summer

we kicked off the 2nd day of summer

with a trip to the pool.

and even talked Eric into going with us!

 

the sun and swimming (and a good nap later on)

was the perfect way to kick off the warm weather!



 

happy father's day!

for someone who never wanted children,

this little girl sure has you wrapped around her fingers.

 

you are wonderful, patient, kind-hearted

and the best papa bear we could ever imagine having.

thanks for being the glue to this family

and your willingness to pick up the same toy countless times.

 

we appreciate all that you do.

and I can't wait for ellie to come tell me the 1st time you tell her

"don't tell mom".

:)

 

 

for your 1st Father's Day,
Ellie picked out a new 49ers shirt
& a homemade ticket good for a game in the fall.
*They weren't on sale yet*

Even though you had to work all day,
we still hope your day was special
and you know how much we love you!

st louis- pt 2.

Last Day = Obligatory Arch pic.
Even though we had no real interest of going to the arch again,
what kind of parents would we be if we didn't take you on your 1st trip to St. Louis?

We went, we saw, we took a million pictures.

 And I have absolutely no shame in asking someone to take our picture, esp. b/c I offer to take theirs first so its like I'm doing THEM the favor. ;)

After the arch, we had a little while before we had to get on the road, so we decided to hit up the zoo.

Mistake. Apparently everyone else in St. Louis had the same idea too.

So we aborted the mission & put Pappy's Smokehouse in the GPS for our final road trip mission.

 

After about a 45 minute wait, we had the best BBQ of our lives.

Eric ate himself sick!

*And since we've been home, I asked if he told his friends about Pappy's and he said yes, all of them.* ha!

 

We finally got on the road and got back home around 8:30.

It was a great little getaway weekend!

st louis - pt 1

Eleanor's first road trip.
The girl was so good!
She did 5+ hours in the car seat, with stops only for potty breaks & to eat.

A rattle, some "trash" (i.e. cardboard, wrappers, or paper) and a couple of other toys and she was CONTENT.

We got there Friday evening and decided to hang out at the hotel, grab some dinner & swim a little. The area was under a tornado warning & we even saw on the news that one of the hotels downtown got hit. It was a little more nerve racking b/c the news was saying so and so county & we had no idea what county we were in!

 

Saturday morning, our 1st stop was Grants Farm.

It was chilly when we got there & I was sweating when we left.

Eric fed some creepy goats milk out of a bottle.

They were sticking their heads through the goats & practically trampling each other to get to the milk!

We watched a parrot on roller skates, elephant do the slowest moon walk ever, shared a sno-cone & rode a merry go round.

*Note to self- take baby carrier next time because Eleanor never stays in the stroller anyways ;)*

Afterwards we ran around town, stopped at a couple thrift stores, had some lunch & got ready for Eleanor's 1st baseball (read: Giants) game!!

Quick outfit change in the car & we are ready!
Funny note, some man in a golf car offered to get us a ride to the stadium once we parked & I was in such a hurry b/c he was waiting that I forgot to pack
- PACIFER!!
- hairbow, my sunglasses, Elle's cardigan, and a few other things that we needed.
But did somehow manage to remember a rattle?

 Eric was so happy to have his girl at her first baseball game.
The Cardinals won, but that's not what he will remember.

 

 Eric said before we got there that he would be happy if she would just last 7 innings.
We stayed the whole game AND for the fireworks!
 I think she even participated in the wave a couple times?!

Ended the night with one tired little girl.
She had a big day of firsts: baseball game, merry go round, pork nachos (oh that was me), and fireworks.

Shotgun.

This was funny because I was going to yard sales with my mom & Kap and forgot to take my phone. I texted Eric from Kap's phone and I guess he didn't have it saved!

8 months.

 

-Size 2 Diapers (Until this case runs out, then you are moving on up!)
-Formula & Solids
6-9 month clothing

Milestones:

You still LOVE to eat. You kick your feet and grunt or lean forward when you see your food. If we are at a restaurant, you want to eat off our plates. Last weekend in St. Louis, we gave you some bread, waffles, and mashed potatoes that you really enjoyed. You are doing so well chewing and swallowing, no more gagging! (And honestly, sometimes your chewing is overkill... 10 minutes later) But I don't know that your digestive system was completely ready for all that, so we have eased off again.

Last month I wrote about you giving me open mouth kisses... well this month you would lean in for a kiss and then BITE down on my cheek! Rude! *Also my shoulder, arm or anywhere else* When I told you no, you just stare at me very seriously. Like you are trying to figure out if I'm being serious or not, then you kind of smile. ORNERY!

We are SOVERYCLOSE to having a crawler. If you see something you want, you will find a way to get to it. By rolling, rocking your body back and forth, and putting your top body down but pushing with your legs- you are very mobile. If we put you on all 4s, sometimes you stay there and rock back and forth. Other times you cry.

 

I took you to the doctor two times this month. The first time, I thought you may have an ear infection but Dr. McCord said they looked great and maybe you are teething. Then the next week, we noticed a bit of white on your tongue.. after a coworker mentioned it and I googled it- we thought you might have thrush. So back in we went & it was confirmed. Now we have to give you meds for 3 weeks and boil your bottle nipples and pacis after every use.

 

We had our 1st weekend away from each other & I will tell you that I was babysick in a bad way! I went to a girls weekend in Hot Springs & was sad the whole time. I spent a lot of my time texting Eric and my parents to check on Ellie & get updates and pictures. Guess I just wasn't ready for all that!

 

You went on your first road trip to Saint Louis, which is 5-6 hours away. I did end up sitting with you the whole way there *and back* but man you were SO good! I'll do a seperate post on St. Louis but some of the things we did: Giants game, rode a merry go round, went to some thrift stores, visited the arch, visited Grants Farm, and ate the world's best BBQ (claimed by Eric).

Pictures from our month: