I have been very remiss in my blogging duties for quite some time.

Well, let's face it, shall we? I'm an inconsistent blogger at best …

I know. I'm sorry. I wish I was better. I hope to be better.

It's kinda a funny time to try to dedicate myself to blogging more when I'll surely have MUCH less energy …



We are beyond thrilled, looking forward to a 2.5 year age difference between kiddos, and a MAY baby. :)

In the meantime, on my road to blogging redemption, I thought I would do a big “Summer in Review” for everyone (you know, the three people that read my blog – Hey Suzanne!).

Minnsota – Sevlie Visit
We started out the summer with the Sevlie Family. Elliot and I flew to Minnesota over Memorial Day weekend and spent 4 days with this great family. We had about 2 days of fun before Elliot woke up burning up … we would later find out it was a double ear infection. :( Poor guy. He also threw up a little bit that night (probably from the high fever) which made me worry we were having a repeat of the week of vomit we'd had a couple of weeks earlier. Luckily, no. Elliot actually seemed to improve with piggyback doses of tylenol and infant's motrin (which, if you know me, isn't really my idea of fun … I hate dosing my kid with medicine like that). We kinda just got through the next day and a half and then flew back home on Monday. When we finally got home Elliot was evidently in enough pain to prevent nursing from being a soothing activity, that sign, along with increasingly concentrated diapers drove me to the Urgent Care. That's where he was pronounced to have a double ear infection and antibiotics were prescribed. I agonized over it. I wasn't happy about it. But I gave him the antibiotics. Over the course of the next couple of days we were able to reduce the pain meds and by the weekend he was back to normal. Whew! So the “Week of Vomit” and the “Double Ear Infection” were serious Mommy tests. After having gone through those tough illnesses, I feel stronger and more able to handle child related illnesses. Also, the fact that I had to go through the 2nd illness while on a TRIP, no less! Luckily my BFF has 3 little ones … she knows what to do, knows how freaked I tend to get with illness, and she and her husband were very helpful in keeping me sane. :)

Sick Baby!

Sadly, as you can tell from above, my clearest memories from that trip were of illness, but it wasn't all illness. The kiddos had a ton of fun together. This was the first time that Elliot really had concentrated time with kids, and he had a ball! Elliot and Benjamin (youngest Sevlie progeny) are roughly 6 months apart. Later in life, that's a NOTHING age difference, but early on, it's a pretty big canyon to cross. The boys really didn't “play” with each other … mostly just looked at each other and sometimes made moves for the same toy. The biggest interaction came between Ava (oldest Sevlie progeny). She was super great with him and I'm sure he's going to delight in her visit in October.

Our time was mostly spent letting the kiddos hang out and play so that we could hang out and talk. :) We did get an a sightseeing trip to the Twin Cities area, which was quite fun. Got to pop in to some shops, and experience one of Minnesota's ga-billion lakes.

Sevlie Family Visit

Holden Beach
Next stop, 4th of July with the Clodfelter Clan. Steven's family's 4th of July ritual usually includes Holden Beach … as long as the holiday falls into the week they rent “We're House” on Holden Beach.
I think they've been doing this for, oh, 17 or so years. I guess that means only 10 years without me … I still mostly feel like an outsider to this trip. Steven's BFF Drew still attends yearly, which is cool, but makes me feel like the “3rd wheel legend” (that was for you Steven). Since Elliot's birth I try to make it a point to go because I know his grandparents want to spend that concentrated time with him, whereas I have begged off in years past so that Steven could have quality time with his girlfriend, er, I mean BFF. :) Most of the time I don't have a week's worth of vacation to dedicate to the trip … so this year we did 3 days. I think I was supposed to do 4 or 5 days, but I chickened out. I'm not sure if ya'll know … but traveling with a toddler is NOT easy. Well, technically the “travel” part isn't too bad. Elliot is pretty cool in his car seat, once he's buckled in. The tough part comes when you're in the new environment, and it isn't childproof, and you've got to trail your kid like a ridiculous cop movie. One to two steps behind is the safest distance to prevent random broken items and grievous injury. Not really so much fun for Mommy! Also, throw into the mix the fact that my baby LOVES water, but doesn't really dig the ocean, and the whole thing is kinda torture. So, I hung in as long as I could before I had to call in reinforcements and leave for Goldsboro and Elliot's “fairy godmother's” house and POOL! Below are the pictures from the Holden Beach / Fairy Godmother Pool adventure.

