Save it for Sunday | 9.30.18

The Highlights

There honestly has not been much big activity around here lately. We have just been chugging along at normal every day life and knocking off to do list tasks before Dadford is gone for round two of deployment training. We are looking forward to crossing this one off the list because then he is all ours for the holidays until the big "see you later". Life around here lately has been filled with lovely things like GRE test taking and preschool parents night. Brad took the GRE once more and improved his score by a few points in each category. His application is due very soon for one of his biggest military career goals, and I truly believe he has done everything in his power to make it happen. We are really proud of him and praying for a big celebration after the new year. We also attended parents night at Eloise's preschool and thoroughly enjoyed hearing her teachers talk about the spark they see in her. I am so thankful for educators who value her the way we do.

We have squeezed in a little fun too! We hosted our friends Harrison and Rose and their son for Friday night chili their first week here at Fort Carson. Harrison and Brad were in the same company at West Point. I actually just found their wedding thank you note while doing some basement organizing in which Rose wrote she hoped our paths would cross again somewhere down this wild Army ride. A handful of kiddos later, here we are! It was a riot to see Harvey and Henry, who are just a few months apart, playing together. We attended a bowling birthday party too for the daughter of one of Brad's coworkers. It was a little tough at times for my littles to fit in with a gaggle of first graders, but watching Brad guide both kids made it worth while. Eloise would tell you the dirt cake was pretty okay the best thing she has ever tasted in her almost four years of life too.

Now that Eloise is in school, I really wanted to make a Mommy-Harvey activity a priority. Second child syndrome is so real. He has spent his entire life just happily shadowing Eloise while hanging in dance studio waiting rooms and on the soccer sidelines. This week Harvey took his first gymnastics classes! I am still torn between gymnastics or a library storytime for our time together, but it sure was a blast to see him running around the gym as fast as his little legs could carry him. He is working very hard on mastering the art of jumping. No actual air yet, but my heart could burst watching him try to get those chubby feet off the floor. I also finally signed both kids up for one-on-one swimming lessons starting in December. I had a tough time enrolling them with the instructor I had my eye on this summer. I figured I would wait it out and try again this winter. No one is really thinking much about swimming lessons in December, but I figure it will be the perfect timing to hopefully get them both water safe in time for summer fun at Nana and Mickey's pool.

The Small Moments

I declared Friday a stay at home and catch up on laundry day. We decided to bake our favorite new banana muffin recipe for breakfast. Eloise decided they needed to wear their super hero capes while baking for best results. Their capes were given to them by St. Louis Children's Hospital when Harvey's aneurysm was first diagnosed. It makes me smile seeing them get so much play time and love. So much love that Grandma Sue had to sew snaps on last time she was here to replace the worn out velcro. Harvey will even come to me with his in his hands saying "super, super, on, on." Super Eloise was an excellent baker while Super Harvey was excellent at scattering tupperware all over the floor. It was my kind of morning with my favorite people.

As a way to encourage her to get to know her classmates better, Brad told Eloise he would give her a candy corn for every new friend's name she can recall after school. She'll say, "I have four names today. Micah, Logan, Abigail, and Emily. Candy corns please." So stinking adorable. And mad dad props to Brad for thinking of a clever and fun way to get her to engage in conversation and work on her memory. As if she has a single shy bone in her body or trouble making friends, right?

As I was pulling out of the garage for a girls night, I was surprised by the sweetest departure view. Brad had hurried the kids out the front door, and they were all sitting on the porch waving goodbye and blowing kisses. I had to stop to snap a picture. Sometimes I still feel overwhelmingly grateful that I have been entrusted with this beautiful family. One of those what in the world did I do to deserve this much happiness kind of moments. Whatever I did, I am thankful for it. I am, of course, thankful for Ruby pup too. She makes this picture complete.

