Eloise the Ballerina

Our little prima ballerina Eloise started doing ballet classes last year in the late Winter/early Spring.  Of course, she loved the outfits and quickly perfected her leaps and twirls.  Last weekend was the culmination of her "training," as she had her 1st Ballet Recital.  She was all decked out in her costume, ballerina bun hairstyle and some special makeup.  I had tons of fun being her personal glam squad by doing her hair and makeup.  She loved every minute of it! 

When I was putting the makeup on, she said to me "Will my friends recognize me?  They might think I'm a Mommy because I've got your makeup on."  She was so worried about her makeup that she had a mini meltdown with fake tears about the rain ruining her makeup.  Lord help me when she is a teenager!

Who knows if Eloise will continue her ballet "career" in the coming years but at least I can say that I was able to have my moment as a Dance Mom or a Stage Mom.  I was armed with extra bobby pins and hairspray while we waited back stage for her number.  That moment that I left her with her classmates and teacher to go take my seat in the auditorium made me a little emotional.  I'm that Mom who gets teary-eyed at the drop of a hat.  Don't worry - I pulled it together by the time I got to my seat.

The Dance Studio will not let parents record of photograph the actual recital so the best thing we have is a video that Grandma Sandy took at the Rehearsal. The actual performance was just as "entertaining" as the rehearsal.   

Following her performance, Daddy was armed with a dozen red roses for his princess.  While we were waiting for him to pull the car around, she was semi-struggling to the hold the bouquet and said, "Why did Daddy get me such big flowers?  I can't ever hold them!"

We are so proud of Eloise for performing in the Recital.  It was 2 shows in 2 days.  Many kids did not show for the 2nd show so I appreciate that she was willing and able to follow through on this commitment.  It's been fun watching her progress over the past year or so and we can't wait to see what she does next.

Summer So Far

The Littlest Kalins kids have been busy so far this summer!  Lots of fun with friends and family and making memories.  Here are some of the highlights:

 Eloise attended a Pretty Princess Tea Party with her fellow princess fanatics Grace & Camille Archer.  The girls had a blast and were smitten with all the princesses!

 

A few years ago, we started the tradition of taking pictures of the kids for Father's Day for all the Dads and Grandpas in the family.  This year may have been the best one yet!

No worries! We got some cute ones too. 

Daddy got a new zero-turn radiance riding mower this Summer which I guess is super cool.  Eloise thinks it is awesome and loves "driving" it.  

 When the weather cooperates, we have been taking walks around our neighborhood to get some fresh air before bath time & bed time.  It took a few walks for us to appreciate how Eloise is observing the world flower by flower, bird by bird, rock by rock etc.  Sometimes the walk takes a little longer than planned but she literally is stopping to smell the roses along the way and who are we to stop her.  Eloise is so much fun right now as she says the funniest things and is regularly singing or making up her own songs.  When she picked up this leaf on one of our walks, she said to us, "I love this leaf.  I'm going to keep it forever.  I'm going to take a bath with it and I'm going to sleep with it."  She dropped it like 3 minutes later. 

 Water table = Endless hours of fun for kids of all ages. 

Great Grandma Fitz loves watching these sweeties play together.  No amount of crying or fussing phases this ultimate mom.  I love getting advice from her or just validation that I'm doing okay as a mom.  

Preston loves being surrounded by all his girl cousins.  He is pretty captivated by Brooke and can be quite sweet with her.  

Hi! My name is Preston and I'm a real stinker.  I demand tons of food and then love throwing it on the ground. 

Only a photographer's child has proper camera hold technique at 14 months old.  He even says his own version of "Cheese!"

Eloise is just few weeks away from her 1st Ballet recital.  This is from last weekend when they were practicing their group bow at the end.  God Bless Ms. Ellen for her patience with these girls.  It's going to be a memorable 2 minutes, folks!

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Happy 14 months Preston Bradley!!

