newatmarriage: the day before

i think j. and i were forced into celebrating valentine's day the night before the actual day years ago because of a violin rehearsal. it worked out great, though, since nobody else books reservations for nice dinners for that evening. it is now tradition for us to go out the night before to celebrate our valentine's day.

when e. wakes up from her nap i'll take her to her grandma's to spend the night. j. and i are going to a restaurant called duckworth's that has amazing food. they offer half portions and half bottles of wine because they really want you to taste a variety of dishes. we've been there maybe twice before, but the last time we were there i was pregnant, so it's been awhile.

this week has been more mild outside, and ella and i have been getting out once or twice a day to run around the driveway. she likes looking for the moon and her shadow and she loves it when i swoop her up in my arms and swing her around. it's such fun. i really can feel spring coming. it is my favorite season of all. as john updike says: "all things renew, all things begin."

j. came home this afternoon with red roses and dark chocolates for me and a lovely heart-shaped balloon for elenora. she loves balloons and is just going to go crazy over it when she wakes up.

i've found the earlier schedule to really work out well this week. i've gone to bed by 11 pm every night and gotten to work between 7:10 and 7:20 am. i'm home in time to feed ella lunch and then play with her for awhile before putting her down for a nap, and she's slept well almost every afternoon.

something fun that elenora has been doing is "fill-in-the-blank." you can read her a story like "goodnight moon" and leave off the final word of every line and she will say the word you leave off. or you can sing something like the alphabet song and she will say the letters you stop before.

she says "please" now. last night she drained her cup of milk and she said "more?" and i didn't respond right away and after thinking a moment she perked up and did the sign for more and said "please?" irresistable.

today she had a cracker in her hand and i asked her if i could have a bite and she patted her chest and said "keep."

she says the phrase "all done" when she's done with something. is that a sentence?

here are some photos with elenora in a sweater from my uncle d. and aunt m.: