Daniel and Gloria

Coming Soon to a Mailbox Near You

2012-01-17T22:49:00.000-06:00

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

Interview With a 3 Year Old

2011-12-28T18:01:00.002-06:00

I had seen this interview on a number of blogs and decided to ask E these questions tonight. I typed what she said verbatim.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
I love you

2. What makes Mommy happy?
I make good choices

3. What makes Mommy sad?
When I don’t make good choices

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
When you say silly things

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Me is a special gift (not sure what this means)

6. How old is Mommy?
5

7. How tall is Mommy?
big

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Play

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Do her own business

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
It will be for a baby

11. What is Mommy really good at?
working really hard

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
just finding groceries (maybe she is referring to my inability to go to Target and buy only groceries)

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
she orders tote bags (for those who do not know I am an Independent Consultant for Thirty-One)

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Broccoli and rolls

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
for doing her own business

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
A cheerleader (for those of you who know me really well you will get a good laugh out of this one)

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
we go shopping

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
I’m gray and you are gray, our body (I think we need some sun)

19. How are you and Mommy different?
You have a shirt on and I do not have a shirt on

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
because I am a perfect gift for you and I love you so much

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
the grocery store and the bathtub

Christmas Gifts E Style

2011-12-24T07:47:00.002-06:00

E decided yesterday that she really needed to buy Daddy a Christmas gift. We were headed to Sam.s as a family and I told her that maybe she and I could find something for him while we were there. She was SO excited! Daniel needs a drill and as soon as we walked in there was a really nice one on display. I called E over and suggested that as a gift for her daddy. Her response, "I'm not buying daddy THAT for Christmas! I want to buy him a kid's book." So, while daddy was taking care of something else we walked over to look at the books. With a little help from mom, E picked out the classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We quickly found daddy and hid the book in the cart. A few minutes later E asked daddy, "Do you want to share your Christmas present with me?" Aha...the real reason behind E's gift of choice. Of course Daniel agreed to share his present. E then proceeded to show him what she picked and asked if we could read it at bedtime. A little while later as we were finishing up our shopping trip E spotted a beautiful, large bouquet of flowers and exclaimed, "Daddy, we need to buy mommy some fresh flowers for Christmas!" Thanks to my sweet girl I have a gorgeous table display of flowers. Merry Christmas, sweet E!

What's In Your Fridge?

2011-12-13T09:53:00.003-06:00

Yesterday at nap-time we could not find E's lovey. I searched our house high and low. I looked in all of the usual places to no avail. E really needed a nap and mommy really needed her to take a nap but no lovey = no nap. I finally was able to convince her to lie down and I continued the hunt for the missing lovey. I checked the freezer and then decided to check the refrigerator. Something caught my attention in the vegetable crisper drawer and upon opening it this is what I found....

A Lesson in Sharing

2011-11-16T09:54:00.002-06:00

This morning E and I were working on our new memory verse, "Do not fear for I am with you" (Isaiah 41:10). As we were driving to school we were talking about what this means. Here is the conversation which followed.

Me: We do not need to be afraid because God is with us all the time.
E: Yes, God is with me and I am not afraid. But what about the other people's god.
Me: We all share the same God. There is only one God.
E: I don't want to share my God.

I think Daniel and I have some teaching to do. HA!

Be Kind

2011-10-18T08:36:00.004-05:00

Scripture Memory

2011-10-11T07:39:00.003-05:00

I saw a great idea for scripture memorization with little ones on this blog. I have not had a chance to make the cards yet but decided E and I could get started on the first Bible verse. This morning we talked about Joshua 24:15. E had previously made a picture of a house using different shapes while at a friend's house and was wanting to repeat that activity this morning so I decided it was a perfect opportunity to introduce this verse. This activity allowed us to work on shape and color recognition and then we worked on our Bible verse. I am looking forward to teaching E about the Bible and hope that by this time next year she and I will have memorized 26 Bible verses.

I Want to Remember

2011-10-10T07:10:00.004-05:00

My MIL gave me a book a while back where I could record all of the funny or cute things E has said but I want to be able to put them in the book in chronological order so until I can find the time to go through all my old blog posts and FB statuses I need to record things here.

While we were in FL this past week visiting family E said one of the funniest things she has said in a while. We were visiting "the cousins" at their house and the kids asked to go play in the front yard. I had just told K that E could go outside with them but that an adult would need to go outside with them. In the kitchen E was talking to Aunt Kate and Aunt Kate said the same thing. E responded, "that's ok, I can be the adult." She is growing up way too fast.

The next morning as we were packing up to head to the airport E was talking about her time with the cousins. She said, "H is the sweetest boy. I just wanted to hug him so much!" She does love her cousins and could not give H enough hugs. So sweet!

When I Grow Up....

2011-09-16T07:50:00.003-05:00

This was the conversation E and I had in the car one morning this week while I was driving her to school.

E: Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a doctor, a fireman and a cowgirl. Do you want to be a cowgirl?
Me: I would love to be a cowgirl.
E: OK, we need to get hats and ponies.

This conversation actually made me a little sad. My baby girl is growing up. This is the first time she has ever used the phrase, "When I grow up..." It caught me a little off guard. This conversation also made me smile just a bit because she wanted me to be a cowgirl with her. I guess Daniel and I need to start saving for a horse!

Meet the Teacher / First Day of School

2011-09-12T09:54:00.003-05:00

I am quite delinquent in posting on this blog. There are a number of things that happened over the summer that will never make it on here but I need to live in the now so this will be my last "past" post.

