Eleanor George Bunton

It's a Girl! Eleanor George Bunton is the name we settled on. Eleanor for me and George for Tim. We are pulling an Aunt Mary and Uncle Greg.

She was born Easter morning, March 23, at 7:03 AM. The doctor informed us that the 23d is the earliest Easter we will have in 250 some odd years. So this is the first and last time her birthday will fall on Easter.

She weighed in at 7lbs and 19.5 inches. My first thought when I saw her was that she was way too little to be one of my babies.

We are both doing well.

I will be posting more pictures of our recent activites (Easter, Gigi's birthday, Bunton Family vacation, many, many more of Eleanor etc) sometime soon, but I at least wanted to get a few pictures of Eleanor/Georgie out there.
Eleanor basking under the heat lamp in our room. I think heat lamps should be standard issue when you take a new baby home--she was just so content and peaceful under there.
Well...maybe not perfectly content.


She was so alert after delivery. I loved seeing so much of her eyes so early in life. It was a rare treat.

Dentist Appointment

I know, not normally something that makes photographic history, but it was his first real trip to the dentist. I love dentists, they are so much easier to hype up than doctors. James was really excited for his visit.

Once he got in the chair, he turned into the catatonic zombie you see pictured above. He was just all limp and empty eyed, letting them pull him this way and that, not responding to anything they said. It was super funny and a little bizzare, but it got the job done. He perked right up when given Power Ranger stickers and tokens for the machine.


I of course promised McDonald's afterwards. I had promised only an ice cream cone but somehow got suckered into a Happy Meal. The tables in the play room had the connected bench dealy going on which meant I couldn't fit on the seats, there wasn't enough room for me and my belly. It was a little surreal.

Delectable Valentine's Day Cookies

We make Valentine’s Day cookies every year, I can't help myself. I just love the colors and the decorating. I am normally not a fan of sugar cookies, but Emily gave me the most fabulous recipe that tastes indescribably fabulous with cream cheese frosting. It is a really sticky dough however, so rolling them out gets kind of complicated. But with copious amounts of flour (as shown) it works out to everyone's satisfaction. And it is just once a year after all.

The Bunk Bed

From my other pictures you could probably tell that we have one mattress between both our children. The system seems to work out between them; one of them always prefers sleeping on the floor.

But a couple weeks ago, I snapped. It was kind of like the moment during my pregnancy with James when I woke up at night hysterical because I didn't want to bring a baby home when I was still sleeping on a mattress on the floor. It just seemed wrong and anti-adult. It was a bizarre moment because sleeping on the floor had never once bothered me before.

Well, it happened again, only this time, I wasn't hysterical (I seem to get less emotional the older I get) and it wasn't about getting me off the floor, it was about getting my children off the floor. But the intensity of the desire was the same (ahh-pregnancy).

I had casually looked for twin beds on Craig's List for the last year, but they sell so terribly fast and we would have to arrange to borrow a van and arrange Tim's schedule which makes us the antithesis of "fast."

But I was determined now. I checked Craig's List every 30 minutes and e-mailed on all promising listings immediately. I arranged to borrow a van ahead of time and had Tim on call to pick up the van and then the bed wherever it may be. And the stars aligned just right and we got a very nice bunk bed (with three full bed frames), for a very nice price with two mattresses and the pottery barn bedding thrown in.

Tim spent the rest of the evening assembling it with James (his Valentine’s Day present to me). Tim would hold the pieces together and James would screw everything in. He has grown very good at reading instruction (with pictures) since he has entered this Bionicle phase.

The kids took to the bed immediately and we have had no troublesome incidents yet.

The Rocking Chair

I have never rocked any of my babies and really wanted to give it a try this time. However a good quality rocking chair at a price we can afford is incredibly hard to come by. But the woman who sold us our bunk bed, also happened to be selling this chair at a great price, so Tim picked it up for me as a surprise.

It is seriously the most comfortable glider I have ever sat in. Everything is just perfect.

I forgot what a rockerphile Gillian was however. She has commandeered the chair to the point where I am afraid I may not be able to reclaim it when the baby is born (we are all slightly, just slightly, afraid of Gillian. As Tim would say, she is definitely a Strong West Woman).

The picture is of Gillian just being goofy. It is hard to capture on film, but she is definitely the clown of the family.

Plumb the Night Away

Our bathroom drains (sink and tub) have gotten progressively slower since shortly before Christmas. I had delusions of grandeur of fixing them myself and even downloaded excellent how-to instructions from Lowes.com. I got as far as accurately determining what kinds of drains we had, but when push came to shove, it was just too much for my very pregnant mind and body to handle and so the job had to wait until Tim had time.

In reality, the job waited until the drains stopped draining all together and then Tim made time.

Ahh--if only Gillian was a plumber instead of a construction worker (see Dress Up post--I still haven't figured out what is the best order to publish these things in since I save them up till the end of the month rather than posting them when they happen. Any thoughts?).

Dress Up

Gillian loves dressing up in James' Bob the Builder get up. I think she is just adorable in it. However, as cute as I think she is in her construction gear, I really wanted to see her in more girly stuff. So over Thanksgiving, I borrowed Sara's idea (and rotary scissors) and made a super cute, super easy, and super prissy fairy skirt for Gillian's Christmas.

I personally thought it turned out gorgeous and I was so excited to see Gillian in it. However, it wasn't until February that I even got her to try it on and even then, she only allowed it for the picture, just to humor me. So sad.

She loves "break-lets" (anything jewelry) and shoes of all kinds, especially the cute feather shoes in the pictures. She loves pretty purses, adores all things pink and she goes ga-ga over nail polish. I thought a pretty fairy princess skirt was a shoe-in for sure.

But after thinking about it for a bit, I guess there is a difference. The stuff that she does love is more "accessorizing" than dressing up. She loves the accessories of a princess, but not the actual being a princess. Perhaps she'll be the type of woman who has a Harley, but it is pink w/ rhinestones. She reminds me of a T-shirt I saw at the law school: "Princesses can be Lawyers too" (the t-shirt was pink of course).

I am a big fan of letting children be who they want to be, but I confess, I am secretly hoping for a change of mind in favor of the skirt.

I could only get her in the skirt by promising to take pictures of her shoes.

This face kind of looks like a smile, but really, she was whining and pulling on the skirt trying to get it off. She had had enough.

Cinnamon Bears Quest

I started craving cinnamon bears earlier this month. No real surprise, I always get a craving for cinnamon bears about twice a year. Of course the pregnancy amplified the craving quite a bit. They are just different from Hot Tamales: they are softer, easier to chew, and less intense. Plus, it is fun to bite their heads off. I wasn't too alarmed by the craving since I knew it would be easy to satisfy during my next Wal-Mart trip.

I was wrong.

Apparently, cinnamon bears are a west coast phenomenon. My mother-in-law, a pure East Coaster, had no idea what I was talking about when approached with the subject. I went to several different stores, including gas stations and dollar stores (the treasure troves of hard to find candy), all to no avail.

I tried to be brave about it, but a craving denied tends to magnify. My concerned and faintly amused mother placed a call to James who promptly went to the BYU Bookstore, bought me some cinnamon bears (cinnamon lips in this case) and mailed them to me the next day.

I was afraid that knowing I couldn't get them easily would make me crave them all the more--but no, the ones James sent me satisfied my craving perfectly and I have been a happy camper every since.

My thanks to James, Charity and Mom for thinking of me even when I am being ridiculous.

The 'West' of the NC Trip (sorry, I couldn't help myself)

We didn't get to spend much time with either family this trip, but we did have enough time to truly enjoy ourselves. Sunday morning with my family my dad made soft serve ice cream in his very own personal soft serve ice cream maker. James was in hog heaven and has been begging for ice cream ever since.

Baby George is saying, "now how did he get more ice cream than me?"
Gillian is just happy to be here

(she is pictured here with the Lissa we had to leave in Raleigh this trip as mentioned in my previous e-mail).

North Carolina Trip

The last weekend in January, Tim had an interview lined up with the Dean of Admissions for Wake Forest medical school in the hopes of being able to transfer. But a couple days before the trip we learned they had no available slots. As disappointing as that was, we still got to make the trip to NC.

The Bunton's lake had a thin layer of ice on it. James and I trekked down Saturday morning (Tim and Gillian joined us later) and had a great time throwing rocks onto the lake and watching them bounce off and hearing the sounds echo.

Inevitably however, the rocks got dull and breaking the ice got a lot more fun--hence the paddles.

They continued to have fun breaking the ice until Gillian fell into the frigid water and we beat a hasty retreat home.

21 With 9 Years of Experience

James and I made Tim 30 cupcakes for his birthday and placed them in a heart shape on the cocktail table to surprise him when he came home. Cupcakes because they are easier for him to take school and heart shaped because we love him. We used a super delicious, moist chocolate cake recipe that I think I will share with you due to its sheer deliciousness.
1 devil's food cake mix (+egg, oil, water)
1 c. sour cream
1 c. chocolate chips (Tim likes the mini--I like the regular)
1 sm. box chocolate pudding

Make the devil's food cake according to recipe on box. Add additional ingredients. Mix together and pour into pan size you want. Bake at 350, but if using traditional cake pans or casserole dish the cook time will be 5-10 minutes longer. Just check with tooth pick.

Jammin'

Preschool introduced James to jam sandwhiches during snack time. He came home so excited about Strawberry Jam (it was "J" week) that I thought it might be fun to make freezer jam together.

Well, it was a great deal of fun and fairly easy (except for the jammin' part), but now, no one will eat the jam. I am not a jam person. James hasn't shown an interest since. Tim isn't home very often and even then, he'll only eat jam on white bread which we don't have since the kids and I prefer whole grain. Sigh. It's pretty delicious jam too.
**addendum--Tim felt guilty after reading this and proceeded to make and eat four pieces of toast with said Strawberry Jam.

James mushing the berries.

Gigi's New Trick

Gillian recently learned how to use the computer. She caught on fairly quickly, likely because she spent an abundance of time watching her Kuya play. After a few mornings of waking up to Gigi and James fighting over the mouse, they seemed to work out a system that accommodates both their playing habits (i.e. no more fights).

Whenever Gillian's games have music, she does the cutest little bouncing dance in her chair and demands that everyone in the room dances as well. "Dance! Dance!" comes the imperious command.

Tim Time

Tim doing what Tim loves best. No, not the reading, the snuggling.

Sleep of the Innocent

As my sleep becomes more fitfull, I am constantly impressed by the ease and total abandonment of children's sleep. How can they sleep so deeply admist such chaos and uncomfortability when I can barely sleep with everything just perfect?

Testing, Testing

This is a test to see if I can get my comment link to show up.


And yes, I can, so I must have had different settings when I posted the Christmas postings and now I can't figure out how to go back and update them. So unless I can you will just have to keep your comments to your self.

Weeeelll--okay, if you feel the absolute need to comment, you could always e-mail me.

Pre-Christmas

Well, now that February is here, I figured it is time to post our Christmas pictures. Tim had two whole weeks off at Christmas, one of which we spent at home doing absolutely wonderful nothing and the next week we spent visiting our families. I love being able to have the best of all worlds. How often does that happen?

We will start you off with some Pre-Christmas pictures followed by Christmas at my mom's and then Christmas in South Carolina at Sara's (Tim's sister).

My mom sent the kids a package with mittens and the book, The Mitten. The kids loved the mittens and James in particular wears them every chance he gets. They were stuffed full of goodies (better that than stuffed full of animals like in the book).

James actually did most of the tree decorating this year. He would also go back and re-do all of Gigi's since her decorations tended to accumulate in one spot. I love this picture of Gillian because it makes her look like a baby again.

While putting the lights on the tree, James and I got into a conversation about letters to Santa. Before I consciously realized he was missing he was back with this letter in hand. Apparently, he decided to write a "letter to Grandma" (he knows which side his bread is buttered on). I have never seen him write anything besides his name before so his self initiative took me by surprise. I have loosely translated it as follows: "Grandma I want for Christmas"...and then the last two lines are likely something about a Transformer and/or the Transformer movie (the two things he said he was asking Grandma for).

Our 4th Annual Sleeping Under the Christmas Tree party. I'm afraid that I got off to an early start and was sleeping almost from the beginning.

Christmas at Mom's

We had a fabulous time at my parent's in North Carolina. Anthony, Allison, James and Charity were all able to make it home as well. The five days we spent at home were filled with many fun activities and conversations. It is fun to all be in the same house because you have so much more of a chance to get to know each other and talk. Below are some Christmas memories.

We introduced everyone to Settlers of Catan. I believe the paterfamilias won this round of the game (beginnings luck, I'm sure). "All hail George! Lord of Catan!"

Sitting down (or thinking about sitting down) to a delicious Christmas Eve family dinner. I love having family dinners. I can't wait for the day my personal family can have them. We are currently lacking in both table and father, but at least the kids sit down to eat together three times a day and that is 50% of the family--not bad.

Our post dinner and pre program Christmas Eve activity. No wonder Tony's back isn't getting any better. Those darn kids keep beating him up!

My mom, every Christmas that I can remember, has given us new PJs on Christmas Eve. The tradition continues and more often than not recently, the PJs are matching (at least w/in a gender). What fun!

We generally have a nice, big family breakfast Christmas morning before present opening. My other favorite tradition (besides the PJs). Featured below are two of my mom's helpers.

The Hash Brown Man

The Meat Man

Tim surveying the Christmas festivities in his new PJs. I really like Tim.

Christmas stockings.

One of Gillian's favorite presents. As soon as she opened it, she got down and started typing furiously on the keys. She took to the computer so quickly I almost expected her to come up to me and ask if she could install Linux on our home computer. I knew she and her Uncle Jamey had a close bond, but I didn't fully understand all the ramifications.

James' favorites were predictably his transformers and his Bionicles. He has played with them non-stop since Christmas, thus making it a present for me as well as for James. Ahhh--the gift that just keeps giving.

Tim tried out his new silicone on a face cast of James over the break. It worked wonderfully well. It is so much lighter that you don't get any of the stretch distortion you got with the algenate and I think it makes the process a lot less onerous for the castee.

My favorite part of the cast was the prank that Tim played on Tony with it. Or maybe it was James who pulled the prank. Or maybe the prank was pulled on James. I can't quite remember (pregnancy brain). It involved a fake James "sleeping" on Tony's bed. What I do remember is that the prank and Tony's reaction, were priceless.

How many times can I say, "Isn't she cuuuute!" before it gets old?

Christmas at Sara's

Christmas in South Carolina with the Buntons was fantastic. The weather especially made the trip worth it. Nothing like 60-70s at Christmas time. We of course had to take a trip to Sullivan's Island, Sara and Cameron's favorite beach in Charleston.

This is the same beach we took James to at 18 months for his first view of the ocean over Christmas 2004. He loved it just as much this time. The beach was considerably colder than the rest of the state and we were all shivering while James was galivanting in the water.

super cool boat huh?

Jim insisted on hanging up a tire swing for Sara while in SC. John and Jesse immediately climbed the tree to help Jim tie it up, but then couldn't quite figure out how to get on the branch. I finally gave up watching them and got Tim from inside to come out and show them how it was done.

The boys trying to figure out how to get down.

James fell in love with the swing.

Both my children have turned into climbers. It came on so suddenly, I'm still getting use to having to watch them more closely. (you should click on Gillian's picture and see just how cute her expression is--but then again, it may be a mother thing).

Pictures of us and our favorite activities at Sara's. 1. Tim reading on the front porch (my favorite part of Sara's house). 2. Me making pretzels...so delectable. 3. Gillian playing in the dirt pile. 4. James riding in Luke's new truck.

Just a cute picture of James.

Making gingerbread houses. This is actually my kids third house this year. I hope this hasn't raised any unrealistic expectations in them.

I "helped" Cameron hang up some of their shutters. Judging by the fact that I felt it necessary to take a picture of me using a drill, one could reasonably conclude I wasn't of any real help.