Sunday, May 30, 2010

Pool Joy.

You can see quite easily here how differently the children expressed their contentment with being in the pool...

Toy Bin Diving.

Elliot tries to stand against his toy bin and reach inside for the toys he wants. I was trying to film this, when he toppled in, head first. He didn't cry, but grunted, then struggled to get himself back out. I was so excited that I had the camera ready, until I realized I did NOT push the record button hard enough. :(

But when I did, I caught the tail end, which is what you get here. Still funny.

Baby Pool is a HIT!






We pulled out the $5 baby pool I found at Target, thinking it was hot enough for Elliot to try it out. We weren't sure how he'd react, as we had just returned from the lake where he was really whiney about the grass touching his feet. (He actually tried to sit with holding his feet up out of the grass...Needless to say, I made him stay there and sit and stand in the grass as long as we stayed, and let him whine.)

We gave a ring to Claire and Martin to see if Diane would want to give the pool a whirl. I had swimmy diapers and everything, but we all decided nude was the way to go for this age. We put the pool on the deck and rigged up a bedsheet for some shade.

Both kids were a little grumpy for the day (Elliot had one nap at 9:30am and both have a cough), but they did awesome. I pulled out some bath toys, too. Diane was very relaxed, enjoying the calmness, and Elliot did everything his power to ruin that calmness with splashing and crawling around. He was very excited and aggressive! Soon, Diane tired of being the brunt of his splashing and pool time was over for her.

I think we need to try him on drinking some water, as he kept bending forward to lap up the water, putting his nose and mouth under. We were laughing out loud. Of course, when we offered him some water in a sippy cup, it was rejected. But, indeed, he was super interested in Diane's sippy cup!

We may have to have pool time most weekends. It was a lot of fun!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Standing.


We had our decks sealed and Pat thought the lack of furniture gave Elliot a lovely outside play area!
My question of "Did he fall asleep?" was quickly answered after Pat took him on a walk one evening.


It's been too long since I updated on here...

News:

Elliot now stands pretty easily. It's fluid and he's lowering himself down well, versus flopping on his little diaper behind. The other day, he put his knee up and crawled on top of his toy bin. I almost stopped him, but wanted to see if he could do it. Yep.

He went through a hunger strike last week where he was eating and drinking very little. But since there was still output, we figured all is working ok somehow. He caught a cold I had (and then generously shared it with Renee!), and my dad pointed out that he probably had the same sore throat I had. Over the weekend his eating perked up, but as of today, it's back to being spotty. We're trying hard to increase his solids. Some days are successful, some aren't.

He also has started to wean himself-- he has very little patience for laying and nursing now, so it looks like that chapter is going to close real soon. Keeping up while at work was starting to wear pretty hard on me (I need more sleep and less "other complications" to keep my sanity), so just as I was coming to terms with tapering off in that department for my own good, he helped the decision along.

Afternoon naps are almost non-existent for Elliot lately. As I sit and type, his nap time is really playtime and I can hear him spurting his tongue over and over on the monitor. Still, I try.

Elliot was part of a mass rally for teachers and education funding yesterday. He was in great form as Renee and I marched around downtown, trying to get some changes made by joining in the sheer numbers.


(At the rally... one of those annoying times when I can't seem to get the photo to flip no matter what I do...)

Renee has taken to calling him "the funny little man" as he's becoming more expressive and quite the character some days. We went over to a friend's place for a birthday gathering on Sunday. Elliot was crawling around, exploring when a camera came out. He stopped, posed, and did a few looks like, "Ok, you got it? Was that one ok?" There were more than a few people who were entertained.

*************
On a sad note, my friend Candace's 13-year-old niece passed away Sunday from leukemia. It's crazy how surreal and heartbreaking it is, just for someone like me who is this removed, that I cannot fathom how they are coping. Our dear friends Claire and Martin will man the little guy tonight as we head down to the wake.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Cleveland Marathon Weekend.


Picking a book-- quite a process, eh? Pat came home and thought a tornado had hit.







We headed into Cleveland this weekend so Pat could run the marathon. And yes, it was a marathon weekend. ;)

We got in late, staying with my friend, Stephanie, who was quite the hostess. Elliot decided to be up every 2 hours that night, and then did not nap until 2:30p on Saturday, so he was a basket-case. We headed to the zoo anyway, as the only way to beat the grumpies is to get out and about with this kid!

Pat's sister and her family drove up from 1 1/2 hours south to join us at the zoo, and Pat's aunt and friend came from 1 1/2 hours east to meet us there, too! The crew walked around and it was a great way to visit without having to adhere to strict timing or surroundings. We then hit Little Italy for dinner (had to carb up before the big race!) with another group of family/friends... Elliot continued to melt down as our service was unacceptably slow and poor. The overtired, spent boy needed his bed and his dad needed more rest before the big race!

Pat did well at the marathon on Sunday and we caught him a few times along the rough spots. Elliot got tired of being put in and out of the stroller and car seat. Little did he know that he had 6 more hours of this for the ride home! We spent lunchtime at Pat's brother's house, playing with more cousins.