The Ways We Grew

New Harvey words: dinner, hungry, sit down (said while running to his booster seat as soon as he sees me prepping food), eat, scrub (when washing hands). Notice a trend? Dude loves meal time. Although he has gotten significantly pickier lately, but I am blaming it on teething. He has 10 teeth now including four full molars. He is showing interest in learning his letters and colors, although for now he declares just about every letter to be H. Room for improvement! Another new one and favorite of ours is "yep". It is so cool to hear him verbally reply when we ask him questions.

My Eloise Mae. Sometimes it is tough to think of the ways she grew because Harvey's are just much more obvious at this age. Her imagination is beginning to run wild. She loves to tell and listen to made up stories. At every bedtime we are all together Dadford, Eloise, and I all each make up a new story. Last time we FaceTimed with my parents she insisted Papa and Sue both make up stories on the spot too. My dads was about an elephant in the circus that needed a name and Eloise won the contest to choose a name for him. After he ended the story he asked real life Eloise what she named him. Without missing a beat, she said his name is Kazookie. A perfect name for an elephant. She is hide and seek obsessed right now too. Some of my favorite moments of the week come from the four of us playing together. It is usually a toss up as to who gives away the most hiding spots, Harvey or Ruby. Eloise's squeal every time she is found is music to my ears. Brad's schedule allowed him to take Eloise to school this week, and I'm not sure who was happier about it, me or her.

The Witt-isms

I felt the need to change this from strictly Eloise-isms because Harvey is making us laugh just as much now too with the adorably hilarious things he says.

"Did you poop?" -Me

"Yep." -Harvey

Let It Go comes on on Spotify
"MOM. This is your JAM!" -Eloise

"Beep, beep, beep." -Harvey, backing up

"BEEP!" -Harvey as heard through the monitor after someone honked their car horn outside

"Chitty chitty bang bang, we love you." -Brad, singing in the car

"What'd you say? Chicken nuts? Squirrels eat nuts!" -Eloise

October arrives tomorrow! My cider lane candle is burning nonstop and pumpkins are in every corner of the house to celebrate. We have also finalized Halloween costume plans. If you know me well, you know I do not care much for Halloween. As fate would have it, it is one of Brad's all time favorite holidays. I think somewhere in the fine print of our marriage license Brad snuck in that I will get on board with family costumes each year. So far I have actually had a lot of fun planning and making them. Year one we were safari guides with a baby elephant Eloise. Pregnant me was Pooh Bear, Brad was Christopher Robin, and Eloise was Piglet for year two. Last year we were all Mary Poppins characters. Stay tuned to see what Halloween 2018 will bring! Hint: staying true to history, we have let Eloise's interests and opinion determine our family theme. Unfortunately Brad will be gone, but I have promised our trio will not let him down. He is using his engineering skills to build a component of our costumes to make sure a piece of him comes along for the trick-or-treating fun.

The napping house

Note: Scout the green dog tucked into the bed she made for him

He is using the blanket she was first swaddled in as a newborn

Save it for Sunday | 9.16.18

Two week recap! Last week was a big one. Eloise had her first day of school. This week was another big one. I travelled to Missouri to meet and help care for my friend Jackie's newborn twin girls. So much going on and a ton of happy memories made. We are looking forward to some normalcy ahead after a few crazy busy, but also crazy good, weeks.

The Highlights

The obvious highlight of last week was Eloise's first day of preschool on Tuesday. Rather than posting a save it for Sunday I opted to capture some major feelings about it. Read more detail than you ever cared to know about it here.

