The Carpenters Visit.

My sister, Kathy, drove up from Atlanta with her three girls (Abby, 7; and Lindsey and Rachel, almost 4) and her husband, Matt. They stayed for 3 nights and we had a ball. All of their birthdays are in August, so this was a big birthday vacation. Everyone got a personalized mini-cake.

The girls were very excited to play with Elliot, and he was just as excited to have them around. It was non-stop energy.

Friday, we were at the Museum of Science and Industry all day. I saw parts of the museum and exhibits that I never spent time at, and teased them that I guess I just really needed to be with some nerds to experience the Science Museum the real way! The kids were fabulous-- Abby really took charge of Elliot, who did not nap all day and did very well.

Saturday, they had tickets to Shrek the Musical and we joined them. Abby had performed some of the songs in a musical theater class, and her mouth was wide open the entire time. What a show!! Loved it, and it reminded me how little theater we get to see, and how much I love musicals.

Then we ate dinner at the lake and waded in the water while Kathy and Matt went out. There was a little drama when some watermelon helped Abby lose her remaining big front tooth! At first, she was devastated that it was MIA (truly a lost tooth), until we reminded her that fairies have those fairy-like abilities, and surely the Tooth Fairy had taken it out of her mouth because it was good and ready. Luckily, hehem, the Tooth Fairy in Chicago had a $2 bill that is tradition, and all was well in fairyland.

So, today, I am getting caught up on things like blogging. I have some videos I'm trying to post of Elliot, but there's some technical difficulty...

First Bike Ride!

Elliot got a seat for our bikes from Aunt Maryann last Christmas, and he's finally one year old and can give it a whirl. We got a helmet, and he smiled so big at trying it on at the store (he plays with Pat's when he comes home from work).

The helmet kept slipping over his eyes and he was extra grumpy today anyway, so although we've declared the ride a success, there are tweaks that need to be made. It seems every time the helmet bumps the back of the seat, it scooches forward over his eyes, no matter how tight we put it (we even tried a washcloth over his head first, boostering him up with a towel, etc). The fatness of the foam at the back of his head forces him to kink his neck forward until the helmet shifts... still working on this.

It was fun and there will be lots more!

One of many adjustments to the helmet.

We're rolling!

Buddies and Showing Off.

Renee is back from Australia and came over to play and see Elliot. We had a lovely time and didn't stop chatting the whole evening! Elliot was napping when she got here. When he woke, he looked at Renee, looked at me like, "Who the heck did you bring in here?" and then 5 seconds later, this sly little grin grew and he was immediately snuggling with her. After laying his head on her shoulder, he pulled back, looked all serious again, and then got all coy again. It was a riot.

Elliot then proceeded to go into hyper-show-off-mode. He crawled every which way, really fast, looking back to see if Renee was watching. Then he'd pull a new toy from his bin, and grin, waiting for her to notice. On our walk, he kept looking up at her and laughing, kicking his legs, like he couldn't hold in how excited he was to be back with his buddy. It was so evident the bond they have. We thought it was hilarious! My sister's comment: "And the male need to strut begins."

Lovely Weekend with Family!

We headed down to the farm again, as Uncle Brad and Aunt Emily were coming in from Portland to see Karen and the kids before they fly back to Lebanon on Sunday. This is one of the big reasons why we love living in Chicago-- because we can jaunt in for things like this with little trouble. Mom opened the house for a bbq on Monday night, so our aunts and uncles, and a handful of others, could pop by and say hi.

We ate soooo much good food, but did not move enough! :) Every time I turned around, Mom had whipped up homemade peach cobbler, or had a chocolate angelfood cake ready (my favorite!) or had brought us cheesecake from the restaurant (which was not open, but we had lunch delivered to us by the owner... so spoiled).

Thomas and Anna, just like Kath's girls, were fabulous with Elliot; so helpful with baths, playing, "he's going toward the stairs...", you name it. John's boys came over to play, too, and there was an all-out wrestling match with the men. RJ (cousin who is 4 mo older) and Elliot are closing the gap and seem to be interacting much more.

Elliot and RJ, sharing Cheerios.

All the cousins who were there, except Caleb, who came but is only 6 days old and was sleeping!!

Anna and Thomas loved reading to Elliot. He stayed put for a long time, by his standards.

