Elliott's World - The Blog

Jamaica, Mon!

2010-09-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful family vacation in Jamaica. We stayed at Beaches Boscobel, which was exactly what we were looking for (however, why anybody without kids would ever go there is beyond me!?!) We ate, we drank, we swam, we had a blast!

This was Elliott's first plane ride. We were a little worried about how he would do on the plane, but he really enjoyed flying. This picture pretty much sums up his feelings : "Ooooh!"

It was a precarious two-hour trip to the resort in what I would loosely call a shuttle bus. But after traveling most of the day, we finally arrived to this:

And this:

Beaches resorts are geared specifically towards families, and they are affiliated with Sesame Street (big plus for us) and many of their resorts have water parks. Elliott enjoyed the toddler area of the water park. For some reason, he called this crab a "ladybug" the entire time we were there and would try to slide down the back of it (note: NOT a slide) while going, "Weeeee!" Real water slides were about 10 feet away, which Elliott adamantly refused to go down them.

My two island boys:

Bret drinking his Cuba Libres:

Me drinking the "Bartender's Special":

A funny story: The resort had a raffle one night to benefit the children of Jamaica. Midway through the raffle, Elliott walks up to the table, pulls off this straw purse, brings it to me, and says, "Here you go, Mom." We all laugh, make Elliott take it back and not 3 seconds later, we win the purse. Seriously. Golden touch, this kid. (Note to self: Must take Elliott with me to buy lottery tickets.)

Elliott liked using the purse as his a pouch for Frog (Of course Mr. Frog came to Jamaica! Could it really be a family vacation without him??)

We took a glass bottom boat ride. As usual, I spent the entire trip wanting to vomit over the side of the boat. But the boys seemed to have fun. (Elliott's first boat ride!)

Not too sick to take a picture of Elliott's cute piggies.

Picture of the resort from the boat:

Elliott had his share of fancy-pants drinks. Here he is drinking a pina colada, but his favorite was a Mickey Mouse (a strawberry banana concoction). Elliott would sit at the swim up bar, and looking quite at home, would say, "Mick Mouse peas."

The first day we were at the pool, the lifeguards brought rafts to the pool about an hour after it opened. Holy poop... it was like the Swimming of the Bulls. Grown men and women were running down small children to get to a raft first. Elliott did NOT get a raft, and was soooo upset about this, it pretty much ruined his whole morning. He just stood at the end of the pool with his bottom lip sticking out, and refused any of our attempts to redirect him. (Seriously, these people must have had hearts of stone.) However, the next day, we were on it. We placed Bret in optimal raft-obtaining position, and we succeded (no children were maimed in the process.) Elliott was freaking OVERJOYED, rode it happily for about 10 minutes, and we were able to pass it on. (NOW, is that SO HARD people??? Geeez, my 2.5 year old can share the raft... what is your problem?)

What would a trip to Jamaica be without a little steel drum action during breakfast?

Here's a picture of Elliott eating at Arizona's, our fave restaurant, located on a deck over the ocean. Their steaks were DIVINE.

As I mentioned before, Beaches is associated with Sesame Street, so all our favorite characters were there, and several nights they did awesome stage shows.

We were wary at first, but Elliott LOVED the Kids Club. One morning, Elmo came to "Elmocize" with the kids. Elliott totally geeked out. As soon as Elmo walks through the door, Elliott drops to his hands and knees and tells Elmo, "EH-MO! X-cise! Do push ups!"

So, here are our pictures of Elliott exercising with Elmo (this was probably my favorite part of the trip):

Elliott finally gets to do push-ups with Elmo:

Picture of the kiddie pool:

Thanks to the Kids Club, Bret and I even got a dinner on our own:

The plane ride home was kind of a bummer. This picture was taken about 5 minutes before Elliott pukes all over the two of us. But we managed...

A great trip! I think it is one Elliott will remember for a long time.

Play On, Brother... Play On

2010-08-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

From an early age, Elliott has had a love of all things music. I credit a lot of this to Kindermusik classes which Elliott has been attending since he was about 10 months old. Even when he was itty bitty, we listened and danced to music constantly. He also had his own baby theme song - "Eh-Li-Ott, Eh-eh-Li-Ott, Eh-Li-Ott, Eh-eh-Li-Ott..." which we bounced him to pretty much from the moment he was able to hold his head up (he still remembers this!)

Well, here we are at 2 and a half... and he is absolutely passionate about music these days, especially about instruments. His favorite instruments are the flute, the violin, the piano, and the guitar. He would watch people playing instuments on YouTube for hours (if we let him!) He especially loves to watch Greg Patillo's beatboxing flute and the hip hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari.

Here is Elliott playing his recorder, which he calls his "flute." Elliott now does his version of beatboxing flute (we have yet to get this on video, but I'm working on it!)

And here is Elliott with his pride and joy, his new, real guitar. He loves that he can strum the strings and he likes to "tune" it.

Here's a little sample of Elliott playing his flute. Just want to show you what I get to listen to all day. I jest... he's really not that bad at doodling on it!

Mr. Frog

2010-08-01T12:28:00.001-07:00

First of all, my sincerest apologies to my readers on not posting anything for a month and a half!!! This summer has been a whirlwind of crazy as I have been busy starting my own business and Bret has been working feverishly to finish the long-winded process of getting his license for work. That being said...

The summer has been awesome, wonderful, and fantastic. Maybe I'll get around to posting some pictures (or maybe I won't), but Elliott has had a summer full of Busch Gardens, hot and sweaty summer days, fireworks, swimming, music... the list goes on and on. AND, we're going on our first big vacation in a couple of weeks to JAMAICA. But this post isn't to talk about any of that. This post is about Mr. Frog.

If you know Elliott, then you know Mr. Frog and the important role he has in our lives. Mr. Frog is Elliott's best buddy, his lovey, pretty much his everything with the exception of Mom and Dad. Wherever Elliott goes, usually Mr. Frog is not far behind. Nicknamed "Frog," I am much more likely to know his whereabouts than, say, my car keys, wallet, sunglasses, or brain.

Friday evening we tuck Elliott in with his usual routine: stories, rocket ship blast off into the crib and an effusion of kisses. With giddiness, Bret and I come downstairs all excited about ice cream on the couch and a non-cartoon movie. About 20 minutes into the movie we hear a little voice through the monitor, "Need help. Dad, need help." I look at Bret and offer to check out the "situation," even though Elliott didn't really sound upset.

I trudge upstairs, open up the room, and there's Elliott laying in his bed. He looks up at me and says, "Gross," and holds his closed hand out to me. Now, on occassion, Elliott will blow out a massive boogie and hands it to me (hey, motherhood is not a sanitary job... don't judge). Assuming this is the "situation" warranting my immediate attention, I say, "Awww, honey, do you have a boogie?" and I go to grab it out from between Elliott fingers. Hmmm. That's kind of mushy. I bring it up closer to my face to get a better look in the night-lighted room, but it never makes it there, because I smell it. I'm holding a glob of poop. In my hands. Poop. HOLY S--T, I'M HOLDING POOP! IN MY BARE HANDS!

Ok, so I take a deep breath... well, not literally, because it stinks... and call to Bret for help. We get Elliott out of the crib, wash his hands multiple times, change his diaper, and inspect the crib.

So, you are now probably wondering why this is a story about Mr. Frog. Well, as I'm thanking my lucky stars that I didn't wait to see what was wrong with Elliott, because by some miracle, Elliott hadn't smeared poop all over his crib - I remember Frog. The frog my son loves to clasp in his little (recently poop-covered) hands and rub all over his face in a movement of comfort. I grab Frog, silently praying, and start sniffing him all over. Oh no, there, on his little green belly where I can so easily imagine my son's fingers grasping its middle, I smell poop. In a very brief moment, I shamefully consider giving the animal to Elliott any how, but quickly admit that even if this means Elliott not being able to sleep, I MUST WASH THE FROG, now one hour after Elliott's original tuck-in.

