Valentine Fun

I thought Eleanor would really enjoy getting a little crafty with Valentines this year, so Friday afternoon, we worked on our project (or "projeck" as she says it) together.

Here she is gluing hearts onto the paper. We made "love bugs." I did one so she would have an example.

We cut out the hearts together. Eleanor loves to cut paper. I thought she would just do her own thing with paper and scissors while I cut out hearts, but she wanted to make hearts just like me. At first, I helped her guide her scissors around the curve while I held the paper. Then, she wanted to do it herself. I let her give it a try, but then she wanted more help. She had me hold the paper while she did the cutting. She did pretty well. These are some that she cut out except the top one. She cut the inside heart out of the top one.
After we cut one heart, I told her I just wanted to cut off a little pointy part that needed rounded out. After that, there wasn't one heart that could be unfolded without her cutting off the pointy part. I had to convince her the bottom point was supposed to be there, but the other end of the heart was fair game.
Here's the example I made. We gave it to Daddy.
This is the first one she did. She did a great job.

She had so much fun, and so did I, watching her enjoy herself. We told Daddy it would be a surprise when he got home. She kept saying, "We are making him a party!"

Here's the second one she did. She included some of the shapes she cut out. The far left is a butterfly, followed by a bat.

That night, Phaedra and I went shopping for a while, and we came home to this:
a sweet surprise

"Will you be my Valentine?" Seeing this messy faced girl ask me to be her Valentine sure made my day.

Grant and I even got to go out on Valentine's Day. My mother came over and watched the kids. We tried to go to a movie, but the show we planned to see was sold out. So, we joined the crowd trying to get into the Olive Garden for lunch together. It wasn't as long a wait as we thought it would be, and we had a really nice time. We realized it had been a really long time since we went there without kids. It's a whole different experience when you can actually just sit and talk during the meal.

Hope you all had a fun holiday remembering the people you love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

To: the man in our life

From: the girls in yours

We love you!

"We Got Our Hairs Cut!"

Inchworm

Inchworm, inchworm

Measuring the marigolds

You and your arithmetic

You'll probably go far

Inchworm, inchworm

Measuring the marigolds

Seems to me you'd stop and see

How beautiful they are

Wild Tangent Tuesday: Help Wanted: Shoppers

Shoppers . . .

I need your help. One of my first priorities upon moving into this house was to put some different curtains in Eleanor's room (different from the ones left behind by the previous owner). Five months later, I haven't done anything to change them. So, I'm applying to all of you, my blogger BFFs, to help me out.

I'm not much of a decorator in the first place, and window treatments are my weakness. I keep telling myself to look at them when I'm near a store that might have options, but I forget every time. Plus, I basically just don't know what I'm doing. So, I thought maybe my friends could help me out. If you happen to see what I'm looking for when you're out and about, or if you come across it surfing the net, or if you just want to take this on as a challenge, let me know if you come up with anything.

Oh, and Plllllllease don't suggest that I sew some myself. I would probably get excited about it, buy some fabric (eventually), tell myself that the curtain project had to wait while I finish ___ number of current projects I have going. And then, when it finally came time to get out the fabric for the curtains, I'd either have changed my mind on what I wanted to do with the room, or I'd just get too intimidated by the sewing project to even start. I'm wimpy about sewing. If you want to sew some for me, you're more than welcome to do so ;)

Here's what the windows look like:

And these are my requirements:

• Function (first priority): They must block out AS. MUCH. LIGHT. AS. POSSIBLE. It's my only hope in getting her to sleep as it gets dark later at night. I'm not holding my breath on naps, but if it helps that too, I'll take it. Plus, I think she will feel safer at night without the street light shining in her window. She has had some bad nights, waking up scared, since we moved here. I think it has to do with the curtains (maybe).
• Form: I just want something fun, happy, girly.
• The walls in the room are currently tan but subject to change (eventually). Feel free to suggest a wall color to go with your curtain suggestion, or just ignore wall color altogether.
  


"Take a picture of me."
Another note on function: this is the inside casing of the windows. Since they open upwards, there is no place to put a rod within the casing. That basically rules out black out shades, blinds, or anything that would be installed there.
I have these two quilts I really love that were given to me for Phaedra. (This picture really doesn't do this one justice --grumble.) I'd like to possibly hang one of them on the wall. Actually, I'd like to rotate between the two, hanging whichever one isn't in use at the time. They don't have much in common, but they do both have a little bit of everything. So, maybe it wouldn't be too hard to find a curtain that could work with them. If not, oh well. It's just an idea.So that's that. I need you're help. I think that together, we can find a decent window treatment for Eleanor's room that will have the form and function we need. Did I mention they need to be affordable? These are trying times . . . Keep your eyes open, and let me know what you find. Thanks!

