Eliot's Nest

First tooth!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Mon, 27 May 2013 13:51:00 +0000

Miss Linnea's first tooth is popping through her little gums today! Just an edge but pretty soon she will have her first pearly white. She is handling it like a champ, too!

Happy Easter!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:47:00 +0000

Hope those of you who celebrate had a lovely Easter, and those who don't, I hope it was a lovely spring Sunday.

Super Belated 5 Month Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:42:00 +0000

So...she's almost 6 months now, but I took this on her 5 month-day. So happy 5 months Linnea! You are a joy at this age, smiley, funny and social. You love to laugh and flirt and you are a happy, darling, charming little girl. We love you!

Eliot Says

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:08:00 +0000

I was talking to Eliot today on the telephone after Nick picked him up from preschool.

Me: "Eliot, how is Linnea doing?"

Eliot: "Oh, she's just a baby."

True enough, buddy, true enough.

Say cheese!

Eliot's Feeling Great

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 22:48:00 +0000

How was your day mama? How was your day?

That's my new greeting when I come home from work, and it still stops me every time because wow, is my little guy really big enough to be asking me how MY day was when I get home?

If you ask him how he's doing, nine times out of ten he'll say, "feeling great mama, feeling great." And when he responds that way, I too feel great, because what could be happier or more adorable than that answer.

We recently realized that they do the pledge of allegiance every morning at school. When I asked him about it that night, he said "Yes! Pledge to America!" Nick also asked him whether he knows the national anthem. He said he did, and Nick asked him to sing it. He started at the top of his lungs..."A, B, C, D, E, F, GGGG....." So, maybe he doesn't know the anthem. Or maybe that's the preschool anthem? But when Nick started singing Eliot was able to chime in with *just* enough words that maybe? Maybe he knows it? "And..la la da da da...red GLARE!!!!!"

They also theoretically do bible study at his school. I say theoretically, because although the school literature discusses weekly bible study, we haven't heard any of the teachers discuss it, it wasn't discussed on our tour, and there are no bible study books or artwork we have noticed around the classroom. We are happy either way but we were curious so we asked Eliot if he knows who Jesus is (we have not discussed religion with him yet ourselves). "Yeah!" he replied. Do you talk about him at school? "Yeah!" Who is he? "Umm....he's a guy." And what did he do? "Umm...well, he's a guy." So we're not sure. Maybe they've done bible study? Maybe not. But he's right. Jesus was a guy.

Little Linnea is doing well. She doesn't want to be a baby and is growing up SO fast. I think she sees her brother and thinks hey, why can't I do that as well? Case in point, she's already holding her own bottle. The big girl wants to do it HERSELF. She also has learned to roll over back to belly. She did it the first time the day before I went back to work (thank you Linnea!) I got to see it by the skin on my teeth, and that only because of President's day. This rolling has affected some naps, however, because she rolls to her belly, gets stuck, and gets mad. She needs to figure out how to roll the "easier" direction, belly to back.

I just rolled over and I'm SO pleased with myself!!

And we are in for it when she starts to talk, because she is already quite the talker. She loves to make pterodactyl squawks, she coos, she babbles, it's adorable. She's so social and such a flirt and we are SO in for it with the boys one day.

And Eliot lovers her so. He is typically exuberant around her however, and will proclaim "ELIOT KEEP HER SAFE!!!!" as he pounds on her back or pokes her eye. There was an unfortunate incident involving Eliot, a blue dry-erase marker, and a baby with blue circles around her eye, but we won't mention that. No permanent damage done (thankfully). Occasionally he gets jealous. "Eliot, why is Linnea crying?" "Eliot bite her." "WHY DID YOU BITE HER?" Big grin (followed by lesson/time out, etc.) But mostly he likes to kiss her and make her laugh.

Happy Valentines Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:20:00 +0000

Love from Eliot and Linnea!

Hermit the Crab and our tall girl

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 04:27:00 +0000

Eliot's doing well these days. He is transitioning into preschool well though he comes home exhausted. He is really enjoying himself and it's fun to hear all about his day. This weekend we took a walk down in Huntington Beach and he enjoyed watching the beach volleyball players. I love Southern California, where the weather allows everything from a sweater to a bikini within the month of February.

This evening we were singing Rainbow Connection to Eliot, and we let him watch the original Muppet movie. He kept getting confused, however. We told him the song was by Kermit the Frog, but he kept calling him Hermit the Crab. The rest of the night, every time we sang him Rainbow Connection he told us we were singing the Hermit the Crab song. He will forever be Hermit the Crab to us.