We arrived on Mom's birthday, and Anna had done very little for her birthday back in June, so we put candles on a cake and sung to them and Elliot; a mini party that was easy and fun.

We had rough sleep the first night there, and Elliot woke up at 4:45am, and DID NOT go back down, so I had a little talk with him about how when your parents have you when they're in their 30's, and you normally sleep 12 hours at night, these crazy early mornings just won't do. Karen very thoughtfully kicked her kids out of the "kids room" (where there are bunk beds and a crib), giving Elliot a crib instead of the pack and play, and we were golden. I think the central ac was tough on him, too, as he promptly got a runny nose and a cough. But, he's bouncing back and still doesn't stop!

Just realized I failed to get any shots of Uncle Brad and Aunt Emily and Elliot... sigh. And no photos from the bbq. :(

When we got in, it was cling-to-Uncle-Pat mode and Thomas and Anna just wanted to be near him all the time. Once Brad and Emily arrived, Pat was off the hook for a bit!! I got some attention, but Pat is definitely favored, and he loves it.
Grandma, falling asleep after giving Elliot a bottle. Finally, he gave Grandma some good snuggling this weekend.
Aunt Karen, teaching Elliot how to pop these little bubbles in a new book they gave him.
Grandpa, reading Fortune Magazine to Elliot. Both seemed very interested, so ok!

"How Do You Solve a Problem Like Elliot?"

Well, that's a little unfair, but this new situation made me start singing, "How do you solve a problem like Maria?!" Elliot likes our tower fans, but I tell him no when he goes to touch them. This has not worked, so I have gone to smacking his hands with a firm "No." Then, it becomes a game, he laughs, I stay serious, and we continue for about 4-6 hand-smackings, then progress to a smack on the behind. I also added in there a serious sit-down talk about how dangerous it is and why he should not do it. A few times he does end up in tears and I have hope.

Yesterday it changed to sprinting/crawling to the fan, touching it real fast on the fly, looking back with a glint in his eye, and sprinting on. This was an immediate spanking, and 10 minutes later, he did it again. I'm in for it, aren't I? The outlets aren't much different, but have taken on less interest now that the fans are out.

This is little Pat, according to his grandmother, who told me he was the only one of the five she ever spanked.

His other thing lately, too, is when he cries when he's mad, he'll clinch his fists tight enough that he shakes, and really cry/grrrr it out. This temper he gets from me, I'm afraid.

Lovely blend of the two of us, don't you think!?

He's starting to really like rocking in his chair... except, he doesn't know how to turn around once he climbs up, so he simply stands up in the chair. That's where I come in.

One Year Check-Up.

And Elliot's still a runt... not sure how I expect him to suddenly jump up on the charts, but every doctor's visit, I silently hope and hope, and then go, "WHAT?!" to myself, but try to play it cool to the doc. Of course, she's like, "Ok, so he's at the bottom, but he was before, and there's nothing wrong with him, he's just small, and always will be. I have no concerns. Picky eater? Many are, they run the show, and you will lose the battle, don't force it." Alrighty.

At one year old:

17lb., 2 oz.

28 1/4" tall

I am using the numbers in a way that makes me feel better: He gained the exact same amount of ounces since his last visit (13 oz), but this visit was really 3 weeks shorter of a gap, so he's doing great! :)

We took him to get his portrait taken on Sunday. The family ones, um, left much to be desired, but we had enough to choose from for him. And, hey, he's much more fun to look at than we are, right!?

Some random shots of when Diane came over to play one day.

Birthday Cake!

Being the busy hostess, I failed to get a shot of our guests... but we did have a small gathering for a cookout and some birthday cake for Elliot. It was supposed to be a casual game night, with cake thrown in, but it turned out to be more of a birthday night, with a small game afterwards. Oh well... it was a lot of fun, even if Pat complained too much about the prep! (We'll spend the day at the lake tomorrow...) Really wish I had gotten a shot of everyone.

I dug out my cake books and hoped for some guardian angelship from Pat's mom (who taught me how to decorate cakes), and I was pretty pleased with the outcome. It's literally been years since I attempted something like this and it was fun be creative with my hands.

Elliot (and the few other tots as well!) got quite tired by the time we got around to cake, so he seemed confused and stunned by the attention. He perked up a little, though, and managed to keep his hat on a while. He did like the cake, and when we changed him into his pjs, we found cake in his diaper.

Devil's Food cake with Almond Buttercream frosting.