Easter pics

My only disclaimer is my camera is truly not right. I bought the new lens and it still doesn't work right so I hardly get the pics I'm trying for. I hate that this fun holiday didn't capture the pics I wanted but I did get flash filled, not looking at Mommy pics galore. Also, it looks like we had our egg hunt in the middle of the night but actually, it was more like 8:00 in the morning. Pjs, puddle stompers, an Easter basket and we're ready to rock. All morning it was rolling thunder around here. From finding the Easter Bunny's note, to digging through her basket and then straight outside we went for the egg hunt. Lots and lots of fun was had by all.

It's nearly Easter!!

And we've got big plans around here! I've been talking to Eloise about the Easter Bunny for weeks now. We've been drawing pictures of him, watching Easter Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, talking about the chocolate the big bunny is going to bring her, and much more. She's now asking for the "Easter Bunny"on a daily basis - I have myself to thank for that. What can I say?? My enthusiam is contagious.

We've planned an egg hunt, dying eggs, baking cookies, hiding a basket of course, and all of the fun stuff that Easter brings. Of course I'm a little over the top with holidays but I can't help it. Eloise is at a great age where she gets excited about what's going on but she really doesn't quite understand what's going on. Lol. So with all of this build-up, I'm happy to say, it's almost Easter!! To celebrate a pinch early, you must check out this hilarious Jib Jab of The Larson's (and Eloise's friend Brody) and The Clarks. Could there be a better way to gear up for the big bunny's debut???

E - l - o - i - s - e

She can spell. I'm not even lying. Eloise can spell E-l-o-i-s-e. It's amazing!  Today she was singing her "abc's"....which typically includes "a, b, c, d, e....." and then she trails off into Eloise-like mumble. Hilarious. This is common place so I typically pick up where she leaves off and encourage her to sing along with me. She usually just tilts her head like a dog and looks at me with a puzzled look on her face. But today, instead of singing with me or looking at me weird, she said "E-l-o-i-s-e."  Are you freaking kidding me?? That's so great!

I used to sing her name and spelling it out was a part of the song I made up. And her name is on the wall in her bedroom so I occasionally sing it when I'm changing her diaper. And then of course, we always write it out in chalk or crayons. So her name has been spelled out to her for her entire life.  But I swear to you, the frequency has died down.  We've been counting more and singing the Elmo song or the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song or reciting shapes. We're all over the place. The focus is no longer on E-l-o-i-s-e.  But today, she just busted out with it. And it was amazing! After she did it once I had to test out the goods.....I said, "what's your name?" And she said, "Eloise." And I said.... "do you know how to spell your name?"  And she looked at me puzzled. I guess "spell" means nothing to her. So I started it for her..."E....." and she said "E-l-o-i-s-e!!"  How fun!  She's like my little circus act. I need to take this show on the road!

Shapes

I meant to jot this down last week. Eloise has been picking up on her shapes for a little while but she really surprised me when we were reading a book. She went through the shapes completely unprompted, and pointed at each one and said... "star, triangle, heart, square, rectangle and circle" all by herself! Mommy's so proud of you, Sweetie Petey!

RaceFest 1/2

Today was the RaceFest 1/2 marathon with tornados, 17mph wind gusts, thunder storms and pouring down rain predicted for the 7:30am start. Awesome. I will say, I never contemplated staying home. There were many who changed plans and decided not to show up. But I figured, what the heck? These races are sometimes as much as $55 a pop. I'm running it.

The weather man did indeed get it right this time, which is unusual for Charlotte. Therefore, a chance for a PR was pretty slim. A 17mph headwind for several miles is no joke. There were times where I couldn't even see the pace I was running from my watch because the wind was causing my eyes to water. Then the thunder at mile 8. The pouring down rain throughout. It was certianly a calamity of errors. With all this said, I crossed the line in 1:36:17 (7:21 per mile pace), well off from a sub 1:34 PR but a good effort nonetheless. I was 4th overall for women and 1st in my age group. Now off to find the next race!

Mr. Bubble is Back

Thanks to my mom and her love of a little nostalgia, Mr. Bubble has made a come back in a big way.  No longer is the big guy the super man in the bath tubs of the 60s, 70's and 80s. He's now the master of Miss Eloise's 2011 bath time. And she honestly could not be having more fun!

One quick trip over to Mr. Bubble's website and I learned he's celebrating his 50th birthday this year. Happy birthday, Mr. Bubble! We're making big hey over at our house for you. I can promise you that. I think we're on about 5 nights in a row of full on bubbles in the bath thanks to you. And since Eloise already had a big love of bubbles, incorporating them into bath time didn't take a lot of arm twisting. No way. You've got a new fan over here, Mr. B. I may be talking out of turn but Michael from daycare might be taking a back seat. I'm just sayin'.

Park playtime

Yesterday was gorgeous outside. Mid 70s and sun. Love it! I went for a fantastic run and Eloise and I met up with friends at the park for some playtime. I snapped a few pics before everyone arrived. And based on her facial expression in nearly every shot, I think you'll see whether or not she enjoyed herself. This park has a great set up for the 2-5 year old group with a jungle gym that Eloise has mastered all of her own - thus allowing Mommy to go a pinch snap crazy with the camera. We will likely be returning today as soon as the sun peeks out and the Monkey gets up from her nap.

Daycare update

We haven't had one of these in awhile. And it's because things have been going really well. But this week in particular, I feel compelled to jot down so some day I can look back and officially say, "it took my daughter exactly 6 1/2 weeks to adjust to daycare."

How do I know? This is how. On Tuesday at drop off, Eloise started introducing me to her friends. Could that scenario honestly be cuter?? A 21 month old pointing (we'll work on that later) to Michael and to Will and to Stewart, and saying "This is Michael, This is Will, This is Stewart." Simply beyond the galaxy of greatness. I knew we were making serious headway.

And we already had been. Drop offs and pickups had been great for a few weeks. We no longer needed teacher intervention. There hadn't been tears for awhile and we knew we were well on our way. But actually introducing me to her friends??  Dare I say the "A" word (adjusted??)?

I didn't though. I waited until Wednesday at which point she again introduced me to some of her friends.  Again, super cute. Then I said, "bye, bye, Eloise. Mommy loves you."  And what did she say and do immediately following??  "See you later, Mommy" and she turned around and ran off with her friends. Oooooohhhhh, yeah. We're there my friends. It's 100% official. Eloise is now completely Adjusted to daycare. Capital A for that one! And a capital A for a little Amen action!

Guess what time of year it is???

It's Sidewalk Chalk Season!! And I know one little girl who is very excited.

Specs Day

Today was "Specs Day" as Eloise was into finding and trying on all sorts of glasses. First, Mr. Potato Head's specs:

And then Gramma's specs...

Which ones do you like better?

The popcorn popper love affair

The weather has been hit or miss lately so when it's nice, Eloise likes to grab her popcorn popper and head outside for some fun. You may remember when the popper first came on the scene and the insant love affair that began.

Now, more than a year later, the love carries on. Some of these pics are a little blurry but I think you'll understand why....she's non-stop. Up and down and the sidewalk she runs with the popper either in front of her or dragging behind her; it's clearly a fav warm weather activity.