Preparing myself for the worst, I explain the situation to Elliott. He looks at me woefully, and says, "Nooooo, Frog!!!" Expecting the mother of all tantrums, I have Elliott pick out a couple of other stuffed animals and tuck him back into bed. Waiting for the wails, I close his door and hear it click. Silence.

That's right, my super trooper of a little man went to bed without Frog. I washed and dried Frog and before going to bed, slipped into Elliott's room to deposit Frog. There was my little man, with his blue bear tightly tucked under one arm, sleeping peacefully. I left Frog next to Elliott on the pillow.

Who knew we could survive without Mr Frog?

Well, at least until 2 am, when Elliott woke up wailing until he found Mr. Frog laying on his pillow, as if he had been there the whole time.

Speak the Truth

2010-06-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

For dinner, I made my famous pizza from scratch. Bret says it's his favorite pizza, and I get all excited when Elliott eats it, because in this house, I count pizza sauce as one of the few vegetables Elliott will eat.

Mine and Elliott's pre-dinner conversation went something like this:

Me: What do you want with your pizza? Do you want an apple?

E: No.

Me: Do you want some carrots and dressing?

E: No.

Me: Do you want a yogurt?

E: No.

Me: Well, Elliott, you can't just have pizza for dinner. What do you want with your pizza?

E: Chocolate.

That's what I get for asking a 2-year old what he wants for dinner.

Well, we compromised with apple sauce. And he got a (Shhh! Whole Wheat) Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin for dessert. Another Mommy Specialty. Now, that's what we call a win-win-win.

And yes, he's texting at the dinner table. Can't win them all...

Elliott Emotes

2010-06-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

Elliott has been practicing his emotions:

Elliott HAPPY...
Elliott ANGRY...
Elliott SURPRISED...

And my personal favorite, Elliott SAD...

Yay!! Summer is Here!

2010-06-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

We are SO excited that summer is here. Festivals, fairs, outdoor concerts, here we come!

On Friday of Memorial weekend, we attended our first outdoor concert of the season with our friends. We ate hot dogs and BBQ on our picnic blanket and danced to live music. The weather was pretty much as close to perfect as it gets, and Elliott was living it up.

Elliott rocks out, while that older kid with his hands in his pockets looks on enviously. He wishes he was that cool. :)

Elliott dances with his best bud, Travis (green hat). Elliott idolizes Travis; he follows Travis around, saying "Tra-Bis," and Travis is wonderful with him.

Handsome.

This would be a picture of Elliott dancing the Cha Cha Slide.

"Everybody clap your hands..."

Tidbit

2010-05-24T12:06:00.001-07:00

Looking at one of Elliott's picture books before his nap, I point out a picture of one of those old, rotary phones.

I ask, "Elliott, what's that?" as I point to the phone. He repeats the question to me. I say, "It's a phone." A brief look of disbelief crosses his face. And then he says, "Camera?"

"No, no. Its not a camera. It's a phone," I reply. He repeats, "Camera," slightly more adamently. That's when I realize, he doesn't think this phone is a camera. He thinks all phones HAVE cameras.

Welcome, Mommy, to the IPhone generation.

Mother's Day

2010-05-23T12:27:00.001-07:00

For Mother's Day, we went to the aquarium at the beach. Elliott was a little cranky at first (he's in this obsessive, button-pushing phase and is not happy when we make him stop pushing a button, even if it is just to move on to the next button), but once we got outside and could run around a bit, he was much happier. As we passed people on the path, Elliott would walk up to them and say "Hello!" He's such a social kid!

Didn't your Momma ever tell you it's never too early to learn about sediment?? (Meerkat was able to accompany us to the aquarium. Mr. Frog had to stay in the car for his own protection.)

Elliott was relatively unimpressed by the scuba diver in the aquarium. Maybe this would be more entertaining if he ran back and forth in meerkat fashion?

Elliott thought this giant nest was pretty cool. "Nest! Eggs! Hatch!"

Elliott sitting on the egg to help it hatch. It is an awkward, uncomfortable job, but somebody's got to do it.

Hmmm, this seemed like more fun in the last picture. Why isn't this egg hatching yet?

Best Buds and Sunny Days

2010-05-17T19:36:00.001-07:00

Elliott and his best bud, Hayden, loved playing in the water together. Here are some great shots of the two of them spraying each other and being sprayed!

Unfortunately, Hayden's family had to move last week, so Elliott is a little lost without his best friend. Elliott sets out a car for Hayden when he plays cars, and asks for Hayden when we go to the playground. But we got to hang out lots before they left, so he has some great memories to last him until we can take our own Great Big Adventure to visit them!

Tidbit

2010-04-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

On our way out to get some lunch today, I turn onto the road leading to our favorite local BBQ place (as in mine and Bret's) and Elliott yells, "Wait!" from the back seat of the car. I ask him, "What's wrong?" and in his little toddler lisp, Elliott says, "Chick-Fil-A!," pointing in the other direction.

That's right. I TURNED AROUND and took my son and husband to Chick-Fil-A for lunch because it was the first time Elliott has requested any restaurant, much less so adamantly. You can go ahead and call me "SUCKER."

Happy Earth Day!

2010-04-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day friends! As you know, I don't get political or opinionated in my blog. It is a blog dedicated to my beautiful son and how I enjoy every minute of his wide-eyed exploration of our world. However, I'm going to break the rule today and get a little didactic, because I can't think of any issue any more relevant to Elliott. Take care of our planet, because I want Elliott to be able to enjoy it for all his days too. I don't want Elliott to have to tell his kids about how the Earth used to have ice at the poles or for him to have to colonize Mars. Here's five excellent reasons to save the planet:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Do you want to tell that face that you didn't do your part?

Some things we do in hopes of a more sustainable future: recycle everything we can from bottles to junk mail to scraps of paper, grow our own vegetables in our garden, compost our food scraps (and fertilize our garden with it!), use reusable bags, use grey water (from our baby pool) to water our flowers, turn off and unplug when not in use, set a thermostat a litle warmer in the summer and a little colder in the winter, shop at the local farmer's market, Bret carpools to work... we believe we can make a difference. Will you help?

Eggstravagant Eggstravaganza - Warning: Puns galore!

2010-04-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

Well, you can never accuse us of only celebrating halfway. For Easter, we really outdid ourselves. Last year, Elliott did not eat candy yet, so he received some crayons and a couple of eggs with Sesame Street toys. Oh, how much changes in a year! Elliott first received an Easter basket from Nana loaded with goodies (Thank you, Nana!), but the Easter Bunny apparently didn't get the memo.

Here's Elliott on Easter morning, with his stash from the Easter Bunny! He had eggs filled with chocolate eggs and Hot Wheels Cars. And a bunny hand puppet!

Elliott's obvious eggcitement over being allowed candy in the morning....

"I do it! I do it!" Still working on it...

Still working... Stupid wrapper getting in the way. "Mommy. Help."

Thought bubble: "What!?! A whole bunny made of chocolate, just for me? Eggcellent!"

And what would Easter be without jelly beans?? Elliott enjoyed his "gourmet" Jelly Beans, with the eggception of toasted marshmellow and buttered popcorn. As Elliott says, "No like it."

And, of course, we dyed Easter eggs! In a moment of genius, Mommy decided to bring Elliott's table outside and we dyed the eggs in the yard. (Not pictured: Elliott's little buddy, Hayden, who helped us dye eggs. Elliott is a very careful egg dyer, while Hayden is more the "stick your whole hand in" kind of guy.) By the end, Elliott had dyed all of his eggs a brilliant shade of purple, but his hand were miraculously clean.

And of course, there is the Easter Egg Hunt, hosted by Hayden!

Elliott's stash.

More egg hunting.

Elliott finds an egg! How eggstraordinary!

Elliott couldn't wait to find out what was inside the eggs - stickers and fruit snacks!

