all about eleanor

Last month when John and I were in Greece, we brought Eleanor home a toy tomato. This tomato is filled with liquid and when you throw it on the ground it goes completely flat and then regains it's form. Eleanor LOVES this tomato and has about worn it out. A few weeks ago I went to NYC with my sisters and Amanda, and all Eleanor wanted me to get her was a "squishy" spider (she calls her tomato her "squishy tomato". Aafter much searching in FAO Schwarz and a few other stores, I had no luck finding her a squishy tomato. I did manage to find a cute Hello Kitty purse and the cutest Middleton Newborn baby doll. (I'm probably more in love with that doll then she will be) She liked the purse and I'm holding out to give her the doll untill our little baby is born in October.

Well, yesterday I was at Old Navy and I spotted this little star ice pack. Eleanor was out with Amy and Davey on a date to Temple Square and I had told her I was going to find her a surprise. When I saw this I new it would be a HUGE HIT. And a huge hit it is! Eleanor has carried it around with her the past 24 hours. She keeps telling me how much she loves it and thank you so much. I love how excited this little girl gets over the simplist things! She is always so greatful for the smallest things and it makes it so fun getting her little surprises.

The past few weeks Eleanor has been into choosing what she wears. I used to think I would be the parent who would always have my children looking perfect, well Eleanor has changed that!! She has a new love for dresses and not just any dresses. At first it started with the dresses we got her while in Mexico, or as she would call them her "Mexican Dresses". It then moved onto long and "fancy" dresses. Two of her favorite "fancy" dresses are the one my mom got her from Costco for tea parties and the one from Amy and Davey's wedding. She has insisted on wearing either one of these for the past two weeks. I have to sneak it off of her while she is sleeping and wash it before she wakes up. She is obsessed! She also has to wear either her play princess shoes or her "wedding" shoes (also from Amy's wedding). Now just a few days ago she discovered a pile of clothes Niki had given me a few months back. All the dresses in that pile are at least 5T or bigger. Eleanor has found a Christmas and a 4th of July dress and of course she will ONLY wear one of those. As cute as this is, I really hope she grows out of this little obsession before too long!

cousin sleep over

Brent had his last round of radiation on Monday and could not eat on Fathers Day, so we celebrated it a day early. While we were down in Elk Ridge Eleanor and Quinn had a great time playing together. They pulled out lots of books in Grandma's library and enjoyed running around together. When it was time to leave, Eleanor told us she didn't want to leave and wanted to play with Quinn some more. It was pretty cute watching the two of them play together so we asked Lana and John if Quinn just come and sleep over at our house. I wasn't sure if Lana would agree, being that this would be Quinn's first sleep over. But Lana agreed to send him with us and we also had Zack come over as well. On the way home all three kids were so hyper and could not keep quite! John stopped and got them ice cream sandwiches. We had to make a few stops before we got home and when we finally got to our house Quinn told us it was taking FOREVER!

The kids had a blast. They ran around inside for a few hours until the rain let up and then they played outside until it got dark. Eleanor and Quinn had a bath and Eleanor couldn't stop dumping cups of water on Quinn's head. Good thing he has a little sister and is used to being pestered! After the bath we fed them and then let them choose a movie to watch. Eleanor was out within a half hour. Quinn and Zack finished the movie but did not fall asleep. I turned on cartoons and finally Zack fell asleep around 12 or so, but not Quinn. He was so funny! He was glued to the TV and did not fall sleep until past 1!! When he woke up he told me, "I didn't close my eyes all night!".

We had Jay, Scott, Lana and John over for dinner when they came to pick up the kids. It was nice outside so we ate on the porch and enjoyed a perfect summer evening. Lana and John stayed a while so John and I showed them all of our pictures from our trip.

I'm so glad Eleanor has so many cousins and that she enjoys playing with them. John and I figured that she has 7 cousins (on both sides) within 2 years of each other. She's lucky!

Lehi Round Up Celebration

I must say that I am a HUGE fan of small town summer festivals, and Utah is just the place for such festivals! John and I have lived in Lehi for 5 years now and have attended the Lehi Round Up all five years. I seriously look forward to it all year! This year we attended the Stock Parade, Rodeo and the Grand Parade. I'm sad we missed the BBQ and the breakfast!

The stock parade isn't anything great, but Eleanor enjoys it. This year I went out the morning of and laid out our blankets to get a good spot. I was shocked at how few places were left and it was only 8am! Crystal brought Riley and Aspen. It was cute watching all three little ones get so excited over the horses and the little candy they got! I told John my dream is to own a house on a parade route. There is a certain house in Lehi that I have my eye on....

Our experience with the Rodeo this year wasn't too pleasant! The day of the Rodeo I had tried to get Eleanor to take a nap all day but she was too stubborn! After the parade we went to eat with Jay and Scott and after dinner she fell asleep in the car. We had 40 minutes until the Rodeo started so we decided to just let her sleep in the car. She woke up as we were walking from the car and she was in a foul mood!! She didn't want to wear her new cowboy hat, she didn't want to wear her boots or her socks, she only wanted to be held and she wanted to go home!! She sat there and fussed for an hour so we finally gave in and decided to head home. (we felt bad for all the people around us to have to listen to her fuss). On the way out of the rodeo she threw a huge fit and cried all the way home. Before we left the rodeo I told her that if we go home she has to go right to her bed. She was not happy about that and cried all the way home saying she didn't want to go to bed. When we got home we put her jammies on and put her to bed. She cried for a good hour in her room. She was yelling, "GET ME OUT OF HERE" which John and I couldn't help laugh at! Finally she calmed down and we let her out for a few minutes. Of course John and I were a little ticked because we both wanted to stay at the rodeo! However, I think Eleanor learned her lesson. The next morning she told us she had gotten in big trouble for not listening. She even asked me to show her how to act like a big girl. It was hard following through with our threat, but it hopefully it pays off!!

The next day we went to the Grand Parade. I had was awake at 5am so I headed back down and put out our blankets. Again, I was shocked at how few places were left! We invited Kelly and Kristy Johnson to come with us. The parade was fun but a little hot and long. After about an hour and a half we decided to pack it up. Eleanor was getting hot and had poured an entire water bottle on her head and shirt.

Overall the Round Up days this year were fun. Hopefully we will be able to make it next year!!

Pg Parade

Last week we got to enjoy the first parade of the year!! I look forward to parades each year and I seriously can't seem to get enough! I guess they remind me of my childhood and the 24th of July celebration we had each year. Anyway, this year we decided to go to the Pleasant Grove parade to watch Michelle, Scott and Ashley walk. The weather for this parade was perfect! It was cloudy with a little bit of showers off and on! John and I lucked out with great parking and perfect seats! Jay and Scott came over and joined in. It was fun watching Eleanor copy everything Zack would do. She looks up to him so much and LOVES playing with him!

Before the parade Eleanor and I had a huge fight over what she was going to wear. Of course, she only wanted to wear her Princess dress. It was pretty chilly out side and I knew it would be impossible to run for any candy in her HUGE dress. After much debating, I won and Eleanor had to wear jeans. Well, while we were at the parade Eleanor spotted the first pageant winners on a float and turned her head with total attitude and said to me, "Mom, I really wish I had my princess dress on like them." Every time a float passed by with girls in dresses she would turn and say the same thing over again. It was pretty dang funny!