Hindssight2020

I'm Back

2012-01-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, I fully realize it has been a very long time since I've blogged. It has been so long, that not only did I forget the password to log in to my own blog, but I also forgot the password for my own gmail account that is associated with my blog. It was quite a process to get back here this morning.

My only excuse for not blogging for so long (and I think it is a good one) is that having a second kid forced me to limit my activities and I decided eating, sleeping and making sure my kids survived were priorities. Its not just that a second kid is more work, its that they tag team me so often. When one is sleeping, the other is awake. When one is playing quietly and independently, the other is playing in the toilet. Again.

But alas, I'm getting used to this two-kid thing. (and we're pretty sure that's our limit given Jason's second try at a vasectomy.)

So this week, we took our two little guys outside for some fun in the snow. Elliott totally got the memo that playing in the snow is a fun activity. Emerson did not. He tolerated us dragging him out on three different days but made his dissatisfaction very clear with his pathetic whimper every time his boots touched the snow.

Here we are getting ready to go out.

Notice our very classy sled:

Emerson preferred to stay next to the garage and totally away from all snow:

Elliott enjoying snow adventures:

Sharing

2011-07-10T07:23:00.001-07:00

I am indescribably happy that Elliott loves the ice cream part of drumsticks.

And then he gives me the cone part. The perfectly invented chocolate-lined cripsy cone.

Thank you for sharing, Elliott!

Higher Heights

2011-07-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

Emerson is active. Really active. We are doing a whole new level of child-proofing that we didn't have to do with Elliott.

Yesterday I turned my back for literally 3 seconds while I picked up something off the floor and he'd climbed up on to the chest. And was trying to climb higher!

Here is Elliott: He's thinking: "Hey that's a good idea!"

Kitchen Disaster

2011-07-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

Emerson was helping me make dinner the other night when he ran into a problem.

His pacifier got stuck in the whisk. (HOW did this happen? . . . I have no idea.)

He first tried to just go ahead and suck the pacifier anyway with whisk and all.

It didn't work.

Next he started bending back parts of the whisk to free his pacifier.

And finally....success!

Update

2011-06-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

Emerson did sleep in an extra hour till 7:30 this morning.

Unfortunately....Elliott did not get the sleeping-in memo.

Midnight Snack

2011-06-30T03:18:00.000-07:00

Well, actually 3:15 am.
Emerson took a gloriously long nap this afternoon. 4 hours. I figured (hoped) he was just having a growth spurt and needed the extra sleep. I put him to bed a little later than normal and he happily snuggled in and went to sleep. But as it turns out, he was just storing up his energy for a little middle of the night party. He's been enthusiastically and loudly awake since 2:45 am. Jason's and Elliott's patience started wearing thin so Emerson and I headed down stairs to burn off some extra energy. Here's to hoping he sleeps past his normal 6:00 am when I put him back to bed.

Future Engineer?

2011-06-29T20:22:00.000-07:00

Elliott has been building amazing creations with his duplo blocks lately. He works intensely like a mad scientist when he is designing a new creation.

I asked him what he created tonight and he said, "I don't know but you will see!"

Splish, Splash!

2011-05-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

One recent afternoon when the sun peeked out for a bit, Grandma had brought out a tub of water and toys.

Elliott was delighted.

We all got wet:

Really wet!

First Kiss

2011-05-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

Emerson got his first kiss today at the park. From a sweet little brown-haired and brown-eyed three year old. Who had a runny nose. She just walked right up to Emerson, grabbed his cheeks and planted one right on his lips.

Speechless.

Babyproofing

2011-05-10T19:47:00.000-07:00

Now that Emerson is on the move, we've started baby-proofing a little.

Creatively.

Emerson loves chewing on electronic cords.

Emerson hates the monster.

Thus, here is Jason's latest attempt at keeping Emerson away from cords.

Next task....blocking the stairs!

Watch and Learn

2011-04-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

Elliott is teaching Emerson all sorts of things these days.
-how to play guitar
-how to race cars and trucks
-how to wrestle

And ....how to climb!

Here is Elliott's latest lesson:

Snip, snip!

2011-04-26T10:15:00.000-07:00

When I realized that I could put a hair clip in Emerson's hair, I decided it was time for a stylish haircut. He's had a few trims in the back already, but this time we really clipped it!

We know the "in" thing these days is for boys to have longer, shaggy hair, but I just can't bring myself to do it.

And when I try to put gel in his hair...well, the picture above emphasizes that he needs his hair cut badly. No mohawks for Emerson.

So this is our cute boy with his new hair cut!

Questions

2011-03-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

I can answer most of Elliott's questions, but this morning while I was putting on make-up, he asked a question that stumped me:

"Mama, what are ya putting on make-up for?"

What do you say to that?
To even out my blotchy skin? To absorb shiny oil? To change the way I look?

So I responded the best I could:
"Hey, that's a cool semi-truck, Elliott" and he was off to other things.....

More posts with pictures soon ( when I find my camera or buy another one!)

This Baby Moves!

2011-02-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

I was suspicious yesterday.

I was in the kitchen and I heard Emerson in the living room squawking for me and I went to pick him up and he was a good 3 feet away from where I thought I had left him. First I thought I was really out of it, a little sleep deprived and I just couldn't remember where I'd put him. And then I wondered if he scooted himself over. Of course not, I thought, he's just my little baby.

But then today, he confirmed his mobile ambitions.

He scoots and squirms himself ....backwards. Usually away from the toy he is trying to get hence the squawking.

And tonight Elliott decided to feed his little brother some green beans. He did a great job!

(with only minimal gagging)

How Many Clowns Can Possibly Fit in the Clown Car?

2011-01-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

Or rather, How many bobby pins can possibly fit in the CD/DVD drive of our computer?

Bobby pins have been disappearing around out house for quite a while..they way socks disappear in dryers. I just assumed that I was misplacing them and they were scattered around the corners of my bathroom drawers.

