skillz

Elliot has acquired a few new (adorable) talents:

• His wide-open mouth kisses are getting more numerous.
  
• He can easily push a chair, toy or stool across the room while walking.
  
• His concentration levels while attempting to put something together or take it apart are serious. He's been attempting keys in the door, buckles on his high chair and car seat, putting objects through other objects, etc.
  
• He's excellent at conveying exactly how much he reallyreally wants a bite or four of whatever it is you're eating or drinking.
  
• He sizes us up to see if the whining is going to get him what he wants. If it doesn't work, he's still willing to try.
  
• He's able to tilt his head back and gulp out of the sippy cup.
  
• He wants to be into whatever we're into- if we play the xylophone, he wants to play.
• His proficiency with dipping his spoon into food and getting it to his mouth is increasing.
• The signs he knows: more, dog, all done, waving

All in all, he's obviously the most advanced child we've ever seen. We're so proud.

All done

Elliot's getting good at wiping things, which is a very good thing considering the fact that he'll scream if he sees you coming at him with a washcloth. He likes to smoosh the washcloth around his tray, knocking off any leftover chickpeas or veggie/fruit bits to the floor for Tito to vacuum up. A mutually beneficial arrangement.

Elliot got his first taste of yogurt today and loved it. Nom nom nom.
That is, he loved it as long as there was fruit mixed in. His first taste had some pureed pear in it and it wasn't until the last bite, a plain yogurt bite, that he tried to spit it out by sticking his tongue out and letting it fall off. Turns out it was a bit too sour.

His second tooth on the top broke through Thursday. There are four up there and they're coming in right to left. Two to go that we can see as of right now - hopefully his sleep will go uninterrupted by the dental invasion.

12 month stats

Weight: 23 lbs (65th %ile)
Height: 32 inches (97th %ile)
Head: 97th %ile

Elliot's a long bean.

One year.

One year ago, we were at the hospital waiting for this:














It was awesome and scary and beyond anything I could have imagined.
And it still is.
Clichés are overused but exist for a reason.
When people say having a baby is the most amazing thing you can do, they're right.
When they say you'll learn more about yourself and your partner after having a baby, they're right.
When they say it will change your life forever, they're right.





















It's hard to believe, but it gets better.














And better.














And better.












































And then there was hair:



























































And still it gets better.
Happy Birthday, Elliot.

bath time!

This is Elliot's second bath! (His first was in Plain, WA in the cabin this past weekend). It's easy to see he's going to be a water baby. This is the reason why we remodeled the upstairs bath in the first place. It was for pictures like these!

Elliot got Mommy some dark chocolates and a bouquet for her birthday. What a charmer. Even when he's having a bad day with his cold.

By the way... bath water tastes good.

chompers

Elliot cut his first top tooth, not in the middle, but to the right. Grandma caught it on the way to the airport this afternoon because she had him giggling in the backseat. The middle two and the tooth to the left are clearly visible; they may be pushing through soon...