Growing up so fast!

Elliot is 18 months old today. Where has the time gone? Guy took him to Nursery for the first time on Sunday and he loved it. Guy gave me the pictures that he "colored" during the lesson and I'm not quite sure what to do with them. He made one tiny little crayon mark on one picture and that was it. I think that Guy is just as excited to have Elliot go to Nursery so that he can actually sit through Sunday School and Elder's Quorum again without chasing a 1 year old.



Elliot loves to climb everything in sight. Whenever we are near playground equipment, he wastes no time in getting to the top and then sliding down, over and over again. He loves to be outside and he cries whenever it is time to come inside again.

List of Firsts

Baby books contain many places to record such precious information as first word, first bath, first step, etc. But I think they should also include first trip to the E.R., first black eye, first object shoved up nose, etc. While I was getting toothbrushes ready last night, Elliot lost his balance and fell against the side of the tub. This morning, he has a little bit of a purple eye with a goose egg to go along with it. I'm sure it's not the last bump and bruise that this kid will get. He is fearless. He loves climbing on the table and counter top, and he has even tried to walk down the stairs.

Elliot's First Haircut

For quite a while now, Elliot has been in desperate need of a haircut. Amelia had her first haircut around age 2 and Ashley was closer to 3 by the time I got the scissors out. Well, Elliot's hair was starting to cover his ears and it was almost hanging in his eyes. So, after breakfast this morning, out came the scissors. I tried to distract him with more cereal and milk and I let him play with the spray bottle, but he still was not a fan of me combing his hair and getting dangerously close to his head with a sharp object. In the end, I was able to trim around his ears and take a little off the top without much of a fuss. But trimming the back didn't go as well. I make no guarantees that he got a good haircut, but it does look better than it did.

before

after

all that hair

Where have you been?

Yes, I know. It has been more than 2 months since I have blogged. I admire everyone out there that can keep up with a blog and kids and everything else that comes along. Apparently, I am not one of those people. Every time I think I have a minute to myself, something or someone beckons me. But right now, I think I have a minute so here is a little bit of what we have been doing. More updates will hopefully follow soon!

Elliot turned one on December 29th...We finally celebrated on January 1st...I finally turned his car seat around on January 19th. I didn't have a reason to do it before then, so I just kept him rear facing. Besides, naps in the car are a lot easier when you are already reclined. Well, the Durango had to go to the dealership yesterday for a little repair so I had to put all the car seats in the Neon. It is a really tight squeeze, but Amelia said that it was fun and she wanted to keep it like that forever. I forgot to move the car seats back to the Durango last night, so it will be at least one more day squished in the Neon. It really makes me appreciate the extra room in the behemoth SUV.

Elliot - 7, 8, 9 months old

Summer has come and gone and my little baby is now 9 months old. Time sure does fly by when you are having fun. Elliot has 4 teeth now with 2 more that just broke through within the last few days. He has started army crawling all over the house which is really annoying to the girls. They are constantly asking me to move Elliot away from where they are so he won't slobber all over their stuff. He mastered rolling over at about 7 months and just before he turned 9 months, he figured out how to sit up from laying down. It may sound like he is a little bit behind on these skills but he's got a lot of weight to throw around so it takes a little bit more effort.

We did a lot of traveling over the summer and Elliot got into the bad habit of waking up in the middle of the night. I was usually so tired that I would just nurse him back to sleep so that I could get back to bed too. There were even some nights that I just brought him into bed with us so that we could all be happy. Well, it is time to break him of that habit. When he has woken up in the middle of the night (these past 2 nights), I have checked on him, covered him back up with his blanket, and then just walked away. I crawl back into my warm bed and turn off the monitor, then fall asleep to his crying. The weird thing is that he is actually sleeping later into the morning now. I hope that soon he will re-learn how to get himself back to sleep without the 20 minutes of crying at 2 a.m.