Wild Tangent Tuesday: Posy Giveaway

This nice lady is giving away a Posy headband to help her friend's new business. Click here to find out about the giveaway.

Five Months Old

Phaedra’s 5 month stats:
Weight: 12 pounds, 1 ounce (percentile: between 5th and 10th)
Head Circumference: 15.5 inches (percentile: below the 3rd --but our doctor says his program that maps those things out always ends up funny on the head, so it might not be very trustworthy. According to Eleanor's old chart, it would put her in the 10th percentile)
Height: 24 inches long (percentile: 15th)

Phaedra’s 4 month doctor appointment didn’t end up happening until last week, so it was more of a 5 month appointment. Eleanor’s 4 month stats were these:
Weight: barely above 12 pounds (percentile: about the 30th)
Head Circumference: 15.5 inches (percentile: about the 30th)
Height: 24.5 inches long (percentile: 50th)

I kept thinking Phae was bigger than Eleanor was by this time, but apparently not.

So happy.
She flaps her arms so wildly when she's happy that they get blurry in pictures.

Phae’s doctor asked if she could roll from front to back. I said, “Well, no . . . but she’s really good at rolling from back to front. Then she gets stuck there.” The doctor said that was pretty funny because most babies roll from front to back first. When it came time for him to examine her, I put her up on the table and –flip—she was on her tummy. She had to show off her skills.

You can see how pink and sore her skin is below her nose in this picture. Poor girl. We've all really been struggling with a nasty cold for the past two weeks.

I don’t know if she’ll ever learn to roll back onto her back. She gets on her tummy, and acts as if all she wants is forward motion. She flails her legs and arms as if she’s trying to swim to you. She actually can move pretty far just on her tummy. She can slowly spin herself around by bending her body and pulling with her arms. Just last night, Grant and I were watching her on the floor. She saw something that interested her, and we watched as she bent one knee, gripped the floor with her toes and pushed herself forward. Yikes!She loves to play with her clothes after I take them off of her.

Phaedra started solids this month. She seems to really like rice cereal (most days). She has also tried bananas and green beans so far. She made faces the first time she tried both. She got used to the green beans a little faster than she did the bananas. She really wants to do what we are doing at mealtime, though. She sure has been easier about solids than Eleanor was when she first started out.

I was just sure she was going to cut teeth last month, but nothing has happened. That’s fine with me. They can take their time.

Everything goes in her mouth right now.

I have to fight to keep her thumb/fingers out of her mouth while I'm nursing her.Cute feet.

Sleep has not been very good this month, but we have all had a cold. Phaedra really wasn’t happy trying to sleep when she could hardly breathe. We’re slowly getting over it, but it’s one of those colds that lingers.We let her try the Johnny-jump-up for the first time about a week ago. She likes it. Eleanor wished she could use it, too, so she jumped next to her. Phaedra loved jumping with her big sister.
Before I had Phaedra, her Grandma Matthews told me she had a feeling this one would be red haired, blue eyed, and a terror. So far, Phae has only fulfilled the first two. Grandma Matthews says the only time Phae shows a hint of the third quality is when her older sister cries and Phae beams listening to it. I like to give Phaedra the benefit of the doubt and assume that she hasn’t figured out the difference between the sound of Eleanor’s happy squeals and her shrieks of anger and pain, so Phae is just happy to hear that sound because she thinks it’s playtime.
Some things I love about Phaedra right now (obviously not the only things I love about her):

• I love how her face lights up and she gives me a big, toothless grin while flapping her arms every time I go to get her out of her bed after a nap.
• I love her laugh.
• I love how she adores her older sister and gets excited over even the smallest amounts of attention Eleanor offers her.
• I love how she bends to try to watch her daddy when he first comes home from work, excited at first, but eventually fussy if he doesn't acknowledge her.
• I love how curious she is. She loves exploring as much as her mobility will allow, and has victory in her eyes any time she gets her hands on one of Eleanor's toys.
• I love her dimpled knees and her small, pudgy, feet and hands.
• I love how fluffy her hair is after a bath.
• I love it when she sleeps.
• I love the feeling of her head against my cheek.
• I love to see her daddy holding her.

I've been meaning to get a video of Phaedra laughing. Eleanor was making her laugh the other morning, so it was the perfect opportunity. I love that sound!

And finally, if anyone wants to compare, this is Eleanor a day before she was 5 months old.