Holden Beach

Walu Park!
So, I LOVE waterparks. Growing up in Goldsboro I'd heard radio spots and seen TV commercials for Emerald Pointe my whole childhood, but I'd never been. Greensboro seemed like a really long drive for a waterpark, even for me. So, when I realized, after Steven and I relocated to High Point, that the part was just minutes from our house, I was stoked. Still, at 25 and childless I really had no one to take and no reason to go by myself. I finally had a good excuse in 2007 when niece Emma came to visit with her mother, Ivonne. My sister LOVES theme parks. It is an EXTREME love that mostly eludes my mother and myself … we're just not into walking the length of a park 5 times to make sure we've gotten on EVERY ride (that might also have something to do with our bum hips …). Adding up my love of waterparks and my sister's extreme love of theme parks, and well, we had to get season passes! I think we went like 3 times while they were here, and it was just a BLAST. Emma had a great time and we got tons of pictures with Ivonne's underwater camera (which, now I must have one!). So, fast forward to Elliot's first summer … WAY too tiny and unvaccinated to expose to a public pool like that! As much as I ached to get back to Emerald Point, I just couldn't do that. So, fast forward to Elliot's 2nd summer … still to young and unvaccinated at the beginning of summer, but I felt confident that by the end of the summer he'd be good to go. Emerald Point usually has a deal at the end of the summer where if you buy next year's season pass you get the rest of this year free, so I shelled out the $65 for my pass (Elliot will be free until 3) and took my baby boy to the waterpark! Only, Elliot says the word water like “walu” … which always makes me think of the ABBA song “Waterloo” which of course makes me break out in the mini-song … just singing the word Waterloo. The first trip we made we went with Grandpa (my father). Elliot wasn't so sure what to make of the park. The water was a little cold … and there's water features everywhere that spray water into the air and make lots of splashes. My little boy is just like me and doesn't really like to get water splashed around his eyes … so he was a bit leery of that whole part. Also, we had him in a swim diaper, sans swim shorts, and an infant life jacket … which was mainly done to make Grandma feel better about Elliot at the waterpark. So … those implements make for a difficult time actually “sliding” down any of the slides. He just kinda got stuck. :( Still had fun though. There is 1 twisty slide that Elliot can ride with a lifejacket and parent involved, and we went down that a couple of times. I LOVE the slide … I think Elliot tolerated it, you know, just for Mom. Afterall, I do physically nourish him, it's time he gives back in his small way. LOL. During that trip we discovered that Elliot's favorite “ride” is the Cyclone … which is just a big donut shaped pool with strong waters that pushes you around in fast circles. He REALLY likes it. Smiles and giggles and all! Around 1pm (got to the park at 10:30) Elliot wanted some “bebo” and so we went to a chair to nurse and he just CONKED out. This kid was SOOOO out that I got him into the carseat without a peep. Unfortunately, he was still in his SWIM diaper, and for those of you who don't know, those swim diapers only catch poo … the pee just flows RIGHT through. So I was concerned about getting him into a diaper later for his continued nap... That little boy slept through the transfer from the car to the bedroom, too! I was able to get the swim diaper off (you just tear the suckers) but I was too afraid to put a diaper on him … didn't want to wake him, so I just placed a piddle pad under him and that was that. An hour or so later he woke up b/c he'd peed and it had gotten cold. So we got a diaper on him and brought him into Mom's room where we were watching TV. That little boy fell BACK asleep! The waterpark must have really done a number on him, because that kid took a 5 hour nap. Yes a FIVE hour nap! Unheard of! I thought we were going to capture this same “nap magic” when we took Elliot the following weekend, this time Grandma in attendance, but no such luck! Happily, with Grandma with us, we were able to bring the camera and get some great pictures. :) You tell me … does Elliot appear to be having fun on that slide with me? Or just appeasing me?

Walu Park

Da “Burgh
To “round out” summer, we took a trip to Pittsburgh to visit family and friends. We stayed with Mom's cousin Marilyn, her husband Paul, and their daughter Dani. As usual, Mom drove the 7.5 hours and I read. We put a large dent into Jhumpa Lahiri's collection of short stories “Unaccustomed Earth.” Which we loved! We spent some quality time with Dani at the park, and Elliot spent most of his time at Marilyn's house running after their dog, Rosie (15 year old dachshund) and trying to get us to let him go “up stairs!” Elliot is quite gentle with dogs if you're holding them, but if he's chasing them … all bets are off. Kids get caught up in the excitement of the chase … so Elliot spent a lot of time chasing Rosie and we spent a lot of time chasing Elliot to make sure that his excitement didn't inadvertently cause Rosie harm. Other than some frayed nerves, I'm happy to report Rosie is just fine. :) We also had an excellent visit with Mary Grace. Her grandson Patrick has become, I believe, Elliot's idol. We visited at Mary Grace's house for a couple of hours on Sunday. Incidentally, Mary Grace lives across from the lot where my mother grew up (the neighbors bought the land and tore down the house some years ago). While Mom and Mary Grace visited, I took Elliot outside with Patrick. Patrick was riding his bicycle around the street with his friends and Elliot REALLY wanted to get on that bike! I was nervous about it, but Patrick is REALY good with kids and held on to Elliot tight enough to make me feel comfortable … plus he didn't really “ride” much and didn't go far at all. Elliot was in HEAVEN, which kinda affirms my thoughts that he'll be ready for a tricycle by Christmas time. Elliot's always asking “go outside?!” so it'll be nice for him to have some more outside toys. Eventually the big kids tired of the bikes and two boys got out some mitts and a tennis ball. The kids play out in the street, and move anytime there's a car coming. That's city life, for you! The street is actually a One-Way street, so it's easy to keep your eye out for cars. Normally I make a big deal of Elliot holding my hand when we're out in the street, but I had a “when in Rome” kinda moment and there was my 22 month old … hanging out in the street with the big boys. It was SOOOO cute. A little glimpse into the future. Elliot didn't know it, but he was pretty much playing monkey in the middle, with very little hope of ever getting the ball. He'd run to the kid with the ball in his hand, quickly the ball would no longer be in that child's hand, and so he'd turn and run to the other kid. The little boys weren't quite as attentive to a toddler's need to be included, but Patrick stepped in once or twice (he was the oldest kid) and directed the younger ones to throw Elliot the ball. It was really cute. After that prompting the boys remembered to throw Elliot the ball every once in awhile. He was VERY happy. It was so much fun, and so heart swelling, to watch my little boy out there interacting with the kids. I'm also SOOOOO pregnant because writing out this little narrative has me all teary eyed and momma gooey. Ha! Let's just say that I LOVE being a Mommy. I think it's the luckiest and most rewarding job on earth. You'd think afterall that running around that Elliot would have been pooped, but he wasn't! Crazy! It's like all the activity just energized him more. That was our last day in the 'burgh and we left for home early the next morning. Elliot did great on BOTH LONG car rides! We really do have a traveller boy! :)

Pittsburgh Trip

Our traveling isn't done. We're head out to Atlanta today because I have a 3 day work thing to attend, and then next month we'll be heading to Toronto for more work related stuff. Luckily we LOVE to travel.