And our Easter picture. Doesn't get better than that! A great day, but by the end we were egghausted. (Hey, I warned you!)

Bouncing is what Elliott's do best!

2010-04-06T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of videos that I took of Elliott at gymnastics playgroup. The first is Elliott jumping on the Tumble Track while reciting his ABCs over and over.

This next video shows the sometimes bossy side of Elliott (and you guys thought he was an angel!)

Picture Smorgasbord

2010-04-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a few random pictures to share.

Elliott now likes to brush his teeth at the sink like a big boy.

Elliott in his new crab sand box (I know! Too cute, right?) His favorite thing to do is put sand in the sand mill. However, Elliott is the only child under 12 that I know who can come out of a sandbox with NO sand in his shoes. He kind of freaks out a little if he gets any sand on him at all. As Elliott says, "Mess!"

Elliott on the trampoline at gymnastics playgroup with his best l'il bud!

Elliott plops down on the trampoline. The instructors have told me that this is a great skill that even much older kids have trouble with!

Elliott testing out his new tractor. Elliott especially likes to take a screwdriver to "fix" it!

Elliott and Daddy running! (in case you couldn't figure that out.)

I just love this picture.

This picture is pretty random... much like how I walked into the kitchen one day to find Elliott under the rug for no apparent reason.

Playing in the sandbox with his friend! (Thanks for the picture, Jennifer)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2010-04-06T19:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a video I've meant to post since February... it's an oldie, but goodie. As you can see, Elliott loves to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

As of April, Elliott's new favorite song to sing/ dance to is "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas. Sniff, sniff... they grow up so fast!

Lions, Tigers, (P)and(a) Bears, OH MY!

2010-04-01T11:29:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we went on vacation to Washington, DC!! We had an absolute blast! We took Elliott before when he was about 7 months old, but this was his first "real" trip to the Capitol! This post is picture heavy... but I personally can never have enough pictures of Elliott, so enjoy!

We stopped at our favorite children's museum on the way there to tire Elliott out. Here's Elliott playing at his favorite exhibit, the water table. If you look to the left, you'll see the dome of water at one end of the table.... I am endlessly amazed at this myself.

Elliott milking the cow! He thought this was great fun! (this place is seriously the coolest!)

Ahhh... and then we're at the Smithsonian! Here's Bret and Elliott posing at the Air and Space Museum. Elliott thought this museum was pretty neat, for obvious reasons.

Elliott piloting his first Cessna.

Elliott on the Metro. This really cracked us up. Bret and I often stood on the Metro while Elliott sat in his stroller. He figured he better hold on just like Mommy and Daddy, so he leans over, grabs the pole, and holds on for the duration of the ride.

Ackk!!! Sloth bear eating Elliott's finger (at the National Zoo)!

Elliott's not actually in this photo. I have only included it because it is an awesome picture.

Elliott touching meerkat fur. This was the best part of the trip. Elliott and one of the meerkats bonded. The two of them ran back and forth with the glass between them playing chase with each other for over 10 minutes. Elliott was laughing hysterically and I think the meerkat had a pretty good time too.

Elliott and our friend Alice (who often reads and comments on our blog!) Btw, Alice, Elliott wants me to tell you that that other girl means nothing... you're the only girl for him.

Family photo at the zoo.

Elliott sitting on a Rodin... before we saw the sign that said, "Do not touch." Whoops.

Elliott flying his kite in the sculpture garden, while hiolding his new pet meerkat... appropriately named "Meerkat."

Mommy and Elliott under sculpture shaped like a piece of paper folded on half. Before we got yelled at by security. Whoops again. I seriously didn't see a sign.

Mommy and Elliott by the reflecting pool and Capitol building! We watched the ducks!

Elliott at the Insect Zoo in the Museum of Natural History. He thought this part of the trip was pretty cool, too.

At last but not least, DINOSAURS!

Elliott's Birthday Pah-tay

2010-03-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Elliott's rocking 2nd birthday party! As many of you know, we found out poor Elliott is allergic to antibiotics a couple of days before his birthday party, so he looks quite awful in these pictures, so please ignore that! But enjoy Elliott and his darling friends... we had so much fun!

Elliott lets his girlfriend take his brand-new tractor out for a spin. She brought it back in one piece.

Elliott opening his present. He REALLY liked the pom poms and googly eyes on the wrapping paper!

More present upwrapping!

Friends...

More friends...

And more friends!

Everyone enjoying some cake.

Especially Elliott. Chocolate... his favorite!

Elliott blowing out the birthday candles on his cake (these pictures are a little backwards!)

A close up of Elliott's super-awesome Elmo cake. Beautiful and delicious!

Better late than never: Valentines Day

2010-03-18T12:41:00.000-07:00

So, I realize that yesterday was St. Patrick's Day... so here are pictures of Valentine's Day! Makes sense, right? Well, actually, my mom reminded me that I promised to post these and never did... so here they are!

For Valentine's Day, I made one of mine and Bret's favorite dishes - bulgogi (Korean barbeque). To our surprise, Elliott loved it, and insisted on eating it with (special kid's) chopsticks just like Mommy and Daddy! (Thanks to Aunt Mia who had the foresight to give these to Elliott when he was still in utero!)

"I actually got some in my mouth!"

"Slippery little suckers!"

Think he'll eat veggies if I give it to him with chopsticks?

Happy Birthday!

2010-03-02T17:28:00.001-08:00

HOLY CRAP! My baby is 2 years old. I'm not exactly sure how or when, but my little guy went from this...

to this...

Bret and I shared a wonderful birthday with Elliott today. We did our normal Tuesday thing... gymnastics, then not listening to story time at Barnes and Noble, and then Mommy/ Elliott (& Daddy) lunch date at Panera. Then we came home and had cake and presents!! In the picture above, you can see Elliott loved his chocolate cake... as well as the cool train engineer hat his Aunt Kelly got him!

The coolest thing about today was that Elliott "got" it. He's been asking for birthday cake for about 2 weeks, and this morning I asked him what day it was and he answered, "Birthday!" He blew out all the candles on his cake all by himself, made a royal mess eating it, and then said, "Presents!" when he was done. He "got" it.

Mr. Frog was, of course, present for the festivities. This party was family only... Elliott has a party with all his best buds on Saturday.

Playing with his new Duplo blocks with Daddy.

Mr. Frog joins in the building action too... this is a picture of Mr. Frog getting the block out of the bucket...

... and then Mr. Frog holding it up so Daddy can see.

Elliott's favorite present was a stethoscope, which he called "doctor." He took it up to bed with him when he went for a nap.

For me, it is a little bittersweet. While I relish every small milestone, I can't believe it all passes so quickly! At this major one, I realize my little guy is a baby no more. I wish I could bottle up those little toddler fingers, that squealing laugh, and his wide-eyed view of the world, so that O can hoard it and save it for a day when I might not be able to remember as clearly as I can today.

Well, I guess tomorrow will be just another day. But I'm sure it won't be boring :)

P.S. I didn't want to wait to do a birthday post, but I have lots of pictures I haven't posted yet from the last couple of weeks, so look for those in the coming days!

Tidbit

2010-02-14T06:52:00.001-08:00

This morning, Elliott walks up to the cat, holds his hand out, and says, "High five?"

Snowpocalypse Part 1

2010-02-09T17:52:00.000-08:00

Snow, snow and more snow! Here are some pictures from the first snow storm that gave us 9 + inches of snow!

Elliott is not that big of a fan of snow. It's cold, he has to get all bundled up to go out in it, and he really hates that it sticks to his clothes, mittens, etc.

Elliott did enjoy shoveling the snow, however... with his garden trowel and watering can.

Sled is Elliott's preferred method of snow transportation. Sure beats walking.

We wished that lawnmover doubled as a snow blower!

