the important thing is. . ." But she pronounces it "the 'portant thing is. . ."


• She pays special attention to stop lights. One day, she was driving with Grant and he taught her this little ditty: Green means go, red means stop, yellow means wait, even if you're late! So now she points out the colors of the lights to me and recites what her daddy taught her. It sounds like, "Wait, even if you're wait!" (complete with shaking finger).


• She loves our front-loading washer and dryer. I can ask her to put clothes in the washer or move clothes from the washer to the dryer, and she goes right to it. Sometimes, she shoos me out of the room, saying, "Go out. I am busy workin'." She gets very perturbed if I don't let her push the start button.


• Grant has been putting her to bed a lot lately while I deal with the baby. She has switched from wanting to be sung to before bed to reading stories, which makes sense, considering Grant's singing. Sometimes, after stories, she still asks him for a song or two. He is great at one part of singing I am not, and that's made up songs. Eleanor will ask him for a Khhh song (basically a sound effect she makes up), and he makes it up on the spot and sings to her. Example: "Khhh went my feet in the gravel. . ." He's amazing. She eats it up.


• She loves to tell people the story about when the police officer came to our new house to stop the alarm. She was very afraid of that alarm, and it took a long time to convince her it wouldn't go off again. If you didn't hear the story, the security system armed itself randomly one day, and Brinks wouldn't shut it off unless we had a police officer come and verify that we own the house now.

above and below the table

Here's the view from above my table at breakfast yesterday. . .
. . . and below. The little monkey needed somewhere to swing.

6 Weeks and Smiling

Phaedra is 6 weeks old, and this is what she looks like now. . .

Sorry about the diaper shot, but she is so pleasant on the changing table that it seemed like an opportune time to snap a few photos.

She's been smiling at us for a while now, but this is the first one I've caught on camera. Isn't she adorable? I just melt when she smiles at me. Phaedra is so pleasant on the changing table. It seems like as soon as you start putting on the clean diaper, she starts smiling and talking like crazy. It must be how she shows her gratitude.

Here's a little video of her talking. Obviously, she isn't forming words yet. I just love it when she uses her little voice. She's really been trying it out lately. I don't remember Eleanor doing this so early. I'm going to have to look at my old videos of her to see when she started. The video is so short because my camera battery ran out-- grumble, grumble. I lost my backup battery, so I'm down to one. I'll have to try again, because she kept going after the camera stopped.

First Ever

This is the first time I have ever done a French braid. My mom and sister used to always do my hair. I tried a few times to do one in my own hair, but my arms always got too tired. I actually have tried once before on Eleanor, but I didn't get very far before all the sections were jumbled together. So, I just put in a hair-tie and called it good. I don't like to think that time counts, since you could hardly see there was even a braid in her hair.

So, last Friday, I decided to give it a try. Luckily, Eleanor loves having braids in her hair, so she was willing to sit through my slow attempt.
Front view.
Eleanor's eyes disappear when she smiles-- poor thing gets it from her mother. This is the face you get when you ask her to open her eyes for a picture. Cracks me up!
Saying hi to South Salem.

Just in Case

. . . you haven't seen enough pictures of these two lately.

Beth and Baby Sam

Several weeks ago, Beth and her baby, Sam, were able to come visit us. I'm just now getting around to posting about it. I didn't get many pictures that turned out. I'm going to have to wait for Beth to send me some of the good ones she got. Her husband, Paul, was kind enough to take a few days off work so he could stay home with her two older kids while she was here. It was so fun to meet baby Sam and have Beth be able to meet Phaedra. We only wish they could have stayed longer! (And maybe next time the whole family can come. We missed you, Paul, Grace, and Isaac.)

When they came to our house, Eleanor was still in the bath. She was so excited to hold baby Sam and open gifts from our Utah family, I didn't manage to get any pants on her. She was so excited to try on some hand-me-downs Grace sent for her. She tried on a "Gracie jacket," and didn't want to take it off. So, here she is, with no pants, jacket on, opening presents.