Elliot's Favorite Logo

Elliot has been growing, mentally, in leaps and bounds! He knows almost the whole alphabet, knows some numbers and is well versed in just about every car logo out there! Early in the summer he started showing an interest in car decals and so we started telling him which manufacture the logo was for … quickly he learned Toyota (he says Toy), Chevy, Honda, and Ford. It pretty much spiraled from there to all the others … Nissan, Mitsubishi, Saturn, Jeep, Volvo, Hyundai, Mazda, etc... It would be easier to list out the car manufacturer's that Elliot does NOT know. :) Watching all of this learning is just AMAZING. And seeing how much motivation is a factor has been really interesting. If there's a visual attached to it, Elliot's all about learning it (letters, numbers, logos) but more abstract concepts like colors are just NOT interesting to him yet. I'll keep you posted for that development. :)

He's roughly 29 lbs and 34.5 inches which puts him in the 60's on the charts, much better than the 97% he was at birth! :) He's solidly in a 2T and pretty much happy with life. He's got 12 teeth fully in and his 4 canines poking through the surface. In the last month or so he's steadily been putting his hands in his mouth … far back. So I think maybe those 2 year molars are starting to itch a bit.

Thus concludes the world's longest blog post. We'll, I'm sure it's not ... but it has been a doozy for me! Luckily my pregnancy bladder woke me at 6am this morning and so I had these two hours to myself, while Elliot still slept, so that I could pound out these words for you 3 readers. :)

I hope now that I'm all caught up, it means I'll be able to STAY caught up. Now that I have not only Elliot news to report, but pregnancy news to report, I think I might be up to the challenge ... or too tired for it! We'll see!

Bad Blogger, Good Mommy

Well, I know it has been WAY TOO LONG since I've done a blog post ... but while I may not be the best blogger in the world, I'm pretty sure my son thinks I'm a cool Mom. Check out the photos of our impromptu splash party.

This was from March 20th. It was a fantastically warm day, we'd already had a bit of fun at the park (flying a kite) and it just seemed that the fun shouldn't be over. So, I had the scathingly brilliant idea of setting Elliot down in front of a pot of water in the driveway. He had A LOT of fun splashing around. I kept adding pots and bowls and bins for more and more water.

Mar 20, 2010_3

Safety 1st!

I think I've mentioned, somewhere along the way here, that I'm trying to raise as close to a "free-range" kid as possible. It seems like a frightening prospect in this day and age, but evidently "this day and age" really is pretty safe.

So ... we oscillate between extremes in our efforts to not shelter Elliot too much.

Kitchen Kid

Like I'll let him play in the kitchen next to our under the sink cabinet without doors, but the toilet is on "lock down."

Or, a plastic bag is a dandy toy, yet the electrical sockets are plugged.

But, the difference is that I would never leave Elliot unattended in the kitchen, or playing with a bag. We only use safety products in the places where he's apt to be left alone for a minute or two. He's in the bathroom with me in the mornings while I'm taking those "whore showers" so I need to make sure he can't dunk his head in the toilet. And those electrical outlets are in the hallway where he walks up and down all day.

The only lazy parent type of "safety" item that we've induldged in was this gate for the xmas tree.



We removed it for the actual xmas festivities and, as it turns out, Elliot didn't want to mess with the tree anyway! Ha, go figure! Maybe this "free-range" kid stuff makes a better kid ... he gets to mess with so much stuff that he doesn't want to mess with the stuff we don't want him to? Just a theory.

I have a TODDLER!

Big Guy

WOW! When did that happen??

Since we co-sleep, Elliot usually wakes when I wake. This morning he was still asleep as I slipped out of bed. He's been working on changing up his sleep schedule ... dropping his 2nd nap and sleeping closer to 12 hours (instead of 10) at night.

So, even though I was a bit concerned about leaving him to wake by himself, I needed to start getting ready for work. I left the bedroom door and the bathroom door open and took what a friend told me was a "Puerto Rican" shower, but I've actually learned it's a "Whore's Shower" ... boy does that make me feel better. Anyway, midway through rinsing my hair I feel this little hand on my back.

Awww ... my little man (who I have been calling "big guy" a lot lately) had woken up just fine without me and decided to go find his mommy!

Tonight I was downloading pictures on the mac computer and Elliot was in the room with me. He was playing with some of my scrapbooking materials when he decided to stand up. He's taller than the desk. It's like "poof!" all of the sudden he's this little boy ... not a baby anymore.

I'm only slightly sad.

I'm enjoying this "big guy."

The Christmas Report

Sorry the post with all of the Christmas pictures is SOOO late! We've been a little busy enjoying the time off together!

Elliot seems to have had a wonderful Christmas ... I want to call it his "first" Christmas, as he wasn't really aware of things last year ... but I suppose it wasn't technically his first, so I won't confuse people.

Christmas Eve & Day 2009

The pictures start with our Christmas Eve festivities at Steven's parent's house and follow through to Christmas night when Elliot finally just passed out from exhaustion. It was a very exciting day for a little boy!