Elliott enjoyed yelling and listening to his echo. Check out the video below! ("Hey you guys" is from the Electric Company on PBS)

Children's Museum #2

2010-02-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures from Elliott's second trip to the Children's Museum. The first time was a little overwhelming, but this time, Elliott was really in his element!

Elliott and his friend working on puzzles together.

Playing the giant xylophones outside was so neat! In fact, the whole outside was awesome, with a giant sandbox and pedal tractor and drums!

Elliott turns the wheel which turns the hands on the clock.

Making a withdrawal... a very large one.

Elliott and his buddy play school.

Kind of reminds me of that part in the Simpsons intro where Bart is writing "I will not..."

Every family needs a good mechanic.

Elliott really enjoyed the water table this time around, opening and shutting the flood gates.

Elliott and Vera

2010-02-02T19:02:00.001-08:00

This picture was just too cute not to post. Elliott carries Vera Bradley just like Mommy!

A Taste of What's to Come

2010-02-02T18:36:00.001-08:00

January was full of wacky weather; snow one day and 60 degrees the next. During one of the latter days, we enjoyed a morning playing and cleaning out the garden.

Elliott helps pull Daddy out of his clubhouse.

Boyz only.

I can't believe how grown up he looks in the picture!

Digging in the garden.

Is it Spring yet?

Children's Museum

2010-02-02T17:57:00.001-08:00

Recently, we got a membership at a nearby Children's Museum. So far, we have been twice, Elliott has done different things each time, and there is still lots of stuff to do! The museum is awesome! Here are some pictures from our first visit there.

Everything in the museum is child-friendly for all ages - meaning they can touch, get in, and push all the buttons they want - a little slice of Elliott heaven.

Riding the trike-tor at the farm.

They had a little farm where you could actually "plant" and "harvest" your pretend vegetables, and then you could sell/ buy them at the farmer's market! How adorable is that?

This is no surprise... Elliott attracted to anything with a steering wheel.

Looks pretty good driving that truck!

My Mom is a Slacker

2010-02-02T17:19:00.000-08:00

So, perhaps you have been asking yourself, "When is Shannon going to post something new?" And perhaps you have been justifying my blogging absence as one of those Mom things: "Oh, she's a mom, she's busy doing mom stuff." Hmmm... well, I'm busy, yes, but not any more so than normal. I've really just been slacking off, playing with all my (and Elliott's) Christmas presents. Proof of my busy-but-not-THAT-busy life below:

Elliott has learned to use the "big boy" vacuum. Crouching helps get all those hard to reach spots.

If you go over the same spot over and over, that one part of the floor gets really, REALLY clean.

Vacuuming standing up is an effective finishing method... for the same section of carpet.

Now that Elliott has mastered the art of vacuuming, I expect I'll have more time to blog.

A is for "Adorable"

2010-01-10T18:15:00.000-08:00

Elliott loves his ABCs and 123s. Here's a little vlog to prove it!

Bottoms Up!

2009-12-30T12:58:00.001-08:00

Elliott wishes everyone a very Happy New Year - may it be full of happy surprises and laughter!

Take it out for a spin... the tricycle, that is.

2009-12-28T12:59:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, it was warmer and sunny, and we thought it would be a great day to take a trip to the park and try out the new tricycle! But first, I have to tell you, we were really worried about getting Elliott to wear a helmet. He was always vehemently opposed to putting one on in the store, for even a second. So, Bret and I took a deep breath when we pulled out Elliott's shiny new Sesame Street helmet... and whoa.... he loved it. He wouldn't take it off! He wore it in the car. He wore it into Lowe's. And then, the whole time at the park. Toddlers... full of surprises.

P.S. Don't miss the video at the end!

Christmas

2009-12-28T12:18:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas here in Elliott's World. We opened presents all day Friday and then still had some left over for the day after Christmas! Elliott was a little overwhelmed at times, but was a real trooper and managed to open them all. By the end, he was quite good at unwrapping! Here are some pictures we'd like to share with you!

After Santa came! (It's a lot harder than you think to build a track loop for trains that all connects!)

Elliott finds Santa has left him trains when he first arrives downstairs (we had to wake him up at a quarter til 8... we couldn't wait any longer!)

Trains are cool, but look at this red car!

Signal Station with working lights and sounds. Elliott has had his eye on this for a LOOONG time.

"Tree!!"

Elliott helps Daddy open his new camera.

Then, Elliott opens HIS new digital camera! We have lots of closeups of Elliott's face.

Elliott tries out his new R/C car. Vrrooom!

Elliott gets a new tricycle from Grandma! (More tricycle in the next post!)

Yum!!! Every kid needs a lollipop the size of his head in his stocking, right? (BTW, note Bret's naughty or nice Homer Simpson socks!)

Why they hate us at Best Buy

2009-12-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

Tee hee... just had to share this with you guys! He's hard core.... well, except when he plays monster ballads.

Thank you local Best Buy for putting up with our shenanigans, as well as the screaming that ensues every time we exit the store. And for not barring the doors when you see us coming.

Countdown to Christmas!

2009-12-12T16:28:00.001-08:00

Bret and I are downright giddy in anticipation of Christmas. Elliott is pretty much oblivious. Every day, the stack of presents under the tree grows bit by bit, and Elliott is way more concerned with the cheap chocolate candy in his advent calender. (I think he might be the only 21 month old on the planet whose daily vocabulary includes the words, "advent calendar.") Here's a few pictures from after we put up the tree.

The other side: Quiet, contemplative Elliott.

"Touch? Touch?"

Elliott calls the ribbon "moon," I'm assuming because it is silvery like the moon?

It's typical that we would get the perfect Christmas card pose AFTER we send out the cards.

In case you were feeling like some blog deja-vu...

2009-12-05T12:34:00.000-08:00

We have wonderful great big oak trees in our yard that we enjoy most of the year, but every fall, we have a ridiculous amount of leaves. Ridiculous as in we have a leaf pile at the back of the yard that is taller than Bret. And that is just from the leaves collected as far as the garage. The leaves behind the garage have to fend for themselves. So, here we are, raking. Again.

Elliott helps out! He calls the rake a broom.

Elliott helps put leaves (about 5 at a time) in the bin so that Daddy can carry them to the back of the yard.

Elliott didn't want to wear his mittens, so he took them off and "hid" them in the trunks of the crepe myrtle. That's why he's wearing only one in this picture.

Cuteness.

Proud of a hard day's work. Hmmm... where is that other mitten?

Pumpkin Pie, A Thanksgiving Post

2009-12-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

So, as many know, Elliott's nickname is Pumpkin. If I'm feeling particulary gooey towards him, I call him Pumpkin Pie. He responds to "Pumpkin" in the same way that he would respond to "Elliott" and if I ask, "Where is Mommy's pumpkin?" Elliott pats himself on the head. So, this Thanksgiving when I wanted cherry pie and Bret wanted a pecan pie, it seemed positively unacceptable to not have a pumpkin pie for my Pumpkin!! So, Elliott loved his pumpkin pie (with Cool Whip, of course!) We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, as we have tons to be thankful for!

Is it really already mid-November?

2009-11-13T11:36:00.000-08:00

I guess the old adage is correct... Time flies when you are having fun. Here's a little bit of what we've been up to lately.

Here's Elliott at the apple festival (which was lame!) but wow, they had really big tractors! Elliott on Daddy's slightly smaller tractor.

"Helping" Dad rake the leaves, a childhood rite of passage, right?

Another picture, in case the first one wasn't adorable enough for you.

After doing some hard work, we all deserve a little downtime.

Elliott pushes Mr. Frog in his "manly" stroller - "manly" as in less girly. It is almost impossible to find a stroller that is not babydoll pink... not that Elliott would mind. Pink is his favorite color.

Making alphabet cut-out cookies during the Nor'easter. Elliott really liked the sprinkles part.

And yes, the "Z" is backwards. Elliott did that one all by himself.

And the best part about making cookies is eating them! Well, not really. Elliott apparently thought they were too pretty to eat. Bizarre little child.

