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I wish every weekend was a 4 day weekend!!  Besides our trip to MI, we went to the awesome Hinsdale 4th of July parade (sorry – no pics on my phone) and also had a chance to play with our good friend Molly. Natalie calls her My Molly!  We hadn’t seen Molly in awhile and Natalie definitely needed her Molly fix.  Last Tues, she woke up asking to see Molly.

All Aboard! Let’s go to the Park!

Molly Girl, you know how to carry a bucket!  Good idea – let’s go pour water on your Dad’s head!

Our Dads are just so strong!

We are blessed to have such good friends live so close to us.  And, I’m stoked that Molly will be a Big Sister to a little brother in December. 🙂  I’m sure Natalie and Molly will be exchanging big sister tips soon… and Elliott will be excited to fill Baby B in on what he missed between March & Dec.

Although it goes against my Wisconsin blood, we went on a short vacation in Michigan.   Nana, Pop and Issy kindly invited us to a house by Lake Michigan… obviously, the good company won out over my trepidation with a vacation in MI. (Grammar gurus Daniele & Dina… did I use the word trepidation correctly?)

Is Lake MI an ocean?

Natalie also loved the blow up toys and Poor Man’s beach toys!  Natalie is very into imaginary play… we added cinnamon, carrots, potatoes and peanut butter and jelly to make a very yummy stone soup.

Here, let me dish you up a ladle of stone soup.

You had me at homemade ice cream….

(Oddly enough, the house we were staying in had an unexpected showing… the potential buyers came in while Jordan and I were on a run, leaving Nana and Natalie in the middle of making ice cream and Nana and Elliott playing.  I feel bad they were unexpectedly interrupted – and consider my and Jordan’s timing very timely!)

We did our best to keep Elliott out of the sun but he still managed to come home full of sand.

Ready for the beach!

Elliott continues to be a dream baby… he was good in the car and good about sleeping on the go, even at the beach.  Jordan and I often talk about how we hit the baby jackpot.  (With both of our kids!)

I am still partial to WI but who can argue with an 1.5 hr drive?!?

Natalie drew a circle and wrote M and N! The M was an attempt to write and N, I think, and started from right to left. I am still thrilled nonetheless!

Ps. Some of our fav pics from last June!

Just some random cute pics from today…

This is chasing Natalie to church this morning. She would stop to look back and make sure I was coming.

No Mommy! Don’t chase me! (real quote said in a teasing tone)

Ah! You got me! No more kisses!!

Elliott likes when you move his arms/shoulders back and forth while singing. He lights up. I was trying to capture the full smile but I only have two hands. The plight of a mother.

Sing again please!

And here is a pic Natalie took:

If I look tired its bc I am! 6 am
Wake up call after getting up 2-3x the night before. Where did Elliott’s 7 ht stretches of sleep go?!?

Natalie is now 2 and a half (which she will tell you sometimes, too cute).  She turned 2.5 on Elliott’s 3-mo “birthday,” but her doc appt wasn’t until the next week, so here it goes!

Height/Weight: 32 lbs (75th percentile, down from the 90th percentile at the 2-yr appt) / 35.5 inches (50th percentile).

Don’t you just love the outfit she wore to the doc’s office for her check-up?  A crown – which she got at school for her friend’s birthday.  Her special “NanaPop” dress shoes (guess who bought them?)  She was extremely excited to go to the doc’s office – in part because we read Corduroy goes to the Doctor before we went.  When I picked her up from preschool, she asked if we could go to the doctor’s office “right now”.  She also asked why we had to leave at the end of the appointment.

Ha - my crown looks especially silly in this silly mirror!

Personality: Silly.  Incredibly Enthusiastic.  Opinionated.  Caring.  Outgoing.

Favorite Activities: Riding bikes at school or with Dad.  Playing with water (swimming,water balloons, etc.)  Walking on “balance beams” (aka any porch or ledge).  Baking (and eating the fruits of her labor).  Playing “kitchen” – sharing cookies, decorating cupcakes, taking things in/out of the oven/microwave, using hotpads (preferably the blue one).  Talking on “phones” (doc phone, kitchen phone, etc).  Singing – she’s started doing a lot more impromptu songs herself.  Taking care of Baby Ellie.  Going to the Zoo (rhino, lion and camels are her favs).  Playing with friends. Playing with Nana-Pop, Grandma-Grandpa, and Alex-Aunt Jira.  (All pairs.)  Running.

You have a baby in your tummy? (Real quote)

Why am I wearing this paper hat and garbage bag? What does graduation mean?

Milestones: Tons of Talking.  At the 2 year update, I wrote that she said a lot of full sentences like: “No go bye bye,” “I want that,” “Shh… baby sleeping,” “What happened?” “I got Dora,” “Here Daddy”, “I want to go down Mommy”, and “I want to see Mommy” (gotta love that one!).  Now, it’s full-on conversations, with explanations.  There’s a lot of “becauses”.  She asks WHY a lot.  These conversations can be quite long and 50% of the time, end up in me saying “God made it that way” or “God is love,” as I don’t have anything left to share.  She can count to 10 in Spanish and English.

Natalie also is really good at letter recognition – this isn’t just me talking, even her teachers have commented.  At the very least, she knows: B (Becky), C (Caroline), D (Dado), E (Edmund and Elliott), G (Grandma and Grandpa), K (Kieran), M (Mama), N (Natalie and Nana), O (Owen), P (Poppy), R (Riley), S (Shiloh, Saba), T (Trevor), Z (Zachary).  Natalie spotted “S for Shiloh” on the “balance beam” outside our house.  And, yes, she’s wearing her swimsuit just for the fun of it.

S for Shiloh!

Funny/Cute Things she Says or has Said:

• “Privacy, please” (A more polite version of “Go Away”.)
• “Maybe tomorrow” (As in, maybe she’ll give me a kiss tomorrow!)
• A request to the lion at the zoo…. “Can your roar at me and Mama?”
• About her brother… “He put his arm around me because he loves me”
• “Where’s my Paci?” (In your mouth, Natalie!)
• “Because I like it”

Things Natalie is Thankful for: Dora, Bella (the whale from Shedd Aquarium) and Mama. (Jordan thinks Bella could have been brother but she was wearing her Bella dress, when I asked so I’m not so sure)

Favorite Color:  Blue – any and all shades.  Esp. light blue.

Favorite Song: Bob Marley’s “Three Birds” (This sometimes resets her when crabby, so we’ve been known to play it on repeat)

Favorite Show: Dora – or the Slideshow.  (Usually reserved for times when I am feeding Elliott and therefore, highly immobile)

Exasperating Things that I just have to Laugh at: Natalie likes to travel with an entourage (even if its just to her bedroom or the kitchen).  When I shared a bed with her in Green Bay, she complained that I was “hurting” her and she didn’t have enough space.  Please note, she was in the middle of the double bed, with Baby Ellie, Dora, and Boots lined up to her left and me squished on her right!  Another time, when I was feeding Elliott and reading her a book at the same time, I asked her if she could hold the book… she explained that she couldn’t “because I have two mouseys and Baby Ellie.”

All I need now is my milk.......

Favorite Foods: Peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, strawberries, cheese, protein shakes, milk, cupcakes.  Hummus has turned out to be a good way to increase the veggie intake!

Favorite Books: The Seven Silly Eaters by Hoberman and Corduroy are topping the list as of late.  Other favs include “Chicago” and “Tiny Bear.”

Natalie is a joy-filled, silly, super fun, caring little girl, and we are just so lucky to be able to spend every day with her!  I absolutely love being her Mom.  Jordan loves being her Dad.  And Elliott loves being her little brother.  Praise God!

We just got home from a weekend in Green Bay. We hadn’t been since Thanksgiving due to Pinto/Elliott. We were able to time it with my cousins wedding shower so it was great to see fam on both sides. We have a lot more pics on our “good camera ” but if I wait to include those on a post, it might never get done. (Kinda like how I haven’t posted on Elliott’s baptism yet!)

We started with a great story time at the library…

It’s okay Trevor (real quote)

Grandma, why can’t I play in the box with Nat and Trevor?

We took the kids to Bay Beach, which was a blast. At 25-50 cents per ride, there’s no reason not to splurge!!

Again please!

Follow me Trev!

All aboard the choo choo train!

Rachel and Aunt Lisa came to visit too! Super fun – we haven’t seen them in over a year, but Natalie and Rachel jumped right into some silly play!

Rachel, lets go to the butterfly museum right now (real quote)

Yeah! Undivided attention! Trevor and Natalie are sleeping so I don’t have to share my Aunt Becky!

