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Two interesting factors at play:

1.  The kids often don’t like when I work out because they would prefer I stay home and play with them.  Natalie asks why I need to exercise and I’ve said, it keeps me healthy and it makes me feel good.  One of Natalie’s friend’s mom had a similar situation and she said she responds with, “So I can stay alive a really long time.”  I tried answering with that, and Natalie got concerned.

2.  And then, we watched Cinderella, where both of her parents die.  So, Natalie has been increasingly concerned about death.  A few nights ago, she was crying, she was so worried about it.  I tried to explain it on a continuum, where my arms were stretched out.  And showed her that she is just starting, I’m a little older, Grandma/Nana are older than that and Mammaw/Pappaw/Grandma Jean or even older than that.  (But that’s okay because they’ve had a chance to live all those years.)  She is continuing to grapple with it -two nights ago, and then today during church, she asked one of us how long we were going to live and stretched out her arms.

That brings me to yesterday.  When I explained I was going to exercise during Elliott’s nap, Natalie said “I don’t want you to work out – I want you to be here with me.”  When I reminded her that it keeps me healthy so I can live a long time, she responded to her Dad then, with a very worried look on her face…. “Dad, you don’t really work out as much as Mom does.”  And Jordan agreed that he could exercise more.

Now, today, I left to go on a run (at a new elevated running path – www.the606.org – 2 miles south of here).  Jordan told me that while I was gone, she asked, “Dad will you be sure to exercise today?”

I’m happy to report that this afternoon, Jordan went to the roof deck for some high intensity interval training.  Talk about effective motivation.  Maybe she has a future in personal training or motivational speaking…

Now, lunge to the left…

Natalie’s last day of 4AM-3 was on Wed, June 3.  She is very excited about starting JK in the fall already and is interested in the fact that its afternoon, not morning.  She has asked me, “Will I be A LOT taller when I’m in JK?”

Four years old doesn’t get much sweeter than this (photo credits to our amazing nanny Alison – thank you A!)…..
That two year old beside her is pretty sweet too.  Also, you may not realize it, but these outfits are hand-selected by each kid.

Natalie – Although blue is no longer her favorite color, it was when she was 2 – when her Dad first bought this dress for her.  It’s been resurrected because Natalie realized on her Dad’s birthday, that he would really like if she wore “his favorite dress”.  She also knew it would be a warm day, so a sundress is right.  Her favorite shoes are very well worn silver shoes because her best friend Noula had silver shoes.   Two different colored Hello Kitty socks are underneath.  And coral and pink nailpolish adorn her finger nails.

Elliott – Fire truck shirt.  He has two because I cannot possibly do the wash fast enough to meet his needs.  His shoes and socks are blue.  And underneath that, so are his toenails (which I did just need to re-paint today.)

Also, for reference, here is Natalie around the start of the school year.  I don’t recall whether she let me take a picture in front of the school, but it didn’t make it on the blog.  This one, however, was posted on her cubby all year long, so it brings a smile to my face.

And for today’s lesson….

We’ve had a super fun and crazy busy Saturday – from checking out a new park in the neighborhood (dubbed “blue park” or “blue and green park” by Elliott – can you tell what his favorite colors are?), to going to our friend Taylor’s 4th birthday party, to a post-party trip to the bookstore.  In the midst of all the activity (which I was hoping would result in an early bed time for 2 out of 2 kids – but only worked for 1 out of 2), there were so many cute moments – I’ve already forgotten some.  And I won’t be able to do it justice.  My inserted pics don’t match the stories, but let’s be honest – what’s a blog post with cute adorable pictures of our 2 and 4 year old!

Party Time.  Taylor’s party was at a kids gym – super fun.  I’m not sure how her parents are going to top it for #5.  While eating cake (yeah! Nat’s fav part of a party), she excitedly told the “gym teacher” – “And guess what!? NEXT weekend, I get to go to Green Bay for a wedding.  And see my Grandma.  Its Rachel’s wedding!!!!”  And he responded, “Oh girl…. your calendar is CRAZY!”  Perfect response to a 4-year-old hyped up on sugar.  So, yes, we’re obviously excited about the wedding of my younger cousin Rachel next weekend!  Natalie has already started planning what nail polish she is going to wear.

