Category: Kids

Yes.  I have been horrible at blogging the past few months and am in the doghouse with William for not doing an 8 or 9 month post for Elliott, so I will try to redeem myself a bit.

Here is what Elliott has been up to at 10 months:

• Although he is not crawling and still refuses to roll, he is a pro at scooting across the floor on his bottom.  He will scoot his way wherever he needs to go and seems to think that is much better than crawling.  I am beginning to think he is going to skip crawling and go straight to pulling up and walking.  He is pulling up on a few things already, so we’ll see what happens.
• His vocabulary is expanding and he has added “mama” to the list of words he says.  He still seems to say “dada” more, of course, but at least I get some acknowledgement.  He also loves to scream/yell at random times when he gets excited or happy about something.  He is really loud, so it can kind of catch you off-guard.
• He is enjoying eating baby food much more than Laurel did at this age.  I am also mixing in a little table food.  He is slowly adapting to more table foods in his diet.  I am so proud and thankful that I have been able to breastfeed him until now.  I think he is already starting to wean a little bit, so I am hoping for an easy transition to whole milk and will try to start introducing it in small amounts in about a month.
• Teeth!!  Elliott already has his two bottom teeth.  It seems like we waited forever for Laurel to get her first tooth at 11 months, so it was exciting to see Elliott’s teeth this soon.  It reminds me I need to call the dentist to schedule his first appointment 🙂
• His playtime favorites are his fire truck, racing car, and music cube that was a top rated item on Amazon.  Just like Laurel, he LOVES music.  Whenever he hears music, he starts moving and bouncing to the beat.
• He really likes being outside.  I am glad the weather is finally starting to get warmer so we can get out a bit more.  Since the time change and the longer daylight hours, we have been able to get outside for evening walks before bedtime and he either babbles and smiles the whole time or falls asleep.  There is also a great trail nearby that we have gone to for longer walks and both Laurel and Elliott love that.  William and I probably enjoy it the most because it not only allows us to get our stir-crazy kids out the house, but we also enjoy getting some fresh air, getting some exercise, and enjoying a chance to discuss our week, the kids, and whatever else is going on without the usual home distractions.
• Sleep.  This word does not seem to be a part of his vocabulary yet, but I am really hoping he will start sleeping better soon.  He can usually get in a 4-5 hour stretch when he first goes to sleep, but lately he is up every 2-3 hours like his newborn days.  He falls asleep pretty easily when he does wake up, but as soon as you lay him down, he wakes up and cries.  William thinks I should just let him cry it out, but it’s hard for me to do that, but I may have to try  a modified method soon.  Waking up so much is really affecting the quality of my sleep, so I never really feel rested.

Well.. I think that sums up the highlights.  He is really growing fast and is just 2 months away from his first birthday, which means I need to start planning NOW!  I think I already have a few ideas, so I know we will be able to pull together a nice celebration.

Here are some recent photos from his 8, 9 and 10 month “photo shoot”. In some of the 9 month photos, you can see the first tooth that emerged.  The photo with Laurel and Elliott was taken at Bitty Baby’s (Laurel’s doll) Birthday party 🙂

Elliott is 6 months old!  He is growing so fast and I am trying to enjoy this “baby phase” while it lasts.  Laurel’s nickname at this age was “mellow yellow” because she was so laid back and easy going and Elliott is the exact same way.  Laurel is far from mellow now, so I guess we have to wait and see how long Elliott’s mellowness lasts.  He is usually in a great mood and loves to smile and “flirt” with everyone he sees.  William mentioned in the 5 month post that Elliott was babbling quite a bit and that has not changed.  Elliott babbles a lot in the morning when he wakes up and in the evenings when I pick him up from daycare.  Apparently he likes to “talk” to his teachers at school too because they comment about how much he talks and a special chair he has so he can sit right next to the teacher and talk to her while she feeds the other friends in his class.  We also have heard what sounds like his first word and you can probably guess what it is….. “dada”.  Yep, just like Laurel, Elliott has decided to say “dada” first, which is so thrilling to William.  Even Laurel acknowledges that he says “dada”.  Yesterday when Laurel, Elliott and I came in the house from school, Elliott was babbling and said “dada…dadadadada”.  Laurel looked at him and said “daddy is not home yet Elliott”, so she clearly understood his words to be referring to daddy.

His 6 month check-up is not until Thursday morning, so I don’t know his stats yet, but I think he about 18 pounds, so still quite the chunky baby.  He also seems to be pretty long.  Here is what I can tell you about his development.  He has rolled over a few times, but not consistently and is starting to gain more balance to sit up for a few seconds before falling over.  Just like Laurel at this age, he enjoys chewing on anything he can get his hands on, including his toes!  We are just starting solid foods, so I’ll have to comment on that later, but he seems to be off to a pretty good start.  He is constantly smiling and happy and loves to see his reflection in the mirror.  Bath time is becoming quite interesting because I end up with more water on the floor it seems than on him.  He kicks and splashes water everywhere, but seems to enjoy bath time.  The only thing I am having trouble with is getting him to stay asleep once he falls asleep and we lay him in his crib.  He usually startles each time someone puts him down, so I am hoping he will grow out of this phase soon and be able to self soothe on his own.

He loves playing with and watching Laurel.  She does a great job of keeping him entertained, getting toys and pacifiers for him and singing to him when he cries to help soothe him.  We still have to watch her to make sure she is not too rough, but she if often a great help.  I posted a photo below of the two of them.

Cutest. kids. ever.

I have some photos and videos I will try to post over the next week or so, but here are a couple to enjoy.

Well, Elliott never got a 4 month or 5 month post…

Elliott is still growing and growing. We refereed to his sized so much that Laurel began calling him “big boy.” We now refer to him as being a handsome boy when discussing his size. He is much more verbal in month five than he was in month four. While he is still quite baby, he has spurts of none stop babbling for 10 or 15 minutes. He has started showing a strong interest in solid food, and will likely get his first taste this weekend. He is favorite thing to do appears to be listening to people talk. He listens intently to every word Kyllan and I say. He also enjoys grabbing anything in front of him. He recently began attending the same daycare as his big sister, so the logistics of morning drop offs and evening pick ups have gotten much easier. His four and five month pictures are below. Here is a link to some random October and September photos.

Elliott is 5 months old today!!

I will have to make a post tomorrow because we were busy with family activities today and I did not get a chance to take a photo, so I will do that tomorrow.

I am going to try to pick up our frequency of blogging again.  Sorry we have been so quiet!!