Then one day I heard the unmistakable suction sound our laptop makes when you insert a disk.

And I saw Elliott move quickly away from the computer...suspiciously. I also knew there were no disks around that he could have possibly inserted.

And then I knew.

So how many can possibly fit in the computer?

After Jason took our laptop apart he discovered the answer....8.

Three's a Crowd

2011-01-07T07:59:00.000-08:00

Elliott and I were playing in his pop up Thomas the train tent. Then he said, "Mama, get Emerson." And so I did. Then he wanted Emerson in the train too. So I sat Emerson in the train and was holding him there since Emerson can't sit by himself yet.

Elliott looked at me expectantly and said,

"Mama, go away."

:(

Apparently, three's a crowd now and Elliott wants to play with his brother. So much sooner than I expected.

So I propped Emerson up in a Bumbo seat and Elliott "drove" the train away.

Mom Skills

2011-01-05T12:45:00.000-08:00

You know you're a mom when you can feed a baby in one arm and build a semi-truck with legos with the other hand for your preschooler. (Yes, preschooler. He is almost THREE and he just doesn't seem like a toddler anymore. He has definitely mastered that whole toddling thing).

I haven't posted lately because I've been rather busy going from one kid to two kids. Pretty hard stuff. Someone always needs something and I honestly think they plot to wake up on alternate nights. For months, Emerson woke up to nurse in the wee hours of the morning and Elliott slept soundly through the night. But every once in a while, Emerson would sleep all night long and, yep, you guessed it, Elliott would wake up instead. Already teaming up against me!

Here are the boys hanging out together:

We've been growing, learning and playing a lot during the last 6 months. Here is a little of what we've been up to.......

Elliott helping decorate the Christmas tree. That's his smile face.

Hanging out with his best buddy Jack.

Cutting down a Christmas Tree .

Emerson (almost 6 months) is enjoying some sweet potatoes:

Elliott practicing his drums:

Waste of Money

2010-11-20T13:12:00.001-08:00

Apparently we wasted our money on beds and cribs for our boys.

Since getting his toddler bed a few weeks ago, we have discovered Elliott asleep on the floor next to his bedroom door a few times. We always know he's there when we try to open his door and it won't open all the way.

And while Jason was tucking Elliott in his bed for a nap today, Emerson fell asleep in the middle of playing. If only he would sleep this well at night.

Goodnight

2010-10-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

This is what Elliott built this weekend:

Elliott (and Jason) put together a toddler bed on Saturday. Elliott was excited and slept in it Saturday and Sunday. But as of yesterday, he has started to take full advantage of his new found freedom to get up from his bed anytime he wants. We put Elliott to bed numerous times last night until he finally tuckered out.

Here were some of his attempts to lure us to his room (and I guess I shouldn't call them attempts because many of them were successful although for the most part I just set him back in his bed and walked out).

To understand our experience, you have to picture exactly how Elliott was calling for us. Elliott doesn't understand the concept of a baby monitor and the fact that we can hear him loud and clear. So each time he'd get out of bed, he'd lay with his face smashed up against his bedroom door and scream through the gap between the door and floor.

''Mama, I have an idea." ( I never heard what this grand idea was, but he was insistent on it)

"Mama, wanna talk about Jackson?"

"Do you wanna watch Incredibles?"

"Open the door please." and after a while, just plain, "Open the door!"

And then sweetly, "Do you wanna lay in my bed?"

Later, "Semi-truck in the bed!''

When he got desperate, "I need to go poo-poo." and I actually put him on the toilet since he has refused to sit on the toilet for about a week. But of course, nothing happened.

By 10:10 last night, it was silent. Finally, success:

Oh Happy Day!

2010-10-20T13:13:00.001-07:00

This sweet boy was full of giggles today! He's usually a happy little guy, full of smiles, but today was the first time I had heard him laugh.

And this morning was shared with a dear group of friends and all our babies. Our morning was lively and quite a contrast to when we used to all hang out...prebabies. But it was oh so refreshing to gather with good friends and enjoy how our babies are growing up (too fast).

Little Drummer Boy

2010-09-29T15:54:00.001-07:00

Elliott is a musical little guy. Between the concerts he goes to with Grandma and the instrument gifts from Uncle Chris & Aunt Kristi, Elliott has always enjoyed listening to and making his own music.

Jason often plays guitar with Elliott (they have written their own songs and everything). Sometimes Elliott plays guitar along with Jason (and they both sing) but lately Elliott has been developing skill in a new instrument: the drums.

And yes, those are my candle holders he is using as his 'drum set'.

And no (Chris and Kristi) he does NOT need a real drum set for Christmas.

Trucks Win Again

2010-09-27T11:46:00.000-07:00

Elliott loves trucks, I mean, he really LOVES them. Even kisses them sometimes. I often play trucks with him, but today I pulled out a color sorting game for some quality mommy & Elliott time while Emerson took a morning nap.

I told Elliott we were going to play a game and he became really enthusiastic.

Everything went well ...for about 10 minutes. We took turns rolling the color die (he thought that was great fun) and then finding the matching color to put in the tray.

Elliott was having a blast and then he excitedly said "Mama, go wake up Emerson." I thought...how sweet of my boy, he wants Emerson to play with us too! What a great brother! I explained Emerson was still sleeping and the two of us could play more.

He thought a bit. Then he said "Mama, go downstairs" meaning, Mama, you go downstairs and leave me alone. So he wanted to play by himself...no big deal... I could unload the dishwasher.

BUT a few minutes later, I peeked in on him and discovered he wanted to play a different game altogether.

Enough of the color finding game, he wanted to play the "game" with trucks. He spent about a half hour filling up his trucks with the colored circles and dumping them all over the floor, then racing his trucks through them.

He liked his game much more than mine. Oh well. Trucks win again.