And that pretty much sums it up.

Gymnastics!!!

2009-11-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

Elliott has been doing gymnastics since September - just a playgroup, no actual organized instruction is involved. As anyone can imagine, he loves it! So, I finally got around to getting some pictures (it's kind of hard to get pictures of Elliott while I'm supposed to be keeping him safe around all kinds of dangerous (read: enticing) apparatus, but Bret was able to come with us when these pictures were taken.) These pcitures are actually a couple of weeks old... with Halloween and stuff, it has taken me a while to post them!

On the trampoline... it is very hard to get pictures "mid-air."

You can't really tell, but he is in the air!

Bret joined in on the fun. (He's just a big kid himself.)

Little monkey man!

Bock, Bock, Hooray for Halloween!

2009-11-01T17:13:00.000-08:00

Despite having a fever of 101.5 on the 30th, Elliott rallied and managed to have a very full Halloween, with just a couple of minor changes to our original plans. Our Halloween actually started on Thursday with a party at music class. To his dismay (and our delight!), Elliott wore his chicken costume. For the first time in Kindermusik history, Elliott sat on my lap and looked pretty much miserable until we plucked him of his feathers.

Ok, in this picture he doesn't look so miserable, but shortly after this photo was taken, he remembered he was supposed to be acting miserable and came back and sat on my lap. "Doggone ball, distracting me from my misery!!"

We were very excited that Bret was off work and could join us at music class!! (Still miserable.)

Unfortunately, on Saturday, Bret did have to work, so pumpkin carving duties were passed on to the Momma. I think we did ok. Not surprisingly, Elliott refused to touch the pumpkin (1. Ewww, slimy and messy (clearly my child), and 2. pumpkin looks a lot like a vegetable.) But I did manage to get him to pose with the finished product.

The weather here was like 80 degrees on Halloween, making the chicken costume even less appetizing to Elliott. However, he tolerated the costume yet again for our costume playdate at Caleb's house.

By the time night came, I was feeling pretty sorry for Elliott (it was still 74 degrees at 6:00). So, I quickly whipped Elliott up a new Halloween costume - a basketball player!! He (happily) ran around the neighborhood with a small basketball and was still adorable.

Please note: Chicken costume - $20. Basketball jersey - approx. $1.25 and a Sharpie marker. Sigh.

VIDEO! Elliott counts to 10!

2009-10-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

Elliott's first video blog... enjoy!

Other Fall Shenanigans

2009-10-23T11:01:00.001-07:00

We have been embracing the fun of fall with Elliott. We've been pretty much shoving fall down his throat. If we point out one more pumpkin or scarecrow, I think he might disown us. But fall is so much fun! Here's some non-pumpkin related fun.

Bret has been trying to discourage our "pet" groundhog (Wally) from digging a burrow underneath the garage with some major fortifications. But one fall morning, we had a different animal surprise back there - a turtle!
Elliott thought that "turr-tle" was pretty swell. And he wanted one of us to touch it really badly, although he did not want to touch it himself. The picture above is the closest he got to actually touching it.
Same morning... throwing gravel in the driveway. That's almost as much fun as a turtle, right?

Elliott says, "Mess!" and brushes his hands off. My sentiments exactly.

Running around at the playground/ ball field. He thought it was pretty fun to run away and then run back to us.

Elliott, Master Slide Climber.

"Mom, do you mind if Mr. Frog and I take the car (and your shoes) for a spin around the block?"

Elliott in his Halloween finery with an oatmeal raisin cookie. Now, that's a happy toddler!

Elliott concentrates on breaking the cookie into smaller pieces, just like Mommy. Mommy frowns as she thinks that she is going to have to vacuum. Again.

Happy Elliott!

One last thing! We took Elliott to see Monster Stomp Revamped at Busch Gardens. Its rated "4 pumpkins" scary, so we were a little skeptical about its appropriateness for Elliott. He LOVED it (and it was soooo not scary. It was campy. It was perfect!) He sat in my lap for the half hour show and clapped and laughed and cheered. Well worth the long line... if you live in the area, I totally recommend it!

Pumpkin Picking!!

2009-10-23T10:42:00.001-07:00

All right, all right! I hear ya... you want more pictures! My apologizes for a being a little slack in the blogging department. Well, here you go.

The family recently went to Pumpkinville!! Elliott had his first hayride (actually, it was my first hayride too!) He thought this was pretty cool, especially the ghosts that were hanging from the trees above us.
Then we went to the pumpkin patch to find ourselves the perfect pumpkin (well, other than the "pumpkin" in a T-shirt and jeans.)
Bret poses with the perfect pumpkin.

Bret is trying to show Elliott just how heavy a pumpkin really is. Elliott just wants Daddy to let him carry it by himself.

Two pumpkins... sweet success!

If you ask Elliott, "Where's Elliott's pumpkin?," he'll run and find the small pie pumpkin we got for him that we keep on the coffee table. But if you ask him, "Where's Mommy's pumpkin?," he pats his own head. He did that all on his own!

Overall, lots of fun. Next year we'll try the corn maze!

Weekend Adventures

2009-09-20T19:30:00.001-07:00

Wow! We had a jammed packed weekend. Here are some of the highlights.

We got a balloon at Trader Joe's. As you can see, Elliott fell asleep in the car on the way home from the store... still holding on to the balloon. In all the balloon excitement, we lost Mr. Frog, and Mommy had to return to the store shortly after this picture was taken to retrieve him before real naptime. Don't worry... Mr. Frog was returned unharmed.

Elliott has discovered the joys of blocks. In this picture, Elliott holds up his "camera" and says "Cheese!" just like Mommy.

Elliott has also become quite independent at the playground! Here he is climbing UP the slide (with a very determined face.)

Here is Elliott going down the slide. He wanted no help from Mom and Dad.

More pictures of the playground. Elliott climbs up, and then slides back down, ignoring my protests that it is not a slide. "Well, Mom, if I can slide down it, it's a slide."

Elliott thought these musical chimes were pretty cool.

Prince Elmo's Spire at Busch Gardens. Look closely... do you see anyone you recognize?

Yep, that would be Elliott and Bret. Well, Elliott's feet, at least.

And what would a weekend be without a little Sunny Days Celebration? A great weekend all the way around - great weather, great fun, great time with the fam.

Just pictures

2009-09-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures for your daily dose of cute.

Mommy's Birthday

2009-09-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

For Mommy's birthday, the whole family went to Busch Gardens! It was HOT HOT HOT, and we were all quite sweaty, but we had a lot of fun. Recently, Elliott has been really into airplanes (and cars and trucks and buses and...), so we thought he might enjoy riding the airplanes. He never made it off the ground, but he was amazed by the experience, all the same.

First, a ride in the white one.

Then, another ride, this time in the red one.

Elliott also rode on the carousel. He usually wants to get off this as soon as he gets on, but he's getting better.

We had some lunch in Germany, and Elliott had fun participating in the show. Elliott REALLY likes polka music.

Doing a little chicken dance... well, kind of. Ok, not really at all, but we have the clapping thing down pat.

Later, there was birthday cake. If you ask Elliott if he wants cake, he says a very definite, "Yessss." He really likes to look at the pretty icing too, and got upset when it inevitably got messed up. But then he ate it... and it was good.

Oh, and here's a picture for the grandparents. Elliott uses a big boy cup at dinner. No problem!

Va Beach Vacay!

2009-08-17T18:57:00.001-07:00

We had a great time at Va Beach! By the time we checked into the hotel on Friday, it was, of course, pouring rain... but we made the most of it! Elliott was a little intimidated by the ocean (I think he felt a little vertigo when the water came up), so he didn't want to stand in the water on his own. But he would sit in my lap at the water's edge as the surf came up over our legs, and he seemed to like that. We sat there for a long time and Elliott was very quiet and peaceful.