Here are the 50 states – why is Illinois represented by this old guy? (aka Abe Lincoln) Btw, Natalie has been to 8 states – IL, WI, IN, MI, TN, NC, FL, PA. Not bad for a 4 yr old.

CHEESE! Park time!

Bed time tonight.  Elliott picked out a Daniel Tiger book at the bookstore, which I was only too happy to indulge, considering I’ve read “Everybody Poops” multiple times a day for a couple weeks now.  During the story, Daniel is said because he cannot help his Dad use power tools.  I asked Elliott, “What can you do to help someone who is sad?”  He thought for a moment, while he played with RoRo.  I thought he would come up with “RoRo kiss” (which is how Elliott self soothes when he has a boo boo) or “hug”.  Instead, he said “Mama” – as in, go get his Mom to help him.  Aww…. a little boy after my own heart.  Done.

Aw, its okay Baby Ellie…. (Yes, that’s Natalie’s Baby Ellie – Natalie sometimes shares)

Some may call me a puzzler…. I can assemble this bus in 90 seconds flat

(Big Sister Natalie is the big influencer on puzzles – and thanks to Nana for getting Elliott transportation puzzles.  I never would have guessed he could do them at age 2!)

We have been monitoring the fluid in Elliott’s ears for 75% of his life…. he’s had a few ear infections (luckily, only one this past winter), but we’re in the doc’s office every month, checking the ear fluid.  And he always has fluid – at least its clear.  At our doctor’s suggestion, we finally made an appointment with an ENT, who recommended ear tubes and a speech evaluation.

At 26 months, he knows about 140 words.  He is motivated by what he loves: mine, blue, green, poo poo truck, fire truck, dump truck, Yo Ho (Jake and the Neverland Pirates), Dog, Daniel Tiger, RoRo, No, O’s, All Done, Downstairs, No pants are some of the highlights.  The longest string of words he’s every put together is “My blue and green car” when reading a Berenstain Bears Race Car book.

He especially seems to have trouble with his own name and “I love you” – neither of which have strong consonant sounds, obviously.  Whenever I say “I love you,” he answers back with “dan que Mom” (thank you Mom), which is incredibly gratifying.

No interesting pics to share about fluid in the ears, so here are pics of Elliott just being his awesome little stuff!  (Also, our host blog website has changed some of its technical features, so sorry for the extremely large pictures all clustered at the end.  I’m not willing to invest the time to figure out an alternative right now – I’m just trying to get back into blogging, after an extreme dry spell.)

Upon first glance, you may think this is Natalie’s preschool room… but its mine too, from 9 – 9:15am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when Mom and I drop her off

Mr. Singer + sitting on my Mom’s lap = Happy Boy! (I love when Nat is at preschool!)

Yes! My first time with the beater!!!! This is delicious. Why have you been holding out on me, Ma?!? (Confession from Mom – Nat always gets it first)

Looks can be deceiving. It may look like a sunny day, but let me tell you – I was the only one wearing rain boots when the rain unexpectedly came 2 hours early. Boo yah!

Mom, why are you chasing after me, taking pics of the back of my head? (Mom’s answer: I’m literally OBSESSED with those curls. They look different everyday. I hope he doesn’t need a haircut til he’s 5.)

We celebrated Jordan’s 34th birthday this past week.  My parents gave him some early bday presents (including his fav beer – Spotted Cow) the prior weekend.  The day before, Jordan’s parents and brother’s family came over for dinner and a very special birthday cake – chocolate cake, with peanut butter frosting, and lots of amazing decorations!  In following with birthday tradition, Natalie insisted on birthday waffles, although Jordan quietly passed on them, given the gluttonous prior evening.

Ooo… let’s help Dada!

I’ve been lucky to spend 12 of the 13 birthdays in which I’ve known Jordan with him.  Samples include: 23rd – spelunking in a cave in Kentucky, 26th – surprise party with Kellogg friends at Tilli’s in Lincoln Park (now closed and re-opened as a different restaurant), 29th – Indy 500 race when it was 90+ degrees and I was secretly pregnant (not secret from Jordan – but secret from everyone else since I was less than 3 months), 30th – birthday party in Indy generously hosted at the Bolings and included Jordan’s 30 favorite things…. But the ones of most recent, although less extravagant, are amazingly awesome, as it is a privilege to celebrate Jordan not only as a husband/friend but as the world’s best dad.  It’s so fun to see the kids – particularly – Natalie so excited to celebrate with him.

