Xmas

Lots of fun going on around here. Ho!Ho!Ho!

happy birthday Papa!

Eloise has been singing happy birthday to Papa for weeks. If you ask her how old Papa is she says "old ..... almost 40!"

tap dancing lessons

There is some fancy footwork going on around here these days.

Thanksgiving weekend

Eloise takes a minute out of the action to hang out with Great-grandma, Ruby the dog and Madeline's baby.

By the way - I think Eloise is really getting the hang of this Holiday thing. Today (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) she was talking about a "Big paaaaarty...Charlie....cool dude....Aunt Doreen!!!!....eat, Mama, eat!"

it's been awhile

I've been wanting to put up some new pictures, but I can't find my camera (gasp!) right now. Don't worry, I'm sure it will turn up soon. In the mean time, I found some old pictures and videos that I took on my old phone. I think this picture was probably taken on our road trip in July, 2007. What a little peanut!

three ring circus

Julia and Francesca came over to play the other night. They put on a fabulous show. Watch as Julia balances on a ball, while balancing a ukulele on her finger, while balancing a roasting pan on her head! Watch as Francesca bounces a big pink ball on her head, then on her hands, then on her head again! It didn't take long for Eloise to join the act with amazing feats of getting dizzy.

happy birthday Fionn!

We were happy to get to go to Fionn's exclusive 3rd birthday party! Fionn is our closest friend - he lives only 4 houses away. Check out his super cool custom made super deluxe hot wheels track table. It lives on the ceiling when he's not using it.

(In case you're wondering why this picture has a hazy, dreamy, soft focus lens effect, it's because there was dried yogurt on the camera lens. I now have about a hundred photos with this tasty look!)

happy halloween

We had a pretty good Halloween. Eloise got dressed up in her costume and we went to a party in the afternoon. Sadly, she got knocked out of the action by some serious puking (stomach flu) before we got to go out at night. Poor little devil!

newlyweds!

It's been a busy couple of weeks for us. We went to Abby + Chris's wedding last week, then Eloise and I hopped on a plane the next day and spent a week at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We had lots of fun helping Cisco and Brenna get ready for their wedding. There was tons of tie-dyeing and cake baking going on all week. In the end, Cisco and Brenna had a really fabulous and fun wedding. Good times!!! You can see more wedding photos here.

exclusive interview

There are 3 things Eloise knows for sure: 1) how old she is, 2) what her name is, and 3) she likes snacks!

"butt"

"Butt" is Eloise's word for "button". She pushed the button to take this picture of her little guy in the baby doll stroller.

going to the park

Eloise knows how to get to the park from our house and she knows how to tell me to get there. If I try to go a different way (or go someplace other than the park) she says "no mama, that ... that.. " (meaning "that way"). Thanks Eloise! How would I ever get to the park without you?

shoes

Eloise has been spending A LOT of time practicing putting on her shoes. She likes any shoe that is slip-on-able. She asks me to sit on the floor ("mama sit please") so that she can hold on to my knee while she tries to get her foot in the shoe. She invariably ends up pushing the shoe away, then she stops, picks up the shoe, puts it in a good spot and tries again. If it gets really tough she'll start mumbling to herself "nunnel..." which means tunnel, as in she's got to get her foot in it! She's getting pretty good at putting on her own shoes, and the big slippers in this picture are a piece of cake.

super excited

This is the expression Eloise makes when she gets super excited. In this case, it's because we were about to go to a party. "pah-tee! pah-tee!"

ah, summer

We've had a spell of gorgeous summery weather. We went to the pool. We went to the lake. We went to the pool again. Soooo nice!

family singalong

Here we all are singing in the car. This is Eloise's favorite song right now. It goes: quiet, loud, quiet, loud, quiet, loud, high, low, high, low, high, low. Repeat.

a little story

It's been a busy week for us all. I almost thought that I didn't have anything to put up on curious union, but then I looked in my camera and realized that I did take some pictures this week. I had totally forgotten!

