It's About Time

Oliver could be showing up any day now, so I decided I should give my poor, neglected blog some attention before filling it with all things baby.  Here are some pictures from the past month and a half:

Eleanor's half birthday!

Arthur was very excited to move from his crib to a big boy mattress...

...and even more excited to move to his new room/bed!

Yay!  He has done a great job with the transition at night, though naps have gotten much more difficult.

We had visitors!  Arthur loves playing with his cousin Reagan.

We went out on a boat to see dolphins

Sweet baby Katie

  

Eleanor LOVES to help me with chores.  One day she told me that she is too big to take the recycling out and she wants more "big girl" chores.  So even though I normally just throw all of these rags in a basket, Eleanor got to fold them and thanked me profusely afterwards.  I wonder when they outgrow this helpful stage!

We had a library story time about princes and princesses and both kids wanted to sit down and do their coloring sheets as soon as it was over.

Arthur:  I am a princess!

Me:  No Arthur, you're a boy, so you're a prince.

Arthur:  NOOO!  I am not!  I am a PRINCESS!

This is what happens when you're surrounded by your older sister and her friends.  :)

Another trip to SeaWorld - checking out an aquarium

Very, very cool

Sweet girl on Valentine's Day!

This has only happened one time...so far!

This is Arthur's favorite way to eat.  We sit at the table for most meals, but sometimes he gets his lunch like this when Eleanor is at school.

So proud of necklaces that he beaded all by himself

We love February in Florida!

"Mama, I am swimming like a monkey!"

Eleanor baked her first cornbread!  Hunter told her the recipe and she scooped and added all of the solid ingredients.  She had him to do the liquid ones, and then she stirred it all together.

We found a great art studio that offers a $3 kids' workshop on Saturday mornings!  Eleanor LOVED it!  And of course, it helped that the topic for our first visit happened to be sea creatures.

Helping Daddy with his woodworking

Frozen yogurt!

Our year so far

I'm way behind, so I'm just going to skip Christmas and start with January.  I know my kids have had a lot of funny quotes lately, but unfortunately if I don't write them down I forget.  Here are a couple though:

One afternoon I laid down on the couch to rest for a few minutes.  Eleanor went and got me a blanket and then Arthur came over.

Arthur: "Sleep tight, Mama." He tucked me in a little, kissed me on the cheek, and kissed the top of my head.  2 seconds later:  "Okay, time to get up!"

Me: "Oh really?  Why?"

Arthur: "Hunter driving car to come home."

Eleanor talked about fossils a few weeks ago at school, and she came home with a handout that had a diagram similar to the one above.  She pointed to it and said, "This chart shows how deep the fairies bury their dead."

Helping Daddy clean the fish tank

Eleanor and Arthur got blocks for Christmas from their Grandma.  Hunter helped them build this dinosaur palace, but everything else in these pictures they built on their own.

I was impressed by Arthur's tower building skills.  He says it's a rocket, of course!

More towers

Eleanor built a castle for "sea people".

She wanted to get a picture that had Arthur in it, too.  I love how he's looking at her!

She loves to dress up!

This is how I found Eleanor one day - she went and got a towel to wipe condensation off the window.

Watching a show on the Kindle while I mopped the floors.  I like these pictures that make it look like they get along so well.  ;)

Sweet kiddos in Publix.

Eleanor was so excited to get her costume for her dance recital.  It's not until June!  There was pink glitter all over my room after this.

Another block creation...  "I make bench.  This two peoples on bench. This Mama and Arthur!"

Snuggling up with books on a chilly morning.

SeaWorld had a pretty great deal going on today, so we took advantage of it.  Now we can go back as much as we want for the rest of the year!  The kids LOVE it there.

"Mama, can you take a picture of me?"

And of course Arthur wanted one too!

A few quotes

Arthur and I went to Target and I picked up a bag of white chocolate peppermint M&M's.  "Want candy?"  "Okay Arthur, you can have a couple of pieces when we get in the car."  "Shop fast, Mama!!"  (By the way, these candies are amazing!!)

Eleanor wanted to sing a song to me at bedtime (to prolong bedtime, of course).
"Give thanks to the Lord
For he is good
And there is a baby growing inside Mama's tummy
Because she is the WINNER
And she's having the baby for MEEEEE!"

We went out to eat the other night and it was dark on our way home.  We pointed out Christmas lights in several place and Eleanor asked, "Why do some people just skip Thanksgiving?"  Hah, I don't know!!

Eleanor's class had a little Thanksgiving party yesterday and sang these songs for us. She's on the front row on the far left. I brought my camera but the second I turned it on it said the battery was out! So I had to use my camera on my phone that has a scratched lens.  Anyway, my favorite part is after the second little chant when Eleanor says, "Some people are taking pictures instead of clapping." You can barely hear her, but you can hear all of the adults laugh! We were sure to clap after the other songs.

Camping trip!

We went camping at Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine with some friends and had a great time!  We have been very fortunate in the past to never have much rain on our camping trips, but I'm afraid our luck has run out.  We had to set up in the rain and eat Chick-fil-a in the tent that night, but we still were able to enjoy our trip.  The kids definitely had a blast!

Breakfast time!

We were able to walk to the beach from our campsite

The kids loved playing on the beach!