Conversations

2010-09-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Snippets from conversations from today with this adorable kid:

"No, I'm sorry you can't have any of Emerson's milk. I don't think you'll like it."
(I'm breastfeeding)

"No, the money doesn't need any chapstick." (as I wipe off slimy coins)

"No, don't eat the playdough." (Elliott's response: "But it smells good."

************************

And here's a pic of our sweet, joyful Emerson.

Hard Day's Work

2010-07-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

This is the result of a lovely afternoon of playing at Grandma & Grandpa's house.

Wintry Summer

2010-07-02T13:58:00.001-07:00

It is summer, right? Although it has been cold and cloudy most days, we decided to go to the beach anyway. Elliott had fun playing at Mukilteo Beach last week despite the cold wind. We walked down on the rocks and found a few tiny crabs. And he also found LOTS of tiny rocks (sand). He kept trying to grab just one grain of sand to hold onto but it didn't work out so well.

I don't even know how to title this post

2010-06-20T21:54:00.001-07:00

It's 10 pm and I just checked on Elliott. This is what I discovered.

Apparently clothing is optional.

A New Expense

2010-06-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Elliott cut his finger on a toy this evening and it was bleeding a little. He silently and calmly walked over to Jason and showed him. It was actually bleeding enough to warrant a band-aid, his very first one.

Jason took him upstairs to wrap his finger in a band-aid....and Elliott FREAKED out. Like many other things (toy car wheels, legos, and more recently his own ears, eyes and ummmm other newly discovered body parts) he likes to try take things apart or to tear things off. ("Ears off, Mama. Eyes out Mama.") The band-aid was pretty securely wrapped around his finger and he couldn't pull it off.

Like everything else, he urgently wanted the band-aid OFF.

He cried very sadly and pathetically....and we ended up taking the band-aid off. The cut had stopped bleeding, but was still an open sore and at risk for infection so I would have preferred it to be covered.

So I came to terms again with the fact that I am going to have to do something, I said I'd never do. .....buy those darn expensive band-aids with cartoon characters on them. (I'm SURE we can find Cars band-aids!). I am such a frugal person that I actually look at the price per unit on almost everything I buy (jucie: 17 cents per pint or 25 cents per pint?). Those Disney band-aids are like three TIMES the cost of plain, store brand band-aids. Oh well. Some things are worth the extra money.

Sometimes You Have to Let Go

2010-05-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Elliott discovered my childhood collection of legos when we rearranged our bedroom the other day. He already plays with toddler sized duplos and we had been storing the legos for when he is older but once he discovered the box, there was no way we could hide them from Elliott anymore without him asking for them every 3 seconds.

Before going on, let me say that my parents supplied with me with a large collection of legos. I loved legos! I would play for hours and hours. In addition to the standard lego sets, I had special sets that made rooms of a house, like furniture for a lego doll house. I had a complete kitchen with cupboards, tables, chairs, and that is just the tip of the ice berg. I also had a complete living room set (even with a fireplace), classroom and nursery. These special legos had smooth pieces so my kitchen table and countertops were realistic. I NEVER took these pieces apart once we had created it. Sure, I built things with the standard lego sets and took them apart often according to whatever creative whim I had, but not with the special legos.

Literally, these legos were not broken apart for about 25 years until this past weekend when Jason and Elliott dived in. They set out to build a semi-truck. And they attacked my special lego sets for apparently essential semi-truck pieces.

This is all that is left of my kitchen. The tables and chairs are completely gone.

This is all that is left of my classroom, living room and nursery.

But this is the result....a very realistic semi-truck. I thought I was pretty good at building things with legos....but Jason, he is awesome!

And this is how Elliott feels about his semi-truck.

More joy from Elliott.

Elliott is obsessed with this semi-truck and wants to play with it constantly. Note the lego people on the top. Elliott told us it was Grandpa and Elliott. Grandpa also has a red hat and a yellow coffee cup, but Elliott likes to carry those pieces around separately.

So goodbye lego doll house furniture. You didn't have a chance in a house full of boys!

Boys and Guns

2010-05-15T17:39:00.000-07:00

Elliott is a boy. And I've been warned that the time will come when Elliott will start to play with toy guns, even if we don't buy them, that he will make guns out of sticks, legos, or other toys.

I thought I was prepared for this, but I also thought our first encounter with toys guns would come a lot later.

Today we were at Alfy's pizza and Elliott discovered their arcade room. For the longest time he was enthralled with the driving game. But then he noticed an older boy playing a shooting game with a toy gun. Elliott was captivated. He watched this boy carefully, and sure enough, as soon as the boy was done, Elliott grabbed one of the toy guns.

I didn't have the words in my brain to react to this. Several possible responses went through my mind... "Elliott, we don't play with guns. Guns are dangerous." or "Elliott you can play with toy guns when you are older." or " Yes, you can shoot at the game, but not at people." and on and on. Truthfully, I just didn't know what to say. We don't really know how we feel about the whole toy gun thing and how we're going to parent that...after all, he already attacks Jay with a lightsaber and what is the difference?

So you can imagine my relief when Elliott turned to me in pure joy and announced he was at the gas station and stuck the gun into the wall to fill up his ''truck."

Guns, we'll deal with you later!

Wake Up Puzzle!

2010-05-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to some odd pounding noise...for a moment I wondered which neighbor had the nerve to do construction work at 7 on a Saturday morning. Then I realized the sound was coming from Elliott's room.

Jason went to investigate and discovered the little explorer had managed to reach over the end of his crib and grab a puzzle from a bookshelf.

Elliott exclaimed "I got a puzzle!"' over and over again. This is quite significant because the only words he usually says first thing in the morning are "Mama, mama, wake up!" or "I'm hungry."

After a few moments, Jason even prompted, "Do you want to go find Mama?" to which he replied, "I got a puzzle!"

Recent Pics

2010-05-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

The force isn't with him....yet.

On his way to China.

Handsome boy.

Happy Birthday?

