Suspicious Santa

Halloween

Church party. Trick-or-treating on 69th Street. Evaluate spoils (runts and lollipops - good, chocolate - "yucky"). Crash.

Bird is the Word

This is what landed on Chris's 42nd floor, mid-town Manhattan office window-sill this afternoon.



It is a Peregrin Falcon -- one of 32 that live here in Manhattan as part of the city's 30-year effort to restore the falcon population (they started with two).

Pumpkin Carving

Me: "Elliot, help me get the seeds out of the pumpkin. We have to scrape it out and make it all clean."

Elliot (looking in the pumpkin and then backing away in disgust): "Stinky."

Chris (putting his own hand in the pumpkin): "Come on, Elliot. It's fun. It's not yucky."

Elliot (looking at Chris as though Chris had just suggested that cookie did not, in fact, start with the letter C, but J, instead): "Yes, yucky."

Needless to say, Chris and I ended up doing all the leg work on this project. Elliot did, however, enjoy the result.

Our Idea of a Good Time

Keeping Things Clean

As Chris was heading into the bathroom this morning, Elliot asked him what he was doing. When Chris told him he was going to take a shower, this is what Elliot said:

(Finger wagging) "No poop, no pee-pee, Daddy"

Anyone want to guess what we say to Elliot every time we put him in the bathtub? Apparently, Elliot thought Chris could use the reminder too.

Doughnut Plant

What kind of a mom would steal the last few bites of her kid's doughnut because it is Tres Leche and so delicious? This kind of mom.

To give myself some credit, I did feel a smidge guilty when he looked up at me and said "I want doughnut!"

Hey, Chris "shared" with Elliot too.

Chilling

When I asked Elliot what he was doing, he pulled his thumb out of his mouth and told me he was "just chilling."

Really.



In other news, Jill has inspired me to open an email account for Elliot. If you want to send him an email, he can now be reached at elliotipatton@gmail.com.

Why My Brothers-in-Law Are Awesome, Part 2

This one brought me homemade butternut squash soup when he heard I was sick. Have I mentioned that Frank and Kara now live in our building? Have I mentioned how glad I am that they do?

For Jill

Did you know your son was the face of a nationally distributed dairy-product?

Elliot points this out every time we give him a yogurt.

Oh, and Elliot eats yogurt now!

U2

Totally worth the traffic, the parking hell of the Meadlowlands, and the small fortune we paid a babysitter.

U2 puts on a good show. U2 puts on a big show. U2 puts on a really good, really big show. Even if you don't like U2, I recommend you go to one of their concerts. Because it's not just a concert, it's an experience.



Kara and Frank


The set

Digital Scrapbooking

I never thought I'd be much of a scrapbooker. All that cutesy stuff just isn't my style. Not to mention the fact that I live in an apartment and have no where to store the masses of paper, hole punches, ribbons and buttons that usually fill a scrapbookers arsenal.

Then I discovered digital scrapbooking. No mess. No fuss. Perfect.

Here's a recent page I did using a picture my friend Stephanie got of Elliot. Apparently Elliot is a lot more cooperative when someone else is holding the camera. (Thank you, Stephanie!) Sorry if you can't read the type -- the page is actually 12" x 12" and I had to shrink it here.

Frustrated Hopes

Elliot and I spent the last week in Connecticut babysitting while my parents were out of town. What follows is the scenario that played out each morning when we walked Caleb and Josh out to meet the school bus.

I want a backpack too!


The bus! The bus!


Must. Get. On. Bus.


Tears. Screams. And, finally, a resigned, "bye, guys!"

Super Why

Some kids want to be firefighters. Some kids want to be teachers. My kid wants to be a superhero. And not just any super hero. No, Elliot's secret dream is to join the elite team of superheros that solve the world's problems by... the power to read!

That's right, my friends, it's Super Why!



Lately, when Elliot should be napping, this is what I hear coming out of his room:

"Super Why to the rescue! Super Why Elliot!" (crash, bang, jump, jump). "Super Why save the day!"

I blame it on his father who, despite a respectable office job, would be perfectly happy to wake up one morning and discover he'd been bitten by a radioactive spider.

