A day in the life...

Well, now that Elliott is 9 months old (that's right, NINE MONTHS!!!), his days have gotten way more interesting.  They're no longer simply filled with the monotony of breast milk, the back of his eye lids while he is either screaming at the top of his lungs or sleeping (sporadically and only on occasion), and whatever he can see within 270 degrees of where I sat him down.

Around 6 months Elliott learned how to Navy Seal creep/crawl and eat solid foods.  He feels his life has improved dramatically since then. When I let him try his first pancake he said: "Mommy, thank you for not making me gluten intolerant."  What a polite boy!

Anyhow, with the continued development of his coordinated motor skills, Elliott felt it was time I make a post to inform his family and friends on what exactly it is he does with all his time.

So, we start off our day around 7:30AM, when I go in to wake him:

I say, "Hey sweety, get up and play with me, please."  To which he replies:

HAHA! Won't that be something some day when I voluntarily wake up before Elliott?  Anyhow, after he wakes us up with some escalating crying, we are all eager and happy to have our morning coffees:

This is accompanied by a leisurely breakfast. Typically oatmeal, blueberries, and bananas.

The next couple of hours are filled with sunshine, lollipops, and roses (just kidding. But we really do kiss and laugh and play with his favorite toys):

 

 

 

 

  

And of course, there's lots of getting into things and places he's not supposed to...

 

After all that fun, he tucks in for a wonderfully long 2 hour morning N-A-P:

 Which is followed by one of Elliott's 5 meals per day (lunch!):

In the afternoon, we get outside or else we go CRAZY. 

 Then it's time to pass out for the afternoon N-A-P:

Two hours later, and we're back to guess what....that's right, more eating.  (Note: by late afternoon, I remember just how messy a 9 month old in a high chair is and have found a solution)

And...in case you're not getting the theme of our days, what comes after sleeping and eating?  Playing!  Lately, Elliott prefers to stand. He wants nothing to do with sitting, lying down, or crawling (yeah, he can't do that). 

 

 

 

This would be great, but standing usually ends in falling, and Elliott's parents don't have the fastest reflexes.  Fortunately, Elliott's Mom is rather clever and re-purposed this box from Grandma Kate:

It even helps him get into things he's not supposed to:

But, it's also great for peek-a-boo:

Unfortunately, Elliott learning to stand means we have to lower his crib mattress.  I'm so short, this will make retrieving him difficult.

Around 6 PM, we do a little more eating.  That's how we found ourselves with a 24.5 pound 9 month old.  He's also almost 30 inches tall (an average 15 month old), so no need to put him on Atkins yet.

 That is always followed by this:

 Then this:

And finally he's off to do some more of this:

As you can tell, this kid eats and sleeps a lot with a lot of smiles and exploration in between.  That's how it goes on a good day.  A day when we have nowhere to be and nothing specific to do.  I love those days. 

 However, most of the time, it's crazy and busy as we try to get to work and school and daycare and keep things going.  Then, we all feel more like this:

The wonderful photos in this post were taken by our friends in Iowa, Anne and Ryan. Thanks guys!  You are wonderful!

Holiday Wrap-Up Part II: The Midwest in Me

Elliott would like me to start the post with a photo of him with his Great Grandpa Manternach, who passed away on Saturday, January 21st.  His obituary can be found here.  Elliott is so happy he got to meet him, but sad that he won't get to know such a great man, and that we can't travel back to Iowa with Chris for his funeral this week.  He will be missed by so many!

Elliott met his great grandpa on his first tour of the Midwest while I was interviewing in Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and Chicago.  Grandma Carren made him a hat and sweater to get him ready for the cold:

Elliott was ready for the snow, but the average temperature while we were in the Midwest was 50 degrees!  It did dip down to 30 one day and he got to show off his snow suit. 

Elliott was a super trooper on his first airport/airplane trip:

It was great to have Chris and Elliott accompany me on some of my interview trips, but I really think they were just there for the food. Once we arrived in the Midwest, they wasted no time in sampling the culinary delights the region has to offer: fried cheese curds in Wisconsin, deep dish pizza in Chicago, and pancakes everywhere!  Elliott also learned of the consequences of the Midwest diet, and had to go on a prune cleanse when we got home. :)

Mmmmm...Cheese.....

Excited for sweet potato pancakes at the Hamburg in Iowa City:

After all that cheesiness, we were able to enjoy Christmas.  The best present Chris and I received this year:

Santa tail. Tee hee:

Elliott was so excited about presents! 

 

Actually, I lied.  He really didn't care about much beyond the shiny paper and eating bows.

I was definitely more excited about presents than Elliott:

On Christmas Day we went to Elliott's great grandparent's house in Cascade, Iowa.  Elliott got to meet about a few dozen aunts, uncles, 2nd cousins, 3rd cousins, and 4th cousins (or whatever they're called).  He loved all the family attention.

Elliott was so excited to spend 3 weeks with his Grandma Kate:

The Manternachs do not appreciate being photographed. I snuck one of these during the gift exchange:

Then I got this response when I asked people to "smile".

Fortunately, Elliott loves being photographed (or he at least loves the I phone). Elliott enjoying the warm Iowa weather:

"Where's the snow???  I was promised snow. Whaaa..."

No snow? Oh well, the view is pretty good from up here anyway:

More photos of Elliott meeting family:
Great Grandma Manternach:

Great Grandma Jones:

And hanging out with Grandpa Jim (Jones):

As you can tell by the following photos, Elliott was also pretty excited to drive to Des Moines, Iowa and meet up with his parents' friend Tony, who is doing his EM Residency in Omaha.

We ended the trip in Chicago, where I was interviewing at Northwestern.  I loved the program, but I think that was influenced by the unseasonably warm weather (60 and sunny), and the free zoo!

Look Dad, meerkat:

He also loved the fish:

But wasn't as excited about the Lion:

He was back to smiling when he met the fake penguin.

 

To round out the post, Elliott having a bath Midwest style: