Sunday, February 28, 2010

Weekend Plans.

Our weekend plans were to drive to Ohio to spend a girls' night with Jessica (and ladies), one of my close friends from Kent. Pat was in Denver to snowboard, so I thought making the drive (with Candace from here, and Elliot in tow) would be a good way to kill two days and I figured these types of trips will be virtually non-existent once I start work, so I needed to get my girlfriend time in while I can!

Good Old Man Winter put his foot down, however. I don't know how bad the snow ended up being, but a winter weather advisory was on for Friday night for Wooster and more snow on Saturday and Sunday. Well, with the trip being so short anyway (we were arriving Sat evening, only to leave Sunday midday), we figured any delay would make it undoable (plus with an infant...), and we just could not afford to get stranded. So we bailed, much to our chagrin.

Candace and I did brunch and Dave and Jen invited me over for lunch, which filled my weekend. Elliot and Avery are more interactive, and Avery would prove to her father that she was definitely entertained by him in order to combat any attention he was giving to Elliot. Her laugh was contagious!

Pat took the camera to Denver, so I have no recent shots to share from the solo weekend. We did a-ok on our own, but we won't tell daddy.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Houdini?

This is what happens when I leave little Elliot to his own devices as I try to scrape together dinner. Not sure how he did this; note that the W is in exactly the correct place, as if he didn't touch it.




He then continued to destroy the playmat...

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

It's starting...

So this may not be very entertaining for anyone else (maybe a few parents), but we are super impressed. It just seemed to happen. He moves pretty slowly, in stages, so most of the videos that capture more movement are too big to load here. And yesterday, he conquered scooting on his bottom while seated! We're in trouble, eh?

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Quickie Update...

- Elliot now eats carrots and well! Eh, as long as there's a dash of banana in there.
- He now cries through baths. Not sure what's up with that.
- He's starting motoring: just yesterday, he figured out how to scoot on his tummy by using his arms. He'll do a complete turn like a clock, and scoot backward. Much less grumbling when on his tummy, as he's now not frustrated with just laying there, kicking! It's impressive, at least we think.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Sunday, February 21, 2010

And the Travel Gods No Longer Favor Us.

We headed to Atlanta Wednesday through Saturday to stay with my sister's family for my niece's violin recital (which was fabulous, by the way....). The visit was really great; my mom and dad came down, too. Kathy, my sister, was very considerate and dug out all kinds of baby stuff for Elliot. My sister has 3 girls-- Abby, 6, and Lindsey and Rachel, 3 1/2. Man, oh man, did Elliot have new fans. And he was enthralled with the girls. The way the kids fed off each other was so interesting and entertaining. The girls would dance or do some moves and Elliot would laugh out loud at them. It was hilarious and went on for a very long time. It seemed to be the missing link he's been looking for his whole life!

The weather was great and we got some wonderful time in at the park. Very nice reprieve from the Chicago cold!


I thought this was so funny-- we were clearing my sister's great room for the recital that they had at the house, and the mini-people here make the room look that much more grand!

We also got to briefly see Ann and Jenna, who were just over a stomach bug this week but made the 1 1/2 hour drive to see us anyway at the recital since they were just over the hump of the illness. Jenna had plenty of hugs and kisses to share with Elliot (she's now 2+ years old).

We booked late flights both ways, thinking Elliot would fall asleep for the night and stay out. Not the case, not like when we flew when he was 4 months old. There's just too much to take in on a plane when he's this aware now. The armrest was a new thing to investigate, along with our drinks and pretzel snacks... you name it, Elliot was reaching for it. I found myself taking baby wipes to every surface in our vicinity. This wasn't so bad, as the flight is a short one. The hitch came when he only "napped" for the 30 minute drive from (and to, on the way home) the airport. He was then awake for too long at 11pm/midnight and became overtired and strung out.

Dad passing on his love of a window seat.
Even armrests are too interesting to overlook.

This seem to set the tone for the night sleeping at my sister's and we did not have one night where he slept through. However, he did nap pretty well. We also have encountered a new issue with him wetting through his diapers, which probably was the real cause of him getting up at 2am or whenever at my sister's.