All about Eleanor (Better Late than Never)

Last Tuesday night, we were doing some much needed laundry after we had all been sick for the past week (some of us still are). Eleanor just had to try on things before putting them into the washing machine. She's putting on Daddy's shirt in this one.She thought it was a fun game to stand back for me, smile, and then come running toward the camera just as I was about to take the picture.

Jumping with her sister.

Walking Grandma Mills' dog, one of her favorite things to do.
We spent MLK day at Grandma Mills' house. Eleanor helped her daddy clean branches off the deck.

Sweet sisters.

(I took this last month, but didn't get a chance to post it.)

• Eleanor can't seem to decide if she wants to grow up or be even younger than she is now.
• She sees all the "cool" toys Phaedra gets (bouncer seat, bumbo, johnny jump up, etc.), and she wishes she wasn't too big for them. She even wants to eat baby food when I feed Phaedra. If there is any left in the bowl after Phae is done, I let Eleanor eat it. She takes a spoonful, tries not to make a face, and says, "I like it." If you ask her if she wants more, she says no. But the next time Phae gets solids, Eleanor is right there, asking for a taste.
• Eleanor loves to pretend. I've already mentioned that she gives the whole family names according to the current character she wants to be. We do that every day. I don't know who she is half the time. If I address her and call her the wrong name, she corrects me, and I have to repeat my entire sentence using her current name.
• She plays realistically. If she pretends to be something, she's like an actor studying for a part. This can cause a bit of trouble. . . Last month, while we were staying at Grant's parents' house, Eleanor was pretending to be their dog, Riley. She watched as Riley licked their kitchen floor, and asked her grandma what he was doing. Grandma explained that sometimes Riley licks the floor to try to clean it for her. The next thing she knew, Eleanor was licking the floor. She happily looked up at her grandma and declared, "I'm Riley." Naturally, Grandma told her, in an alarmed manner, to stop immediately. I overheard the commotion from the other room and rushed in to help drive the point home (lest she doubt Grandma’s seriousness or authority), and Eleanor understandably . . . started to cry.
• That was the worst but not the last instance of Eleanor over-pretending. I’ve watched her at my mother’s house observing Lane (dog) after he took a drink and proceeded to lick his front legs. She watched him, and then she started licking her arms. She watches Phaedra put things in her mouth all the time, and she tells me, “I am a baby,” as she starts sucking on a stuffed animal. I hate to ruin her fun when her sister is allowed to do it, but it grosses me out. I usually tell her to find a hard toy to put in her mouth instead. Telling her to pretend to do it doesn’t work. She just responds that she can’t pretend to (fill-in-the-blank) because she is a real dog or a real baby. As we all know, real dogs would never be caught pretending to lick themselves. They just go ahead and do it.
• In spite of her roll playing as Phaedra, her current form of sibling rivalry is to freak out anytime Phae has touched something of hers. She cries out dejectedly, “Oh no! It’s all slobbered!”
• I’m sad to say that most of her knowledge is gleaned from watching TV in the morning while I try to get a little more sleep. (This is one of my biggest sources of guilt lately.) She has all this knowledge about shapes and letters that I know I haven’t taught her. I’m glad she’s excited about letters, and I’m glad she’s recognizing more and more. I just wish it were because I taught her rather than PBS.
• Eleanor is a wonderful, loving, respectful daughter. But, she is starting to challenge us more lately. I comfort myself by attributing it to her intelligence. If she wasn’t so smart, she might not be so difficult, right? The majority of the time, she is better behaved than I could hope for, but when she decides to be stubborn about an issue, we really have to go the rounds to bend her will.
  
  Here are some things (among others) I love about Eleanor right now:
• She can pick up the words to songs really easily, and she loves to sing.
• She makes up songs randomly. She’ll be playing, and I’ll hear her sing, “Yesterday-hey-hey . . .” Just tonight, we were at my mother's house, and she held two My Little Ponies side by side and sang, "We love each other. We love each other."
• She has a gentle nature.
• She still loves books, and she can read many of her own books to us (from memory).
• She’s pretty easy to take places.
• She entertains herself well.
• She loves opportunities to get involved in what I’m doing. I can work on just about anything if I can think of some little job she can do to help me with it.
• She’s a very attentive sister. If I’m in the shower and I hear Phaedra’s toy drop to the floor (from the bouncer seat or Johnny jump up she’s sitting in), I look out a minute later, and she has her toy back. Sometimes, Eleanor sits and reads her stories the whole time I’m in the shower. When Phae gets up from a nap, Eleanor likes to help me carry her to the family room. I lift Phae out of her bed and into Eleanor's arms and support her weight as the three of us walk through the house.
• So many little things can be exciting for her, and it rubs off on me.
  
  That’s not all, but I’ll stop there for now.