9 Months

Saturday was a special day. Elliott turned 9 months old and we got to spend the day with friends in Sebring at Camp Kulick. Tiffany and Lila and Elliott and I set out on the drive to Sebring to hang out with Beth and Andy and their kids, along with some other new and old friends at their house on the lake. It was an overcast day, but we spent hours outside exploring the yard, walking on the sand, conquering the water slide and watching the babies. Some of them are not really babies anymore, they've grown...they've become beautiful children who remind us of the joy's of living each moment to the fullest. They remind us to play, to laugh, to set aside fear and take risks. Elliott has been changing and growing so much in the past month. This was a nice day to just sit and enjoy him. To slow down for a moment. He is pulling up on everything trying to stand. He definitely thinks he can walk, but once he is standing with his hands on something, he isn't quite sure what to do next. He loves to explore in the living room where his toys are on the shelves. I see him looking at his toys and choosing things to play with. The toys on the shelves right now are his wooden airplane, his Please Touch Museum puzzle, Snoopy Sniffer (who Elliott has just learned to pull towards him), his toy piano and shaker, a bucket full of balls and blocks, and his books. He loves to stand by the window and hold onto the window sill and look out. He gets excited to see cars go by and people walking dogs. He loves to take walks in the buggy and watch me feed the ducks. He is doing a lot of waving and clapping and babbling. I am almost certain he says mama mama mama. He is definitely trying to say words like grandpa and grandma (ga) and pretty sure he said Lila several times this weekend. Elliott is pure joy. He is so happy every moment and cries only when he needs something. To eat, to sleep, or when he wants to be close to me. I love taking him places, playing with him, cuddling with him, and showing him new things. I have now officially carried Elliott on the outside as long as I did on the inside. It's hard to believe this little boy grew as a part of me and now I get the honor and pleasure of watching him grow and learn every day. It's amazing and special. I've noticed recently that Elliott is beginning to look more and more like a little boy and less like a baby. This is so hard for me and yet so exciting a the same time. It's exciting to watch the older kids and know that I have so many more exciting things to look forward to. Next year at Camp Kulick he will be walking and exploring on his own. But I will be close by to hold his hand if he wants me to. 

Philadelphia

Last week was my Spring Break and Elliott and I took our first vacation together. We traveled all the way to Philadelphia to visit Tiffany, Jesse, and Lila. Our flight out left Tuesday morning and we flew back Saturday night. Elliott did great on both flights. He played and made friends with the people sitting around us and smiled at the flight attendants. He slept a lot of the way, but when he was awake he played with his toys and snacked on some Puffs (his new favorite!). We spent the days hanging out with Lila and Tiffany. Elliott spent a lot of time watching Lila walk around, he did his best to stand and play with her at the coffee table and she enjoyed showing him all of her toys. On Thursday we took Elliott on his first zoo adventure to the Philadelphia Zoo. We rode the city bus to get there (his first bus ride!!!!). He loved looking at the monkeys and the birds and the otters. It was amazing to watch him notice the animals and then follow them with his eyes. He smiled and laughed and then took a long nap as we walked all the way back home. The next day we took a ride downtown to hang out with Jesse for lunch and do some city shopping. It was fun to visit the upscale baby stores and show Elliott the big buildings and all of the people. I bought him a wooden airplane to remember our trip. On Saturday morning we all went to the Please Touch Museum. It was an awesome museum where the exhibits were made for the kids to play and touch and explore. We watched Lila push a shopping cart around a little store and select groceries off the shelf. They have an old restored carousel in the museum and Elliott loved riding up and down on the horse. We all went out for burgers and milkshakes after the museum and it was so cute to see Elliott and Lila sit next to each other. Elliott got to try a lot of new food including Indian food and we got to do so many things together for the first time!! I loved getting a chance to spend my days with my son and my very special friends. Every day is another reminder of how lucky we are. It was definitely hard to say goodbye to people we love so much, but we will see them again very soon. We are settled back at home. Today we spent the day together, doing laundry, cleaning up, and getting ready for going back to school. Dinner over at grandma and grandpa's with Uncle Stephen, and then a bath and Elliott fell asleep quickly. I know he is dreaming of the fun times and the special moments we had this past week with people we love so much. I know I am.