October 2015 Recap

October feels like a lifetime ago, but I'm finally getting a chance to share some highlights with you. Fair warning: it was a very photo-heavy month.

To start the month, I spent a night away in beautiful Bellingham and treated myself to dinner and a pint at Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro. I just love Bellingham.

The next morning, I ran my third half marathon, Run Like a Girl Bellingham. I don't really know how to explain it besides an anti-race. There's no mandatory distance (anything up to a half marathon) and no official starting time or time keeper while the finish line includes hunky firefighters and a necklace as a finishing medal. The course, partially hiking trails and partially old logging road perched above the bay, is gorgeous, especially on a sunny crisp fall day like we enjoyed this year. I'd really like to make this an annual event. 

George brought the kids up to cheer me on, and I convinced Madeleine to run the last 10 yards or so with me. Afterwards, she told George, "Daddy, Mummy and I have to go potty because we just ran 8 miles!"

Meanwhile, Miss M has learned how to plug in our fun electric car.

She continues to do lots of role play with her stuffed friends. This particular day, Elliott's room was converted into the nap room at school.

"Mummy, it's an e!" It sure is. It used to be the tube of a Nosefrida.

One of Madeleine's practical life works at school is coffee grinding. When she brings home the ground beans, we let her help with making the rest of the coffee, starting with pouring her beans into the French press. 

Madeleine went to her first school friend birthday party, which felt like a bit of a milestone for her and her parents!

Of course, we couldn't let October slip by without running down to our neighborhood pumpkin patch to pick out some decorations. 

The little peanuts from last year have grown up!

Speaking of growing, Elliott still isn't walking (much), but he sure can climb....

...to the sink to wash hands

...to the top of the special park

...on the kid table

...on chairs

Elliott completed his first session of toddler yoga. It's hard to tell yet if he likes it as much as Madeleine, but he sure does love flirting with all the other moms.

He is very charming indeed.

 One afternoon, I managed to keep Elliott busy for quite a while with this simple Pinterest game. Empty tube + Painter's tape + Pompoms

While Elliott was occupied, I got started on the quilt I'm making for Madeleine's "big girl bed" out of fabric from her 52-week photo project. You can follow along here.

Toward the end of the month, we took a trip to San Jose. George went down for work, and I braved my first solo flight with two littles to join him for the weekend. I don't think I'll be doing that again anytime soon.

The first morning we were there, Madeleine woke up at 5am, vomiting neon yellow, so we got to spend most of our first day in town at the ER.

Fortunately, it only took about 24 hours for her to rebound and be able to hang out with her buddies.

The scenery has changed quite a bit from our days hanging out 80-100 feet below the ocean surface, but I wouldn't say that it's any less fun. Look at all those smiles!

Before we left, we managed to snap a kiddo group photo. Elliott is catching up!

We made it home in time to celebrate Halloween. This year, the kids were Daniel Tiger and Katerina Kitty Cat of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood fame. I loved every moment of making their costumes and hope they get lots of love throughout the year as dress up costumes. 

Phew. It was a very full month. No wonder I went into November utterly exhausted.

Elliott - 12 months old

Here we are at the last monthly update for our sweet Elliott, who turned one last weekend.

Sweet is a great way to describe our little boy. People often ask me if he's always that happy. Mostly. When he's not happy, he is really not happy. But most of the time, he is generously spreading cheer with that big, crazy grin. I think we're entering the third month of virtually non-stop teething with Elliott's sixth tooth just below the surface. Even so, none of his teeth are fully into place, so he looks pretty silly when all of his teeth are showing. I worry a bit that he has my dental genes, which basically means that we should start saving our pennies now.

Those teeth allow Elliott to eat any and everything. He continues to eat the same food as the rest of the family and consistently eats more than Madeleine and close to my portion. He's doing slightly better with the silverware that we introduced last month, though he has a long way to go, and meals are so messy now that he's feeding himself everything. We've also started pulling him straight up to the table without his tray, which does not help the mess factor. On his birthday, I gave him cow's milk for the first time, a bit fearful that he'd reject it. Nope. He downed the entire sippy cup. While he still won't sign for more, he does throw things on the floor, push himself away from the table, and wave his hands forcefully when he is finished.

