SLR camera – Page 5 – emerald city diaries

Pinterest Christmas {2017}: Teachers’ Presents (Tote Bag).

Welcome back to week TWO of Pinterest Christmas! {See week ONE here.}

I like making/gifting Eloise’s teachers gifts when we start Winter Break just to show them how much we love them and appreciate them. That said, I don’t want to fill their house with things they don’t really want, so I try to be thoughtful about the gifts we give (one in December and one at the end of the year). I have had this pin saved for a long time and finally thought it was time to try it!

{original Pinterest link – Handmade Mood}

Supplies:
-canvas bag (I used these ones from Amazon – but wouldn’t recommend them – because these ones from Michael’s didn’t come in time)

-embroidery thread (red and blue)

-embroidery needle

-scissors

-ruler

-optional: thin paint brush and (grey) acrylic paint; or Silhouette and iron-on transfer paper

I followed the instructions in the original link and it was super easy! I measured out lines and lightly lined with pencil so that embroidering would be no big deal. This project reminded me of a tiny version of this quilt that I made for Eloise’s big kid bed.

For the lettering, I sketched out the names of Eloise’s (three) teachers and then used a lightbox and pencil to trace the letters onto the bag, and finally paint the letters (which is basically what I do for the flag shop). The original tutorial uses an iron-on transfer paper and a Silhouette machine. You could also just free-hand the letters with pencil and then paint too!

I think these bags turned out so cute. Eloise and I colored some Christmas cards (really cute ones that I picked up at Anthro a few years ago but are no longer available) to include along with our family Christmas card. I just stacked the cards on top of the folded bag and tied it up with a bright red ribbon!

Did you make/give teacher’s gifts this year? I am always in need of ideas!

This post contains affiliate links.

daphne {week 41}

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{letterboard: Letter Folk (Poet) // top: Target (old) // jeans: Gymboree (old) // slippers: Hanna Andersson}

{week 41} This week marked the worst of this cold Daphne has had recently. Coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and one or two short episodes of a low fever. Definitely not horrible, but it is awful to see a baby sick and not feeling well. But, the best thing about Daph not feeling herself was all of the cuddles! Mostly these days she is so busy and on-the-move that cuddles don’t get to happen, unless it is in the middle of the night for a wake-up, so Aaron and I both cherished those cuddles from Daphne this weekend.

I think we are mostly on the back-end of this cold (although we are all sort of stuffy still) and I am so thankful. Obviously because of her age, we couldn’t give her anything (like medicine) but we did run a humidifier in her room overnight and put Honest Breathe rub on the bottoms of her feet and on her chest before she went to sleep. Surprisingly she slept pretty well at night, despite her not feeling well, and we would hear her coughing some times, but then she would go right back to sleep!

This week we also met Santa, which I mentioned in the weekend post, and Daphne did pretty well. We were waiting (forever!) in line during her usual morning nap, so I expected she might be fussy, but mostly she only wanted to snooze if I was holding her. And once we got to Santa, I thought for sure she would lose it because she was sleepy and stranger danger, but she did well. No smile, but no tears either! Again, I will share the official Santa pictures when I get them.

Daphne is really wanting to clap (and loves it when you clap) and she hits her chest instead. She also hits my chest when I hold her and it is so endearing! I think the chest hitting is either her way of clapping or waving, two things we are working on.

This weekend also introduced the Christmas tree to the living room which I was a little anxious about. Daphne is in the phase where everything (literally everything) goes into her mouth and often she leads with her tongue… But, she actually ignored the tree for the first few days, and then just last night approached it. She went for the lights, which wasn’t a huge surprise, and wanted to pull on them. Eloise and I made sure to hang only soft and stuffed animal-like ornaments on the bottom of the tree where Daphne can reach. I am still slightly worried about her trying to eat the pine needles (since we have a real tree) but so far “no thank you Daphne” has worked pretty well!

