This week Henry and Eleanor continued their exploration of Virginia Beach. Eleanor really enjoyed her new inflatable travel bed which she used instead of a crib. She spent most nights sleeping in the same room as Lala, and she never got out of bed before morning. She also loved playing with cousin Saul, especially playing hide and seek while holding hands. There was a great little park near our house, where Eleanor mastered the play equipment. She was climbing the ladders and rock wall all by herself, and then coming down the slides. She loved helping Papa make pancakes, and especially eating them! Papa got creative and made lots of shapes including an “E”, a turtle, a duck/penguin and a crocodile. She explored the local aquarium with Mimi, although she was particularly unimpressed with the crab which wasn’t the expected red color. While playing in a play café she came across some large foam puzzle pieces – she picked out one in an “L” shape and said “L for Lala. Eleanor wants to take it to Lala” and then proceeded to carry the piece all the way over to Lala who was playing with Henry at the time. Ha! She was a champ at the airport and on the plane, and got a number of compliments from her fellow passengers. The combination of singing “three little monkeys” and playing with stickers kept her occupied the whole time. When we got home, we graduated her to eating at her own table and chair – with no straps and no tray. So far she has been pretty good about staying seated for meals, but not as good as she has been about staying in bed.
Henry knocked out a bunch of firsts this week – starting with his first time in the ocean. He dipped his feet in with Mom, Dad and Eleanor, but he preferred to play in the dry sand instead of in the surf. He also had his first trip to the ER after a scare when his chair tipped over backwards at dinner. Everything checked out o.k. – but hopefully we won’t have to make another trip to the ER anytime soon. Henry also had his first dip into a pool at the hotel – which he liked a bit better than the ocean. He got a kick out of splashing his hand in the water. We are also ready to give him credit for his first word – “Mama”. I’m not sure he always says it with meaning, but it has been very clearly enunciated this week – at one point Eleanor said “Henry just said Mama”! I think it was also his first stay in a hotel – at least I can’t come up with a previous hotel stay. It was definitely the first time that both Henry and Eleanor slept in the same room, and they actually did quite well. In fact, the first night we put them both down to bed at the same time, and Henry was fussing a bit, and Eleanor sang the ABC song to him until he fell asleep. Henry also met Aunt Kathy and Aunt Ann and cousin Adam for the first time. Wow, that was a lot – and I probably missed a few.
