Cupcake Buddies, Dancing Bradley, Hiding Eleanor

Nathan is gone on a work trip to Columbia(!!) and we miss him very much this week.

The kids think this box is big enough to ship them to Daddy

Bedtime is much less exciting while Nathan is away. Our calm time leading up to jammies, brushing teeth, and stories is just plain boring with Mommy.

Eleanor checking out her phone ... what do you mean there's more going on in this picture than Eleanor?

Surprisingly, this did not end in tears. Daddy wins a prize for ending the rough housing before someone got hurt. 

We've also been having a blast playing with the puppets my parents gave us which were left over from my childhood. For the record, sometimes it's really weird having your children play with your childhood toys. I remember doing puppet shows with my siblings with these puppets.

We think Bradley might like the puppets okay

Daddy and Bradley have had quite a bit of good bonding time lately. Here they are playing with Bradley's bath toy turtle - we have quite a time keeping bath toys in the bathroom in the Scott household.

And Nathan is counting down the days until the kids will do this with him for football instead of Jake and the Neverland Pirates.

He's also counting down the days until Eleanor stops being such a dedicated pusher of all the computer buttons but I don't think that's happening anytime soon. The girl is obsessed with buttons. We have to hide the tv remotes from her and out of sight out of mind doesn't work for our determined little girl. She will climb over you and on top of couch cushions and dig around for the remote if she knows we tried to hide it in a particular spot.

Poor Bradley - he is still not allowed to touch the baby monitor or my phone but Eleanor carries them around constantly. Buttons! At least he doesn't seem to notice the double standard.

While Nathan has been gone we've been trying out some fashion:

Boot fashion!

Borrowing Mommy's sandals - looks like she may need to borrow some of Mommy's clothes too.

I've also been giving the children additional lessons in manners and proper eating habits.

Eleanor can drink out of a bowl with no hands! This is surely advanced table manners.

I'm fairly certain that both children ate all the frosting and none of the actual cupcake. Also advanced.

And here we have the children demonstrating the importance of sharing nutritious food with the needy. Bradley was very needy. 

I honestly don't know which child loves this more. Bradley had cupcake on his tray but was not remotely interested in eating it. Eleanor's was identical but it was shoved into his mouth. Delicious!

I'm trying to put the kibosh on drinking bath water and tonight Bradley took a little sip out of his bath cup and smiled big and told me "tastes like apple juice". Sigh. I offer a lot of fresh water drinks while thirsty children are in the bath but how is one supposed to compete with apple juice?

Sometimes parenting is not at all what I thought it would be - it's a lot of me trying to not let my two year old love tackle small hispanic children he has made friends with while I'm trying to buy his sister a pair of shoes, it's trying to convince my children that sitting in poop is not the best thing ever, and it's urgent requests for songs about a bad guy snake when I know no such song. But sometimes it's breakfast with Bradley hollering "cheers!" and holding out his cup to clink with mine and then Eleanor hollering her version of cheers and clinking her spoon against my glass cup and then cracking up laughing at the loud sound it made. And then doing it over and over, laughing and with a thrilled expression on her face, which makes Bradley laugh too. And then once of us starts throwing muffin wrappers on the floor and the spell is broken. But the little moments are there and they are getting more and more magical.

These sweet kids are such darling buddies these days. We went to our first MOPS meeting at church today and when I picked up Bradley from his classroom they asked me if he had a little sister in the toddlers group. Apparently Bradley's class and Eleanor's class got to meet up in a big indoor playroom for some free time and Bradley gave Eleanor a healthy amount of hugs and kisses when he saw her. She didn't seem upset by it and they looked enough alike that the staff figured they were siblings. So sweet.

Bradley has been requesting that Eleanor sleep in his bed with him and he may get his wish soon with the way they are getting along combined with how clingy Eleanor has been while going to sleep.