E started pre-school last week. She is a Green Cheetah this year and will frequently say she is a "mean, green cheetah!" Funny thing is there is not a mean bone in this little girl. Although E can be a little overly aggressive she is very compassionate and quick to apologize when she has hurt someone.

The week before school started we attended Meet the Teacher night. We were happy to find that one of E's teacher's from My Morning Out had moved up and is an assistant teacher in her new Pre-K classroom. Several of E's friends from last year are in her new class as well. We have been blessed with a wonderful school and caring and compassionate teachers.

Ms. Toni
Ms. Carolyn, E's teacher from last year
First Day of Pre-K 3

I was looking back at last year's first day of school pictures and our girl has grown so much. I cannot wait to take a picture on our last day of Pre-K 3 and see how much she has changed. Before we know it our precious little one will be headed to Kindergarten. Somebody please slow down the time!

School At Home

2011-09-11T14:07:00.004-05:00

I have no desire to homeschool Eleanor. I do not think she needs to know how to read before entering Kindergarten and I am not worried about whether or not she can correctly identify a parallelogram before her fourth birthday. Eleanor on the other hand is very interested in learning and frequently asks me to be her teacher. So....we have recently started having "school" a few mornings a week. We work on a letter of the alphabet and then play a game or work on a craft. Eleanor received a "Big Box of Fun" from some dear friends for her birthday. It is literally a big bin full of all sorts of fun school/craft/learning activities. This box has made "school" so much more exciting. A couple of weeks ago we were reviewing the letter B and here are a few of the activities we did.

B is for beads, bugs and butterflies

sorting beads by color
bug patterns
Handprint butterfly

Just a Few Pictures

2011-09-07T16:09:00.002-05:00

Good morning, birthday girl!

Nana and Eleanor

Eleanor with GiGi and Pops

My precious family

One Spectacular Summer

2011-09-01T07:42:00.003-05:00

Summer is quickly coming to an end as evidenced by the cooler temps and E's first day of school rapidly approaching. I am sad to see summer go but am anticipating great things this fall.
Our summer was chock full of playdates, trips to the library, trips to the zoo, swimming, splashing, bike riding, outdoor play, family outings and ice cream cones.

Little E is now 3. My sweet baby is becoming a beautiful, independent, strong-willed little girl who never ceases to amaze me. Just this morning after being up in the middle of the night with a high fever and some tummy troubles, she awoke with a smile on her face and said,"Mommy the sun is awake. Time to wake up. I feel so much better!" Her vocabulary is like that of a 5 year old and her reasoning/negotiating skills are not far behind. She will make a great lawyer one day! HA! I know that God will use this little girl in mighty ways and she will go far in life because of her spit-fire spirit and never-failing persistence. E has grown leaps and bounds this summer not just physically but emotionally as well and I cannot wait to see how she continues to grow and develop in the coming months.

E insisted on holding the sign this way. She kept saying it was upside down when it was the correct way. I finally figured out she thought the "3" was an "E"

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T15:40:00.002-05:00

Our Little Gymnast

2011-07-27T14:51:00.003-05:00

Trampoline

Obstacle Course - Straddle Jump

Low Beam - Jump and Balance

Bars - Pike Swing

Bear Crawl

Backward Roll - Hands in the ovenCome on toesand roll!

It's Soccer Time

2011-07-19T07:51:00.004-05:00

We recently enrolled E in a soccer camp. It fell at just the right time with Women's World Cup so E was inundated with soccer. She was watching it on tv, mommy was talking about it regularly and to top it off she was getting to play soccer. We still have two more sessions and I know E is looking forward to them.

Oops, false start! Wait for the whistle.

Run, run , run as fast as you can!
Trapping the ballDribbleHeaded towards goal
GOOOAAALLLLL!

Splish Splash

2011-07-08T18:07:00.005-05:00

Today was full of water fun. First we headed to the neighborhood sprinkler park with our buddies Charlie and Ben and then this afternoon E played with Isabella in the pool. I am worn out from all the time in the sun but as I am working on this post E is outside riding her bike while daddy is grilling dinner. Gotta love summer!

Jones Island

2011-07-07T13:46:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we headed to Jones Island to swim and picnic with some friends. I am not a big fan of lake swimming but it was a tolerable experience. Eleanor loved her new floaties and the freedom they provided. The water only got about 4 feet deep and she floated and swam all over the place. I have a feeling we will be doing a little more lake swimming in the coming weeks so I am going to need to get over my fear.

Floating
Our sweet friends - Ryan, Amy and John
The lighting is terrible in this picture but I love it just the same
My little fish

I Like to Move it Move it

2011-07-07T07:36:00.003-05:00

The park districts in the area where we live are wonderful. They offer tons of stuff for families to do for a small fee but a lot of times for free. One of the free summer activities are concerts in the park. This week we met our friends John, Ryan and Amy for a concert and some playtime. Eleanor, John and Ryan enjoyed dancing and running around.

Things I Do Not Want to Forget

2011-07-05T19:24:00.004-05:00

Eleanor says some of the cutest things and I do not want to forget them.

* a skunk is a stunk
* a sucker is a stucker
* she likes to do nastics (gymnastics)
* she likes to refer to things as huge
* fireworks are those lights in the sky
* we take daddy's clothes to the drive-cleaner (dry cleaner)
* cheeseburgers are still burger cheese
* dokie dokie - okie dokie
* Walking Zoo (Milwaukee Zoo)
* Lincoln Parking Zoo (Lincoln Park Zoo)
* Guino - Penguino (Spanish for Penguin)

Deep in the Heart of TX

2011-06-23T07:55:00.004-05:00

This past weekend Daniel and I traveled to Austin to attend a wedding. It was also the weekend of our 5th Anniversary. We enjoyed a weekend away while E stayed in Illinois with a dear friend and had the time of her life. Here are just a few of the things she did while we were gone...ate McDonald's twice in one day, spent multiple hours at a splash park, went to the Children's museum, had lunch at a certain restaurant that has a scary looking mouse, awful pizza and money stealing games (this was definitely a treat as I try to avoid this place at all costs). While E was enjoying all of these fun activities Daniel and I were enjoying the 107 degree temperatures of Austin, TX. We visited the UT campus, the State Capitol and Star Hill Ranch.