Grandma Sue has been in the house the past two weeks (hallelujah)! I could not have achieved half the things I did the first week without her help. For example, box up the kids' clothes that are too small and reorganize drawers and closets for fall, pick out and order new glasses, make and deliver dinner for my friend who just had a baby, order new fall clothes for the kids and run around town returning what didn't fit, ship a birthday gift, get my hair done, sleep in, see my baby off to preschool without melting into a puddle of my tears, the list goes on and on. At the top of our success list though ranks a spooktastic playroom transformation. Brad has always loved that his mom decorated their house for Halloween growing up. Mine did too, but Halloween has just never been a favorite holiday of mine so I tend to skip right to the pretty fall and Thanksgiving decor. Not this year! While he was away at training I decided to surprise him and go all out in the playroom. I figured that was a good compromise without covering my house in orange, black, and fake spider webs. It turned out even better than I imagined! The orange, green, and purple lights create the perfect ghostly glow at night. It is cute and appropriately spooky for Eloise and Harvey's age. I love every detail, and I always appreciate the way my mom diligently helps me make my vision come to life no matter what project I drag her into. Maybe this year I will volunteer to stay home on Halloween, cuddle up with the candy basket on the playroom chair, and wait for trick-or-treaters.

Last Saturday was my girlfriend Stephanie's birthday. We had big plans to go to Board & Brush to make some cute wood plank signs together and then to the Principals Office, a coffee shop by day and bar by night built into the old Ivywild school house. About 15 minutes into our projects as we were busy staining our boards, our sweet friend who was 32 weeks pregnant at the time with a diagnosed high risk condition had a huge health scare that really shook us all. Baby boy had other party plans in mind for the evening. I was immediately on the phone with 911, Stephanie was trying to contact her deployed husband, another friend is nursing her newborn, and two others were right by her side keeping her calm. I am still thanking God that we were all together when it happened. We rushed behind the ambulance to the hospital and took shifts by her bedside, contacting both sets of parents, gathering information to process the Red Cross alert necessary to notify her husband overseas, and running to her house to let her pups out and gather overnight items. Baby boy is still safe and snug in her belly, but she will likely be in the hospital on bedrest until he arrives premature in the next few days or weeks. The celebration was far from what we had expected for the night, but I rolled into bed past midnight in awe yet again of the strength of the military community. There is nothing like it. We are all unfortunately or fortunately, whichever way you look at it, so used to operating under chaos solo without our spouses that we did not miss a beat in making sure our girl and her baby were safe and cared for. I have so much gratitude always for our Army family, but it was inspiring and comforting to see it in action under the worst and scariest circumstances. This lifestyle might leave us "alone" way too often, but we are never truly alone.

Happy Birthday from the Birth Center

Bright and early the next morning after celebrating Steph's birthday hospital style, I loaded up and headed east for our old stomping grounds. Months prior my mom had agreed to take care of my kids here at home while I returned to Fort Leonard Wood to meet Blake and Kennedy and to help however I could. As it turns out, Jackie is literally twin super mom! I helped in small ways, cooking dinner every night and keeping the girls so she could escape for a haircut and workout. I spent plenty of time just laying on the ground during tummy time taking in these two miracles and snuggled on the couch staring at their beautiful snoozing faces. There is no better feeling than the rise and fall of a sleeping newborn on your chest and no better sound than their little dream noises. Multiply that by two? Heaven on Earth. Our biggest achievement was moving the twins successfully from the master bedroom to their own room and cribs to sleep at night! Jackie felt ready but was appropriately nervous. The comfort of having the ears of another mama trained to listen for them in the middle of the night helped her take the plunge, and they both did amazing. Jackie is making twin life look like a piece of cake, and I am so proud of her for it. Thank you for sharing your girls with me, Jackie and Chris! I loved every snuggle and every spit up. Every book read and diaper changed. Love you, Blake and Kennedy.

Good to be "home" on Frizell Street

The icing on the Fort Leonard Wood cake was reuniting with the few remaining friends from our time there. You better believe we found time for a donut walk together.

The Small Moments

Dance class is really starting to pay off. Eloise hopped up from her spot at dinner and nailed an exercise Miss Debi does with the girls. She held her ballet arms out in front of her as if she was wrapping them around a giant marshmellow, then above her head like a rainbow, and then slowly lowered them down to her sides with the daintiest little ballerina wrist roll in the middle. All the while saying, "marshmellow, rainbow, ahhh." I will have to figure out a way to upload a video because it had my mom and I dying.

