Eleanor - 8 months!

Our little baby bunny is 8 months young. She has become so smiley & playful. She is such a joy! 

I love this age so much.

Eleanor is so very cuddly. She puts her little hands up toward me constantly. She is definitely a Mama's girl.

She laughs so hard when she shares her pacifier or food with me & then takes it back.

She talks & sings with the sweetest voice.

Eleanor is almost crawling. She scoots around on her belly & gets in the crawling position. She also does this thing where she scoots backward while sitting on her butt. We all laugh so hard. 

Now that she is mobile -ish she finds a way to follow me wherever I go.

She has one tooth (bottom front) and a few more on the way (another on in the bottom front, her two front top tooth and a molar on the top left). Sometimes she just cries & there is nothing you can do :( Teething is such a hard time. I remember several sleepless nights & rough days with Zara.

She loves saltine crackers!

I have probably mentioned this before but she really pulls on our hair. ouch!

She loves to pull herself up & walk around a little. She especially loves to look out the window at home or in the car.

Loves splashing during bath time!

She is not a fan of being alone. She can play by herself but we have to be sitting with her or very close. She definitely prefers to be held. Unfortunately, this is hard for Zara. A lot of jealousy has come up lately with aggression toward Eleanor. I love Zara and it kills me that she feels disconnected or upset about her baby sister. She has never loved the "big sister" title or wanted to be anything other than our little baby too. & that's ok.

 

E wears size 3 diapers, 6-12 month clothes.

She eats everything. She sucks down baby food pouches. She wants to try everything on everyone's plate. Avocado & beans are a couple of her favorites. She drinks 20-25 ounces throughout the day. With her teething issues, milk is such a comfort to her. It is just hard to keep my supply up. With both girls it was easy until the 6 month mark & then it became a struggle. Luckily I have a lot more frozen milk this time around. 

Ellie still wakes up to eat once per night but usually sleeps from 9:30-7:45. She still takes short naps- 20 to 30 minutes every few hours but will usually take at least one 1.5 hour nap at some point.  

She HATES the car. Sometimes she falls asleep but it won't last long & when she wakes up there is lots of crying. It definitely has gotten worse since my commute time with them has temporarily ended.

She is so great. We are the luckiest. 

All the photos:

Life with Covid-19 (Week 5).

Life looks different every week. This week Zara's school was officially canceled for the rest of the year. We started a little bit of homeschooling. Our plan right now is to work on tracing letters with Zara, do an activity to help her become more familiar & go over sounds & words that start with the letter of the day. We also watch educational videos with her because I am obsessed with thekidshouldseethis.com & we go on scavenger hunts and walks after the lesson. 

Of course, sometimes we are tired. More tired that usual. I blame the virus. But the virus is to blame for a lot right now. 

We buy random sweets from local bakeries and lovely flowers. We do puzzles, play dress up and have porch picnics. We handle tantrums from Zara & understand when she just wants to be a baby like Eleanor. 

Currently I am loving Unorthodox on Netflix & enjoying my commute sans- kiddos. 

Happy Quarantine to you, stay safe.

Life with Covid-19 (Week 4).

I don't know what day it is anymore. I now stand in line to get into the grocery store. I am worried about Zara's routine & hate that she has missed so much school. I am working on some lessons to teach her at home- it is not easy to be her teacher. I really miss places & I have started my list of places to visit & things I want to do when this is all over. I am feeling compassion for the protesters who want to work and need to work- I see you all. I feel so lucky that I have my job. I am piecing together work days & child care the best I can. Sometimes I even bring them to work with me. Zara is acting out in the evening, poor girl. I have spent as much time as i can outside with my little ones- it is healing and makes the days easier for us all. Green lights are showing up everywhere to honor those lost to Covid-19. It will be forever before life is "normal" again..

Pandemic Easter.

Easter is my favorite. It was so sad & strange not to fill it with family time like we usually do. Zara missed seeing everyone and the wonderful Easter egg hunts that are always lovingly put together for all the kids. We also missed visiting my grandmother's grave and the wonderful food. Even though we had our own church service at home, it was not the same as attending in person.

We made the most of it with some colorful flowers all around the house. Zara moved the Easter decorations around a million times. She dyed her eggs all by herself & enjoyed her own personal egg hunt (she even held a few practice egg hunts in the yard in the weeks leading up to the real thing.) We still took a family Easter photo- I had bought dresses for the girls way before this started. Zara adored her basket which made me so happy because she had been so excited for it. Usually a rainy Easter would be disappointing but since it was spent at home we enjoyed how cozy it made the day.

Life with Covid-19 (Week Three).

For me, there are good things about the current pandemic:
The sense of togetherness. 
Appreciating everything I have more than ever. 
Realizing how hard it was on me to get my little ones to school & daycare every day, so maybe when I go back to it I can be a little kinder to myself.
A break from the regular things that stress me out (even though there are new things).
Getting so many projects done at home. 
The release of new movies so we an watch them at home.
With no places open we are spending more time together at home. It is just nice to go slow. 

I can appreciate this time & still miss things like:
My hair dresser !!!!
Zara's school, their activities and sweet teachers.
Eleanor's caring daycare staff.
Our regular routine & knowing what will go on every day.
The zoo.
Not worrying about our economy & everyone who is struggling financially & all the people infected by the virus.
Conducting funeral services that welcome everyone, having the doors open & "business as usual".

Life with Covid-19 (Week two).

#healthyathome is in full swing around here. Well, the girls are healthy at home. Jonas and I are still able to work. We are trying our best to stay safe but things are scary now. As predicted, the Covid-19 deaths have really begun & we are seeing that at the funeral home where I work. 

After so much uncertainty, we are finally resigned to these changes & we are trying to make the best of it. I have tried to give Zara lots of things to do but it is getting harder for her. I made her run a mile the other day & I might make it a habit. Thankfully, the days are getting nicer and it will be much easier to take her outside on a regular basis. 

Z has made a million messes but I think it is okay for her to get everything out and play. What else is she going to do all day? Time goes by so slow when you are a kiddo.

Along with so many others, I have been frustrated by the people who are not taking this seriously & who are not taking precautions. I have now witnessed many families watch their loved one be buried from their vehicles, have only ten people present when they need their extended family & friends and worst of all- I have talked to several families who have not been able to say goodbye in person. 

Much love to everyone out there. We can do hard things.