Eloise at 11 months

I am actually a bit teary eyed as I write this 11 MONTH blog post. We are a month away from celebrating the first birthday of this absolutely precious little one.  I think the tears are from experiencing this deep thankfulness to God & love in my heart for these children coupled with seeing month after month fly by as they do not cease to grow & learn new things. I love it, I really do but lately I seem to have more than a few moments where I just want to freeze them exactly how they are...just for a bit : ) 

I mean seriously, who wouldn't want to freeze this?

"Elo Baby, Elo Pancakes" is Charlotte's new and favorite name for Eloise.  Not sure where she came up with that but we can't help but join in!  

So, without further adieu, here is what Elo Pancakes has been doing as of lately:

• crawls speedily EVERYWHERE but especially towards bathroom trash cans
• pulls up on everything
• lets go & stands for about 7 seconds without holding onto anything
• knows where her head is 100% of the time and where her ears are 50% of the time
• does the sound for an elephant when prompted
• repeats the sound for a snake after we do it
• waves hi & bye
• has said (no more than a couple times) "blue"-boo,  "hi" & "dog"- da
• giggles uncontrollably when her Daddy traps her on the ground and covers her with kisses
• gives us big wet open mouthed kisses when asked
• has even been known to attempt a french kiss a time or two ; ) 
• HATES getting her diaper or clothes changed unless it is the removal of them for bath time
• experiences a little separation anxiety Sunday mornings in the nursery
• will sit through a book if I let her touch all over every page
• likes to point at things
• top two front teeth came in April 7th
• if given a brush, bow, shoe or toothbrush she puts them in the right spot

Mellow Elo is not quite as mellow as she once was.  She is still mellow in the area of going with the flow while out & about but at home, oh my. If this girl does not get what she wants quickly....you are surely going to hear about it!  A common scenario ending in seeing this face & hearing the screech is when Charlotte is "helping" to keep shoes, paper, dog toys etc away from Eloise. 

It makes me grin. I know we are at the beginning of playing referee all day every day as these two little ladies learn to interact with one another in a loving way. This playing together has really taken off in the past few weeks which has been fun for all of us.  Eloise is way into chasing her sister down and tackling her.  The pulling up and standing has really revolutionized playtime! If I happen to be missing a kid in the house, I am aware of Elo's interest in everything Char has along with her ability to get to her quickly. This means I am guaranteed to find both kids at the same time : ) Eloise loves to look Charlotte's way for a response after screaming or throwing food on the ground. She gets a kick out of Char responding with laughter. Here are some pictures of them playing together yesterday.

this was one of those "freezable moments"

With the addition of mobility into her life, the possibilities of exploring are endless!

Her face here reminds me of when I catch her in the dog bowl : ) 

She is eating like a champ with no changes to her schedule.  I feel like we have been doing the same thing for SO long which makes it easier to remember.  Nursing at 7:30, 11, 3 & 7. Solids at 8, 11:30 & 5ish with a couple snacks in there.  I really think that if you sat her in her high chair and left her there all day with food in front of her, you would never hear one complaint! New foods this month: sugar snap peas, pineapple, oranges, Judy Juice, muffins, pancakes (for Elo pancakes), cauliflower, pot roast, quesadilla & grilled cheese. She will eat anything you put in front of her but bananas. She just cries when she sees a ba-mena (as Char says).  That's how I am when I am pregnant so I understand ; )

With Charlotte, I was so convinced I would stop nursing when she turned one. Not sure why I felt like that but when she turned one, I kept going. She was still interested and it worked well for us. I stopped when she was 14 months old & got pregnant within a week. So maybe the outcome of that is influencing my thoughts a bit since we might like to wait a bit longer to get pregnant.  All that to say, with Eloise, she is still very interested and I am feeling like I may go longer with her than I did with Char.  So at this point with Charlotte, I think I cut out the afternoon feeding but for now, we are going to keep on keeping on : ) Due to a shortage in the frozen milk section in our freezer, Elo is getting a combo of whole milk & breast milk while I am away. She has had no problem with it & drinks it ice cold from her bottle.

With all the energy spent crawling & pulling up, she wears herself out & sleeps great 99% of the time.  Night time sleep has been 7pm-7:30am with naps from 9-10:30 & 12:30-3. Although today, she slept from 9-11:45 for her morning nap...like she knew I needed to have some time to write her 11 month blog post ; ) What a sweetheart!  She loves her crib & pack n' play and rarely complains when you lay her down. The question to be asked is, will she sleep 14 hours a night after she starts walking? 

