Drive south

On Christmas day we headed out for our first long roadtrip together. Chad's brilliant idea to leave the house at 4 am worked- both Elliot and I slept in the car until almost 9 am being lulled by the motion of the car. We had planned on making multiple stops to stretch our legs and ward off the crazy, but we didn't need to. We didn't even have to break out the netbook to distract with cartoons.

We spent a relaxing 6 days with great people and drove home over two days, spending a night in Grants Pass, OR on NYE.

The downside to the trip was that we learned Tito has an agressive and inoperable tumor just above his spleen. The meds are helping him and he's able to eat and get around a little easier than before. We've been spending lots of time at home snuggling with Tito.

Christmas 09

We had a relaxed holiday at home- Elliot doesn't look relaxed opening the presents but the whole day was great.

Big bed

Elliot's looked squeezed into his 3-sided crib for quite some time. Between that and the fact that he was almost completely potty trained, we thought it was a good time for the transition to a big bed. We got him a bunk bed and didn't attach the rungs of the ladder to keep him from climbing onto the (empty, for now) top bunk. The crib is still in his room for his baby brother/sister. It's getting crowded in there.

YES!

For just over 2 weeks now, Elliot has been in underwear except for at bedtime. Can I just say YES??!!

Update 12/20: He was in diapers at night for 10 days and has been completely diaper free since without an accident. Mission accomplished.

Mim & Pepere!

Mim and Pepere spent two weeks with us in time for Thanksgiving. We walked at Kubota Gardens, ate amazing amounts of food, took Mim out for a memorable early birthday dinner and took a trip to Port Townsend for the weekend. Pepere got to see his first bald eagle and we saw parts of the Olympic peninsula. It was a great visit!

Happy Day

I've been meaning to make this bean bag chair for almost a year now. Then I thought it would be a good Christmas present for Elliot, but ended up making it this weekend and of course giving it to him right away. Now what are we going to give him for Christmas?

ps Notice the finished basement baseboard!

1st trick or treating

Despite our best efforts to get Elliot excited about dressing up as a monkey so Chad could dress up like the man in the yellow hat, he really, really wanted to be a bee. The sewing is sketchy at best but we waited until dark to go out and in that (lack of) light, he looked good. The only hitch was that he'd yell "Trick or Treat!" as he was knocking instead of after people answered the door.

Obviously, Chad is my hero for wearing that thing I fashioned. He wore it every time he answered the door.

buddies

We had a morning visitor today which means pj party! The tigers battled it out in the ottoman.

Pumpkins

Last Saturday we went to a pumpkin patch and today we got together with Vrim and Rob to make soup and carve.

chef/firefighter

Elliot's been talking a lot about what he wants to be because of Halloween.
He now refers to whoever is at the stove as the chef.



















Of course, firefighter story time was a big hit.

More Vegas

We went to Las Vegas to see Grandma and Grandpa and for a friend's wedding reception. Elliot got to create, work, rest and play. He and Grandpa worked in the shop quite a bit putting together some wood toys and a table that Elliot then got to paint (Grandpa sealed then flat packed it so we could bring it home):




















Grandma and Elliot snuggled and built forts on the bed. She also taught him how to be gentle with Beau the lab as we're pretty sure Elliot doesn't like it when dogs are as tall as he is.














Elliot and Chad went to the predator aquarium at one of the hotels (Mandalay Bay?) and had a good time:



















Elliot also got to meet his great grandparents for the first time! They were in town house hunting and we all got together for food.

We ate and relaxed and ate some more. Great trip.

Turkey, take 2

We took our annual trip to Turkey to spend time with family. Elliot is getting more and more brave in the water and liked both the sea and the pool.


























One of the sandcastles constructed:















Lots of time was spent with Dede:














Kerem Amca and Ebru Teyze came too!:













He made the short, easy walk to the ice cream stand often:

































He used arm floaties for the first time and loved it. It took a day of showing him the floaties before he would allow us to put them on him. After waking up from a nap by the pool he asked me to put them on and said, "I'm ready." I let him go in the water and he swam away.














He also learned all about, and practiced, splashing and being splashed.

words

There are a couple of words that Elliot says in his own adorable way. I'd love to try and get these on video.
Chechamals (chemicals)
Adult bebudge (adult beverage)
Bee-yah! (beer) anything ending in an "r" gets a "yah" at the end.

It has started

The question, "why?" is getting asked a LOT around our house these days. In a 2-minute conversation, it doesn't come up once or twice, but 7-8 times in a row.

Our tactical evolution:
1. We first thought he was being even more curious than usual, so we gave him earnest short but descriptive explanations.
2. We figured out that he wasn't really always looking for an answer and started asking, "why what?" thinking if he really wanted an answer he'd phrase the entire question again.
3. We ask him what he thinks. This showed us that he usually has some kind of idea about what he's asking us.
4. We sometimes throw a wrench into his plan with a completely random answer like Pink! or Bubbles! and so far it's working beautifully.

