Eleanor arrives at daycare, looking a little bit worse for the wear, and crawls up on the mini couch and collapses. Apparently Desmond views this as a photo op, though dad is just trying to stay upright since mom now has the flu.
Burritos! Dad’s little sous chef has nearly mastered opening cans by himself
In a creative indoor parenting move, mom guides Des through some pre-nap calisthenics
After dipping into his so-not-expired Halloween bucket, Des pretty much writes and stars in his own Skittles advertisement
Eleanor was feeling better the next day, despite a wicked cough. With mom and dad busy for a moment, Desmond was asked to keep sister safe on the couch. He held on to her as they continued their special Bugs Bunny Sunday morning matinee
After naps, it was another lego building session with Des’ big-boy Star Wars X-Wing fighter (thanks backordered-Christmas present elf in the UPS truck)
Pretty much sums up dinner with these two crazies
On the first night of mom’s first recreational trip out of town to visit a friend, Eleanor decides it’s time to experiment with croup again. After a night of new coughing and wheezing, dad was fortunate enough for aunt Kellie’s on-call experience. After forming a backup plan at midnight and packing a go-bag, Ella followed her playbook from last time and woke up at 3am with notable difficulty breathing. A quick call to the nurses’ line later, they confirmed stridor and recommended an adventurous, yet urgent trip to the ER. Again, thanks to aunt Kellie, dad and Ella were able to quickly get to the hospital without even waking.
The doctors were all caring, swift and helpful. With a steroid shot, everyone was back in bed before the sun rose. The next day, however, everyone was a bit sleepy.
Eleanor beginning several long hours of napping, with brother exploring the children’s museum with grandma, aunt Kellie and Cal.
Asleep, then awake. Repeat.
She eventually fell asleep for the longest period after rubbing dad’s beard.
A young family of two, it takes a mom and a dad, with a cast of loving supportive family members.
Everyone is so big and brushing their teeth on their own
Eleanor is starting to get the cause-and-effect relationship of the remote and the remote-controlled car
Now it’s a party!
Desmond trying to impress Dad with the aftermath of the peanut butter cup…
…so of course Ella has to get in on the “open your mouth and show dad for a picture” game
Peering out into the black evening, via the gross motor room at daycare
If her brother’s interest at this stage was dead-lifting paint cans, Eleanor likes to crawl and sit on things. Dad is fortunate for capturing this perfect “wipes rodeo” moment
Desmond coloring in his new pads from Christmas
Meanwhile wants to do whatever her brother is doing, so coloring it is
Getting the hang of it
Eleanor trying on brother’s shoes, though walking was a bit treacherous
