Just be cuz

Elliott has had visits over the last two weeks from three of his cousins. They've all been cuddling and getting to know each other, and he's been showing them around Seattle. With all these visitors, it has been two weeks since Elliott's last post. He's already turning into a procrastinator like his parents....

Anyhow, Orion visited first and got lots of practice in for her baby brother due in November. She was very helpful, and was even able to calm him and rock him to sleep a couple of times.
On her second day here, we went to the Fremont Fair and Parade together:
She got her face painted, and later had some relaxation time with Elliott on the sofa (he really is sleeping, but I told her to close her eyes :)
Our next set of visitors were Shayde and Kaydence. They both agreed that little Elliott was a super cutie and loved to hold him. Every time it seemed like Kaydence had to hold him after Shayde, and so she got crying Elliott.
There is no thematic photo montage this week, but I do have a few I phone photos:

Here he is saying, "oooooh, look at my blue eyes and smiles"

Elliott's Days around Elliott Bay

Something Elliott has already taught us - he's way more popular than we are. By the time he is 7 weeks, we will have had 5 sets of visitors for a total time of 3 weeks! People want to come visit "us" now, but we know they are really coming to see Elliott.
My Mom and sister first visited during the first week we were home, and our second visitors were Chris's Mom, Kate, and his cousin Sarah. They came by train, and had a rather interesting journey that involved flooded tracks, a turn around, and an extra day of travel. Ick. But, they were both so laid back and in such great spirits - very impressive.

Elliott was happy to show his visitors around Seattle.

Day 1: Pike Place Market
Elliott and his parents enjoyed these cheap deep fried circles of dough. Yum!
Day 2: we traveled to Snoqualmie. Chris left the camera in the car for our trip to the falls, but remembered it for our visit to Twede's cafe. Elliott has been watching a lot of Twin Peaks with his Dad, and for any fans of the TV show, you'll recognize the famous cherry pie and "damn fine cup of coffee".
Day 3: Elliott took Kate, Sarah and me to the Space Needle. It was a first time for all of us.
After the Space Needle, Elliott treated all of us to our favorite restaurant in Seattle, Ray's. It is the perfect place for lunch on a sunny afternoon in Seattle.
Chris shielding Elliott from the sun on the deck at Rays:
Rays is not far from another of our favorite locations, the Ballard Locks. Here you can watch boats moving from the sound to Lake Union and view Salmon swimming back to their home streams through the fish ladder. The best months for viewing are July-September, so we were a bit early and only saw a few smolt heading out to sea.
Day 4, Elliott took us to West Seattle where we sampled the incredible twice baked croissants at Bakery Nouveau and walked along Alki Beach:We then headed to Cafe Vivace for Seattle's best Espresso. Elliott also tried out his new sunhat, which unfortunately is way too big and doesn't actually block out the sun.
A photo of Elliott enjoying a drink a Cafe Vivace, tee hee:On our way home, Elliott wanted to stop at Cerry Park to show his guests another excellent view of Seattle:
Some photos of Elliott's admirers hanging out around the apartment:

Since Elliott was covered up in most of these photos, I've included some recent pics to round out the post.
Relaxing in the bouncy chair:
Look how he's growing! He now fits into the diapers my Mom made him and has started smiling!
And, for the weekly photo montage, blurry smiles:

Daddy Time, Part II

So, not a lot to say for this post, except check out these cute photos of Chris and Elliott together.
45 minute nap on the wood floor:
Stay tuned for a post soon about Elliott's recent visitors/admirers.

One month and moving up the charts

Elliott had his one month check-up yesterday. He is growing fast, and all that eating seems to be paying off. Every morning we look at him and say, "did he grow overnight?" The answer - yes!
At the beginning of this week he grew out of his newborn clothing, but hasn't quite grown into his 0-3 month clothes. The solution: lots of naked/diaper time......

Here are the stats:
Weight: 9 pounds, 5 ounces (34th %)
That's up from 7 pounds 8 ounces at birth, and 7 pounds at day 3 of life. He was 7 pounds 13 ounces at two weeks, so he has gained 24 ounces in two weeks!
Length: 22 inches (54th%)
Head Circumference: 40 cm (87th%) - still a huge head

Happens in a FLASH!

Almost two weeks ago, our friend Heather Dillon provided us with the generous gift of photography, and she was able to capture Elliott's newborn image on camera before he turns into a chubster. Check out her website and the complete photo session. Chris baked her a delicious loaf of bread in return. A pretty sweet deal for us...

Here is my favorite photo as well as a couple of classic newborn shots:
Since weeks 2-3 of Elliott's young life were such an improvement over the hormonal/emotional swings and sleep deprivation of the first week, I did not realize how exhausted I still was. I remember getting dressed on the day of the photo shoot thinking, "I feel/look pretty darn good (for a woman who gets 2-6 hours of sleep every 24 hours)." Then, I saw this photo:
Holy crap, I look tired. Someone pointed out that Chris looks a little more alert than I do. Hmmmm, I wonder why? Well, we both look stupid-happy, so that's reassuring.

We look much better admiring the little guy:
And here, I'm not sure what I'm thinking. Perhaps it is, "hmm, I wonder if I will ever sleep more than 3 hours straight again..."
Anyhow, enough about that. Back to the star of the show, who is worth it all and more (and who has already learned how to strike a pose, the little genius):
Chris practicing for the classic, newborn on Daddy's arm shot:
And the result:As proof Elliott hates being on his back, he was so calm on his tummy and then only a few seconds later after a gentle turning over:
After that, he needed some calming/cuddling time with the parental units:
And because Elliott crying is both so heartbreaking and adorable:

Finally to round out the post, the weekly montage. Sleeping baby:

Thank you so much Heather for this gift. Everyone, check out her website!