Elliott Moves on to the 2nds

One of the greatest joys of being a parent is introducing your child to the world around him.  The amazement, wonder, and awe are contagious, and you remember how special life is, and how exciting even the most mundane details are.  I remember very specifically the moment that Elliott first noticed his hand.  He was sitting on my Dad's lap a few weeks after he was born when his hand caught his attention. His eyes got really big as they travelled from his hand up his arm, and back down again as if thinking, "No way - that thing is connected to ME?".  

We've been lulled into thinking that we are living in a timeless bubble where Elliott will always be cute, young, and experiencing things for the first time.  Then, quite suddenly, that bubble burst when Elliott started moving on to the seconds. I have to say - the seconds are actually just as exciting as the firsts.  Perhaps even more so because he is now old enough to get excited about his accomplishments too.

One of the recent transitions we have made is moving Elliott to the "Big Boy" bathtub.  For the first 3 1/2 months of his life Elliott hated baths.  Seriously - just putting his feet in the water would start him crying.  We used a plastic infant tub that supported his back & head keeping them out of the water, but every time we used it he screamed his head off.  Bath time was so horrible that we had him on the Peace Corps bath schedule - once a week, or when absolutely necessary.  And then Aunt Jessica came to the rescue.  She suggested just putting him in the real bathtub in a few inches of water.  She's on kid #4, so I trust her recommendation.  Look at the results.  Elliott now loves baths!!

I guess this was technically his first bath, since we could only sponge him off until the umbilical cord fell off.

And the close up - look how tiny he is.  It's hard to believe how much he has grown and changed in 4 short months!

Here's the hated blue plastic bath tub.  The look says it all.

Bath time has become such an enjoyable experience for all of us that we have now incorporated baths into his daily bedtime routine.  He kicks, splashes, and laughs, and sometimes if we are lucky Steve will bring the guitar into the bathroom and serenade us.  

Story time is still the backbone of our bedtime routine, and whoever happens to be over gets to participate.  Here's our good friend Heather helping out during one of our pizza nights.

The other big transition we made was moving Elliott to his own room.  We have had Elliott sleeping in our room in a cradle, which as you can see, was starting to feel a bit cramped.  (Notice how we propped up the mattress - this was the doctor's recommendation to help with his reflux)

The cradle fit him very well when he was first born.  Look how spacious it seemed  back then.  This cradle is actually a special family heirloom.  It was mine when I was a baby, and has since been the first resting place for 15 children in our family, including my sisters (at the same time since they're twins), cousins, and then the next generation of kids.

As much as we have loved having Elliott close by us in the night (especially during the middle of the night feeding), he is a growing boy and our little guy needs to be able to stretch out.  Look how tiny he looks in his crib as compared to the recent cradle pic!  He has also become a lighter sleeper, and he started waking up when I was tossing & turning in my sleep.  I think we will all sleep better with a bit of space.  

A few more things going on in the Reed household - we finally got new patio furniture!  For those of you who remember the old sofa that sat on our patio, this is a huge upgrade to comfy chairs and a table with a fire pit.  It's the perfect combination for lounging and dining alike.  Almost too perfect because on sunny days it is hard for us to motivate on the other projects we are working on...

...like our kitchen remodel.  Steve's Dad came to town to help us finish the partial wall that replaced the big wall we took out.

Of course he had to spend some quality time with Elliott too to make Grandma Lully jealous:)

I don't want to make you sad or nostalgic, but Elliott is also transitioning away from the milk comas of his youth.  Eating now more often makes him happy and playful as opposed to sleepy or "milk drunk", so this could very well  be his last milk coma.  Pause to enjoy it and meditate on his sweet youth.

Don't freak out just yet, I have a few old milk coma pics up my sleeve to get us through a few more posts.  Much like we are slowly transitioning Elliott away from the swaddle (he now sleeps with one arm out), I will be transitioning you, his faithful followers, to a different type of cute moment as an end of each blog.

I'm thinking of calling it the "Happy Elliot" picture, but I am open to suggestions.  Let me know if you have a favorite type of picture you would like to see end each post!  For now, here's Happy Elliott at his best.