7 months old

8 months old

9 months old

Elliot - 6 months old

My little baby boy is 6 months old. I can hardly believe it. He is a very happy baby about 90% of the time. He likes to be held and pretty much stops crying instantly if you just pick him up. He is still trying to roll over and just makes it to his side and then goes right back to being on his back. He can sit up for about 5 minutes before getting tired and flopping over. The good news is that I think he likes sitting up a lot better than lying down so maybe that will motivate him a little more to master this skill. He is eating cereal and veggies twice a day now and tolerates most of them but really loves sweet potatoes and squash. He loves sitting at the dinner table with us and making faces at daddy. Elliot still loves the sound of his voice and squeals just to hear himself. Amelia was singing a lullaby to him this morning while I was getting ready. It is great to know that she loves him so much. I've also had to switch him to a convertible car seat because he has outgrown the infant seat. Which also means that he gets to sit in the cart like a big boy. I think that he really enjoys shopping a lot more now. He had his 6-month check-up on Monday and is doing great. He weighed in at 21 lbs 5 ozs and 28 3/4 inches long. So, he is in the 95th percentile for everything. What a big boy!

What we were up to in May

The month of May has come and gone and we have been having a ton of fun.


For Mother's Day, we had a great vacation down to Snow Canyon in St. George. On the ride down, Amelia wanted to ride with Grandma and Grandpa so we only had Ashley and Elliot with us. It was a really quiet ride and we really missed having Amelia with us. Ashley, obviously, had to entertain herself. We camped for three nights and on the last night, our air mattress (that had been a wedding gift) got a hole in it and so we bunked with my mom and Steve in their trailer for the night. We also took a little hike to the sand dunes for the kids to play. The trick was getting everyone going early enough so that it wouldn't be too hot. Guy and I also took a little side trip with the kids to Mountain Meadow. It was a little spontaneous and I didn't realize that he was going to stop there or I would have invited everyone to come along. Mother's Day started off with a wonderful breakfast and then furious packing so we could get to Sterling for the second half of the day. Ashley was so tired that she fell asleep on my lap once we got there and slept for about an hour and a half which is really rare for her. Overall, it was a great trip but very hot so we will have to go earlier next year.

We got home late Sunday night so I waited until the next morning to get the girls all cleaned up. And Ashley got her first hair cut. Really it was just a trim so the before and after aren't that different.

before

after

Elliot started playing in the "circle of fun" but really I think that Amelia and Ashley play with it more than he does.

Elliot is doing a great job eating baby cereal. Here he is after a good meal...exhausted. It has made it nice though. Guy and I were able to go out for dinner and a movie and I didn't have to pump as many bottles or worry about him so much.

With the help of my mom and Steve, we pulled out the rose bushes that were in front of the house and planted new bushes and flowers. We have lived in this house for three years and this is the first time that I have planted flowers. I just hope that I don't kill them. I am so excited to see them bloom and thrive.

For Memorial Day, we picked up Tamara and made our annual trip to Ogden. We were supposed to meet the Cawley's there but we were running a little late and missed them by about 10 minutes. After putting flowers out, we drove to a little park and had a little picnic. Tamara and I felt so grown up planning it all by ourselves. Of course, after lunch we went to Farr's for some yummy ice cream. It was crowded (as usual) but definitely worth the wait. On our way out of town, we stopped by Union Station for just a minute. We are already thinking of going back to tour all the trains.

The following weekend, Guy's sister Susan was in town from Alaska so we took a trip down to Sterling to visit with her. Busy times but so much fun.

Elliot is also 5 months old now. He is still trying to roll over but only makes it to his side when he is on his back. He loves putting his toes in his mouth and just about everything else he can get his hands on. He smiles whenever he sees me which I just love. My favorite time of the day is holding him, especially if he is sleeping. He is such a good baby.