Door Hinges on Capitol Building

Capitol
Rotunda

Longhorn Stadium

Puddle Jumper

2011-06-22T07:43:00.002-05:00

Wordless

2011-06-15T13:10:00.002-05:00

Flutter by Butterfly

2011-06-08T09:08:00.003-05:00

Yellow Bear of the Week

2011-06-07T21:09:00.003-05:00

Each week in Eleanor's class at school they recognize a student to be the "Yellow Bear of the Week." Eleanor was the YBOTW the first week of May. They hang up scrapbook pages with pictures of your child and at the end of the week you get to take them home. E was so proud to be YBOTW. Here are pictures of the pages that were hung up in her classroom.

Dr. Cooley

2011-05-24T17:07:00.004-05:00

It looks like we may have a doctor in the family and I am not talking about the PhD type of doctor. For months now Eleanor has loved playing doctor. She received a doctor kit from Christmas and can be found wearing a stethoscope around her neck numerous times a day. When we have playdates with our friends she always asks her friends to play doctor. Each Sunday night after our small group meets, Eleanor and her buddy Seth play doctor with Christine and Reiner, a young married couple from our group. She absolutely loves to play doctor and I am glad to know we may have a doctor in the family to take care of me in my old age!

Big Trucks

2011-05-10T15:11:00.005-05:00

A couple of weekends ago we headed out with our friends to a Big Truck exhibit in a nearby village. Here are a few pictures of the fun we had.

Ethan taking Eleanor for a spin

E driving fire rescue truck
Checking out the ambulance
Driving a school bus

Favorites

2011-05-01T19:13:00.003-05:00

Today in the car I was looking for something to keep Eleanor busy. I decided to "interview" her. I asked her about her favorite things. These are her responses:

Favorite......

Color: Blue, Red and Yellow like the flowers
Show: Shrek
Song: Old MacDonald
Food: Her first answer was "azert" (dessert) but then she said broccoli (truth is she LOVES broccoli)
Bible Story: Mary and Jofef (Joseph) and Snow White (I think that story was left out of my Bible)

I plan to ask her these questions periodically just to see how her answers change.

Praying for Daddy

2011-04-30T15:21:00.003-05:00

I posted this on f@cebook a few days ago but wanted to also include it on our blog. Eleanor likes to pray and the other day she told me she wanted to pray for Daddy. This was her prayer:

I pray for Daddy. Thank you God for Daddy. Bless him. Help Daddy to obey my Mommy. Amen.

I just had to laugh!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-04-27T07:51:00.002-05:00

Little Helper

2011-04-26T15:24:00.003-05:00

E has recently decided that she really likes to help around the house. Here are a couple of "caught in the act" shots:

Helping daddy dry the dishes

Vacuuming for Mommy

Sweet Friends

2011-04-07T16:54:00.003-05:00

We love our friends, John and Ryan! These two precious little boys are such good friends to E. They both fight for her attention and smother her with hugs and kisses every time we see them. We are so thankful for them and enjoy getting to see them every week at church and for playdates.

Springtime Fun

2011-04-05T12:06:00.004-05:00

Spring is slowly creeping in to Northern IL. We are thankful for the extra daylight, the slightly warmer temperatures and the ever increasing sunshine. It is amazing how a little sunshine can totally change ones outlook on life.

We have been spending a little more time outside playing and look forward to the days of summer when we can be outside every day.

Trying hard to peddle

She did it!

Headed home!

Love this little girl to pieces!

What's on your SD Card?

2011-04-01T19:00:00.003-05:00

Here are a few of the photos I found on our SD card today.

Playtime

E and her new friend Abigail

Dinner with a movie star

Still I Will Praise You

2011-03-27T13:05:00.006-05:00

The past month has been one heck of a month. The passing of a dear friend, a health scare which resulted in a trip to the emergency room, a second trip to the emergency room followed by 2 consecutive days of surgery and 4 days in the hospital, disappointments, unmet expectations, deep hurt. We are spent, broken, poured out. We have pressed in hard to the Lord and today despite all this month has had to offer we can say, "still I will praise you!"

I want to remember how hard this month has been and I want to remember what we have learned about the Lord and His faithfulness. God's promise to Joshua, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" was ours to claim. He never lets go and because of that we can praise Him in all things.

Winds of Change

2011-03-23T16:13:00.002-05:00

2011 has been the year of surprises for us. If you would have asked us on January 1, 2011 where this year would take us our answer would have been drastically different from our answer today.
The plan was for me to work full-time, Daniel to focus entirely on his school work and be home with Eleanor and for us to move back to Dallas mid-summer. As of today, Daniel is working full-time in an unexpected promotion, my last day of work will be April 1st and we are staying in IL at least another year but more likely two.

There are many transitions taking place in our lives but I am so thankful that we know and serve a God who does not change. Today, He is the same God who spoke the earth into creation and tomorrow He will remain.

No matter what the rest of this year holds we can walk forward in faith knowing that God is already there and that He will NOT change.

Neglected

2011-03-09T08:21:00.002-06:00

Our blog has been severely neglected over the past few months. Overhaul and more frequent posting to come soon!