On another note, I have a little story about Eloise to share. People keep on telling me that I have to write these things down or I'll forget about all about them.

Eloise and I were reading Snow White a month or so ago. We got to the page with a picture of the mean Queen and Eloise pointed to her crown and said "Hat. . . Hat". I said "Yeaaaah, that's kind of like a hat." Then Eloise looked at the Queen, then at me, then back at the Queen. She thought about it for a second, then pointed at the crown again and said "Hel-mut!"

sweet darling

Isn't this such a sweet darling dress? It was custom made for Miss Eloise by my friend Carey. I am so enchanted by the lining, buttons, blind hem and matching underpants. Thank you Carey!

friends

Eloise and Silas have been having a lot of fun together this week. "Doing what?" you might ask. Well... doing all kinds of baby things: eating blueberries, playing with toys, taking a bath together, crawling/running around, going for walks, going to the park, and so on.

vacation!

Sorry we haven't posted in awhile...we went up to Estacada on vacation! Except for Matt who had to stay home and work :(
The week was full of new experiences and exciting adventures for Eloise. She went on her first airplane trip. She said "fast!" during takeoff and clapped when we landed.

At Eagle Fern Park she got to run on the bridge that goes over the creek, sit in the giant log chair, watch grandpa go down the slide and see what is probably the only functional pay phone she has ever seen in her life.

She got a beauty make-over from Grandma (ponytails with a pearl necklace and bracelet).

She fed the fish in the pond, played in the sand pile, ran fast fast fast down the front lawn and threw rocks into the creek.

We went into Estacada and visited Brooke and Katie, who we haven't seen since our vacation last year.

We also got to see the beginning of the newest mural being painted in town.

Last but not least, she got to eat a whole popsicle all by herself. Yummy!!!!

plums

Our plum tree is going crazy this year. The branches are loaded with what look like giant bunches of grapes. There are way too many for us to eat, but we're doing the best we can. Eloise loves them and wants to eat them all the time. We try to limit her consumption (for reasons that should be obvious).

reading

Angelica was babysitting Eloise last week, as she often does. At the end of the day I asked "So, what did you guys do today?" Angelica nonchalantly answered "Oh, not much, I just taught Eloise how to read."
Good job Angelica!!!

ya ya

Ya ya, also known as water. This is Eloise's first time (successfully) drinking from a drinking fountain. She also likes sippy cups, regular cups, plastic water bottles, sucking a straw, drinking from a spoon and dunking her hand in her cup and licking the water off her fingers. I've also seen her contemplate the cat's water bowl ("no, no, no. yucky!") and the toilet water ("NO, NO, NO. YUCKY!"). I think Eloise's favorite water must be the cold water that trickles out of the tap when she's taking a bath.

finally!

I FINALLY got around to sewing a dress for Eloise. It's been on my to do list for only about a year. She says she likes it. "yeah!"

bag of tricks

These are just a few of Eloise's latest tricks (does not include high fives, blowing her nose or "pee pee" sound effects).

I also wanted to add - happy father's day to Matt for being the funnest, coolest and most doting papa that Eloise could ask for!

help?

Did you ever have one of those days where you are rummaging around in the kitchen cabinets and then you kind of fall over and then you just lay on the floor for a couple of minutes asking "help? .... help? ..... help?"

weekend getaway

We spent the weekend in Capitola celebrating Matt Small's birthday. Eloise loved riding in the canoe, playing in the sand and helping Brian work on the NY Times Sunday crossword puzzle.

beat the heat

It was super hot yesterday. Too hot to even leave the house to go to the park or the pool so we stayed at home and stayed cool with the hose and a bowl of water in the back yard.

little miss nerdlebaum

Nicknames are flying fast and furious in our house these days. Eloise goes by Little Miss Nerdlebaum, Hamburger McMilkman, Kiddo, Kiddump, Elephant, FD, Barfy Bear, Weezie, Chunky Monkey, Monkey CHUD and Pacheco among others.

