Papa's Blessing

My dad is affectionately known as "Papa" to his 5 grandchildren.  In addition to being a loving and caring grandfather, and the world's best rambunctious playmate to all of them, he also writes a very special blessing for each one when they are born that he gives when they are dedicated in church.  Since we don't attend church regularly (although I would like to find a church home when Elliott is old enough to go to Sunday school), my dad chose to give Elliott's blessing while we were in Livermore, during a picnic at Murrietta's Well, the winery where Steve and I were married.

Flashback Livermore

How is it September all ready?  I've been meaning to compile and post the pics from our Livermore trip for awhile, and all the sudden realized that it was a month ago already.  A lot can happen in a month for a guy who hasn't even lived through 12 of them yet, so I think this qualifies as flashback post... don't you?

 If you will remember from my teaser post a few weeks ago, Steve's parents, and Steve's brother Jason's family all joined us at my parents house for a weekend get together.  Here's a whirlwind recap of the time we spent with them...

Friday evening we all went to play bocce ball at a nearby restaurant/bocce court.  Elliott enjoyed the snuggle time and walking practice with Uncle Jason and Aunt Lori.

Friday Happy Hour

Wohoo!  We made it to the weekend.  To celebrate we all cut out of work (and daycare) early to hit the beach for an evening happy hour.  It's been a busy week for Steve and I, between hectic projects at work, and bit by bit trying to finish up the dining room in the evenings after Elliott goes to bed.  A quick get away to the beach was just what we needed.

Elliott enjoyed both his plastic cup of goldfish crackers,

Our Little Helper

I had a whole blog post planned for you tonight, complete with the recap of our time in Livermore I promised a few weeks ago.  Here's my recurring blog dilemna - we download and save the pictures to our desktop computer in Elliott's room.  The time that I have for blogging coincides with the time that Elliott is sleeping.  And as I have learned, when there is a conflict of interest, the sleeping baby always wins (it's much better than a not sleeping baby).  

So until I can get into the computer to grab more pics, you will just have to settle for today's cute Elliott moments captured on my iPhone, like this...

Weekend Shenanigans

It was another beautiful weekend in Santa Barbara.  Elliott and I threw in the towel early on Friday, and took the afternoon off to drive to Santa Clarita to visit my sister Janine.  I'm embarassed to say how long it has been since I've been down to visit her, so let's just say it was a bit before my little guy came into the world.

We had a lovely afternoon hanging out with Janine.  I enjoyed the girly bonding time (we both got haircuts with her awesome stylist who specializes in fine hair), but Elliott definitely enjoyed playing with her kitty Hannah the most.  He pets her like he does Reese - with an open hand and light smack.

A Much Needed Break

 Let me start by saying that Steve and I love our life together - an awesome kid, a beautiful (albeit work in progress) home in a great neighborhood, good jobs.  Of course, Santa Barbara isn't too shabby either.  So please don't judge me when I share that over the past few weeks we have been feeling increasingly burnt out.  The daily demands of housework, improvement projects, and full time jobs, combined with not enough sleep, had worn us down to the point where managing the basic daily tasks was a chore.  There was no energy left for the things we enjoy (you may have noticed I was suddenly absent from the blog world).   We realized we needed to get away from it all, even if only for a night, and our 4 year anniversary was the perfect excuse.  Our requirements were pretty low - all we wanted was a comfortable bed and a full night's sleep so we could start enjoying the small silly moments in our lives again - like this one this morning. (Yes, that is Elliott playing ON TOP of his toy basket.  He got there himself!)

Elliott takes another road trip

It's been over a week since I last posted, and I'm missing my blog already!! We had a great mini vacation in Livermore with my parents and Steve's family last week, and I am anxious to share all of Elliott's adventures and stories with you. But, since it is late and I am very protective of my sleep these days, I will just give you a teaser to get you through until tomorrow, when I hope to give a detailed account of the last week.