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-02T13:56:00.004-06:00

It is not everyday a Floridian (that would be me) and 2 Texans (Daniel and Eleanor) get to experience a blizzard. Granted based on what we have heard, it is not everyday a Chicagoan gets to experience a blizzard either. In the past day and a half we have gotten somewhere between 20-23 inches of snow. This is the 3rd biggest snowstorm on record for Chicago and it's surrounding areas. It is amazing! We spent about 30 minutes outside and came in exhausted from walking in the knee deep snow and wind.

What do you do when it is 10 degrees outside?

2011-01-22T12:38:00.002-06:00

We play in our tent
We practice making funny faces
We bake cookies

And we eat them

Nature

2011-01-22T09:29:00.003-06:00

Not long ago, Daniel, Eleanor and I spent a day in the city with our friends Jordan and Jennifer. We had a wonderful time at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. We will definitely be making another trip back to the museum soon.

In the butterfly garden

Dancing with butterflies

School Fun

2011-01-22T09:07:00.003-06:00

Eleanor goes to school two days at week at the YMCA in our town. She LOVES it! Every morning when she wakes up she asks, " I go to school today?". She spends her days playing in centers, dancing, reading books from the book mobile, learning her letters and numbers, playing outside when the weather permits and having a grand time with her friends. Just before Christmas her class had an open house and Daniel and I attended. She had a great time dancing with her friends. We are very thankful for her wonderful teachers, Ms. Carley and Ms. Charlene and are so glad she enjoys going to school.

E with Ms. Carley
Snowman Craft
Moving and Shaking

December in Review

2011-01-12T20:00:00.003-06:00

It feels like December came and went and I barely had a chance to acknowledge it. The beginning part of the month was busy with preparations for Christmas and our trip to Dallas. We did not decorate at home because we would be gone for Christmas and I did not want to deal with having to clean it all up and put it away. We did buy a 3 ft. pre-lit tree for Eleanor and it has now become her everyday nightlight. It did not have any ornaments on it for Christmas but last week we bought some felt hearts and hung them on her tree.

Daniel and I bought E a nativity set for Christmas (even though we gave it to her on Dec 4th) and we loved watching her play with baby Jesus and act out the stories we had been reading with her. Baby Jesus was the source of much laughter in our home. Here are just a few of the baby Jesus funnies:

1. Mommy to Eleanor - "No, we don't lick baby Jesus."
2. Eleanor to Mommy - "Baby Jesus is in time out. He is just a little crabby."
3. Baby Jesus was born on a table (in a stable).

I loved hearing her talk about Mary, Jofef and Baby Jesus. She also liked to talk about King Herod and how he was a "mean and angry king."

Each night when we would read the story of the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to tell her she was with child, we would read the part of the story that said "the angel appeared and Mary was afraid," Eleanor would immediately say, "sometimes I am afraid." We would ask her what she was afraid of and she would say "whales." Not sure where that came from but it was so cute.

Every time we would ask Eleanor what she wanted for Christmas she would say, "a sheep." When we took her to see Santa she did not skip a beat when he asked her what she wanted for Christmas, A SHEEP!" Oh, if only I could have captured the look on Santa's face. He looked at me and said, I have never heard that one before. Only our little E!

We spent 10 days in Dallas and had a good time visiting with family and a few friends. We ate at some of our favorite Dallas eateries, attend Christmas Eve service, celebrated Christmas with both sides of Daniel's family, ate some more, played with cousins, and ate some more.

Before we knew the clock struck 12 and January was ushered in. Here's to a fabulous 2011!

Baking with Mom

2010-12-11T09:05:00.004-06:00

Eleanor loves to help me bake. Our kitchen is the size of a small closet so my solution to the problem is to move it to the dining room table. Our friend Seth turned 2 on Thanksgiving Day and Eleanor helped me bake school bus cupcakes in his honor.

It's A Snowy Day

2010-12-05T06:27:00.004-06:00

Although we have lived in Chicago for 2 years now, this is the first winter that Eleanor is old enough to really enjoy the snow. Last Wednesday as the sun came up she ran to the window and exclaimed, "Mommy, it's a snowy day!" We only received a dusting that day and it had all melted away by the next morning. Fast forward to yesterday morning. We woke up to a very steady snowfall and a couple of inches already on the ground. A beautiful winter wonderland! Eleanor could not wait to go outside. Unfortunately, we did not have snow pants so her time in the snow was brief but I think she enjoyed it just the same.

"I touched it Mommy!"
Just for the record, she does have mittens she just didn't want to wear them.

So cute

I love this picture. It looks like she is conducting an orchestra.

27 months

2010-11-13T08:57:00.003-06:00

I probably say this every month but I cannot believe how quickly my baby girl is growing up. I haven't had as much time to blog lately but don't want to forget some of the funny things E has said and done over the past few months.

The other night we were having soup for dinner. I handed E a spoon and her response was "Actually, I want to use a fork." I had to laugh at my two year old using the word "actually."
She used it again on Thursday when I said, "It's time to go to school." E responded, "Actually, I go to preschool."

We hear the phrase, "I do it all by myself!" at least 5 times a day if not more. I love her independent spirit but sometimes it really slows down the process.

E still is not a big fan of meat. The other night I asked what she wanted for dinner and her response was "I want to eat salad." One of her favorite salads is Barnelli's Chopped Salad minus the bacon and chicken. Because of course she "can't like chicken!" When she does eat meat it is normally a "burger cheese" or lo-loaf (meatloaf).

