Ol' blue eyes

Here is master elliot laying in his pack-n-play outside on a beautiful fall day. He's enjoying his milk and the sky above.

Pillow Talk

TV will make you go blind

Wishy Washy

Elliot LOVES watching the clothes rotate in the washing machine. He must have some of his mother's genes...things getting clean is cause for excitement!

Cool Grass

Elliot playing the Ladle

YouTube Video Links

Click on the following two links to get to YouTube. These videos of Elliot and Linus were too large for this blog's video uploader.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKy48DKx8DY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzdnnIMWzUU

Enjoy!

Meet my new personal assistant

I've got him typing 100 wpm.

Elliot 8.5 months

It's hard to find time to write when your "baby" is now a mobile thrill seeker. He is VERY mobile--fast and curious (dangerous combination). We just had Halloween and he wore his hand-made knight costume (complete with foam sword) that his "PK" (James' mom) made for him . We took him to the gathering at the front of our neighborhood. There was music, kids, and pizza! He was ADORABLE! The costume was a hit and I have to say that I am forever thankful that he has PK making them for the next few years or else we'd be in trouble! I will post more pix when I take more of him. He was so tired by the time the party started that he did NOT want to wear anything but a diaper--plus, it was very hot that night.

These days Elliot still usually only takes one nap and possibly one for about 30mins in the afternoon. Today the afternoon nap was 3 minutes. It used to get to me a lot more. Now I just roll with it. He is who he is--and although I'd LOVE more sleep for both of us--he's doing his best.

He is pulling up on things now more and more. Getting a few more bumps as he learns how to maneuver his body and the landscape of our home. He loves being outside. We spend a lot of time there--especially since Daddy has been re-doing the flower beds out front (pix to come). I am so proud of James. The yard looks fantastic and artful! It's so zen. It's like the yard I always wanted. It now looks like OUR HOME from the front of the house. Again, when it's done I'll post more pictures. Elliot loves to watch daddy from the pack-n-play. He plays with his toys and babbles and tells Daddy where he missed a spot pruning.

On to some other things:
I always read stories of "...a boy and his dog..." and I never knew quite what that was until now. Yes, even at 8.5 months, I can see that Elliot and Linus are kindred souls. Lebowski, the older, more refined and wiser of the two dogs, also enjoys Elliot--sniffing, watching, holding back the earge to lick--but it's not the sheer LOVE that Linus has.

A short background: Linus is a nutcase. He will be a puppy until the day he dies. He will break a leg if it means chasing a ball for hours. He is quite hyper with the right stimulus. Also, he is sweet--and the best dog to cuddle with. He cares not if he is on a hard floor or a very uncomfortable position, if it means being next to you. This reaches an entirely different level with Elliot. He is drugged by Elliot's presence. He gets beat up and torn apart by the little monster E, but takes it and asks for more..."please," his eyes beg... "rip more of my hair out."
Yesterday James and I were playing with Elliot and Linus walked over. My exact words were, "watch it, Elliot just ripped Linus' eyeball out." We laughed and laughed because seriously, that's not far from the truth. We're constantly protecting LINUS, from Elliot. Lately though, Elliot has been more gentle, finally getting some understanding of his actions.

What I do during my days:
Nurse, clean, teach Elliot things, Play, sign language, clean, COOK, make baby food, email, clean, do organization projects, nurse, teach Elliot, go for walks, nurse, go to the store, take pics of Elliot, take videos of Elliot, Bathe Elliot, clean, COOK...nurse

I have cooking in caps because I am doing it more often and I am proud of myself. It takes time.
The constant cleaning comes from owning two black labs who don't shed per say, but rather walk around with hair literally shooting from their folicles, covering every inch of the house in a thick blanket of black hair. The floor looks like a giant tribute to Wayne Newton.

Now, I could let this go a bit before. But now that Elliot crawls, he gets clothed in the hair. It is so bad that I have to change him before we go out or else someone might call child protective services for fear he's been living among wolves.

So I've not had much time for myself away from the home. I'm looking forward to getting back into some yoga. I had done it for awhile (besides teaching) but got lost in being a mom and then we got sick (a virus that has hung on with an unbelievable grip) and then Elliot decided NOT to take a bottle for 7 days. We're back to normal now. I think that he was just feeling bad and just like anyone, when you're sick you want all the comforts you can find--Mommy is a big comfort, even though Elliot loves Daddy, Daddy has no boobs.

A few things that Elliot does recently:
He will follow a voice to find you. He will crawl out of a room, play by himself (I am watching but he is unaware) and then crawl back to the room you are in with a big smile as if to say, "I'm BAaaaaack!" He is a very loving creature. He is as attached as he is independent. I am so proud of this balance. I have to much faith in who he is and who he will become. He is joy personified.
He will chase you in the walker and on all fours. He can even be across the house in the walker and you can call to him and he'll come running!
It's such a joy to say, "okay, Elliot, let's go Baby!" and he'll follow you, crawling at your feet.
Oh--and about 20 times a day he crawls to my feet, pulls to his knees on my leg and begins to nurse my shin or knee cap. I'm still not sure if he really wants to eat or this is just fun for him...
When I put him on to nurse it's often short lived...until the next time he gets a mouthful of my jeans...then we do it all over again.
Oh--and he loves to be UNDER things. This is scary... "WHERE'S ELLIOT?!" I've said before after looking away for .5 seconds, only to find him under the end table next to the couch. He sits there looking out from his little hut, his eyes bright, waiting for me.

Dancin'

Walker Texas Ranger