Elliott and Penny Cuteness

Elliott and Penny had some rare time with just the two of them on Sunday while Ned was napping. With all three kids and Dutch, it gets a bit (understatement) crazy. Any combination of two is much calmer and more manageable. This gives me hope for life with two kids!

Holly took most of these pictures while I was rested. Thanks, Sister!

Yelling? Singing? I have no idea but it sure is cute.



Hold on, Penny . . . 

Here is your butterfly toy.

And this is why Penny is learning to crawl early and quickly! She has to outrun these boys.

She's a girl! We have a little girl in the family!

Hi, Mama!

It's a big reach for Elliott to open the screen door and get out to the front lawn.

He persisted and went out to look at ships with Coco.

A boy and his Coco.

Oh, Elliott, your cheeks are so soft. Do you use cocoa butter?

Look at the size difference. Penny is a little peanut and Elliott is a big boy. He likes to crawl with her.

Elliott is a big fan of the bath animals. He knows all their names and was lining them up to play with them.

Look, Auntie Em, I fit perfectly under this table. And my hair matches the wood!

My boy is getting so grown up.

Penny is doing a lot of assisted standing these days.

Woah! Big muscles! She needs those to fend off the bigger boys :)

 

Wagon Bed and Pool Shower

A quick post tonight with a couple of cell phone pictures.

We try to take family walks after dinner to let both boys (Elliott and Dutch) get some energy out before bed. Elliott is usually a good sport but had a really rough time last week. I eventually realized that he was tired and suggested he rest in the "wagon bed." We folded down the seats and he laid down in there. He plays with his hair when he is tired.



Most kids we know take baths. Since we don't have a tub, Elliott has always taken showers and he loves them. After water babies, we both rinse the chlorine off in the shower. He likes to stand in his own shower and tries to push the button when the water turns off every 10 seconds or so. Looks pretty comfortable with the water streaming over his face, doesn't he?

Jesse's bat phone rang on Saturday and he flew off to Cyprus for work that afternoon. Okay, not exactly a bat phone but an early morning email. Elliott, Dutch, and I are working on finding our groove while missing him lots. So, if you notice a lack of Jesse in pictures for the next few weeks, that is why. We miss you, husband/daddy!

Fire Trucks and Sushi

Our friend Connor is a firefighter with the Buffalo Fire Department. On Tuesday, he let us come down to his firehouse to show Elliott the big trucks. They have a ladder truck and an engine at their house.

Up in the driver's seat of the ladder truck.



After a seemingly smooth start, Elliott recoiled and became a little scared of the big trucks. We talk about them all the time and see them often but they are really big up close. It didn't help that he got sunscreen in his eye on the way to the fire station. Here is Jesse trying to tell him that it will all be okay.

Connor's brilliant idea to make Elliott feel more comfortable with it all was to dress me up in his turnout gear. It started with the hat/helmet (not a light item!).

And then I donned his boots, pants, and coat. My belly did not fit in the pants . . . nor did my big feet fit well in Connor's boots.

This turned out better than I thought it would. I anticipated a photo for awkward family photos . com with me in this ridiculous outfit, Elliott crying, and Jesse pointing at my belly/general weirdness.

In order to give me the full experience, Connor had me put on his air tank and hold his ax and his chainsaw. It's amazing to think that Connor climbs ladders and fights fires carrying this much gear - that only gets heavier when wet. No wonder he has such big muscles!

Apparently my crazy outfit did work because Elliott willingly following Connor around the station.

In the back of the ladder truck.

Even with all those cool fire trucks, Elliott was still thoroughly entertained with the storm drain outside the firehouse. Thanks, Connor, for letting us come visit! We will definitely be back again!

That evening, we went to our favorite sushi spot for sushi happy hour. We hadn't taken Elliott there in quite a while and were interested to see how he would do. He enjoyed reading the "book" (picture menu).

This is the kids meal. That's a lot of food for a little person!

Elliott ended up eating edamame and rice for dinner. He thought the sushi roll was a cookie and was sorely disappointed when he bit into it and realized otherwise.

We went to a nearby park to play after dinner. Elliott loves the wooden choo choo train at this park.

 

Dressed for Dinner

Coco and I bought a seersucker blazer for Elliott a few months ago - with no occasion in mind. He hasn't had the opportunity to wear it anywhere special so I figured that dinner at the beach was as good of an occasion as any. The outfit, the light, and the mood led to some of the cutest pictures of our handsome little man!



This is hands-down my new favorite picture of Elliott.

Enjoying a cracker (in lieu of dinner).

Elliott and Penny. She got these beautiful chairs as a gift from our cousin Lara.

Poppy's phone quacks like a duck when his timer goes off and Elliott loves it. They were playing with the noises when I took these. Look at the love going both ways.

Poppy's look of surprise when Elliott tooted.

Waiting patiently for the quack.

My cousin Lara checking out Elliott's new Crocs.

Lara, Andrew, and their kids arrived for dinner in this awesome VW van. Elliott was obsessed with it. He just wanted to play in the "truck" all evening. After dinner, Andrew kindly took them for a ride in the van.

Louise and Andrew were in town from NYC. They ran up to visit with us and hitched a ride home in the van.

Happy boy enjoying his ride.

We love getting the next generation of Constantine cousins together. These are the children of Lara, Claire, Holly, and me. From left to right: Carley, Penelope, Andrew, Elliott, Chase, Ned, Penny, and Parker. It was so great to see you all. We hope to see you again soon!!

 

Spinning with Coco

We finally had a beautiful, sunny day on Saturday. After a fun morning at the beach, we came back to the house for lunch and nap time. Before eating, Elliott spent some time learning another one of Coco's extraordinary skills: spinning. He was fascinated by all the moving parts with this fancy device.



Coco showing how to card the wool.

Is this right, Coco?

Elliott taking his turn at the wheel. Or attempting to break everything.

The afternoon brought another round of "boat" rides in the laundry baskets.

"Cheese!"

A video of the laundry basket fun. We collectively questioned the strength of the handles with each swing but it all turned out well.

Penelope is clearly the fancy girl from the Big City in those shades.

Serious cuteness coming in the next post!