E goes to school 2 days a week while I am at work. This past week her teacher shared a funny story with me. While walking down the hall E tripped over the leg of a scarecrow that was decorating the hall. E jumped up, put her hands on her hips, and declared, "that man just tripped me!" Her teacher said she about busted a gut laughing and had to ask how E knew the word "tripped." It goes on the list with actually.

The 2's are hard but also so enjoyable at the same time. I am continually blessed by my little Kamikaze and am so thankful for her.

Trick -or- Treating

2010-11-06T17:17:00.003-05:00

This was our view for most of the night. Our little giraffe had a grand time trick-or-treating!

I Be Like My Mommy

2010-10-20T15:31:00.004-05:00

One night a couple of weeks ago as I was putting Eleanor to bed she declared, "I be like my mommy!" I had just grabbed one of her stuffed animals and was using it as a pillow and as she said those five simple words she did the same. Obviously, in that context those words did not mean a whole lot, but it certainly got me thinking. Her words were so sweet and it definitely made this mama smile, but it also made me wonder about the example I am setting for my precious girl. I hope and pray that I am living my life in such a way that I would want my daughter to grow up and "be like me." Those five words have definitely made me rethink the way I handle certain situations or how I react to things because I know there is a bright-eyed little girl watching and mirroring me throughout my day! Thank you sweet girl for helping me strive to be a better wife and mom!

Thoughts of God

2010-09-22T17:11:00.006-05:00

Being a mom is hard. Or maybe it is just hard for me. This week has proven to be the hardest thus far in my short tenure as a mom.

Eleanor has not felt well which has equated to a number of sleepless nights and lots of tears (from her and me). Tuesday night I felt completely helpless as my sweet girl screamed in pain for hours. She had a virus which caused sores to develop on her tongue. She was in a tremendous amount of pain and there was nothing her daddy and I could do for her. We rocked, we sang, we rubbed her back. Nothing could console her. At one point I was rocking her and began to sob as she screamed "ow, ow, ow, it hurts." It made me think about God and how it must have felt for him to watch his Son suffer on the cross. Just as Eleanor did nothing to deserve the pain she was experiencing, Jesus, perfectly sinless, endured a pain far greater than anything I could ever imagine, which He did not deserve.

Yesterday, as I tried to coax Eleanor into letting me swab her mouth with some medicine the Dr. prescribed to help with the pain, I again thought about God. He does not coax but He does continually offer healing that at times I am too stubborn to accept.

Tonight, as Daniel and I put Eleanor to bed, she cried for almost an hour. I know that she needs to go to bed and I want her to go to bed, but as her mom, I felt guilty for not coming to her rescue. I wonder if God felt guilty for not coming to His Son's rescue when He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?".

Being a mom is hard but if it were easy I may miss out on the lessons I am learning about God.

Wordless Wednesday (Almost)

2010-09-08T13:28:00.004-05:00

Eleanor loves her friends Ethan and Jack. Recently she has become totally smitten with Jack or Jack-a-baboo, as she likes to call him. I was trying to get a picture of E with Ethan and Jack at her birthday party and this is what happened.

Checking Jack out while big brother Ethan watches from behind

Leaning in

SMOOCH!

Daddy has since had a conversation with Eleanor about kissing.

Dearest Eleanor

2010-08-13T22:28:00.007-05:00

You are now 2 years old. I cannot believe how quickly two years has passed and how much you have grown and changed from a tiny, precious newborn into such a beautiful, joy-filled little girl. Eleanor you bring such joy to our home. Your daddy and I love you so very much and are so thankful to be your parents.

You are still our little Kamikaze and have several battle wounds to prove it. Your shins are bruised, your knees are skinned, and your elbows as well. But those owies rarely slow you down. To say you keep us on our toes is an understatement, but we wouldn't want it any other way.

We love to hear you say "I luff you" and can't get enough of your hugs and kisses. You are very generous and numerous times a day we hear "want some" as you offer us whatever it is you are eating or drinking. You are also very sensitive. It bothers you when other children cry and you will quickly run to the aide of your friends with a gentle hug and a reassuring "it's ok." Just recently you started telling us to "be careful." I am afraid you might become a little worrywart like your momma, but I love your gentle spirit.

I cannot wait to see how much you continue to change and grow in this next year.

We love you to the moon and back!

Splash Park Fun

2010-08-08T07:28:00.007-05:00

A few weeks ago we found a splash park near our house and decided to try it out. We had a blast. It takes Kamikaze about 10-15 minutes to warm up to the idea of running under the water but as soon as she does it is non-stop action. One of her favorite things to do is drink the water from one of the little fountains. I think it is gross and it drives me crazy but she doesn't seem to care. Here are some pictures from yesterday's trip to the splash park.

I "firsty" Mama

HI-YA

LOVE those curls

Coming or Going

2010-08-06T14:57:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was NOT a good day. I woke up with pink eye. I lost the keys to our mailbox and storage closet. I think I threw them in the dumpster with the trash. I then dozed off on the couch and spilled an entire diet coke all over me and the couch. Of course I attempted to make dinner for my family only to mess up the recipe. Thankfully some friends called and asked us to meet up with them.

Today has been a much better day. I can actually remember whether I am coming or going!