I'm warning you, there are a TON of pictures. And, yes, I did weed them out ... there were a TON and a HALF!

Happy Bites = Happy Momma!

Today we went to Charlotte in search of Happy Bites, toddler food by a company called Happy Baby Foods .

Now, we didn't go to Charlotte just for this food. Anyone who knows me knows of my obsession with all things IKEA. So a trip to IKEA is like a pilgrimage to my personal Mecca. Except it obviously happens more than once in a lifetime. ;)

Trips to Charlotte usually entail IKEA and then a stop at The Children's Place at Concord Mills. A trip to Charlotte will now include a stop to Super Target. Creating what I will now term the "Charlotte Trifecta!"

So ....

IKEA
The Children's Place
Super Target

Got it?

Okay.

Why Super Target, now, you ask? Because they stock Happy Bites!!! I've been searching for the Happy Bites for MONTHS now! It is essentially organic convenience food for toddlers. Or, organic convenience food for mothers to feed their toddlers. ;) They also stock a couple of other frozen organic foods which will undoubtedly make my life easier!

Here's Elliot enjoying the fruits, or chicken nuggets, of my labor!

Happy Bites Baby

We have WORDS!

Pea

Elliot can say "Pea" now. He was in the bedroom with Steven and he kept pointing to something and making a "P" sound. Steven was puzzled and just kinda watched him do it a couple more times. I guess he finally figured out Elliot was gesturing to him about something ... so Steven stretched over to the other side of the bed to find that Elliot's favorite book Little Pea was on the other side ... where Elliot was pointing. The kid was saying "Pea!" He wanted his book. How cool is that?

Butterfly

He's been saying "buh" for months now in response to the butterflies that adorn Grandma's walls. And the same day he started really walking ... he also started identifying objects! I was reading a short board book to Elliot when I decided to see if he could point to objects when asked. So I said "Where's the butterfly?" and he promptly sprung his little pointer finger out and touched one butterfly, and then went across the page to touch the other. I jokingly told my friend I was going to enroll him in Entomology classes for tots. Still, I was pretty impressed!

Ball

The same day as the butterfly incident, Elliot was given a ball by one of my coworkers and when she handed it to him, he made a noise like "bah" ... it didn't phase me at the time, but then yesterday he said the same thing when I toss over his soccer ball to him. Bah. Now my kid can say ball. It's just wild to me!

Pretty?

He also says something that sounds a lot like "pretty," but I'm not quite sold on it yet. You know, it's SOOO hard to know what babies are really saying when they are learning to talk. I don't want to attribute a sound he makes to the wrong word, so I try to be reserved with these things ... especially since the word pretty is a descriptor, an adverb or adjective. But, I will tell you ... when he says the sound that sounds like "pretty" he's saying it about people and about decorations. Often when he looks at the xmas decorations we have adorning the walls he makes the sound ... he always looks like he's amazed and awed ... so maybe he knows a couple of nouns and one "pretty" cool adjective. ;)

I don't want to sound skeptical about my child, but I don't want to sound like I think I have the next Charles Dickens (usually people say Einstein, but we're talking WORDS here.)

Ladies & Gentlemen, we have a WALKER

Okay ... so Elliot has been "really" walking since last Friday.



For whatever reason, Friday was his day 12/18/09. Sounds good. He's been taking steps here and there since his first on 11/1/09 ... but he hasn't really just "gotten up and walked" until this past Friday. It has been exciting.

He's been cruising for MONTHS now, since 6/25/09 ... so he's been "into everything" since then. His walking hasn't added any additional trauma in that regard.

Walker

My next area of concern centers around door knobs. He's tall enough now to reach them, but not tall enough to try and turn it. Oy! I have a lot of knobs to cover with safety devices. You've seen my hallway of doors!

I try to avoid as many of those safety products as possible ... sometimes I think we make our children's lives "too" safe. But I did break down a couple of weeks ago and buy a thingy that holds the toilet bowl lid down ... and now I fear it's like the safety gadget seal has been broken! In my defense, it was not a frivolous, lazy-parent purchase. Elliot hangs out with me in the mornings, in the bathroom, while I'm getting ready for work. He has free reign of cabinets and drawers and all other sorts of goodies, but I had to draw the line at the toilet. For one, I am a germaphobe (which got 10x worse after childbirth) and for two, it really is dangerous to allow your child carte blanche access to a vessel filled with water if your eyes are not glued to them. Given that part of the "getting ready for work" process always involves me washing my hair, I needed a way to prevent a horrible accident.

I feel 100% justified in my toilet guard purchase, but will door knob safety thingys bring me into the realm of lazy-parent? I guess only I can answer that, as it is a personal issue and typically not something I label other parents with.

Snow in High Point

This past Friday it snowed in High Point!

While those of us in the office who have lived in areas that snow had a good laugh at all the drama ensuing, I was looking forward to putting Elliot in the snow.

Sadly sometime during the dark hours of Saturday morning the snow turned into freezing rain and so there was a hard layer over the actual snow by the time we got Elliot outside.

I honestly thought about not putting him out in the snow because I figured it wouldn't be too much fun with the layer of ice ... but then I realized that I would be pretty ticked off with myself if I let the snow melt without pictures of Elliot in it!

So ... I bundled him up in a sleeper, his lined overalls, and a pair of lined nylon pants ... and on the top his NC State hoodie sweatshirt and his lined nylon jacket over that. I'm sure he was over bundled, but I wasn't sure how long we'd have him out there. Funniest part to me was his Daddy out there with him, with just a short sleeved shirt!

