Eleanor-isms

On the eve of her 4th birthday, I thought I'd take a moment to document some of our favorite recent Ellie comments.

E: "Mommy, we played with doggie balls today!"
Me: "you did what?!"
E: "yea, see those balls out there?" (Pointing to the Bocce ball set)
Oohhh, I got it now! Our dog is Botchie. Hence, Bocce ball became doggie ball.


(Playing "the letter game" in the van)
Me: "I'm thinking of a food that starts with B"
W: "banana!"
E: "botato, botato,"

(Yesterday before her birthday party)
J: "no, Elle, Mom's in the shower, let's leave her alone"
E: "no, Daddy, it's my birthday, so I can do whatever I want"

(Deciding on her birthday dinner)
E: "how about pancakes and cheese dip with chips"
Me: "well, honey, those two things really don't go together"
E: "oh, ok, I don't have to put the cheese dip on top"
(Ewwwww! We settled on pancakes, scrambled eggs, and sausage)

(Yesterday evening after her party. She is dressed in her princess gown and riding her new scooter through the kitchen - see below)
Me: "excuse me, Eleanor"
E: willfully ignoring
Me: "excuse me, Eleanor"
E: "you mean Princess Eleanor?"

Poor baby

We have a poor sick Eleanor. She has hardly left the air mattress this weekend. I think she's slept 12 of the last 14 hours. Headed to the doctor tomorrow. Through all of this misery she is still the most delightful little sick person I've ever known.
"How do you feel, Elle?"
"Good." (And she pukes a few minutes later.)

Will's plan for the future

Yesterday Will outlined his top 3 career choices.

1. Play 7 seasons at KU (in different sports). [We didn't discuss the NCAA's insistence on amateur status meaning this isn't really a job. Or the unlikelihood of playing several different college sports. Or really even one sport. He has backup plans, no need to burst the bubble right now.]

2. Be a SportsCenter reporter.

3. Work for KU like you, Mom.

Snow

I'm home with a "sick" little girl today. So, while she watches Tinkerbell for the 80th time, I thought I'd take this opportunity to update the blog.

We had some hefty snow storms a couple weeks ago. It resulted in 4 snow days for local schools. Will was already scheduled off for conferences on the first two. KU closed both days. Day cares closed 1 day so J & I got some work done from home on the second day.
Then, early the next week we got more snow. Will's school was cancelled 2 days. Day cares and KU closed 1 day. It was a lot of time cooped up in the house and I was definitely ready to get out!

The older kids played for awhile and enjoyed hot cocoa and snow ice cream. But, Will did say he was ready to go to school instead of "another boring home day".

Firsts

Yesterday was Patrick's first birthday. Today we celebrated with our family. He seemed to enjoy it all - the attention, the chaos, the tissue paper, and especially the cupcakes.  He is such a sweet, happy little guy. He's ornery and daring. He keeps us on our toes for sure. He's a great eater, not a great sleeper, and is currently in a Mama's boy phase. His favorite tricks right now include climbing through the doggy door and dumping Botchie's water dish. (Amazingly, B is so patient with him!) Patrick has started sharing his feelings a little more - mostly when we close the doggy door or stop him from climbing on something. He says several words: uh-oh, bye-bye, mama, dada, and occasionally dog and ball ( ok, it's really more like bah, it we know what he means).

For me, this is the first time I really struggled with one of my kids turning one. I'm not a mom who wishes for my kids to stay eternally young or who longs for the newborn days. Quite the opposite actually. I truly enjoy every stage and find wonderful things about each age. But I will be happy when we have 3 kids who sleep thru the night, are done with bottles and diapers, and can have "real" conversations, play games, etc. So when I was rocking Patrick the night before his first birthday and found myself crying as I reminisced about the first year, I was a little surprised. But for whatever reason, this one's a little hard for me. This past year has been full of change for us - Patrick, jobs, kindergarten. The year seems to have flown by in some ways. But when I think of how different things were then, it seems like so long ago.

I love my sweet baby boy. His blue eyes will forever melt my heart. I am excited to see what his next year brings. Undoubtedly we will add to his list of firsts. There may even be a few more moments that bring me to tears.

A few photos of my favorite one year old...

Patrick's 1 year photo shoot

Just in time for Patrick's first birthday, we tried to get some photos of the 3 kids. Patrick was not the smiliest, but we got a few good ones.

Sometimes when you have 3 small children...

Mornings are really hectic.
And you inadvertently lock your dog in the closet.
All day.
And when you get home from work, you can't find him.
Anywhere.
You search the house, scour the backyard, all with 3 kids looking on.
You finally text your wife, "I can't find Botchie".
"What do you mean you can't find Botchie?!?!"
And both adults' adrenaline is through the roof.
And you start thinking about how you're going to explain this to your kids.
Where on earth could this crazy (and I mean that in the clinical sense) dog be?!
The gates are locked. It's 4 degrees outside. He hates the cold. He hates people. He wouldn't run away. But he has no tags on because he's an inside dog. He has a doggy door, but otherwise he's in bed. How could this have happened?!
Finally, both adults are home, greeted by the oldest two children, "Mom, we have really sad news! We can't find Botchie. I'm so sad! I just want to pet him....I miss Botchie....I'm going to tell my teacher about this tomorrow." (Bear in mind, most days these kids ignore Botchie.)
You've called Animal Control. You've called the local shelter. Now that someone else is here you go to the neighbor's house.
Meanwhile, your wife is double checking all over the house...behind every closed door, logical or not. "Kids, check your rooms again. Check your closets."
And then it happens.
"Mom, I found him!!!" shrieks Ellie.
And Botchie emerges, seeming no worse for the wear, though a bit more glittery. As, of course, you would expect after spending the day locked in the closet of a three-year-old girl.
Yes, this is what happens sometimes when you have 3 small children.
It happened today. At our house.
And I'm typing this with my dog cuddled next to me.