Colorado Christmas

Elliot's second Christmas was spent in Erie Colorado at his Grammy and Papa's house. It was a great, action packed trip. Elliot visited Denver, went to the children's museum, baked cookies, met a few new doggies, went to church, ate lots of food (including cookies), opened presents, played with presents, played in the snow, learned how to play "horsey", and threw a party for his "Rocky Mountain Crew."

We arrived home late Saturday the 28th and went to Mimsey's to open presents at her house on the 29th. We are home now and gearing up for a little New Year's Eve celebration with friends tomorrow night.

Say What?

I promise pictures from our trip to Colrado are coming soon - in the mean time I thought it may be a good idea to record all of the words that have been popping out of little Elliot's mouth. I have been telling people that he can say 10-15 words, lets see...

1. Mama
2. Dada
3. Dog
4. Duck
5. Quack
6. Moo
7. Bear
8. Cracker
9. More
10. No
11. Mine
12. Choo-choo
13. Bye-bye
14. Uh-oh
15. Hi
16. Ball
17. Back

17 words, WOW! He understands a few more words and phrases that he can't quite say yet including: sit down, shoes, outside, stomp your feet, clap your hands, Zsi-Zsi, nice, and gentle.

Better Late Than Never

Sorry for the delay in posting last weekend's pictures. My blogging time has been replaced by sending out Christmas cards and wrapping presents. Elliot and Brian are at the grocery store as I type, giving me a window of opportunity to blog. Last weekend my cousin Shelley Ham, her husband and two girls (Steve, Olivia and Abigale) stopped by for a visit on their way to West Virginia. The Ham family recently moved from Hawaii and plan to make Portugal, Spain or Croatia their next home. En route they visited family on the east coast and they are in England with Steve's family for the holidays.

It was great to see the Hams! Elliot enjoyed meeting his third cousins and shared all of his toys with them. Both girls were so well behaved, especially considering the amount of time they had spent in the car by the time they got to our house.

This weekend was supposed to be dedicated to preparing for our trip to Colorado on Friday. We haven't even started packing. Yesterday we played inside (it was very cold), ran errands, and cleaned house. Last night Brian and I went to a Christmas party and Elliot got to spend the evening with babysitter extraordinaire, Nicole. Nicole used to work at Elliot's daycare and is one of his favorite people!

Later this afternoon Elliot and I met up with Audrey and Allie at Maymont. It was a bit warmer today and sunny today. Elliot really enjoyed walking around the animal exhibit and "mooing" at ALL of the animals. When a goat "baaa-ed" at him he shot it a look like "no you are suposed to say moo." After we saw all of the barn animals we headed to the nature center for the indoor exhibit. It was so much fun. There were lots of buttons to push, a water fall thing to put your hands in, and animals (including fish, owls, snakes, eels, and otters that did carzy flips in the water). We also had fun seeing Allie and Audrey. I know Elliot enjoyed the afternoon because he babbled, sang and clapped his hands all the way home.

Turkey Day 2008

Elliot, Mommy and Daddy had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday in Williamsburg. Elliot's Aunt Lindsay and Uncle John came to town from West VA, and we were all happy to see them. Even though Elliot wasn't feeling his best (he has a cold) he kept everyone laughing with his silly antics. We spent lots of time outside enjoying the crisp fall temps. Elliot loves to explore Mimsey's yard. Elliot also had a fun time with Rosi, at last Rosi had an eager ball thrower to keep her entertained! We attempted a family photo but Elliot didn't want to sit still. We did manage to get a couple shots of Elliot with Mommy, Mimsey and Aunt Lindsay. If only Elliot wasn't giving the photographer the stink eye.

We really do have so much to be thankful for!

Likes and Dislikes

Elliot's daycare recently updated one of the bulletin boards in his classroom with new pictures of the pre-tods and little blurbs about each baby. The blurbs are really cute and sound a little like personal ads. Elliot's says something like, "Elliot loves playing outside, going down the slide, riding bikes and pointing out his friends. His also loves giving hugs to and hanging out with his best friend Jacqueline."

It is so cool to watch Elliot develop likes and dislikes. In addition to his interests at daycare, Elliot also has a few new interests at home including: trying to put on and walk in Mommy's shoes (Daddy's are too big and heavy), opening the Tupperware cabinet in the kitchen and playing with all of the treasures inside, and calling for Zsi-Zsi (Elliot does this by hitting his hand against his tummy or the floor and yelling, "Doog Zu-Zu, Zu-Zu").

Feels Like Spring

With temps in the low 70's Saturday was very mild. We spent a lot of time outside jumping in puddles (it rained Friday night), kicking leaves, watching the Richmond Marathon (it goes down Forest Hill Ave.) and hanging out at the park. Mimsey came to town which made for an EXTRA fun time time for Elliot and Mommy (thanks for the early b-day gift mom, I can't wait to wear them).

Today we all ran errands - Elliot and I went grocery shopping, Zsi-Zsi got a bath, Daddy got a hair cut, and we all went to Target. Elliot was a little nervous for Zsi-Zsi at the Critter Town Bathhouse. He tried to comfort her on the way home by saying her name (sort of) and petting her. He is a very gentle petter. With so much activity this weekend I was not surprised when Elliot feel asleep as soon as he put his little head down in his crib.

The Future is Bright

Although Elliot won't remember this year's historic election (Brian and I did take him along with us to vote), it will have a tremendous impact on his life. I get teary when I think about what this election means for all of us and I can't wait for the change that I know the next four years will bring. I am filled with hope for our Nation and the promise of a brighter future for my son.

*You can see and print hundreds of inspiring Obama posters like the one above here.

Fall Fun

I can't believe it's already November. Fall is flying by and winter will be here before you know it. Elliot was a very busy boy during the month of October with Halloween playgroup, parties at school, a visit to the children's museum, his first trip to a pumpkin patch, exploring a new playground, and trick or treating.

Last Sunday we went for a really long walk in our neighborhood. Along the way we stopped at a little playground that has all kinds of fun toys for the toddler set. Elliot loved driving (with Daddy's help) this little blue car all over the playground.

Our next stop was the pumpkin patch at the Methodist church. Elliot LOVED the pumpkins. He tried to pick them all up and wanted to bring all of the little pumpkins home with us. After we picked out the perfect pumpkin we realized it wasn't going to fit in the bin under his stroller so the pumpkin rode in the stroller and Elliot rode home on Daddy's shoulders.

Yesterday, Mimsey came to Richmond to help us celebrate Halloween. While I carved our pumpkin, Elliot helped put the stray seeds in a big bowl. As you can see our carving was inspired by Elliot's buffalo costume.

Elliot's first time trick-or-treating was fun for everyone. Elliot was very excited about his buffalo costume and loved carrying the little candy bag that his Grammy made for him. All of the neighbors thought Elliot was very cute. Instead of candy Elliot trick-or-treated for Unincef and raised $2.75 (which Mommy and Daddy matched) to help UNICEF provide water, education and medicine to the children who need it most around the world.