First Big Boo Boo

Eric has been so lucky to not have been injured at all yet. Today we went to the Sprinkler Park and he came running over telling me he got a bump. I asked where and he said "my ankle" and I kept looking but didn't see anything. So he sat on the bench wrapped in a towel looking very sad for about 15 minutes and then jumped at the chance to go home when I asked. When we got to the car his shorts pulled up a little and I saw he had skinned his knee which was hiding under his shorts. Poor little guy was so brave!

I'm a Red Sox

So much has been happening lately.
Eric has started calling Ellie Baby Elle. They are doing good. Already a few sibling moments like Eric pulling her down when she is trying to stand and Ellie laughing hysterically whenever he cries. They love each other so much. Eric invited her outside today, saying "Come outside Baby Aya, eat the grass."
We went to Chicago for the weekend and left them with Nannie and Papa for the first time. They had fun going to Castle Island and South Shore Plaza. It was time to have some time alone and the wedding was great!!
The cutest thing Eric has been doing is swinging his bat very seriously and saying "I'm a Red Sox." He winds up to pitch and pretends to slide into the bases. He wants to watch the Sox every night. Definitely a sports enthusiast.
Ellie's first word seems to be "Hi," she says it all the time. Maybe a social butterfly!

Baby Aya

I know sometime Eric will stop calling Ellie Baby Aya but I hope it's not any time soon. It is so cute to hear him say it. Whether it's "No Baby Aya" or "Love you baby Aya" it makes me laugh all the time.
Eric finally got outside with his friends today after 8 days of rain. He loves the sandbox and the swings. Ellie was trying to eat the grass so there is no way she's going in the sandbox for a while. She'll probably be walking by her birthday, now she is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. No teeth yet..

Upwords

I jumped in the shower while the kids were watching a DVD and came out to see that Eric found our Upwords game under the bed and had the tiles spread out everywhere!!! Now the game is his favorite toy. He stacks up the letters, lays them out on the board, recites the ones he knows. He even knows Ellie can't have the tiles and says "only on the bed" when he takes the box out. So far he can recognize A, B, C, O, U, Q, W, E and I. He can also count 1-4 now which is an improvement from 1-2-9-10.

Standing Up

Ellie can stand up in her crib now. It is still such a surprise to see her standing when we go in to get her. Today I heard Eric say "Good Morning Baby Aya" and the response I heard was her jumping up and down on her crib mattress. So sweet!

2 Year/9 Month Doctor Visits

Eric- 35 inches tall weighs 28 lbs. low iron but otherwise fine
Ellie-27 inches tall weighs 18 lbs. 10 oz. perfectly healthy

Uh Oh Milk Mama

Eric made a long sentence this morning "Uh Oh Milk Mama, Eric Gregory did it."
He said this after spilling his cereal milk all over himself and his chair.
In other kitchen news, Ellie is eating Cheerios, pieces of bread, crackers, and baby food fruits. She will not eat any veggies!

Laughing Together

Today in the car, Eric was kicking his legs and moving his head side-to-side singing and Ellie started laughing. So he kept doing it and they were cracking up laughing together. It was so sweet because it was really the first time that they really paid attention to each other without anyone else involved.

Happy Birthday to Eric

Eric had an awesome 2nd birthday. He wore his special green shirt with a car on it that he picked out himself. He had 5 friends over and they ate cupcakes and played with cars. Eric got Wiggles, Thomas the Train and basketball balloons.
We had his family party today and he was so excited! He ate more cake and clapped and sang along with everyone. He got so many presents but he seems to love his remote control car from Auntie Julie and his basketball from Auntie Carole and Roger!

True Love

True love is when a little boy falls asleep clutching a mini basketball and a mini football. Soooo sweet.

8 months and Almost 2

Only one more week until Eric's birthday! He is getting very excited. Ask him how old he will be and he says "one for baby Aya" and "2 Eric." He is starting to sing Happy Birthday and Ring Around the Rosy.
Ellie is 8 months now. She is starting to talk saying da, da, da, da. I guess Mama is never a first word! She has a little personality now.
Lately the kids have been playing in the pack and play together. I know Eric is a little old for this but he is jealous when she is in there so now they go in together.
Eric's latest phrases are: By the way, oh man, don't do that, please, thank you, welcome, and my favorite "love you" which he said for the first time on Valetines Day!