Another humorous contrast over the years…. the first time I gave Jordan a birthday present, it was for his 22nd birthday – and I mailed him a set of martini glasses.  This year, I surprised him with a nice area rug for the living room – and I think he was equally excited for both.  (Selection credit goes to Nana – thanks for your help in picking and transporting!)

Click to see last year’s birthday pictures – super cute (Jordan too, but he looks about the same – it’s mostly amazing to see how much littler they were a year ago!) ones: http://linvilleusa.com/2014/06/4248/

At 2 years, 2 months, Elliott is in prime time cuteness.  There’s so much I could share, but since my binge blogging this weekend is the first time I’ve posted in 2 months, I figured I’ll just share some cute pics and random stories.

So, how adorable is that baseball hat?  Unfortunately, it only lasted 3 minutes, but maybe I can build up his endurance, especially since his hair is so light and not very thick for these summer months.  (But you gotta love those curls, right?!?  I’m OBSESSED.)  Speaking of obsession, one of Elliott’s obsessions is ketchup.  Have you ever tried it on broccoli or apples?  If not, Elliott would highly recommend it.

Yum – ketchup

A second obsession… Elliott loves all things transportation – when he wakes up early in the morning, his favorite is to grab a cup of O’s and have me read him a truck book book on the couch.  He is always listening for the Metra train outside our house.  Two weeks ago, he insisted Allison take him on the train multiple days in a row.  And, just on Saturday, he got to visit the Museum of Science and Industry with Grandpa and Dad (while the girls were at the Cinderella movie.)  Jordan said they had to stop by the trains (see below) 3x.

Trains, trains and more trains

This face is hereditary – my mom, Natalie, Elliott and I all do it.  Its our thinking face – when we’re not quite sure the answer or aren’t immediately able to make a decision.  This leads me back to his 3rd – 5th obsession…. his O’s cup, the color blue and the color green.  (All captured in the blue and green o-cup in the bottom of this pic.)

Hmmm…. let me think about that

Another obsession…. time with Mama.  I cannot say I mind.  (Unless, he’s hanging off my leg when I’m trying to leave the house to go for a run.)  Most often, the obsession feeling is mutual.  He gives the absolute best “Mama, you’re home from work!!!!!!” hugs I could ever ask for.  When I walk up the stairs, he runs at me full speed and throws his arms around me.  If I could only bottle some of that for when he is 8 – or 18 – and isn’t quite as (outwardly) excited to see me.

Mama, why did you let me miss my nap today? I can barely stay awake for this boat trip

(This little sneaky face is after he snatched Grandma’s phone this weekend.)

I am so lucky to be this boy’s mama!!!

Natalie almost never takes naps any more, but she took one today – which means she is having trouble falling asleep.  She asked me to lay with her for awhile tonight –  its fun to hear what she thinks about.  Tonight, “Why do we have earwax?”  (I didn’t know the answer to this – I promised her I’d look it up and let her know tomorrow.  Wikipedia explains that its 20-50% fat and it coats the ear canal to moisturize it, fight off infection and help keep dust, dirt and other debris from getting deep inside our ears.)

This girl is such a cutie – so much style and personality, which is often creative, often sweet but also short tempered, especially if an “injustice” has occurred (e.g. her twerpy little bro taking a magna tile from her.)  I’m so lucky to be her mama.

You’re never fully dressed without a smile…. and leggings, and a wrap turned into a scarf, and wrist scarfs and slippers….

And your nails painted…

…and some good dance moves on the roof top

Princesses for a Day

You may be wondering what could have led to this lovely picture.  Let me back up…. Potty training is one of my least favorite parts of parenthood.  As Natalie approached her 4^th birthday last December – more than a year after we started potty training – she had another serious regression of a #2 being in her pants every single day for 3-4 months.  No matter what we tried.  Positive verbal encouragement.  Immediate incentive of gum or a sucker.  A chart with stickers.  A longer-term incentive ((e.g. an Elsa doll after a week of dry and clean undies – which she did with no problem, only to re-start the accidents 1-2 months later and saying “Maybe if you give me an Anna doll, I’ll stop popping in my pants again.). Shaming.  Peer pressure.  You name it, I tried it.

