Eleanor's FIVE months!

Eleanor is five months old today. Hard to believe it! She is a joy to parent. A complete angel baby. Yes, she has her moments, but that's all they are - moments. For the majority of the time she is just a hang out and chill baby. I was telling Josh today that she is so content just sitting and watching us. No need for a toy; no need to be entertained; she just likes to be around us and watch us live our lives... it's awesome. She, just like her sister, loves her pacifier and today was able to grasp it and bring it to her mouth! Quite the accomplishment for this little one. She's also been ravenous with her eating so today we gave cereal a try. She probably ate around 1/4 of what we put in her mouth, but it's a start! Ruby is still the pro-big sister. Seriously so amazing to watch. She's so encouraging with her, so loving, so sweet. And Eleanor reciprocates with the biggest, gummiest smiles. We love her so so much!

Ruby at FIVE months...

Merry Christmas! Happy Boxing Day!

We have so much to be joyful for!

Especially these two little bundles of joy...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love, 

the Dunlops 

Santa success!!

It's fun being back in Santa Barbara and having Westmont at our fingertips... not only are both Josh and my workplaces filled with Westmont alums, but we use our Westy's as babysitters as well. Pretty great. But another bonus - they love alums and are always hosting fun, kid-friendly activities! This year was the "pickle tree" lighting (apparently the tree looks like a pickle?? I think it looks like a tree. Anyway...) and Ben Patterson dressed up as Santa. Now... Ruby didn't have such a great experience with Santa last year. Shall we refresh our memories?

 

This year? MUCH better.

I think it's a few things. 1. She's older. She's got this whole Santa thing down... 2. She's setting an example for Eleanor... what a good big sis. 3. Ben Patterson doesn't look like a creeper.  So all of those add up to a successful Santa picture. Ho ho ho!

O Tannenbaum

It's official. The tree is up. Ruby decorated the bottom 3 feet of it. It's Christmastime!!

Bloopers...

This is what you get when you try to do your monthly photo shoot with big sister right before bathtime... chaos. But so so funny. Now. When Ruby gets in one of her excited/hopped up on advent calendar chocolate moments and mom doesn't pay attention to her hair style post-nap, the camera captures some priceless moments... These pictures were taken within 2 minutes. There was lots of singing, some posing, many hugs, screeching, and position changes.... and crying... oh how I love these two!

Eleanor's FOUR months!

I'm behind in posting (surprise!)! Eleanor turned 4 months on Thursday and she decided to mark the occasion by rolling over! Tummy to back and back to tummy... exciting times around here! She is no longer a leave-her-in-one-place-and-she'll-never-move baby - she's wiggling everywhere and has made it official by rolling over. And then just this morning, she discovered her feet. Won't be long before she's sticking those suckers in her mouth. And man oh man - this baby is a SCREECHER. Huge. Big. VERY vocal this one. She's smiling and as of late, laughing. I think she's starting to think getting startled is funny. Peek a boo is about to get so great for her! Oh - and if Ruby walks in the room or she can hear Ruby talk, this little one just lights up. Loves loves loves her big sister! Here are E's four month pics... I am going to dedicate a whole blog post to the craziness that went on when I got Ruby involved. It. Was. Hilarious. Mainly because of her hair. You'll see... Look for that tomorrow...

apple picking!

We had a really fun Saturday this weekend. After sleeping in (We ALL made it to 7:30 - MIRACLE!!), we woke up and just got going! No lollygagging here! We packed up the fam and headed out to the little Danish town about 40 minutes inland - Solvang. I had heard about this one restaurant that was supposed to be excellent - Succulent Cafe - and it was! Ruby, Josh, and I enjoyed homemade biscuits with goodness poured and spread all over them while sipping our coffees and milk, and Eleanor slept (it was no Pine State, but still delish!). The air was super crisp and had a definitely had a little chill to it - perfect fall weather for apple picking!

We arrived at the farm and Ruby immediately got into it. We left with WAY too many apples... but Ruby was so excited and kept saying "Just one more. That's it!" and then "But mama, we could make cookies/cake/muffins with it! One more..." and then "I love you so much" - and when she says that I'd let her pick the whole damn tree if she wanted... :)

Overall a great day!