2010-05-05T18:33:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure whose birthday we were celebrating today, but this morning I heard Elliott singing ''Happy Birthday" in the living room. A few minutes later he brought me a "cake"' with two "candles." Then he blew out the candles....and ate one.

Peer Pressure

2010-04-16T14:35:00.000-07:00

Last night Elliott's buddy Jack spend the night. The boys had a wonderful time (and me too actually!) Running, shrieking with joy, and laughing filled the house (with an occasional mini crisis of some sort over a toy or something).

But something remarkable happened...I think it was Elliott's first instance of really being influenced by a friend and giving into peer pressure!

We had avacado with our dinner last night and offered the boys some too. Elliott typically refuses avacado but we keep offering anyway.

Well, last night Jack just gobbled up his avacado while Elliott watched carefully. All of a sudden, Elliott decided he needed avacado too! He ate a huge chunk in seconds and maybe actually enjoyed it!

How Many is Too Many?

2010-04-14T21:23:00.000-07:00

Elliott LOVES stuffed animals. He calls them his babies and loves to hug them and snuggle with them. Before naps & bedtime, he will gather all of his babies and throw them into the crib.

He started with just his "boonie"(little blue dog blanket that he has had since birth) and then added "other boonie" when he discovered we had a back-up boonie for emergencies.
(and he was very excited
when he discovered there was a
3rd boonie at my parents' house!)

Then he added "baby lamb", "baby MnM", "teddy bear", and "other teddy bear" (notice the oh so original names he creates).

His crib started to get a little crowded. And then he added more. "Sully" became a favorite after watching Monsters, Inc. "Dragon'', "Ernie" and "Elephant" (actually a Dr. Suess character) soon followed.

"Baby froggie" made his move to the crib when Elliott discovered he plays a little musical tune. Elliott was delighted with froggie. Not so much us when we hear that tune (over and over again) in the middle of the night when Elliott wakes up to check on his babies.

For a while, I've been wondering how many is too many? You know for safety? I don't want Elliott to suffocate....but after all he is 2 years old and could be sleeping with a pillow and blanket that take up space in his crib too.

But the crib was starting to get rather crowded. I wondered...should I put some animals away for a while? Or is it one of those things that doesn't really matter?

Well, I finally got an answer one morning when I walked into his darkened room and had trouble finding my baby in the midst of all the babies. It was just one of those split second questionable moments, but for a second, I wasn't sure which lump was Elliott.

That's when I decided most of the babies were going on a vacation (into the closet).

Elliott hasn't asked for the missing babies yet, but I'm sure he will add more to his collection over time.

Side note: If you notice all of the babies in the photo, they are all laying down. That is not an accident. When we put him down and say goodnight, we'll hear him shuffle around for several minutes over the monitor. He places his babies all lying down, usually around the outer edge of the crib except for his two boonies, 1 under each arm.

And in the mornings...? He "wakes" them up and puts them all sitting up before he calls for me.

Growth Spurt

2010-04-14T21:11:00.001-07:00

Elliott has been eating a bit more lately and apparently he needed a bigger spoon:

After he finished his yogurt in a couple of giant bites, he looked at his shovel in surprise and realized it was all messy. He said "Uh oh, what happened?" and asked me to wash his shovel.

Discoveries

2010-03-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

Elliott likes to 'help' me sweep. This morning he was sweeping the kitchen and really working on sweeping under the stove. I thought he was just be thorough (that's my boy!), but then he started shouting, "get it! get it!". I looked under the stove and low and behold, there were quite a few interesting things under there:

Yes, the calculator was under the stove too. (How did I not miss my calculator?)

So, what's under your stove?

It is Official

2010-02-13T16:02:00.000-08:00

Elliott is 2. Or at least acting like it. He actually not 2 for a couple more weeks until February 29, well, this year, I guess it is February 28.

So why am I so sure that Elliott has embraced his 2 year old stage of life?

I had to leave Fred Meyer today in the middle of my shopping because of the huge tantrum he threw. And I really didn't want to leave, but Elliott was wild. (so I had to finish my shopping 3 hours later during his naptime which means I didn't get a nap which means I am cranky).

What caused this tantrum? Milk

Early in the shopping trip, I put milk in my cart and he wanted some. NOW. I tried to calmly explain that we can't open the gallon of milk and drink directly out of it (that'll come later, I suppose) and that he could have some water from the water bottle.

Nope. That was not good enough...enter big tantrum. The kind where you throw yourself around in the cart and may hurt yourself. I tried distracting him with other things (pretzels, toy car, shopping list) but no luck. At this point, I was really scared he was going to hurt himself and so we hauled out of there.

And yes, everyone stared. A couple people got out of my way when they saw me carrying an arching, screaming toddler.

He screamed all the way home and into the house.

Now it is later in the day, and he's had some milk and a nice long nap and my sweet, calm, little boy has returned to me.

Con Man

2010-02-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Elliott came down with quite the cold last night. He woke up around 10 pm and was scary wheezy and coughing oddly. We called the doctor and she listened and suspected croup, but it hasn't turned into that so far. (Thank God). He seems to just have a pretty bad cold.

But cold or not, he was a little con man last night. The doctor suggested someone sleep in the same room with him to keep an eye on his breathing. So I went into compassionate-mom-mode and prepared to hunker down with my kiddo.

Plan A:
We tried snuggling in the rocking chair for over an hour.

It went like this: wiggle, snooze, wiggle, snooze, grab the eye brows, drink milk, snooze, repeat. We were both uncomfortable and not sleeping.

I gave up and went to plan B.

Plan B:
By this time, I was really tired and Elliott was not. He was THRILLED with my company. I made a bed on the floor with blankets and pillows. Elliott was fascinated. In the near dark, I tried to sleep and convince Elliott to sleep.

It went like this:

Snuggle, play with cars, escape the room and look for dad, drink milk, snooze, climb on mom and pretend she is a horse (to which I responded: "The horse is dead."), snuggle, grab the eyebrows, snuggle, snooze, and oh yes, fall asleep! Not more than 2 minutes later: wake up because Elliott's leg hit his toy piano and started up a song (you don't want to know what my response was then).

