Elliott at Eight Months

Elliott is eight-months-old and what's notable now is his newfound ability to sit up for longer stretches and crawl around. He doesn't have the hang of picking his butt up off the floor, so he relies on the army crawl, but it's pretty amazing how quickly he can get from point A to point B. He squeals a lot and has learned to make a stink when someone leaves the room without him. But overall, I'm still amazed at how well-natured and easy going he is in general.

Beat the Heat

It was blisteringly hot yesterday and we succesfully beat the heat while having some fun. We were at the pool and the park in the morning and then we logged some serious time in the kiddie pool and sprinkler in the afernoon.

Grandview 2010

We’ve just returned from a week at Grandview Lodge (our return was actually a week ago, but the days following vacation are grueling)! Our trip was great fun, and in true Clark Griswold-style, filled with lots of ups and downs.

Sam and Elliott loved it – between the lake, the pool, the beach, the boat, the playset and the constant swirl of cousins, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles, what’s not to love? We’ve been doing this for a few years and Sam gets into it more and more every year – I get a smile on my face just thinking about it, and I can't wait until Elliott can really get in on the action. We fed the ducks every morning, indulged in lollipops, looked for pirates on the lake and ventured out for a very short, nail-biting canoe ride. And it didn't stop there! We hit the pool about 10 times, celebrated Charlotte's first birthday and went on a wildly popular scavenger hunt. Really fun and so great to truly unplug for an entire 7 days (I didn’t turn my computer on once and Steve owes me $10 for it!)

On the flipside, Sam battled a heat rash for the first few days and Elliott ended the week with a couple of sleepless nights and an ear infection. We also returned home to find that a garage cabinet had fallen and dented the hood of our new car. Not really the homecoming you dream of, but I figure it wouldn’t be a true family vacation without a few hiccups.

Grandview 2010