Well little Miss Elo, you and your cute faces are killing me!  I love you and can't wait to celebrate 1 year of having you in our arms. God made you so beautiful, so special & so silly....

Uncle Kyle bought Elo this dress for Christmas...I LOVE IT & was so excited that we had a cool couple days last week to wear it one last time before the Florida heat takes over!

project 365: [days 112-118]

April 22nd- Charlotte's first kite flying experience!

April 23rd- a typical lunch for the littlest mouth in the family. 

April 24th- Took photos for our sweet friends- The Johnson Family.

April 25th- Received an invitation to my baby brother's COLLEGE graduation. Yea Kyle!

April 26th- Finished up some banners for Leah & Ryan's wedding.

April 27th- Elo working on her straw skills before leaving for Sea World. 

April 28th- Enjoyed the beautiful wedding of Leah Heinsch & Ryan McDaniel.  Got to put our thumbprints on the canvas along with many others who gave to their adoption fund. 

All creatures GREAT & small

Following our exciting morning at the Children's Museum, we made a beeline for the Houston Zoo & got a front row parking spot.  The girls were feeling sleepy & I was hoping they might take a little snoozy in the stroller. Eloise was a sweetheart and got a quick nap in while Charlotte did some whining, refused to relax in the stroller but was kept happy with snacks & animals for another 5 hours.

Our last visit to the Houston Zoo was in October and it was FREEZING! See POST. During this visit we  kept saying how great it felt outside compared to last time. It was in the low 80's with a breeze...just perfect for some strollin' around!  I absolutely love a trip to the Zoo to see & now show my girls all the creatures God made, great & small.

We had to take the iconic Houston Zoo photo....

We kind of balanced Eloise on there....she eventually fell off the front but Gaga caught her before she hit the ground. 

Our first stop was to see the elephants. There were two baby elephants that were playing in the water & were adorable. I wish we could have touched them.  I didn't get a great picture of a real one but the fake one posed really well for the picture & we actually got Charlotte to smile for a photo with me....shocking!

We had to make a stop at the carousel.  I mentioned in the last zoo post that Charlotte's first carousel ride was during our visit last fall.  Well, she is now a professional carousel rider after countless trips to Sea World. I don't even stand next to her anymore! She loves it & declared that she wanted to ride a "tiga!" So we found her one to ride & Elo (by default) got the dolphin next to the "tiga." This was Eloise's first time to sit on the animal. She did great even though she looks a little unsure of her surroundings.

Paw Paw , the young at heart was on a duck for this photo but moved around from animal to animal so much that I am surprised he wasn't asked to leave the premises ; ) He also rode on a caterpillar...my personal favorite animal for a full grown man to be riding on. When the ride stopped, I was taking pictures of my Dad on different animals, My mom & Elo had gotten off & I happened to glance over at Charlotte as she fell off the inner circle of the carousel onto the concrete. Oops!

When my dad heard that you could pay $5 for three pieces of lettuce to feed the giraffes, he was quick to grab Char out of the stroller & get in line! I got to walk up with them and snap some pictures. They were beautiful! We got to see the baby that we had a picture of last fall who is no quite a bit larger but still very timid. These on the other hand were not timid. They instructed us to let go of the lettuce as soon as the giraffe started to take it but you know how hard it is for a two year to listen to and follow directions while staring three giant giraffes in the face! She was a little distracted & therefore held onto the lettuce while watching that giant tongue grab it until Paw Paw helped her let go.

  

The petting zoo is always a big hit with Charlotte. She loves this farm out by our house & still talks about how a turkey bit her finger so it was perfect when the first animal we saw was a turkey. It set her off on her spiel about turkeys until we arrived at the goat habitat.  This girl would make a good wife for a farmer someday.  She grabbed a brush for the goats & then walked from goat to goat. She seriously brushed every SINGLE goat there. She also got down on their level to tell them, "Hi, I Tawlott." She also got in front of one that had it's eyes closed & started yelling "Wake up! It not time for yo nap! Wakey wakey!" Hahaha! Maybe she did this because I put her in charge of keeping Eloise awake in the car sometimes so as not to ruin her chances of a good nap upon arrival at home. On our way out, she was about to put the brush back but noticed a goat hiding behind the gate so she had to run over and give him a pat as well.  So great!

