Morning with the Girls

Elly wanted to change the music away from Bob Dylan -- the next song was Jim Croce. I told her who it was and asked her if she knew anyone else named "Jim." Her eyes lit up: "Jim-Nastics!"

Gemma came up to dance with me, held her hands up and Elly said, "She's marrying you! Gemma can be the groom and you can be the bride. ---Posted by Jud

Colds and Warms

Elly's Dad says, "You look a little pale, Eleanor -- a little flushed. I'm not feeling too well either. I think I'm coming down with a cold."
Elly answers, "I think I'm coming down with a warm."

Learning to Walk in Michigan

Poor Ms. Gemma got sick over our stay in Michigan (note the pink cheeks). But she was a real trooper. She focused on developing her walking skills. By the time we returned to Maine, walking had become her primary mode of locomotion.

We're Inseparable!

From our newest poet to her mother when putting her to bed:

"We're Inseparable.
Like Zach and Wheezy ----(A two headed Dragon)
Like the Walrus and the Carpenter -----(Alice in Wonderland)
Like Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle Dee
Like You and ME!"


The picture is misleading, but I could find no decent pictures of me and Eleanor.

A Very Jasmine Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas in Michigan, travelling via MINH (our mini-van) with Jud driving through the night in both directions. Eleanor's top two requests for Santa were a Jasmine Barbie and Jasmine costume, and here she is in all her glory.

It's Destructive

Putting Eleanor to bed tonight. Sometimes her cd player skips and the music sounds strange. As I leave the room tonight she asks me to turn the music off because, "It's destructive". After turning off the music, Eleanor asks me, "Did you turn the music off?" I said that I had and she continues, "Why?"

Little Miss Director

Eleanor likes tries to take control when she can. We had a long bedtime stretch tonight. After teeth, stories, a drink of water, changing Gemma's pj's to match Elly's, and two trips to the potty, I was leaving to put Gemma to bed. Eleanor asked for just one more drink of water. When I said no and started to say she had already had plenty of opportunities, she interrupted with, "Momma, no talking! This is not a talking room, this is a drinking room."

Here is a picture of the two in the bath - very decent with all parts covered. Gemma is on my lap smiling at herself and her sister in the picture as I write.

Your Momma

Eleanor is way into familial relationships. She is frequently asking "Momma, who is your momma?" and so on and so forth to the nth degree. She has these relationsips pretty well figured out. For Thanksgiving today, we went over to Nana's for an amazing Thanksgiving dinner. When we later decided to go bowling with the kids, Nana volunteered to stay home with Gemma. As we are leaving in the van, Eleanor comments that, "Dadda, Gemma is staying home with your momma."

We had a great time eating, bowling, and playing today. Both girls adore their cousins, Boo and Tris.


Famili

Mush Veil

Eleanor calls Gemma's baby food "mush". She can't stand the stuff and will gag and at times throw up at the site of the baby food. Pleasant, I know. Makes it tough to feed both girls at once. We were trying to speed up the process today and asked Eleanor, "Do you think you'll throw up if we feed Gemma mush?" She said yes, so I proposed we needed a "mush veil". She instantly exclaimed, "I DON'T NEED A MUSH VEIL! What is a mush veil?"

Gemma now has a little tooth emerging on her top jaw. So, with just these two little tooth buds, she has learned to grind her teeth. Yikes. It is quite a sound!

Quote of the Day

Eleanor says the funniest things and does so with such frequency, that I can never recall what she has said. So, over the next week, I will post an Eleanor quote for each day. I wasn't home most of today, but listening over the monitor tonight while Jud was trying to get her back into bed after she got up to use the bathroom for at least fourth time I heard:

"Dad, I don't need help. I'm a big girl. I need my privacy".

Poor Gemma has been up nights coughing and "horking". But, Dad to the rescue - Here you see her rocked soundly asleep. What an angel.

When I grow Up

Last night it was, "what do you want to be when you grow up, Eleanor?"
"I want to have five jobs."
"Five!"
"Doctor, Princess, Mermaid, Pirate..."
She pauses to think. Knows that she's only listed four.
"Arista."
(Anoter mermaid.)

Swinging

The girls are as much fun as ever, but have been particularly busy lately. I've overheard Nana referring to Eleanor as "Hurricane Eleanor" and this is an apt name. Her language and thinking processes are just taking off. She is so entertaining. It would take me more than every waking minute to properly write down all the funny things this girl says. And meanwhile, she would be wrestling Ms. Gemma to the ground and fighting over a toy she truly didn't care about until Gemma started playing with it.

El always goes to sleep with a pile of books in her bed. She reads them, and then throws them over the side when she's done. She's very opinionated about what books she does or does not want each night. I know she's still awake when I am still hearing them clunk to the floor every couple of minutes. We bought some books at a library book sale. One was a Golden Book version of the Christmas Story. I guess the illustrations were not interesting enough to her. Tonight, when I was handing her books, she threw the book over the side saying, "I don't like Jesus".