There wasn't much opportunity for real "fun" but we got some cute shots!

Snow in High Point

Scary Santa

Tonight we took Elliot to see the resident Levolor Kirsch Santa Claus.

We did this last year, and he was so chill about it ... but, of course, he was 6 weeks old last year.

This year, at 13.5 months, he was not so chill. He quite enjoyed flirting with every pretty girl he saw ... he didn't even seem too disturbed by the "big man in red" until he got closer, and closer, and closer ... Wow, by the time he was close enough to pull his beard, it was all over! Is it bad that I think my son is freaking adorable when he cries? Just so precious! And all that drama was in the hallway before the "formal" picture took place!



What a difference a year makes!

Given all of that ... I knew I was NOT going to get away with putting Elliot on Santa's lap without me there ... so I had to sit on Santa's lap, while Elliot sat on mine! Poor Ed ... I mean, Santa!

Dec 17, 2009

But, for his troubles Elliot was awarded this pretty cool toy!

Elliot as Santa

Tonight in an effort to come up with a Christmas card photo for 2009 we dressed Elliot up in his Santa suit (a compromise, as the child refuses to wear his Santa hat ... as you'll soon see).

I think you'll enjoy the results. It was a pretty fun and funny photo shoot!

Dec 14, 2009

Christmas Threw Up in My Livingroom

I am not big on Christmas.

Until this year.

Something about having a baby really changes your attitude about the holiday.

I still really don't like the commercialization and all of the pressure to buy people things during a specific time of year, even though you can't find anything that really looks like "them" ... all because it's Christmas.

BUT, I digress ... I have really gotten into decorating for the baby! Last weekend we ran out and bought the "Joys of the Season" cartridge for my Cricut machine. And now it looks like Christmas threw up in my livingroom! But, we're really enjoying it. Mom has even decorated the "Man Cave." You'll notice the difference in the rooms ... that's the Man Cave.

Christmas Decorations

One of my friends laughed at me when I said I was doing it for the baby ... but I really am. Every time he comes into the room he notices something new we've put up. He has really enjoyed all the new sights and he's pointing at the different scenes and makes a sound that we're saying is the word "pretty."

"That! Over There!"

Elliot has begun pointing!

I guess it's too early to tell him it's not polite to point. I suppose pointing is pretty useful at this age.

I just think it's pretty darn cute! The pointing started this week while we were at the beach celebrating Thanksgiving.

EVEN MORE CUTE!?!?!?! He's started touching the tips of his index fingers together like he's taking a roadside sobriety test! Or, like he's Evie from "Out of This World" and can freeze time.

Also, along the index finger obsession route, Elliot had endless minutes of fun playing with the plastic tip to the door stop in our bedroom. He took the plastic tip off and put it on his index finger ... then he'd take it off and put it on the OTHER index finger ... then he'd put it back onto the door stop! ;)

He also threw his first real "fit" while at the beach. Thanksgiving day itself, in fact. He was over-tired and Grandma walked out of the room and he just could NOT take that. His fit lasted almost 30 minutes and the length became a little disturbing to me; thankfully he finally fell asleep! :) Did you know that the "terrible 2's" begin at 12 months and typically last through the 36th month? So ... I guess the label "terrible 2's" is more about the DURATION rather than the AGE. Huh! Who knew?

So ... there's the summary of this week's developmental leaps. No, he's not consistently walking yet. ;)

Happy Birthday Baby!

Weight: 23.5 lbs.

Height: 31 1/2" inches

My BABY BOY is a 1 year old today! Here's his 2nd official birthday picture ... I think we have to count the delivery photos as 1st official birthday pictures. :)

What Elliot has accomplished since the last post (in August!)

• (8/26) Got into his puffs container on his own (think melt away cheerios)
• (8/26) Pulled puffs out of a snack trap container for the 1^st time
• (8/28) Started shaking his head “no” when about to get his face wiped.
• (9/2) Elliot rolled off of the changing table for the first time! Luckily I was bent down to look for something in the drawers and “caught” him before he could really fall.
• (9/5) While on vacation at the beach I began training Elliot to sleep in the bed by himself. Rocked him to sleep and then placed him in the bed … he woke up twice, but I was able to quickly sooth him back to sleep both times! This has pretty much been his M.O. since ... unless Daddy is putting him to sleep ... and then he lets Daddy walk him around! Funny, eh?
  
• (9/18) Elliot learned to clap his hands this week!
• (9/25) Elliot started saying “buh” when he sees butterflies and dragonflies.
• (10/3) Had his first official “runny” nose. He’s had 2 other colds, but neither time did they result in a runny nose.
• (10/5) Elliot actually said “buh-bu-fah” at the butterflies in Mom’s room.
• (10/6) Gave Elliot his first ever dose of medication … he just seemed to feel so crappy that I thought it might help. Didn’t seem to do anything … oh well!
• (10/6) Elliot stood unsupported by himself for apx. 10 seconds. He’s doing that more and more, but still doesn’t seem to be interested in walking. He knows he can get wherever he wants by crawling … fast!
• (10/8) Grandma noticed that Elliot’s next 2 bottom teeth are coming through!
• (10/13) Elliot used his little walker and went form the couch to the TV stand.
• (10/16) Elliot rolled off of the bed for the 1^st time! Luckily we’d already taken the bed off the frame and placed foam mats underneath!
• (10/17) Elliot officially no longer wants to be rocked to sleep. I laid with him in the bed while he rolled around for a bit until he settled in a spot to sleep. Took 30 minutes.
• (10/22) Elliot waved back at Grandma today!
• (10/24) Elliot popped out his pacifier when he saw Grumpa and said “Pah!”
• (10/25) Took Elliot on his first “educational” outing … to the Natural Science museum to see the animals (they have a mini zoo and a petting area).
• (10/26) Elliot stood without assistance for the 1^st time.
• (11/1) Elliot took 2 steps toward me, from Grandma.
• (11/3) Elliot climbed out of his high chair. Also climbed out of the restaurant high chair! Oy! We’re going to have to use those dirty germ infested straps to buckle him in now!
  

• (11/4) Elliot turned 1! He made it through his first WHOLE year with only 3 mild colds, no ear infections, no trips to the Dr. (other than well-baby visits), 8 teeth through the surface, taking steps, co-sleeping, and breastfeeding the whole time!

I cannot believe it was only a year ago that my life ended as I knew it! Words cannot express how grateful I am that this little boy came into our lives!

We'll be celebrating this milestone with family, Mexican food, a Cherrybrook Kitchen birthday cake (Thanks Suzanne!) with Cream Cheese frosting and PRESENTS!

More pictures to come!

Assigning Affection

This process of watching an infant become a toddler is AMAZING! I am so blown away, watching his learning process unfold in front of me. Here are some of the highlights from the last 3 months.

• 6/6 – started placing his hand in/over his mouth and making noises (think the “Indian” sound we used to make as kids)
• 6/18 - Got himself into a seated position by himself for the 1^st time and never looked back! Also started eating “puffs” (those little melt away cheerios looking things.)
• 6/24 – started “commando crawling” where his belly is still on the floor, but he’s moving across with his arms and some help from a foot. He actually had a style a friend of ours termed the “kickstand” b/c he keeps one knee bent with his foot in the air while he uses the other foot to help scoot.
• 6/25 – around this time Elliot started to “cruise” … you know, where they start walking while holding onto stationary objects. He goes from his “balance bar” to his exersaucer.
• 6/26 – Started to self-feed puffs.
• 7/3 – Elliot met the ocean up close and personal. We took him to the beach the first time in January, and he LOVED the wind, but this time he actually got to feel the water and sand. He wasn’t quite in love with it, but he didn’t fuss either. He actually got a bit of sunburn on his little left arm. I was quite alarmed, but he had no issues.
• 7/13 – Elliot has gone through a HUGE rite of passage … he figured out he can follow me into the bathroom. No peeing in peace for awhile for me!
• 7/14 – Introduced yogurt to Elliot’s diet and quickly realized his body doesn’t appear to like it. Will reintroduce at 12 months.
• 7/17 – Started crawling in his sleep.
• 7/18 – Steven and I left Elliot at home with Grandma and Grandpa to attend a friend’s wedding. This is the first time we’ve left Elliot at the house to do something together without him!
• 7/22 – First blood-letting accident! Elliot fell and cut his tongue with his tooth!
• 7/25 – Elliot begins to crawl on his hands and knees, still resorting to the commando crawl when the “normal” crawl frustrates him or he gets tired.
• 8/1 – A top front tooth (left) pokes through the gums
• 8/4 – Turned 9 months and visited the pediatrician. Elliot is 21lbs. 5.5oz and 30.25” tall!
• 8/6 – Discovered pots & pans in the kitchen.
• 8/8 – Sometimes thinks someone approaching him means they are playing “chase.” Will squeal and try to “escape.”
• 8/10 – Begins to CLIMB! OMG! Crawled on top of his box of blocks, trying to leverage it to get to the top of the TV stand.
• 8/12 – Flirts with standing – Elliot stood at the coffee table without his belly leaning on it (which is the usual stance). He left go of the table and stood for a second before he started to lose his balance … but he caught himself and prevented a fall!
• 8/17 – Understands that objects can go “into” other objects … pushed a ball down a slide.
• 8/18 – Elliot has 4 teeth pushing through the gums on top! WOW! Crazy teething run!
• 8/20 – Elliot started playing “dropsy” with items. i.e. dropping a ball over his crib rail.
• 8/21 – Elliot is starting to “share” objects. He was intently inspecting Grandma’s cell phone (without immediately putting it in his mouth) and when he was done inspecting it, he actually handed it to me!

There are probably a million other little things to mention, but these are the ones that I’ve jotted down in his calendar. I’ve still got major mommy-brain, so I’m sure I’ve failed to capture a few of the biggies, but overall, I think I’m doing pretty darn good with writing stuff down. Hopefully I can do just as good with subsequent children!

Everything is going well in the house. We’re busy getting everything in order so that we can put it on the market (please reserve any negative thoughts, we need only positive ones!). My company is moving to Atlanta and next week we find out who is being offered to move and who isn’t. Our parent company, Newell Rubbermaid, is headquartered in Atlanta, and so the move serves to put us all under the same roof. It is an exciting and unnerving time. As we were already in need of a bigger home, we’re excited about the prospect that that home may be in ATL! There will be LOTS of opportunity in Atlanta and so we are all looking forward to the possibilities!

Steven’s school year started back up last week, and with that, there are scheduling changes. Since Steven was at home during the summer, he and Elliot developed their own little rhythm and schedule. Now that he’s not waking up to Daddy in the mornings, I think Elliot is a little confused … I also think this is coinciding with a separation anxiety phase, so we’re working through that. Luckily my workplace is somewhat flexible and I can go in at 8:30 instead of 8 while we’re figuring things out.