This happened the other night:

Eleanor rarely gets to sleep in our bed but she is SO HAPPY when it happens. She usually does pretty well at night but once in a while if she wakes up and has a tough time I'll go in there and cuddle her a bit in the recliner and then try to put her back in her crib. Sometimes this means she'll suddenly turn into a little monkey, clinging to me with all of her limbs. It's a losing battle when this happens so I just bring her back into the bed with me (this happens about once a month. If it were more often than that Daddy would put up more of a fuss about poor sleep training habits). She'll snuggle up as close to me as she can and I can generally see a huge smile on her face as she's settling in.

And Bradley occasionally has a tough time being sleepy enough for naps and so he is given a few books to look at in his bed until he feels like falling asleep. At night he sometimes begs for me to stay in bed by him and go to sleep while I have to go put Eleanor in her own room, which takes a while because she's a clingy mess. A lot of these problems will be solved when Eleanor is old enough for us to let her sleep in the same bed as the Bradley boy. (In theory at least, the reality is that they are going to be SO EXCITED when they get to be in the same bed so we'll see how much sleep happens at first)

Bradley's bedtime routine difficulties may stem at least in part to his newfound love of dancing. It is amazing.

So now we'll put him in bed, read a few stories, pray, and then start to sing a sweet lullaby before leaving the room ... and he'll sit up in bed and say "me dance!" and starting bouncing up and down and swinging his arms enthusiastically with a giant grin on his face. I'm not going to tell him not to dance because it truly is a delight to look upon the adorable dancing, but it does tend to make a boy riled up and not at all sleepy.

Eleanor has her own version of dancing

She has also taken hiding to a new level

The expression on her face here is priceless

Best hiding spot in the house

I was going to start a series of photos called "Eleanor while Mommy tries to make dinner" but with just two photos you can really get the full idea of what I was going for.

She does this unless she is held. I can do a surprising amount of prep in the kitchen while holding a twenty some pound toddler. Also, I am no longer impressed by any meal a person without small children is able to make. If you didn't do it with a child crying and clinging to you then it doesn't count.

Bradley and Eleanor had been having full on battles for the Jake and the Neverland Pirates chair that resulted in it being hidden in a closet for periods of time so I finally relented and got Eleanor her own little foam chair.

Minnie Mouse! She loves it.

 Now there is peace in the Scott household once again.

And yes, Bradley loves the chair too. Fortunately neither of them seem to mind which chair they're in too much as long as they are in one of the awesome foam chairs. 

And if you truly want to step it up a notch you throw in sitting on top of Daddy on the couch. 

This series of photos goes under the "our cats are too nice" category.

Sookie loves to be in Bradley's top bunk. So much so that she will tolerate ridiculous levels of child affection in order to be able to stay in her spot. 

She has come into Bradley's room first thing in the morning while both kids are playing and blazed a trail past them in order to get into her spot. 

Things usually end like this. Such a sweet kitty. 

We've been loving the September weather and have been getting a lot of good park time in. Bradley finally likes the big boy swing which makes swing time at the playground much easier now!

But Bradley still goes into the baby swing when he wants to get some serious height.

Eleanor is rarely in the stroller at the park anymore. Have I mentioned how much I love our house that backs on this amazing park? We're at the park almost every day and it is so perfect and fun.

And here is one final video I took tonight demonstrating the cuteness that is the siblings. Many parenting victories in this video, when Bradley does half jump on Eleanor he kisses her in apology AND he later doesn't run her over when given a clear opportunity to do so. Lots of sweet laughs in this video!

"Poofect" Bradley and a Cousin Owen Visit

My little sweeties are talking up a storm these days. Eleanor can say things like "thank you" and "good job" pretty clearly (we've been saying these things to Bradley a lot) and even repeats back "yes they dare" which is repeated a lot in one of our favorite books, The Spooky Old Tree.

Reading to my sweet ones first thing in the morning.

And I hate to share this, but can you believe that sometimes in the morning Daddy tries to leave Eleanor in order to take his shower? Child abandonment! It's just a good thing that Eleanor knows how to run after a person while crying so she can get what she wants.

Note the smug look in the photo on the bottom left

Heaven help you if you don't exactly feel in the reading mood around little Eleanor these days. Books are unceremoniously flung into your lap and then the little doll child turns around and backs herself up so she can plop down in your lap. The other day I was on the phone with a friend for a while and this process was repeated over and over again with a lot of hollering at Mommy for being unreasonable and not simultaneously reading to a little girl while talking on the phone.

Poor Eleanor. She suffers so.

A true sad face. Her water cup was way up there and she was so thirsty!

Fun Eleanor fact: when she gets upset we generally try to find a kitty to improve her mood. It works every time. She'll be crying until she notices the kitty we've hunted down for her and then she'll drape herself over the sacrificial kitty and bury her face in its fur. Instant comfort. Nathan thinks it's nice but he'll be happy when this doesn't also involve open mouth kisses on their furry sides.

Kisses are not just reserved for the kitties, we went to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead the other day and goats got some kisses too. Oh joy ...

Please note that she's also holding onto the goats ear

More goat love!

She chased down and kissed at least 5 goats. This is SO my little girl.

Hugging a giraffe at home. This girl is such a love.

Bradley's favorite things to say these days are "poofect" and "come get me!" I didn't realize how often I said things were perfect but it has become very apparent. The other day I foolishly cleaned off Bradley's marker mustache in anticipation of his upcoming nap and he had to let me know how wrong of a decision this was. So I let him draw a replacement mustache and he took one look at his fine work and declared it "poofect". It's just way too cute, I can hardly stand it.

FYI, this is what a perfect mustache looks like.

Bradley loves mustaches and taking pictures of himself these days.

Fancy two toned mustache

Pictures with Mommy. Heart!

Here's an example of good Bradley talking. We have a couple of new toy phones and we like to call our friend Eli and ask him to come play or call Grandma Kathy and ask her to send more cookies.

Eleanor and Bradley also like to mimic me when I'm talking to the other child and Eleanor will repeat me when I tell Bradley to "stop" something - complete with a stern tone. But she gets it back when she plays in the top bunk and Bradley uses a strong voice to help me remind her to stay on "knees or bottom!" I have such dear little helpers.

Coloring is so much more fun with a buddy

Every time Bradley gets put in timeout now Eleanor rushes to join him and bounces along as Nathan or I count to 30. This photo isn't of Bradley in timeout, I think she just likes to join Bradley whenever he's sitting in a chair. She can be his little shadow a lot of the time.

So exciting to eat right by each other

And here is an example of them talking to each other. No two children have ever been so delighted by the opportunity to holler "no" at each other.

It's been quite hot lately so I took them out for frozen yogurt last week. It's plus candy plus cool chairs just their size plus some bonus movie time. What is not to love?

It's fun that you can always tell if there is a tv on in a Bradley and Eleanor picture. We test drove a minivan last week. Can you guess whether or not it had a dvd player? We didn't buy one just yet, despite rave reviews from the youngest two members of the Scott family.

Bradley didn't need the headphones but he loved them, so he held onto them like this the entire time

The end of summer has been a hoot, we still play in a little wading pool on our back deck here and there.

Playing with our friend Gavin in our little wading pool

Later at our friend Gavin's house Eleanor discovered the perks of having a family dog.

For church last week we put Eleanor in her fancy dress that Grandma Kathy made for her and Bradley was very jealous and requested that we put the dress on him. I think Grandma is going to have to make more clothes for Bradley, it's tough to see an outfit with cool dog pictures all over it and not want to wear it.

Another Grandma Kathy creation. Both Eleanor and I love it.

Eleanor continues to give us amazing cuddles. I have no complaints.

 

I adore this little girl. I've been making a lot of angel food cakes with whipped cream for topping lately and I may have a new baking buddy. 