Elliot - 4 months old

It is so crazy how time flies. Elliot is 4 months old already and he is growing like crazy too. He is 17 lbs 13 ozs and 25 3/4 inches long. He is in the 95-97th percentile for both his height and weight and I think his head circumference is the the 90th percentile. So, he is well balanced. I also have started feeding him rice cereal and he is not too thrilled with it. He is also starting to try and roll over. He gets about half way over and then goes right back to his back. I sure am going to miss the days of him staying right where I put him. He smiles all the time but especially when I start smiling at him.

Ashley didn't want to be a part of the picture, but I'm sure glad that Barbie did!

Elliot - 3 months old

Elliot turned 3 months old a week ago but I had to catch up on some posts before I wrote about this one. He is such a fun baby. I am getting better at recognizing his cues for when he is tired or hungry or when he just wants to be held. He fusses when he is tired and then he will take a really good nap. Yesterday after the last session of conference, I was holding him and we both took a little nap together on the couch while the girls watched Muppets. I actually had to wake him up so that I could feed him and then get to making dinner for the rest of us. Elliot is starting to smile a lot more. Amelia loves it when he smiles at her. In fact, she would rather make silly faces at him instead of eating her dinner or whatever it is that she should be doing. Ashley is a great big sister and brought him a rattle this morning without anyone noticing. She is also always making sure that his shade cover is blocking out the light for him whenever he is in his carseat. I have also learned that he will take a bottle, which is something that Ashley never did. It is nice to be able to leave him for a few extra hours and not worry if he is starving while I am gone. He has learned how to soothe himself by sucking on his hands and there are many times that I find him sleeping with his hands in his mouth. He still has a little bit of the dark hair that he was born with, but he has rubbed a lot of it off and now he has a nice looking "crew cut".

Elliot - 2 months old

Elliot had his 2 month check up Monday and he is doing great. He weighed in at 15 lbs 4 ozs which is less than what both of my girls weighed at the same age. Amelia and Ashley had both hit 16 lbs by the time they were 2 months old so I was a little bit surprised that Elliot didn't hit that mark too. When I was getting him dressed this morning, I put him in a 6-9 month outfit and I was surprised just how well it fit him. It is so crazy how fast little babies grow.



Ashley did not want to be a part of this picture so this is as close as I could get her to be in it. Also, Amelia wants her hair to be like mine and Ashley's, so she has decided to grow out her bangs.

Sleepy Baby

I now know that Elliot can sleep through just about anything. About a week and a half ago, we were offered some tickets to the Grizzlies game. Tamara told us that the Grizz aren't doing so hot so we didn't even need to worry about things getting loud since there may not even be any goals. Well, not only did the Grizz score, but they made SIX goals. Good news--we were up in a suite so we were able to keep Elliot away from the noise just a little bit. Bad news--we were in direct line with the speakers that were blasting with each goal made. Definitely a ton of fun to go to a Grizzlies game again but just not the same.

Then, about a week ago, our ward had a Valentine's Day family dance with live big band music. And Elliot slept through all of that too. Now, if you have a baby that didn't sleep through the night until 1 year old, I'm warning you to skip this next part. Elliot is sleeping for about 7-8 hours straight through the night and he has been doing that since he was about 5 weeks old. I think that part of his good sleeping habits come from the fact that his two sisters are constantly running around yelling and screaming and if he weren't able to sleep through their noise, he would probably never get any sleep. What a great baby!

Elliot - 1 month old

There is a section in Elliot's baby book that calls for a picture after each month. I've heard that with the first two kids, you can keep up a baby book pretty good but all bets are off with the third child. I am determined not to let that happen and hopefully this will help me to remember to fill everything in for him too. On January 29, Elliot turned 1 month old and so I sat him down for a little photo shoot. I remember when Amelia was a baby and there were days that I would just dress her up and take pictures since I had all sorts of time on my hands. Now, life is a little bit busier and crazier, but time flies by so fast that if I don't take the time to do this now, the moment will be gone and I will never get it back. So, enjoy these few glimpses of our little one.