Biting during nursing has still been an issue, especially during the last two feedings (in the late afternoon and evening) which has not been fun. I am not quite ready to wean her yet, but may be forced to, at least down to just two or three feedings! I am going to attempt to get thru the next two weeks and the re-evaluate. We aren’t ready to introduce cow’s milk yet, so any weaned feeding would have to be replaced with either pumped milk or formula in a bottle; not the end of the world, but definitely some logistics involved, especially if I decide to pump during those two nursing sessions instead.

And here is Eloise’s 41 week update.

Happy 41 weeks Daphne!

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family pictures {2017}

As we have done every year for the past few years, we had a family photo shoot last month which was actually our second for the year since we also did family photos right after Daphne was born. But, it was really different to be a family of four (well, five with Sadie who joined us for the first half of the shoot) and fun to see the girls as they have grown since the spring.

I wanted a different vibe this year since we have previously used parks as a background, so we headed to South Lake Union which has an urban vibe. There was SO much construction (a very it neighborhood these days) and it was super noisy, but we found some quiet pockets.

And prepare for photo overload!

Lower Family -- Fall 2017-3 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-9 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-11 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-14 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-16 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-17 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-21 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-31 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-34 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-107 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-37 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-108 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-55 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-110 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-40 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-111 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-41 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-112 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-42 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-113 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-43 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-117 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-63 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-118 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-64 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-65 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-120 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-66 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-121 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-67 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-68 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-123 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-69 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-124 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-127 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-73 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-130 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-76 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-77 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-132 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-133 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-79 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-83 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-84 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-85 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-91 Lower Family -- Fall 2017-101

Guys, family pictures are the BEST!

If you are local to Seattle (or the area) I highly recommend Ashley Vos Photography. It was the first time we worked with her, but she came recommended by a friend, and we were really happy. She also was the one to suggest shooting down at South Lake Union which was a great backdrop for us!

Happy December!

Wearing:

Aaron: Hugo Boss jacket (old) // Gap button-up

Misha: J. Crew Collection shirt // Madewell denim

Eloise: The Dress Shop buffalo check dress // Adaline’s Bow Line bow // Old Navy boots (similar)

Daphne: Peek Kids dress // Old Navy cardigan (old) // babyGap tights // Freshly Picked moccasins

daphne {week 40}

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{letterboard: Letter Folk (Poet) // top: Gerber // bib: DIY from Rifle Paper Co. fabric // jeans: babyGap (old) // rattle: Amazon (similar)}

{week 40} This week the biggest thing has been biting. Specifically during nursing sessions. Super not fun. I have noticed it more during the last two feedings of the day (so after her afternoon nap and before dinner time) and these tend to be much shorter feedings. Generally it is a small-ish bite and I can see her mouth doing it so I can try to stop (or usually I yell!) before it happens, but she also bites down and then pulls her head back which is horribly and horrifically painful! Maybe it will lead to early weaning… but her pediatrician recommends that we start breastfeeding after mealtimes at this point, so maybe that will help to. I didn’t have this problem at all with Eloise, so I am in super new territory here. Any advice?

Since I didn’t have Daphne’s 9 month stats for her monthly update, I thought I would share them since we just were at the ped’s office for her check-up.

weight: 19 pounds, 13 ounces (50 to 75%)
length: 2 feet, 3 inches or 27 inches (25 to 50%)*
head circumference: 44.4 cm (50 to 75%)

*Daphne is getting close to being too long for her current infant car seat since the maximum length is 30 inches (the seat allows for up to 30 pounds of baby, but she will be too long before she hits that weight!) so we went ahead and bought her a new convertible car seat for one of her Christmas presents during Black Friday deals. We like the Britax Boulevard that we have for Eloise, but upgraded to the ClickTight for easier install. And it’s still marked down if you need a new car seat!

The ped also recommended that we start doing two snacks per day along with three meals… so Daphne is going to be delighted since eating is one of her very favorite things to do! And it means that she is literally going to be eating all. day. long. She already spends a fair amount of her awake time eating her meals as it is (she is a very slow eater, but because of quantity of food she consumes) so hopefully she will be a faster snacker!

