Sweet Potatoes: Day 1

After a week of rice cereal with no issues, Eloise graduated to vegetables.  First up, sweet potatoes...

"Holy smokes Mom, what the heck is that stuff?!?! And why is it ORANGE?!?!"

"Hey wait just a minute, that stuff is AWESOME.  Give me more!!!"

Flipside Fun

Natalie got a new dress and new pretty white sandals from Grandma Becky a month or so ago but, with a little encouragement from mommy, decided to save it as her "pretty party dress" and her "fancy shoes" and only wear them on special occasions.

Now, if only we had a special occasion or party...

Thank goodness her friend Julia had an indoor (dress appropriate) birthday party and invited Natalie.  The party was at Flipside, which is a world of chaos beyond my wildest imagination and required both mommy AND daddy to manage it.  It's the kind of place where if your kid:parent ratio is greater than one, you're pretty much screwed. Thankfully, ours was equal to one. 

There was pizza, bowling, purple Frozen cupcakes, billions of loud arcade games, lazer tag, a giant maze and most importantly, there were "bumping" cars.

The video below is a very brief glimpse into the "bumping cars" experience.  This was her second time on the cars.  She smiled the whole time and giggled almost as much.  It was great to watch her brain trying to figure out the skid steer handles (that she can barely reach).

Moving on up... baby cereal!

When Eloise woke up on Saturday morning, she had no idea how drastically her life would change -- mommy made baby cereal for the first time.  So while the big girls chowed on french toast, Eloise was introduced to the spoon...

Soccer: Pull Back

Week 2 of soccer (after a one week break) was another success. I never saw a smile anything close to this when we did ballet, aside from when we picked out our "tard".

This week Coach Mike introduced the "pull back" so there was a lot of running to get your ball.  Despite being one of the youngest (you'd never know it based on size), Natalie can out run a lot of the kids. And yes, she is wearing a zebra print skirt to soccer.

The two other girls in this photo are 2/3 the triplets in her class.  They are 5 and Natalie says they go to her school.  The girl in the blue skirt cries at least 5 times each week for any teenie little reason.  Her mom laughs at her... which is good because the rest of the parents (myself included) are trying their absolute hardest to contain their giggles.

After introducing a skill and practicing it a variety of ways, it is time to scrimmage.  This week she was on the orange team - which had the power house kid who I'm pretty sure is on the upper end of the age bracket and has played soccer at least once before (lil dude with the blue sunglasses on). They named themselves the "Orange Cheetahs" and they pretty much crushed the other team.

Four months of Eloise

"Daddy came in my room this morning singing the birthday song again so it must be that time of the month.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  Mom plucked me out of my baby rocketship, changed my diaper and then laid me in my crib to take my picture.  No where in that process was food involved - so I refused to smile for my photo shoot.  Not only that but I actually went so far as to cry through most of the photos.  Maybe next time she'll feed me first."

Eloise and George:  March 18, 2015

"Over the past month I did lots of smiling. After I mastered smiling, I learned how to giggle and think that's really fun.  I giggle whenever daddy 'flosses' under my chin with a washcloth.  The week before I turned 4-months I started talking all the time.  I haven't quite mastered the volume control so I keep practicing using my voice at all different volumes to see which one I like the most.  When I wake up in the morning I make sure to use my quiet morning voice, just in case anyone is still sleeping."

"I think there's something strange going on inside my mouth because it hurts all the time and makes me drool a lot -- so I chew on my fingers to help the pain and mom makes me wear a bib a lot to keep my clothes dry.  She says she thinks it is my first teeth but I'm not sure what that means.  I love to lay around and chew chew chew on my fingers.  Sometimes I chew on one and sometimes I chew on as many as I can fit inside my mouth.  I've even been known to chew on my fingers while sucking on a pacifier.  This made mommy smile and laugh ... which made me smile and laugh ... which made me drop my pacifier ... which made me sad ... which made mom sad."

"I have this cool pink mat that I like to lay on in the family room.  Sometimes I watch TV and sometimes I just stare at the fan. I like to roll back and forth from side to side.  I can't quite make it from my back to my belly without a little help but I keep trying.  When I do lay on my belly I like to push up with my arms and look around at things.  The world looks really different when I'm on my belly and there's really not as much to look at so mom thinks I'm just an opportunistic baby."

"I've started eating more and more and mom can't keep up with me.  She mentioned that I'd get to eat something pretty awesome soon but I haven't seen it yet.  I hope she isn't lying.  Eating more has made me happier and easier to manage.  Mom says that I am doing a great job sleeping too because I eat dinner around 7:30 or 8 and then go to bed around 9:30.  I am often the last one to wake up in the morning (8ish), unless it's a weekend and then Katie sleeps much later than I, and sometimes mommy even has to wake me up so we can take Natalie to school."

"Mom says my hair is growing quickly and that it is a beautiful amber-brown-red-blonde mix of colors.  She also tells me I was lucky enough to get the classic and beautiful Hayes eyelashes, which she says go well with my big blue/green/gray eyes."

A link to Natalie's 4-month photo shoot with Measurement Marty:
http://suburbanhayes.blogspot.com/2011/08/rolling-into-4-months.html

2015 Ostrich Festival

Another year in the books. 

We once again met our friends Vince, Staci and their daughters Maddie and baby Camilla at the Ostrich Festival bright and early on Sunday morning.  We came prepared this year with our pre-purchased tickets in hand, sunscreen and PB&J sandwiches. Daddy pre-measured Natalie at 41.5" with no shoes - so with a pair of shoes she was solidly able to ride all the rides with 42" requirements (yet still young enough to get in for free).

After a few minutes of shyness, Natalie and Maddie were able to ride as many rides as they wanted together - and boy did they have fun.  They took turns picking out rides and then held hands while they walked from one ride to the next.  It really couldn't have been much more perfect.

 

In the video below, Natalie is in the seat on the far left.  Maddie is next to her.  Turn up your volume and make sure to watch Natalie's face.

Family Hike: South Mountain Park

The weather is warming up and we didn't get started quite as early as we hoped, but we all still enjoyed a 3 mile hike on the Pyramid Trail on the south side of South Mountain Park.

It's the most beautiful time of year in the desert...

Bear Down!

In honor of the University of Arizona (Scott's alma mater) playing in the Pac-12 Championship game and the upcoming March Madness tournament, Natalie, mommy and Eloise spent a beautiful Friday afternoon making some pretty special driveway art...

Go Wildcats!

Changing table diaries

Just like her sister, Eloise loves to lay on her changing table.  Laying on the floor, in her crib, on the couch are apparently not the same as they do not extract the babbles and giggles the way the changing table does.

If only we knew what she was saying...

Happy Birthday Grandpa Larry!

Grandpa Larry (the original one) celebrated a big birthday this year and we all got together to make sure he celebrated properly.  There were many games of croquet played in the backyard, some soccer action, lots of smoke associated with the grill and a very special birthday cake. 

Happy Birthday Grandpa Larry!!  We love you.

Soccer for Nat

We signed Natalie up for soccer (3-5 year olds) in an attempt to try to find something that would appeal to her athletic and competitive nature.  And she loves it after only one "practice."

She's the one wearing the white t-shirt with the sparkly shamrock on the front, black (plumber) pants and pink flower in her hair.  Mommy wouldn't let her wear a tutu and then, of course, when we arrive Natalie points out (sadly) that the other girls are wearing dresses.  Can't wait to see what she picks out for this weekend.

In the video she's got a gray pinnie on.