Ever since they came, all Eleanor's clothes have been "Gracie clothes." I ask her to put on a shirt, and she asks me, "It's a Gracie shirt?" Some of the times, if I tell her no, she'll even argue with me that it is. She also thinks that most of her birthday presents she recently received came from Gracie (she's just so generous). It's pretty funny, but I do correct her about her presents so her gratitude will be directed toward the right people.

Eleanor holding Sam. Isn't he a cutie? He's four months old, and this is the first time we have met him in person.


We all went out to McMenamins-- Matt would be jealous. Come see us, Matt, there's one within minutes of our house! That's my mother next to Eleanor and my sister, Beth, on the right. Aren't they beautiful?

One of the evenings they were in town, we went to my mom's for a family dinner. Beth made a yummy soup. Eleanor had so much fun with Sam. She provided relentless entertainment for him.

Hi Sam!

Mike and Holly were able to come, which made things especially fun. It seems like it's been forever since we've seen Holly.

Grandpa Gary hanging out with Lane, our old, old, old dog.
The girls and the kids. Me, Eleanor and Phaedra, and Beth and Sam.

She Just Had To

Eleanor just had to try on my sweatshirt when she was getting ready for bed.

What do you think of the fit?

This girl cracks me up!

One Month Old

(On Thursday, which is when these pictures were taken)

I know these pictures are all practically the same, but there are subtle differences in her expression. Besides, I just can't get enough of her!

I wanted to show off her cute little legs a little bit, so I took off her pants.

. . . She did not want to show off her cute little legs.

Of course, Eleanor wanted me to take pictures of "two ones." If only I had combed her hair. . . oh well. You can really see Phaedra's hair in this one. Her hair gets curly every time we bathe her, and a few of the curls stay standing when it's dry.
I can't believe she's already a month old. This month has been so crazy; it has just flown by. Phaedra is a very sweet baby. She has been really mellow, even slightly more than Eleanor was, I think, and Eleanor was a rather good baby. Phae has had good nights and bad as far as sleep. Some nights, she wants to be up all night, forcing Grant to pace around with her because every time he sits down, she screams. Other nights, she sleeps the whole time in her bed, only waking to eat and promptly go back to sleep.

I am thoroughly addicted to her smell, the look of her face, holding her close, and the little sounds she makes, such as snorts, sighs, and sometimes a little coo. She has been very tolerant of her eager older sister and the fact that she has to wait sometimes while I deal with her older sister. We are so blessed to have this little girl in our family.

Not So Much Livin' in the Seafoam

Many of my blog readers (all three of you- ha ha) have voiced concern over the ongoing title of my blog even though I no longer live in a bright seafoam green house. There are several reasons why I have not changed the name of my blog.

One reason is because I always saw the title as having a double meaning. Much of my family lives in Utah, and I started this blog partly in hopes of keeping in touch better with them. Even though I'm not living right on the coast, compared to them, I'm practically at the water's edge. So, I suppose it would be more correctly named "Livin' in the Seaspray," but that just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Another reason is because, though I no longer live in that house, I'm the sentimental type, and I want to remember it. Even if that house was smaller than most two bedroom apartments and we had the worst neighbor ever imaginable, it was our first house. There were many wonderful things about that house, most of all, the memories we made there. I will always miss it because of that, because those were the days when we started as two and left that house a family of three. Grant and I found ourselves much more emotional than we had expected to be to leave there. So, I guess I have left it as a commemorative title, even though we don't live there anymore.

Lastly, I'm just not that creative. I haven't thought of anything clever to re-name it, maybe having to do with our names or the fact that we have two little girls. Or even something funny like, "Pasty is Pretty." --I love that one, Kat! So, I guess I'm open to ideas if anyone wants to offer one, but until then or until I come up with something better, the Seafoam stays.