2 Almost August

2010-07-17T17:14:00.002-05:00

I cannot believe that in a little over 3 weeks my little girl is going to be 2. She is growing up so quickly. Every day something new comes out of her mouth. For example, today we were in the car driving home from a family outing and she started saying "oh my gooshness" over and over. I am sure she has heard me say "oh my goodness" at some point but I had not said it this morning. She has also started saying, "hold you me honey." We have no idea where the honey came from because Daniel and I do not use that term of endearment but she heard it somewhere and uses it often. She does however occasionally call her daddy "babe," and that is totally because mommy calls him that frequently.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-07T07:55:00.002-05:00

First Snow Cone

2010-07-03T20:43:00.001-05:00

Things I Don't Want To Forget

2010-07-02T13:49:00.002-05:00

1. hold you me
2. no I not
3. maymen (amen)
4. ship shops (flip flops)
5. to you (happy birthday to you)
6. naynor (Eleanor)
7. 2 almost august (the answer she gives when asked how old she is)
8. all self (all by myself)
9. see soon (see you soon)
10. dridge (fridge)
11. boollies (blueberries)

It is amazing how quickly our little one's language is developing. She surprises us daily with her sayings. She has the cutest little voice and says some of the funniest things sometimes. I will really miss some of them when she really learns how to pronounce them.

Taste

2010-06-30T15:03:00.003-05:00

Monday evening after work Daniel, Eleanor and I headed downtown with some friends to enjoy Taste of Chicago. We had a great time. We didn't try anything too daring such as the sautéed goat or the pork stuffed banana dumpling but we did eat some pretty good food like mustard fried catfish, roasted veggie tacos, pot stickers, funnel cake and ice cream.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-23T07:58:00.002-05:00

The Art of Eating Cheerios

2010-06-17T14:22:00.003-05:00

Reality

2010-06-17T12:13:00.004-05:00

Have you ever just had one of those days? You know the type of day I am talking about. One of those days where you don't know whether to laugh or to cry. The days when nap time seems like an eternity away. The days when you are not sure you will have any hair left come bedtime. It seems that those days come frequently during the toddler season and for me, today just happens to be one of those days.

I knew it was going to be one of those days when I had a laundry list of things the toddler had done or hadn't done long before 9:30am. Before 9:30 this morning the toddler had destroyed one of our dining room chairs (I am still not sure how this happened), removed her diaper twice, refused to get dressed, pinched the fire out of me, and threw her fair share of temper tantrums. Now before you start judging or lecturing me on discipline - This is my blog and this is my outlet. So if you have something critical to say - DON'T!

Toddlerhood is hard. On both the toddler and the parent. Currently, my toddler is in her room screaming at the top of her lungs because she does not want to take a nap. She is screaming MOMMY, MOMMY, MOMMY, PARK, PARK, PARK loudly enough that I am sure everyone who lives in our condo building can hear her. The funny thing is I tried to take her to the park this morning. She was adamant that she was NOT going. Now, it is time to take a nap and for the past 12 minutes she has been crying and screaming for me to take her to the park.

This is reality folks! I have several friends (many of you read this blog) who have toddlers and I am certain that we have ALL had days like this. Unfortunately there are too many other moms out there who are afraid to admit that there are days like the one I am describing. It is those moms who make the rest of us feel like we are doing something wrong. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of days when I feel like I am doing this parenting thing all wrong but for the most part I know that I am doing something right at least part of the time.

So to all you moms of toddlers - stay the course! I say this to you as much as to myself. Enjoy the good times, the precious moments and the silence of your sleeping toddler and when a day like the one I am experiencing shows up - turn the music up really loud to (drown out the screaming toddler (just kidding - I did not do this)) and dance!

I love my little spit-fire. Even on days like today!

P.S. The screaming stopped after 13 minutes and I just scooped her up from the floor where she was sleeping soundly and tucked her into bed. Ahhhh, the silence of nap time!

Milkshake

2010-06-12T22:00:00.002-05:00

Today we went to the Milkshake concert at Ravinia with our friends John Eyob and Ryan Ephrem. Despite the rain the kids had a great time. Ms. Amy captured this cute video of them dancing to the tunes. Eleanor loves her friends!

Whimsical Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-09T15:50:00.001-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-12T18:22:00.002-05:00

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T12:51:00.002-05:00

Kamikaze the Artist

2010-05-02T16:30:00.003-05:00

This afternoon while Daniel and I were talking with the couple who will be moving into our townhome the day after we move out, Kamikaze decided she needed to leave her mark on the wall. Of course I ran to get the camera to document this event. Daddy has since had a discussion with Kamikaze regarding the appropriate surfaces upon which to color. Kamikaze has struck again!

Proud of her artwork

Ready! Set! Go!

2010-04-27T14:39:00.005-05:00

The next month is going to be absolutely crazy in the Cooley Casa. Here is just a preview of what our month holds:

1. Garage sale this Friday.
2. D finishes his semester.
3. NaNa comes for a visit - FINALLY!
4. Packing.
5. Trip to Dallas for Pops' birthday.
6. Moving. No we are not moving back to Dallas we are just moving to another town in Northern IL.

Of course this list does not include all the daily fun things that take place with the toddler. I am sure there will be trips to the park, play dates, a trip to Monkey Joes, walks and lots of laughter.

Thankful Thursday

2010-04-22T12:25:00.004-05:00

There is laundry to be folded, shirts to be ironed, tubs and toilets to be cleaned but I wanted to take a minute and write a Thankful Thursday post. A dear friend started doing this on her blog not too long ago and it is such a good idea.

Today I am thankful for my husband. I could probably list 100 reasons why I am thankful but I will spare you all from having to read them and only post 5.

1. He is a wonderful daddy. Eleanor's face lights up every time he walks in the room. She loves to spend time with him and even when he is busy reading or working on a paper he always takes time to love on her. He gives her a bath almost every night and gets her ready for bed.

2. He prays for our family. I almost always get a little teary eyed when I hear him pray for our sweet girl.

3. He desires to honor God in all he says and does. Daniel, like King David, is a man after God's own heart.

4. He has worked hard for the past 20 months so that I could stay home with Eleanor. This has sometimes meant staying up really late or getting up really early to work on school stuff.

