Steps are being attempted here folks!

What this kid won't do for a snack!

The Shopping Cart

Thanks to Julia and Tom who's baby Joseph has outgrown his shopping cart (although he did look very sad when we took it away), Elliot is now finally free to roam, explore, and go shopping! This simple little thing is really just the greatest thing ever, from the first moment he got his tiny hands on it he just took off with a pep in his step and laughter in his trail.

Since then we've basically been following him around as he walks up and down our railroad apartment. Unfortunately though he does not know how to steer so we have to follow behind and adjust his trajectory so that he walks through the doorway instead of into it and curves around the couch. He loves this thing so much if you try to pick him up when he's holding on he'll actually grip it tighter and you end up lifting him with the cart dangling from his little body.

Yesterday Elliot even had a moment of independent balance! As you may know, he loves to (un)sort the recycling, so he was holding on to the cart with one hand while riffling in the recycling box. He picked up a plastic bottle with the recycling hand, and then moved his other hand to it so that he was standing completely on his own and holding this bottle with both hands! It didn't last long, but I saw it first! This brings me some sense of satisfaction since Josh is the primary baby caretaker and I'm sad to miss out on fun moments, and especially first moments, so even though Josh will likely see Elliot's first real steps - which will happen any day now - I can still say I saw the first pre-steps!

Pure happiness :)

Almost 10 months old

We're so happy that it's finally summertime! It ain't easy being inside all day with an active little guy like this, breaking up the day by going to the park and taking walks in the stroller definitely help to keep him entertained. As previously mentioned, Elliot is no calm gentle baby, oh no, he is constantly on the move reaching, tasting, throwing, touching, looking and he is exploring his environment more than ever now. It's no surprise to me, remember those belly kicking videos? I knew he'd be a mover and a shaker and man can he wear you out! Two recent tricks he's acquired are clapping his hands and smacking his lips in a kissing fashion. He's also getting good at kicking a ball if it's in front of his foot. He frequently says mama and dada, as well as many other interesting sounds like Oh, yeah, and other cooing noises I won't attempt to spell out.

His hair is also getting so long and has the quintessential blondie curls above the ears. We like to make mohawks, and in case you're wondering when we are planning on cutting it, never! Well, definitely not for a long time, we're going to let those golden curls grow long.
He is growing so fast I really can't believe it, although looking ahead I'm excited for all the things he still can't do that he soon will, like saying funny stuff and walking. Tune in for the walking thing, I just know he's getting really really close to taking his first steps without any assistance. He can already walk pretty well if you hold his hands and I'm pretty sure it won't be mom or dad that will entice him to yearn towards our embrace but probably some ordinary household object out of reach that he'll feel motivated enough to want to poke and get there on his own.
Toothwise, he's already had the two at the top for a while and now there's a tooth starting to come out on both sides of those front two teeth, plus a 4th coming out on the bottom, that will make a total of 8 teeth already! That would explain why he's really eating basically anything these days, he can munch down a rice cracker no problem, quinoa, chicken, steamed veggies, whatever you've got!

Restless Baby

Man, I tell ya, the best thing we've taught Elliot so far is how to fall asleep at night without crying. I recall a brief week or so where we had to put him to bed and just let him cry it out until he passed out from sheer exhaustion. But now, as long as it's bedtime and he's gone through the bath/pajama/boobie/song routine we can just put him down and walk away. He might wiggle around a bit but he'll put himself to sleep by 8:30, and that means mom and dad can relax (well, by 'relax' I mean making baby food, getting ready for work, cleaning up toys, bundling up recycling, doing dishes, and that sort of thing). Unfortunately though this does not work during the day for naps, you have to hold the kid down in a bodylock and then be forced to nap with him lest your movement wake the beast. I'm beginning to realize Elliot is what you would call a 'handful.' I mean this kid just goes and goes and goes and goes and goes. I've observed enough other babies now to see that not all of them are quite so restless.

He just has to see and touch and throw everything on the floor and put it in his mouth constantly. He's not even walking yet! Although he's getting close, he can easily pull himself up and stand if he has something to lean on, and he can walk pretty fast too if we hold his hands. And with crawling, damn he's fast! He can scurry across the kitchen floor in no time chasing cats. Here are some of the ways we keep him entertained while still trying to also do other things:
-High chair, he can sit in it and watch baby einstein or just nibble on his toys for up to 30 minutes before he gets antsy and whiney.
-Riding around in his walker, as long as someone is in the kitchen with him and there are plenty of hand towels, newspapers, or other things for him to roll up to, grab, and quickly roll away like an excited little bandit. If there's not enough things for him to steal he'll get frustrated and bored and whiney.
-Baby buffer zone, Josh is an expert in this but I don't do it because it's too much set up and clean up, but he arranges furniture and pillows around the living room floor so that the bambino is somewhat contained.
-When all else fails to entertain and our aching backs are too tired to keep chasing him around at home then we strap him into the stroller and go for a walk.