I put a motion activated sound machine in the playroom as part of the Halloween decorations. It is high enough on the book shelf that only adults set it off during the day, but at night it is the off and on of the light that sets it off. It's actually perfect and pretty spectacularly spooky. Before I even took it out of the packaging I let Eloise and Harvey play with it to make sure it was not going to result in terrified tears every time someone set it off. Our fearless Eloise obviously took to it immediately and decided it was fun to click through the 27 sounds until she got to the shrieking cats. Oliver and Lola thought that was big fun (not). The first couple of clicks sent Harvey flying into my arms. He never cried. He just looked very cautiously at it and quietly muttered, "Oh no." I did not hate the snuggles, and I could tell he wanted to brave like his big sister. The first time he ran toward it instead of away the packaging came off and it found it's current home hidden behind Vampirina Ballerina on our bookshelf. Last night on our way up to bed Brad turned off the front entryway light and triggered it. The moans of ghouls made him jump. It made me giggle. Maybe I could learn to love Halloween after all.

The Ways We Grew

New Harvey words: pookie pookie (spooky), I got it, big boy, funny, too! too! (when he wants to do what Eloise is doing too), dropped it. I left for five days and came home to find my baby can count to five! Well, sort of. He forgets "one" every time, insistently beginning at "two" no matter how many times you try to restart. He also can climb onto the couch without help and is pretty proud of himself...until he falls off almost every time. Ai yi yi.

Ever since the first day of school Eloise has been telling us about her classmate with one eye. She is usually very spot on with her observations, but you just never know what to believe about the recollections of a day in the life of a preschooler. My mom texted while I was in Missouri to say there is in fact a girl in her class with an eye patch, and she was waiting specifically for Eloise to play one day during drop off. I talked to Eloise via FaceTime that night and reminded her to ask her new friend what her name was. It was a good teaching moment to talk about focusing not just on what made her different but on what made her a good friend too. As she skipped out of school the next day, she said, "ABIGAIL. My friend's name is Abigail!" So far school is proving to be a positive experience in all of the ways I hoped it would.

My homecoming was full of mixed and unexpected emotions. I got home just in time to give Eloise good night kisses. Her surprise and thrill was amazing. I don't even have perfect words to describe it or the happy noises she made. She'd pull back to look at my face to confirm it really was me and then resume with the cling hugging and squealing. Harvey, on the other hand, held a big grudge that really took me by surprise. I thought he would run to me in the morning, but it was clear I made my mama's boy very angry by leaving. He hid from me for a while, and it just about broke my heart. We realized this trip was easily the longest I have ever been away from him. Not to worry, after a short play time he was back to his usual mama mama mama. Safe to say I am never leaving again.

The Eloise-isms

"Look! I'm winking with both eyes."

"I have to drink all my milk so I can grow big and strong. I will have big muffles." *flexes biceps and grunts* "Daddy, show me your muffles!"

"Mom, make me some privacy." -- As I tried to follow her into the bathroom to help


I cannot say this week is a wrap without a HUGE thank you to my mom and dad. My mom came out to save the day just as I was approaching my breaking point. My dad came out a week later to lend a hand during my week in Missouri. Thank you for maintaining the flow of our routine in my absence and for every picture sent to ease my homesick heart. I am thankful for the effort and time you both put in to build a close bond with the kids despite the long distance. They clearly had no fun at all with you. I will be holding the memories of our family game of hide and seek close until we see you again. Love you!

Everything Eloise knows about hide and seek she clearly learned from Papa Mark.

