Family Pictures and Eleanor Eats Solid Food for the First Time

We got family pictures at Target the other day. The results were okay, I mainly wanted to go to get fancy Eleanor pictures and hers didn't really turn out. I guess it's rough to be woken up from your nap and told to smile smile smile! All in front of strangers in an unfamiliar place. Bradley, on the other hand, loved all the attention.

My new family photo strategy involves tickle squeezing the child's leg in order to get a smile. It works!

So stinkin cute

Kind of like a professional child model

Kind of not like a baby model. What's the deal here?

Great shot of Eleanor's eyes! Poor tired girl.

Bradley was very game for photos with Eleanor

Hand kissing!

Cute kiddos

 Target even makes you sample Christmas cards with your photos. Happy early Christmas!

Eleanor got to try solid food for the first time a few days ago! She loved it.

Shocking that another one of our children would be all about the food. On day #2 of solids she got to have her rice cereal at the same time Bradley got his snack and I had to get up to clean a Bradley mess mid Eleanor meal. She was NOT okay with this and hollered at me until I was back shoveling food in her mouth. Oh well, it's not like I'm not used to it. I love a good eater, that's for sure!

Another reason I love Kansas is all the free museums that are very kid oriented. We went to the Johnson County Museum Kidscape area last Friday and Bradley went nuts. Nathan was very pleased that his son seemed to be interested in golf (stick plus ball plus whacking things, what is not to like?)

Bradley was exhausted and fell asleep on the ride home but then woke up 30 minutes into his nap and refused to fall back asleep. So he got to watch a movie with Eleanor. Sleepy Bradley is super cuddly and he was delighted when Eleanor got to sit by him for part of the movie.

 I was incorrect in this video, Eleanor did not mind being tackled by Bradley in the slightest.

Eleanor is getting so big and strong and is grabbing at everything in sight. I know you're not supposed to compare children but I'm so used to thinking of everything Bradley did as normal so it takes a little adjustment to get used to a different child's way of doing things. She's a bit more dexterous than he was and anything that comes within range of her grasp is fair game, so watch out!

Early interest in the phone. This does not bode well.

Doll baby

We went shopping this past weekend and she got to take a nap on her Daddy. It's a toss up which one of them was happier about this.

Hand holding onto Daddy's shirt. Awwww!

Play time fun with Daddy!

Our friends Chris and Danalynn drove through Kansas City this past weekend and we had a lot of fun seeing them and catching up. Bradley loved being able to grab a book and plop down onto his lap of choice.

Reading Danalynn's book that she wrote and published herself!

Reading a Bible book with Chris

Eleanor loved getting cuddled through a nap or two ... or perhaps Danalynn loved cuddling Eleanor. Everyone was pretty happy with the situation.

And then today happened. Bradley thinks that today was the best of the best days. He got to try to ride a neighbor's bike, which he decided to do all on his own because I certainly was not going to encourage him to do this at not quite 20 months old. He howled when I had to pull him off, this boy wants to do what the big kids do with every fiber of his being. He also got to help me get the mail and load the dishwasher which he had wanted to do for ages and ages ... and he got to sneak eat a giant raspberry strudel pastry that I had been saving for myself. Does this face look guilty?

No. This face looks very pleased with himself.

I had been upstairs with Eleanor working on organizing her room and congratulating myself on letting Bradley have solo play while I got something done. But then it was eerily quiet for far too long. I walked downstairs with Eleanor to find Bradley under the table, smiling at me and gleefully chewing the last of the large piece of pastry he had managed to knock off of the center of the island in the kitchen. I tried to be stern but I think he could tell I was trying my darndest not to smile at him. So I told him that was very naughty and tried a natural consequence punishment of making him help me clean up all the crumbs off the ground with a rag but I think that backfired because he seemed pretty excited about that too. What a kid. He's not even two yet. We're so in for it. He's so much fun, I wouldn't have it any other way. 

This is the Bradley boy kind of fun. Running around naked and having a blast.