On Saturday, the day started out overcast, but the sun peeked through by lunch. It was kind of nice that the sun was hiding behind the clouds as it was not as hot and I was not as worried about Elliott getting sunburned.

After a long day outside, Elliott thinks Mommy needs to rehydrate. Have some apple juice!

On the way there, we stopped for lunch at the Cheese Shop and Elliott enjoyed running around a little downtown. We hoped to wear him out for a more peaceful car ride, and (for the most part), it worked.

Rock Star Elliott!

Elliott had fun digging in the sand. Daddy helped him find baby crabs. and the sand was perfect for building sand castles (aka knocking down sand castles).

Elliott snacks on cookies and relaxes with Dad on the lounge chair.

We spent lots of time walking the boardwalk. Elliott was FULL of ENERGY... well, until he ran out. He stopped in the middle of the boardwalk and laid on his back in what I like to call "the dead bug." You could almost hear him say, "Stick a fork in me.... I'm done!"

Before leaving the beach, we stopped at the Virginia Aquarium. Elliott looks a little wary of being in the mouth of a shark!

The drive home.

Baby Cinderell-O

2009-08-04T12:47:00.000-07:00

For all those non-baby people out there, perhaps this will lead you to reconsider? Elliott is a big help around the house! Just call him Baby Cinderell-O!

Cinderell-O... Cook us breakfast! (Yummm... peppered corn flakes, my favorite!)

Cinderell-O.... Sweep the bathroom!

Cinderell-O... vacuum the floor! (How cute is he? He pushed it around like it was a full-size upright vaccuum cleaner. Oh, and it had to be on.)

Cinderell-O... clean the spilled corn flakes! (Same as aforementioned corn flakes from breakfast)

After all his hard work, he went to (play with) the Ball.

Farmer's Market Fun and additional Elliott Eye Candy

2009-07-26T17:42:00.001-07:00

Elliott and Mommy like to go to the local Farmer's Market on Saturdays, and Mommy remembered her camera this time! Elliott likes to run around among all the other kids and dogs, as well as dance to the music of local musicians. Mommy likes to buy blueberries and watch all the old people coo over Elliott. Elliott sometimes brings his harmonica along and plays while Mommy pushes him around in the stroller. Or sometimes, we go to the toy store that Mommy worked in when she was in college and buy a present.

Elliott likes to test the boundries of how far he can go before Mommy goes chasing after him.

Its hard to tell, but Elliott is slapping his legs to the beat of the music. When a song ends, Elliott is very good about clapping to show his appreciation and says "Yea!"

Elliott finds a friend to help him beat on the windows of the toy store. "Open up! We know you're in there!" Mommy attempts to discourage window beating.

Elliott is an excellent audience. He tries to get Mommy to help him play the musician's drum, but Mommy refuses. He resigns himself to dancing instead.

Elliott holds a gumball from a Sweet Gum tree. Mommy found it for him, but he is unimpressed. He instead goes back to trying to climb the steps of storefronts.

Unrelated to the Farmer's Market, Elliott enjoys coloring without pants. Hey, Van Gogh made art without an ear... maybe Elliott's genius requires no pants.

Elliott "raises the roof." Whoop Whoop.

Elliott gets into Mommy's post-it notes. As punishment, she makes Elliott wear them.

VISIT!

2009-07-26T17:25:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, Nana and Aunt Kelly came to visit!! We had a great time! Elliott wowed them not only with exceptional behavior, but also with his most impressive salmon eating skills. What can I say... the boy likes his fish! We are so glad they came to visit, and we hope they come again soon! Also, thanks for the fun presents. Elliott has been thoroughly enjoying all the button-pushing, block-building, bathtub-drawing fun.

Elliott lays back playing with his new cell phone while Aunt Kelly massages his little feet. He seemed to enjoy this quite a lot!

Elliott poses with Aunt Kelly. Elliott loved hanging out with Aunt Kelly, and even tried desperately to say her name, but all those l's are hard!

Elliott and Mr. Frog pose with Nana. Now everyone knows where he gets that blonde hair!

Elliott, being cute. As usual.

Aunt Kelly brought Mommy and Daddy some whoopie pies from Pennsylvania, and they were nice enough to share with Elliott. Elliott rather enjoyed his first whoopie pie, in case you couldn't tell.

Fourth of July

2009-07-14T13:17:00.001-07:00

For the Fourth, we went to a great local outdoor festival. Elliott drank tons of fruity smoothie and had runny poo for several days afterwards (not to mention the diaper rash from heck!), but it was totally worth it. Elliott had lots of fun in the kids section of the festival. Please note that my men are both appropriately dressed in red, white and blue.

Paper plate art. What says Independence like some great paper plate art?

Coloring with a buddy we met there.

Our little athlete is immediately attracted all things associated with balls

Elliott thought a little ring toss was fun... put the rings on the stake, and then pull the stake out.

Elliott's New Wheels

2009-07-06T18:42:00.001-07:00

Elliott is now the proud owner of the best-selling car in America - the Cozy Coupe! (That statistic is true, by the way!) Elliott kept trying to ride his Little People tractor (as in made for Fisher Price Little People - who are about 3 inches tall) and jump behind the wheel of Daddy's car, so we decided maybe he would want some wheels of his own.

Tee hee!! Check out Elliott's new ride!

Honey, I'm home!!!!

Drinking and driving... water, of course!

Now, is that a happy kid of what?!?

The County Fair

2009-07-06T18:28:00.001-07:00

Ok, this was a couple of weeks ago, but the pictures are too sweet to leave out. We all went to the local county fair and Elliott had the BEST DAY EVER. He played his little heart out, and by the time we got home and bathed, he was telling us that it was time for night-night.

Here's Elliott dancing with Smokey the Bear. I think the bear picked up some new moves from our little guy.

Elliott really enjoyed the petting zoo. They had lambs, goat kids, a calf, a horse, and a donkey. The donkey pooped and the cow peed and Mommy was totally skeeved by the germs - but Elliott had a good time and pet several of the animals himself.

Elliott gets up close to the fire truck. He was unimpressed. It was much more impressive from far away.

Also, one other thing that we unfortunately do not have a picture of. There was a band playing and Elliott tore up the dance floor after dinner. There was a little boy breakdancing on the floor... so not to be outdone, our little monkey got on his butt and started spinning around too! What a ham!! I have NO IDEA where he gets it!

What?!? Me messy???

2009-06-30T19:39:00.000-07:00

We're a little backblogged here at the Rickert household, but until I can catch up, here is a little tidbit o' Elliott...

Elliott fingerpainted some art for Daddy for Father's Day. I think the real present was that Daddy wasn't there to help clean up.

Super Sunday

2009-06-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

So, today was the BEST DAY EVER! For breakfast, we went to Busch Gardens and had breakfast with Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie!!!!

In this picture, Elliott looks like he is in shock. He was definitely starstruck.

They came out on stage (which was only like 15 feet from us) singing, "Sunny Days," and I swear, Elliott peed himself in excitement. Fortunately for all involved, Elliott wears diapers.

Elliott is saying, "Hey Mom, Look! Its Sesame Street! At breakfast! Look! Cookie Monster! Look! Elmo! Look!" They don't really have words for this emotion. I think ecstatic might come close.

Elliott touches Ernie's nose. "Is this really happening, or am I dreaming??"

Elliott awed by Elmo's greatness.

Every time Elliott was around Cookie Monster, he said, "Num num num num," while pretending to stuff cookies in his mouth.

Mommy and Elliott with Bert.

Then to finish off the day, Mommy and Elliott made cupcakes. Elliott did the sprinkles. And then in a fit of joy, Elliott got to eat one. One word... bliss. While eating his cupcake, Elliott would randomly laugh or say "Yum."

Best day ever.