In desperation (mine, Elliott was having a blast being ''sick", mind you, he was breathing just fine the whole time), I went to plan C around 1:45 am.

Plan C:
"Mama is all done." (and oh, I was). Into the crib, goodnight. I shut the door and left the room. He cried for oh, about 3 seconds, and then passed out. I snuck back in after a 2 am snack for the other baby (you know, the one I'm growing), and slept in his room for the rest of the night... just in case.

Buddies!

2010-02-05T21:39:00.001-08:00

Here is Elliott enjoying a morning with his buddy, Jack! Such fun friends!

Over the last two years they have evolved from blobs lying on the floor unaware of each other to playing happily in the same room uninterested in each other to playing interactively with each other.

They like to dance to "If You're Happy" (and you know it, clap your hands!), climb into boxes and laundry baskets, color (and throw crayons), and read books.

It has been quite a year of friendship and at the same time, Emily (Jack's mom) and I have evolved as mom friends. We've come along way from those uncertain, overwhelming first months to learning to be confident in our ever-changing parenting adventures. And we're about to jump into it again with new babies on the way! Hopefully Jack and Elliott will just entertain each other while we tend to our new babies. We'll see how that goes.....

Someone is craving pickles!

2010-02-05T21:32:00.002-08:00

And is it not me! (Although I am pregnant.)

Elliott loves pickles these days. In the last two days, he has asked for them with every single meal. Pickles for breakfast...yuck!

He gobbles them up before I can get my camera, but I'm going to make an attempt to get him on camera tomorrow and post a picture.

Practice Makes Perfect

2010-02-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

Elliott must know his birthday is coming up soon... he has been practicing his unwrapping skills!

What Elliott's Reading Now

2009-11-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

Elliott's latest reads: The Christ Commission by Og Mandina and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. Yep, that's right, my kid is a genius!

Elliott, like many other toddlers, finds it very entertaining to empty our bookshelves. What I find interesting is that almost daily he chooses the same two books and sits down and ''reads" them.

Oh, how things have changed!

2009-11-04T20:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I had a profound realization about how much my life has changed since Elliott came into our lives.

I was enjoying my lunch at work: rice cakes dipped in jalapeno-artichoke dip and chicken nuggets. Maybe that doesn't sound so strange to you.

Well, the jalapeno-artichoke dip was in a sippy cup because I didn't have any other tupperware clean and the chicken nuggets were the shape of Mickey Mouse's head.

I think Jason and I need to go out for a grown-up dinner this weekend. We need a dinner without sippy cups, string cheese, fishy crackers and certainly with Mickey Mouse in the form of food. Maybe sushi. That seems awfully grown-up!

Dip

2009-11-01T12:56:00.001-08:00

Elliott has discovered dip. He loves to dip fries into ketchup, chips into salsa and cheese tortillas into sour cream.

But here is what else he likes to dip into sour cream:

I can handle the goldfish crackers dipped in sour cream, but it is the banana bread that makes my stomach turn. After he licked off all of the butter, he started dipping it into the sour cream.

Obviously his taste buds are still developing.

First Prayer

2009-09-27T16:14:00.000-07:00

Elliott is absolutely obsessed with trucks. He spends most of his time playing with and talking about trucks. Big trucks, red trucks, meat trucks, trucks, trucks, trucks. My dad even took him to Hoglands Trucking and let him sit in a real truck and play. My dad made him a mini-photo album of the experience that Elliott carries around with him.

So we shouldn't have been surprised this morning when Elliott woke up and exclaimed, "Big trucks, Amen!"

Thank God for trucks.

He's a Hope!

2009-08-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Elliott is definitely belongs in the Hope family!

I made him a plate of french fries and started munching some fries from the cookie sheet. He kept whining and fussing and I thought he wanted the fries off the cookies sheet which were still too hot for him. I kept trying to convince him that the fries on his plate were the same but he would just not let up. Finally I figured out he wanted the ketchup! This was his first experience with ketchup and he LOVED it (as with many other Hopes).

Of course, he didn't actually eat many fries. He mostly just sucked the ketchup off of them. At the end, he gave up on the fries all together and just started eating ketchup. That's my boy!

Photo Highlights From Our Trip to Arizona

2009-08-11T20:10:00.001-07:00

Our friends, Jay and Cathy, kindly hosted us in Phoenix, Arizona (actually, Gilbert or Mesa). They have three girls, Brittany, Lily and Brianna who loved to entertain Elliott! We had a wonderful, relaxing visit.

Brittany (10) is taking Jason for a spin on the jet ski. She actually frightened him at first because she took off so quickly!

Elliott is hanging out with Brianna (5) and Lily (6). He loved playing with them!

Elliott warmed up to their dog, Coco. By the last day of our visit, Elliott was giving the dog kisses and snuggling with him. And he also discovered the dog's water bowls and played in them every chance he got!

Brave Elliott is floating in the lake.

Our trip wouldn't be complete without an adventure. We got a flat tire while at the lake. We were at a man-made lake in the middle of a very desert-like area quite a ways from the city and towing two jet skis and carrying 8 people in the van on a doughnut spare. We said a little prayer, Jay (Cathy's husband) drove carefully and we made it safely back to Mesa.

Elliott really hit it off with Brittany. He followed her everywhere and was fascinated by the ceiling fan in her room (and less interested in the several other fans throughout the house). Several times a day, he walked into her room and pointed at the fan with new enthusiasm and said something like 'see!' He never got tired of this, although we did!

He loved 'driving' the car in this video game. We didn't even put quarters in but he didn't know the difference. I wonder how long we can get away with that.

He got up early in the mornings before the girls (and couldn't wait to wake them up!). So we took him outside in the toasty 80 degree weather at 7:00 am so he could plow their backyard. He went back and forth endlessly.