Mental note to self: no more late flights with the baby. I was feeling so bad for him and really regretting it when he was so weary as we deboarded the plane at 11:30pm last night. (Pat says I was more weary than him...) He did fall asleep then in the stroller, but we missed our bus by about 30 seconds, then had to wait in line for another 20 minutes or so for a cab who was less than friendly.

As I type this, Pat is telling me, "C'mon, it wasn't that bad..." and he's right. But it wasn't nearly as good as we used to have it!! For all my whining, it was such a wonderful trip and all these issues should be expected... we were just spoiled when he was younger and would sleep through anything!

All three of us brought home a mini cold it seems this morning, so I hope that fades fast. This, too, I should expect with so many little ones around. Pat thinks it's good for his immune system, and he's probably right.

We also have some "mommy" issues appearing-- Pat gave him a bath this morning, only to have him scream through the whole thing (I was showering and wondered what the heck was going on!). I appeared, he settled... we are going to make a conscious effort to have Pat do some bathing and feeding him bottles regularly so that the transition with Renee will be smoother when I go back to work (did I mention we have a nanny/babysitter for him?! We are very excited, as Renee seems wonderful...). All this could be exacerbated by the wimpiness caused by the cold as well.

Monday, February 15, 2010

How to Get Blocks From the Bin.

How to get blocks from a bin when you are not mobile and have short little arms...
Elliot did this sequence about half a dozen times before I ran for the camera. You can see he's becoming very aware of the camera and his performance.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Hugs.

How could I forget to mention that Elliot is hugging now? It's become one of my favorite things.

Busy week.





Elliot is sitting up really well now. It's so crazy how fast things just click, once they're almost there. Sunday he was still flopping a lot, Monday he managed to stay up for several minutes at a time. Just like that.

He's become a more picky eater-- and I'm trying to stick with the things he does not like for several tries, but then it becomes a battle that usually ends in a temper tantrum if I let it. I am trying to find that fine line between making him eat the foods he's rejecting and not creating a baby who cries just when I start to put him in the high chair because he knows I'm going to force food on him! After 3 or 4 sessions of pea rejection (it goes like this: we manage about 5 bites, most of which are spurted back at me, and then the vault is shut for good, and the cries come), I gave in and added a bit of banana (his favorite), and then he couldn't get enough... I had to refill the bowl and keep going! I hate to keep adding the sweeter stuff, but it seems to work so well.

Our week was very busy, lunches with friends, new play spaces to try out, and a day at Ikea... Tuesday was the only day with nothing going on, and that was due to the fact that we canceled with a friend because of the snow coming down all day!

On Monday, we hit a really cool coffee shop that has a play space attached-- moms can watch their kids play while enjoying a lovely snack and not feel that their children are offending anyone! Also, it automatically puts you in contact with people who have similar things to talk about and who don't care if your child spits up or if you need to nurse, etc. Jen and Avery invited us and we lingered for more than 3 hours, very comfortably, with Elliot falling asleep by the end. If anyone is interested, it's at Lincoln and Addison (so a bit of a drive for us southsiders); it's called Family Grounds Cafe. (www.familygroundscafe.com) Pricey for toddlers, but non-crawlers are free if you spend $4 in the cafe!

We tried a new play space as well, through the Hyde Park Parents Support Network. They basically have a room in a church down the street, filled with toys and such, and designate times during the week for specific ages. Not busy because of the weather, but this will be a nice outlet when we want an easy place to go and will be great for socializing. I'm excited about the networking (didn't really think it was a big deal before), as I have already gleaned a lot from the email listserv, and they do things like a free CPR class next month!

Thursday was an ALL DAY trip, last minute, to Ikea with a friend! We timed it absolutely perfectly-- his morning nap was the drive out, and his afternoon nap was the drive home! And, Ikea has a "baby care station"-- it's a separate room, with a private bathroom, where there are some toys and nice chairs to nurse in. I was super impressed-- Elliot ate twice while we were there and stayed in wonderful form the entire time. I couldn't believe how smoothly it went.

The sun has been out a lot lately, so I hope that means more walks now. We made it to the lake with Claire and Diane yesterday, and Elliot woke up in the goofiest mood... I guess I had underestimated how much sunshine deficiency he was experiencing!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Grandpa and Nancy visit.