All of the food is necessary to fuel this very, very, very busy boy. He has surprised me by not taking to walking ahead of his birthday, but I think that is because he wants to move and knows that crawling will get him around quickly. Within the last week, I'd say he's switched to more regular crawling than army crawl, but he definitely reverts to old faithful whenever he's on a mission. He pulls up on any and everything, even walls. And he is a climber. He has crawled up the fireplace hearth and the stool at the bathroom sink. He can also climb both up and down the stairs, though he can't yet get himself into the right position for the descent. He doesn't often stop moving, but when he does, I find that he's sucking his thumb more and more. I'm glad he can use it to soothe himself at sleeping times, but I'm not excited about this habit expanding as we're currently in the process of breaking Madeleine's finger sucking habit.

Elliott still takes two naps a day, but his afternoon nap has gotten noticeably shorter. I'm both excited about and dreading nap consolidation because we'll gain some more freedom from the house while I'll lose some quiet time. Overnight, he generally sleeps from about 7:30/8pm to 7am with earlier wake ups during particularly bad teething times. I'm still nursing Elliott when he wakes up in the morning and before bed, but I plan to have him weaned within the next month. Although I reeeeeeeally hate breastfeeding in the early months and tolerate it the rest of the year, I'm once again finding the end bittersweet. Of course, Elliott's current habit of ending each feeding with a little bite is helping to encourage me.

There is still plenty of babbling going on around here. Pretty much everybody is Dah-dah, and there are certain words that he will repeat. He attempted to say Madeleine the other day, which was both hilarious and adorable. I've been trying to teach him that owls say hoo-hoo, and he seems to say "ow" and "hooooo." I'm not sure if I have a higher standard or his language is just more muffled than Madeleine's was at this age, but I'm not really ready to say that he has his first word.

I can hardly believe I'm saying it, but Elliott is more a toddler every day. He loves spending chunks of time looking at books (but will not sit still to listen to them) and playing. He likes playing games and laughing at silly songs or funny faces. He loves riding the plasma car inside and giraffe tike outside. We do laugh that he's part dog because he loves to find and chew on shoes - gross. On the other hand, it was so fun to see him soak up all of the attention he received on his birthday and just bask in the celebration.

When my big (90th percentile for height and 75th for weight) boy tries to wiggle from my arms to go and explore, it's hard for me to believe that it was a year ago that a short and intense morning labor brought our sweet boy into this world. I just want to hold his soft, plump baby skin in my arms forever.

The fox that used to be the size of Elliott...well, isn't anymore.

Elliott - 11 Months Old

On one hand, I can't believe this is the penultimate monthly Elliott update. On the other hand, are these torturous monthly shoots over yet?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: our Elliott is on the move! He is one speedy army crawler. Within the last couple of days, he is spending more and more time up on his knees, even doing a bit of traditional crawling. Mostly, though, his knees are used to get him high enough to pull up on whatever object is nearest. He has done very little cruising but seems surprisingly stable when standing, holding hands.

He has been teething pretty much the whole month. His first two teeth are still working their way down. His bottom middle two teeth are through the surface but not much else. A fifth tooth (top middle on the right side) has just peeked through the gum. As a result, many nights have included some sort of interruption at some point, and naps have been less than stellar. Poor boy.

Elliott's personality is shining through more every day. As I've said previously, he is persistent, and redirection is successful less than half the time. He's most interested in what his sister is playing with that that very moment. When she's not here, he loves her Duplo (and the table) and putting things into and taking them out of her pots and pans. Elliott has developed quite a love for books. When his bedroom door opens, he almost always jets out to start taking them out of the shelf. When left alone, he can spend a long time (in baby time) looking at board book. Reading time before naps is one of the few times in the day when our busy boy actually stops for a few minutes. Elliott continues to be generous with his (vampire) smiles and puts his arms out to be held by familiar people.

Elliott still only signs for milk, but I have noticed him paying close attention to the other signs I've been doing with him; hopefully a breakthrough is around the corner. He continues to babble and be rather vocal. In the last week or so, Elliott has started to repeat our words by making noises in similar intonations. I've had him do this with banana, brown bear, all done, and a few others. Yesterday, he said "dah" while pushing away from me and trying to get down. Today, he said "bah" while reach for a ball and "nah nah nah" while shaking his head side to side. I think a language explosion may be on the horizon, and I can't wait! After catching Madeleine's first word on video (at almost exactly the same age!), I feel a bit of pressure to over-document.

In addition to language output, I've also noticed that he seems to be more aware of his behavior and instructions given to him. Diaper changes have been more pleasant since I realized that he actually listens when I tell him "no rolling on the changing table" like I actually mean it rather than just for play. He responds when we call to him and is starting to follow basic instructions ("arms up" "come to the table for dinner").

