BIG OUCH!!!

Sometimes it is really, really hard to be three. Now, you know we all love our Eliza dearly, but she can be a bit athletically challenged at times and her running style closely resembles that of an emu, which is to say that she pinballs and careens off things all over the place. And she trips a lot. A lot.

Today she was running to her room, emu style, when she tripped and did a header right into our front door. I have never seen an actual knot on someone's forehead until today and wow, is it something!

No worries - we called the doctor and they are not concerned. So Eliza gets to take it easy today and (of course) watch "Sleeping Beauty" (Aunt Mary, she eagerly awaits your company in this endeavor).

They're kinda like mug shots from a bar fight, aren't they?

Snowy Day

Now, I know this doesn't compare with what is happening on the East Coast with your fancy blizzards and all (and I never thought in a million years that I'd move to Chicago and consistently get LESS snow than in NJ), but we did get a nice snowfall yesterday.

Eliza and Mac went out to shovel some snow.

Eliza quickly realized she'd gotten the raw end of the shovel vs. broom deal.

So they swapped, but after a few seconds of toiling...

...she wised up completely and resigned her position...

...for the much more rewarding task of making snow angels.

Then she proceeded to eat about a pound of snow (only safe in fresh snowfall, before the dogs come a walkin'). Afterwards, she came back inside for some hot chocolate, most of which ended up on her face, and a new movie to watch, "Sleeping Beauty."

A Video Christmas Card

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Halloween Part II

First up, in case you don't feel like browsing through the ten million pictures from Eliza's birthday party in the last blog post, Eliza's Gramps created this great collage. Click on it to enlarge.So, for Halloween proper, Eliza went out to her Mimi & Papi's house in the suburbs to trick-or-treat properly (i.e. at houses, not stores, like we have to do here in the city). She opted for a more casual princess look, with her hair down this time:

Late afternoon spooky shadows!
Getting the bag ready for treats!
She loved all the Halloween decorations that people had put out.
Trick-or-treating with Daddy and Papi:
And as a final added bonus, she got to jump in the huge leaf piles along the curb. She also helped hand out candy inside and got to eat a hot dog for dinner. So, overall, I'd say she had a great Halloween!

Halloween Parade!

Today was the Halloween Parade at Eliza's school. Fortunately, the rain stopped for almost the duration of the parade, starting just as we got back into the school. Eliza is Princess Presto this year, from her current favorite show, Super Why (although Angelina Ballerina is creeping up the ranks). We paraded around the block and it was VERY windy, as you can see from her hair.





Back inside, she posed for a quick pic with good bud and fellow princess, Chloe. Just a hunch, but I think she was getting hungry.
Back inside the classroom for group shots, which is, as Kerri said aptly so long ago, like herding cats. Eliza decided she had had enough. She said she wanted to twirl instead, but I think what she really needed was some food. Huge stacks of cupcakes were at the ready.
Definitely click on this one below to enlarge. Her face is priceless.
I need a tissue!
Are we done yet?Stay tuned for more pics after she goes trick-or-treating at Mimi & Papi's house on Halloween!

Also, I haven't posted anything about Eliza's birthday, but she had a grand ol' time and fortunately Aunt Mary took about a million pictures, which you can see here.

All Hail the Big Girl Bed!

We have arrived! A day long talked about and long anticipated....Eliza has her big girl bed! The agreement was that she could get one (with Dora sheets, of course) when she could poop in the potty (that being the hurdle in the potty training process). She delivered, so to speak, and got her reward.

First up, a quick video of her first look at the bed.

And now a few stills of what one can do with a big girl bed:

Be a cheese dog.
Lie back and relax with one's wand.
Get comfy with a book.
Find one's favorite part in said book.
And, of course, snuggle in.

Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday, Daddy! (for those who don't know, Daddy is traveling to NYC during the week, so can't be with us on his actual birthday)

She's not getting a cupcake on Daddy's birthday. But if she did, it would probably look something like this: