Nobody puts Baby in a corner

We weren't in the Catskills and she didn't dance with Patrick Swayze in the finale, but Eliza definitely had the time of her life in Club Med this year.
Our journey down was smooth and uneventful, which was a huge improvement from last year and everything only got better each day. Lots of sun and fun and relaxation. And here are a few (well, more than a few) highlights.

Our first full day there was Easter Sunday and look who was at breakfast! We had to go back a few times before Eliza was comfortable enough to actually take the picture.

Next up, we took her over to the Petit Club where they suited up for the Easter Parade. Her group was the Tigers - obviously. She was fine with this as long as we were around...

...but not so thrilled when she realized we weren't in the parade too.

Back at Petit Club, though, she seemed to have a good ol' time.

Later, she donned her Easter dress and posed with her gifts from the Easter Bunny.
After dinner, she took to the stage (the first time) and made friends with several of the older girls. They had so much fun dancing and jumping that Eliza kept asking for them all week. Unfortunately, this was never repeated. Ah well.


For the "off" day (when there is no Petit Club), we went to an oceanographic institute of sorts where Eliza and Mac touched a stingray,

did some very serious sitting on a tree stump,

and played with shells.
And now the moment you've all been waiting for....the big show! Again, see last year for a refresher on Eliza's stage presence and then be impressed that she was the STAR of this year's show. We're not really sure what the plot was, other than she was Princess Penelope,
wooed by her prince, Justin Time. To the tune of "Your Cheatin' Heart," he regaled her with gifts that she kept rejecting, including his heart...
Until she finally relented and it was true love (Justin, for the record, was played by a charming young man named Paul, who lives in France, and was quite smitten with Eliza. Look out, Connor!)
Then for reasons no one could understand, she was suddenly separated from Justin and living on a farm where she was being pursued by Bad Billy (or something), said pursuit consisting of little boys on hobby horses and Eliza waving her wand and twirling. Eventually Justin found her and they were reunited. Awwwww...
The rest of the trip was the usual fun - rocking chairs,
music playing,
frolicking in the play area with cool play houses,
jumping in the pool with Daddy,
who is still her number one guy.
And as always, lots of slushies and pretzels to make vacation complete!

Can a Girl Be Too Fancy?

We're going to go with "no."

Tonight Eliza announced that she needed to "wear something special" and went trotting off to her room. This is what she came back with:

Here's the back...b/c if you're going to wear the ears, you MUST wear the tail too. For the record, she also has the bow tie that came with the cat costume around her wrist. Along with three purses and a change purse.Work it, baby!

Eliza hearts President Obama

Aunt Mary sent Eliza an awesome gift to commemorate this historic day. She is very proud to wear it (click on the pics to enlarge if you can't read the shirt):

And she's a little cheesy as well...this is what you get when you ask her to smile:

Green Dinosaur Cookies

As anyone with access to any kind of news source probably knows, it is frickin' COLD in Chicago right now. Our high today is zero. That's right, zero. So, as you can guess, our desire to go anywhere is slim to none. Hence, baking as an afternoon activity!

For Christmas, Eliza got a green dinosaur cookie kit from Aunt Mary. Yesterday we made the dough and today we rolled them out and baked them. The raw dough tastes a bit like Play-Doh and honestly, the cooked version isn't much different. I won't lie to you - they're not good. But I am not the intended audience, so here is the true judge of taste.
She likes them!

December Recap

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. We had a great, albeit hectic, time and are now trying to settle back into a routine. Eliza started pre-school on Monday and is doing fine, so far (she's only been two days, so Harvard hasn't come knocking yet - or should that be Williams?). She has also decided that naps are completely optional and she would like to opt out of them. Mac and I do not agree with this view of the world, so life around here is pretty fun as you can imagine!

However, here is a look back at our December. It was a very snowy one! Here are Mac and Eliza "making tracks" and examining snow. I wisely stayed inside and took pictures from upstairs.
We made our annual pilgrimage to Zoo Lights and were rewarded with some gorgeous Hollywood snow. With all the lights and the carols playing, it was like being in the finale of "It's a Wonderful Life."

Part of our visit included a stop at the Conservatory where they had a special train display set up in one of the rooms. Eliza was mesmerized (she must have inherited this from Gramps) and just walked back and forth between the displays, happy as can be.We stopped in the Lion House to warm up and found there was a very special guest inside...
Santa!!! Eliza really got Santa Claus this year - that he was coming on Christmas, that he would come down the chimney, that he would bring presents. She had no idea WHY he was doing these things, but she was on board with the plan. She told him she wanted "Dora presents."

Ask and ye shall receive:

She also got some fabulous dress-up clothes from Aunty Anna to go with her Dora purse. Stylin'!
She also got to spend time with one of her favorite people in the whole world, Aunt Mary, who is probably second only to Santa Claus in Eliza's eyes.We look forward to many more adventures in 2009!

Cookie Baking

We all did some holiday cookie baking yesterday. Andrea came over to take pictures, I mean help, and Heather and Connor showed up as well. It was quite the scene.

Here are Eliza and Connor helping to mix some cookie dough... Connor decided it was also a good time for some smooching.

Here Eliza returns the favor.
Post nap, Eliza worked on her rolling skills.
Then she cut out some shapes. I'll admit, she didn't quite get the whole just push down on the cookie cutter part, so most of the cookies have little finger prints in them for that extra special homemade touch!
And then there was this moment. I could explain it. But it wouldn't make any sense. So why bother? Just enjoy the insane picture.

Young Love

I'm so far behind in posting anything that I've given up trying to do it in a coherent or linear fashion. Instead, here is a paean to best friends and young love. Also to summer, since it's now cold and gray here in Chicago!

This is from Labor Day weekend in Michigan. Eliza and Connor LOVED the fountain (here they just got sprayed in the face...special thanks to Jamie for all the awesome pics):

Well, I said it was young love, didn't I?

Can't you just picture them 60 years from now still rocking on the porch?
The happy couple contemplates the view.
And in case you think it's just a summer romance, fear not...love knows no weather.
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!