Daddy's Hat and Mama's Boots

Here are some catch up pictures from the past 10 days. I thought about touching up the pictures to remove Elliott's sores on his face, but since I don't have the superpowers to do that in real life, I thought it best to show the real bumps. However, a friend who is a professional photographer took beautiful pictures (keeper pictures!) of Elliott yesterday and did a superb job of photoshopping his healing bumps.

Another day, another of Daddy's hats.



Jesse and I watched in wonder as Elliott climbed up on the couch, pulled his book Otis into his lap, and started "reading." He sat there for quite a while reading quietly.

Elliott's new thing is wearing my shoes around the house. It started with my Danskos and has evolved to my winter boots, slippers, or any other shoes that happen to be accessible.

"Eye." Pointing out facial features while FaceTiming with Daddy.

Cheese!

Another day. Another outfit. Same boots.

 

Daddy's Hat

Jesse was home for a very short visit last week. From wheels down to wheels up, he was home for six and a half days. And poor Jesse. Instead of six days of fun and play, he hung drywall all day and helped care for our sick boy all night. Elliott was out of sorts starting early last week and then started running a fever. He had red bumps on his chin and didn't have any interest in eating or drinking. He had a regularly scheduled well visit at the doctor and, with one glance, she diagnosed him with herpangina, a close relative to the better-known "hand, foot, and mouth disease." It is a virus that causes painful sores in the mouth. Elliott had canker sore-looking dots all over his tongue. About 10 of them. The poor boy barely ate or drank for a few days. When his pain medication wore off, he would cry in pain and reach for his mouth with a "why does it hurt??" look on his face.

The virus ran its course in a week, as the doctors said it would. E was returning to his normal demeanor just in time for Jesse to leave again. E and I are now working on getting his sleep habits back on track - not a fun task.

These are some pictures from the day Jesse got home, just as Elliott was starting to feel sick. He rightly thinks his Daddy is awesome. He also thinks his daddy's hats are awesome. He found Jesse's baseball hat and was really excited to wear it around the house. Later in the day, he found Jesse's hardhat and wore that around the house. E is learning to smile for the camera which makes the picture taking even more fun.

Does this fit?



Elliott's favorite new kitchen utensil, the lime squeezer.

"Up!"

Look, I can take it off and put it on again.
Take a look at the size of the collar on that awesome shirt. This is a hand-me-down that I think belonged to Ted, child of the 70's.

It's hard to believe this smiley boy was so sick just a day later. I'm happy to have our healthy boy back now!

 

Water on head

After dinner last night, my friend Leah did most of the dishes and I was helping dry in the kitchen. Being the little helper that he is, Elliott carefully carried my water glass into the kitchen. As he reached up to put it on the counter next to the sink, he poured the contents (about half a glass) over his head. He just stood there with water dripping down his face, not making a peep as I went for a towel. It was cute and funny. I'm guessing a kid who only takes baths would not be so comfortable dumping water in their head :)

Play Date with Colton

Elliott and I had a play date with Colton and Leigh last Sunday morning. These boys have been together many times but usually at bedtime or in bigger groups. It was fun to watch them interact during their prime morning hours. There was lots of cuteness but I only grabbed my camera at the end and caught a few shots.

Elliott likes sitting on the chairs that are his size. Getting down to go play again!



Colton in the tube. I love these!

Hi Colton! We hope to play again soon!

 

Getting to Know the Potty

These pictures make me smile every single time I look at them. In an effort to get Elliott comfortable with the potty, Holly sent a couple of Ned's old (and clean) potties out for us to use. After a week or so of using them as stools, Elliott saw a friend use the potty while she was over. The next morning, he sat down next to me on his potty. I quickly took off his clothes and made a big deal about this big event.

Smiling for the camera!
(Please ignore my failed attempts to strip the wallpaper from the bathroom.)



He's so proud of himself.

Catching up on the morning headlines.

Hmmmm. What's that over there?

He sat there for quite a while, and the next day . . . he peed on the potty!! I'm pretty sure he just happened to "go" while sitting there but we had a big party to celebrate anyway. 

We are still in the "getting to know you phase" with the potty. Full on potty training is likely a ways off but progress is progress and I'll take it!

More Muddy Play for Ted's Birthday

Still catching up on all the pictures on my camera . . .

Last Sunday was Ted's birthday. We had family dinner at the Ortmans' house and enjoyed the remainder of our very warm day (what I wouldn't give for 60 degrees today!). In a moment of rock-star parenting, we (I?) sent Ned and Elliott out to play in the backyard. After a minute or two, I heard Ned say, "I had to rescue Elliott!" We went outside to find Elliott in the dirt pile (leftover from building gardens), wearing one boot with the other planted solidly in the mud. There was in impressive amount of mud holding his boot down.

The rescuer

With the boot. The other boot was quickly also consumed by the dirt pile so I let Elliott run free in his socks.

Ned throwing the ball for Humphrey and Elliott looking on with admiration.

Woah!

This is how Elliott threw the ball for Humphrey. He would run all the way to the fence and throw the ball against the fence. It was exceptionally cute.

Cousins at work with heavy equipment.

Penny in flight! She's getting so big, yet is still very very small.

Practicing saying "cheese" for the camera.

King of the mountain

Running back from throwing the ball for Humphrey.

The left arm was swinging back and forth as he ran.

Elliott pushed the dump truck across the yard and started loading it with bricks. It was cute for a picture but quickly made all of us nervous since he had no shoes on.

Playing in Puddles

Last Sunday was wonderfully warm.  It was in the mid 60s by late afternoon and we loved every minute!  Elliott's thrill for his rain boots expanded exponentially when we walked down to the special part of our driveway that gets big puddles.

Splish!



Splash!

I don't remember if he was looking at his reflection or his boot but I like it either way.

Look!  No coat!

Splish! Splash! I need a bath!

 

First Warmer Temps

Sometimes I post to this blog frequently.  Other times I go days and days between posts.  When there is a long gap, it is usually that I haven't had my camera nearby or we haven't had many photo opportunities.  In this case, I have so many good pictures that I haven't had the time to sit down and compile the posts.  I'll keep it brief . . .

Last weekend was finally warm enough to have good, outdoor play time.  This winter has flip-flopped between frigid temps and rain, leaving us confined to the indoors much of the time.  Elliott loves to go "side," as he calls outside.  On last Saturday, we had a trying day.  Elliott refused to nap.  I tried for over an hour at home and then drove to my parents' house, hoping he would fall asleep in the car.  No such luck.  He was happy as a clam.  I was a frustrated mess.  By the time we got there (after a few laps of the countryside), it was too late to start to nap.  So, my mom and I put on coats and headed outside.  It was beautiful light and I captured some great facial expressions.

Elliott in the herb beds.



Woah!  Snow and new (hand-me-down from Ned) boots.

OH!  

I was talking with some friends today about Elliott's expressive eyebrows.

Hmmmm, snow.

Sporting the one-pant-leg-in, one-pant-leg-out look.

We went around front and Elliott wanted to shovel.

But he had to travel to find some snow.  This shot is mid-fall to the bum.

When we finally went inside, the muddy pants had to come straight off.  Here, he is looking for Coco to help him take his mitten off.

Saying "hi" from the stairs.  He loves climbing the stairs in Elma.

Naked playtime with Coco.  On a white couch . . . brave?

Special time with Poppy.  You can catch a glimpse of one of Elliott's favorite items in Elma these days - a short Dasani water bottle.  He has an extreme affinity for this little bottle.