Flying with a Toddler

2009-08-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

We survived the airplane rides with Elliott, but barely. It was terrible. Really, I cannot exaggerate how horrible it was. I am so sorry if you have an upcoming flight with a toddler (and we have another one in December to North Carolina that I am terrified of). If you happen to be flying with a toddlers soon, here are some tips:

Be prepared that your kid may make everyone on the entire plane miserable with sounds and smells. Get over it because it is a real possibility.

Prior to take off, a passenger actually walked to the back of the plane (near where we were sitting) and asked to be reseated because she was sitting by a kid and parent. Well, the flight attendant noticed some seats around us but of course the passenger didn't want to sit near us either. It is like we had cooties. So my advice is just get over it. You will be treated like you have lice, cooties, swine flu. And actually we pretty much deserved that treatment from Elliott's behavior on the flight.

The advice everyone gives you is to make sure they are sucking (on a bottle, sippy cup, thumb, pacifier, whatever) on take off and landing to help them pop their ears and relieve pressure and pain.

I also gave Tylenol which some people suggest (apparently my bottle of Tylenol was defective and I'm considering taking it back to Target for a refund). Take off wasn't to uncomfortable, but landing was brutal. And here is what I learned: it is not the actual landing where the plan in touching the ground that is uncomfortable. It is the ENTIRE 30 minutes prior to that when the plane is slowly decending. That is when the screaming and thrashing started. And if anyone can give me advice about how to convince a hysterical toddler to suck on something, please let me know prior to our December flight.

A well rested toddler might be better than an overtired toddler.

We had kept Elliott up except for a short afternoon nap and hoped it might crash on the flight home because it was his normal bedtime. Instead we had an overtired, oversensitive, distractable, and MANIC toddler for the first two hours of our flight. And by manic, I mean LOUD. He was talking and singing in a very manic way. I actually wondered if my defective Tylenol had methamphetamines or speed in it. It was that bad.

Find the airplane restroom with the changing tray if you need to change a diaper.

YES there is one that was pointed out to me AFTER I had already changed his diaper with him while sitting on the toilet.

You can buy organic milk in a kid-sized carton that doesn't need to be refrigerated in the health food sections of most grocery stores.

It comes with a handy straw... which apparently is not long enough for the carton and even though we had an extra one, it CAN be pushed down into the carton fairly easily by an exploring toddler or the milk carton can be squeezed sending milk all over the airplane seats. So bring a sippy cup to put the milk in.

Obviously, bring lots of entertainment.

Especially all the things that are normally not allowed like cell phones, car keys and of course the bulb thing that sucks boogers out of noses.

Benadryl.

We didn't do this on this flight, but were considering it for our next flight in December. We'll either give some to Elliott or all the other passengers. We haven't decided yet.

Those People

2009-08-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

I am horrifed. We were THOSE PEOPLE.

We are currently in Arizona enjoying a relaxing long weekend with friends. We left Thursday morning on a early flight that we almost missed. I grossly underestimated the time we'd need to get through the airport and as always, everything takes longer with Elliott.

We got to the airport at 6:30 am for a 7:20 am flight. I didn't even realize we were running late until the lady at baggage check told us we needed to hurry and gave us a special ticket to get us through security quickly.

We rushed over to the security line and gave the ticket to the first TSA agent that we saw who promply did.... nothing. He had no idea what the ticket meant and looked at us suspiciously and told us to get in the family line.

We waited in line to get through security and I nearly had a break down. I acutally started crying a little. By now it was 7:00 am and our flight boarded at 6:50 am. I was freaking out. We made it through (took off our shoes and all) and Jason was "randomly" choosen to be inspected. He seems to always be choosen. But finally we were through and off to Gate D5.

We were running and I felt like that family in the airport scene of Home Alone. We made it to the gate and it was shut. Panic. They must have just shut it (not "sealed") because they opened it and let us in.

So there we were. THOSE PEOPLE who walk onto the airplane late when everyone is seated, all bags are stowed and they are ready for take off. With everyone glaring at us we made it to our seats, only to find the flight attendants had moved someone to our seats because they thought we weren't coming. So there was this big scence of moving the people out of our seats and us searching for a spot in the overhead bins for our luggage (there wasn't any space left so we crammed all the bags under our seats).

Finally we were seated and we sat for a LONG time. I started to wonder what was taking so long and then it hit me: we were waiting for our luggage to be loaded on the plane. I was horrified.

Finally, we took off and Elliott settled in for a peaceful sleep on my lap. I thought our adventure was over. We even commented how good Elliott was (sleeping of course) and how this wasn't so bad after all.

But it was. I'll fill you in later on our actual plane ride. I have to go relax some more on our vacation first!

Elliott's Motorcycle

2009-08-02T21:44:00.000-07:00

Elliott loves motorcycles and makes an adorable motorcycle sound every time he sees one.

And he saw one today. Well... sort of. It was actually a tricycle but that was close enough for him.

Jason proudly put it together during his nap today. It was a very special gift from Elliott's Grandma Julene.

The moment Elliott saw the tricycle/motorycycle in the back of our van, he was giddy with excitement.

Here he is enjoying his tricycle (nevermind that his little legs can't actually reach the pedals OR the ground). Jason had a blast pushing him around McCullum Park this afternoon.

Star Wars Espisode 7

2009-07-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

Much to Jason's delight, Elliott has finally shown interest in Jason's lightsaber. Jason tried to introduce it several months ago but it scared Elliott quite a bit.

But things have changed and our boy is officially practicing for his part in the next Star Wars movie (and he has competition from a very talented 7 year old neighbor).

And in case you're not sure what the following picture is about, Elliott is hugging the lightsaber.

Oh, little boys are so much fun!

Snakes

2009-06-13T12:45:00.000-07:00

Elliott has become quite the explorer. He holds our hands and walks around everywhere. He especially loves to go outside and go up and down the curbs, in and out of bushes & grasses. Every sewage drain, plant, and car is exciting to him.