Learning to Let Go

Tuesday, September 4, 2018

Eloise Mae,

You started school today. I barely slept last night. I packed you turkey and cheese roll ups, yellow peppers sliced thin the way you like them, grapes, and three alphabet cookies for dessert. I wrote you a note I hoped your teachers would read to you. I worried about what in the world I will pack my PB&J loving girl for your peanut-free classroom all year. You wore a denim overall dress with a white shirt underneath, navy blue bunny flats, and a white bow with cursive ABC's printed on it. I carefully chose each piece of your outfit weeks in advance, joking with a friend that surely your Harvard career would be over before it began if I didn't pick just the right thing. You forced a smile and said, "too many mom" as I snapped 598 pictures. You wanted to smell the new mums on the porch more than you wanted to be photographed. You smiled bigger, your gorgeous true grin, when I told you Santa was watching and working on his nice list. My heart raced watching you hug your brother goodbye outside. He cried not knowing where his best friend was going and why he couldn't go too. Or maybe he just cried because he saw all of the colorful toys in your classroom out of his reach. Only Harvey knows the truth. We walked into your very first classroom together, just me and you. The same way we started. You were full of confidence and a kind heart. Your tiny hand let go of mine, your new Frozen lunchbox held proudly in the other. You hung up your backpack at your cubby, the last one in a row of shiny new backpacks. I asked to take another picture (I know, I know) next to your cubby simultaneously as you discovered your dress had pockets. No chance of a smiling picture. The first thing you played with was a kaleidoscope with images from Peter Pan when you turned the wheel. Next was a bin of Mr. Potato Head toys. Next was a blonde haired boy named Logan (Uncle Josh already has a close eye on him). You sat on an orange triangle matching your name tag in a circle with your classmates when your teacher said it was time to read a special story before goodbyes. I kissed your hand and you kissed mine just like Chester Raccoon and his mama do in The Kissing Hand. I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying hard not to be the crazy mom that loses it. I missed your Daddy a ton, almost as much as I missed him the day you were born. And then we hugged tight, I reminded you that I love you always and to be kind, and I walked away.

It is just preschool. It is only two days a week. But on this day, the fleeting period of time where you were all mine ended. Up until today I have been a part of nearly every minute of your life. I have heard and seen all of the things said and done to you, and I have been there every step of the way to help your tiny brain process new experiences and emotions. I have to let go now. I have to accept that things will shock you in both good ways and bad. People will hurt your feelings while others will lift you up. You will excel in your strengths and struggle with your weaknesses. And beginning today I might not be there to see you do it and help you through it. That realization is a hurdle of parenthood that I was not expecting to struggle with as much as I am.

I want to remember every tiny detail of today and who you are right now. I was the biggest eye roller of them all when moms much wiser than me told me not to blink because you will grow up too fast. Those words should not be said to a new mom who feels like she will never sleep through the night again. But now I wish I could shout that sentiment, as annoying as it may be, from the rooftops for all moms to hear. It feels like last week they put you in my arms for the first time. We met and I had to learn the difference between your cries and the way you liked to be rocked that soothed you best. Did I embrace it all enough? Did I document it all properly to reflect on years from now? My hard drive overflowing with pictures says I did. And I hope these words will capture the way I felt letting you take those first small steps out into this journey on your own.

I know you will thrive in this great big world. You are more than capable of holding your own. I am going to do my best to describe you as you are on this day. You are joyfully energetic. People are naturally drawn to you because you make them laugh. You are eager to learn, observant, full of questions, and have a steel trap memory. Promises made to you even months ago are always fulfilled, you make sure of it. You are very in tune with others' emotions and desperately want to achieve happiness for all. You will often ask, "Is he/she a little bit mad or a little bit sad?" You are stubborn and strong. On days when your stubborn combines with a threenager attitude we say you are being a little spicy. You like things done the way you imagined. You are a natural born performer and comedian, always singing and dancing. You like to pretend to be a baby cat and assign people silly names. Silly names are usually jibberish for everyone except Harvey. His silly name is always Bob. You are adamant in your declaration that when you grow up you want to be a firefighter and a mommy. Every morning you shout excitedly from your bed, "It's wake up time! The sky is awake!" Your curiosity and zest for life is something I try to learn from you every day. Your spark is something special.