Elliott still eats well and turns away very little. When he turns away food, we continue to offer it at subsequent meals. I'm currently working on getting him to eat one of his sister's favorites: cottage cheese. This week, I started weaning by eliminating his feeding after his morning nap. I figure that this one usually came right before lunch, so he's still getting fed in the event that he's hungry when he wakes from his nap. I'm still nursing him at wake up, after his afternoon nap, and at bedtime. While I look longingly at my non-nursing friendly fall wardrobe, I also cherish these last remaining weeks of quiet time with my otherwise busy baby boy.

By some miracle, I snapped this one (and only one) shot of Elliott on his back on his sheepskin before he pulled the tie over his head and scooted away. Look how long and lean he's getting with all this activity!

Oh, I do love my little gingersnap! 

Elliott - 10 Months Old

The first thing that everyone seems to notice about Elliott is that he is active. This boy likes to move and explore and is never still. He's still army crawling, but I see more use of his legs all the time. He can pull himself up and down a single step and is working on figuring out how to pull himself up multiple steps. Elliott does like to be upright, and he'll hold himself up if put in the standing position. Sometimes, though, he seems to forget that he can't stand alone and will just let go. He rolls constantly and doesn't seem to like to be on his back. He does this funny side lounge position when he needs to reach something, which is usually whatever also interests Madeleine, books from the shelf, or heating/cooling grates.

The other thing that is often mentioned about Elliott is his size. He continues to grow and is now pretty solidly into size 18 months. After a week or so of what felt like non-stop requests for nursing followed by a few days of long naps, I think he may have just gone through a growth spurt. He eats pretty well, doing most of the feeding by himself with his fingers and his well-developed pincher grasp. I'm hesitant to hand over the spoon for messy things because I know just how much mess is possible. He nurses four times a day (wake up, after each nap, and at bedtime), though I think he may be cutting out the feeding after his afternoon nap because he hasn't been interested in it the last two days or so. In general, his nursing is getting a lot faster, like less than five minutes total per feeding.

Elliott does some signing. He opens and closes his fists (the sign for milk) when he wants something, especially milk. We've been consciously working on more and all done, and it's a slow go. I think he's catching on to "more" by doing clapping as the sign, and he will sometimes repeat a noise that sounds like "all done" when I'm signing and saying it. Signs or not, Elliott has a lot to tell us. He babbles most of the time and loves the attention it brings him. I'm not sure that he properly associates the words yet, but he says "dada" and "mama." For the last week or so, "gah gah" has been his chant of choice. He tends to babble "nah nah" when he's unhappy (like at pre-nap diaper changes). I can't wait until I can understand all of his lovely stories and find out what it is that so frequently makes him squeal with delight!

One big change this month is that Elliott's gummy smile now has a couple of pearly whites. Two have poked through (upper lateral incisors, unusual) with four more on their way. Teething has definitely interrupted his sleep, though it has been a little hard to distinguish between teething interruptions and jet lag. It has also interfered with his normally ferocious appetite, and he has been happiest munching on cold melon, cold cucumbers, and peanut butter sandwiches. In general, we've been treating the teething symptoms with the occasional Tylenol and plenty of extra cuddles and naps on the lap.

Elliott continues to have two naps, one is usually an hour and the other 2+ hours. He sleeps about 11 hours at night. As soon as I lay him in his crib, he rolls onto his side or sometimes his belly. Even if he falls asleep right away, he seems to always end up with his head in one of the corners - silly boy. He still sucks his left thumb to put himself to sleep and sometimes while he's sleeping. I introduced a lovey this month to give him something to chew on when his teeth are sore, and he seems to notice it about half of the time. After I saw him pull himself to sitting and pull himself to nearly standing once on the crib, we lowered the mattress to its lowest setting. That was a sad moment to realize that my baby is growing up...and that the crib skirt no longer works for the bed height. It's a toss up as to whether Elliott is going to wake up screaming or happily babbling, and he frequently wakes up with bedhead now that his hair is starting to grow a little bit.

I'm so excited to see Elliott's personality develop. He is incredibly determined and persistent. He's also insanely sweet. I just love when I hold him and he gives me gentle, loving pats on the shoulder. He's generous with his infectious smile and loves to wave at people. He can be really goofy and loves playing games. I'm not very fond of the one where he grabs my glasses and laughs, shaking his head side to side while I sternly tell him "no" or the one where he pulls his sun hat off of his head as fast as I can put it on him again. Nonetheless, it's fun to see him anticipate the next thing that is going to happen or laugh at his sister playing peek-a-boo.