And lastly, how are there only 12 weeks left until she is one? I remember feeling this way with Eloise after we passed over the 40 week mark!

And here is Eloise’s 40 week update!

Happy 40 weeks Daphne!

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daphne {month nine}

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{alligator: Jellycat // dress: Peek // leggings: Carter’s (old) // onesie: Gerber (old)}

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{Eloise wanted to jump in during the photo shoot with Daphne this morning. I love this picture of them. Sharing a sister secret!}

{month nine} Nine months? Guys, that’s three-quarters of a year. I feel like I am going to blink and it’s going to March 1st. This monthly milestone is definitely emotional for me (emotional, but in a good and happy way).

Daphne is all about standing these days. If she can use something to help her get up to standing, she will, for better or for worse. And she has definitely taken some tumbles from trying to use something that wasn’t strong enough (like a toy or ball) but she is learning and getting so much stronger in her legs. She can stand up on her own and only be holding on by like a finger – she is SO close! But, beyond standing, she doesn’t seem as interested in actually walking. At least yet. She will cruise a bit along the table, but if she wants to get somewhere, she is happy to plop back down on her bottom and crawl. And boy is she a fast crawler! She can get around a room so quickly these days and I think the second gate (to block off the stairs) is imminent. Like this weekend. Daphne has had some exposure to stairs, but still has some learning to do. The actual climbing up part is pretty natural for her (a lot like crawling) but she tends to want to sit down which is scary on stairs since there isn’t much room for that!

Eating is still going well. As I mentioned, Daphne is eating all BLW food (so she is feeding herself with her hands) and it is almost impossible to get her to eat from a spoon at this point. She just wants to grab it and fling the food off, and then chew on it. So, eventually we will re-introduce the spoon as a feeding tool that she can control, but for now, her hands work well! More and more I have been trying to feed her what we are eating (especially for dinner) just a de-constructed version of it. We have yet to find a food that she doesn’t eat, and we have tried a wide breadth of food!

Daphne is still such a good sleeper. (Knock on wood!) Part of the thing that helps, especially for me during the week, is that she is pretty routine by waking and sleeping at the same time every day. There is still some leeway in her schedule where some days she is up at 7:30 am or doesn’t nap in the afternoon until 1:45 pm, but still consistent enough where I can rely on her daily schedule to schedule my own day and week, and know exactly when she is going to be ready for sleep. Before nap times she can go from crazy crawling all over to asleep in 1 minute, but at bedtime, she is ready for bed. Any time after 7 pm is fair game for bedtime and she will let us know when she’s ready for a bottle and bedtime snuggles. We are still alternating between pumped milk and formula at nighttime and she doesn’t seem to have a preference at all.

Like the true younger sister that she is, Daphne never wants to be left out. If there is something going on, she wants to see it and be part of it. It is pretty cute when this means that she is included in Eloise’s play, but it sometimes means that things get moved up to the dining room table or other high-up surface and that Daphne does not get to play. But we have a rule with Eloise that if Daphne is either playing with something that isn’t a Daphne-safe toy or is something really special to Eloise (meaning she doesn’t want to share it), then she has to find an alternative toy for Daphne. Sometimes Daphne will be super interested in that alternative toy (meaning she will chew on it) and sometimes she will move onto something else by speed-crawling away!

Nursing is still going well and is super short these days. Partly that is because Daphne is a much more efficient eater, but partly also because she is SO distracted. I try to nurse her in a neutral setting where there isn’t too much distraction (noise, lights, people) so that I know she will get a full feeding. We are still nursing 4 times per day and I don’t see any early signs of weaning. Yet. I know its coming, but for now it works!

{weight} 19 pounds.
{hair} blackish brown.
{teeth} two bottom middle teeth, top four teeth.
{eyes} dark grey/brown.
{clothes} 6 months (pants only), 9 months and 12 months (Carter’s), 6 to 12 months.
{diapers} size 3 {from the honest company}. At home we are doing cloth (Grovia) and disposables when we go out and overnight.
{feeding} nursing every 3.5 to 4 hours during the day, starting around 8 am. feeding sessions last around 5 to 10 minutes (both sides). bedtime is around 7:30 with a 6 oz bottle.

