Eventually I will have to baby-proof this place.

So I'm on the couch, reading a book the other day, and I look down and THIS is happening:


And I was like, Oh rats. But that was almost a week ago and she's still...about that good at it. Which is to say, not very. We haven't put gates up or those plastic things in the outlets or ANYthing, because half of the time she forgets she can crawl and the other half of the time she's like, Ehhhh, I'll just play with this toy over here instead.

But she loves to stand, and to hold your hands and take enormous Godzilla steps towards things. Sometimes she forgets that she's a BABY and just lets go of whatever she's holding, like she's going to just walk away.

I sort of didn't think she'd ever crawl, and was kind of like, Yesssss and kind of like, Egads her development. But I think she's just indifferent re: physical activity and baby? I feel you.

Back to our regularly scheduled program, etc.

You must excuse my absence, Eleanor and I have been entertaining a houseguest. You know how it is. All that being snorgled.

And galavanting on the bus.

And wandering sunny campuses with wacky sculptures.

And helping other wacky sculptures push a sculpture-wall for Reasons Unknown (ok, *I* am pushing. Eleanor is like MOTHER YOU ARE EMBARRASSING ME).

And then I left Eleanor with her daddy and went off to drink a very large beer

and eat some very small Yorkshire puddings.

And then our houseguest went home and Joel and Eleanor and I went off to hold Kenton, who is seven weeks old and very wise about the face. Eleanor wanted to SQUISH that face.

And now the sunny, sculpture-browsing weather is gone and it is SNOWING and COLD. Eleanor seems to like it, except that she can't use her hands when they are covered in snowsuit and she has to just sit in the stroller like a lump. But she finds the temperature bracing. Today she chirruped loudly into the clear air all the way to the store and back.

My genes run strong in this one.

Joel was home late and Eleanor was up from her nap early and we had already facetimed my mom and eaten dinner and had a bath and it was only, like, 6 and I am like, HERE ARE SOME SKULLS, child. And we had a little photo shoot. It devolved quickly.

Alas, poor Yorick!

Oh, don't mind me.

I'm just gonna get...

Ahh, I also spy the wicked witch.

Now I need the...

Yes, weak and strong, right and wrong, yesssss...

They left the house in rain or shine in two straight lines, did they?

Booty shot.

MOAR SKELETONS

Alphonse et Marie, réuni.

And then yesterday I wanted to go to the sausage shop which is by the OTHER dollar store, so I just popped in there for a second and popped out with these three jokers.

Stare no evil, scream no evil, scowl no evil.

I also picked up five of these

and LITTERED the bookshelves with them.

Re: Eleanor the Monk: I can't make her a monk for Halloween (perfect monk-hair notwithstanding) because she has no monk-like qualities, but MANY dragonesque ones, plus she already has this costume which I refuse to use just the once. Dragon goes to the store!

Dragon goes to the park!

You going to push me or what?

For real, woman. Push me.

Very good. Wheeee!

We've been busy.

Sometimes I get over-excited and put her in things before they fit, which is fine for jammies but more awkward for, say, this dress, which is way too big and makes her look like the tiniest monk ever. In cheetah tights.

For those of you who prefer your Eleanor in motion, I have been uploading hell of videos to her youtube channel. Ok, four. Four videos.

 

The one of her eating is mad long, but if you skip ahead to 0:48 you can see her trying to crack her cracker on her tray like an otter.

In conclusion, haaaaay.

Let the hollidaying begin!

It snowed the other day and Joel and I IMMEDIATELY felt festive, because in our part of BC you only get snow for like a week circa Christmas. But it is October here, and I have hauled Sam Skellington out of storage to celebrate.

He was slightly dismembered in the move and my tube of Gorilla Glue was misplaced in same. But he is spookier this way, no? Perhaps I leave him.

He is accompanied in festivizing the house by ole Leggs McGee up there.

Eleanor is pretty taken with her. And then yesterday we popped into the dollar store to see what we could add to our Skeleton Army, and picked up Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (they are, as you see, dead)

and Marie du Bones, who would like to know whether you'd prefer a hot toddy or some sherry.