Melancholy: Love of Locks

2009-06-07T17:58:00.000-07:00

So, today it finally happened. We said goodbye to Elliott's baby curls. And I must say, I was not expecting the immense sadness that came with it! I mean, he's already had his first haircut, but they left the curls intact (mostly due to necessity - Elliott said the haircut was done!) But Elliott was cruising dangerously close to mullet zone and I recently had a couple of older women who asked, "Its a boy, right?".... so I knew the time had come. The curls had to go.

I thought I was prepared. I packed a snack and brought several favorite items that I hoped would entertain Elliott for a couple of minutes - a "chip clip" from the fridge and two of his swirly glitter-in-water cups (weird selections I know, but our child is not your average hand-me-a-toy-and-I'm-happy kind of kid.) I was even prepared for the awful keening that erupted when the hairdresser brought out the clippers and water bottle (I'm not sure what part of "my kid doesn't like to be squirted with water" that she didn't understand.) But I was NOT prepared for the raw mom emotion that rose up in me after the hair cut was over and the stylist was positively sweating in relief that her most difficult client of the day (or possibly week?) was finished. I was SAD. Hmmm.... maybe DESPONDENT is a better word. I felt like the kid who ran out of the house with a dollar in hand just as the ice cream truck turns out of the neighborhood. (Do ice cream trucks still exist?) Who knew a couple of (shimmering, silky, bouncing, joy-imbued) blonde locks could instigate such a postpartum response!

But he is so HANDSOME in his big boy 'do. See for yourself... along with a couple of photos pre-haircut - for nostalgia's sake.

Front view
Side view

Making pancakes with Dad Saturday morning. Elliott wants to "cook" all the time now.

Elliott plays peek-a-boo.

Elliott feeds himself yogurt. He looks pretty satisfied with himself!

How big is Elliott?

2009-06-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

SO BIG!! Elliott has been embracing summer in a big kind of way. I swear, I blinked and it turns out that I have not a baby, but a little boy! Here's a little of what we've been up to since our last post.

I see you!! Elliott got a big kick out of the lids to the pots when he realized he can see through them.

Elliott helps Mommy cook eggs for breakfast. He put pepper in his pot, and at one point, he stuck his finger in and tasted it... wow, do I wish I had the camera ready for that face. That was even better than the popsicle!

Reading Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb, with Dad. This is Elliott's favorite book of all time, and he is now finally able to say the line, "Dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum." Well, kind of. It kind of sounds like "duh duh duh," but we know what he means.

Here's Elliott at the playground, perhaps waiting for cute little girls to come kiss him. In the meantime, Elliott practices crossing the bridge.

Elliott takes his new horsey for a joyride on his pony. Thanks Mrs. Lynn and Mr. Jim for the Clydesdale - E loves it. Now, if we could only think of a name...

Playground Love

2009-05-20T05:34:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post... no pictures, but I had to share this. Yesterday, Bret and I took Elliott to the playground before dinner. At the park was this cute little 2 year old named Kylie who was playing in the sand. Elliott sauntered over and was acting interested in the stick she was moving around in the sand. In no time, Kylie is leaning over giving Elliott kisses. We got Elliott a stick too and he played side by side with her for the rest of the time we were at the park. It was the sweetest thing - albeit, kind of scary! My son's a player! The girls are already swooning over him at the playground, and he's not even 15 months yet.

E-I-E-I-O

2009-05-13T17:56:00.001-07:00

"Old MacDonald" is Elliott's favorite song. He requests it (by saying "e-i-e-i-o") incessantly when we are in the car. So this post is dedicated to Old MacDonald.

Baby Elliott had a garden, E-I-E-I-O...

Elliott helps Mommy plant flowers (those are Elliott's own gardening tools - kid-size!).

Elliott helps Daddy plant vegetables. He weeds, too!

Mommy, do you see how dirty the garden is? We have lots of sweeping to do here!

And in that garden, there was a tractor, e-i-e-i-o. With a vroom, vroom here, and a vroom vroom there....

Elliott when Daddy takes him off the tractor.

Elliott eats the first strawberry of the season.... fresh out of the garden.

Still sweeping...

And dusting off the pepper plants too. What a good little helper!

Elliott watches the Today show

2009-05-06T10:07:00.001-07:00

So, if you know me, you know I am obsessed with the Today show, and most other NBC news programming. Well, most mornings Elliott watches the first hour of the Today show with me while I drink some orange juice and he drinks some milk. Well, last week, they had this bizarre segment on about tummy tubs, where infants are placed in buckets to bathe and it supposedly simulates the womb (do check out the link... it's quite hilarious.) Well, apparently it must have made an impression on Elliott. Later, while Mommy was at the gym and Daddy and Elliott were cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast, here is what Bret found:

That would be Elliott sitting IN a pot. Just goes to show you... children pick up on everything.

Outside Fun

2009-05-03T17:46:00.000-07:00

While Daddy has been very busy at work, Elliott and I have been busy with all the fun things to do outside when the weather is nice. We are working on quite the backyard playground. Bret recently hung a swing in a tree, and now that the deck is finally built (yay!), we bought a water table for Elliott to play with. We are working on getting a sandbox, but that means driving to Toys R Us without Elliott so that we can fit it in the car.

Water Table fun. Elliott dunked the top of his head in the water.

Elliott smiles victoriously after winning a fight with blackberries.

Elliott sports his new bathing suit when the temperature hits 90 degrees. We found out that Elliott DOES NOT like the sprinkler yet. Oh, and that Mommy should never buy white swim trunks ever again.

What's better on a hot spring day than a popsicle? Well, apparently Elliott can think of many things. Not a fan of the cold... yet he kept eating it??

Elliott rocks out in his tree swing. Makes raking all those leaves every fall worth it.

His shirt says "Gnarly Little Dude." 'Nuff said.

Broccoli is Yummy

2009-04-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

We had such a beautiful Saturday! The weather was perfect! Elliott and Mommy went downtown in the morning while Daddy cut the grass and Elliott wowed the tourists with his incredible walking skills. Elliott thought it was the most fun to go on the other side of a wooden fence from Mommy while she fed him bits of waffle through the fence. While tourists gave us peculiar looks, I just smiled and said, "He's pretending to be a horse," and they would laugh and "awwww." I really have no idea why he found this so entertaining, but I got him to eat his breakfast.

Elliott has finally figured out how to use the rocking horse he got for Christmas! (Yay, overpriced present not a waste!) He clicks his tongue to imitate the sound they make when they walk and if you ask him about horses he rocks his body back and forth so that you know that he knows what you are talking about.

Elliott plays with Play-doh for the first time! He sat in that chair and played play-doh with me for about half an hour - I couldn't believe it!

As titled, here is Elliott not only eating raw broccoli, but LOVING raw broccoli. I was having some with my dinner (I didn't even bother offering him any... how rude!), when Elliott starts going, "eh, eh" and pointing at my plate. I broke him off a little "tree," thinking that he was going to spit it out immediately. Instead, I get another "eh, eh." I was so shocked, I didn't even encourage him to sign for "more"! I kept breaking off little pieces and offering them to him, and he kept eating them, until he grabbed the whole thing out of my hand and started biting off the top.

I, of course, like a good blogger, ran to get my camera.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-19T17:18:00.001-07:00

I realize that I am a week behind schedule... sorry!! We are currently having the deck built on the back of our house which has me totally stressed out, and when I'm stressed I clean instead of blogging. Hey... I made no promises when I started this thing!

Elliott had a wonderful easter weekend. On Saturday we went to his friend Thomas's 1st birthday party. They are bonded by their love of all things Sesame Street. In fact, Elliott gave Thomas Big Bird for his birthday. As soon as it was removed from the gift bag, Elliott went to grab it back. Sigh.... toddlers have no manners!

Before leaving for the party, Elliott plays dress-up (one of his new fav activities).

The birthday boy, Thomas!

Elliott in party mode. (Thanks Aunt Kelly for the bear for Easter... Elliott likes to take it with him when he goes places!)

Elliott eats cake. With a spoon. Thomas enjoyed his cake the traditional way - with 2 hands in the cake.

