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.

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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.