Eleanor's First Steps!

Eleanor took her first steps today! It was only two steps, but hey a girl's gotta start somewhere! I'm sure she'll be walking across the room in no time!

First Day of School

Ringing the bell outside her school
Standing outside her new classroom
Putting her backpack in her cubby
Being welcomed by her teacher, Miss Jessie

Caroline had her first day of 3 year old preschool this morning! She was very excited, but also a little unsure. She had already met her teachers when they came to our house for a visit two weeks ago. Last week she went in to visit her classroom and see her teachers again, one on one before school started. Today though, was the first time she'd be in her classroom with all the other children, too. There are 15 children in her class, including her good friend, Amelia (or as Caroline still calls her, "Melia").  Even though she was acting a little shy, she did very well when we dropped her off.  When I picked her up though, she was really excited and said she had a great day. She did an apple craft with buttons, had animal crackers for snack and made a new friend named, Charlotte (she even named one of her baby dolls "Charlotte" this afternoon). After school, we went out for a pizza lunch to celebrate her first day of school!

Eleanor Grace at Almost 11 months

Sitting pretty at the Columbus Rose Garden
Busy crawling away from Mommy
Eleanor doing her "headstand"!
Holding "baby's" hand while sleeping.
Exploring the zoo with Daddy
Playing with her friend, Margeaux.

Eleanor is almost 11 months now! She is a busy girl, always laughing, "singing" and crawling after her sister. She pulls herself up on anything she can get her hands on and is beginning to cruise around furniture more. Today she even stood by herself for several seconds and will hold on to our hands and take a few steps! She is getting so big; it's hard to believe! Eleanor only gets two bottles a day now, one at her morning nap and one when she goes to bed at night. When she first wakes up and goes down for her morning nap, she gets her formula from a sippy cup. Hopefully by the time she is one and drinking milk, there will be no more bottles! Eleanor seems to love all kinds of food and is completely finished with baby food. She really enjoys yogurt and cheese, but also seems to really like cantaloupe, carrots, any kind of bread and especially LOVES her Cheerios! One of Eleanor's favorite activities is bath time. She gets to excited when we start the water, that she stands holding on to the side of the tub and screams with excitement until she is put in. Once she is in the tub, she enjoys trying to dive face first into the water, much to Mommy and Daddy's chagrin! Eleanor has also finally found a "lovie". She really loves a little bald baby doll that looks just like her. She'll fall asleep holding baby's hand in her crib. Now that Caroline is in preschool, Eleanor will be having her own little playgroup with 9 other babies every Friday morning. It will be nice for her to have her own group of friends now instead of always tagging along after Caroline and her friends!

Pretty soon our baby will be one year old! You know me, the birthday party plans are already in the works! Stay tuned!

Patterns

The other day I was leaving the Y with Caroline and grabbed some fliers on the way out. Caroline asked if she could hold the papers, so I gave them to her. When we got to the car, I told her I would take them, so she could climb in. She said she "wasn't finished yet"  and then said "I have to do something with them." Then a few seconds later she handed me the papers and said, "Look, Mommy! I made a pattern! Pink, yellow, pink, yellow!" I thought it was pretty funny, considering that I didn't even realize that I had two pink papers and two yellow papers and that she thought to put them in a pattern order.  She is always surprising me!

Zoo with Friends

Caroline and her friend, Clara
The whole family
Caroline and her "pal", Bryan
The whole crew
Declan and Eleanor
Little Miss Attitude
Did you not believe me? I said Little Miss Attitude! (One day we'll laugh at this!)

On Sunday, we went to the zoo with several of our friends. Although it was very hot, the kids had a great time looking at the animals. Caroline was particularly interested in the bats and the tarantula (Yuck! But good for her!). 

Cleveland with Nana and Papa

Caroline and her Papa
Cousins Ireland and Eleanor-just one month apart!
Eleanor and her Papa
Nana and Eleanor
Fun with Nana and Papa
Peek-a-boo!
Caroline and the babies
Aunt Kristin and Eleanor
Aunt Rita and Eleanor
Caroline with her godmother, Aunt Rita

While in Ohio, we also visited the girls' Nana and Papa in Cleveland. They had a great time seeing their Nana and Papa, Aunt Rita, Aunt Audrey and Aunt Kristin and their cousin Ireland. Caroline got to play with her favorite canine, Kelsey, and her little buddy Matthew (Mommy's friend's son) at the park. Mommy even got a couple nights out while the girls played with Nana, Papa and Aunt Rita. It was a great escape from the TX heat as well as a treat to see all our loved ones in Cleveland!

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Columbus

Grandma and Grandpa took the girls to the Franklin Conservatory
Franklin Conservatory Butterfly Exhibit

Columbus Rose Garden with Grandma

At the Columbus Zoo with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa and Caroline really liked the tigers...
and the statue of the Kimono dragon!
Exploring at COSI (Columbus Science Museum) with Mommy and Grandma

Eleanor Gracie checking out what's going on outside, while Mommy and Caroline are playing hopscotch!

We have been visiting Caroline and Eleanor's Grandma and Grandpa is Columbus for the past week and a half. The girls have been very busy exploring the city including visits to COSI (Columbus Science Museum), Graeters ice cream store, Franklin Conservatory and Columbus Zoo, along with visits to the local park and several restaurants. We had a great time seeing Grandma and Grandpa's new home city as well as spending some quality time with the girls' grandparents/my parents! We look forward to spending more time trying out more things in Columbus on our next visit.