5. He washes the dishes every night after dinner. Enough said!

Sleepy Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-21T07:42:00.001-05:00

WHAT?!?!?

2010-04-14T18:30:00.003-05:00

Eleanor is shocked and appalled that I am sharing her age with you.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-07T15:56:00.003-05:00

He Is Risen!

2010-04-05T19:24:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we celebrated our Risen Savior with our friends the Tudtud's. This was our second annual Easter celebration with their family after church and we had a great time. Eleanor and Seth hunted eggs and ran around the backyard and then we headed in for a wonderful brunch of fruit, apple pancakes, sausage, bacon and homemade cinnamon rolls. YUM! How thankful we are for our dear friends and the connection we share through Christ!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-31T19:58:00.001-05:00

Monkey Joe's

2010-03-21T20:09:00.002-05:00

This is how we spent our snowy first day of Spring.

Shamrocks and Sunshine

2010-03-20T13:42:00.004-05:00

This past week the weather was absolutely beautiful. Eleanor and I spent many hours at the park playing on the "wings" and "lides." Daniel and I both commented on how confident she has become at the park since last fall. She has no fear and climbs to the top of the play structure and comes down the twirly slide all by herself. The first thing she asks for almost every day now is to go walk and to "wing" and "lide."

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

19 Months

2010-03-16T13:09:00.004-05:00

Our sweet girl is 19 months old. I can't believe she will be 2 in just 5 short months. She continues to amaze us each and every day. If I had to use one word to describe her today it would be EXHAUSTING!

Mommy and Daddy love you sweet girl!

Cheese, Cheese and More Cheese

2010-03-14T15:12:00.003-05:00

Animal Sounds

2010-03-05T17:27:00.003-06:00

Just Because

2010-03-02T14:56:00.003-06:00

So NOT Ready For This

2010-02-26T13:17:00.004-06:00

I was so ready when it came time to deliver Eleanor. Or at least as ready as any first time mom could be for the experience of labor and delivery. I was ready when we brought her home from the hospital and when we moved her from the bassinet to the crib. I was ready when Eleanor slept in her own room and no longer slept in the pack-n-play in our room. I was kind of ready when we put her in the nursery at church for the very first time and when she took her first steps. I was even kind of ready for toddlerhood. Although I must admit I have shed a few tears on more than a few occasions as I realize that my baby is no longer a baby but a little girl. But one thing I was definitely not ready for was this......
...the day we would transition from a crib to a toddler bed. I had hoped we would be able to make it until her 2nd birthday before we would have to even consider this. However, in true Kamikaze style, Eleanor decided that 18 months of sleeping in a crib was long enough and it was time for her to be free. Just two days ago while I was hanging clothes in her closet Kamikaze "climbed" out of her crib for the first time. Later that evening she tried again and yesterday morning as well. Daniel decided the crib would be converted to a bed before nap time. I was and am so NOT ready for this. We toddler proofed the room as much as we could and made the change. The transition has not been seamless but definitely smoother than I anticipated.

Testing it out with "pa" (paci) and "night night" (her lovey).

Bedtime - she cried for about 5 minutes and when I peeked in 20 minutes later this is what we found. She had also fallen asleep on the floor during nap time.
This is what I found today at nap time. Hopefully she will get the hang of falling asleep in the bed soon.

Eyob and Ephrem

2010-02-22T06:48:00.004-06:00

Over the weekend I had the amazing privilege of welcoming home two precious little boys. My sweet friend Amy and her husband Mike traveled to Ethiopia last week to bring home their sons. What a wonderful time it was as friends and family gathered at O'hare Airport to welcome this new family of four home.

Eyob (John) and Ephrem (Ryan) are absolutely adorable and I cannot wait for Eleanor to have a play date with them. I think they are going to be great friends.Eyob

Ephrem

Wordless Wednesday or Baby It's Cold Outside

2010-02-17T09:23:00.003-06:00

18 Months

2010-02-12T17:05:00.002-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-03T19:30:00.002-06:00

17 months old

2010-02-02T08:59:00.003-06:00

Mommy forgot to post my 17 month picture. I will be 18 months old soon so I told her she needed to post it today. I was in Florida at my NaNa's house when I turned 17 months old. Mommy wanted to take a picture of me with NaNa and my best dog friend Kiefer. She tried real hard to get one of all of us looking at the camera but this is the best one she got.

Bow Head

2010-01-31T16:32:00.003-06:00

Eleanor wore a bow in her hair today for the very first time. Now to all my big bow making mommy friends out there no comments on the size of this bow. We were just excited that we could actually get one to stay in her hair.

I love this picture!

C is for Cookies

2010-01-30T12:49:00.002-06:00

Last night I made the best sugar cookies I have ever had. OK, maybe not better than the iced sugar cookies at Celebrity Bakery, but these cookies were pretty darn close. I received PW's cookbook for my birthday and have set out to try every recipe in the book. The recipe says it makes 18 cookies but I think this is a typo because my cookies were just the right size and I had enough dough for 48. Yum, yum!

Eleanor's Funny Side

2010-01-29T17:39:00.003-06:00

I'm not sure what to call this face. Normally she does this when I tickle her, but this time she thought getting her photo taken was really funny.

Going Private

2010-01-14T12:15:00.002-06:00

Our blog will be going private at the end of the month. If you would like an invite to continue reading our blog please leave a comment with your email address or send me an email if you have my address. We want everyone to be able to continue to keep up with our family but also want to make sure we are protecting our little one in the process.

Little Snow Bunny

2010-01-07T16:23:00.003-06:00

Today, Eleanor played in the snow for the very first time. Her initial reaction was uncertainty but after a while I think she really enjoyed herself. She is definitely the cutest little snow bunny I have ever seen.

