Two Little Monkeys Reading on the Bed

Scout decided to read to Elle a few nights ago and I thought they were both pretty cute.

Elinor Shenanigans I

These pictures are back:
(Yes I know I already posted these, but astute readers will have figured out that I removed them and replaced them with others.)
(Why? Cause they didn't fit the post and these pics need to fit the post.)

These were taken in Wyoming when Elle had her hair up in a pony tail, had it removed, took and nap and woke up thusly.

Total Kodak moment.

Elle went to the eye doctor to rule out eye problems (or get them fixed, so they would not be a problem).
Turns out, doctor's words: her eyes are perfect.
(But part of the process of finding that out was getting them dilated, which landed her a pair of sunglasses to wear that afternoon. We mostly just kept the house dark and she was just fine, but the glasses were pretty cute.)

Story:
Scout and Elle spent a little time hanging out in the polar bear tent one afternoon. Scout with a lantern, book and an oreo cookie. Elle with nothing except feeling the tent sides and hearing the zip zip zip sound (a wonderful past time for Elles).
After a while though, Scout kind of forgot about her cookie and Elle saw an opportunity:

Look at how far she had to stretch to get that cookie!
(You can see where the pieces are that she hadn't stolen yet.)
Her therapists would be so proud.

She was pretty proud of her cookie thievery at least.

Does this look familiar?
It happened within like 2 days of the last incident.
This time though I was well aware of how tired she was, but knew she'd have a much better nap with some lunch in her belly.
She got much ravioli down before she succumbed.

FACT:
one or two bites of sandwich is MUCH easier to clean off of a sleeping baby then ravioli all over the face and up to the elbows and squished gloriously through the fingers.
Good thing daddy was home for this one, clean up was a two person job.
She kept opening up an eye or two and giving Rob a look like, "just let a girl sleep!"


Here is just a cute moment the girls had last Sunday morning.
By the way, "Peaches" is a baby wooly mammoth from Ice Age 3, so that comment wasn't quite as random as it sounds.


For the record: Elle was NOT stinky.


Momma's got your back baby girl.

See mom, I told you she would fit!

Is the sentence I heard, accompanied by the ominous rolling of wheels. I whirled around knowing what I would find.

Yep:

You see, I made the mistake of using, "she wouldn't fit" as my excuse as to why Scout couldn't roll her sister around in that tiny wagon. I should have known that Scout wouldn't take that -not as a challenge exactly- more like a logical "Oh, I bet she would--- see!"

This all started last night while I was making dinner. Elles enjoys a good rock in her car seat more then many other things life. She has pretty much out grown her bouncy seat, but enjoys using her legs to well, do ANYTHING, so when she finds herself on a flat surface in her car seat, she gets that thing swinging like I have never seen the likes of. To take it a step further (and to give Scout ideas last night) when she is on our wood floor and rocking, if you turn your head for a few minutes, she will likely have rocked herself into the next room. So we were doing this routine last night while I was making dinner and Scout soon came up with the idea to pull Elles around by the strap that tightens the other straps and is always hanging down (and is Elles favorite thing to suck/play with while confined in the car seat). Now I know this doesn't sound like a fully well advised activity for a few reasons one of them being that there are probably safer activities for two little girls to do (with one participant a fairly helpless baby- the other a rambunctious 5 year old). But in my defense, I made Scout go slow and Elles had all her safety harnesses latched up, and I would have stopped it right away if Elles hadn't been laughing so hard. She had a blast, so right or wrong I let it go on for a little while.
So anyway, when we got up this morning, it's what Scout wanted to do (it's called "paddle boat rides" for the record). I relented and strapped Elles in the seat and got on the computer. After a few minutes, Scout must have come across that blue wagon and had a great idea. You know the rest......................


Sorry the pictures are so bad, but I grabbed the camera fast and was only willing to take a couple fast snapshots before rescuing the little trooper.

Scout and I came up with a compromise that worked for all involved:

Some Wintertime Antics

Thought perhaps it was time for a general post about what my crew has been up to since Christmas, plus- I've got some great pictures with nowhere to go:

Elle bundled up

We took a trip to spend New Years with my family in Wyoming and decided to take Lola with us-- but not without drugs. We doped her up thinking that we didn't want an overgrown puppy in the backseat of our car with our two babies for 6 hours without some serious drugs.Judging from this picture, I think it's fair to say we accomplished the task we set out to do.

My little bean (with her not so little eyes)

A special moment with grandpa

Home again and we suffered the only casualty of the Christmas decorations this year.
We lost our tree top star and one ornament. Lola got a little beany one day and knocked the tree over-- not bad at all really, in fact I can't believe she only knocked it down once. A Christmas Miracle.

Scout made a pilgrim bonnet in school for Thanksgiving and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. She was not such a sport donning it for me for a quick picture, and wouldn't give me a sweet smile.

The pout right before I decided she had enough and let her take it off.
(but not before one last pic)

Ellsies on her little play mat she loves so much. (Also pictured: my shabby toenails I have neglected- shabby toenails attached to my long toes that can be found on my daughter if one looked hard enough).

It's like they are clinging to some invisible vine only she can see.

We are coming to realize that we have a little "fun and games girl" on our hands. Something I should have tuned into early, seeing as she started laughing a full 5 weeks before Scout did. Scout was always a really good baby- but fairly serious. Ells- well, she's going to be a little clown we think.

Lola Puppas has not stopped growing yet -finally seems to be growing into those ears and paws. Great Danes are known for wanting to be close to their loved ones and we see that trait in her grow stronger everyday. So much so that we had to relax our rule on not letting her upstairs -since our bedrooms and office are upstairs we spend a fair amount of time up here and she was not happy trapped downstairs. She is now allowed on the upstairs landing and in the office.
That top pic is of her in our bedroom doorway testing the limits of how far she can stretch herself in without a reprimand.Many times we still have two puppies. The one on the right is named Darkish Pinkish.
Which is actually sad in a way, since that is the sister of Lola's that passed away, but left the biggest impression on Scout- we haven't told Scout of her death, I just don't have the heart.
But I guess she lives on in a way, disguised as a little four year old girl.

I do love bundled up winter time babies.

On this night at bedtime, Scout picked out an animal to sleep with.

It got a little out of hand.

Monkey Beans sporting a nice forehead injury that was the result of slamming into the trim along the wall (and too many monkey beans).

Putting a few animal friends to bed. The detail of note here would be to notice that she gave them all their own little Kiki.


What can I say? Another bundled up winter baby.

And a bundled up big sister.


Scout got into a little keepsake box where I keep little baby things to save. She found her and Elinor's hospital hats, was pleased to see that they were exactly the same (each born in the same hospital)- and thought they needed to be worn one last time.This happened just last night. She pulled the streamers and bell from her tricycle, put one in each hand and declared to me and Rob that she was a bicycle. (The "costume" was completed by when she moved, she kind of hopped in a manner that mimicked a wheel as best she could).
Our favorite detail was when I asked her to get me something upstairs, she took off and once she was out of sight, we hear her little bike bell "ring ring").