You don't want to hear my argument for how whipped cream is healthy because it's basically milk with just a tiny bit of sugar in it. And anything that is homemade is probably healthy because it doesn't have preservatives. Okay, that's basically the whole thing. It's so good that I'm in charge of the nutrition of two young children ...

Eleanor has no complaints when it comes to Mommy's food philosophy

We've also been back to the farmer's market for more arm painting for Bradley. He got a dragon this time. Such a happy boy.

Here is a lovely picture of Bradley in what I'm calling his poo fort. He set this up on his own, for privacy during a delicate time. Hilarious.

We had our last soccer class where Bradley and Eleanor both made good friends with a girl and her little brother who were in the class with us.

Holding hands

We joined our new friends for a music class and we will go back every single week if it means I get pictures of my children dancing together.

Eleanor didn't really know what was happening - Bradley was basically just dragging her around while holding both of her hands - but she did know that it was wonderful and she loved it!

Children holding hands and dancing! Yes please.

Eleanor was a hot commodity at the class and Bradley and his new friend battled for the privilege of sitting with her or holding her hand. Bradley is not used to having to share his little sister. Eleanor LOVED all of the attention.

Eleanor has started this thing where she likes to try to stand on her head. I'm not really sure what this is exactly or where it is coming from. Sometimes I help her do a somersault, which she enjoys, but I think she mostly just likes to look at things upside down.  

It's dangerous to do these things around the Bradley boy.

Colleen and Kerry visited this last weekend which was a lot of fun. The kids love being read to these days so they were in heaven with adult reading reinforcements.

We took them to Deanna Rose and we all had a pretty excellent time.

Eleanor gave Grandma Colleen so many sweet cuddles

Tractor fun! We're technically too young to ride on these but that didn't stop us from climbing all over them.

I love this picture

Both of my children are crazy into riding on the bouncy animals at the playground

Grandma helping Eleanor feed the goats. Eleanor loves all of this, I don't think most one year olds are as okay with goats nibbling on their fingers.

Deanna Rose is pretty impressive, there's a row of stores along a path where you can visit a blacksmith, a general store, and even a barber shop. 

We think Bradley should go for a bowl cut next haircut

 We love visiting the garden area, although we rarely look at the plants

It's a flower! Or a pig ... it's kind of a weird cut out.

Grandma also did a fun outside craft with Bradley where you make kind of a loose playdough and play with it. I think he was out there for an hour, he had a blast. We had a really fun day with Colleen and Kerry, looking forward to the next visit!

We also got to see my cousin Katie and her husband and kids this weekend. Bradley adored his cousin Owen and the first thing he asked me this morning when I went into his room was "Where cousin Owen?"

The best picture we could manage with four small children.

We were very impressed by Owen's ability to withstand the Bradley level of excitement and enthusiasm upon meeting a new friend. There were full on war cries (of joy) as Bradley chased after Owen and threw balls around the basement. I became the safety zone where Owen could hide when things got a bit too unruly, which was often. And as far as I know there are no non-blurry photos of any of this because things were just too wild. But Owen mostly loved it. What a champ. Nathan did his part to calm things down by throwing one ball down the hall and telling the two young boys to go get it, go get it! Thanks Daddy.

Taking a much needed vanilla pudding snack break

Both of my children also accosted Owen's little sister Nora with much loves. Eleanor did her trick where she draped herself across the baby like she was a kitten and gave her kisses. This was while Bradley was going for kisses on the face and poking at her hand. Nora also stood up admirably to the somewhat overwhelming amount of loves the Scott children are able to dish out.

Fortunately, it seemed the love was mutual and Owen was all about the hugs when it was time to go.

Goodbye hugs. These boys were so sweet together.

We followed up the cousin visit with a friend's Labor Day barbeque with a bunch of kids. Bradley and Eleanor have been exhausted messes all day today. Eleanor fell asleep for her nap an hour early ... like this.

Bradley was beyond delighted. And then he went down for his nap early too. Poor sweet kids, it's hard to have so much fun!