16 Months and the Red Chair

2009-12-13T13:37:00.003-06:00

E is now 16 months old. It is hard to believe our baby is well into toddlerhood. Here are some fun facts about E.

* She still will not eat any type of meat. It does not matter how it is cooked or how hard I try to hide it in a dish she will spit it out.
* She knows the signs for all done, thank you, more, milk, eat, bath and baby.
* She also has about 20 words. It is amazing how quickly her vocabulary is growing.
* She continues to love to read. Her current favorites are The Little Train and Rudolph's Bright Christmas.
* She loves music and dancing.
* When daddy or mommy are on the laptop and she wants our attention she will walk up and close the laptop.
* She loves to Skype with her grandparents and will stand in front of the laptop and say "hi" even when no one is there.
* She also is obsessed with the cell phone and TV remotes.
* She has recently become very much a momma's girl and even though she calls for daddy all day long when he is at school or work she still clings to momma when he comes home.
* She loves her new red chair, a Christmas gift from GiGi and Pops. She likes to sit in there and watch Praise Baby or Baby Einstein. She also likes to put her baby in the chair and all of the animals from Noah's Ark.

We continue to be blessed by our sweet girl and look forward to what this month holds!

I Love My Aunt

2009-12-08T11:33:00.002-06:00

Dear Aunt Beth,

I had a lot of fun playing with you while I was in Dallas for Thanksgiving. I miss you and wish you lived closer. Come visit me soon!

Love,
Eleanor

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T14:34:00.003-06:00

15 Months Old and A Little Naptime Naughtiness

2009-11-17T11:48:00.005-06:00

You certainly didn't think I would forget to post Eleanor's monthly picture did you? I didn't think so. It has been busy around our house and posting pictures has not been on the top of my to-do list. But today for your viewing pleasure you will find Eleanor's 15 month photo as well as a series of photos we have entitled "A Little Naptime Naughtiness."

First up, 15 month stats.
Height - 31.25 inches (75%)
Weight - 23lbs 2 oz (50%)
Cuteness - 100% (our doctor actually said that- I am not just saying that because I am her mom!)

This is typically the view we see of our sweet Kamikaze. Her backside. As she runs away as fast as she can. Can you see her sweet curls?

Next up, A Little Naptime Naughtiness.

On Saturday, Daniel put Eleanor down for a nap and came downstairs. I kept hearing the sound of rustling paper and asked Daniel if he had made sure all of her toys were out of the crib when he put her down. He said yes. Fast forward about 20 minutes. I could still hear E playing in her crib and occasionally giggling. She then started to fuss and Daniel went up to see if she had lost her paci. I heard Daniel begin to laugh when he entered her room. He then returned downstairs, grabbed the camera and said "you need to see this." My mind immediately went to the image of her hanging over the side of the crib trying to get out or in the crib with all of her clothes off and diaper to boot. How thankful I was when I walked in the room to find this and not one of the other scenarios:

Notice the red canvas tote on the floor and the coordinating canvas totes in their appropriate places on the changing table shelves.

Well, her little escapade did involve diapers just thankfully not the one she was wearing.

And here is sweet little Kamikaze proud of her new found skill of removing her tote from the changing table and emptying it's contents into her crib.

Needless to say, she did not end up taking a morning nap because she was so wound up from all her fun!

Love this little girl to pieces!!!!!

Kamikaze Strikes Again

2009-11-11T21:33:00.007-06:00

If you look closely in the above picture you will see a nice little cut above my eyebrow. How in the world did that happen? Well, yesterday afternoon my sweet little Kamikaze and I were playing on the floor together. She would run up and give me a big sloppy kiss every few minutes. Unfortunately her little legs sometimes get ahead of the rest of her body and as she leaned in to give me a kiss she came crashing down on my face and hit me just right with her teeth. She immediately started to bawl and I quickly checked to make sure she had not knocked a tooth out. I had no idea I was bleeding. After E calmed down I went to wipe what I thought was slobber from my forehead only to see blood. I have a nice little knot and my brow area is pretty tender. This my friends, is life with Kamikaze. Thankfully she was not hurt and I did not require stitches.

Happy Reformation Day

2009-10-31T16:01:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2009-10-28T11:08:00.002-05:00

Mommy and Me

2009-10-27T21:18:00.002-05:00

New Favorite Photo

2009-10-19T16:32:00.003-05:00

A couple weekends ago Daniel, Eleanor and I met up with some friends from Texas at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Natalie took this photo of our family as we were walking through the zoo. I love it! Eleanor is such a big girl and loves to walk everywhere.

Happy Fall

2009-10-17T10:40:00.002-05:00

14 Months

2009-10-15T13:52:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that Eleanor is already 14 months old. She brings us so much joy! Last year at this time E was still so tiny. She weighed a little less than 9 lbs and was still wearing 0-3 month clothes. Now our little girl weighs 23 lbs and wears size 18 month clothes. Last year she was working on rolling over and today we cannot keep her still for a minute. She loves to run and climb. In fact, we have had to remove some of the toys from the play area because she was using them to assist her in climbing on furniture and other objects. Last year she hardly ever made a sound and now she is trying so hard to talk. Just today she was mimicking me as I told her the names of the shapes in her shape box. She still does not say mama very often but when she does it is so sweet. Her favorite person is still daddy and that is ok in my book. When she hears the basement door open she runs to the gate at the top of the stairs and calls to dada until he comes up. She loves music and is a hoot to watch dance. She does this funny little bounce and shakes her bottom. Here's to 14 more months with our precious little one!