Well, here we are another month past and Preston is 14 months old!  He is over 25 lbs and turning more into a rambunctious little boy every day.  He is currently cutting his back molars along with a bunch of other teeth.  Poor little guy.  He's a bruiser and a tough guy so he's pushing through it.  

So, what is Preston up to? He's become more vocal everyday and more agile & coordinated. He can climb up & down on all the furniture with no problem. He tries to sing the "E-I-E-I-O" in Old MacDonald when you sing it to him. Precious.  He yells "Hi!" when I answer my phone in the car. Similarly, he says BYE to everyone when we are leaving school and waves like a politician to the whole playground. It's hilarious when he yells, "MMMAAA!" to get my attention. Most of this happens when he is waiting for food in the highchair. Haha! To be honest, it reminds of the scene in Wedding Crashers when Will Ferrell yells to mother about bringing food for him and his friends..."MAAA!  The meatloaf!" 

He is a water baby! Loves to put his face in water - bathtub, water table & pool. He thinks it's so funny. This is refreshing because Eloise is very timid around water - especially in her face.  Unfortunately, we've entered the era of toddler temper tantrums. He can't say much so he just screams and waves his little hands & arms. 

My favorite party trick with him right now is, "Where's your belly?" He lifts up his shirt and pats that big ole belly with the biggest smile on his face. I die. 

Lots more summer fun still to be had.  Stay tuned!

Toddling Thru: Preston is 13 months

It's only been one month since Preston had his 1st birthday and yet it's like he has turned into a dare devil toddler over night.  A week before his birthday, we was toddling around and looking like a mash up between a zombie and King Kong as he was unsteadily walking around with arms up in the air.  Now, he is walking with such confidence, spinning around to change directions on one foot, and trying to run.  We don't sit down anymore - seriously.   Some common phrases in the Kalins House these days are:

"Preston! Leave the dog food alone!"

"Preston! Stay away from the stairs!"

"Preston! Come play with your toys."

Preston did pretty good with weaning from nursing.  Not only is he done with that but he is not drinking out of bottles either.  It's sippy cups all day, every day in every form we have.  He's adjusting to drinking cold whole milk just fine and loves to walk around with his cup tipped up in the air, chugging away.  He has always been a good eater but lately his appetite is off the charts!  I tell people all the time that he 3:1 what Eloise does.  Just when I think that they could share an entrée, he will eat his half and be looking for more.  God help me when he is a teenager! 

One of the new skills or tricks that Preston has picked up is the adorable "Uh-Oh" when he throws something...I mean...drops something on the floor.  It's seriously cute.  He is vocalizing so much more these days and it's fun trying to figure out what he is trying to communicate to us.  I'm anxious to hear how he tries to say Eloise.  My sister Laura was called Lo Lo by me and other kids growing up and I still call her that today.  Eloise is always telling me what she thinks Preston is saying and I just have to laugh.  Preston has also mastered the art of the climbing or should I say scaling the stairs in the house.  He is fast!  We didn't really need the baby gates with Eloise as a baby or toddler.  Preston is another story.  Say what you want but there is just something different about girls & boys.

Summer is officially here!  We are looking forward to many trips to Grandma & Grandpa's pool.

                           

In case you missed it, check out Preston's Year 1 Slideshow. Click HERE. 

Preston's 1st Birthday Party: Rookie of the Year

As soon as I decided on a baseball theme for Preston's 1st Birthday Party, I knew I wanted to go all out when it came to adhering to the theme.   I used all the baseball lingo that I could come up with for the invitation and encouraged everyone to wear baseball jerseys to support their favorite teams.  Of course, we were all sportin' our Chicago Cubs gear at the Kalins House.  It was so much planning this party for my little Rookie of the Year.  Preston finished his "rookie year" with a bang by starting to walk.  He spent most of his party toddling around and trying to body slam all the older kids!   

 My nod to the Wrigley Field sign

 Auntie Lo made her signature cake balls & chocolate covered pretzels that we called - Bats & Balls.