Sunshine and Strollers (We Have So Many)

 No, we haven't been sending Bradley to work in the coal mine. He just likes playing with stamps now.

They're really the ideal Bradley craft. You're supposed to smash things (gently) and you get to get dirty. Great success. I do so much laundry.

We went to the zoo this past weekend and had a really good time. Eleanor and Bradley both liked the carousel.

Except Eleanor kind of skipped her morning nap so she was exhausted and had to take a nap on a blanket while Bradley played with his friend Eli.

One thing that came out of the zoo trip is that our sit and stand stroller wouldn't work for anything beyond going to our neighborhood park. So we tested out our wagon later that day.

Bradley had posed for a lot of photos that day. It's wagon ride time, Mommy!

And by popular request, here is a side by side comparison of almost two year old Bradley with two year old Anne. He may be a mini Nathan but some things he does are definitely from his mommy.

Can't fight genetics

The wagon was cute but Eleanor kept trying to escape so I got a Craigslist double stroller. The kids like it fine and it will be great for future zoo trips and similar outings. Nathan and I were excited that it was a jogging stroller and decided to take it out for a run tonight. It would have worked great if Bradley had not made it abundantly clear that it was necessary for him to get in on the running. He got in a great workout but he was the only one.

Eleanor has been a tough little cookie lately. I left her unsupervised with Bradley the other day for two minutes while I moved the laundry and had to come back down when I heard her hollering. It seems that young Bradley had taken it upon himself to help Eleanor finish her meal and had tried to feed her some applesauce that I had left out on the table. There was applesauce in Bradley's hair, on his clothes, on the table, floor, Eleanor's face and tray, but I'm not sure whether or not any actually went into Eleanor. Bradley had certainly put a lot of effort into taking care of his sister though, one must appreciate his diligence in this matter.

Eleanor said no thanks.

Bradley has been taking care of everyone lately. We have a little baby doll that I got for Eleanor that Bradley decided to play with the other night. Do you know that babies love to jump?

Bradley also put the baby doll down for a nap and wiped her with tissues out of a baby wipe box and was in general incredibly sweet. Lots of hugs and kisses for the baby doll. He's such a sweetheart.

We finally got out the old train tracks and cars that my parents brought this past summer and to put it mildly Bradley has been obsessed. He wakes up every morning saying "choo choo" and is desperate to go downstairs to play.

Trains even win out over shows these days. The only thing that wins over trains is ... outside! It's finally changed from this:

To this!

Basking in the sun with one of our neighbor friends

 We love the park behind our house so much.

 And it's great now that Eleanor can get in on the playtime too sometimes!

Eleanor's new favorite perch while we're out is ... Daddy! Did you know that he has very conveniently placed ears? I'm still trying to get a photo where she has a firm grasp on both of them. It happens not infrequently.

 And here is a photo of Bradley running way off ahead of me on the path to catch up with Daddy.

Everyone loves Daddy. This is not an uncommon scene on the weekends at our house. Note that there is even a cat in on the Daddy loves.

All this out and about business has been leaving Eleanor a bit tired in the evenings. She fell asleep at dinner the other night, poor thing.

Bradley was very excited that the baby was asleep

So so very tired

Bradley, in contrast, has been a hyper goofball through meals as of late.

I gave him a piece of chocolate for dessert the other day and when I told him the wrapper was icky he repeatedly pretended to eat it. Thought he was hilarious. Love this kid.

We went swimming at the local pool the other day.

Turns out the pool was a little chilly and Eleanor howled as soon as she touched the water and didn't stop crying until I had her out with a towel wrapped around her.

On the other hand, Bradley swam until his lips turned blue.
Eleanor prefers dress up opportunities that are warmer and cozier and involve cute accessories. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

She also prefers kitty loves. It's so wonderful to watch her go nuts over the cats. Doesn't matter what the cats want. This is why I trained them to put up with anything. I think they're kind of becoming resigned to me tossing a baby girl over them a couple times per day.

Hi Sookie!

Bradley likes Eleanor's new sunglasses. Only because he knows they aren't supposed to be for him. I need to pretend his baseball hat is forbidden so he'll wear that too.

And I dare anyone to have a more stressful seven minutes than I did the other day unloading the dishwasher with the assistance of two children under two. So much assistance, so much trying to grab anything breakable before a child got their grubby little hands on it.

These kids. So sweet and so hilarious. Eleanor is constantly on the go now so I have a little free time and get to bake and cook again. Bradley is talking up a storm although most of our conversations are currently about trains, food, and why it's important to not sit on your sister.

And lastly, Bradley seems to desperately be trying to re-enact Charlie Bit My Finger with Eleanor. It doesn't happen in this video but only because Eleanor is incredibly nice.