Tiny girl!

This is Eleanor wearing the sweater made by her Grandma Schmitt!  It was a race... first baby girl in the family won the beautiful pink sweater, matching bonnet and booties.  We were the lucky ones to "win" the set!  I was taking this out of clothes that we were giving away, and my sister said, "I bet she could still fit in that!"  We did have to take it off right away so it didn't get stretched.  As for her face and pose, well that is her being a model.  Ha!  The boys weighed in at 30 pounds at the doctor's office last week.  Eleanor is at 34 pounds.  Watch out!  It won't be long until they outgrow you... be kind, big sis!

Eleanor is 4!!!

Wow!  Has it really only been 4 years since I became a mom?  Can she really be 4 years old???  It is so hard to think of life before my little sunshine girl entered it, but at the same time, I don't quite know what to think about her being 4.  I think I am just lucky that I enjoy her so much at this age, so I don't really have time to be sad about how quickly she is growing up.  Ooops... just thought about it...there goes that shot of pain to my heart again!  :)

Baking her favorite type of cake. 

CHOCOLATE... with white icing and colored sprinkles. 

This girl knows EXACTLY what she wants!

We had so much fun celebrating her birthday!  She wanted to spend the day with her "nice friends" (her cousins) and not her "mean friends" (the kids in her preschool class... namely, Mathew).  So, we decided to take Mahri, Allyson, and Eleanor to Build-A-Bear.  A first for us.  Probably a last too unless we suddenly have a lot of money to blow on stuffed animals and their clothing. She is so into crafts and so into her stuffed animals (thanks to Toy Story and Velveteen Rabbit).  It was perfect!  The girls had such a great time finding the right animals and outfits.  Uncle Dan and Aunt Meg joined in the fun.  Grandma and Grandpa Schmitt played with boys in the kids' play area directly outside of the store.  It went great!  Then we came home for ice cream and cake.  Sweet! 

Allyson, Eleanor, and Mahri at Build-A-Bear

The girls came up with their outfits all on their own.  Girl power was strong on this day.

Oh... this is what a $30 bunny looks like.  :) 

Just in case you were curious!

Party #2

Great Grandma Zartman was born April 6th (1925).Eleanor on the 7th (2007), and

Great Aunt Wanda on the 8th (1927)! 

No need to worry... the boys enjoyed the festivities too!  We took advantage of the 84 degree weather with our first boat ride of the year.

We LOVE cake!

Here are the Schmittles!

Eleanor and her worm jar.

Eleanor is constant entertainment.  She loves nature, bugs, animals, pink "because it is a girl color", her shows, making new friends at the park, stuffed animals (especially rabbits) and being with mommy and daddy.  I can hardly believe that she is going to be 4 in a little over a week.  Gulp!  I would be totally sad if she wasn't so great at this age.  She has the sweetest things to say.  She wants us to be best friends forever.  If she only knew how happy that would make me!  She can make crafts from morning to night.  She doesn't want your ideas.  She wants to do whatever she comes up with... and let me tell you... it is WAY better than what I could come up with. Her Grandma Carole would be so proud!
 

Her dragonfly and butterfly creations!

Finally writing it down...

I have envied all of the moms out there blogging.  Motherhood has changed every ounce of my being and zapped all of my extra time.  I thought I was busy with Eleanor.  Then the twins came along.  I then reliazed that I did not have enough hours in the day to feed, eat, diaper, shower, etc!  Blogging at that point was impossible for me.  With Eleanor almost 4 and the boys nearly 2 1/2, people laugh everywhere we go and say, "You must have your hands full."  I do, but I also feel things are soooooooooooooo much easier and I do have more time compared to 1 year ago.  These days are my happiest.  I have learned so much about myself and experienced love beyond words.  Yet when I think of how fast they grow and how precious they are at this exact point in time... my heart aches.  An ache I never knew until becoming a mother.  Eleanor, Will and Thomas this is for you.  I will sacrifice my precious nap time to preserve these moments... because they do go so very fast.