How much does pure joy cost?

Exactly $2.83.

A couple days ago, I bought Elliott a big bouncy ball for a whole $2.83. I knew he'd enjoy it because he has played with a similar ball at a buddy's house, but I had no idea how incredibly thrilled he would be to have his very own ball!

In the above picture he is kissing the ball. He kissed that ball about 100 times in 20 minutes while chasing it around the house. Although Elliott is big on snuggling, he is pretty random about kisses. I get about 1 kiss a week from the kid. That ball got more kisses that I have in months. I'm so jealous!

Confession

I have a confession to make.

We bought 2 loaves of bread in the last couple weeks. (this is not my confession, it is just the back story to get you caught up). We usually do not buy bread since Jason doesn't eat wheat, but we started buying it for Elliott. You see, Elliott is a little guy. At his doctor's recommendation, we are feeding him high calorie foods to fatten him up a bit. So I bought some bread so I could make him toast slathered with butter.

Instead,

(this is the confession part)

I have used nearly the whole two loaves to make myself grilled cheese sandwiches.

If you're counting, that's a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches. But I simply cannot resist the buttery grilled bread with oozing Tillamook cheddar cheese. So most days for lunch, I have a delicious grilled cheese sandwich while Elliott nibbles on his broccoli (with calorie high olive oil) and bits of seasoned chicken.

Elliott isn't too thrilled with buttered toast so he isn't eating up the bread fast enough. So really, I'm just using my resources wisely and not being wasteful, right?

Or maybe I should start making grilled cheese sandwiches for Elliott too.

The Highlight of Every Week

This past Thursday morning, Elliott experienced his favorite part of the week. Actually, it is not only Elliott's highlight, but one of my favorite times also. We both eagerly anticipate every Thursday morning.

You must be wondering, what happens on Thursday mornings?

The answer:

The garbage truck.

Yes, the garbage truck faithfully visits every Thursday morning (except during all that snow we had this year). And with complete fascination, Elliott watches the truck go up and down the street with his undivided attention. I used to hold him next to the window until that got old (for me, not for him). I realized that if I put him in his highchair to watch the truck, I had quite the opportunity to get things done while the truck provided a good 15 minutes of entertainment.

Here he is watching the truck as it goes all the way down the street:

And here is the reason why I look forward to Thursday mornings. I always know that I will have time to get my kitchen clean on Thursday mornings (without a little helper in the dishwasher).



So if you happen to visit me on a Thursday morning and you're impressed with my tidy household (quite the feat with a toddler), now you know my secret to a clean kitchen.

An Unimpressive Birthday

Elliott is over 13 months old so I thought it was about time to write about his 1 year old birthday. I could come up with lots of excuses about why this post is so delayed (we've been working overtime, we've been sick, etc) but the real reason is that I just didn't have much to say about his birthday.

But being a major event in one's life, I thought I'd ought to write something.

But really Elliott's expression says it all:
Elliott was rather unimpressed with his own birthday. Nevermind the gluten free cake I baked (he has since shown he has no allergies! Thank God!), or the festive sports themed party decor or the nice, clean house I worked to make presentable to all his guests.

Nope.

Throughout the party, he seriously surveyed the busy living room and didn't crack a smile. Not a single smile. Here's is a sampling of his obligatory participation of birthday events:

Even though Elliott wasn't thrilled with his birthday party, Jason and I enjoyed it. We delighted in an afternoon to spend chatting with family, some of who drove quite a long distance for the celebration. Family, thank you for celebrating with us!