Ode to my FitBit

My husband got me a FitBit for my birthday. This was actually an incredibly thoughtful gift because it was something that I wanted, but hadn't mentioned in almost 5 months. It's great, and I was really looking forward to using it to get back to some normal stuff after the baby arrives (and I finish recovering from that arrival & figure out how to deal with 2 under 2).

Oh, so, I wear it on my bra, so it's out of the way, and because I don't reliably have pockets, living in yoga pants most of the time. And that's a listed, recommended place for putting it. I'm not just a weirdo who keeps technology in my boobs. Anyway, it's important to note that when it's been still for a long time & you pick it up, it lights up with a little message to you. Something involving your name. I've never caught the beginning bit, because I'm not usually looking at it quickly enough to catch the first part. Bottom line, if you're still for a long time, say if you're sleeping, when you move, say to go to the bathroom for the millionth time, it will light up. If you're still mostly asleep, you may forget that you're wearing a FitBit and for a moment, dreamily think that you've turned into IronMan in your sleep. You might. I would never do such a thing of course. Except when I did

Right, so I like my little device. It's keen. You can understand why I'd be upset if it were missing. Well, on Thursday, it went missing. I noticed it was gone while I was sorting through tiny baby clothes & crib sheets, trying to make room for tiny-butt diapers along side the slightly-less-than-tiny-butt diapers that Eleanor now wears. I looked to see what time it was, as my phone was out of reach, and lo & behold! It was GONE. You'd think with it resting on a piece of intimate apparel I might notice when CHANGES happen in that area. You'd be wrong. Well drat. Thursday got off to a rough start when I broke a wine glass by dropping it out of the cabinet, bouncing it off the top-rack of the dishwasher & shattering it all over the kitchen floor. And now my tiny adorable pedometer was gone.

CURSES!!

When I went to get Eleanor from Mother's Day Out (after searching all the nooks and crannies of my house. I didn't even find the tv remote or my camera, both of which are also missing in action), I FOUND IT! HOORAY! REJOICE! Oh, wait. I found it in the parking lot. Under a car. Looking like it had possibly been run over once or twice.

The FitBit is dead. Long live the FitBit.

So that's how it is

So, today has been full of small surprises.

I had really strange dreams last night (no surprise there), but woke up feeling pretty rested. A nice surprise.

At Eleanor's Mother's Day Out program, they ask that you keep a spare set of clothes in the cubby. Good plan. Especially with toddlers. Since the weather seems to be finally cooling down, I brought her spare clothes home on Tuesday so I could replace the short-sleeved onesie & skirt with long-sleeves and pants. And boy am I glad I did, as it was nicely crisp this morning (60-ish?) and on the way to drop-off, in the back seat, Eleanor managed to pour water from a "leak-proof" sippy cup all over herself. Not the best surprise.

Then I went and got a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks because they are tasty. Actually, I got one yesterday afternoon too, and it was $4.06 well spent. This morning, it was $4.17. I remarked that the 11 cent increase seemed odd, but was gladly handing over the change as I said it. The barista-dude (not a barister, that's a lawyer, right?) looked equally perplexed, pushed some buttons and said, "How about $3.57?" SOLD! A pleasant surprise.

I got home and before I could unplug my phone, I got a call from Bagels, who was in the middle of a migraine & needed a ride home. An unpleasant surprise for her, but I was glad I was available to come rescue her.

When we got home (again) I discovered that I'd forgotten to take Eleanor's LUNCH to MDO. Oops. So I rushed back over to deliver it. As I was walking down the hallway to her room, a little toddler comes around the corner, followed by another. They only made it 2 or 3 steps before their teacher appeared, but for a moment I thought someone had made a grand escape. Surprise! Then came Eleanor. She grinned and came running towards me. I opened my arms and she ran right past me. Zoom. Bye Mom, no time to stop, I'm on a mission. Surprise. I'm not as exciting as a trip to the playground. Little Miss Independent indeed.

18 months

Ok, I haven't done an "official" update on Eleanor in a while, so I'm gonna. Because I want to.

You guys, she's pretty awesome. I know I'm biased, but her Mother's Day Out teachers, the ladies (& gent) in the church nursery, the appointment desk lady at our pediatrician's office and lots of strangers comment on how happy she is. Which is great, but it's mostly true! She's not happy all the time. She throws tantrums and pitches fits and gets shy and cranky, but for the most part, she is an amicable and happy child. She plays independently. She explores. She likes most everyone she meets. She is quick to smile and wave. I am trying to soak up as much of this awesome as possible because I know that hard days are coming. I can see the willful in her eyes. I can see the boundary-pushing, limit-testing, stubborn, rule-breaking terror in her eyes. It's there. It's coming. But for now, she's truly wonderful.

Vitals:
Height: 32.25" (80th percentile)
Weight: 24 lb 12 oz (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.5" (85th percentile)
I think her doctor said "nicely proportional" but I heard practically perfect in every way.

figuring out this doctoring business

Highlights:
I don't even know how to pick! 6 months is a long time of great moments.
We took some swim lessons, thanks to our friends K & D going on vacation & giving us their son's spot and that was a blast. Eleanor & I had matching swim suits. It was exactly as sickeningly sweet as you imagine and I loved every minute of it.
We went to California to visit my family out there, so first plane ride, and playing in sprinklers.
All of Faire happened, and she seemed to love it all. Half the time, she was a tiny pink mini-me. Half the time she was a turquoise mini-Diva. All the time she was adorable.