Elliot has started to give kisses and hugs. Of course kisses come at you rather open mouthed, and hugs are more in conjunction with being picked up, but it’s still nice to have these little things to assign signs of affection.

gDiapers

We finally started Elliot on gDiapers on April 16^th! It’s been almost 2 months of gDiapers for us. He is pictured above in the cutest of all his gDiapers. For those of you who do not know what they are or how they work, visit www.gdiapers.com. You can use an insert called a “flushie” in them (which is 100% biodegradable and flushable), or you can also use cloth. We predominately use cloth. Grandma figured out what the material was from the cloth inserts we’d purchased and found the material online so that she could make more. We’ve got a big enough stash so that we only need to wash diapers 2 times a week. Woo Hoo! These gDiapers and their cute gPants are like an obsession. The company has re-released their “Glam Black” ones and even though I’m trying to be good and save money for the pay-less summer ahead (We do 10 month pay with Steven’s pay) I just HAVE to have this new one … especially since it is limited release and who knows when they will bring them back out again!

May was a HUGE month for Elliot. First of all, he turned 6 months (of course, he’s since turned 7 months…I am SOOO slack in updating this page).

Elliot has learned to do or obtained the following since I last posted:

• Sit unsupported 4/6, can sit like a champ now and move his torso
• Support his weight briefly on all 4’s 4/13, he can support his weight longer now, but he’s not quite crawling yet
• Saw his first feature-length film in honor of Earth Day we took him to see EARTH … he LOVED it but did take a quick nap in the middle
• Has slept on his own several times for anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour for naps (we cosleep)
• Got his 1st tooth! Bottom Center teeth … the left one 5/6
• Pulled himself from sitting to standing in his crib by HIMSELF 5/7, and he does this regularly now
  
• Finally said “Mamamamamamamama” 5/14, but won’t say it with any regularity … he seems to prefer the sound of “dadadadadada”
• Got his 2^nd tooth! Bottom Center teeth … the right one 5/18
• Began eating solid veggies 5/19 … homemade organic baby food, yum! He loves Sweet Potatoes and Acorn Squash
• Swam in a "big" pool 5/24 and LOVED it.

So, I think those are all the highlights from the nearly 2 months since I last posted.

At Elliot’s 6 month checkup he weighed 19 lbs. and measured 28 ¾” tall. I’m pretty sure he’s even taller now … and I’m guessing he’s around 21 lbs. He actually did not gain any weight between 4 months and 6 months, so he’s proven to be a good boy that listens to his Mommy and Grandma, as we pleaded with him to slow down the growing! ;) He’s got such a long torso, though … he wears 12 months in onesies and outfit sets, but when it comes to pants and shorts he’s in 6-9 month stuff.

He is still such a happy baby. I think he may be working on a tooth or two, though, because he cried the MOST he’s ever cried in his life the night before last. Happily, he was back to his cheery self the next day. We now say he must really want a sibling because he’s just SOOO good.

First Concert

Elliot REALLY enjoyed his first concert. His reaction was amazing. When we walked into the auditorium it was like he turned "on!" He was looking around everywhere ... and not at the lights, as you would expect a baby would ... he was making eye contact with the crowd. It was as if he was saying "I'm here to perform." People around us got a kick out of seeing a baby at the concert ... I'm sure some of them were worried there would be a lot of crying, but there was NONE! Once the show started he settled right in and watched the stage, avidly, for 90 minutes. Mom and I were AMAZED at his focus. In the picture above he's sitting on my lap and sucking on MY thumb! He didn't need to wear the ear protection too much ... mostly for the audience applause and cheers.

Elliot has officially mastered the art of "rolling over." He's got back to tummy and tummy to back down pat. He's actually started to move onto lifting his belly off of the mat and lunging forward ... pre-crawling. I actually got to see the whole thing ... I was watching him on the mat ... thought he had lifted his little belly off of it so I started watching him even more closely and sure enough a few seconds later he did it again and then lunged forward. It was awesome to catch the whole thing!

We were casually feeding Elliot cereal for "fun" ... it wasn't replacing any nursing feeds, just something extra and infrequent, but after reading some stuff on kellymom.com I decided to cut that out. Dr.'s seem to be pushing food earlier and in large quantities these days. We all know my issues with the American Academy of Pediatrics when it comes to vaccines, but I don't ignore their advice completely ... and they recommend no food introduction until at least 6 months ... more like 6 to 8 months... I wonder why Dr.'s then start pushing the foods at 4 months?

More updates to come!

Working Moms

March has been a VERY busy month for us! I have spent WAY too much time at work, along with everyone else, getting things ready for our big launch on April 1st! Thankfully the bulk of my work is done, so I am able to sit down at the computer and give ya'll an update!

Elliot is doing great! He's been teething a good bit .... lots of drool and soaked shirts! There's a lot of big cognitive developmental workings that go on during month 4 and this can cause some sleep disturbances, which we have been going through .... hasn't been the easiest, especially with work so busy, but we're getting through it. He's still an incredibly happy baby, so I am still feeling very lucky!

He'll be 5 months next Saturday, and I am starting to feel like "wow, where'd the time go" whereas until about 3 months I was like .... is time crawling?

The image above was taken RIGHT after Elliot rolled from his back to his tummy for the 1st time! It was VERY exciting. Mom and I were with him, but we both missed the action ... Oh well, we'll try to capture the 2nd time on video for posterity.

Elliot will be attending his 1st concert this Friday. We're going to see John Prine ... for those of you who have no idea who that is and are wondering about a baby going to a concert ... he's a cross between a country and folk singer, so the music isn't going to be too harsh, but still, to be safe, we've purchased sound blocking ear muffs for him ... oh he looks so cute in them! I'll post concert pics this weekend.