We've encountered ant holes, sticker-bushes, and even a spider together. I can handle and even enjoy these adventures.

But I am terrified of snakes. And I have come to the realization that if I continue walking through tall grass, bushes, trees and dirt every single day, that eventually, I will run into a snake.

Just thinking about it makes me quiver, but I'm sure Elliott will be absolutely fascinated.

I'm sure I will post the traumatic day that it happens, whether it is next month or next year. It is inevitable. A snake is in my future.

I'm Not Superwoman

2009-05-29T17:21:00.000-07:00

If I was, I would've remembered the meatloaf in the oven.

This afternoon, I was looking for a specific glass pyrex baking dish to soak rice noodles. And I finally found it.

In the oven.

Still holding Tuesdays (yes, that is 4 whole days ago) meatloaf. After dishing up generous portions for Jason and I, I put the leftovers back in the oven to keep warm in case Jason wanted seconds. While cleaning up the kitchen, I had intended to put the leftovers in the fridge for lunches (as usual). Apparently this never happened.

How on earth could I forget the meatloaf for FOUR whole days?

Gross.

Boys and the Beach

2009-05-26T07:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to Kristi's for some much needed Elliott-free sewing time. Jason planned to hang out with Elliott for most of the day. I assumed the boys would be hanging out at home as usual, chasing each other around the house, making a mess of all of Elliott's toys and perhaps going on a walk around the neighborhood.

Jason had other plans. I received a textpicture from him in the early afternoon of Elliott hitting a piece of driftwood with a stick.

Jason took Elliott to Picnic Point Beach. They played in the sand, waded in the water (in his nice clean, new shoes), and climbed over driftwood.

I have such a boy. Make that two boys. Boys who like to go on adventures and get dirty.

They arrived home a while later flushed from their adventure and they had this joyous energy about them. And of course sand. Lots and lots of sand everywhere. By the end of their time at the beach, Elliott was left in only a diaper (dirty of course) and a t-shirt.

(Oh and those of you anxiously awaiting the results of our poop test last week: that exact test wasn't so successful, but after a few other trials, I was persuaded to buy a set of cloth diapers.)

Let the Poop Begin!

2009-05-18T06:36:00.000-07:00

We are in the process of trying cloth diapers. Right now Elliott is in his room pooping and I'm waiting for the results!

You might be wondering how I know he is pooping.
Well, every morning I nurse him and then he plays for about 1/2 hour in his room.
When I come back to get him, almost without fail, he has pooped.
Usually I rest, read or shower during this time, BUT
today I am so eager to see the results that I can't relax!

Before Elliott was born, I also considered using cloth. But that idea was quickly dismissed because my thoughts were "Yuck" and "How would I ever have time for all that laundry?"

Now, I'm thinking. . . "I could save A LOT of money" and "I feel horrible throwing away bags and bags of used disposable diapers that will sit for thousands of years."

So this weekend, with another brave, like-minded friend, I ventured to UVillage on a mission to but a single cloth diaper each. We had success! Emily bought the very popular Bum Genius brand at one store, and I bought Fuzzi Bunz at another.

These are FANCY diapers! I will post a picture later. (poop free, of course)
(and the diaper looks awfully cute on Elliott).

Yesterday's trail was positive. He wore the diaper for about 3 hours and when I felt the fleece that touched his skin, it felt slightly damp but not as wet as I expected. The liner inside (not touching him) was appropriately soaked.

So I washed the diaper last night (easier than I expected), and that brings us to the poop test.
Stay tuned for the results!

Deep Sea Diver

2009-05-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

Elliott is well on his way to being a deep sea diver.

During bathtime tonight, he kept putting his face in the water.

He was delighted with his new trick!

Oatmeal Baths Are Yummy

2009-05-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

Poor little Elliott has shingles. Yes, for all of 2 short months since his chicken pox immunization, the chicken pox virus has lived (dormant) inside of him as it does for most of us our entire lives. For some reason, his body made the virus active and the result is shingles affecting his right arm and hand.

Several people have given me the suggestion to try an oatmeal paste on his arm and a soak in a oatmeal bath to relieve the itching and pain and to speed the recovery process.

I thought it sounded like a reasonable idea.

And Elliott certainly enjoyed it. That is, he enjoyed eating the oatmeal. Needless to say, we shortened the bath because it was pointless since Elliott kept eating the oatmeal paste off his arm. And really, it just grossed me out so I had to get him out of there.

If you look closely, he even has some oatmeal on his nose!

How much does pure joy cost?

2009-04-24T20:30:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-13T12:35:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-08T14:57:00.000-07:00

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!

Adventures with Blood

2009-02-25T20:55:00.001-08:00

I fear this is only my first post of many about blood.

Check out this sequence of pictures for a hint of Elliott's exploring nature:

Here is his sweet smile to me after pulling this infant bouncy seat next to the window.

And here he is in action. He was bouncing all over the place while he climbed up but it didn't slow him down at all.

And within seconds he was standing on the bouncy seat with his feet not touching solid ground at all. He was quite delighted with his accomplishment.

This adventure ended without incident. However, a few days ago, we had an incident.

There was blood. Lots of blood.

He was standing holding onto a metal futon style chair. I was sitting right next to him just in case. Well, my just-in-case position wasn't good enough. Jason walked in and Elliott flung himself in pure excitement and hit his chin on the metal chair. At least that's what we think he hit. All we saw was mouthfuls of blood pouring out. He was screaming and we couldn't see what was bleeding (a tooth? split gum? tongue?) so we jumped into our van to head to the walk in clinic.

The bleeding stopped along the way but we thought it would be wise to get him checked out anyway. We discovered he bit his tongue pretty hard. With the help of hydrogen peroxide, Tylenol and time, he has healed up very nicely. No stitches at all.

Lessons learned from this first adventure with blood:

1. Babies are unpredictable (you would've thought I would've learned this one already)

2. Metal chairs are hard.

3. Soak your clothes in cold water to remove blood stains.

4. Even if the bleeding has stopped, walk into the clinic or hospital holding the blood-soaked towel. This will help you get into triage right away.

Hopefully we won't have many more adventures with blood. But as my sister-in-law reminded me, we did name him Elliott Ray with the initials "ER". Oh well.

We stole a van

2009-02-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

It's true. We stole a van yesterday. And I feel a little tiny bit bad about it, but not too much. I really love the van. Here I am in it:

Let me explain.

We have been in the market to buy a used van to accommodate the stuff we have to cart around with Elliott. During the last month, my sweet husband has spent countless hours scanning the used auto ads on craigslist. I have to admit that it crossed my mind a few times that he was just wasting time. But that is just not so.

His hard work and diligence paid off. Big time.

Yesterday, he noticed a 1996 Honda Odyssey with only 88,000 miles for $4300 go up on Craigslist. It is the top of the line model with all the bells & whistles and the guy was selling because Microsoft was transferring him overseas. The seller wanted to get rid of it quickly because he was leaving at the end of this week, and he knew he had priced it low. The ad showed us the Kelly Blue Book value at $5500 so this was quite a deal.

Jason got that gut feeling that this was "the one" that we had been waiting for. So he called around noon (within one hour of the original posting) and found out that someone else had already called and was planning on looking at the van at 2:00 pm.

So we jumped in our car and hurried to beat the other guy there.
First come, first serve, right?

We arrived at 1:10 and I knew immediately that we'd be buying it. It was in excellent condition and it is the smaller model (seats 6) so I found it easier to drive than the full sized mini vans. I hurried on the test drive because, after all, we had to close the deal before the other guy arrived. At 1:30 pm, after the test drive, we offered the asking price and the van was OURS!

The seller called the other guy and said that the van had already been sold. And then I felt a little bad, but like I said before, not that bad. Jason rationalized that it was probably a dealership anyway who noticed how underpriced the vehicle was and planned to resell it at a higher price.

So yes, we stole a van from someone else. You just gotta be quick to get the deals on Craigslist.

Our Baby is Back and Ready for Swimming

2009-01-31T14:44:00.000-08:00

Our cheerful, active baby is back.

How do we know?

Well, last night he said dog, quacked and roared all in the space of a few minutes. (Notice an animal theme going on here?)

And, boy, are we relieved!

After a week of fevers and rashes, we are thrilled that Elliott is ready to take on the world again.

That's a good thing because he starts swimming lessons next week. Yep, big boy swimming lessons. (the class is really called "Tiny Tots" but I'm telling Elliott he is a Big Boy!)

He is already practicing his swimming skills. He is becoming more and more active in the bath tub and our bath tub is rather slick. Being the good parents we are, we bought a non-slip pad that is supposed to suction to the bottom of the tub to prevent slipping except that our tub has an odd finish on it that the little suction cups won't stick to. So the pad floats and creates a rather dangerous obstacle for a baby. Without the pad, all Elliott has to brace himself on is the slightly rough finish on the bottom of our tub. This strange, lightly bumpy finish looks like it is supposed to resemble a non-slip surface but it is completely ineffective for an exploring little boy.

During the last two days, Elliott has slipped a couple of times and his little face went into the water (we right there, even holding onto him, but he just slips around). Both times, he came up sputtering but okay. So I'm off to Fred Meyer to further baby-proof our tub for our adventurous guy. If anyone knows what works on that fake-non-slip tub surface, please let me know!

Stay tuned for details of swimming lessons!

On Our Way to Toddlerhood

2009-01-30T09:30:00.000-08:00

It's official.

My baby is 11 months old. And that brings me to this blog.

A brand-new blog.

A chance to savor my baby before he isn't a baby anymore. I know he'll always be my baby no matter how old he is, but really, he is not going to let me treat him like a baby for very much longer. He is getting more and more independent everyday. He crawls everywhere, pulls to and standing all the time. He is talking a little, well, actually he roars and quacks on occasion. He prefers to eat solid chunks of food and recently he has started asserting his opinion very strongly!

Here he is:

See, he already knows to smile and pose for the camera. Babies don't know to do that, toddlers do!

Why start a blog now, you may ask? I know many families who start this when their babies are much younger.

Well, there are two reasons.

Reason #1:
He is turning 1 soon. And that seems so official. In the past I could fudge about his age. When people would ask me how old he was, I could say, "10 months" even though he was really 10 months old plus 30 days old, but not yet officially 11 months old.

Sneaky, I know. But they really do grow up fast and I was trying to slow it down.

So reason #1 is that I can't lie about his age anymore. 1 is 1. There is no way around it.

Reason #2:
I am bored out of my mind. Elliott has been sick all week and thus, I have been home everyday except Tuesday when Jason was able to take a day off work.

Normally, I don't mind being at home. Actually, I am really looking forward to being a stay-at-home-mom except for that stay-at-home part.

I really want to be a go-out-and-about-mom.

When Elliott is feeling well, we go to the baby story time at the library, visit his baby friend Jack, or go on outings with great-gramma.

But with him being sick all week, I've been trapped here. He has had a high fever which broke after 3 days and then turned into a mildly contagious rash (Roseola). Poor little baby. (Yes, he is still a baby for 29 more days. Or 3o more days depending on which day we decide is his birthday this year. As leap day baby, he won't actually celebrate February 29 until his 4th birthday).

So while his little body has been healing and sleeping a lot, I've been doing things around the house.

I've:
organized
cleaned
cooked
made a grocery list and menu for a month
done laundry
written emails to friends I haven't seen in a while
watched TV through our computer (we don't have a real TV)

And that brings me here to this blog.
I am out of ways to entertain myself with a sleepy baby who must stay-at-home today.

Now hopefully, I'll be able to keep this up for all those of you who are oh so interested in the daily happenings of our lives.

We'll see......