We went to see Santa today at the one place where it is free to do so around here, at the Pro Bass Shop! They were a bit heavy on the reindeer and Santa's house seemed especially rustic but it was Santa and it was free! Our children did not really seem to mind being plopped on the lap of an oddly dressed stranger and having their picture taken. Good kids!
Bonus picture with snow happening. What? I think Google is trying to be fancy because I certainly didn't do this. Love it!
Google also added shiny touches to my picture of Eleanor in front of the North Pole.
Daddy may be on the naughty list after some wild playtime fun with Bradley. For the record, I love that my child generally says "yay" instead of "yes". That's my kind of enthusiasm!
The game ended as it always does, Bradley hit his head against Nathan's elbow and got a lovely bruise.
Bruise. And Bradley playing wildly with a favorite blanket. Fortunately we didn't learn a lesson from wild play earlier.
Bradley is definitely worthy of being on the nice list, we had successful crafts over the weekend and Bradley both played with playdough AND colored!
He also shared toys with his sister. Look at this impressive display of sharing.
Lucky girl.
Bradley is so much fun, it was sunny and in the mid 40's this afternoon so we went out for a walk, just me and my little guy!
We spent 75% of the time hitting puddles with sticks, 25% of the time on the swings yelling at me to push him higher, and 25% of the time trying to chase down other people out walking and trying to get them to play catch with us. People are too nice here and Bradley got a fair bit of catch in.
And sweet Eleanor also had a wonderful day after exciting Santa morning. She got snuggles with Daddy, a recipe for happiness on any weekend!
Please ignore the surly cat in the photo
Um, try to ignore the delicate cleaning occurring to the left
Plumb tuckered out. And more cats. They are so needy.
She also practiced her piano. Her Auntie Laura would be proud!
And the piece de resistance from this weekend: Nathan and I went out on a date to his company Christmas party! We got a babysitter and everything! We had a fantastic time. Going out on dates together is becoming a possibility again, what fun!
We had a blast visiting Nathan's family in Boise for Thanksgiving. So much fun was had by all.
Getting to Idaho was an adventure in and of itself. Two children under two means they can both ride on our laps for free! It went surprisingly well, although Bradley did hug tackle a little girl on the second leg of our flight out.
Eleanor was underwhelmed by her first flight.
We had a very sleepy row during Nathan's and my favorite 30 minutes of our flights. Nathan got to have two sleeping children on him. Bliss.
Unfortunately, it didn't last that long and then Bradley got to run up and down the aisle and hug tackle friends. As you do. I am so grateful for nice people on these flights.
We ran that boy like crazy whenever we got the chance during a layover or before a flight. The moving walkways were a hit! I also taught him to spin around in circles. Which he loves because it makes him dizzy and he falls over. Apparently he thinks this is fantastic and he'll just keep on getting up and going again even when he's far too dizzy and should obviously stop. Such a boy.
And then before we knew it we were in Boise in a house full of wonderful people to play with. Bradley was SO excited.
Things also got pretty cuddly pretty quick.
Bradley loved his Grandpa Dan.
And Eleanor loved Grandma Kati.
Eleanor was a hit. SO many hugs and smooches for one little girl. She loved it!
One of Bradley's many favorite parts of the trip was getting to eat at
the breakfast bar with his cool cousins. Snacks happened with greater
frequency that Bradley is used to which was amazing as far as he was
concerned. There was one period of time where he kept running back and
forth from the kitchen to the living room getting refills for a bowl of
popcorn Caitlyn was sweet enough to share with him. He got at least
seven or eight (small) refills. Best day ever for Bradley.
Eating popcorn
Caitlyn wins kindest cousin award of the day
Eleanor also got to try new things. Here she is grabbing at my hard cider ... parenting victory?? I really had no choice in the matter, she saw me holding the bottle and her goal in life became grabbing it and chewing on the top. She's a determined little thing.