So, after 4 months, I decided to go for a really long-term incentive – 21 days to make a habit, right?  I knew she wanted to see the Cinderella movie, so 3 weeks of dry and clean undies (every day in a row), and we’d get to go.  She made it 5 days the first time, had an accident and we started again.  She made it 3 weeks then, but then had an accident and when I tried to talk to her about it, she refused.  So, I said that if it happens again, we have to talk about it.  And, knock on wood, nothing yet.

I did it!

My mom has wanted to be at Natalie’s first movie theatre movie for more than 3 years now – I think she let her interest be known back when Natalie was 1.  She has very found memories of my first movie – Pinocchio – where I shouted out at the end, “He’s a real boy!” and the whole theatre giggled and/or said “ah”.  Given Natalie’s 5-day setback, we weren’t able to see the movie when my mom visited over Easter.  So, we had to wait until the next visit – Memorial weekend.  (Unfortunately, for us, the movie is no longer showing in Chicago, but luckily, we had the option of Glenview and LaGrange!)

Natalie also invited Nana (who was delighted to come) and Allison (our nanny – who unfortunately couldn’t – she’s 21, so I swear, she is celebrating someone’s birthday every weekend – I could never keep up!)  As an extra treat, Natalie had the idea of doing a girls makeover prior to the movie.

Nails first!

Close your eyes, Grandma

And, Nana – who doesn’t have too many girls around – also shared the idea of dressing up!  Not a problem for Natalie – she already has a Cinderella dress.  Since my mom, Nana and I don’t have adult sized Cinderella dresses, so she made us princess skirts!  As Nana said, “this is the stuff memories are made of!”

Makeover selfie!

Needless to say, we had a wonderful time.  Natalie was, quite literally, on the edge of her seat….

Where in the world is Elliott?  You’ll never guess….

(Funny enough – none of these are due to a game of hide and seek.  It’s all an attempt at avoiding my requests….)

There's no way I'm putting on a diaper!

She'll never know I snatched my O's

Once again, if she cannot find me, she cannot dress me.

There's no way you're putting a shirt on me!

My mom will never know I stole her lip gloss.

I'm just not ready to go to the car yet

Why does my mom always want me to put on clothes after a bath?

I'm not ready to go for a nap

Happy 2^nd Birthday, Elliott!

Stats update after Doctor’s Appointment
Weight: 30 lbs, 3 oz. (75th percentile)
Length: 35.5 inches (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 20.25 inches (95th+ percentile)

Elliott had a fun birthday!  It started with breakfast waffles, courtesy of Chef Dad.  It was followed by opening up an assortment of truck presents – a mid-size John Deere tractor, a hand-held Fire Engine from the Cars franchise (which results in Elliott’s most syllables ever said – “fire engine truck”), and two truck books, with wheels.  Then, we dropped off Natalie at preschool, where he waited quietly to figure out how he could reach his favorite El trains, given that a little boy was blocking the path.  Then, we accompanied one of his favorite friends Austin (who we just found out is moving to CA soon! :() to the Nature Museum.  I had to go to work after this, so our wonderfully amazing nanny Alison took the kids to the grocery for cake supplies – and Natalie and Alison decorated the house in a truck theme for his Saturday birthday.  Finally, Dad grilled steak for dinner (meat is a fav food of E’s) and they opened up a red scooter!!!  Natalie taught him how to use it.  Upon me getting home, he needed me to sit at the kitchen table and watch them go around.  And, he also brought the scooter up to his room and “tucked” it in by putting a blanket over it.

Drive, drive, drive

Elliott is a super fun 2-year-old who can communicate a lot, despite few words.

Vocabulary.  Mama, Dada, Nat, Ssss, truck, tar (“guitar”), O’s, god (for dog), fire truck, hat, up, no, mine, car, blue, green, one, two… its late, I’m forgetting the others.  He’s supposed to know 80-100 words, with 50% understood by people outside of our immediate family.  It’s still in stark contrast to Natalie’s singing her ABCs and half-sentences, but he seriously is adding words (and combination of words) everyday.