No swimsuit? No problem!

Elliot and friends decided, despite the chilly weather, to play in the spray at Elephant Park on a recent morning. None of us had brought swimsuits, but that didn't bother these boys!

Switzerland

Chris working in Switzerland for 4 weeks = Bad
Getting to visit Chris in Switzerland = Wonderful

Flattery, Elliot-Style

Lately I've been working with Elliot on his colors. He's getting pretty good so yesterday, while he was in the bath, I started quizzing him. It went something like this.

"Elliot, what color are my eyes?"
"Blue!"
"Good job! What color is my hair?"
"Yellow!"
"That's right. What about my teeth?"
"Um... BIG."

Hahaha. The frank honesty of children. What can I say? When he's right, he's right.

Utah

Here are some pics from our recent trip to Utah. For those of you that don't know, Chris's grandfather, Pep, passed away at the beginning of August and we went out for the funeral. It was really hard, but we were glad to be able to spend time with family (especially Todd, who is leaving for his mission this Sunday.)

Pio Pio

If you live in NY and haven't been to Pio Pio, go! Best. Chicken. I. Have. Ever. Had.

http://www.piopionyc.com/

Into the Woods

This weekend Chris, Elliot and I went to Connecticut to see my sister Mikaela in Into the Woods. She was the witch (see the foxy gray-haired lady in the picture).

It was awesome! Mikaela totally rocked (and I'm not just saying that because I'm her sister).

Also, this is my mom. After nine kids, no less. I hope I have her aging genes.

Our Son, the Petty Criminal

On Saturday, Elliot concluded that our kitchen faucet sprayer wasn't up to snuff, so he decided to pocket this bad boy at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Once we got home, he waited until we weren't looking, retrieved it from his secret (but not so secret anymore) stroller compartment, and tore into it like a kid on Christmas.

Since the sound of ripping cardboard always gives parents a bit of an adrenaline rush, we quickly discovered him and his crime. Realizing he'd been found out, he looked at us like the guilty man he was--and ran for cover.

I have since made an honest man out of him by pressing the ill-begotten sprayer into the hands of a nice stocker at BB&B--and taking off before it occurred to him to charge me $15.99 for the thing.

Next time, Elliot, make yourself useful and pick up a dish towel or two. We could actually use those.

Why My Brothers-in-law Are Awesome

They voluntarily watched Elliot while I wrote, thought, read, went out to eat, and hiked at a 10-day writing conference in Maine. They learned how to get a fit-throwing toddler into his stroller, how to pack a baby bag (never, ever forget the snacks!), and how to put a reluctant Elliot to bed. They even managed to convince him that Mario Kart Wii is far better television than Thomas (thank you!). And they did such a good job with it all that when I came back, Elliot was still asking for his uncles.

I bet your brothers-in-law aren't this cool.

(My mother-in-law covered the last five days, so basically ALL my in-laws are pretty awesome).

Also - if you have never been to Maine, GO!

Fourth of July

We had a great Fourth of July. Chris got off work (woo-hoo!) and some of our favorite Washington, DC peeps, Steve, Sariah and Ben came to visit. We hit up the boat pond and the granite slide in the morning, Shake Shack for lunch, and Riverside Park for the fireworks.

While I'm in Maine

Elliot has run the "Hudson Cup" and learned to enjoy the sprinklers at the park. (Photos courtesy of Chris's blackberry, so they are a bit fuzzy).

Caleb's Baptism

I like this kid.

My Love Affair with HomeGoods

Sorry for the break in our regularly scheduled all-Elliot-all-the-time programming, but I just wanted to take a moment to say how much I love HomeGoods. Seriously. I want to kiss it. Particularly whenever I sit in my comfy new desk chair (belated birthday present from my mom) or my less comfy, but still very well loved living room chair.

If you haven't ever shopped at HomeGoods, give it a try. Trust me--it's jam packed with eclectic, fun stuff and it's extremely affordable (I'd never buy sheets or towels anywhere else). You'll thank me for the tip.

Family Photos

We recently had family photos done by Blue Lily Photography. I really liked how they turned out. Here are a few of my favorites. Any advice on which ones we should order prints of?