The cousins loved playing together –
Carrying on a strong cousin tradition. So fun!

PS we missed Auntie Leah though!

Thank goodness Nana and Poppy loaned us their van for our trip to Green Bay! How else would we have fit Baby Ellie, Dora, Boots, Mousey 1, Mousey 2… And Natalie and Elliott?

Elliott was a dream, of course. He slept from Fullerton to Oakwood without a peep.

Thank goodness Nana and Poppy loaned us their van for our trip to Green Bay! How else would we have fit Baby Ellie, Dora, Boots, Mousey 1, Mousey 2… And Natalie and Elliott?

Elliott was a dream, of course. He slept from Fullerton to Oakwood without a peep.

June 19th was Elliott’s 3-month birthday (and Natalie’s 2.5 year birthday!)

I am 4 trimesters old!

Weight / Height: I’m not sure – we don’t have an appointment until 4 months. My post for Natalie said she was 18 lbs though… I think Elliott is less than that. 9-mo clothes fit the best!

Who does she look like? Mostly Jordan but more like Erin than Natalie did!

Personality: Unlike Natalie’s “Spirited,” I’d say Elliott is “Easy Going”. (I don’t think i have ever been called Easy Going myself but am thankful my baby is! maybe this will come back to haunt me when he is in college and forgot to buy a plane tix home for Christmas). On one of my last days of maternity leave, Elliott helped me fold laundry, unload the dishwasher, pack for a trip to Green Bay and go grocery shopping. He barely fussed a bit. He’s having more trouble sleeping on the go, which is one of the only times he really gets fussy.  Or during tummy time – unless his sister is entertaining him!

Hey Natalie, check out my musical box! Oh wait, this used to be yours? Why are all my toys 2nd hand?

Favorite Toys/Games: Elliott is quick to smile. His favorite games are “Bop” (running your fingers up his body and then bopping him on the nose), singing “Criss Cross Applesauce” or “Going on a Treasure Hunt” on this body, “hiding” under a blanket (first time I got a giggle) and looking at his friends Yellow, Orange and Green in the singing box thing (see pic above). He likes when I play a xylophone for him and is tracking rattles, his big sister, etc. well. He loves to watch her play.

Elliott’s interest in his hands and putting things in his mouth has grown a lot. I cannot seem to find the infamous Sophie the giraffe, so Elliott has settled for Natalie’s cooking spoons and my teaspoons. Where is that giraffe?

I can pull him up from laying to sitting to standing. Once again, he is not a fan of tummy time – it usually results in a lot of spit up, but we still try.

Um, Mooommmmmmmmm! This is what happens. Please get a burp rag.

Big Accomplishments: Giggles! Jordan has gotten a few giggles… I have too, when playing the Bop game or Peak a Boo.

Schedule: Elliott is outgrowing his hour up, hour down… he’s starting to be awake for longer periods of time, especially in the late afternoon and early evening. (Maybe that’s just because his exciting sister is around!) He goes to bed around 7 or 7:30 and usually wakes up one time between then at 7:30 or 8 a.m. Since I know he can go the whole night without eating, I’ve been encouraging Jordan to go in and “pop a paci,” as I don’t want him to get used to eating in the middle of the night again.

Funniest Moment: We’ve been sprayed when in the bath tub… that’s about it!

New Bestie:  Aunt Jira!  Aunt Jira is watching Elliott for the last two weeks of June until our nanny starts.  She has been a Godsend.  I didn’t want to hire a nanny because at the time, I wasn’t sure if my job would be continuing past July 1 because of a reorg in CPS.  Anyways, its been fun to hear Jira’s synopsis of the day.  Some things she shared: Elliott loves to drink his bottle with his eyes closed, as if eating is the greatest thing in the world; he doesn’t like tummy time at all; yesterday, he really wanted to be held.  Poor Jira – she is  6+ months pregnant herself, so there’s not a lot of room on her little body for “holding” Star (the baby’s nickname) and Elliott.

Ha - Aunt Jira, you are so fun! Tell me that joke again.

Natalie had a legit pee pee in the potty on Father’s Day! It only took 20 min, a Cordoroy story, and 8 oz of liquid. She has been very interested since the bigger kids like Luci at school use he potty. She wanted to take a pic to prove it:

Way to go Natalie!!!