Zombie leads to cereal.

Elliot had been doing wonderfully with sleeping 7-8 hours consistently and I was feeling fine. Well, he hit a growth spurt almost 3 weeks ago now, and he has needed full feedings during the night ever since, anywhere from 3-5 hours apart. I have felt like a zombie, hoping each night that he's out deep enough to last, and voila, there's the crying on the monitor at 2am... 4am... There's no hope of him crying it out and the pacifier doesn't work, he's just hungry. He eats, then conks right back out for another 3 or 4 hours. It's not the end of the world, since he doesn't stay up to play or anything, but I need a break, as he's eating every 2-3 hours during the day with this growing.  I wish I could see more "chunk" on him for the effort he's making to grow!

I keep waiting for him to get in his groove again, but alas, there's been no signs of it.  I hate to complain, as this is typical baby stuff, but he spoiled me early on!  I figure he needs more in his belly to get him through the night now. Thus, we started him on cereal last night. Of course, more went down the front of him than down the inside of him, but hopefully it will help eventually. He seemed really asleep, as you can see... and I was relieved. Until 2am came and a hungry boy awoke.

Last night, when the cat crawled all over me trying to get me to feed her at 5am, I lost my cool. The cat almost became splat. Declaration: No more cats allowed in our room at night.

Mischievous.

Check this one out... notice the funny part?  :)  Maybe his smile can be deceiving.  

Just Some Shots.

Elliot is constantly chewing on his fist, finger, bib, clothes...

Tried a mini-photo shoot of my own at home.  I don't know that I can face the fuss and pressure at a studio for a holiday photo... these tell me I might be able to pull a good enough one off at home (and have the flexibility of really capturing the smiley Elliot at our leisure!).

Dad using the stuffed frog for his own good.

New Noises.

Elliot sat here on my lap while I went through a few video clips to see which one to post... he seemed mesmerized by his own noises.  

Beyond these new noises, yesterday, he seemed to discover his hand and it was so cool.  He has this investigative, pensive look every once in a while, where you can just see his wheels turning.  He stared at his left hand (I think he's a lefty so far, much more dominant with that hand), and it was like he was seeing it for the first time.  His right hand remained in a tight fist, but he would open and close his left hand, very slowly, over and over, as if he was just then realizing that he had the ability to make this motion happen.  This is when I am so glad I am home with him right now to see these initial discoveries happen.  Nerdy, I know.  Second kid's discoveries like this won't even be noticed!  :)

He's starting to outgrow the 3 mo. clothes, mostly in length.

Truly an Ulrich.

My little brother used to play until he fell asleep, wherever he was.  We have photos of him asleep in his sandbox, collapsed on a step between rooms, and I even think there is one of him asleep in his snowsuit, out in the cold.  

Well, Elliot has some of Uncle Brad in him.  We recently pulled out the jumperoo, which he is too small for, but we put a chair cushion under it so his feet will reach.  It simply gives him a new place to "hang," yet he seems to be seeing the reaction for his actions and is starting to make it bounce.  This morning, I was paying bills, etc., and Elliot had a good time playing on the floor next to me.  I then gave him a bath, put him in the jumperoo, and went on with my computer chores.  I was impressed to hear him making the music go with his movements, and laughing out loud.  This went on for 20 minutes or so.  I was just ready to go rock him down for a nap, and found he had fallen asleep in the jumperoo!  How darling.  Played just too hard.  (Notice how his hand is still gripping one of the toys!)

Laughing out loud.

This laughing fit seemed to morph into a crying fit by the end... too much fun for one night!

The "I forgot my camera again!" non-graphic update...

Sorry for the lack of photos... I know they're more fun than my words. I forgot my camera during a few events that are worth mentioning recently.

During our busy week with Gina visiting and Pat's grandmother dying, I was invited over by a neighbor, Margo. I had heard that another resident in our condo association had had a child the same day as us, but I had never met her directly, as all of our buildings have different entrances, and we rarely would cross paths. Margo thought that we really needed to meet, and arranged a full tea party, complete with hand-painted china and mini cookies and muffins. It was darling and so sweet of her to host. I misread her message of "coming over for a snack" as a casual meeting of families, so I took Pat with me. Well, he immediately was dismissed when Margo informed us that this was a "hen party"-- of course, he visited and graciously excused himself. August, the other mother of the baby born the same day (whose name is Tye), also has Georgia (4th grade) and Athena (kindergarten), and I must say, these ladies were definitely dressed for a tea party! Another mother came with her 4-year-old and 2-year-old. It was just so thoughtful of Margo, and now I officially know the other mother of the baby born on July 15th!

The boys were so cute-- we held them face to face at the end, after they both woke up, and they just stared each other down. A few grins, but mostly, they just investigated. This was the moment I wanted my camera.


Halloween. We decided to take a walk and check out the infamous (although we just had heard of it) Harper Street here in our neighborhood. (About a week ago, we walked that way and found a few Halloween decorations, but nothing like the reputation we had heard about. Harper Street, between 57th and 59th, is full of wood-framed houses that would lend themselves well to haunting...) Well, not only was it blocked off to traffic and FULL of trick-or-treaters, but almost every house was decked out to the nines. Crazy. We saw only one house that had politely put up a little sign at their door, "Closed for Halloween." Every other house had major decorations. We saw a 5-foot spider drop from a tree, rigged through a pulley from a porch. That resident, I think, was enjoying it more than the kids. Almost everyone handing out candy was dramatically costumed. It was quite impressive. There was even social commentary-- skeletons operating on each other in the yard with a sign, "Harper Street Health Care," a tombstone with "GOP, RIP" inscripted, and another skeleton hanging with a sign reading, "Pre-existing condition." We were quite entertained. And I wish I had had my camera.

Next year, this is a must for Elliot. Um, hum, for mom and dad.


We had friends over for dinner tonight-- Marsha, Bill, and their two-year-old, Spencer. These are friends that we don't see or talk to very often... we keep in touch so poorly, that when we called them one time to come over for cards or something, they informed us that they had had a child. We had not known they were pregnant! The joke was that they, then, would not see Elliot until all of his teeth were in. So, the challenge was on to get together sooner rather than later, and after a few reschedules, it happened. A nice time was had by all, and when Spencer went into overdrive to fight his tiredness, they called it an evening. And this is when I realized I had not used my camera with the kids.