The Ice Storm

We spent Elliot’s 10-month birthday like a lot of the country— inside. We had been holed up in our house since Saturday because of a winter storm, not something you see everyday in Austin, Texas. They feel as cold as the ones in Colorado, just not as white. No snow here, just a thick clear layer of ice coating everything in sight. It’s white in the morning because of the frost and very pretty. With highs of 29 degrees plus humidity, it is bone-chilling cold and we spent the week inside by the cozy fire drinking vats of hot cocoa. Drew finally braved the drive to work yesterday, and Elliot and I ventured out for a few groceries.

The great thing about having a few extra unexpected days at home is all the time we got to spend with Elliot. He is getting pretty good at cruising around. He walks all around the coffee table and anywhere else that has something for him to grab onto. When he gets nervous he plops on the ground. He still prefers to army crawl on our wood floors, but will get up on his hands and knees if he’s on a rug.

A few fun notes about Elliot right now:

• He loves to play on our bed. We knock him over, toss him into pillows, hide him in blankets, throw him up in the air. He squeals like a piglet, he loves it so much.
• Hide and seek is still a favorite game, except now he knows how to be the one to hide. This game never gets old.
  
• He is now down to one nap a day. Luckily for mom it is usually 2-3 hours in length around lunchtime. Even if he’s tired around 4pm, he will not nap.
• His favorite toys right now are his singing animal train, crawl-along and singing piano toy. Dad likes to wheel him around the house on his Radio Flyer Tiny Trike (with four wheels). He can’t quite reach his toes to the floor and balance himself yet. Now he also has a favorite kitchen cabinet he likes to open and close. He takes all the Tupperware out of it and spreads it out on the floor. He also likes to spin the spices on the lazy susan.
• He weaned to the bottle very easily just after his 9-month birthday. Now he whines for it when he sees us making one. He still likes to nuzzle but doesn’t want to suck anymore. Sad for mama but he is growing up. And since I stopped making milk anyway the entire process was easy. Now it's kind of sweet that Drew can feed him before bed and watch him fall asleep in his arms.
  
• Elliot loves the phone, and when it rings he watches me to see if I will go answer it.
• He likes to play with electronics—cell phones, remote controls, computer mice, cable boxes and calculators. Babyproofing is becoming our specialty.
• Still loves Moose & Zee on Noggin. He watches their "music videos" at noggin.com almost everyday.
  
• He cries around some toddler kids, and also really loud voices or noises, including the vacuum cleaner. We are pretty sure he will outgrow it.

Meanwhile I am working on baby #2. I am well into the 18th week now. The baby started kicking during the past two weeks, and I feel it pretty much every evening and early morning when I wake up, same as I did with Elliot. I am getting a nice little pot belly now. Drew is sure we are having a boy. I think it is a girl. We find out in a few more weeks when Dr. Polon does the big ultrasound. We decided to find out this time because with Elliot, the birth itself was so exciting that his sex was just a side detail. And for some reason we knew he was a boy anyway. This time we want to be excited about something a little sooner, kind of like opening one present a few days before Christmas.

My Family

Here I am with the whole Mayer Family on New Year's... Hoppa, Grandee, Uncle Matt, Auntie Christina, cousins Sophia & Alexander, Mama, Dada & Elliot.

Here I am with my Nana & Papa Bradshaw who promise to teach me to fly fish someday.

Here I am with my Buzza, who makes me laugh.

With my YaYa, who wears big necklaces that I love to put in my mouth and she doesn't even care.

With Mama, Dada & Big Uncle John who thinks I have what it takes to be Mr. Colorado in about 30 more years.

Grandee is a fun playmate.

Boy do I look cute in my elf suit. Thanks Buzza & YaYa.

Happy New Year!

Holidays in Colorado

We just got back from spending the holidays in Colorado. Elliot was able to see all his extended family. First we had my grandpa's funeral which was a nice way to say goodbye to a very honorable man. Then we spent Christmas Eve in Ouray with the Mayers, and Christmas Day in Montrose with the Bauers and Bradshaws. Elliot received many nice gifts from his family, including a zebra he can ride, a Tickle Me Elmo, a big boy car seat, and his first Radio Flyer tricycle.

Drew and I took Elliot for his first sled ride in Ouray. He didn't have much of an expression on his face, but we think he liked it. We also got to meet our nephew Alexander who was born a preemie this summer. He is a small, chubby, smiley thing and very sweet. Sophia is now 5-1/2 years old and had fun chasing Elliot around and giving him plenty of kisses.

Somehow Drew and I picked up the stomach flu and spent 24 hours in bed just after Christmas. We were in Ouray so Deedee and Christina took care of Elliot. Luckily he never caught it, but most of our families did. It passed quickly though and by New Year's we were all feeling normal again.

Elliot was a champ on the plane despite some lousy flights, and slept most of the way. On top of a 3-hour flight home, we had a 3-hour layover in Salt Lake City and didn't get home until very late. But Elliot surprises us with his adaptability, and at midnight he was giggling at strangers at baggage claim in Austin.

He is now pulling himself up to standing all the time, and he can get himself back down without crashing too often. He also started clapping this week. He did it with his Nana after she kept playing patty cake with him. Little lights are going off in his head everyday. It is fun to watch him go because he is always on the move. He has fallen into a pattern of taking a very long nap around noon -- sometimes for three hours. I guess all the moving makes him sleepy. He has a hard time taking another nap later in the afternoon though and is usually pretty tired by bedtime. Those top two teeth that were supposed to debut "any day now" have still not come through, so those bottom choppers are his only means of chewing his new favorite snack, Goldfish.

A few other quick notes...

• We will do a new post this week with photos of Elliot with all his grandparents, just need to get those photos together.
• Many people have told us how much they enjoyed our Christmas card this year. We had some photos taken of Elliot in October which is what we used for the card. If you want to see all the photos from the shoot, visit the photographer's web site at: http://www.alisoneden.com. Just click on "clients" and enter "elliot" as the password.
• The pregnancy is going great. I got over the morning sickness the week before we left for Colorado (thank you God) and am feeling really good now that I'm in the second trimester. I have a small pot belly and should be feeling the baby move in the next month or so. So far this pregnancy has been identical to Elliot's. Easy peasy. Although I don't think about it nearly as often because I'm chasing after a baby!
• Drew picked Abby up at Dogboys this afternoon and she has been asleep ever since. We know she is tired because the remains of Elliot's teething biscuits are still on the dining room floor, and her run leader said she laid down in her bath today -- two things that never happen!

Happy New Year!