{likes} eating, bath time with Eloise, watching big kids or babies, crawling, pulling up to her knees or feet, spinning on her back and belly, teething rings, chewing on anything, sitting in her highchair, staring at her quilt (from Amanda), rattles, nursing, riding in the car (usually), her big sister Eloise, Sadie, singing, lights, paci, being bounced, sucking on her hands, being tickled, talking (cooing).
{dislikes} having gas, lying down flat right after eating, being hungry or tired, not having a bottle immediately after seeing it, having her face or nose wiped off.

{nicknames} Daph, Daph Daph, Daphers, Bug, Snorty, Baby D, Daphne Doo, Daph-a-doo, Love, Lovebug.

And here is Eloise’s nine month update.

Happy NINE months Daphne!

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daphne {week 39}

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{letterboard: Letter Folk (Poet) // top: Burt’s Bees (old) // leggings: Target (old)}

{week 39} This last week we were in Boise, so while I tried to keep the routine as consistent as possible, there were interruptions and changes that we just had to work thru. Mostly the decision when we are out of town or have someone visiting (or every day I guess for me!) is whether to try an on-the-go nap in the morning and risk Daphne not sleeping or sleeping very little.

There was one morning (last Wednesday) that Grammie, Eloise, Daphne, and I ventured out to the Festival of Trees and I was hoping Daphne would snooze thru it. She fell asleep in the car on the way there, but then once I transferred her to the Ergo, she was awake! I don’t blame her since the entire Festival is huge rooms full of Christmas trees with Christmas music and lots of people milling about. At one point right before lunch she looked like she may fall asleep, but she moved thru that quickly and didn’t fall asleep until after lunch on the car ride home. We stopped at Target, though, before heading home and she did sleep (in her car seat) thru that entire trip! Every other morning we were in Boise though I made sure she was able to go down for a proper nap.

Afternoon naps are almost always regular because that is around the time that Eloise has “quiet time” and Daphne took good afternoon naps, for the most part. The roughest part of sleeping this trip was definitely nighttime! She slept thru without a peep for two nights, but every other night was up multiple times. We couldn’t really figure out why she was waking up (or why she was upset) but the last few nights, she wouldn’t let me leave until I rubbed her back while she fell back asleep. Yeah, that was super fun. I would think she was asleep so I would stop rubbing her back and stand up to leave and head back to bed, but then she would pop-up wide awake and cry until I started rubbing her back again. Grumble, grumble. Luckily she hasn’t seemed to continue that expectation now that we are home!

We were able to see almost all of my family that lives in town during the week, particularly on Thanksgiving Day, and while Daphne was pretty shy with stranger danger during the first few days, she seemed to warm up towards the end of the trip. It helps if she is well-rested and has just eaten (nursed and solid foods) when she is around new people, but sometimes Mama is the only one that will do.

Daphne did AMAZINGLY WELL on the car trip home on Sunday. As I mentioned in my weekend post, the stops for nursing, potty, gas, and meals all aligned and we made excellent time! Daphne slept a lot more than I anticipated and within a few minutes of being in the car after a stop, she was back asleep and had hardly any awake time while in the car.

We are happy to be home and getting back into the normal routine of things (I LOVE our mornings together while Eloise is at school) as we countdown the days to December 1st!

And here is Eloise’s 39 week update!

Happy 39 weeks Daphne!

daphne {week 38}

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{letterboard: Letter Folk (Poet) // top & leggings: Tea Collection}

{week 38} Happy Thanksgiving!

This past week or so Daphne has discovered stranger danger. She has always been a mama’s girl, but especially so right now. While happy to look at other people and interact with them, she only wants to do so if I am holding her. So, that’s been fun. I know it’s totally normal, but I am ready for her to be super social again!