We had great weather and it's always lovely to catch the family.

All in all, considering the broken sleep, poor naps, and how much we trucked him around, he did ok. This all left a rotten day for Renee, however, on Monday since his routine was turned upside down! Oh, the travel wears on all of us! No more trips until I'm done with work for the summer, thank goodness. Elliot needs his proper mealtimes and playtimes to move around-- not as easy to tote him along everywhere anymore!




Monday, May 10, 2010

The Weekend and Yoga?



We spent this weekend at my parents' in southern Ohio. My aunt and uncle were visiting from Denver, who used to live in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She was my "mom-away-from-home" during college, as her house was only a 20 minute drive from campus and she always fed me well. They recently retired to Denver.

They had not met Elliot and we usually catch them and my cousins on the ski trip in February, which I did not attend after all. So this trip to the farm was a must! As I always post, we are tired from traveling, but it is always worth it!! Elliot did just fine, but I'm realizing he's in the car so much less now that I'm back at work.

I was very inattentive to photo-taking this weekend, so I did not capture the moments we enjoyed. Thus, last minute before we got out the door, I instructed Pat to get the camera and try to get at least one of Aunt Rochelle holding Elliot. Elliot and Uncle Lee seemed to converse in random noises. Then, when Grandpa fell asleep, snoring loudly, Elliot would respond and then laugh out loud.

We also had fun with cousin RJ (the one 4 months younger) and they are starting to really respond to each other.

There was a little grumpiness and clinginess this weekend that was not the regular guy for Elliot and I was disappointed when he cried in Grandpa and Grandma's arms. But, by Sunday, he snuggled in with both of them. We just need to get down there more! At almost 10 months now, I think he's just more aware of who is not familiar. Hopefully we can get some socializing in to nip this in the bud.

When I came home from work today, Renee told me Elliot was doing this thing where he pushes up on his feet and hands, in a bear-crawl position. I had noticed that developing recently and he's getting less and less wobbly in that position. Right after she told me this, he performed. He proceeded to put his head on the ground, and then push up as if doing an actual push up with his little bottom bent in the air, hold the pose nice and evenly, go up on his toes, and then move on with his exploration. This happened half a dozen times as he migrated around the floor, hardly noticing our outright laughter. It was like he was doing yoga poses. We were cracking up. Then, he pulled up on his own (with my hands there as a precaution!) on his feet, upright, on a little chair, looked at us with a big grin and inhale/laugh, proud as could be. My reaction: WHOA, let's slow down there. We're just getting used to the crawling, please.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Once a String Bean, Always a String Bean?



Elliot had a check up yesterday. He's healthy and everything is great. 16lb, 5 oz, 27.5" long. My first reaction to his weight was, "What!? He gained less than a pound in 3 months!?" But, apparently, babies do start to taper off around this point... and since the doctor was not alarmed whatsoever (an attitude like, "He's at the bottom, so what? He's doing fine."), I am getting over my initial maternal shock. Everything else is in line, where it should be, and he's so happy, active, reactive; he eats well, sleeps well... he really is fine. Just still a string bean.

My mother reminds me that I was 29lbs when I started kindergarten. And I know Pat wrestled 80lbs in 8th grade, so Elliot's bound to be a runt. My sister made me feel better by telling me that her little one (who's doing great) gained nothing between 6 and 9 mo, and was only 18lb at 1 year. (Yet, she's a twin, and can we even aspire to that number at this rate? :)

Anyway, this momma is learning to get over the numbers and percentiles. Eventually.

Pat and I were talking about how Elliot used to be Mr. Mellow... he no longer holds that title. He's intense, hyper, silly, goofy, and manic at times. On walks, now, he loves to kick his legs and cackle out loud while people pass. Very vocal. Sometimes I think he thinks the wind is a playmate. Twice today, people 20 feet in front of me turned around to see who was shrieking. As entertaining as ever!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Capturing the Rapture.

A bit of the excitement.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Motoring.

I missed capturing the sequence before this one, where he was so proud of himself crawling to the kitchen that he was laughing out loud and could hardly stay upright. It's always that way, it seems-- the good stuff that makes you grab the camera means you've already missed the best of it. Regardless, you can see how fast he's gotten.
(And, yes, Pat has shorts on...)

Later this afternoon, Elliot crawled from the dining room (his main play area) down the big hallway to the livingroom. He was so thrilled with his newfound freedom that he could hardly contain himself. He would pause, look back at how far he'd come, and then motor on with a wide open grin and lots of excited laughs. When he got to the bathroom doorway, he peered around the corner and saw the cat there. His reaction seemed to say, "What have I been missing out on this whole time?!"

Meet Renee!




I finally made the effort to snap a shot of Renee so you call can see who our lovely nanny is.

It's getting harder and harder to do the simple things, like get Elliot dressed, because he wants to be on the move constantly. No more setting him on the floor and leisurely getting the dishes done or dinner on. It's all over now!

Every day, he ends up removing both socks; it's become a game to him. I've dubbed him "Shoeless Joe."