Elliott goes camping

As many of you know, the annual 4th of July camping trip is one of the biggest traditions in my family. We have been camping with my cousins for longer than I can remember - maybe 33 or 34 years (does that make me old?).  I have many fond memories of these trips growing up, and now that we are all grown up with our own families the fun (and number of participants) has grown.  This year it came full circle as we initiated Elliott, and a few of his cousins, to the joys of camping at El Capitan State Beach, just outside of Santa Barbara.

The weather was beautiful for the first part of our camping trip, so everyone hit the beach.  Elliott absolutely loved the ocean, and playing in the wetsuit that my parents brought for him. My Dad already had him in the breakers on a boogie board, and is looking forward to getting him on a surfboard next year.

The Race is On! Elliott vs. the Kitchen Floor

And we're back!  The Elliott show was on hiatus while I adjusted to the very full life of a full-time working mom and weekend DIYer.  I've been striving to find that elusive place called "balance".  While I'm not quite there yet, I am finally at a point where I feel that I can start adding back in the things I enjoy doing -- like sharing my awesome kid with his adoring fans.  

Throughout the kitchen remodel one of our main goals has been to get the house put back together before Elliott becomes mobile.  We've made huge progress, and while we will be doing minor improvements for months to come (like molding and backsplash tile), we are so close to being fully functional.  There is just one final (pretty important) piece - the kitchen floor.

 VS.

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?".  

Elliott's 1st Cold

Well, I knew it had to happen sooner or later - Elliott had to get sick at some point.  Of course my vote was for later, but at 3.5 months, and right after New Years, Elliott came down with his first cold.  I held off taking him to the doctor for a few days hoping it would clear up, but when eye goop began dripping out of his eye like our bathroom faucet before Steve fixed it, I decided to take him in.  (It's hard to see, but if you look closely you can see the liquid running down his cheek)

Elliott's 1st (and 2nd) Christmas

I know, I know, I'm long overdue for the big Christmas post.  My goal of posting weekly seems to be more difficult than I first thought.  The New Year started off a bit rocky between trying to get back into a routine after being away for a week and a half, working at 80% time, and all of us being sick - all of the sudden two weeks have passed.  But I'm nothing if not persistent, so I'll keep trying to please Elliott's adoring fans by woking toward my New Year's goal of weekly updates.

On to the matter at hand.  Elliott had a wonderful first (and second) Christmas.  We started out the whirlwind Holiday adventure at Steve's parent's for Christmas.  My parents were also included, so Elliott got to spend his first Christmas with both sets of grandparents.  We feel so fortunate that our families get along so well, and there is no tension over who we visit and when.

We have started a routine of reading Elliott a story before bed every night, so both the grandmas were happy to participate on Christmas Eve.  Here are Grandma Sandy (aka Lully), Elliott, and Grandma Starla reading Goodnight Moon.

We Have a Thumbsucker (and other news from the Reed Household)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas - we're up in Auburn visiting Steve's family and enjoying our vacation.  With time to relax away from work/house projects, and several extra loving arms to hold Elliott, I am busily trying to get caught up on the blog.  This is one that has been a few weeks in the making - don't worry, there will be an update on Elliott's first Christmas and his surprise gift to the grandmas in the near future, as soon as I can collect the best pictures from the 8 cameras we had going at the same time.

 

I think I say this in every post, but it seems like Elliott has been growing and changing dramatically over the last few weeks.  For example, he is now able to get fingers into his mouth at will. Elliott has never been very interested in the pacifier, so I am happy that he has a new technique for self soothing.  And this change literally happened overnight.  We woke up one morning to our very own thumbsucker:

Elliott's 1st Thanksgiving

It's that time of year again - the holidays are here!  Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that I have taken for granted in year's past - eat good food, spend time with family, do a bit of shopping - but I hadn't put a lot of thought into the true meaning of the day.  It usually meant a long road trip squeezed into not enough days off from work.  Funny how having a kid keeps you living in the moment so much that you realize how much you have to be thankful for.  This year I am overwhelmed with how special life is, and grateful that we have so many wonderful friends and family to share it with.  Not to mention the world's most adorable son (so I'm biased, I am his mom:) who keeps us smiling and laughing non-stop.

We are still nervous about disrupting Elliott's sleep schedule on road trips, so we hit the road Tuesday evening after Steve got off work, and rolled in to my parents just before midnight.  Although we would have loved to sleep in on Wednesday morning, we have become early risers, so instead we relaxed over a cup of coffee while Elliott read the newspaper with Great Gram.