Philadephia Trip

We took the kids to visit Grandpop, Aunt Barbara, and Uncle Ted last weekend. They were amazing in the car, both very well behaved and slept most of the time. Eric had such a fun time playing with everyone. Grandpop got Eric some new cars and a track. We were also able to take both kids out to dinner. We had a great trip!
It rained all day today so we didn't do much. We did go to playgroup this morning where Eric got to play with playdough and markers. He was really upset about the marker on his hands and kept trying to rub it off. He had spaghetti for dinner which I think is his favorite. He calls it "Gegi."
Miss Ellie has alternated sleeping and smiling all day. Eric has fun pointing out her nose, mouth, hands, etc.

Doctor- 18 Month Visit

Today we went to see Dr. Daley for Eric's 18 month visit. He is 24 lb. 11 oz. and 33 inches long. (more than 1/2 as tall as mommy!) He is tall for his age and weight is average. Dr. Daley said Eric is one of the best behaved 18 month olds she has seen. She said this before the tantrum caused by the bandaid. There was no problem with Eric having his finger pricked for his iron test but he was adamant that he did not want that bandaid! He flirted with the nurses, blowing them goodbye kisses.
This morning we went to see Music with Phillip which was suprisingly relaxing for Mommy because Eric just sat on my lap the whole time watching instead of running around like a madman. Ellie is smiling away in her kick and play. She slept through Philip's music and the doctor's office but now that Eric is in bed... Ellie is thinking PARTY!

Eric's words of the day: oval, crab

Pickles

Today Andrew made homemade dill pickles. I am very impressed because it was quite an undertaking. He got cucumbers from my dad's garden, a recipe from the 1930s, dill from our garden, and mason jars. He even had to immerse the full jars in boiling water. Can't wait to try them.
Eric is 18 months, 1 1/2 today! I can't believe it. Everyone says how they grow so fast but you don't realize it until you have your own. We just came back from the mall where Eric was very excited about the American flags everywhere. He loves to point and say 'ga' which means 'star.' He also got Nannie to buy him a new car.
Ellie is doing great. She seems like she is going to be super happy like her brother. We certainly hope so.
Funny Eric moment of the day: I was half under the bed helping Andrew adjust the mattress and all of a sudden I was screaming because cold water was running all over my head, neck, and back. Eric managed to unscrew a bottle of water and pour it on me!!!

Igee, Zygote and Other Eric Words

Eric is obsessed with oranges, or should I say 'igees.' He loves them. When he wants a snack he will run up to the fridge and say 'igee.' 'Igee' and 'taxi' are my two favorite Eric words. Here are a couple of other things he can say:
car, dog, kitty, purple, mama, dada, nannie, papa, auntie, cow, star, puffs, Kix, apple, bubbles, kite, Kate, moon, Ellie, more, help, belly, nose, eyes, neck, moon, sky, ear, and zygote. (repeated when we were talking about him being in London as a zygote.) Now that he is a repeater he can say a lot more than this.
Some funny pronunciations:
Lego-gegu Lindsay-Gigi
moon-mmmm star-ga
car-cah cah dog-dog dog
kitty-kiki taxi-tacky

Haircut

The kids are getting cuter by the day. Eric is running every minute now, lining up his fleet of cars and pointing out all the things he recognizes. Eric’s favorite things are stars and cars. He notices every American flag and says ‘ga.’ We read Goodnight Moon every night and so last night Eric looked out the front window waving and smiling, his first time seeing the real moon. Daddy gave Eric a haircut yesterday. The long curls have been buzzed off and Eric looks like such a grown up boy now. Very cute. Ellie is growing like a weed and eating as much as she can. She is a smiler like her brother and loves to be talked to.

Tot Lot

Andrew took Eric to the Tot Lot to play today. We have been taking him to the park all summer. I tried to go a couple times a week. In June it was hard. I had to bring Rachel because I couldn't move being pregnant with Ellie. Watching Eric at the playground really shows how much he has grown. Before he wouldn't go near the slide or bridges. Now he is so confident, climbing all over everything. He carefully watches the bigger kids and follows what they do. Eric's favorite things to do at the park now are dig in the sand and go on the seesaw with Mommy. One day last week, Eric was following two older girls around dancing and showing off... a ladies man already!

Blueberries, Kayaking, and More

Just came back from Maine, where we went to visit Becky's Mom's B&B. It was a great inn at a great location in Southwest Harbor. We did a lot of walking and sightseeing. What a beautiful area! Andrew went kayaking with Rich and Becky had to go save them when they got stuck. Eric loved going on a hike.. he tried to pick up big boulders along the trail. We went to Acadia National Park. Andrew and I loved all the scenery but I think Eric was most impressed with the toy store that had dozens of the same mini-hummer that he has.
The kids were both so well behaved in the car and on the trip. Eric loved showing his cars to everyone and setting them up in a line over and over. Eric was especially impressed by the amount of blueberries in Maine. Ellie slept practically the whole trip but we did take some pics to show she went along.
The last night we went out to a lobster place by the water. We paid in three separate groups so they put a star on each of our receipts to show we were together. Imagine Eric's excitement at seeing those stars! Poor Ellie had one of her first major meltdowns at the restaurant so Mommy had to walk her around outside.
We had a really great time!!