A LOT of firsts this month ... Elliot also had his first baby cereal this month ... at about 4.5 months of age. He really seems to enjoy it. He opens wide and gets most of it down his throat the first try. Oh ... I think he's crying for some food now, I'd best go feed my boy!

More to come this weekend!

Growing Like a Weed

I apologize for the extreme delay in updating. I did manage to get some photos (80+) loaded last weekend ... but adding text was too much for me!

Elliot is EXCELLENT. He's "growing like a weed" and learning new things every day ... sometimes every minute it seems!

He's started on his path to rolling over. He's got the roll to the side down pat and he's even rolled from his tummy to his back! He's also quite eager to always be sitting up ... he's actually sitting in my lap as I type this!

This past month we've gotten him 2 new big plastic-crap toys (didn't want a house full of plastic-crap ... oh, well, live, learn then get Luvs, right?) that he loves spending about 10 minutes each in ... the excer-saucer and a better version of a Bumbo chair. The excer-saucer is today's version of a Johny-Jump-Up and the chair allows Elliot to sit with back support. Both items have a 360 degree tray that has toys affixed to it. I suppose this is helping to develop his reach and grab reflexes ... which he is doing a lot of ... especially with mama and grandma's hair and daddy's beard!

Grandma, as most of you know, is staying home with Elliot. I think the 2 of them are enjoying their days together. She has been wonderful about bringing Elliot over for afternoon feedings most every day and I usually go home for lunch so Elliot is only averaging 1 bottle a day. Some days I think we're silly for caring about this so much, but they're only this little for so long and only once ... so I will breastfeed and co-sleep as long as it's enjoyable for both of us (within reason, of course!).

Elli-bug turns 4 months this coming Wednesday! How exciting! All the huge landmark months and skills that are coming ahead seem so much more within reach now than they did at 1 month of age ... which, of course, they are ... but you know what I mean. I think before 3 months you really are wishing them to grow faster and then when you get to 4 months you realize it's speeding and you kinda want it to slow down a little.

Yesterday Elliot took his pacifier out of his mouth ... dropped it ... picked it back up ... and then put it BACK in his MOUTH! I think it's his new favorite game. He amazes me everyday!

Here are the things Elliot does that melt my heart this month:

He has started to wrap his arms around my neck when I hold him and at least once now he's actually squeezed while doing so ... I know he doesn't know what a hug is yet, but it's pretty cool to even feel like you're getting a hug from your baby! One day this week when I was getting into the backseat to get him out for an afternoon feeding he reached out his hand to me and every day when I come home from work I catch his eye and smile at him real big and say "Hey Baby!" and he just grins back at me ... so happy to see me.

Making the transition to working-mom has been .... well, ... work. I am SOOO blessed to have my mom at home with Elliot, but still you wish you could be with your child all the time. You worry about the stress from working affecting home, and you worry about being great on both fronts because you really can't afford to be anything less with either!

Last weekend we had a in-house photo shoot. I think Elliot enjoyed it ... he and the camera seem to have a love affair going on! I hope you enjoy the results.

So between my two jobs I haven't much time to write out updates ... but I will try to at least get you updated once a month!

There's new pictures and even VIDEO for you all to enjoy now! :)

Elliot is doing GREAT! He's HUGE! He's in the 97th percentile for height and weight ... and my back feels every percent of that! He's 16lbs 2.5oz and 25.5" tall.

He has started to push his feet against my hands in order to crawl during tummy time. You can just feel how much this kid wants to move. He also loves sitting up. We bought him one of those infant chairs (like a bumbo, but not one of those) so that he can sit up. The chairs are designed to start with 3 and 4 month olds ... but when your baby is so big and wears 6 month clothing ... you kinda think he can do the "big kid" stuff ... SOOO ... even though he's got great head control and really strong neck muscles I don't let him sit in the chair for too long.

He's also got some top front teeth that are working on growing ... I think we'll see them by the end of 4 months if not sooner! He's discovered his hands and LOVES trying to suck on them. It's already quite obvious that he's going to be a righty ... but I was saying that when he was in the womb.

Elliot is working on extending out his day feedings from every 2 hours to somewhere between 2.5 to 3.5 hours ... makes things a little unpredictable when you're out and about, but it's also kinda nice! He's definitely got longer awake and sleep cycles now. It's really interesting all the little changes that babies go through in such a short amount of time. We've been co-sleeping from the beginning, and I can tell you that really helps a mama get her sleep ... especially a breastfeeding one! Elliot used to be on a bedtime schedule of between 12 - 2, but we have been successful with moving that window to 10 - 12! Usually we'll go to sleep at 11. He used to have to be rocked to sleep BEFORE we went into the bedroom for the night, but, happily, now I can go lay down with him while he's still awake and he'll eventually fall asleep without any fussing. Have I mentioned how lucky I am??

I swear Elliot actually said a word the other day ... I don't know what it was, but it was about four "coos" strung together. It was pretty wild because it came out like he was really talking to me ... usually the coos are monosyllabic. He's quite vocal with his coos and man does he love to smile and laugh! You'll see some of that on the videos.

I'm enjoying motherhood more and more the further away we get from my medical issues! No surprise there, huh? ;) I am completely healed up at this point, and SOOO happy for it. I go back to work this Friday 1/16, but I am ready for it. Especially since it's a 3-day weekend! Haha! I even took off the following Friday so that I have a 3-day week following my 1st day back ... and then another 3-day weekend. I figure, if you can ease into it, why not?