Isn't there a movie called "The Men Who Stare at Goats?" We will make this caption "The Girl Who Stares at Goats."

At some point in our afternoon we had a sudden urge for Blue Bell ice cream as if we hadn't eaten any all week ; ) We asked an employee where they had it, we were directed to the front of the park. So we walked a good 15 minutes to get there only to find that the had soft serve only. YUCK! Well it is "yuck" when you have your heart set on Blue Bell. So, we followed the directions back to the African Safari (another good 20 minute walk) & finally came upon our delicious treat.  Char got her own strawberry and sprinkles while mom had mint chocolate chip & I settled on my usual favorite, cookies n' cream.  It was a giant waffle cone with about 4 large scoops. I can taste it's sweetness now as I am writing ; ) We were sitting next to some speakers that had some monkey sounds on it playing periodically. Every time it would come on Char would say "the monkeys try to get my I-keam!" After our treat, Gaga and Charlotte went to a 4-D Dora & Diego show while the three of us sat and listened to the monkeys howl.

When they returned from their show, my mom made the comment that Charlotte didn't really enjoy the 4th dimension, spraying water, jiggling seats etc. She does like Diego ALOT though so she had a good time : )

I took about 20 pictures in a row of these happy grandparents with the girls but still lacked one where both kids were looking at the camera. I am sure it just gets exponentially harder with each little pair of eyes added to the family.

After our trek into Africa, we went back through the Primate exhibit and got to see some activity.  Our favorite was the Orangutan. That's what Gaga & Char are looking at here.

Not sure if he is supposed to have a Dixie cup but he acted like he knew exactly what to do with it : ) 

This area was so pretty, there were lots of birds, turtles & a few bunnies hopping around. Charlotte is really into climbing onto fences & she had one last chance before leaving the Zoo.

Ahhhh, it was such a perfect day! I NEVER make plans to be out with the girls from 8:30am to 6:30pm & was shocked at how well they did with minimal or no naps.  It definitely helped to be 3 on 2! 

The perfect day had a perfect ending too when we stopped to pick up some Tex-Mex fajitas on the way home. YUM! Just for the record, I skipped out on my evening bowl of Blue Bell since I had already eaten about twice that amount for my sweet treat at the Zoo : ) 

Young at heart

I am convinced, the Houston Children's Museum might be one of the coolest places in town! The young & the young at heart love it just the same.  We spent a half day here & made it through about half of the exhibits before heading over to the Zoo.  One great thing about this museum is that as a child grows, they will enjoy different parts in new ways.  At nearly 3, Charlotte was a pretty fast mover through the exhibits except for in the science area where we lingered for quite some time. She loved it though & so did her sissy. 

We started in Kidtropolis, USA a place where kids can be in charge & play the roles of different people within a city. We got to spend some time inside an ambulance where I showed Charlotte how to correctly use a defibrillator. Thankfully we were able to shock our patient back into sinus rhythm ; ) 

Her hair makes me laugh...I look like that after I take a scrub cap off I guess. She was so cute listening with the stethoscope. She repeated the same exact sounds our pediatrician does when listening to the heart or belly.

After all that strenuous & not to mention stressful work we did in the back of the ambulance, we went to the HEB grocery store where Charlotte got to do a little shopping.  She loves the real grocery store & was delighted to find everything at her level. She picked out all kinds of healthy fruits & vegetables & even got some "Judy Juice."  We went through one of those self check out lanes that I loathe. This time though, Char got to scan each item so it was much easier for me to tolerate. About 15 items into our scanning we noticed a sign that said "no more than 5 items please." Oh well, she was a quick scanner & then stocker as we put back our purchased items.

Next stop was a Diner where my parents & Eloise sat at a table & placed an order. Charlotte returned from behind the counter with lots of food. She even pretended to wash her hands as if she could read the sign "all employees must wash hands before returning to work."

