Adventures in Babysitting

We had a very special visitor at our house a few weeks ago...Henny Hoo!!!

Mary and Nick had a concert to go to so we were the lucky ones who got to watch the babe for the night.

Elle LOVES her cousin Henry, she thinks he is the funniest little boy around....and she's right, he is!  Henry was such a good boy all night, he was in the best mood.  Henry ate all his dinner so of course I had to give this sweet boy dessert.  I want this little babe to know he can have whatever he wants at Kay Kay's house!

After dinner Henry found a pair of Elle's sunglasses and one of her bows so he brought them to me because he wanted to wear them.  He stood still and smiled to have his picture taken, he is such a ham! 

Bedtime for this little boy came way too soon.  He is constantly on the move so I was happy to get to enjoy some sleepy Henny cuddles before Mary and Nick stopped by to pick him up.

Seester, please plan another date night ASAP so we can enjoy another night with Hen!

6 Months

Elle will be 7 months on Friday so I guess it's time I finally publish this post!

My little Eleanor is officially half a year old.  Bittersweet for sure.

Blowing bubbles with her mouth, one of her new favorite things :)

It seems like she had a huge growth spurt overnight.  We went from 6 month clothing being a little big to ummm I need to squeeze her in this if I ever want her to wear this adorable outfit!

First time in the pool at Grammy & PaPa's!

Her BIG puppy dog at Grammy & PaPa's house

6 month highlights:
- takes binky in and out of mouth
- takes a few steps in her walker (mostly backwards)
- almost completely sitting up by herself
- loves playing in the bath
- loves Sofie the giraffe (so does Henry, Sofie is a popular lady!)
- loves biting my fingers
- first trip to the zoo!
- Baptized
- sleeps on her side
- loves pulling a blanket or bib over her face to fall asleep
- rubs eyes when tired
- eating: rice cereal, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, mango
- favorite food: carrots
- not a fan of mango
- lots of giggles
- startled very easily by loud noises (garage door opener, Eric blowing his nose, toilet flushing, blender)

First time in a highchair at a restaurant

Tornado sirens = sleeping in mom & dad's room :)

LOVES her cousin Henny!

If the first 6 months have gone by this fast, I can't imagine how fast the next 6 will go.  I've got a birthday party to start planning!!!

Cardinals diaper!

Standing...yay!

Falling...boo!

Elle's First Trip to the Zoo!

A few weeks ago we decided to take advantage of the St. Louis Zoo membership my parents bought us for Christmas and take Elle to the zoo for the first time.  My dad was big on taking us to the zoo when we were little and it has always been one of my favorite places.  I was so excited to share my love of the zoo with Elle Belle.

Ready to see some animals!

The weather was perfect and apparently every other person in St. Louis decided it was the ideal day for a walk around the zoo.  After driving around for a good 30 minutes  (which seriously tested Eric's patience :) we found a spot and started our day.

Obviously, Elle is a bit too young to fully appreciate where she is but it was so fun to hear Henry oohing and ahhing over the animals.

The babes enjoyed a carousel ride...

A train ride around the zoo (Elle napped through this part)...

and the children's petting zoo.  My OCD germaphobia came out so Elle didn't have the chance to pet any goats, I vow to be better by this time next year. :)  Our time in the petting zoo was very very short.  Two goats decided to have a head butting contest and poor little Henny was taken down.  Mama bear Mary to the rescue...I'm somewhat surprised all the goats in the area made it out of that situation alive. (just kidding, seester!!)

We also had the chance to see the new baby elephant, Priya.  I like to think of Priya as Elle's elephant since they were born about 4 months apart.

I can't wait for our next trip to the zoo...maybe we will skip the goats next time though. :)

Father's Day

We had a really fun Father's Day this year, Elle and I loved spoiling the special guys in our life!

We went to the Blue Owl for lunch in Kimswick, the food was great and we all had a fun time.

It has been so fun watching Eric as a dad.  He really loves this little girl with all his heart, nothing makes me happier then seeing the two of them together.

It's so nice having a day designated to celebrating dad's and grandpa's, it seems sometimes we don't celebrate them enough.  I have been blessed with such an amazing dad.  He is hands down the MOST generous person I know!  I am so happy Elle has a Grandpa like him.

I love this picture, I laugh everytime I see it!  Elle looks so confused!!