We are at my parents’ house this week for the holiday and finally got a chance to weigh Daphne (our scale’s batteries stopped working…) and she is 19 POUNDS! I did not think she was that close to 20 pounds. She goes in for her 9 month check-up in two weeks and I am eager to see where she is on the growth curve.

We drove down to Boise this past weekend (as you may have seen in the weekend post) and Daphne did so well. She is generally good in the car and does well in her car seat. Her feeding schedule stretched out to 4ish hours when we were driving which was perfect for meal and wiggle breaks, though she varies between 3.5 and 4 hours between feedings now anyways. Daphne ended up napping a lot this trip which sort of surprised me. And it wasn’t until after lunch that she got upset about being in her seat. It was a 10 hour trip, so I don’t blame her, but she was acting a little funny after lunch when we started back on the road. Just overly fussy and a little warm but I thought her breathing sounded a little shallow. So I pretty closely monitored her for the rest of the trip and we made sure to let her get out for a while when we stopped for a feeding just to let her get a break from her seat. But we made it to Boise!

Sleeping has been pretty good while we have been here and Daphne is sleeping in a pack n’ play in the laundry room! Both of the girls typically sleep better when they are in their own space (and so do their parents!) and it has worked out pretty well. Naps have been really good but nighttime sleep has been harder. The time change has worked well for us because Daphne had been waking slightly earlier at home (just after 7 or 7:30) which puts her up at 8 here. She has been up a few times during the night and a handful of times just giving her a paci has not cut it (which is unusual). So it has been a few more wake-ups at night than we are used to, but all-in-all not too bad. On Tuesday morning she was up just after 5 am and pretty much didn’t go back to sleep after that (and was so upset). We couldn’t figure out what the issue was since even a feeding didn’t completely calm her down. But, she made up for it with a super solid afternoon nap (and two naps in the car while we were out for the morning) along with making me feel very thankful that I am not up with her at 5 am every day. Thank you Daph for being a (normally) great sleeper!

Also, we set up a diaper changing station in front of a mirror in my old room and Daphne is OBSESSED with that baby in the mirror. It is amazing because it keeps her distracted while we are changing diapers (because she generally wants to flip over and crawl around) but it is also so impossibly cute! And once she has a new diaper, she will sit up and then high-five herself and give herself kisses. It’s the BEST! We should probably get her a big mirror at our house too. (She also has been doing this on the oven which I shared over on my Instagram stories the other day!)

And here is Eloise’s 38 week update.

Happy 38 weeks Daphne!

daphne {week 37}

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{letterboard: Letter Folk (Poet) // sweater: babyGap (old) // leggings: Target (old) // quilt: made by Amanda}

{week 37} Guys, Daphne is on the move. Like big time. I know I mentioned it in her monthly update (and probably every weekly update!) but it’s so true. Every day I think she gets faster and more confident in her ability to move. Crawling is her preferred method of travel and she is starting to pick up some serious speed. She hasn’t gotten close to the stairs yet, but I think we will need to be putting the second gate up soon (we will put it in the short hallway upstairs).

And along with always moving, Daphne does not like to be flat on her back. So I am surprised we can even get any weekly pictures at all. And if you saw the outtakes, it is all of her rolling around and crawling away! Even during diaper changes, Daphne crunches her head up and doesn’t want to lay flat.

There are lots of giggles these days, especially for tickles or for Eloise. We also got some giggles when I brushed Daphne’s teeth the other night. She has the sweetest little laugh!

Daphne is working on sounds and currently says: mama (but not in context), mimi, and nang nang (when she is hungry and bangs on her tray for more food). We are also working on signs with her (eat, more, milk, all done, please, and thank you) and Eloise has been really helpful in teaching her.

This girl loves food. Seriously loves. She eats anything and everything, and will eat until we cut her off. We keep a plate of her food on the table and then move pieces to her tray (or else so much of it will hit the floor) and she will bang on her tray and whine if she sees something on the plate that she wants to eat. But really, she loves (roasted) brussel sprouts and cauliflower as much as she loves kiwi and blueberries.

