Growing up

I really wish the kids would just pause for a second in growing up (I also wish they would hurry up and move out for college so I can have a morning with peace and quiet).

Eleanor is potty training now. She is so tall and has completely lost her baby belly! Ella is stubborn as hell (her teachers call her independent). She is a terrible communicator, generally just yelling random words at you while you try to piece together what she wants. But, she actually has a huge vocabulary and carries on full conversations with her sister and friends. Eleanor is obsessed with the dogs (Ours and Grandma T's). She wants to snuggle them and calls the dogs cutie - Lani cutie, Bella cutie. Eleanor is making headway with swimming, finally jumping in the pool by herself at class. She loves dance class, but hates actually dancing without me while she is there. She will watch the whole class and them come home and do everything that she saw. We've decided that Ella might need to take a break from dance to see if that gets her motivated to actually participate. Ella still loves shoes and clothes, but hates wearing any of them. She strips as often as she can and takes her shoes off in the middle of the school day! I love snuggling Ella and lately have gotten to spend many evenings snuggling in bed while watching ET until she gives up and goes to sleep.

Madeline has grown three inches since her birthday. She is now officially a kindergartner (agh!) and basically barely needs me on a regular basis. Madi can give directions regarding every routine in the house and helps Ella get ready for school and bed. She is still not stoked on meeting new people which led to Kinder orientation and assessment day being a terrible experience. Madi loves to come home and color or put her Koala Crate crafts together. She loves us to read to her and is working on recognizing words in our books. Madi has been having fairly regular afternoon meltdowns lately, I think she is exhausted from school and growing. She is an amazing bedtime kid now and is out within minutes of laying down at night, yay! Madeline loves to dance, was very interested in the Olympics and is killing it on her balance bike. I am looking forward to the day she can ride a real bike while I run with her - exercise and together time! Even though she is getting so big, Madeline still loves to cuddle and spend time hanging out with me, I am trying to hold onto those moments to get me through the teen years that are sure to come too soon.

Big girl undies in her regular pose

Sick baby

Beach day with mom (trying to distract the girls while I was sick)

Ella lined up with the dolls playing school with Madeline

Dance time

Lani snuggles

Sisters!

Talmadge food truck night

Trips for Mom and Dad

Towards the end of July, Matt and I took a trip to Seattle. Grandma T took the girls for the weekend (3 whole nights, exhausting)! We went with the Kellys and Lams for the weekend. It was a lovely time of relaxation, eating great food, and lots and lots of walking (we forced the guys to walk three miles in the sun on Saturday, they were not happy). I liked Seattle a lot, but could not believe how horrendous the traffic was! We also had some misses with meals, Eric especially just kept getting shut out due to lack of food in the kitchen or lack of communication from servers.

The First Starbucks

Flowers at Pike's Place

Fish! (we didn't see any tossed)

Adult crew

Super icky gum wall. I couldn't go anywhere near it, yuck!

"Gimme 2"

Underground Seattle Tour

Ceilings made of glass are now in the sidewalks of Downtown!

Tour guide - It was like getting a tour from Molly Ringwald

The men behind a bar underground

Dinner out. Grown up meal, alcohol, yumminess!

Chihuly Glass Museum

Chihuly and the Space Needle

From the Space Needle

On a ferry

Looking back at downtown

We ate a dinner at a place where everything is pie. So amazing!

Video Game Bar

In celebration of our birthdays and anniversary this year, Matt organized a trip to LA for us. He had it all planned out to be a surprise, but Ella got the flu (and gave it to me then Matt) so we ended up moving the trip and I was given all of the details. We dropped the girls at Grandma T's on Saturday before lunch and headed up to Beverly Hills. After relaxing outside with snacks and a drink, I took a nap (best thing ever!!!) and then we went to our fancy dinner. Ink is Michael Voltaggio's restaurant - a Top Chef! The food was all meant to be shared plates and everything was delicious. I especially enjoyed the egg yolk gnochhi, so different and tasty. After dinner we went to a bar with a hidden door and a carnival theme, crazy pictures on the wall. Of course, I am an old party pooper so after one drink I was ready to pass out and we headed back to the hotel for a completely uninterrupted night of sleep (no kids, no dogs, just sleep). In the morning we walked to a french cafe for breakfast which basically forced me to question whey in the world we had ever decided to add the responsibility of children (and dogs) to our lives. Perfect 24 hours!