I can't believe I didn't grab her husband Alphonse as well. HIS COAT HAD TAILS. Guess we're headed back to ye olde dollar store today. Guarding the books as always is Señor Bones (Alphonse's Mexican cousin)

and the Lady Estella oversees the works with a snoot.

If she had a nose, she'd look down it at you so hard.

Future podiatrist.

She is weirdly into the feet of things. She's always trying to pick one of my toes off so she can get it in her mouth, and whenever I hand her a stuffie she flips it over right away to check out its feet.

Let me just get a look at them paw-pads, Mr Bear.

Fair's fair, I guess, so while she's checking out everyone else's feeties, you can ogle hers.

Cankles for days.

Her wardrobe > my wardrobe by, like, a lot.

I have been remiss. I'll make it up to you. Let's talk about Eleanor's clothes, because she is big and all these great things fit her now.

She has overalls with heart pockets on the bum. Also, she is the standiest. Hey, lookit all them toys in that there toy-box.

She has a little orange toque that I get compliments on all the time, and a little bomber jacket that I got from the thrift store last year for, like, four dollars and that I also get compliments on all the time, and she has little cheetah-print tights. Also, Joel's parents came for a visit and we went for a walk by the river and the weather was lovely.

She has a jean jacked lined with pink fur. Also, we took Joel's parents to Canmore and went for lunch at the Grizzly Paw Brewery.

I had the mile-high nachos.

Eleanor had the lemon from Jake's coke.

Also, the weather was again lovely and it was much too hot for a jean jacket lined with pink fur. Also, Eleanor has a shirt that makes her look like a football, and a leggings-skirt. Skleggings?

She also has a leggings-tutu, which she wore to Thanksgiving dinner at a friend's house on Monday, and which she did not appreciate the full adorableness of (it was fully adorable).

We had to retire her feetless elephant jammies which I loved because OMG WEATHER, but she has these fleecy elephant jammies to grow into. Also, she sits in a proper high chair now and not on my kitchen table finally.

She has a legion of boots (with furrrrr) from my sister's mother-in-law which are getting a hefty wearing  on account of weather. Also, her Apple Bottom dress is ALSO from the thrift store. Also, work it, gurl.

So back when I was pregnant, I wore dresses and leggings ALL the time, and I had this maternity tank that I wore under things to help them cover m'bits, only sometimes I would take the dress of or not have put it on yet and be wandering around the house in my leggings and tank and it looked like a single unit and my sister referred to it as my catsuit. I can't believe I never took a picture of this, it was hilarious.

All of which is to say, sometimes I take her dress off for her nap and then Eleanor is ALSO wandering around the house in her catsuit. Also, LEGGGGGGS.

I don't have a cute anecdote to go with this, I've just been waiting for her to fit into this dress from my aunt Sandy since before she was BORN.

Have we talked about her pink baby-Chucks?

Also, good thing she has this snowsuit and this hat-with-ears, because SOMETHING has happened to the ground.

Ha ha, what are you up to, ground?

Advices and reminiscences.

The other night, Joel and I got sushi and a couple of Sapporos and watched 13 Assassins and had ourselves a little impromptu Japanese night. Here is my advice to you: if you are going to have an impromptu Japanese night and get one of those massive pies from Superstore (because what is more Japanese than apple pie?), I recommend you cut it into 16 pieces and then have two of those rather than having an eighth of the pie. I DO NOT KNOW WHY THIS IS DIFFERENT. Alls I know is that the first night I had an eight of the pie and felt terrible, and for the last two nights I have had two halves-of-an-eighth and it is just right.

With that bit of business out of the way, let's indulge in a couple of then-and-nows, shall we?

Two-week-old Eleanor employs the Happy Cactus for sleeping purposes

while nine-month-old Eleanor prefers the Recovery Position.

Six-month-old Eleanor would like to know what happened to the hippopotamus

and nine-month-old Eleanor is similarly interested, though she doesn't need a pillow to prop her up.

These leopard pants do not fit six-week-old Eleanor

nor do they fit nine-month-old Eleanor.

Stupid pants.

Four-day-old Eleanor has crone thighs

but nine-month-old Eleanor has the graceful, supple thighs of a sumo.

Three-day-old Eleanor does not approve of baths

but nine-month-old Eleanor likes them JUST FINE.