I waited excitedly in line as they released you one by one to us. You ran across the room back into my arms with the biggest smile on your face, the Santa is watching kind. Your tiny hand slipped effortlessly right back into mine. Your teacher said the most notable part of your first day was that you were a good friend to a crying classmate who was missing her mom. She said you drew our stick people family and beautiful blue waves on the easel. Your curls were messy with a piece sticking out of it's style I had neatly secured that morning. A sure sign of a good time. You described your first day as terrific, a word I didn't even think you knew, and said the best part was eating lunch. A girl after my own heart. I breathed a sigh of relief with you not only back by my side, but back after a great first day. I knew you would love it. Because you love to learn, play, and be social so much I am confident your educational career is going to be thoroughly enjoyed. Those first day jitters? I think they were mostly all me this year, and maybe they still will be for every year to come as I watch your independence grow. While you are busy learning to read, write, add, and subtract, I will be learning to let go.

And as for Harvard? We agreed after reviewing pictures of adorable you today that your early acceptance letter should be on its way. Michigan State would of course be a great choice too. Wherever you want to go and whoever you want to be, Dadford and I will be right here to cheer you on. We are your biggest fans. I am so proud of you, Eloise.

Love,
Mommy

Had to crawl before you walked

Before you ran

Before I knew it

You were trying to free your fingers from my hand

Cause you could do it on your own now

Somehow

Slow down

Won't you stay here a minute more

I know you want to walk through the door

But it's all too fast

Let's make it last a little while

I pointed to the sky and now you wanna fly

I am your biggest fan

I hope you know I am

But do you think you can somehow

Slow down

Save it for Sunday | 9.2.18

The Highlights

It's the most wonderful time of year...college football is back! The first Michigan State game of the season makes me feel all kinds of homesick for the banks of the Red Cedar. Usually I feel like I am out on an island cheering by myself while my whole family is caught up in the excitement of college game day on campus. Not this year! Our friends out here are fellow Michiganders and huge State fans! Watching the game together and sharing favorite tailgate recipes made me feel just a little closer to my East Lansing home. At our house, Brad tosses Eloise in the air for every MSU point scored. It is a touchdown celebration tradition that dates back to my dad tossing me and my sister in the air when we were her age. Mr. Eric even graciously filled in for Dadford to complete Eloise's touchdown tosses. It was such fun to plan our Sparty Party as sweet Addi so perfectly named it, and you better believe there are many more to come as our Spartans play on. Go Green!

As usual, Mr. Cheeks is just here for the treats

On Thursday we had meet the teacher day at Eloise's preschool. She has been bubbling with excitement about meeting them ever since we enrolled her. She woke up that day like it was Christmas morning and asked to have her hair "fancy" (blown dry). It was surreal to see her name amongst her future classmates neatly written on a cut out of a s'more on the door to her woodlands themed classroom. Her teachers were delightful. They both noted in the short time they sat to play and get to know her one-on-one before the first day of school that she is not shy and she is a fast, eager learner. Bingo! That's our Eloise. I feel so reassured that we chose the best place for our girl and look forward to watching her grow. Say some prayers for my heart on Tuesday morning! Even though I know she is so ready and excited, I can't help but be reminded that those precious, brief first years of having her home with me 100% of the time are over. My mom promises me again and again that each next phase is just as good as or better than the last, but I still just cannot believe how fast the time flies by. I know as soon as she has waved goodbye and is out of sight I'll be counting down the minutes to hear all about her day.

