Christmas 2008

Eleanor is opening her gifts at Noni and Pop's house

Daddy with Eleanor opening gifts from Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Bobbie

Christmas 2008 spent with Noni, Pop and Auntie Emma

No pictures....please!

Those dang Paparazzi! Stop taking photos Mom!

Christmas party at the Gallinger's

Our friends Megan and Jeff (MEFF) had a Christmas party on the 13th of December. We had a fabulous time and Eleanor enjoyed her first Christmas party too! She was a very good girl. Our friend Megan shot some lovely photos of us at the party. I thought I would share them with you all. We wore red to celebrate the season...YAHOOO! Merry Christmas!

Twins

Daddy and Eleanor are twins. Even though Eleanor is a girl, we had to buy her a pair of camo pants so she and Daddy could be dressed alike. I threw in the pink shoes and shirt so people would know she is a girl :)

Let it snow...

Rudy was brave and went out on the lawn where the
snow was deep.

Charlie is a chicken, she stay where the snow was

shallow.

Yes, good old Salem Oregon received snow last night. Some say we got 3 inches and others say we got 4 inches...all I know is school was closed so I got to stay home in my PJ's. Dustin was scheduled off today so it is great being home snuggled by the fireplace with the family. Eleanor is napping right now but we plan to bundle her up and take her out in the snow. We will take pictures so stay posted....

Grabbin feet

Eleanor doing what she does best...grabbing feet. I wish I could still do that!

5 months and 2nd tooth

Trying to roll over

Tooth number 2 shows up

Eleanor turned 5 months on the 6th! She is holding her head up now and grabbing things and letting go too. She has now started to get tooth number 2 in on the bottom. She is fussy alot now since she is teething. I think we have about 10 teething toys to try and distract her. Dustin and I are working hard to try and get her to roll over. She is so close. She kind of sits up on her own, only for like 5 seconds and then she falls to the side. She is great at smiling and giggling. She is so much fun!

First Tooth

Eleanor has her first tooth. She is chewing on anything and everything. That little sucker is sharp too! I attached a photo, if you look to the right bottom side you can see a tiny white spot...yep that is it! Mom and Dad are so proud of our big girl!

It's BLACK FRIDAY!

Ok, Eleanor just realized what "Black Friday" really means in the shopping world. It looks like she just saw a ghost.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Dustin and I realized how much we have to be thankful for. We have a wonderful family and a great group of friends. During this hard time in our economy, we had to just sit back and look at all our wonderful gifts. A BIG thank you to Chuck and Scarlett for a terrific Thanksgiving dinner. It was great to see your lovely home in Albany.

So, today being "Black Friday" and all, my mom, my sister and I decided to brave the shopping horror. My sister was the unlucky one this year, usually it is me, but I had to pass the torch. She was a victim of a "shove" by an aggressive shopper. I am the mean one and usually say something rude to that person. My sister was a nice person and just stayed quiet. We found some great bargains and had a whole lot of fun watching people freak out over really dumb things.

So, Thanksgiving is over...time to start decorating for Christmas right? Or if you are like my friend Megan, you are already done. She has always been an over achiever (love you Megs).

MMMMmmmm Squash

Eleanor loved her bananas, she is not quite as excited about squash. I noticed more of it gets all over her face. We are going to Albany for Thanksgiving to spend time with Dustin's family. I am thinking we need to give Eleanor her first taste of mashed potatoes and gravy. She still falls asleep in the car so I am sure it will be a nice ride to Albany.

Starting Ele on the drums early

Eleanor got her first pair of drumsticks today at Guitar Center. She loves the colored stage lights at the shop.

Eating food

Eleanor is now eating mashed food. We started off giving her bananas and she loves them. A BIG thank you to Grandpa Jerry and Grandma Bobbie for the awesome high chair, Eleanor loves it! She still gets her regualr bottles everyday, now we are just giving her mashed food on top of it. I think we are going to try squash next. Our BIG girl is growing up so fast.

Trying to make my little Princess a Tomboy

Today I tried the Team Yamaha jersey on Eleanor that Jeff and Megan got for Eleanor. It is still a little big, hopefully it will still fit when riding season starts.

Happy Veteran's Day!

We would just like to say, thank you to all Veterans for fighting for this wonderful freedom we have. We apprecite you more than you will ever know! Proud to live in the land of the FREE! GO USA!

Off to the doctors....

So, Eleanor, Noni and I went to the doctor last night at 6:40pm for our 4 month check up. Dr. Lace said she looks very healthy and chubby. He has given us the go ahead for some rice cereal and other "real" foods. I am very excited to go shopping with Daddy for some mashed bananas and apples....MMMMmmmmm! She weighs 15 lbs 1.3 ounces now. Quite the chub I must say! Cuter the chubbier right?

4 months old today!

Happy Birthday Eleanor, you big 4 month old! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Red beautiful curls

Eleanor received a new "do" from "Le Dollar Tree". Ok, so she actually was wearing a wig we found after Halloween at the Dollar Tree. I think she would make a beautiful red head. Too bad Mommy and Daddy have dark brown hair and there is no chance of such beautiful red curls. I guess she could get curly hair from Aunt Emma, Emma's hair isn't very red anymore. Eleanor was being a very good sport by letting Noni, Aunt Emma, and I dress her all up.

Day off with Daddy

Eleanor, Rudy and Charlie love to hang out on the couch with Dad.

Silver Creek Falls

Shanna, Megan, Eleanor and I went to Silver Creek Falls today. For those of you who don't know where it is, it is in Silverton, Oregon about 30 minutes from Salem. It is so beautiful there. The air was cold but the sun was out and boy was it bright. I woke up at about 7am fed the kiddo packed a lunch and headed to Megan's house. We left Megan's and headed for the falls. The walk was so refreshing and invigorating. Eleanor was very good, I think she enjoyed the falls too. She was quite the trooper when we were pushing the stroller in the gravel. Poor Meg had to push Eleanor up all the hills...sorry Meg! I have to say, Shanna, Megan and I will be so muscular from our long walk. :)

New Hat!

Don't you just love Eleanor's new hat? Dustin and I were laughing for hours.

Bath Time

We are now giving Eleanor a bath every other day. She has developed stinky feet (EWE). I have no idea how someone so young can get stinky feet. She loves bath time and it is something Dustin and I always do together. We both look forward to it. She always smells so good afterwards. There is nothing like a baby smell with that Johnsons bed time bath.

3 months old today!

She is a big 3 month old girl today!

Never too early to start reading to your kids

Reading is so important. I work with kids everyday who are in fourth or fifth grade who read on a first grade level. This is so sad. I am determined to make reading fun for Eleanor. I know if I slack off on reading my Mom (the school counselor) or my sister (the first grade teacher) will be there to yell at me. Eleanor's pediatrician also said start reading to her now. We read two books every night before bed and she is already entertained by the pictures in the book. She is getting to be such a big girl. A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who bought Eleanor a book.

Not Always Happy Times :(

This is what Eleanor does if you sneeze while holding her. It scares her so bad that she screams! So how do you hold in a sneeze anyway? Dustin says if you hold it in it will cause an aneurysm. So do i make my kiddo cry or do I hurt myself? ha ha ha ha :) Only 3 more days and Eleanor will be 3 months old. WOW! Time is flying by!

Hello!

I was snapping pictures of Eleanor this morning and I just happen to catch her waving...kind of funny. All is well in the Gibbins household, looking forward to Christmas and spending time with our new addition...Miss Eleanor. Christmas is less than 3 months away. Dustin and I found some great toys for Ele at Costco, a little train that lights up and makes noise. We found some other toys for when she is a bit older. I am finding now that I am getting a bit bored being at home all day. Don't get me wrong I love being with my kiddo all day, I think I am just ready to get back into a routine. My official day back is November 12th. We found a great babysitter for Ele, very hard to come by these days. She will be great with her. Dustin only works about 3 days during the week so hopefully she will only be in daycare very little. Gotta go to bed now, Ele will be up bright and early.

Tallyn and Eleanor

Took Eleanor down to Eugene today to hang with some of Daddy's family.

Happy Birthday Beth !!!! We Love you

So today is Beth's birthday, I want to wish her the best Kahneeta trip ever and the happiest of birthdays. Me and Eleanor miss you mom/wife very much. We are having a great bonding time, having already been to Noni's work, and her very first trip to Guitar Center.

Killer Birthday Ride

Special thanks to my brothers on wheels Jeff and Josh for the AWESOME ride on my birthday. Best ride of my life. Thanks a million to Mary for the great healthy dinner. Thanks Jeff for driving. And best of all to my perfect wife for staying with my daughter so I could go play with the boys. Boy am I sore!

Happy Birthday Dustin!

Happy Birthday to a wonderful husband, father, friend, provider, nurse, brother, son, grandson and all the others..... I love you very much "D"! Hope you have a great birthday!

Eleanor Laughs...

Eleanor now smiles and laughs all the time. Dustin and I will tickle her feet then she will smile and try to pull her foot away. It is amazing to see her change everyday. Her personality is beginning to show already, she is getting so big.

Doctor's Appointment

Eleanor went to the doctor yesterday for her 2 month check up. She now weighs 12 pounds 3.5 ounces. She is 22 and 1/4 inches long. She is growing so fast! The doctor said she looks healthy and happy. The bad thing is she had to get her immunization shots and she was not happy. We gave her some Tylenol and she slept ok last night.

WE GOT A SWING!

We purchased a swing and Eleanor loves it. Dad did the wonderful honor of picking it out and I must say he did a wonderful job. Eleanor loves to just sit and swing and stare at the mobile. I am so happy this may give me some more time to finish the laundry and do other jobs around the house during the day. Money well spent!! The second picture is an action picture...she wouldn't let me stop the swing...so it is a bit blurry.

Also, all swings are battery operated now...how wierd? When I was growing up I remember having to crank a handle and it was very loud to get the swing to work. I am getting old, now I am saying "remember when".

Eleanor and Daddy...

Eleanor is getting so big so fast! We go to the doctor on September 9th for her 2 month check up. We are very excited to see how much she weighs and how long she has gotten over the past few weeks. She will now smile at you when you talk to her. She also likes to talk back in a mumble. I am loving the fact that she sleeps through the night, HORRAY!! She is such a joy!