Succumbing to Bluebonnet Peer Pressure

Monday night, N&E partook in the traditional, Texan, obligatory rite of passage known as the "Bluebonnet Photo Shoot."

We were lucky to have a field of bluebonnets very close to our house, so we avoided the lure of pulling over on the side of the highway and taking photos of two toddlers amid crazy, high speed traffic.


This photo made me laugh. I can think of so many of my sister and me from our childhood where one of us was laughing and the other crying. Here, Norah is just oozing sisterly sweetness, and all Eli can think is, "Get off me!"


This was my favorite shot of Eli by himself (read: he wasn't crying)














Truth be told, he didn't care much for the bluebonnets. (After a good month of pointing out the window, excitedly saying "Flah! Flah!" (Flower! Flower!) each time we drove down the waving sea of blue that is the bypass.) He found them to be prickly, itchy, and uncomfortable up close. I'm sure his affection for them will grow with time. I think all Texans, at some point, feel a sort of blissful contentment and peace at seeing the showy bluebonnets of spring. It smacks of "going home". One of those few, sacred things that, in spite of progress, politics, and time, still remains unchanged.

She looks so grown up to me in this picture!
















































This is one of my favorites...I'm not really sure why . Maybe because Eli just started walking and he's trying to hard to catch up with his big sister.




































This one made me laugh, too. Eli's expression cracks me up. Probably just wishing he was ANYWHERE else.













Next time, I think we'll go a little later in the evening. The sun was still a little bright, even at 7pm. I guess those 9pm summer sunsets are just around the corner!













Happy Spring!

Here, Kid. Don't Say I Never Gave You Anything

Norah and Eli's favorite "together" activity for the past couple of weeks has been tooling around the house on Norah's tricycle. They seriously have clocked in HOURS worth of cycling...always with Eli in the rear, "pushing" Norah, who, incidentally would pedal as fast as she could. At first, I thought it was a little insensitive on her part. I mean, the kid can't walk, so cut him some slack, right?

Wrong. Aparently, my 3-year-old genius was serving up a pint size helping of "Tough Love", trike style.


Notice any similarities between this photo and the previous one? Two days after the first one was taken, Eli figured out how to stand up, mid-room. Note the big grin on his face. It's pretty much a permanant fixture anytime he's on two feet...which is pretty regular these days. Literally, from the first time Eli stood up, he started walking like he'd been at it for weeks. Up and down the hall...all around the house. It was as we had suspected for so long. He knew how to do it, he just wanted to perfect it before showing it to us.
















I got a little camera-happy during their training sessions...


However, after seeing how the scenario played out...I'm glad I did. I really do believe that Norah played a big role in helping her little brother get up the confidence to finally "let go" and take off.





And I think she'll be proud of these photos when she's older. (Honestly, she's pretty proud of them now)













Well...except maybe this one...






In just one week's time, Eli has gone from crawling to dancing with wild abandon!



And Norah's loving it. (After all, even Sleeping Beauty needed a dance partner) I think these two are gonna be thick as thieves! (And that will be such an answer to prayer!)

Lately, I've been putting E down for his nap about 30-45 minutes before N because he just can't wait any longer. She finally put her foot down about it today.

N:Is Eli gonna take his nap now?
A: Yes, sweetie, he's really tired.
N: But I don't want him to take a nap until I do. I want him to play with me!

Two weeks ago, she was begging me to put him down for a nap so that she could have some peace and quiet, and all of her toys to herself.

Eli seems to share her sentiment. He has woken her up from her nap 3 times this week-- and that doesn't count the times I've busted him mid-operation! (he usually wakes up 30 minutes to an hour before she does) He goes into her room, walks right up to her bed, and repeatedly shouts her name ("Nah-Nah!") until she gets up. Guess it's time to go back to synchronized naps!