Rascals Game

For the Rascals home opener they had scheduled Fredbird to make an appearance so Mary and I decided to take all the babes to the game.  Elle has developed a love for sports mascots so she was pretty excited!

We got to the stadium early, we read online that Fredbird would be greeting fans as they arrived and we wanted lots of time for the kids to see him...well ol' Fredbird didn't show up until the 7th inning.  That's a really long wait and a lot of asking "when's Fredbird gonna get here?" from a 3 and 2 year old. :)  So we spent some time at the playground...

and did a little bit of running/dancing.

Then we found Ruffy the Rascal!  Henry and Elle were SO EXCITED!  Just last year Elle was terrified of him, crazy the difference a year makes.  Bear was not a fan...at all. 

Elle and Henry spent the rest of the time border line stalking Ruffy.  They would just hover around him asking for high-fives.

We watched a teensy-tiny bit of the game in the grass by the bullpen.  Henry was star-struck by the players and desperately wanted a high-five from one of them but was too shy to ask.

Finally Fred Bird arrived...and it was pandemonium!  For kids, Fredbird is a true celebrity, it was hard to even make your way through the crowd to him...but our kiddos managed.

  

Again with the high-fives! 

Elle just stood next him poking him, trying to get his attention.

After the game we all came back to our house for a slumber party to watch one of Elle's favorite movies, Paddington.  You give this girl popcorn and a good movie and she's in heaven. :)

Ollie's First Zoo Trip & Shark Encounters

We took Eleanor and Oliver to the zoo one day in April.  I came across the pictures in Shutterfly and realized I never shared them.  Gotta document baby's first trip to the zoo!!

Well, Ollie slept 95% of the time but big sissy enjoyed the day!

The train is one of Elle's favorite parts of the zoo.  She (we) loves screaming in the dark tunnels.

This trip was the first time we ever stopped at the stingray exhibit.  Going on a Saturday this area is usually packed but this particular weekday we practically had the zoo to ourselves.

I was hovering pretty closely over Elle and Eric during this.  One of the workers could sense my anxiety and reassured me the stingrays were fine...she did warn to pull Elle's hand up if a shark went by.  Wait, what? Sharks!??! 

They were small, bull sharks maybe?  I even asked if the sharks teeth were removed so they couldn't bite :) :)....still have all their chompers but they kept trying to reassure me that everything would be fine.

Just when I started to get on board they announced it was the stingrays feeding time.  You could buy a little cup of fish for $1 so Eric went to grab one for Elle.  I (still asking all the questions) asked if the sharks are blocked off during the feeding time...nope!  They just stressed to make sure and pull your hand (holding a fish) out of the water if a shark approaches because they will try to grab it.  I felt like I was the only one who thought this whole process was bizarre...and dangerous.  

Mama bear was on the LOOK-OUT! This is the look Eric was giving me as I would yell "shark, shark, SHAAAARRRRK!!!" to Eric for him to pull Elle's teeny tiny hand out of the water.

Needless to say I'm ok with skipping this section on future zoo trips.

Oliver Russell - 2 months

I'm behind.  Ollie boy is 5 months old and I'm just now posting about him turning 2 months in April!!

At 2 months, Oliver weighed 11 lbs. 11 oz. and was 23 inches long.

At around 2 months he started sleeping in his crib, it was a really easy transition.  He seemed to prefer his crib over the rock n play in our room.  I hated not having him right next to me but he slept so much better once in his crib!  We had also stopped swaddling him well before this.  Oliver runs HOT so the swaddle was thrown out the window early on. :)

This child is the happiest baby ever, to get a smile all you have to do is make eye contact.  He is such an easy baby!!

My little doodle bug had his dreaded 2 month shots on my 31st birthday.  Elle stayed with my parents while I took him to the doctor.  Look at this little face. :(  This was right before they came in to give him 4 shots.

After this appointment Oliver had a pretty uncomfortable afternoon (he has since had the same reaction after his 4 month shots).  His little legs get so red and swollen and he is so uncomfortable...it breaks my heart.  Obviously I am pro-vaccination so better to have this in the long run but it still makes for a rough day for my babe.  

Here is is with his MiMi, he has a wet cloth on his head and swollen legs (they aren't that chubby...I wish!). 

We are so blessed to have this sweet boy.

Strawberry Pickin'

I returned to work from maternity leave on Thursday, May 14th. So on Wednesday we decided to do something fun with the babies.  Eric was off and instead of staying home and crying all day we ventured out to Eckert's to pick strawberries.

We had gone to another Eckert's farm in the fall for apple picking and Elle LOVED it.  This time we hit up their main location for strawberry season. 

I wore Ollie in the baby carrier and he slept through most of the day.

Elle enjoyed it (not nearly as much as apple picking).  She had a harder time getting the strawberries off the vine, but that could just be because we went on the first day of the picking season.

Elle picked me a flower. :)

Once we boarded the bus back with our box of berries we let Elle pick out a toy in their gift shop (a Sven beanie baby), then hit the road for home.

It was a fun little day and helped keep my mind off the fact I was leaving my babies to go back to work in the morning.  I had a REALLY hard time going back when Elle was born but this time wasn't nearly as bad.  I worked full time up until the day before Oliver was born and went back as part-time (Wed-Fri). Being part-time has been such a blessing, we have fallen into this new schedule quite nicely. 

Being home with Elle and Ollie for 12 weeks was amazing.  Some days were long...but I was thankful to be there with them every single day.