Beach!

I know I've posted very similar pictures before, but I had to share these anyway. Eleanor LOVES LOVES LOVES going to the beach, especially putting her toes in the water! She'll say things like this all the time: "E-nor [Eleanor] toes water. Ocean. Beach. Want toes water." One day last week we were driving over a bridge and she saw the water (actually the river, not the ocean) and practically started crying because she wanted to get in the water so badly. So, we decided to take the poor kid to the beach! As soon as we told her we were going she got SO excited, and when we got to the beach and she saw the waves she started squealing and stomping her feet in excitement. Poor kid, it's too bad she has parents who are content to only go to the beach once every few months even though we live 15 minutes away. I guess we'll have to do better.

You really have to hold on to her, because she has no fear and will run right out into the ocean!

Oh yeah, and this was from our early dinner before going to the beach.  I think she's a fan of spaghetti!  We were practicing our Spanish colors during dinner when she looked down, pointed at her belly, and said, "E-nor blanco."  Yup, the poor kid is as pale as her mama.

Guacamole

Eleanor is a BIG fan! She also loves salsa.

Little Manipulator

Eleanor has already learned how to manipulate us - and we think it's funny!  Down the road this could be a bad thing, but so far it's pretty innocent.

Every night we take turns putting her to bed.  We read her a book or two and then sing to her for a few minutes before putting her down.  While I'm singing, sometimes she sits with her chest against mine and her head on my shoulder - it's so sweet and I love it...and she knows this!  She also will turn around and sit on my lap, facing out, which I think is her preference.  Well, lately she always turns around facing out and stays that way while I sing "one last song before it's time to get in your crib."  When her one last song is over, she turns around, puts her head sweetly on my shoulder, and says, "Sing song.  Sing song."  It usually works and I sing one more song because I enjoy holding her like that so much.

Last night Hunter put her to bed and she did the EXACT same thing to him.  We know that she knows what she's doing.  Also, during the night last night she woke up crying - I think she has bad dreams.  I went in and held her and rocked her in silence, and she did the same thing.  She sat facing out until I started to move my body like I was going to stand up, and suddenly she turned around and buried her head into my neck.

So yes, my child is definitely learning the art of manipulation already.  I should probably be concerned about that, but instead I'm oddly proud...

Wow, there really is a baby in there!

I had my first ultrasound today! (Finally!) When the doctor turned on the machine, we immediately saw two large circles and the doctor said, "Oh wow." Hunter and I both thought that we were seeing two sacs and that we were having twins! Then she changed the angle a little bit, and the two circles turned into a head and a body. Whew! (Not that we wouldn't be thrilled with twins, but that would be quite a handful!)

The baby put on quite a show for us, waving its arms and legs around and flipping its entire body. Unfortunately the picture the doctor caught isn't quite as good as what all we saw - here you're looking at the baby from its side and it's facing down, sort of curled up. I think that little white circle is its elbow.  The head is on the left.

I forgot to ask about the heart rate (just out of curiosity), but everything looked great. We could even see the umbilical cord. My doctor said I will probably not be considered high risk this time, but she will at least have a level 2 ultrasound done sometime around 20 weeks just to be safe. So far, everything is great!  Oh, and the baby is now 3.5 cm (the doctor even got out a measuring tape to show me exactly) and is measuring at 10 weeks, 4 days.  I'm 9 weeks, 6 days, but the doctor said up to 5 days one way or the other is fine.

Eleanor was there for the whole thing, but she wasn't too impressed. On the way home, however, she randomly said, "Sister!" Maybe she thinks she just saw her sister...? Or maybe she's excited to be a sister to a baby boy or girl? We should know in another 2-3 months, I guess!

Pictures

A little visit to Turkey Creek

Listening to music, drinking her milk, and wearing a backpack after her nap.

(There's nothing in the backpack, but it's fun to wear!)

My big girl using a fork in her booster seat

Eleanor-isms

Eleanor says funny little things every day.  This is my attempt to write some of them down before I forget.

• She saw some gravel the other day and called it "baby rocks."
• This morning she noticed my shadow on the wall and pointed at it and said, "Mommy picture."  
• The space shuttle launched a week ago and Hunter explained to her that it was one of the last launches and that it was sad that the US will have no way to get people into space after the space shuttle is done.  (Yes, he gives her lots of commentary.)  She said, "Rocket.  All gone.  Tears!"  And then he explained that well, it's a good thing too, and that the astronauts are happy to be in space.  Then she said, "Rocket.  All gone.  Happy!"
• Last week she had a tiny cupcake to celebrate another kid's birthday and they sang "Happy Birthday".  This made quite an impression on her and she has talked about it NONSTOP.  First words in the morning when she wakes up?  "Happy birthday cake.  Yay cake!  Happy birthday.  Sing."  We have sung the happy birthday song countless times over the past week to just about everyone we can think of.  (For some reason she keeps wanting to sing to "rocket".)  Thankfully two of her cousins have birthdays in a few weeks, so maybe she'll get her fill of birthday singing!
• Speaking of singing, she LOVES music!  She doesn't really sing any songs yet, but she does sing, "La la la la", especially when we're in the car.  We go to a Music Together class and there's a greeting song we sing every week called, "Hello Everybody."  The other day I told her it was time to go to music class and she started patting her legs with the beat like we do with that song and said, "Hay-lo body."  
• Anything that she likes becomes "Yay, [insert item here]!"  On the way to music class, "Yay, music class!"  "Yay, church!"  "Yay, Li-jah [Elijah] house!"
• I definitely know when the child is hungry.  She either comes into the kitchen or starts circling her chair (which by the way, we have moved her up to a booster chair at the table instead of a high chair) and lists every food she can think of.  "Tofu hot dog!  A-ca-do!  Hummies!  [hummus]  Cookies!  Boo-berries!  Crackers!  Cake!"
• Yesterday I had blood drawn for routine first trimester screening stuff.  Eleanor watched and as soon as the needle entered my arm she started to whimper and went, "Boo boo!  Mama!"  She was pretty distraught even though I kept telling her I was fine and that it didn't hurt.
• And my personal favorite...  She has a little bear named Osito that she loves and MUST have to fall asleep.  Now when she sees Osito, she hugs him close and says, "I love it."  Meet Osito:

The shirt says it all!

Eleanor is going to be a big sister sometime around October 7! She looks quite excited, don't you think? The first time I told her I had a baby in my tummy, she said, "Yummy Tummy!" Yeah, I think she totally understands what's happening!  ;)

I had my first (very uneventful) doctor's appointment today and I go back on March 10 for an ultrasound.  If this baby comes 2 weeks early like Eleanor did (yes she was induced, but she was definitely on her way), I may end up having a baby on my 30th birthday!

So far I've had basically the same pregnancy symptoms as in the past, so I have a hunch it's a girl.  Of course, who knows!  Eleanor made a prediction for us: