Grandma Engelhart Arrives...

Does that mean the baby can come now?

We picked Kathy up at the airport yesterday and then Renate took a nap, a new favorite habit. What a welcoming! Grandma Engelhart and Ella spent the afternoon discovering treasures in Grandma's suitcases and reading all of Ella's favorite books.

Today will be a fun filled day of the watching the Giants v Packers game, if baby doesn't decide to show up. Not too likely, but it will happen sometime. We will try to post some photos later today of Grandma and Ella.

Don't worry, we have someone lined up to update the blog within hours of us having the baby. So if it happens, you will know!

Movie Day=No baby

Can't even take her eyes off the credits!

Look we made it through the WHOLE MOVIE,
and we still have happy kids!

Eleanor Kathryn smiling at the top of the play ship.

Yes, Eleanor, what that boy behind you said to Renate really was appalling!
(details below)

Ella can do it!

Happy Girl!

Is this a plank, or a model runway for our sassy daughter?!

While you are all going to be rewarded with pictures of our fun day, there are still no baby pictures to be had. Hang in there, I have been assured time and time again that a baby has never stayed in forever (although I do like to defy odds and expectations).

We had a wonderful day! The mommy and me promo that the local theater runs here was perfect getaway for the moms without the guilt. There were maybe 40 people, including kids, in the whole theater that could normally handle at least 150 (probably closer to 200). The setup allowed the kids to have space to move when they got ants in their pants, yet the moms got to enjoy a movie. I hadn't expected to like Enchanted, but was pleasantly surprised that it was just the right amount of cheesiness and Disney mockery. Ella was almost as entertaining as the movie as she danced, clapped, and reacted at the perfect moments. I think we may have a future princess on our hands!

After the movie, we did some mall walking to try to convince the baby that this is the place to be. Then we let the girls play on the mall playground equipment. Apparently tact is something that children learn later because while I was chasing the 2 Ellas around the ship playground taking photos, a little boy (maybe 5-6 yrs old) started talking to me. He very much seemed interested in being photographed with his little sister, but since I don't want other people to do that to Ella I wouldn't even pretend such a thing. He told me all about his sisters and his name and what he likes to do. I guess I wasn't giving him enough attention because then he says, "you're like really fat". Thanks kid, I needed that today. Nothing says boy you are pregnant like a kid telling you that you are huge or a woman at a checkout telling you that you look...(insert uncomfortable delay here) uncomfortable.

It was a good day overall that has ended with a good dinner and will be followed quickly with an early bedtime. Unless something exciting happens, tomorrow (Friday) will be a day off from blog updates, as I intend to just stay around the house.

Dare I even hope?

Mike just left for work, Ella and I have a mommy and me movie date today and of course I just had the start of contractions. Do I even dare hope for the real thing? These are the first firm plans that we have made in more than a week, so of course he will tease me with contractions. I feel stupid even hoping to be in a lot of pain in 6 hours, but really, it is coming sometime, so I guess I have just reached the point where that is preferable to the life on hold waiting and sleeping sitting up!

Something about these contractions doesn't ring true (although I don't think I will believe it until I am on the way to the hospital), but all the same I will update late tonight with pictures of the mommy and me movie experience if there is no baby. So check back tomorrow for news!

New Friends

Our little artist with her first fridge posting.

Enjoying a snack at the now indoor kid picnic table.

Aiden and Ella petting the puppy.

Rebecca spinning Ava on the sit-n-spin.
Ella patiently waiting her turn.

Indy protecting his cookie monster.

This puppy looks so scared, but Ella just loves him.

This puppy loved the attentions, and licking her fingers.

Cabryn and Indy, host and hostess of the playdate!

So funny!

Oh poor Seahawk fan!

Ella has needed a little extra love and attention lately.
It really is as though she knows something big
(well really, they start out small)
is coming.

Ella can't get enough of the crayons! So we have our first Ella gallery going on the fridge. So far, no actual coloring on the fridge, but I have had to wipe the crayon marks out of a couple of books. She has started running around the house chasing no one in particular and either singing or pretending to be a car and making a bbbbrrrrr noise. Really cute!

Baby #2 and I are still hanging on together, so far so good.

Mike had an eventful commute to work yesterday involving many a detour, ice skating, and walking the last mile or so after parking at Home Depot to avoid icy hills. Thank goodness he got there safely, but Bellevue WA had some serious ice problems the past 2 mornings. I hope the weather continues to improve as we get out of this winter freeze!

Promise will update 1/16 by 3pm E.S.T.

Slacking again, but will update by this time unless baby shows interest in appearing. If I give myself a deadline, one or the other will happen! Check back soon!

Conspiring Universe

While Mike is really excited about the Giants winning, I am completely beside myself, green with envy. I never thought that I would be someone who envied Nicole Richie, Christina Aguilera, David Allan Grier, Toni Collette, Courtney Thorne-something or any other celebrity for any reason, but gosh darn it I do today. Why? Because all of these people are enjoying their first week with their new babies. Really, this has to be the universe conspiring to drive me to the point where I am asking for an IV and to be induced (which will probably never happen) because has anyone else ever heard of a weekend where there were 5 celebrity (albeit, some D or E list celebs, but still) babies were born?
What I wouldn't give to be cuddling with our new baby today...

To make matters worse, one of them used a name that we had been considering! The nerve! Why didn't they consult us before choosing their child's name? Isn't that just a considerate thing to do? Call everyone expecting a child and make sure that they don't intend to name their child that in the next week. I guess I will have to let it slide and go with our other name idea, this time...BUT next time Nicole Richie, its on!

While Mike and Ella watched the Giants game, I went for a walk with Claire Capobianco, formerly Coates, and caught up a little. I think we walked hard for about 2 miles. Still no baby, but it was great to have an old friend to chat with. I find it amazing how many people that she hears from that went to high school with us. I don't know how she finds the time to do all that, be a third year resident, and manage to be so put together, but she does it effortlessly. I am so glad that we have good friends here already, both old and new. It is just amazing and we feel really blessed.

As for this week, provided that Baby #2 delays his appearance, Ella and I start out the week with a playdate. I will take the camera and try to add some pretty photos for everyone to enjoy. Anyone have tricks for getting your almost 2 yr old to quit grimacing or squinting for the camera?

Giants Win!

That is all.

Blog improvements

As everyone feared, the number of posts has dwindled in recent weeks. I assure you, I am not giving this up though! In fact, I added a counter feature today so that I am even more motivated to update the site by seeing the number of people that visit the site. Don't worry, it doesn't give me any specifics, just the over all number of times that the blog was viewed. So I have no idea if my mom maybe logs on 7 times a day to see the video of Ella dancing with the piggybank. I say that so that we don't discourage anyone from coming back to check as often as they like! The more the merrier!

On the Salerno front this weekend...

Renate and Ella are going to have a quiet day in. With some laundry on the agenda and maybe some baking. Before Ella was born, we baked a birthday cake and had it all ready for when she arrived. Maybe this baby is just waiting for that tradition and that is why he isn't coming out. So if I can get motivated to bake, Ella and I may bake and decorate a birthday cake for the new guy. If you can't tell, I am running out of ideas to coax this baby out and at this point would be open to any crazy idea. If we get a chance today I may play dress up with Ella as well and have a fun photoshoot at home.

Mike is going to head downtown to visit our friend Mike Marsolek (a former co-worker from ASU, who now teaches at a university in Seattle). The guys intend to get into the Seattle football scene and head to a sports bar to watch the game. I just hope that Mike M is discrete in his midwestern (he is originally from Wisconsin) support for Green Bay while they are in Seattle 12th Man territory!

All of us are kind of just waiting for the baby to arrive and all plans are tentative right now. It is an annoying position to be in, but one that is full of such permanent excitement that it kinda makes up for the stress. Hope to have more exciting posts in the future!

Busy Days

Ella in her chef's hat at a playdate with the Brindisi's.

The other Ella in her Chef's hat and hotmitt!

Ella and Emily at the playdough playdate,
done with playdough!
On to the books!

Ava, Renate, and Ella at the playdough table.
I think my belly was either squashing or kicking poor Ava!

Aren't some babies just so patient?
Toby looked so funny with his new look.

Toby and Cooper playing at the baby activity table.

Ava in the sunlight!

On Tuesday Ella and I went to 2 playdates! Aren't we social butterflies? Nah, just anything to get us out and about with friends. We started out the day at a playdough lunch playdate where we have TONS of fun. Veronica (Cooper and Emily's mom) hosted and it was a big success with all of the kids enjoying the toys and the soft, edible (thank goodness!) playdough. We finally got a chance to play with Ava (another little girl close to Ella's age), and get to know her mom, Ashley, better. It was relaxing and informal which was exactly what we needed.

Ella was exceptionally clingy and kind of anti crowds at first. She opened up as the day went on though and by the end was the biggest playdough eater of the day. Ella apparently is working on becoming a magician because no matter how many times we emptied her hands, the playdough appeared magically in her mouth. AMAZING!!! Why do kids like licking playdough so much?

Well then we headed over to the Brindisi's to see them after their trip to Alabama for the holidays. Ella gave the other Ella and Layla a set of chef's hats and hot pan pads. Layla is a little too young for them yet, but that just means that the 2 Ellas can play together until Layla wants the hat. We had a great time catching up and watching the girls play.

Wednesday started out with a doctor visit to check on my contraction status and the baby. After hearing that all was good there, we drove 10 minutes north to the Brindisi's to play with Cassia and kids, Rachelle and Toby, and Jenn and her girls. It was another fun day that wore us out. When we got home Ella and Mike went to bed early and I got a lot of work done around the house. I AM REALLY READY FOR THIS BABY TO ARRIVE.

Today, we did nothing, absolutely nothing productive. It was fantastic! Ella took a nap in the big girl bed for the first time. She slept for 2.5 hours and was so pleasant when she came out on her own to play again. My girlfriend, Rachelle, cooked us a wonderful casserole to make things easier leading up to the baby. I am looking forward to its cheesy mexican goodness tonight! Tomorrow will be another fun day at the Brindisi's for Ella and I, and Mike has a work field trip.

Love the multimedia!

Have you noticed a trend? That we load up the blog with updates 2 or 3 times a week, and then don't sit in front of a computer otherwise...

For those of you who have told me that you check this daily, have no fear, once the new baby arrives and we get settled, there will be updates galore!! With a new baby, there is something new everyday. And I will try to resist the urge to post video of him sleeping, because really, that is about as exciting as paint drying. However, I will not hesitate to post the still photos of Senor Cuteness (at least I hope he is cute!) snoozing.

This little video is just of Ella enjoying her piggybank toy in the aftermath of the holiday party this weekend. It is amazing the amount of toys that 7 kids can use in 3 hours, and that playing brought old toys back out into circulation. Well done kids, get more use out of them! Hope this makes you laugh too!

Holiday Party!

Rachelle looking lovingly at her Toby.

Toby playing with the toys.

So we forgot to take the photos before we started the grazing,
but at least we took some of the spread!

Cassia loves the babies!
How can you not with these precious boys?
(L=>R, Toby, Cassia, Cooper)

Cooper's smile is wonderful! 2 teeth and all!

Ella decided to take a bite out of mommy!
Maybe we should have fed her at some point...

Ella did remarkably well sharing her toys,
even the coveted crayons!

Mike tending the fireplace and some of our
holiday decorations still up for the festivities.

We had a great time hosting an after Christmas holiday party for some friends in town. The idea was to include as many people as possible and kick back enjoying the time together rather than getting swept up with the stress and scheduling of the pre-Christmas excitement. I think it worked!!! We had some last minute cancellations, but overall it was a great turnout. Most importantly, I think that everyone had a great time! I know that our family did. Best part for me was that cleanup was easy since I sent so many leftovers home with guests!

Family Updates

So there were few posts this week as I was moving slowly, I am 2 days away from the amended due date, and we did relatively little after Mike went back to work. Ella and I spent the week at home preparing for the holiday party we hosted last night and sorting more closets preparing for the baby. Sounds like it shouldn't take all week to accomplish that? Well it does when you are getting all kinds of "help" from a 20 month old! Especially one who is fighting naps now that she doesn't have Aunt Gabi or daddy to nap with (mommy is no good, she has a big tummy that kicks!).

Mike had some great progress on a professional front this week, as he is now officially scheduled to take the engineer-in-training test this spring. Which means he gets a new calculator!!! A dream come true for any engineer! I am kidding, but really he has to get a new one since they have only 3 options of calculators to use. This is the next step for him, and we are excited that he is moving forward on it. After he passes the exam, it is a mere 4-5 years until he can achieve the certification that will really make him a force with which to be reckoned.

New Years Day

We spent New Years Day at home with the whole family pitching in to get some things done around the house. Mike and Ella took care of some much needed yard work and then we took some time off to play and take photos. Only a few more tasks to complete before we host a party this weekend. I know crazy since baby 2 could arrive any day, but I keep telling myself that it is good to stay active, and that this could be the thing to tempt baby out!

Ella surprising a napping daddy with kisses!

What a great way to wake up, with a kiss and a smile!

Ella's first experience with mittens.
She definitely prefers gloves, but made them work.

Going down the slide on the playyard in the backyard.

Daddy helping go down the "right" way.

So independent!
Big Girl!!!

What a great smile...

Ella helping pick up pine cones in the yard
while daddy raked the leaves.

The two handed, mitten wave.

Bye-Bye!

If you give a kid a cookie...

they not only want a bottle, but they change. Especially if you feed them after midnight East Coast time to celebrate the New Year!

From this cutie...



TO THIS HAPPY MONSTER!!!!!



We didn't make it much past the East Coast celebration ourselves before calling it a night. It was a wonderful and quiet evening at home. We hope you all had safe and happy celebrations as well!

Christmas 2007 Video

So here is a video of Mike opening a gift from his mom on Christmas day. The story behind the gift was that Linda found a cereal box topper for pouring that she found in a store. The really neat thing about the gift was that Mike had invented his own version when he was in 4th grade (approximately), to solve the problem of losing cereal when the bag was torn or inefficient.

He loved the gift, but honestly I think the best part was that Linda had kept the original to pass on when he was old enough to appreciate it. We will keep it safe!

You have to also laugh at Ella (behind his left shoulder) playing so intently with her crayons, the big winner of Christmas!