After everyone's imaginary tummies were full, we went to the Vet Clinic where they had 12 little cages with stuffed animals in them. Char & Elo are dog kiss deprived at Gaga & Paw Paw's house so they were excited to see some four legged friends.  I think that the stuffed dog might be Gaga's favorite breed ; )

We (me and Charlee) crawled through a mini obstacle course before heading over to what seemed like one giant science fair. I think this was by far my favorite part.  First I joined a table of kids that were on a field trip and built Charlotte a mini hot air balloon looking thing that she got to put in a wind tunnel. It was made out of a dixie cup, pipe cleaners & a coffee filter held together by some tape. Mine was far better than everyone else's.  As I proclaimed this to my parents we were all laughing thinking about the 3rd graders that were at my table & how I was more than triple their age and IQ ; ) Still though, I claimed the victory in the "most flights & still intact" category! Here is Charlotte watching it in the tunnel. 

I think it is safe to say that my Dad had more fun than all of us combined ; ) He is the "young at heart" person I was thinking of when I titled this post. He was very focused to complete the tasks at each station. His lego car performed quite well as it went down the hill & off a jump. He then put the creation pictured below together with the assistance of his eldest granddaughter.

The next activity brought the most laughter of the morning.  The task was to build a rocket.  My Dad's face lit up when he saw this table so he sat down & got to work right away. He followed the directions while his supporters looked on....

I was busy taking pictures & not paying much attention to my 2 year old who had never held a pair of scissors before. In fact, I didn't even notice how she had her fingers between the scissor blades until I looked through the sequence of pictures...hahaha! Thankfully she & her sister each had ten fingers when we left the rocket station ; )

So after a good thirty minutes my mom helped place the top on the rocket & declared it was ready for its first flight. Doesn't my dad look so happy?

Paw Paw & Char took the rocket over to the launch cage & again followed the directions. We were really excited to see it fly!

I wish I had a video of the minutes that followed.  My dad stepped on the pad that launched the rocket & it flew up about 14 inches & went straight to the ground! We were all laughing & it only got funnier. Just after our disappointing launch, a kid that was probably 7 years old launched his from 20 feet away & it flew all the way across the cage, squeezed out of the net & kept going right over our heads! This was all it took for my dad to reconstruct & attempt a second launch.  This time around he wrapped paper around a plastic bottle. Charlotte loaded it up on the launcher.

It actually worked! It still paled in comparison to the 2nd graders' rocket but was a vast improvement from our first launch : ) Charlotte still thought her Grandpa was the coolest guy in there with all the attention he paid to her. He won her affection by giving her Blue Bell Cookies n' Cream every night.  One night she had already had her serving and was wandering from person to person begging for another bite. I told her "no" and to please not ask again. My dad said "Charlotte, come here, you don't want any of your mommy's ice cream." I think Charlotte was a little confused but caught on quick when he took her outside in the back yard and they enjoyed another scoop together! She walked in, came right up to me & spilled the beans. Haha...such an honest child!  The next night my mom & I were out with the girls & I told Charlotte we would see Paw Paw soon. Her reply exactly: "See Paw Paw soon? Oh boy! I yike Paw Paw! I say 'Paw Paw I wah some I-keam & Paw Paw say yes!' " I would feel the same way about a person giving me Blue Bell every night ; )

Back to the museum. After losing at the science fair, we ate some lunch then went to the birth to 36 month play area.  It was awesome!  There weren't any big kids to run over the little ones & everything was sized perfectly for the enjoyment of a crawler.

Charlotte was excited to drive a car & wanted Eloise to sit in the back seat. Well little miss Elo was not interested in sitting so she stood up & held on for dear life.  Char kept turning around & saying "Sit down Elo! Sit down!" I guess she knows a little bit about car safety ; ) Paw Paw filled their car up with gas & they were happy to "drive/ride" for a bit.

I cannot wait to return to Kingwood & make another trek to the Children's Museum. If I lived nearby I would definitely have an annual pass to this wonderful place.  We could have spent a few more hours there but decided to head over to the Houston Zoo for the afternoon.

project 365: [days 106-111]

April 15th- Charlee helping Gaga cook wearing aprons that my mom made when I was about Char's size

April 16th- Elo getting some cuddles from her G. Gran

April 17th- Ate dinner with the Herr family & LOVED watching Noah & Charlotte play

April 18th- Met at the Bear Branch Gazebo with two friends from childhood, Kim & Ashley
along with our children: 3 for Kim, 2 for me & 2 for Ashley

April 19th- Last morning in the Liveable Forest

April 20th- My "I love you this much gift" to Robby- Hot salsa straight from Texas!
I do love him a lot more than salsa ; ) 

April 21st- Afternoon rain following our swim at the Aldridge's house.