Talking Machine

Yes, Eric is a talking machine!!! He repeats everything and is chatting every minute. Some of our favorite words of his are lambourghini, fire truck, mango, basketball, snow shovel, tuna. We just like that he can answer a question... or do we? (no, no, no, and no)
Ellie is the sweetest baby ever. She just sits and watches Eric all day and is never demanding or fussy unless she needs a bottle. Her favorites these days are the jumper, exersaucer, and her new highchair. She can roll over both ways now and is getting dangerously close to crawling. She grabs anything in sight to chew on, especially matchboxes, gotta watch out. No teeth yet. One more month until we have a two-year-old!

Holidays

The holidays were a blast. We spent Christmas day at Gay Street and at Auntie Carole's for dinner. The kids were both so good all day. Eric definitely has the hang of opening gifts. He hopefully says 'car' as he rips each one open. He pulled the tree down a couple weeks ago. He was just too mesmerized by it.
We drove down to North Carolina to visit Tina, Mike and the kids. We had such a great time. We went hiking and went to a nature conservatory. We walked through Asheville downtown in the pouring rain. Eric loves spending time with his cousins and the dog is still talking about them. The kids took a bath together while we were there and amazingly Eric joined them. We have Marley and Allysun to thank for teaching Eric that baths are fun, he practically jumps in with his clothes on now. We miss them already.
Not much else new, may be a quiet few months. The countdown to the Terrible Twos begins.

Time is Flying

So much has happened since my last entry. Ellie is 5 1/2 months now. I have weaned her onto formula because she was eating a million times a day. She now eats baby food and oatmeal or rice cereal. She loves her Exersaucer, Jumper, and just lying on the floor playing.
Eric is 21 months. He is so active. Still into cars along with trains, scooters, and anything that moves. He is talking so much now and repeating a lot. He calls his sister "Baby Aya." His milk is "nookie." The two things closest to his heart, binky and blankie, he can say very clearly.
Eric got to play out in the snow for the first time. He wasn't too sure at first, but soon he was following Daddy around trying to get the shovel. The Boston Globe will be publishing a picture I sent in of Eric reaching up for the snow shovel.
We all went to Disney World while we were down in Florida for Thanksgiving/Jerry and Lisa's wedding. Eric got to go on the Indy Speedway with Daddy and Ellie was most excited about It's A Small World. Eric is obsessed with his grandparents' dog Chloe. He longing calls "Chlope" everytime he sees a picture of a dog.
In other news, Eric pulled down the Christmas tree the other day. He was shocked himself and stays away from it now for the most part. Aside from a few broken ornaments there was no harm done. (Next year tabletop tree!)
The kids are both sleeping in their room now. When Ellie waked up crying Eric either sleeps through or sits up in crib and says "Aya" over and over to alert us of her crying. What a sweet brother already.
At Ellie's 5 month appointment she weighed 15lb 7oz and was 26 inches tall.... which is the height limit for her carrier. Yikes! How will we carry two kids out of the car without the carrier...we'll see.
Everyone is getting excited for Christmas!

3 Months Old

Ellie just turned three months old! I can't believe it. She is awake so much now. She loves the Kick and Play seat and she likes being talked to. She is always smiling and laughing. I have a feeling she'll be a chatterbox. She is just starting to grip things and Eric likes to put Legos and cars in her little hands to hold.
Eric says more words now than I can list. Last night he pointed out the window and said "dark." I think he saves up words and says them when we least expect it. He is also on a hunger strike. He will only eat what he wants when he wants. He broke his two favorite plates by balancing them on his head after finishing. Eating is a big game now so we are hoping for his appetite to return soon. It has been raining the past 2 days so we have been stuck inside.
Last night was the first night we needed the heat on so today Eric got three new pairs of feety PJ's. (thanks Nannie!) Ellie has a ton already.
Getting ready for our big trip to Atlanta this weekend! (1 1/2 day trip)

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.