Elliott enjoying his Easter spoils. The Bunny brought him some Sesame Street eggs, bubbles, crayons, and animal crackers. Within the hour, Mommy was scrubbing crayon off walls. We now only color at the table.

First Haircut Fun

2009-04-10T19:08:00.001-07:00

Well, we finally broke down and took Elliott to get his first haircut.... his bangs kept falling into his eyes. We were putting it off for various reasons. One, I pretty much figured he was going to FREAK OUT. Two, I was enjoying his shaggy baby curls. And three, we didn't know who to take him to. So, on a recommendation from a friend, we took him to Sports Clips, primarily for the TVs.

How did it turn out? Well, the haircut was good. We were able to distract Elliott long enough to get the front and sides cut... the back is still long - but curls are still intact, so I'm happy. But I do just want to spout off for a minute. Why would any male get an overpriced hair cut at this place?? Their claim to fame is that you can watch sports while getting your hair cut. Well, let me tell you - it's on TV that is probably about as big as your computer screen, perhaps smaller. And there is no choice! Only one channel. I figured maybe they would put on PBS or something for Elliott... nope. Just ESPN, where a baseball game was playing. I just want to say.... if you are a man who pay 40 dollars for their "premium" cut just so you can watch baseball on a 10 inch screen while they spend 15 minutes on your hair.... you are a moron. (sorry to any this offends... I'll cut your hair in front on my much bigger TV for say, $30??)

That said, enjoy the pictures...

Elliott did a nice job of sitting while holding onto their HOT PINK monster truck. Note, Bret is wearing the smock, not Elliott.

The After Picture. Elliott was ready to get down, but look at how handsome he is!

Afterwards, we took Elliott to his favorite playground. Elliott got to play, and Mommy gets to take pictures of Elliott in his super cute overalls. A win-win.

Calvin Klein.... here I come!

Elliott REALLY likes to stomp his feet. He is very proud of himself when he does it.

All Aboard. The Elliott Express is now boarding. Pretty ladies first, please.

Random Pictures

2009-04-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

Sorry all... I have been very busy lately with important (and not so important) stuff, so the blog has suffered. But to make up for it, here is some cuteness for you!

Superbaby!!! After his bath.

Elliott pretends to make dinner with Mommy. Frog and Meatball soup is on the menu. Mr. Frog happily complies with request to play dead.

Elliott's first trip of the season to Busch Gardens. We checked out their new Sesame Street play area. Elliott found it all a little overwhelming. However, he is proudly displaying his Tribe Pride.

Elliott chillaxing Huck Finn style.

Elliott after some big kid knocks him face first into the water. Look at that face!! Don't worry.... he got over it quickly and was back in the water in no time.

Museum Fun

2009-03-29T17:38:00.000-07:00

Today we took Elliott to the local museum. They had lots of fish and a BIGGGG aquarium with BIGGGG fish, so of course, Elliott loved it.

With Mommy during a milk break.

Fish!

Looking cute, saying hi to everyone around.

Here Elliott realized Mommy had a camera and thought that was the attraction, not the animals.

Elliott pointing out the fish, in case we didn't notice.

More fissssshhhhhh.

This was the really big aquarium that went from floor to ceiling. Elliott thought that was pretty cool. He'll never look at our little fish tank and little fish the same again.

He thought the grates on the floor were "grate" fun.

One word... Wow.

Mom, you gotta see this!

My two handsome guys!

Feeling Better.... Picture Smorgasbord

2009-03-24T17:38:00.000-07:00

Elliott is feeling much better these days! He's been feeling so much better that we have been spending a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine and Elliott's new found freedom (walking!) Elliott has especially come to enjoy the park. Many pictures for your viewing enjoyment!

After snack at the park. We try to keep Elliott in a hat when we are outside (much to his dismay) to not only protect him from too much sun, but also to protect his little scar on his nose from where his hemangioma was. He is actually really good about wearing a hat outside, I think just because we have always had him wear one outdoors.

Daddy has a red wagon too!!

Elliott practices climbing at the playground.

Elliott and Daddy at the "clubhouse." Elliott carried that bubble wand all over the yard. Why? Nobody knows....

Guinness the Cat is starting to let Elliott pet him from time to time. Elliott is very good about petting gently and not pulling his hair.

Elliott drives! He will even make "vrroomm" noises.

Very excited about the mulch Daddy just laid down.

Elliott after diving into the mulch (much to Daddy's dismay). Hat still on :)

Baby Bandit

2009-03-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

Elliott's new toy - Mommy's wallet.

Poor Elliott!! He is on antibiotics for an ear infection. He has 4 teeth coming in, 2 of them molars. He has a runny nose that Mommy keeps wiping and suctioning, and a bit of a cough. He's pretty much encrusted in a shell of dried snot (as are my clothes). He wants to sleep, but he wakes up from coughing. And, no appetite... well, he did eat 2 cups of banana yogurt for lunch (he thought that was pretty good!) At one year old, he's falling apart!

Please send happy thoughts! Hopefully, Pumpkin will feel better soon and we can post more cute pictures of him doing adorable things.

Elliott, the Epicurean

2009-03-14T07:47:00.000-07:00

When I was a child, the only cheese I knew was Kraft American singles in plastic wrappers. Elliott shuns this "processed cheese food." Now, don't get me wrong... Elliott LOVES cheese. We started him on sharp cheddar. He will tolerate the occassional mozzarrella string cheese stick, but what this kid really wants is gourmet deli cheese. One of his favorite foods is grilled cheddar cheese sandwiches on rye bread. But this week, Elliott took it to a new level. I gave Elliott a little smoked gouda. Verdict: Gouda Good!! (I think I was well into my 20s before I ate Gouda!)And then, Havarti.... with dill. I thought, "No way... he's gonna hate this." Wrong! He ate 2 slices by himself after eating a full lunch. My little cheese snob!

Here are some pictures of Elliott and Daddy dancing while Mommy cooked dinner!

Elliott loves sliding around on the kitchen floor in socked feet!

Orange you glad its nice outside?

2009-03-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

During Elliott's breakfast, I attempted once again to feed him mandarin oranges. Now, I should mention, that when we go to Elliott's favorite restaurant, Chick-Fil-A, and get the fruit cup, he has NO PROBLEM eating the oranges... in fact, he eats them with RELISH. But, if I give it to him without the glitz and glamour of germ-filled play area fun, this is what I get instead...

A BIG MESS. He of course then wants me to wash it off because God forbid he has sticky, gooey stuff on his hands. So, I guess I'll keep trying.

We also went outside trying to take full advantage of the beautiful weather. Here is Elliott playing in his new, super cool clubhouse.

Mommy, would you like fries with that shake??

Wow.... I look good in this hat!

Elliott's First Birthday... and first blog

2009-03-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've finally been convinced that I need to join the 21st century and give my poor deprived son a blog... I mean, any kid who is anybody has a blog, right? I make no promises, but I'll give it a shot... and hopefully it will be easier for people to get pictures and updates out of me. So, here goes nothing....

Elliott's first birthday was a blast. In the tradition of his mother, Elliott's birthday lasted for several days. On Saturday, we first started with a birthday party - themed Fire Trucks and Sesame Street. Elliott insisted on eating his cake with a spoon, much to the dismay of his guests... but in the end he did not disappoint.

Elliott's grandmother came down on Sunday and for his first birthday we got Elliott's FIRST SNOW. Now, that was pretty exciting for everyone....

well, mostly everyone. Elliott thought it was pretty cool until we bundled him up in multiple layers and took him out in freezing temperatures.

Elliott, of course, had to have a second cake... and a second opportunity to blow out the candle. Again, he insisted on eating his cake with a spoon.

You'll notice that Elliott is wearing his traditional Korean first birthday suit (not THAT birthday suit!)

Elliott had a great birthday and got lots of nice presents from friends and family. Thanks so much for your cards, presents, and well wishes... he loves them all!