Pat's dad and Nancy visited this weekend. A quick visit, but fun nonetheless. We ended up laying low, catching some of their friends for a late lunch yesterday, and spending the rest of the time relaxing and enjoying some downtime. Got a little card playing in last night. Very nice time.

As Grandpa was talking, Elliot would just look up at him and stare like this. It was darling.

Elliot managed to whine/protest for about two days straight, on Friday and Saturday. By the time they arrived Friday evening, I was worn out which meant we ordered in dinner! I found myself tugging at my hair unconsciously. He cried some, but it was more a constant complaint that just began to eat at my nerves, as it seemed he wanted nothing of playing, rocking, napping, swinging, jumperooing, being strapped to me in the moby... you name it, I tried it. Twice. (And the only two tasks I left for Friday were to vacuum and put away laundry... definitely doable, right!?)

And he showed a newly developed fear of the vacuum cleaner (are the cats and him in on this together?!), bawling with a terrorized look in his eyes whenever I turned it on. =OVERTIRED. To combat this, I perched him on my hip and talked him through the process while I finished the job, "See, Elliot, vacuuming is a good thing. You need to vacuum or people won't visit..." Over and over, until my arm gave out; I put him in the high chair and just let him scream while I finished. Whew.

His last nap came at 7:30p (so I thought it wasn't a nap...), which meant he was then up until 10:30p... everything was off.

He's also been nursing so often, and a lot, so this may just be typical growing.

Saturday morning was better, but the afternoon brought more of the groans and whines. I just hope the explanation is teething, or I don't know what else to think of this being. Pat mentioned trying to get out for a jog at one point, but I think the immediate look on my face of "If anyone needs a break, I do," put a quick kibosh on it. He'll get his jog in today.

As much as I am now whining, he had plenty of grins and giggles for Bill and Nancy, so he seemed to really like having them here.


Wednesday, February 3, 2010

This Poor Little Piggy.

Elliot's big toe is nice and red... and infected, due to the corner of his toenails growing in it seems. Lovely, eh? He's taking it well, but definitely telling me when it hurts. We consulted both the pediatrician and Dr. Grandpa Ulrich. Dr. Grandpa went through various ideas of how to get it soaked for 30 minutes in epson salts. Turns out Elliot is quite similar to his clientele of horses and such, as neither want to sit/stand still for more than a few minutes.

We had a nice shopping trip today with Claire and Diane. Although the bargains weren't there like I'm used to, BOTH babies slept while we had a quick lunch. And then they both awoke and let us know we needed to leave. Perfect timing.


Monday, February 1, 2010

Check Up!

Elliot had a check up today- more shots, but he did quite well, ending it all with a big smile. He usually falls right asleep, but waited until he got home and had eaten to do that this time.

He's 26" long, and 15lb, 2oz. Dr. says, "Well, somebody's gotta bring up the bottom of the chart..." But besides the tendency to stay on the runt end of the chart, he's healthy and doing fine.

I need to vent: Pat took the car today and accidentally took the stroller. I thought, no biggie, I'll take Elliot in the carrier, which is a little more effort, but not that bad. And I hopped on the bus and was there in no time. Once there, however, the juggling act of managing my winter gear (hat, coat, gloves), his winter gear (hat, fleece over-onesie-thingy), a blanket, the baby bag, and the carrier itself when I had to shed it to get my coat off made me close to cursing. But there were plenty of chairs to dump on. The further complications came with trying to redress him and me-- I failed to use the medical table as I thought he would need to nurse (and they were so backed up, I tried to scat fast) and so arms full, I moved to a discreet corner in the waiting area. There was no luck with nursing, and then I realized just how hard it is to zip a coat, put on a carrier, and bundle a little one, all while trying to hold the little one on your lap. Finally, I gave up, propped him up on a chair, crossed my fingers, and zipped my coat and put on the Snuggli as fast as possible. And this was after I attempted to do these tasks with him pinched between my knees while I sat, which didn't work.

I could not even entertain the idea of trying to ease my growing hunger or urge to use the bathroom. Then the bus was rerouted for the way home because of construction on that side, so we never found a stop along the usual route, and we ended up hoofing it home.

Needless to say, I will not make the mistake of forgetting to get the stroller out of the car again. At least in the winter.