The Small Moments

I hate every minute of time the Army separates our family, but in an effort to always find the silver lining, I do love the appreciation for each other that the time apart always seems to rebuild. It is the little things your spouse does for you that are taken for granted until he or she isn't there to do them. I always read before I fall asleep. Most of the time "read" means open my Kindle and get through a paragraph or two pages if I am extra energized before I pass out. Every morning my glasses are neatly folded and set on Brad's night stand. This week I woke up a few mornings with my glasses still on my face. A sad reminder of my loneliness, or a happy reminder that many of my days are spent with a man who looks out for me in both the big ways and the tiny every day ones. Have I already written about this? For some reason I feel like I have. Someone please tell me if I am losing my mind. You guys are probably like sheesh she really loves the way he takes her glasses off after she falls asleep. Ha! Hurry home, love.

Just because the number of pictures I take of my fur babies has drastically reduced since 2015, that doesn't mean the number of times I am grateful for their unrelenting love is any less. This week in particular I found myself in awe of them and thankful for their company. Nothing major, just a sunny afternoon on the patio with Ruby and folding laundry on my bedroom floor with Oliver and Lola. I will never stop loving the way cats seek out a tiny, single ray of sunshine on the floor. Now if only Ruby would quit barking every time a leaf blows by the house and the cats would quit peeing on the floor two feet away from their clean litter boxes. Hey, we have to take the good with the bad right? They're so worth it.

Every morning before I dive into another busy day I read my Guidepost devotional. My Grandma gets one for my mom, sister, and me every year for Christmas. This week Eloise asked what I was doing, so I read that day's story out loud to her. Now every morning if she is up already she helps me make my bed and asks to lay with me while I read. Her quiet presence (because her presence is hardly ever quiet) is such a gift and the perfect way to start the day.

The Ways We Grew

New favorite Harvey words: jammies, Tigger, I got it, "meeka" (Mickey Mouse). He still uses "cooze me" (excuse me) at both the right and wrong times. The other day I overheard this conversation in the tub as they were creating Santa Claus beards with bath bubbles:

"Harvey, what do you say?" -E
"Cooze me." -H
"No, you say ho ho ho!" -E

In his defense, he did use it correctly the other day after he burped at the table. My friend was over for dinner and his tiny man manners just about blew her away. I am glad someone else witnessed it! It is definitely my favorite thing he says right now. My current favorite thing he does is bend his knees and spring with all his might, trying to get off the ground but never quite making it. Maybe next week jumping will be in the ways we grew category. In the meantime, watching his delight as he thinks he is getting air is my favorite thing in the world. Now accepting suggestions for how to purchase a 28 pound bag of dog food you came to the store for when you refuse to put down 25 pounds of sleepy, snuggling Harvey.

In Eloise land, we struggled with some big emotions this week stemming from movies. I am learning that the magic of the movies can be both good and bad at her age. She takes everything very much to heart and dwells on it for a long time after the show ends. She burst into a full on sob on the way home from dance on Wednesday. She told me after she caught her breath it was because she was remembering that the greatest showman's house caught on fire with him in it and the girls (his daughters) were feeling scared. Then again later in the week she had a full melt down when Bing Bong dies/disappears into the memory dump in Inside Out. In all fairness, that part makes me ugly cry every time I watch it too. We talked about movies being pretend, and if anything I guess I am thankful that her emotional response is appropriate. When we were probably pre-teens my parents let us watch The Green Mile with them. My mom literally had to drag me out of my room and from my puddle of tears after I ran away in horror to show me the mouse that was squished came back to life. Eloise is totally my kid.

The Eloise-isms

Getting ready for quiet time: "Will this be a short nap? Like two weeks?"

"What is that?" -E, pointing to the baby monitor mounted on her wall
"I don't know. Looks like a space ship." -Me
"Silly goose. I know what that is. It's a mom-itor." -E
"What does it do?" -Me
"When I need to talk to my mom but you're not here, I just shout through the mom-itor." -E

Happy September

Bring on the pumpkins! 

Bring on the sweaters! 

Bring on the crunchy leaves!