The little smiley one above is also doing well. She had her four month checkup today and she is the size of the average seven month old according to her doctor. She is 26.5 inches tall (off the charts, somewhere above 95%), 16 lbs (92%) with a head circumference in the 50%. The doctor said she looks perfect, and I agree with her on that.

4 months old today!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 17:35:00 +0000

Our bundle is 4 months old, 16 pounds, and a happy, social little thing. Love you Linnea!

First day of preschool!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 18:53:00 +0000

Today is Eliot's first day of preschool. He attended daycare previously, but hasn't been in school for a few months now. Today he started real preschool. He was so excited and very proud of his McQueen lunchbox. Drop-off went well. He had a few tears but the teacher did a great job of distracting him. The other kids were so sweet. One little girl turned to another and said "Look! It's our new friend Eliot!" I'm so proud of him and love him so much.

Things are going well. Linnea is high-maintenance but the sweetest, smiliest baby. She doesn't nap (ever...at all. We're trying, but she won't even nap after being rocked in the dark for an hour.) But she is SO social, loves to be smiled at and talked to, and just wants to be a big girl. She loves the jumperoo. Yesterday she laughed for the first time! She was in the jumperoo and Eliot came up to her and grinned and banged his monster trucks on the ground. She thought it was hilarious and let out her first real chuckle. It made my heart happy that Eliot got the first laugh out of her.

I have lots of photos, and it's been too busy with both of them to really blog, but I'd like to get better about it again. Here are a few pictures in the meantime.

Happy 3 Months!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 06:35:00 +0000

Happy belated 3 months Linnea, and thanks Eliot for continuing to be such a funny awesome guy.

Happy Two Months Linnea!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 18:07:00 +0000

Sumo baby

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:02:00 +0000

Linnea was cranky after bathtime tonight and Nick was trying to calm her down. After trying a number of different tactics, he finally found a position that made her happy. Funny what calms the little ones sometimes. She looked like a little sumo baby to me.

Eliot thought this was pretty funny.

Sunday Sunset

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:13:00 +0000

Last Sunday we went to the beach at Sunset to let Eliot frolic and watch the sun go down. Lots of photos resulted.

One month old!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 19:18:00 +0000

Happy first month Linnea! You weigh 10 lbs 6 oz, like milk and hugs, and hate headbands and reflux. We are enjoying watching you grow and change!

Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:58:00 +0000

Eliot had a great Halloween. In the morning we went to Knott's Berry Farm and he rode rides (airplanes! racecars! boats! trucks! trains! and a hand-eh-burger for lunch. His pronunciation, not mine.) After nap he painted his pumpkin and helped us carve ours. After dinner, it was trick-or-treating time. Eliot was the handsomest fireman I have ever seen. He had fun going door to door and collecting candy. He usually said thank you, and sometimes said trick or treat, but he tended to get a little shy. After we got home he had almost as much fun handing out candy as he had collecting it himself. He ate more chocolate than a two year old should eat, grinning ear to ear the whole time. And at the end of the night we had handed out all the remaining candy, so he his candy consumption is done for a while. I asked if he had fun, and he responded with a resounding yes, so I think Halloween 2012 was a roaring success.

Knott's

Tough baby in skull onesie

Pumpkin painting

Fireman and trick-or-treating! (Moving child + dark + carrying a baby = blurry photos. Sorry).

Slip Sliding

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 01:54:00 +0000

Welcome Linnea James!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 21:52:00 +0000

On October 8, little Linnea James entered the world. She is healthy and sweet and smooshy and adorable and we all love her. Eliot is a tremendous big brother and always wants to be with Linnea, give her kisses, and hold and help her. We have been so lucky.

I am feeling well, though a bit tired. Here are some photos from her first days, I will update more later!

Pumpkin Patch

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Another exciting day! We took Eliot to the pumpkin patch this morning and had a blast. He went on three tractor rides, had two visits to the petting zoo, explored a giant pumpkin patch, watched a pumpkin be shot out of a pumpkin cannon, and ran through a corn maze. The corn maze didn't quite rival the east coast maize mazes we've been to, but for California (and a two year old) it was pretty fun. Eliot talked about tractors and pumpkins and scarecrows all the way home. And now, way too many photos.

Fire Station Open House!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:14:00 +0000

The fire station across the street from our house had an open house today. It was pretty awesome. We got a tour of the station, and Eliot got to look at all the trucks and sit in them. He got some extra use out of his Halloween costume. He "drove" both of the big engines, loved the pole, and we had a hard time pulling him away from the station at the end! We got lots of photos.