On another topic - I want to say thanks to Eloise (and Matt) for a great mothers day! I got to sleep until 9, have french toast for breakfast and tacos for dinner, and spend the afternoon gardening. Soooo nice!

playing

Here's a little glimpse into a typical afternoon around the house.

the shrug

Eloise learned how to shrug this week. "Where's Papa?" or "Where's Mama?" or "Where's your hat?" are the top questions that will get the shrug. But soon Eloise began asking for things with the shrug (i.e. shrug + "ba . . . ba . . ." = where's the ball?)

wheeee!!!!

Why do kids LOVE being thrown up into the air so much? Wait, that's a stupid question. I would love it too if there was someone big enough to catch me.
Note: to those of you who like to visit the flickr site - flickr now lets me upload short videos. There's only one on there so far, but take a look when you get a chance.

after dinner treat

After dinner the other night Eloise treated us to a big-belly parade around the house. Please note - Eloise's shirt has been removed due to self spoon feeding aftermath, also the front of her skirt is soaking wet due to her enthusiastic forays into the world of drinking from a big-girl cup.

holy cow

Eloise is simultaneously amazed and wary of this big cow. She just watched it slide a whole bunch of celery down it's throat. It was weird!

YAY! walking!

easter eggs

Eloise got to enjoy a super exciting easter egg hunt at the cabin over the weekend (the Easter Bunny put cheerios inside the eggs for the little kids). It was a relaxing respite for me and Matt and we enjoyed spending time with the family.

practice

I've been taking Eloise on walks every morning this week. She pushes her alligators to the end of the block and back, stopping many many many times to point out bikes, trucks, people, dogs, cats, birds, flowers, wind chimes, sticks, leaves and garbage ("blech!"). The practice is paying off and she's getting more steady on her feet.

first burrito!

Beans and rice are for babies. Eloise wants burritos.

sweet dreams

It's rare that I get to watch Eloise sleeping. I usually tiptoe past her closed bedroom door with my fingers crossed that she stays asleep. Then, every once in a while, she'll have a marathon nap and I have to check on her because I just can't believe it. This was one of those naps - she was totally conked out!

happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Eloise! I can't believe she's already a WHOLE year old. What a year it's been.
We had fun times at the Chili Pepper. Don't ask what was in that birthday "cake". We're not exactly sure - it was something like industrial strength cool whip. Mmmmmm.

Grandpa Jim

We have some really sad news. Matt's Dad suddenly and unexpectedly passed away last week. It's hard to grasp the loss of someone who has so much vitality, resilience, humor, kindness, good will, and above all, love. We've spent the last few days in southern California with Matt's family looking at photos and sharing stories about Grandpa. We've all especially enjoyed reading from his hiking journal each night.

I remember how he was SUPER excited when he learned that Matt and I were going to have a baby. When I was pregnant, Jim and Sandra would sometimes call the house. I would answer the phone and he would ask me how I was doing, how I was feeling, how things were going, etc. When we were done talking I would ask if he wanted to talk to Matt. He would say "Oh no, we just wanted to talk to you about the baby." How's that for a great Grandpa.

This is a picture of Eloise and Grandpa from the last time we visited the ranch in September. Now you can see where Eloise gets those blue blue eyes.

vocabulary lesson

Learn to speak Eloise:
Hi! = hi
eye = eye
no no no no = no
at = cat
dah = dog
bee bo = belly button
num num num = food
aaaaaaah! = water
ah doo = whoah, dude
bob bob bob = mama
pa ... pa = papa!

laundry day

We had one of those days where we did ALL the laundry. Clothes, sheets, towels, everything. Of course, then we had to fold it all. Eloise was in charge of sorting socks.

keep calm and carry on

Words to live by.

feeling great in 2008

Here's to a fabulous new year!