Favorite Toys.  Trucks and Cars lead the way, followed by dogs and princesses.  Nana and Pop got him a Chicago fire engine that plays the theme song from Chicago Fire, a popular TV show that I’ve never seen.  He especially likes vehicles where he can open up the doors, so we just brought him a wooden truck from Aruba with 4 doors that open – and a trunk.  On the same end, he also likes playing with and taking care of Natalie’s princesses and dolls, as well as dressing up in her hats and a tutu.  I suspect that may dissipate over the next year or two.  He also loves throwing balls.

Favorite Books.  Similar to his favorite toys, his favorite books are about cars and dogs.  He loves to read the Disney Car books (we have 2 – one long one, one short one) about Lightening McQueen and seem to particularly like Mater’s wheel.  He also loves Biscuit the dog books – Biscuit goes to the Beach, Biscuit’s Valentine’s Day, Biscuit’s Halloween.  Oh, and Richard Scary’s book about the Pickles family going on a picnic.  He is very good at finding Goldbug!

Favorite Games. His favorite game is a pop-up Princess Castle game, which Natalie got for Christmas.  There are 4 princesses – from the start, his favorite has been Aurora.  When Natalie and I play the game, he gets the two remaining princesses and often hide them in different areas of the castle.  However, he also likes to knock them down, give them a kiss and then start the silly game all over.

Favorite Activities.  He loves to draw.  Marker is his favorite medium.  He likes to swim – he tries really hard at swim class.  He likes to go to the Nature Museum and climb around.  He really likes sitting in trucks or cars – whether it be on Poppy’s lap in a real car or in a toy car that they gave you for your birthday.  He loves to play “Spoonful of Sugar” (the Mary Poppins clean-up song) and run around the living room – but only if Natalie will join him.  He gets so upset when she is in a bad mood and won’t.  He loves playing a guitar, singing a tune, stomping his feet.  Never mind that his guitar is currently his sister’s pink Minnie guitar.  He also loves jumping on the bed and rough housing – I love when he runs from far away, full force into me and I tip back with him in my arms and then we rock back up together.

CHEESE!!!

Favorite Friends.  When I ask if you want to play with Austin (the little brother of one of Natalie’s classmates), his immediate response is “Trucks”.  He plays with Everett, also a little brother, and his cousin Clayton.  But his best friend is Natalie – he wakes up asking about her and goes to bed, asking to jump in her bed.

Can I sleep in Natalie's bed tonight?

Favorite Foods.  He has a morning concoction of O’s, raisins, craisins, oatmeal squares and crackling oat bran (if I’ll indulge you in filling up your little to-go snack cup with all those) is a favorite.  He is a meat lover – steak, chicken, sausage, etc.  He also likes strawberries and bread.  His palate is broader with Alison – she claims he eats red peppers and maybe even zucchini.

Favorite Sleepy Time Items.  It’s really a cadre of bedtime items.  The top of the list is RoRo, his lovey that Natalie gave him when he was less than a day old. He also has a leopard lovey.  He likes to sleep on top of a Lightening McQueen pillow that Grandma gave him, with his left arm wrapped around a rather large Hello Kitty.  There is usually an assortment of other cuddly items in bed, ranging from small Hello Kitties (yes, these are all courtesy of Natalie) to a little boy, which we bought after Elliott took such good care of Natalie’s little girl “Cutie Pie”.

Nicknames: E-Man, Boody, Boody Shaker, El, and Elli-O.

When he was younger, we used to described Elliott as laidback.  We have changed our mind on that – he definitely has strong opinions, often when it comes to something he and his sister both want to play with.  Instead, I would describe Elliott as: loveable (his hugs and kisses are AMAZING), joyful (he finds happiness in so many things), kind (he puts his cup up when he’s done drinking milk and helps me find my shoes, as well as share kisses when someone is hurt), and humorous (he plays tricks and teases, even though he can only 1-2 words at a time!).   Your dad described Elliott as loving, rough and gentle, flirty, mischievous, excitable and helpful.