Gemma is still just a joyful little girl. Several nights ago, she discovered they joys of sleeping on her tummy. I'm hoping this will revolutionize our sleeping schedule. It is desperately in need of a makeover. Tonight, she fell asleep cuddling with me positioned literally cheek to cheek. You gotta love these moments.

Lately, Gems has been having a lot of fun imitating others. She plays peekaboo using a curtain, gives razzes when you ask, and will even clap. Today, I realized she was imitating me chewing bubble gum. I kept opening her mouth to see what was there, but nothing was. I realized that she was mimicking my chewing motion as I chewed my gum.

Here are some pictures of the girls doing one thing they can have fun doing together.

"Evil" for short...

I was just putting Eleanor up to bed for quiet time. We were lying on the floor, having just read the tale of Two Bad Mice, which she very much appreciated. I said, “well, I'd better go downstairs and get to work.” “Can we make believe this is your work?” she asked. “Sure” I said. “Do you sleep at work?” “No.” “Why?” “You can't sleep and work at the same time.” She thought about it and I guess she must've said she was going to make believe it was HER work. So I said, “What do you do for work?” “I work at evil Wal-Mart. For Dresses. We call it 'Evil' for short.”

Halloween and more...

So much going on with the two little ones. Halloween was such fun with our little Beauty and the Beast.

Gemma's first tooth broke through the day before Halloween. Since then, she has been sleeping much better - thank goodness. This little girl is a mover! She loves to stand and dance - her whole body shaking up and down. Today, she did her crazy little dance for five seconds without holding on to anything today.

Eleanor's language brings humor to everyday life. Jud and I overheard her talking to her cousin, Tris. He was talking about Halloween parties and Eleanor's voice chimes in clearly, "Speaking of which" and segues into her typical talk about planning her birthday party (in March). Today, when I turned off the music in the van before "her" song was done, she shouts out, "Momma, your broke my heart".

Late Nights with Gemma

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Gemma and her mom often don't get good quality time until after big sister Eleanor is in bed. Gems is quite a ham and loves to stand up on anything. She has a habit of pulling the carpet up and trying to eat the little pieces of whatever (dirt, hair, leaves - yum) that collects under there. She knows I don't approve, and you can see she looks guilty in this shot.

Fall is Patriots Season...and pizza...

Eleanor and Jud make a mean pizza from scratch for Patriot's viewing. Some chef's add aprons or other apparel in order to keep their clothes clean. Eleanor has an alternate way to keep her clothes clean. (I'm surprised it hasn't caught on with the late night televised cooking shows.)

Growing into the role

Being a big sister has not come naturally to Eleanor, but she is really starting to enjoy the role. She has learned to stop Gemma from crying by playing "Peek a Boo". She also knows which toys Gemma likes and will bring them when asked (usually). She'll push Gemma in her swing outside. Today, it broke my heart to see her assuming the role of big sister by gently holding Gemma in the wagon as we picked apples in an orchard. What a sweety.

Chesire Cat Princess

I don't know about everyone else, but Alice in Wonderland is a big hit in our home. For awhile, Eleanor would run around saying "I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date..." I must say, with all her quick dashing she did a smashing impression of the white rabbit.
When we went to the Arts festival last weekend, Eleanor had her face painted to look like a cat. When asked what color stripes she wanted, she replied, "Purple, so I can be the Chesire cat."(Of course Chesire sounds remarkably like Treasure coming from Eleanor, but most adults still understand the reference.) At the next arts activity, Eleanor decorated a crown and declared herself "The Chesire Cat Princess". And here she is, though the paint is a bit faded as I had to wait till I got home to get a snapshot. I never seem to have my camera when I really need it.

A Justin Timberlake Fan?

I remember the first time Eleanor crawled forward. It was at Grandma Eleanor's house in Michigan. She needed some real incentive, something she really loved to get her moving. For Eleanor, it was the TV remote. Several nights ago, Jud and I watched Gemma crawl forward for the first time to reach the Justin Timberlake picture on the cover of Rolling Stone. And, she's off. Wish us luck...

7 months

Tomorrow, Gemma is 7 months old. Time really flies. She's still a smiley little girl, though she prefers to be cuddled while sleeping or becomes grouchy. Her language is limited to "da-da", playing with other random syllables, and making razzes. She sits very independently and lunges forward, but no major crawling. She will pull herself to standing when a good support is around and loves to jump in her "Johnny Jump Up." As you can see, Gemma is now taking baths in the big girl tub with her sister, who willingly dowses her sister even without a request. Foods are still pretty limited - baby food of the fruit in veggie type along with nursing. But we're not rushing her.
Many happy memories of this little one in the past 7 months. Happy Month Day Gemster!