Still pregnant! And a lazy post

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 17:55:00 +0000

So, here are some cute photos from last weekend. Despite my having the energy of a slug, we had a nice weekend. For Eliot it involved seeing lots of trains, a bumpy slide, playing pirate with another little boy who he befriended because they were the same size, a park trip, the swimming pool, and other little fun adventures.

It is finally cooling off a bit (100 yesterday, down to the mid-80s today, hurray!). We are all getting anxious to meet the newest member of our family!

And now, photos of Eliot playing with a stick at the park.

Too hot (where are you fall?) and still pregnant

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 23:28:00 +0000

Hey. So it's been over 90 degrees here for way too long, and I am too hot and too pregnant to do much. So I'm light on pictures and the will to blog, but thought I'd throw up a couple of photos of us trying to stay cool over the last couple of weeks. I know, 90 isn't considered that hot in much of the country, but to be a little fair a) I am 8.5 months pregnant and b) we don't have air conditioning. Anyway, Eliot's been pretty cute. And he has entered that "kids say the darndest things" period. Here are a few recent winners:

Eliot wanted to join Uncle Dan in the hot tub (which he doesn't get to go in,) so was vehemently expressing to us "Eliot go sit with Uncle Dan in the hot dog!"

We were watching football, and I exclaimed "Nice! Go!" after a good catch and run. Eliot looked over and yelled "Nice goat!!"

Nick was upstairs singing to himself. Eliot was downstairs with his stuffed monkey and yelled "No singing Papa! There's a monkey here!" Apparently HE was fine with the singing, but, you know, the monkey.

He keeps us entertained.

Labor Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 02:28:00 +0000

Now that we are getting closer and closer to baby sister coming, we are trying to give Eliot some extra fun adventures that may have to go on hold for a little while when we are figuring out the juggle of having two little ones.

This morning we took Eliot out to Balboa peninsula and he had a pretty awesome morning for a toddler. He took a loooooong nap when we got home.

First we went for a walk on the pier, and Eliot got a kick out of watching the pelicans. He talked about the pelican eating a fish all the way home. Then he got to play on the beach playground. Then he got a ride on the ferris wheel which he as super stoked about. It's a pretty long ride but he still asked for more. Then we rode the ferry across the harbor, he got to play on another playground, and took the ferry back. The weather was beautiful, and I don't think it gets much better than that for a two year old!

Beach frolic

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 20:04:00 +0000

It has been hot here in Southern California, much hotter than normal. We are lucky to live close enough to the ocean to catch some nice breezes at our house, but the fans have still been spinning at full blast.

We got up and headed right to the beach this morning. Yesterday Eliot said, "Eliot go to the beach this weekend?!" which is actually more statement/demand than question. But it seemed like a good morning to go. When we got there, there was no morning fog, no gradually warming up, by the time we got there a bit after 9 it was already HOT and sunny. The cold SoCal water felt refreshing rather than jarring. Eliot had a good 3 hours of fun, including sand toys, playing in the waves, watching the boats coming out of the harbor from the jetty, and even an ice cream. By that point he was wiped out and we all headed home for a shower and rest. It was a pretty nice way to start the day.

I'm quite pregnant at this point.

Grandma's House

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:22:00 +0000

Just a few shots from our weekend at Grandma's house. It was a hot one, so Eliot spent most of the time running around in just a diaper or naked. He had a blast in the kiddie pool and playing with the hose and spent the whole ride home on Sunday asking to go back. Don't worry little guy, we'll be visiting again!

Pulling the tool wagon around was very entertaining.

So entertaining, in fact, that he woke up the next morning and got right back to it.

There was even some naked golfing involved.

Getting caught up -- more pictures!

noreply@blogger.com (Ellen) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 17:43:00 +0000

Eliot's really getting the hang of his little balance bike. He's had a lot of fun riding it around our little courtyard. Here the neighbor dog woofed at him and he was telling me all about it.

Pants not necessary.

Eliot's finally started climbing things at the park. He loves to sit in this airplane.

Meltdown avoided via Trader Joe's stickers.

The fair is almost over, but Eliot has gotten to go many times. One of his favorites...the piggy races! He sat up in the front row with the other kids and watched the races (and played in the dirt).

Beach bonfire with friends! Eliot played in the waves, loved them crashing into him (exclaiming OH MY GOSH!!!). He ate chips, liked playing in the beach showers, and was super into the bonfire.

More fair. He keeps asking to go (Eliot go to fair!) Because we live next door, we got dollar tickets, so his wish is granted frequently. He'll be sad when it ends this weekend.