Eleanor got a bit of quality time with her Grandpa as well. She was such a little love the entire time we were there. She definitely gave Bradley a run for his money for cousin and grandparent attention!
Cousin Logan was a quick favorite for Eleanor. By the time we left she would see him and start laughing because she knew he was going to run up and do funny things in order to make her happy.
Logan also taught Bradley the joy of rough housing (easy student). Thanks. Now Bradley tries to tackle four year olds we don't know at the library. They weren't as keen on it as you'd think. I really wish I didn't have to protect children a head taller and two years older from my child. Maybe if he didn't growl and shriek with excitement as he ran up at full speed to the other children they would be less afraid of him ...
Bradley loved this too. All the rough housing a boy could desire.
Mommy loved this. Nathan keeps on saying that Bradley is a little bit of a momma's boy these days. Hurray, hurray, hurray, wouldn't have it any other way!
Bradley was not impressed by the tricycle. Or at least not when we played with it with no cousins around.
We went to a nearby park one chilly morning.
Geared up and ready to go!
Eleanor got to wear what I affectionately call her pink marshmallow outfit.
The video is pretty cute. Action packed!
Suffice it to say Bradley was exhausted most of the time and Daddy got some excellent nap cuddles with our little guy. Bradley slept on some couch cushions on the floor in our room and our first night there he managed to roll up into an impossible spot by Nathan's side of the bed. Nathan practically stepped on him when he got up to help the crying child who had woken up and realized he was not in the correct sleeping spot. We had to pillow fort up the side of Bradley's sleeping space after that.
Uncle Tim came to visit and got to meet little Eleanor which was a lot of fun.
Meeting Uncle Tim! Loves all around.
"Fun" mommy moment: I managed to overheat Eleanor in a sweater dress and warm tights on Thanksgiving day so instead of many pictures in a cute outfit we got a bunch of her weirdly half dressed. She's still cute, but it wasn't exactly Thanksgiving dressy. Here the kids are watching a Thanksgiving movie together.
At least the boys stayed dressed up. Sweater vests!
But probably our best moments were up at the breakfast bar eating together.
The cousins all together. At the breakfast bar of course. So many cute kids!
Or this. I was not around for this, Daddy supervised the wild jumping on the couch cushions game.
Shocking news: Bradley loves all things food related, real or play. We may need to get a little kitchen set for this kid. Fun story: Grandpa taught Bradley to do cheers with a cup while we were visiting. It's actually quite funny and sweet. You tap cups with the boy and say "cheers" and then you both drink. New party trick for the kid!
And Bradley may have melted Grandma Kati's heart when he demanded that he pick her up one afternoon and carry him around. Melted her heart and broke her back ... the kid is a chunk.
We were also really happy to get to show off his Boise State outfit in a place where people care about Boise State.
Eleanor loved looking at herself in the mirror while we were there. She would cackle and coo at herself. Thatta girl. Auntie Anna was very fun too, lots of songs and cuddles! Eleanor and Bradley both loved getting to spend time with their wonderful auntie.
Bradley with Auntie Abby. Happy and snuggly!
Yep. This is about right. Amber and Steve were cooking champions and here they are in a heartwarming family moment! Bradley is definitely wondering why everyone is sitting so still.
Nathan and I even got to go out to a Boise State football game while we were there! Smurf turf! I may have been colder than I've ever been and I may have fallen asleep on Nathan's shoulder for about 20 minutes during halftime but it was a date and we were out without children. Great success!
Grandparents with Bradley and Eleanor! Time to say goodbye!
We had a wonderful trip to Boise. It was not restful by any means but it was a great time. Eleanor misses having a houseful of people vying for opportunities to make her laugh and Bradley misses rough housing with cousins and getting many snacks. And Nathan and I will never forget the family Cards Against Humanity game ... even though we may wish we could just a little bit.