And here’s Eloise’s 37 week update.

Happy 37 weeks Daphne!

eloise {three-and-a-quarter years}

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{lion: jellycat via Nordstrom // top: Cat and Jack for Target // leggings: Cat and Jack for Target // socks: Cat and Jack for Target // watch: Timex}

{three-and-a-quarter years} Gosh, Eloise seems so much older than when she turned three just a few short months ago. Her communication and language skills are astounding. We are definitely dealing with some sass and some dreaded three-nager behavior, but Eloise is mostly just a sweet little one who is always skipping and singing a song. Aaron says “she always has a song in her heart” and it is SO true! She’s the master of mash-ups (like old-school Glee) and mixes up songs.

We still have bedtime meltdowns, but it comes in waves and is mostly manageable. The girls have staggered bedtimes now, with Daphne going down earlier, which I think helps. Then the focus is on Eloise. There is a pretty good routine regarding the things that need to be done (teeth and hair brushed, potty, jammies, two stories) but the order is up to Eloise for the most part. We also use her stories as “rewards” in the sense that bad behavior can lead to losing stories. Usually Eloise will lie in bed and read (look at books) and play around (like dress and undress in whatever she can find), sometimes for hours. Seriously, we do bedtime around 8 pm and some nights she is up until 10:30 or 11 when we go to bed!

One reason she is staying up so late (other than the fact that her wake-up time is still late at 8 am) is her afternoon nap. She was going down between 1:30 and 2 pm, but usually didn’t fall asleep until 3 or even 3:30 pm. And then we were expecting her to be sleepy and go to bed at 8? Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. So on the days that she wasn’t napping, we noticed she would fall asleep by 8:30 or so. Just in the past week or so, we have changed “nap time” to “rest time” and she goes down at 2 pm in her bed with books and I get her up around 3:30 pm. Some days she naps (and then is up late) but most days she (pretty) happily reads during this time. For me, this time is incredibly important because it is the only time when both girls are in their rooms and I have time for myself (usually its 90 minutes).

Eloise is still an amazing big sister. We are having more moments where Eloise is grabbing toys away from Daphne that she doesn’t want Daphne to have, but generally things are still very cordial. It is best if I can find some way for Eloise to help me or be a part of what I am doing with Daphne. Or else we get some jealousy for sure.

Right before we left for Mexico (like three weeks before) we decided it was time to night-time train Eloise. She was telling us that she wanted to wear underpants to bed and didn’t want to wear diapers anymore, and she wasn’t wearing diapers at nap time and was doing great! So, we sort of just went for it and told her that she could get up out of bed if she had to go potty, and we woke her up twice (once around 11 pm and another time around 2 am). Aaron was doing the middle-of-the-night wakeups because he can fall asleep so quickly whereas it would take me an hour to fall back to sleep! No bueno. And things were going so well. We had the occasional accident, but generally, it was so good. And we went to Mexico and planned on keeping the same structure. The first night went well. And then the second night when Aaron woke Eloise up, she had some kind of night terror or something and just was screaming and crying, for like 45 minutes, and would not sit on the potty. So we just calmed her down and put her back to bed. And the third night, the night terror happened again and she had a meltdown on the bathroom floor. So after that, we decided not to wake her up and see what happened. And she was great all night the rest of the trip!

And now that we are home again, we haven’t been waking her up at night and she has been mostly great! There are a few times she has had an accident because she either couldn’t get to the bathroom fast enough or was asleep and started peeing, but not even once a week I would say. The biggest thing we are dealing with on this front is that Eloise will not (WILL NOT) get out of bed on her own to use the potty. So she’s had an accident before because she is waiting in bed and calling for one of us to come and help instead of just getting up and going to the bathroom. It’s not the worst thing (because it also means she stays in bed during “rest time” and doesn’t suddenly appear in our room or upstairs during the night or early in the morning) but we are working on it.

