A few pictures

We were in Seattle on August 4 so I didn't get a typical picture, but here is Arthur at 10 months.

11 months!

So this is probably silly, but I recreated Eleanor's first day of school pictures this morning.  On her actual first day we were all suffering from jet lag and woke up 25 minutes before she was supposed to be at school so there were no pictures. I did get a few later that day, but not just like the ones from last year.  

And for comparison, here's last year!

Tuesdays with Eleanor

A few of our recent conversations...

E:  Dinosaurs are NOT extinct, Mama.

Me:  Well actually, yes they are.  All of the dinosaurs died a long time ago and there aren't any real ones left today.

E:  No Mama, they are not extinct.  And they are mammals.  WHY do you not know this, Mama?

(She does know that they were reptiles, but she tells us all the time that HER toy dinosaurs are mammals.)

I was cleaning up a mess and I was not in the best mood.  I don't think I said anything, but I guess I sighed and Eleanor could tell I wasn't happy.

E:  Don't be frustrated, Mama.  Do not whine.  (At this point I start laughing.)  I love you, Mama.

Me:  Oh, I love you too Eleanor.  I'm sorry, I guess I'm just kind of grumpy right now.

E:  Don't be grumpy.  Don't be a camel.

The other evening Hunter and Eleanor went to a birthday party while I stayed home with Arthur.  When she got home, I put her to bed.

Me:  Tomorrow Daddy will go to work, but we're going to go visit him and eat lunch with him.

E:  (quiet for a second)  Will Arthur come with us?

Me:  Yes, of course.  We will all go visit Daddy together.

E:  I just missed you and Arthur at the birthday party.

Eleanor has been sleeping in regular underwear for a few weeks but last night she had her first accident.  A few hours later...

E:  Mama, do you and Daddy make mistakes?

Me:  Yes, of course.  Everybody makes mistakes, and it's okay to make mistakes.

E:  Because I pee peed in my bed last night.

That's all that I can think of right now.  Also, this isn't really a specific conversation with her but I just want to add that she seems to have her first imaginary friend.  He's a mouse named Limburger and she talks about him all the time.  Any time there is something tiny - a leftover crumb on her plate, for example - she says that it's for Limburger.

All about Arthur

Arthur is growing and changing every day!  I can't believe he'll be 1 in just a month!  Here are some updates.

• At his 9 month checkup (over a month ago) he was 31" and 22 lbs.   That's 70th percentile for weight and 99th for height - the pediatrician said he's as tall as a short two-year-old.  He has now outgrown his LARGE infant car seat (up to 32 lbs and 32", bigger than most of the infant seats out there) and we just installed his new Radian yesterday.  It's weird that my kids can sit in each other's car seats now, though I would have to adjust their straps.
• His vocabulary has grown a lot, though I'm not sure if anybody else would understand most of his words.  There's "Mama" and "Dada", "nana" for banana, "gack" for cat, "gog" for dog, "ah duh" for all done, and "eche" for leche/nursing (though last night he did say leche correctly!).  He used to say "El-nor", but I haven't heard that in a while so I don't think I'd count it.  He also says "dis" or "dat" a lot when pointing at things he wants, and I think he's trying to say "this" and "that".  "Gack" is my favorite one of his words though.  :)  There have been times when he's been by the back door and I heard an excited squeal and then "GACK!  GACK!" and sure enough the cat was there.  Yesterday he saw a drawing of a cat he had never seen before and said Gack, so he really has that one down.
• Arthur LOVES the book Hand Hand Finger Thumb.  One day he probably brought it to me 10 times and sat through it almost every time.  It was one of his dad's favorites as a kid too.
• He can walk if he's pushing a toy, but he's not too into walking except for on his little scooter outside.  He prefers to climb!  He tries REALLY hard to climb up onto our couches, but thankfully he can't do that yet.  He can climb stairs and I usually let him climb upstairs when it's time for his nap.
• He is just such a sweet boy.  He has his moments when he squeals loudly or is into everything, but then he also has times when he is as sweet as can be.  When I pick him up from his crib or car seat, he usually pats my shoulder just like I pat his back.  When we're around other people and I'm holding him and somebody smiles at him, he smiles back and then buries his face in my shoulder.  I just love this boy!

Bringing me his favorite book for the thousandth time

I love to climb!

Playing with magnets means seeing how many he can get off so that his mom can step on them while cooking

 

Eleanor had on an apron and she went and got this one and put it on Arthur so he could "bake" with her too

Into everything!

We finally had to put the chalk away because he kept eating it, but he did enjoy drawing too!

He LOVES my new Craigslist find!  He can walk pretty fast with it.

Here's a little video of his first time on the scooter.  I usually have him somewhere without so many sticks!

Arthur loves to play with doors

 

 After I comb Arthur's hair every night, he always wants to hold the comb too. He usually hits himself on the head with it a bit, but tonight he combed (and pulled...) my hair too. Sorry in advance for the terrible lighting in this video!

 


Eleanor post coming soon!

Back to school!

First day of 3-year-old preschool!

The boy loves doors and food.  Makes sense that this is his favorite spot.

First day of gymnastics!  She's checking it out before going inside.

Cousins at gymnastics!

Up on the high beam

I got out the camera to take a picture of this messy spaghetti baby, and then I noticed he had made a smiley face!

"We are in a boat!"  She actually asked for me to put Arthur in the basket with her.

Sweet babies playing together.  They do this more and more now.

Pacific Northwest Trip

My little travel buddy

Random rest stop in Washington on our way to Vancouver

Crossing the border

Sea to Sky highway in Canada

Hanging out on the rocks

In British Columbia

Lynn Canyon Park in Vancouver

Hunter's favorite picture from the trip

Tide Pools on the Olympic Peninsula

Beach at low tide

Olympic National Park...probably the most beautiful place I've ever been

Her first snow!

His first snow!

Mountains, ocean, snow, and wildflowers

"Mama, it's so coooooooold!!"

Not a cloud in the sky in Seattle!

No pictures from our train ride, but this is the little railway museum where our ride started and ended

At the Seattle Aquarium with my friend Sarah

Packing to go home!

Randomness

Morning at the park

Arthur loved the sandbox

This is how he sits all the time now.

A month or two ago I asked Eleanor what she wanted for her birthday.  She already had the globe on the left (Earth, of course) and she said, "I want another globe.  A red globe.  A MARS globe!"  Would you believe they actually make one?!

Mmm, frozen applesauce

(This didn't last very long.)

This might be the first time I've ever found her asleep anywhere besides her bed or car seat.

We made Olympic cookies!