She has enough hair for some seriously adorable curls in back, and sometimes I can wrangle them into pigtails.

Skills:
Walking! Everywhere. Running & climbing stuff too
Talking! She has about 15 words, though lots of them are single syllable & hard to distinguish (up & help, baby & bye-bye, etc), but with visuals & signing, she is pretty clear
Signing! She has even made up a few signs of her own, like lotion, hair bow, purse, outside & Bagels taught her a sign for her name (Bagels' name, not Eleanor's name)
Eating & drinking with little to no help from anyone.
Chasing & throwing balls
Brushing her teeth (of which she has all but her top 2 canines now)
Washing herself in the tub
Sitting (uselessly) on her tiny potty & putting TP in the bowl
Charming the pants off of strangers

Works in Progress:
Taking her clothes on & off. (My mother is giggling manically right now. Apparently I was a terror as a toddler, demanding several costume changes a day)
Using forks & spoons
I'm not saying "potty training" because we're not there yet, but she has a definite interest in potty activities and in telling us when to change her diaper, so... you know... it's something. That might happen someday.

She loves:
Mother's Day Out. Seriously, she runs to her classroom & she loves her teachers.
Baby dolls. She got one for her birthday, but just recently has shown interest, and now that baby gets fed, cradled, diapered, napped, and dragged around by the ankles.
Her blanket(s). She doesn't have A single blanket, but 5 of the muslin style swaddle blankets and those are necessary for sleeping.
Dancing, which is starting to involve more than just her hands, so that's nice.
Purses
Bows (which don't stay in her hair very long, but she has decided that she needs one to leave the house, so I keep one in the car)
Stacking things--also the knocking them back over
Putting things into & taking them out of containers
Books--not to "read" but to turn the pages vigorously & then shake about
The pets. She meows & woofs at them. She climbs into Puca's crate with him & shuts the door. It's adorable





I love:
I think the hugging might be the best thing ever. Once she started walking, she got snugglier. She now lays her head down on my shoulder & pats my back when I ask for a hug or a snuggle. When I ask for a smooch, she usually just presents her forehead or cheek to BE smooched, which is great, but sometimes she will actually kiss me back. Sometimes she blows a kiss. To sum up-her giving physical affection is really rewarding.  
The clothes, still. Dressing her is still so much fun for me.

In the past week she's had a mini language explosion, learning a new word every day it seems, and that is so exciting to watch. I see friends' kids having whole conversations with their parents and it just boggles my mind that Eleanor isn't as far from that as I think. She's very expressive, but soon, people who aren't us will be able to tell what it is she's saying.

She dislikes:
Being told no
Closed doors (she's very much like the cats in that way)
Sitting still

I dislike:
The tantrums
The inability to figure out what it is she's ACTUALLY asking for that, and that inability causing a tantrum
When only Mama will do, and how that breaks J's heart.

Too cool for clothes?

With the same giraffe as always

All in all, I'm really loving this stage of her life. I can't wait for her to meet her baby brother, and I hope we all handle that transition with as much grace and compassion as possible.

Collages. That's what I've got.

So... September happened, eh? That was fun. August too.

The short version? J got laid off, found a great new job a month later. We're stuck paying RIDICULOUS amounts of money to keep our current (amazing) insurance through the delivery of this internal baby, but we're using the money his old job gave him to do it, so it's sort of ok. Then we'll switch to the insurance of his new job, which has a deductible 12 times higher. (That's not an exaggeration. I did the math.) Fun times! I'm still pregnant & doing well. The whole family caught a cold and it was pretty ugly for a few days, but we've come out the other side no worse for the wear. Eleanor started a Mother's Day Out program at our church, 2 days a week, 9-2. She LOVES it and is learning so much. I'm planning on doing an 18 month update after her check up next week because seriously, the amazing things she does now, it blows my mind. She's learning a new word a day it seems, and some of them are even easily recognizable to people who aren't us!

I tried to put together some comparison shots of my belly from last time to this time, but most of what I have are quick phone pictures in my bathroom. It's not the best quality, but here's me at 26, 28 & 30 weeks with Eleanor (in blue) and baby brother (in pink).

Then, because I was in the collage making mood, I put together one of my adorable daughter from a photoshoot to enter her into a contest she didn't win. But other than the hat & shoes, everything she's wearing was a gift from Temerity Jane.  

And you know, once you get started making collages, it's hard to stop, so here's the "recap" version of my attempt at 30 days of makeup from July. 

Now that it's October, I've started my quest in earnest to get J & I outfitted as a hippo & alligator. We have no parties planned, so it's really just for photos, but I got E a tiny hippo costume with stripey tights, and a pregnant hippo is just the same as a regular hippo, so that makes my life easier. Plus, you know, we have a thing for Fantasia 'round here. 

That was 7 years ago. Hard to imagine. We've come a long way since then. Here's to the next 7, and the 7 after that, and the 7 after that, and so on and so forth.