Busy Bees

It was another busy week around here! We tried to cheer our Vikes to victory on Sunday night (we failed), and spent the rest of the week cooking, dancing, singing, building forts, and trying to stay warm. Uncle Art blew through town on Thursday so we were lucky enough to spend a few hours with him. We also made our first trip to the Children's Museum. A great destination, but you better be prepared for sensory overload (i.e. tons of screaming kids running everywhere). Sam also built his first fort and Elliott fell into a nice little pattern of sleeping for 4 hours, waking up to eat and then falling back to sleep for another 2 or 3 hours. It's bliss and the more he sleeps at night, the more I fall in love with him!

My Favorite Parts

I love all of Elliott's little parts, but there are three that I love the most. Number one: I love his feet. I wish they would stay this size forever. Number two: His tiny little belly button looks like a smile...if that's not a sign of a happy lifetime ahead, I don't know what is. Number three: his cheeks are delectable! I want to kiss them right off of his face!!

The Boylan Sisters

Our trip home afforded us the rare opportunity to spend an entire day with Art, Angie and their girls. With the exception of the few times Sam tackled Claire to the ground, they were pretty good playmates. Charlotte was a doll - hardly making a peep and leaving me to wonder who's a more content baby -- her or Elliott. Must have something to do with having very talkative older siblings.

Bennies Big and Small

Our trip home to Minnesota included a morning with the Bennies. Leah and Rob graciously offered up their house and we all piled in to enjoy some togetherness. The kids got along surprisingly well and I loved having a couple of hours to catch up with the gals and see their kiddos in action. Thanks to everyone for making time for it, and especially to Leah and Amy for the yummy food. (what would a Bennie gathering be without our fair share of food?!)

Busy, busy, busy

Despite the snow and frigid temps, we were busy this week! We hit up story time on Monday and drove circles around Wrigley Field on Tuesday. We literally drove around the ballpark about 6 times, so if you’re ever wondering where the Harry Caray or Ernie Banks statues are located, talk to Sam. He’s also very adept at pointing out the red marquee, the rooftop bleachers and the corner of the scoreboard.

On Wednesday we met Scabbers the rat at the Nature Museum and we had our first Wiggleworms music class today. Elliott continues to sleep away most days, waking up at about 4 p.m., just in time for Sam's bathtime.

My ability to power through the sleep deprivation continues to amaze me, and I’m just waiting for the bottom to fall out. Little Elliott gets really congested in the early morning hours, so while he typically sleeps from midnight until 3, after that we’re up for at least a few minutes every hour on the hour. With Sam ready to rock and roll by 7, it can make for some rough mornings (and anyone who knows me will tell you I’m not generally a morning person). The pediatrician has assured me the congestion will get better as Elliott grows, so I’m just trying to take it one night at a time.

Stay warm this weekend!

Elliott at One Month

We hit the one-month marker on Sunday. It's nice to have the first month behind us and it was even nicer to get a clean bill of health from the pediatrician today. Elliott is another tall one. He measured 24 inches, which puts him at the 95th percentile. He's also been gaining some weight - he clocked in at 11 pounds!

2010 Here We Come

I just took a look back at what I wrote a year ago – funny to see how much can change in 12 months. When I wrote that post, I was just hoping we could get Sam to ditch his pacifier and sleep sack. We were successful with one of the two…the pacifier was put to rest last spring, but Sam has stayed true to sleep sack. In fact, I’ve been thinking about buying a larger size. I never dreamt at the time that we’d have a newborn by the time we closed out 2009. It’s making me wonder what in the world will come along and surprise us in 2010.

As we look forward to a new year, here’s a snapshot of where we’re at. I’m pretty confident that I’ll look back at this in 12 months and marvel at all that's changed.

Sam – Sam’s two. There’s no other way to explain it. He’s really busy with his toys, books and puzzles. Running, music class and cooking are his favorite activities. He jumps from one task to the next every couple of minutes and a cloud of snacks, milk and general messiness follow him along the way. He wants to do EVERYTHING himself and there is no task too large for Sam. He frustrates easily and isn’t scared to say NO. His newest thing is to take off all of his clothes as a protest to bedtime or a chilly way to welcome the morning. He is delighted by his new-found autonomy and given that getting dressed and undressed is a pretty critical life skill, Steve and I vacillate between being proud and completely annoyed.

Elliott – I am still holding my breath, but I think that Elliott is a pretty mellow little guy. He still sleeps a ton, and for the most part, just takes it all in while he’s awake. He rarely makes a peep and when he does, it’s a sure sign that he just needs some milk. His eyes are a gorgeous blue and I’m really hoping they don’t change much. I just noticed the other day that his eye lashes are starting to sprout, and if I had to hedge my bets, I think we’ve got a blondie on our hands. We’ll see.

Here are a few snapshots of what's been keeping us busy this week, and here's to a year of happiness ahead!!

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa:

Sawing Logs:

Baking:

Winter Wonderland at the Chicago Botanic Garden: