Eleanor's Last Few Weeks

She is growing so fast.  She talks so much.  She was so in love with Christmas.  She has started fighting to get out of carts and car seats. 

She was just under 25 pounds and 31 inches. I took her out to breakfast a couple of times. She surprised me by eating eggs.  She loves it.  Goes right for a table. 

Every morning straight to the tree.  

She's transformed from baby to toddler and has been showing her temper.  

She got sick. Poor baby gets sooo sick. B

And grabbed the merry oake microphone and sang la la la.  

Yesterday.  Oh that smile.  See how she's accessorizing already???   She already has such strong opinions.  When she's sad she crawls in the chair and sniffs 'doo' for scooby doo and blank for blanket.   

Snow Days

A couple weeks ago Adam had a snow day and we ended up at IHOP after getting Abbey to school late on crappy roads.  

Syracuse can not remove snow.  But it was on our way home.  And then abbey had a snow day the next day and we had to get Adam to school!  They certainly call them quicker here but after driving the roads I see why.  They need tips from Oswego!!

Sunday

We started off last Sunday with our first trip to Costco.  We loved it!  Giant things at discount way better than Sam's and we're kind of a big family now!  Boots for the kids for $16!

Ellie was done after that so I ended up taking the other two to a tree lot as they were going to explode if we didn't get one.  A little different than heading to Ontario Orchards where you paid extra fir trimming and strapping it to your cat.  Part of the price in the 'burbs. The same price by the way!

They even had a fancy tree wrapping machine. Kids were thrilled.

After Ellie woke up, we headed to Lights on the Lake and switched her to a big girl seat. Sniff. They loved it!  Hearing Ellie say 'wow'! Was so cute.  And it was Sunday so no traffic.  My favorite was the Oz part.

Ellie is 18 Months

Somehow my adorable and sweet infant has overnight turned into an impish and incredibly independent toddler. Two weeks ago, we went to her well check. Twenty-four pounds and 31 inches.  Low on height and exactly average on weight.  After having her underweight as a baby, that's exactly how I want her.  

She had definite ideas about what she was happy about there. Doctor laughed and said I had another independent kid. Yup.  

She loves her Daddy and her Adam, who she loves to snuggle with while watching 'doo'.  Don't ask me how, but Scooby Doo is her favorite show. 

She talks a lot. And she always knows what's going on.  Off to get her shoes to take the big kids to school. 

She has started taking off.  Sigh.  Another one to catch all the time. She looks so grown up here!!!

Once in a while she checks that I'm still there.  We were walking around the yard and she was holding the umbrella.  

No intetest in baby toys anymore but has developed an intetest in hugging her baby dolls in bed. 'Bebe' she says. 

She was having a blast being a 'punk in'.  This was Adams costume when he just turned one.  The hat was too small for him. Oh I love this face and the way she steals stuff and runs, laughing.  The way she laughs.  And when she cries, it's still so heartbreaking.  Time has flown.  

Old House Change

We aren't going to get any money for our old house so we're going to rent it out.  We accidentally key out rental permits lapse, but got it fixed so Kevin's working on it.  Last week he started painting. 

The dining room sponge paint finally covered.  

He took the living room border down. 

And yesterday it was shocking to see Adam's room not Shrek colored. 

And the living room, dining room and Abbey's room.   Looks good.  Looks different.   Onward and forward.  

Kitchen Backsplash

The latest project a couple weeks ago was the backsplash.  

But the conversation about what to put there has been going on for months.  Originally we thought we wanted pressed tin but it just didn't feel right.  It took me a long time to convince Todd of natural stone. Then we had to agree on which one. Originally I preferred a lighter main mosiac but he thought there'd be too much going on.  But as this one went up, I decided it was the better choice.  It turned out beautiful.  

Whole messy kitchen shot.  Now I have to cover that window....   And keep it clean.  Love this kitchen!