Apologies for this month's blurry photo. It was the only one where he was actually on his back. Every other time that I picked up the camera, he'd roll over and take off. See what I mean about the games?

May 2015 Recap

May - phew - what a month! It was fast and full!

Once we got back from Hawaii, I finished my prep for the Mother's Day 5K. We wrapped up Mother's Day with a picnic in our backyard with some good friends.

George and Madeleine have started playing a new game in which they are co-pilots.

In George's car, the kids can now hold hands across the back seat. *Heart melts.*

Misha and Eloise came over for a playdate, and the littles "got acquainted."

Madeleine has been working on setting the table. This particular day, not at meal time, she sat a friend at each seat with a cookie on his/her plate. Pretty stinkin' cute.

This was the day I discovered that Elliott can remove our vent covers. Joy.

And he can crawl up/down a single step. Look at the pride in his eyes!

I hate bubbles. They are sticky and messy and don't work half the time. But I've told myself that I need to let go of some of my particularities so that my kiddos can experience some of the messier aspects of childhood. They both loved the afternoon when I broke out the bubbles.

Speaking of messy, Madeleine likes to get into Elliott's cabinets to find supplies for her babies' diaper changes, bedtimes, baths, etc. After finding this mess, I both cleaned out the infant supplies from his nursery and activated the childproofing already installed on the cabinets. You'd think that this child doesn't have half a dozen baby blankets waiting in her room.

We've continued to do a fair bit of hiking with our PEPS group, and I think that we all agree that the best trails are the ones that end with a playground.

For Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Dallas via this gorgeous PNW scene. Stay tuned for a photo summary.

No particular story with this one; I just love this moment in time.

 Girlfriend can walk more naturally in my heels than I can. 

We ended the month with another PEPS hike. Good company, good trail.

Am I the only one who is in a little bit of denial that it's already June? Is that just because my first born is about to turn THREE years old (and reminds me of it several times a day)?

Elliott - Nine Months Old

I'm late with Elliott's nine month post because I wanted to get his growth stats at our check-up. Unsurprisingly, he's still in the 75th to 90th percentile for height and weight while his head circumference is perfectly average.

His biggest change this month is that he started army crawling just a few days into the month. He gets faster and shows more stamina with each day. He can even go up and down a single step on his belly. He loves all of Madeleine's toys (especially her tea cups), floor heating/cooling vents (which he has mastered removing), and doors. Like his sister, he's also interested in electrical outlets, so I'm glad that all of ours remain childproof.

We've done a lot of traveling this month (Hawaii and Texas) with mixed results. Elliott is less contemplative than Madeleine and more insistent about being mobile. Combining that personality with his size, flights are challenging. His sleep was mixed during both of our trips with more screaming than I would have liked. I think he just wakes up when he is between sleep cycles and has a hard time going right back to sleep in a new place. The first night back from each trip was rough, too, but, after one long session of crying (yes, we're those parents), he has otherwise slept through the night.

Elliott continues to be a pretty good eater, not showing much favoritism. He passed his baked egg challenge, which means that he is cleared to eat foods that contain egg as long as the egg is thoroughly cooked. We've used our favorite sippy cups with Elliott, and he has taken to them pretty well. There are times during meals when he will start to fight the food (throw it on the floor, bat at the spoon) because he's thirsty and only wants water, which he gets at each meal. He still nurses four times a day (wake up, after each nap, and bedtime), which I anticipate continuing until we start weaning in earnest (August probably). Hopefully I can survive his current habit of pinching me while nursing. The pediatrician drew my attention to swollen lower gums, so I may have teeth to contend with sooner rather than later.

Elliott continues to be chatty. Most of the time that means babbling, but it can also mean screaming. He screams - in the highest pitch, most ear-piercing scream ever - when he is really excited. His crying also tends toward screaming and away from fussing. Between his voice and his crawling, I think we're seeing more and more of Elliott's personality. He's not quite as laid back as we'd originally thought but rather persistent and determined. At the same time he's very sweet and cuddly, generously offering smiles and laughs.

I had a little help in the photography department this month as big sister wanted to photograph Elliott with her "camera" (a turtle toy with a tiny mirror on it, which she consistently pretends is a camera).

Movin'

Back when we were in Hawaii, Elliott started crawling. I spent quite a bit of time on the ground with him, capturing his sweet little smile. A bit late, but here are a few of my shots from his first day army crawling:

ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/125

ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/125

ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/100

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ISO 100, f/2.8, 1/100

ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/100