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!