Friday, December 14, 2007

Peel Me a Grape


Elliot's been sick lately, so it's rare to get a smile out of him. Here's one of the few.
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Monday, December 3, 2007

Visit from the Grandparents

Elliot had a great time hanging out with his grandparents. He also enjoys eating cheerios in the new highchair they got him.

PS - No luck with the video footage of him crawling -- he finds the camera too distracting.

Elliot and Grandma Suzan

Loving those cheerios...

Friday, November 30, 2007

Elliot Crawled!

Elliot crawled this morning--and Grandma Suzan and Grandpa Bill were here to see it! I'll post video soon.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Harry Potter

We were so sad to miss our friends' Harry Potter party while we were gone for Thanksgiving! In the spirit of the party, though, I've decided to post some pictures from the Harry Potter 7 release party we went to in Columbus Circle this summer. Notice the conspicuous absence of any of the men in our lives--they claimed they wanted to be helpful and babysit, but I think they were really just trying to avoid having to walk down the streets of New York City with us.

Tamarra (Fleur), Jill (Hagrid), Mikaela, Linea (Snape), Kara (Parvati Patel)

A glowering Snape

Why fly when you can take the subway?


Me (Luna Lovegood, of course) and Mikaela

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Elliot and the Uncles

We went to Connecticut for Thanksgiving. Elliot had a great time hanging out with his uncles (and aunts!) Here are the boys watching Baby Einstein together. Caleb and Josh claimed that they were only watching for Elliot's benefit (it is for babies, after all), but I did notice that when they thought no one was looking Josh would occasionally turn to Caleb and whisper, "That's a cool one!", to which Caleb would nod fervently.

The amazing, mezmorizing powers of Baby Einstein, huh? One wonders what would happen if, say, Baby Mozart fell into the wrong hands--we might all be sitting around watching hand puppets and felt crabs on metronomes.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

A Bad Day Gets a Little Better

Last night, after finishing a huge presentation, I came out of class and the car wouldn't start. Apparently, the garage attendant had accidentally tried to start the car using the wrong key, thereby activating our car's "electronic immobilization" theft deterrent system. Basically this meant that a thief couldn't get the car, but neither could I. I won't go into all the details of what followed, but here are a couple of highlights: Having to call a neighbor and ask her to go and knock on our apartment door after Chris failed to answer any of my 32 calls (turns out his phone was on vibrate); and being asked if I had any "soft paper" after inquiring whether there was a restroom I could use. (And then, when I said no, having to follow the garage attendant to his car where he retrieved some wrinkled dinner napkins from his glove compartment and graciously offered them to me. I accepted them gladly.)

This morning didn't go much better. Chris had to spend over two hours waiting for a tow truck to come (even though they said it would only take a half hour) and missed class as a result. I spent nearly that much time on the phone with our insurance company, the tow-truck man and the Volkswagen Dealership (where - fingers crossed - our car will arrive safe and sound in the next hour or so).

Despite all of this, things are looking up. Here's why: Though I don't usually turn on the TV during the day, I decided to flip through channels while feeding Elliot. Turns out Drew Carey is now the host of the Price is Right. Yes, that's right. There he is, fat, balding, wearing a suit and holding that ridiculously skinny microphone -- and looking thoroughly miserable doing it. My thought? Well, at least my life isn't that bad.

Reason #2 my day is looking up? Elliot hates bananas. After gladly gulping down watery green beans and pea paste, the kid has decided that it's bananas he doesn't like. And I haven't laughed this hard in ages. I took a video - hopefully this will brighten your day too.

PS - The pink bib was the only one they had at the grocery store the day I was there. I swear!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Addendum to Yesterday's Post

This is what he was doing when we came in to get him this morning. I was half tempted to offer him the TV remote and an ice-cold beverage.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Crib Bumpers

Elliot has always loved his crib bumpers. It doesn't matter where I lay him in the crib, when I walk in later to check on him, he has always managed to push himself into the corner of the crib, where he can press his head (and frequently his face) against them. Recently, though, he's found another use for them: lounging. Now when he wakes up from his nap, he props himself up on the bumper, one arm resting casually across the top and just "chills" until I come get him.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Playdate

Sariah and Ben came over today to help us decorate cookies. The cookies turned out great, though I can't take any credit - their success is totally due to Sariah's steady hand and Jill's helpful hints (the royal icing was perfect!) Elliot had lots of fun hanging out with Ben!

Friday, November 2, 2007

A New Trick

For the past week or so Elliot has been making various attempts at mobility. Usually he'll lie on his belly and pull his knees to his chest, trying to scoot. When that doesn't get him anywhere (and he's thoroughly frustrated by it), he'll roll where he wants to go. But today he figured out a new trick. It hasn't helped him to move yet, but he's still quite proud of the accomplishment.

Friday, October 26, 2007

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Chris at 90

Our friend Sheldon sent this to us recently and I couldn't resist posting it:

All I have to say is I am one lucky woman.

Having Teeth is Overrated


After two weeks of bad naps, grumpiness and lots of drool, Elliot officially has his first tooth. He celebrated with his first cookie. I sat in the corner and wondered how we would get through this 20-odd more times.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Slightly Less Controversial Than Maternal Tattooing...

I'm not sure it's a good thing to feed the grandparent's new addiction, but here are a few pictures of Elliot's recent attempts to learn how to sit.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

My Little Tough Guy

There was a temporary tattoo in this week's New Yorker.

My first thought: A temporary tattoo?! In the New Yorker?! What is the world coming to?

My second thought: A temporary tattoo! I know exactly what to do with this!


My little tough guy.

Monday, October 15, 2007

It's a boy!

Yesterday, after we got home from church, I was playing with Elliot and accidentally stumbled on his new favorite noise -- burping. I have never, ever seen him laugh so hard. As you might imagine, this resulted in some rather immature behavior on the part of his parents. We didn't pull out the video camera until the end, but this should give you the idea.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Poor Nicholas the Bunny



Elliot has very decided preferences when it comes to books. If he thinks the book we've chosen isn't up to par, he'll let us know--squawking and squirming until we pull out one of his favorites. Who knew a five-month-old could be so opinionated?

As a result, we usually end reading the same 5 or 6 favorite books over and over again. This gets quite boring. Both Chris and I can recite Goodnight Moon--frontwards and backwards--from memory. We know that if 9 hippos, then 8, then 7 etc. show up for a party, you end up with 45, grooving, partying hippos.

In order to make things a little more interesting, Chris and I have resorted to some fairly odd tactics at times. I've tried reading books in different accents. I've tried reading them backwards. But nothing tops what I heard Chris doing, while reading I'm A Bunny yesterday. The story is about a cute little bunny named Nicholas and what he does during each of the four season. Chris's version of it was a bit more sinister...

(Imagine an urgent, rushed Jack Bauer-like voice)
I am a bunny!
My name is Nicholas!
I live in a hollow tree!

Apparently, in Chris's version, poor Nicholas was being interrogated regarding some suspicious anti-bunny activities. I hope the poor guy came out of it all right. Then again, maybe I don't...

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Elliot Loves His Keys


The best $2 purchase I've ever made.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Diaper Changes Made Difficult


Dear Elliot-

We are very proud that you've figured out how to roll from your back to your belly. We just wish you would refrain from doing it during diaper changes. No, it's not funny.

Love,
Your Parents