February Fun

Hi All!  I can't believe February is almost over already.  Elliott seems to be growing up so quickly.  He's transitioned from cautiously walking to running everywhere, and his few words have grown into a large vocabulary.  I am continuously amazed by how much he understands, and remembers.

So, to get you up to speed on what Elliott has been up to in the month of February (and to get this post up quickly before Elliott wakes up), here is a collection of photos and stories from the month, in no particular order.

The weather has been gorgeous here in SB over the past few weekends, and we have been enjoying family walks around the neighborhood, including up the street to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.  Elliott and Reese played together while we enjoyed our afternoon pick me up.  Elliott is getting quite good at throwing the ball, and has finally turned into the playmate Reese always hoped he would be.

We made a quick trip down to Newbury Park so Elliott could visit Great Grandma Claire and Great Grandpa Harry.  On the way down I couldn't resist sneaking a shot of Elliott content in his car seat.  He read books to himself the entire trip down. It was so sweet to watch, and I'm happy to find him turning into a book worm.  I had my doubts during the earlier months when all he wanted to do was eat the books we were trying to read to him.

Our good friends the Quinns had us over for dinner.  While we enjoyed good food and conversation, Elliott and Camryn enjoyed playing together, pushing each other around the house in the stroller.

And how could you live in beautiful Santa Barbara without enjoying Happy Hour on the beach from time to time.  Elliott was super happy to play in the sand with an array of beach toys provided by the restaurant, which freed us up to relax and enjoy the view.

I brought Elliott in to work one afternoon to meet my work friends.  He absolutely loved it, especially all the trucks owned by our operations staff.  Trucks are his absolute favorite (he has to point out every one we see in the car), and he must think I have the best job ever getting to be around them all day.

Even the one bad weather day over President's day weekend didn't stop us from hitting the beach.  Elliott had so much fun digging in the sand that we are still discovering sand patches throughout the house that he tracked in.

One of the best tweaks we have made to our evening routine is feeding Elliott in the kitchen while we cook dinner.  Someday I hope to have more regular "Family Dinners", but for now it is nice to relax, chat with him and cook dinner, as opposed to rushing to get dinner on the table while he is fussing and tugging on me because he is hungry.

Another neighborhood walk to the park.

We stopped by the new Santa Barbara REI.  I was hoping to find him a new winter coat on clearance, but he got sidetracked by the hats.  He truly is a little hat man.

We even got to squeeze in a mommy & me kids music session at a local baby store.  Elliott was overwhelmed by the small room with lots of moms and babies, and clung to me the whole time.  I was a bit surprised since he loves music so much, but maybe next time he will warm up to it.

Elliott's favorite place to spend his time is our backyard...  He runs around exploring everything, but if he catches us watching him he pauses, and then flashes the hugest grin.  Like he knows he is the happiest kid in the world.

Elliott is fascinated with socks, and had to try on Daddy's socks one day.

We all continue to enjoy his little play station at the front window...

Back to Reese and Elliott being buddies - Elliott has discovered our hiding place for Reese's treats, and daily will open the cupboard, grab the bag, and then pester us until we open the bag so he can give Reese a treat.  Too cute.

I served on a jury last week, and got to spend my days at our beautiful court house.  It was a very interesting experience, and a reminder of why we live here.  One afternoon while taking a walk, a tour bus drove by, and everyone leaned out to snap this picture.  I may have mentally gloated a bit over the fact that I was doing my civic duty here, while they only got to snap a pic.

Elliott discovered the moon one evening during a walk with Reese on the bluffs.  He was fascinated, and kept pointing and saying "moon, moon".  The earth science teacher in me was proud.  Maybe he'll be an astronaut one day...

And that was our February!  We're looking forward to what March will bring.

Elliott's weekend adventures

And we're back!! I can't believe my last post was about Thanksgiving.  The holidays and beginning of the year were stressful for me (not bad, just too much going on with not enough time, aka - "the usual"), and I began operating on "bare minimum" mode to get by.  My goal for this year is to have a more relaxed and peaceful life through organization, simplification, and doing things I love, like sharing my awesome kid and his adventures with you.  So enough about me, and on to Elliott's latest shenanigans.

We had an unexpectedly fabulous weekend full of good friends, family, and relaxation.  It started on Friday night with this little guy, running around the house with a few of his favorite things, and literally jumping for joy on the couch (I'm wondering if, as a parent I should be discouraging this kind of behavior, but it is so darn cute).  He loves to wear hats like this trucker hat he got for christmas, and that is a battery operated drill Santa brought him.

And then it was off to his play tent for a few stories before bed.  He's showing me how he can wash his hands like the boy in the book.

Saturday was a housewarming party for our friend Heather at her cute new (2 bedroom!) cottage.  Can't believe I didn't get a pic of Elliott with her.  When we first got there he was a bit shy and just stared at everyone, but soon warmed up and began running circles through her house, chatting up everyone, crawling up and down the stairs on her deck.  When he started playing in the toilet we took it as our cue to head out.

Steve's friend Eric stayed with us on Saturday night.  The boys had a much needed jam session - Elliott included! (I don't know if you can tell, but that's a dog shaped guitar Elliott is playing)

Sunday morning we had coffee at the French Press with Eric before he left town.  Elliott fit right in to the hipster scene with his cool hat, and charmed just about everyone around us with his sweet smile.

We set up a playstation at our coffee table in the front window, and it keeps him engaged and focused for about 5 minute spurts, which is pretty impressive these days.  He also gets to watch all the activity at the retirement home across the street.  His favorite thing to do is yell "bus" when one drives by, and wave at all of the passengers.

Elliott is also learning how to surf.  Maybe one day he will upgrade from cutting boards on the kitchen floor to a real board in the ocean.  If Papa (my dad) has anything to do with it, that will be next summer at our 4th of July camping trip.

Sunday afternoon we took a family hike at the Ellwood bluffs to visit the monarch butterflies in their annual migration.  While Elliott was a bit to small to notice the butterflies, he had a great time being outside with Reese.

However, our walk was very slow as he got excited about every single rock we saw and had to investigate.  The joys of being a kid are very simple.

It's funny that Papa came up in our conversation earlier in the day, because he and Grandma surprised us with a visit as they were passing through town.  We had a lovely dinner on the beach, 

and then came back to our house where Elliott got to open his Valentine's day gift - a new book about trucks.  He even read it to Papa saying "truck, truck,..."  

There was even some time for a few snuggles with Grandma before bed.

And now that it is 6:30 on Monday morning, I'd better go wake up my cute kid, get him dressed, off to daycare, and start another week.  I 'm already looking forward to the next weekend I get to spend with my special guy.

Have a great week!!