Speaking of Mexico, Eloise is an amazing little traveler. She always has been, but this was a really long haul and to some place that was really very different than home. The flight was good and she only had one melt-down in all four flight legs. She napped, albeit not really a long time, but some. Once we got to the resort, she was friendly to the staff and even started speaking in Spanish, asking for her water (agua) and milk (leche) or saying please and thank you. And she had the BEST time with family. It was Aaron’s family from the midwest that we see only once per year and only for a short time when we do. So having a few days with everyone was huge for her, and she really enjoyed the company: lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Eloise is in her second year of pre-school (at the same school she was at last school year) and she LOVES it. Seriously. She goes Monday thru Thursday mornings and every single Friday (when she is home with me and Daphne) she asks if she can go to school. It used to make me a little sad, but now it makes me happy because she just loves her school and her friends and teachers so much! We are a little bummed that her school doesn’t do pre-K, so she will start at a new school next year (before she starts kindergarten the following year!) and we are just getting into the whole routine of applications and school tours. Gosh, there are so many different schools and boy is it expensive! But, I think we have it narrowed down to two and I hope we like them and they end up being a good fit.

And the newest rendition of Things Eloise Says:

Hanitizer: hand + sanitizer.

“Mama, I really like Daphne. She’s so cute!”

“I always drink coffee in the morning. And beer in the evening.”

Telling Aaron about (diaper pail) deodorizers: “Mama bought these to make the diaper pail feel better.”

In her room looking around: “Eloise what are you doing?” “I was just pondering.”

“The people on the bus say ‘thank you driver!'”

“What if the dish ran away with the spoon?”

“My boobies really hurt.” (Talking about nursing her doll, Stella.)

“Stella threw up three times in her car seat when we were at Natalie’s house. It was super stressful.” (This past spring Eloise was car sick and we stayed at an Airbnb house owned by a lady named Natalie.)

Grabs my hand: “We are going on a date! I am wearing lipstick and we are going on a date!”

“I don’t want to watch football. I want to watch appetizers (advertisements).”

“What do zebras say?” “Zzzz.”

Aaron falls asleep next to Eloise in her bed. He tries to get up after I go wake him up. “No, you are mine!”

Aaron leaves for work and Eloise comes back to the breakfast table after saying good-bye: “I am missing him.”

Mama: “When Daphne can sit better you can take a bath with her. Would you like that?” Eloise: “That would be perfect!”

“I am mad. I am sad. This is not my finest moment.” (In her book The Most Magnificent Thing, there is a part where it talks about the main character’s actions being “not her finest moment.”)

Trying to get a huge blanket into a little bag: “I need it to smoosh some more!”

“My belly feels better, but it feels a little aggressive.”

“Can you fix my straw in my water bottle Mama? It’s a little awkward.” (It was crooked in the bottle.)

“Where do pumpkins sleep at night? Do they sleep outside?”

Antennas: eye-tennies or eye-tenticles.

Papa: “Why didn’t I get purple shoes?” Eloise: “Because you are old. And stinky!”

“I have a baby in my belly. It is Mister Rogers.”

“I’m a Mama. I can do all the things.”

“This chair is woggoly Mama. It means it moves around a lot.”

{weight} 33 pounds (my guess); height: 37 inches

{hair} (reddish) brown.

{teeth} 20 teeth plus four molars.

{eyes} dark brown.

{clothes} some 3T, mostly 4T.

{diapers} NONE!

{feeding} during the day, three meals, (sometimes a) morning snack, & (sometimes an) afternoon snack. cup of milk with every meal.

{likes} singing, dancing, taking walks around the blocks, talking to the neighbors, Teddy the mailman, school and her friends, Daphne, coloring, yelling, Duplos, digging in the dirt, splashing, counting, any person outside on the sidewalk, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, coloring, buckles, jumping, watching out the front window (dogs, kids, trucks), books, mama & papa’s cell phone, FaceTime (but she always wants to hold the phone), bath time, shoes, mama’s (diaper) bag, putting things inside a bag or box, helping with anything & everything, when Papa comes home from work.

{dislikes} not being included, having something taken away from her, not eating when someone else is, being hungry, TimeOut.

