Elliot...almost 8 months!

Happy New Year! Again, it's amazing how time flies with a little one!  Elliot amazes us everyday with how much he is growing, learning, understanding, and smiling, as usual.  He has his first "real" cold right now and still manages to smile although he seems to have forgotten how to sleep!   We had a great weekend in Pinetop with our dear friends Jaime, Clay and their little Tula.  Jaime had the brilliant idea of putting the kiddos in the laundry basket to create a baby safe sled.  Clay pulled them around the front yard with a rope tied to the basket...hilarious!

Here they are in an inflatable rubber duck bathtub.  This is definitely blackmail material later... 
Jaime and I strapped the kids in their Ergo's and we all went on a walk while the babies slept.  It was suuny and cold and snowy and quiet...Perfect.
Just had to get out the camera...another adorable moment!
We spent a belated Christmas with Jason's mom and Paul or Grandmarie and Hoppa, as Elliot knows them...  Minutes before this picture, Elliot was tugging away at Hoppa's beard...santa?
We spent a family day at the cabin in the snow.  I went sledding for the first time in forever...I had forgotten how it makes you feel so weightless and free.  Even though there was plenty of snow it was 70 degrees.  Only in Arizona!
Elliot got to taste his first snow and decided it was delicious.  The cousins had a blast finding the "freshest" snow to offer Elliot.  

Now for the bragging part...

Elliot now weighs 20 lbs and is in the 100% percentile for head growth, which means...as we were told, that 100% of kids Elliot's age have heads smaller than his!  We say, big brain, big head!  He is sitting independantly and pulling to kneel or stand on just about everything.  He wants to crawl SO bad...he's close.  He got his first tooth last week without much fuss, he just woke up one morning and there it was. He is eating like a little champ and has loved absolutely everything he has tried so far.  Favorites right now are bananas, avocado, cheerios and beans of all types.  He LOVES to bounce in anything that will and flaps his arms at the same time as if he could take flight. So fun to watch the joy...

I have started back at school (boo!) and am looking forward to "almost" being done...two semesters to go.

Jason's probationary year as a firefighter ends next week!  He is no longer a rookie and will most likely be switching stations.  He is thrilled to have this year over and is still loving working for Rural Metro.

My parents have been little jetsetters this holiday... traveling to London for New Years, a trip years in the making, and  then heading to D.C. for the inaguration...so lucky!  They were able to watch one the the first dances when they attended the Western Ball that night.  We have missed them like crazy and have been living vicariously through them.

It was so nice to hear from all of you over the holidays!  We are wishing you peace and love and hope and change for this New Year!

All our love,

c, j, and e

Elliot's First Christmas!

Happy Holidays everyone!  We had so much fun celebrating Elliot's first Christmas with the entire family.  It was a busy day but worth it so that we could see all of our family in one day.  Elliot was a trooper, napping on the go, happy while awake,  and loving each new present and all the glorious wrapping paper!  We started the day with breakfast and stockings at my parents house with Jenny, Gawain and the kiddos.  We traveled from there to my Grandma Richardson's house where we spent hours laughing and enjoying our large beautiful family.  The wooden car he is enjoying in the picture above was a gift from Great Auntie Peggy!  Then it was back to my mom and dad's for a nap for Elliot and Ailsa,  and then over to Mary and Gavin's for a visit and present exchange.  THEN, our final destination was my Grandma Barber's house for a traditional english Christmas dinner and dessert.  It was a full day, but memorable!
The best present by far was this little gift under our tree!
Tillie got a new beanbag  and was so excited to share it with "her" Elliot.  She just knew he would love it and she was right!  He snuggled right in and munched on some wrapping paper.
Oh, the joy!  This was the photo that we gave as gifts to the family.  Those dimples, that smile...
Elliot is crazy about our christmas tree...so sparkly, just like him.  Now that he is almost (one day shy) 7 months, he is exploring his bigness.  He is starting to get on his hands and knees and desperately wants to scoot across the floor to reach his toys, Coby, or whatever else he sees.  He is eating like a little champ and I am having so much fun making his food and coming up with new combinations of yummy food to try.  Elliot's latest favorite is banana-pear muesli.  He now weighs 19 lbs and has the cheeks to prove it!  I am happily spending my days doing lots of nothing besides enjoying my time with Elliot and Jason.  I head back to school on January 15th.

Sending all of you love, peace and joy in the New Year!

love, c, j, and e

Back on track

Whew!  What a month!  Sorry we've been "off the radar" lately.  I finished my 3rd semester of nursing school, which was a true test of my comittment, but I did it.  Finals are over and now it's smooth sailing in to 4th semester and "almost" the end.

Elliot is amazing...growing by the minute and exploring so many new things that he can't keep up with himself.  We are facinated by his determination to figure things out and loving his addictive chuckle (especially when daddy dances)!  We had Tillie over for a long overdue sleep over and had so much fun!
We were able to squeeze in a jaunt to Sabino Canyon (elliot's first).  We had a great time with perfect weather and a yummy picnic lunch.  Elliot dipped his toes in the running water...

                                                            ......posed with the mountains
                                                              ........stopped for a snack
                                                             .......and hung with dad

Now on to Christmas and New Years...so many firsts for Elliot and so fun for us to participate with him.  I can't wait to watch him tear in to some presents!

Love to all,

c, j, & e

Elliot @ 6 months!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  We are extremely thankful this year for many things.  Mostly we are thankful for our incredible, beautiful, sparkly little boy who brings us so much joy everyday!  We are thankful for the incredible amount of love and support we receive from our loving family and amazing friends!  This year we are thankful for our new president-elect whose ideas inspire us once again to hope for change.  We are thankful to have each other and to always have just what we need.  Above is a pic of our little milagro holding his favorite milagro pillow handmade for him by dear friends Jen and Julie.

The last couple of weeks Elliot has discovered swinging!  He loves it!  Jason hung his swing (a hand me down from the Bosco's, thanks guys!) in the back yard.  The days here have been gorgeous and he loves to just hang in the swing and listen to the wind chimes.
Here he is with his ever-present dimply smile that lights up the room and our hearts!

Elliot has also discovered that he can sit up all by himself (with pillows behind him and dad's hand to soften the fall).  He seems to feel very proud as he sits up tall and plays with his toys.
Jason had to work on Thanksgiving (boo!) So Elliot and I went up to the station to visit while they were making their feast.  Elliot loved all the attention from the guys but still doesn't realize how cool it is that his dad is a firefighter!

All our love and thanks to you all for everything you do...

c, j, & e

Elliot 5 1/2 months

Elliot has been especially cute lately, hard to imagine, huh?  Despite having his first cold and cough, he has pretty much bounced back.  He is nearly sitting up on his own and is enjoying his new freedom (pics soon). Here he is contemplating life!
He loves to give face kisses, the droolier,  the better!  He also enjoys knawing on your chin or cheek, whichever he finds first.  Did I mention that he is teething?
Sometimes he just likes to be kissed, wouldn't you?
Here he is "nakie as a snakie" and oh-so-cute and chunky!
AND, he started eating this week!  He still prefers to just chew on the spoon, but he's getting the hang of it.  He loves butternut squash!

Love to you all!

c, j, & e

El the Skel-eton

It was a great first Halloween for Elliot!  He dressed up twice...once as a Chili pepper and then again as a skeleton so that he could be "halloween twins" with Kieran.
He had his first taste of pear on our picnic yesterday and loved it.  He's nearly ready for first foods! Jason and I are so looking forward to showing him the world of delicious food!  

Here he is "tripod-ing".  Almost sitting, getting there!

Elliot's favorite mode of transportation is "in arms".  This sling (made by my mom) comes in very handy when we need to get stuff done.
We broke down and bought a jumpy-chair-toy-thing at a yard sale.  It has all the bells and whistles (literally) and Elliot loves it! Here he is enthralled by it's many gadgets.
Sending November love out to all of you especially those celebrating this month! Happy Birthday Greer, Grandma Barber, and Cousin Megan !!!

xoxoxo,

c, j, & e

Elliot almost 5 months...

hey all,

Elliot had a busy week! We joined our family at the Agua Linda Pumpkin Patch last weekend and had a blast.  It was a little warm (in the 90's), but we managed to have a good time and brought home pumpkins and some delicious pumpkin butter!  We were able to snap a rare pic of the family as Jason and I were heading out for our day.  Jason in his uniform and me in mine We like to call them our blues...)

Elliot had a chance to meet his cousin Austin for the first time!  Sarah and Michael were here from California and the family gathered at Judy's to meet Austin.  Elliot and Austin just stared at each other and then they reached out and held hands...AWWWWW!  So cute.  We had a nice time catching up with family and hanging out outside.

Elliot had his picture taken for the Tucson Citizen newspaper...check out the link to the right...

Also, check out the link to even more pics of Elliot on Flickr!

sending lots of love,

c, j, & e