The trip home went a lot better than the trip out, mostly because of three key things. 1) Bradley was able to have his own seat on both legs of the plane flight. 2) Cheerios necklaces and toy cars to entertain the kid. 3) Bradley actually liked watching shows on the Kindle Fire on the way home! Lifesaver.
Kindle! Yay technology!
Me with the baby who also was pretty interested in the Kindle.
We landed at midnight and Bradley was DONE. Such a good boy. I found a nice grandma who was having to stay overnight at the airport and she was really excited about Eleanor so I let her hold her and sing to her while we waited for Nathan to get the car from long term parking. And when she wanted pictures of herself holding Eleanor I didn't even bat an eye, I took her camera and snapped away. No wonder neither of my children cried for Santa pictures this year, they're accustomed to being handed off to complete strangers.
We got home and got back into our routine right away. Eleanor has made great progress in sitting up since Thanksgiving!
Eleanor is pretty chatty these days as well.
Bathtime fun
She also is a champion eater. She grabs the spoon and does not want to give it back. It's pretty funny until you try to pry the spoon out of her death grip and realize how strong she is. And she cries very loudly once you get the spoon back until you're shoveling food in once again and she gets the spoon back ... it's kind of a vicious cycle.
She's just had applesauce, rice cereal, and sweet potatoes so far. Loves it all!
Daddy feeding the baby!
Eleanor loves the kitties and squeals with delight whenever she sees them. Bradley liked the kitties, but not this much. That's my girl, taking after her mommy!
Here she is prepping for her first encounter with a dog. You grab them by the ears and then squeal. They love it!
Bradley is a good helper boy with Eleanor, although he has his work cut out for him keeping all of his stuff away from her now that she sits up and is able to grab and play with toys. Mommy is surprisingly unsupportive of this mission to keep Bradley's stuff Bradley's. It's a rough life at times.
But there are still lots of precious sibling loves
Bradley using the stand option on the stroller for the first time! So glad we didn't get a full double stroller, this kid rarely wants to sit when he can run.
I insisted that decorating the tree be a family affair this year and Bradley was ecstatic to get to help. Bradley style. There was a mess after we were done but some ornaments did make it onto the tree so I'm calling it a success.
Both Bradley and Eleanor really like the Christmas tree. It's a magical Christmas moment!
And I'm trying out this one finger touch thing that a woman told me about in Seattle. To not forbid touching of any and all things but for many things to let the child touch them as long as it's carefully and with one finger. It's working reasonably well with our Christmas tree! There's even a sound effect for each touch which is pretty hilarious.
I have this thing about trying to let Bradley help with things these days, even though they take far longer with his "help". I know he's not quite two but he wants to do grown up stuff so much. Bradley now loads utensils into the dishwasher on a regular basis! He does a pretty great job, you just have to watch him or he'll start pretend eating with Mommy or Daddy's dirty spoon or fork. He also helped Nathan sweep the other day! Nathan may not be as supportive of this parenting theory since Bradley did seem to aim to destroy all of Nathan's work most of the time he was "helping" with this chore.
Luckily, there's still opportunities for some "me" time for the boy. Did you know this is the most comfortable angle for your neck while watching a show?
We've gone to McDonald's twice now with Bradley's friend Eli and his mommy and we've learned Bradley lives for smoothies and jumping up and down on booth seats while watching cars go by. Incidentally, Eli is Bradley's only friend who is currently able to handle Bradley's hug tackles and is able to give as good as he gets. We really enjoy hanging out with Eli!
Little chunk!
Tired backseat
The kids are so cute and sweet these days and just seem to be getting more fun by the day.
And Eleanor has blossomed into a delightful almost 6 month old little girl. Hair is coming back and she's always busy
Our little snow baby sitting up like a champ! Happy holidays!
And this video pretty accurately sums up life at home with Bradley right now. I'm teaching Bradley the appropriate sound effect for the Wii gun he found. And the thunk you hear at the beginning is the gun hitting my leg. Yowch.