What a cutie, I can't believe we're making plans for his first birthday already!!

my first mother's day

My first mother's day was quite a lovely day. The weather was beautiful, I had just found out on Friday that I got a new job and I was feeling pretty good. Josh didn't have anything planned really so I made him do laundry while I took a walk with Elliot, and other housework/watching Elliot when I went to a yoga class. And then he gave me a good massage at the end of the night. Yes, he could have made sure to have the necklace I specifically requested to arrive on time, yes he could have planned some fancy dinner, but actually what I got was a relaxing day of leisure and I realize that is the best gift of all. Time to ignore the to-do list and just have a relaxing Sunday. This is a rare thing for a working mom, because weekends are usually reserved for cleaning, food shopping, baby food cooking, and maintaining some semblance of a social life.

Speaking of appreciating moms, here's my grandmother with Elliot, quite the pair :)   I called my own mom too but I think the meaning of the day was lost on her, they don't have this holiday in Lativa, mothers are taken for granted there, but I hope it's the thought that counts.

Oh, just stuff

Hello there members of the Elliot fan club, we have some new updates:

We finally went to the eye specialist to check Elliot's eyes which were occasionally looking a little crossed, but it turns out it's perfectly fine and due to the fact that he's got a big nose! Well, it's a tiny nose for now, but the bridge is wide enough to slightly distort his vision. As his face grows and changes his eyes will look perfectly normal.

He's starting to show his 5th tooth! And those two front teeth are really coming out now and he's starting to move food around with his tongue and smash it between his gums too like he's learning how to chew. And when it comes to eating, I'm not exaggerating, the kid eats almost regular adult sized portions these days! I have to prepare twice the amount of food for him on a daily basis as I used to. He's still getting milk 3 times a day, in the morning, before bed, and once during the day and in a few weeks I'll stop the daytime feeding so it'll just be morning and night for another month or so.  I still enjoy the nursing but the whole pumping thing is getting old and I'm tired of my boobs being in need of so much maintenance too. In other mama news, I'm back down to my pre-baby size, I'm wearing small's and size 6's again - which is actually annoying because I went on a shopping spree a few months ago and now all that stuff is too big. But I got my first 'oh, you're so skinny' comment the other day which made me yearn for my plump and rotund days. 

Elliot is getting so close to saying his first real word with actual intention, sure he's said mama and some other maybe-words but he's vocalizing all sorts of letter sounds these days and making different sounds when he's happy, excited, curious, or sad. We've been a little lazy with the sign language but we do still do it for some of the more common signs but he hasn't shown us any yet.
He just keeps growing and growing, most days I'm used to being a mom now but sometimes I still look at him and think 'wow, this is really happening, I had a little bubbie and he's all cute and perfect and I'm his momma!'

Our little minnow

We had a little New Hampshire getaway recently and while we mostly lounged, shopped, and cooked, the highlight was definitely going down a snowy hill with Elliot in a toboggan.

It was hard to tell whether he truly enjoyed it because he didn't have a major reaction when we reached the bottom, he just looked kind of rosy-cheeked and stunned. We realized, when his cheeks were still rosy hours later, that actually the cold wind rushing at his face might not have been the most fun experience because it sort of gave him a wind burn. But it made him look very wintry and cute and he got over it so it's ok.

Oh and an update on the sick day thing, the next day he was completely fine and happy as can be and at the end of the week his top two teeth started to break out so that explains it. You can really see them now and they're looking pretty large, with a little gap in between, so soon he'll actually be able to chew things... like a little chipmunk! He's eight months now and it's incredible how much this kid can eat! I keep adding more and more to his servings and sometimes I make what I think will last him for two meals or at least one and a half, but the more I make the more he'll eat, down the hatch it goes, the question 'he ate that whole thing?' is one that's frequently uttered in this household. Not only that but he's developing quite a sophisticated taste, he likes roasted peppers, chamomile and green tea, quinoa, pasta, hummus, and usually whatever we're eating. I am still nursing but only in the morning and night during the work week, and also once during the day on the weekends. Pretty soon I think I'll cut it down to just morning and night, the best way to wean is to slowly give my ducts the signal that they should produce less, so I'm not planning on stopping cold turkey, I'll cut out feedings gradually over the next couple of months, probably mornings will remain as the last boobytime until I stop completely. But we'll see how it goes, right now I think the combo of breastmilk and solids is in just the right balance.

We are also taking a weekly swim class! Josh and I are alternating being the pool parent and we've only had one turn each so far. The first class was pretty good, mostly content with just a few whimpers. But the second class was a cry fest, he just was not having it. I think it'll take a few classes to get used to it and there was a combination of factors that added up to cranky this week. The pool room is pretty warm but the water is surprisingly cold so he shivered a little bit, plus he didn't nap on the way so he was tired. The class mostly involves singing songs and guiding the baby in swimming motions, bouncing up and down and spinning, and moving his legs in a kicking motion. They have all sorts of rubber toys in the water and that definitely helps to distract, if you show him a toy floating in front of him he'll instantly stop crying and reach out for the toy. It's a good motivator, just keep pushing the toy further and further so he'll swim towards it without even knowing he's swimming! I think in a few more weeks he'll be a natural :)