{nicknames} Bug, Love Bug, Baby Bug, E, Wheezy, Kiddo, Love, Bugaboo, E-Lo or Elle.

Happy three-and-a-quarter years Eloise!

{I am only planning on doing quarterly updates thru this third year, and then I will switch to bi-annual or annual updates. It just seems like she is still changing so much this year, and also the blog feels very Daphne-heavy given her weekly and monthly updates.}

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daphne {week 36}

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{letterboard: Letter Folk (Poet) // onesie: babyGap (old) // jeans: babyGap (old) // socks: Cat and Jack for Target // hat: Etsy (old)}

{week 36} This week marks Daphne’s first cold. It was inevitable with a seemingly early and bad cold season along with Eloise in school with other toddlers. Germs. So many germs.

But, even the runny nose, cough, and raspyness, Daphne is still in pretty good spirits. We started running a humidifier in her room last night which seemed to help with her (small) cough, but even before then, she wasn’t up much more (like once or twice) in the night. Other than the constant wiping of her nose (thank goodness for Boogie Wipes guys – these are the best!) Daphne really only seems “sick” because she gets fussier when she would already be fussy. Does that make sense? Like she is much more frantic and fussy right before a nursing session and then also right before bed time when she is ready for her bottle. Those are times when she would be fussy anyways, it just seems to be slightly more since she has this cold. All-in-all not so bad and I am hoping we can get thru it this week!

Daphne, as I have been mentioning, is all over these days and scarcely where you leave her just seconds after putting her down. She is crawling (at rapid speed) over to the coffee table and couch where she then tries to pull herself up. She can always get to her knees, but can sometimes get to her feet too which is slightly terrifying… And just yesterday she started cruising along the coffee table with Aaron, holding on and walking her feet. Yikes! Guys, I am not ready for walking yet. Not even close.

And there is also pulling up happening in her crib once she wakes up. I think she gets stuck though and once she is up on her knees, she can’t figure out how to get back down into the crib, so there is often some hollering that happens. Plus, she is still wearing a sleep sack at night, so it makes crawling and pulling up slightly more difficult, though obviously doesn’t prevent it! I am just glad we lowered the crib mattress a few weeks ago.

Since we got winter weather starting on Friday (snow and freezing temps already!) I pulled out all of our cold weather clothes and accessories. Luckily, I saved so many of Eloise’s old coats and hats, so we are pretty good on that front. However, Daphne does not like keeping a hat on her head. She will immediately pull it off, so I am amazed that we got this week’s photo with her hat on! It should make this fall and winter interesting…

And lastly, clothing. I get so many questions about Daphne’s (and Eloise’s too) clothing. I always try to link the things the girls are wearing in their updates, but with Daphne you may have noticed that so much of what she has says “old.” That is because she basically is wearing all of E’s old clothes, so three years later, that particular piece of clothing isn’t available. But, to answer the question of where I shop, mostly it’s babyGap (always a sale!), Old Navy (runs small and also always a sale), Cat and Jack for Target (obsessed!), June and January, and Hanna Andersson (for jammies). I (really) try not to spend too much on clothes for the girls (hence using all of Eloise’s old clothes) because we are in the phase still where Daphne is just growing out of everything! I hate to spend money on something she will only wear once or twice. But, it’s so hard because there are so many cute things out there! I also love shopping small and supporting (mostly) woman-owned clothing lines, like The Dress Shop, Hadley Girl (bows), and Childhoods Clothing. In terms of style and just my preference, I stay away from anything branded, love anything with stripes, and try to get things that can be mixed and matched, so pretty neutral. (This is basically how I try to dress myself too.) And for shoes, at least when the girls were little, it is Freshly Picked moccasins all the way. Daphne has inherited all of Eloise’s old gold moccs and until she is really walking, I won’t get Baby D any other shoes. And for Eloise, we love See Kai Run, Old Navy (for boots), Bogs (for rain boots), and Cat and Jack for Target.

Happy 36 weeks Daphne!

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