If he really wants an answer, he never shies away from #2. Then we randomly use #1 and #3 depending on our mood. This method is being trademarked.

slumber party

Elliot just found out he's staying at his aunt and uncle's tomorrow night and ran off to pack his bag. He's moving really fast. Is he trying to tell us something?

Update: 24 hours without E and we were definitely ready to see him again. It's toddler addiction.
He got to ride the water taxi to the aquarium and got spoiled as usual. A fantastic time was had by all and Vrim and Rob looked ready for a nap...

East coasters!

We got a visit from Uncle Mike, Zach and Olivia! Elliot got to spend time with his cousins as well as Uncle Mike's 3 month old nephews and didn't want to keep his hands or kisses off the babies. For the couple of hours they were at our house, he didn't peel himself away. He was very gentle and asked to hold them repeatedly. It was sweet to see him so concerned and patient. Let's hope that if he one day has a sibling he's as understanding and gracious even 1/10th the time!

talent

Tonight we played in the basement before bed. Elliot kept a beat (kind of) on his belly while he skiped around with his hand-made felted cape on to the stylings of Chad singing "Super Why" to the tune of Indiana Jones. Where does he get the energy? (Super Why were Elliot's requested lyrics)

Day with Devrim

via email from Devrim:

He woke up and sat up and said, "I want to take a shower, I'm sweaty" and I said "ok." Then he said, "I wanna take a shower at hoooome." And I said, "you can after your dad comes to get you" and I handed him his juice and he showed me the dinosaurs and pointed at my strawberry newtons and asked for one and I gave him one and told him they were newtons and he said, "I love newtons, they're yummy in my tummy! Look! " and showed me his belly button. Then he laid in my lap and said, "I'm happy."
Point - he can come over whenever he wants....

camping, take 2

We met up with friends again this year to camp with the kids in Hood Canal. It started off with us beating them to the ferry on Friday late in the morning- they texted us that they should be able to meet us on the boat no problem. They immediately got pulled over for speeding.

We arrive at the first-come, first-served camp grounds to find out it's full. We drive around to the other side of the canal where there's a larger campsite that takes reservations. During the drive we kid that we can always shack up at a swanky hotel and pitch a tent for the kids. We get the last spot!

The kids had a fantastic time together, as did the adults. The food was fantastic, we took fun walks and everyone slept through the night! The first time we tried this a year ago, both kids woke up screeching at different points during the night. Our friend joked that this year was so good that next year we're sure to be eaten by bears.

he is sooo our kid

In his carseat having a snack, his eyes closed for longer and longer periods until he fell asleep. 10 seconds later, eyes still closed, he reached down, put a piece of food in his mouth and chewed. Sleep eating.

Lincoln Park

We had a full morning of playing on the beach, walking, lunch, flying down a zip line with a swing attached and then hanging out at the playground, all before noon!

Cruising on the tricycle from Grandma and Grandpa

He can make it a few blocks as long as it's not uphill. A slight downhill slope is even better...except for the steering.

birthday bbq

We're always glad that Steve and Liz live so close by but love it even more when they're doing the cooking. Everything they put together is amazing. Their backyard is a fantastic place for the kids - they built the play house and their toys are fantastic. Elliot always has a great time with them and so do we!

4th of July

We spent the 4th on Whidbey Island with Aunt Laura and Uncle Chris and a bunch of fun folks. The sparklers were not so exciting the first time around but got more interesting the darker it got. The poppers that get thrown at the ground and make a satisfying loud crack were a hit, though. Aunt Laura and Uncle Chris really put on a great show as did a lot of the neighbors. Elliot was showered with attention. After going to bed he woke up almost hourly to pop his head up, look at the water and ask, "outside?". He loves the rocks and the driftwood.

tents

The tent has been popular since about February of this year. It's since been improved with small clamps and he's learned to drag pretty much all of his toys into the tent with him. Sometimes he takes a snack too.

more jumping on the bed

He seems to lure them into his room with promises of jumping. And Curious George.

Dinner at Lake WA

We biked to the lake and had an impromptu picnic. Delicious.
Elliot didn't want to take his helmet off for most of it but during some serious rock throwing after eating, he finally did.

Sundays

They close the road along Lake WA to vehicles on Sundays while the weather's good and people take advantage of the open road. Elliot was mesmerized watching all of the other bikes and occasional folks on skates. Chad was flying home from visiting family back east so he hasn't had a chance to do this yet.
Note to self: do not attempt this again during a migraine.

New ride

I got a bike last week and have been riding to work a little bit. Today, we picked up a bike seat, rear rack and helmet for E. During the second half of our test ride he kept saying, "Don't go home. No home yet, Mama."

Uncle Krish, Aunt Sandra + Baby B

We got to spend a couple of days together. We had a picnic and went out in canoes on Sunday and grilled on Monday with Krish, Sandra, Vrim, Rob, Laura and Chris.