elliot weekly: week 34

at the Washburn General Store
trying to convince us to buy her this little rocking chair

what we've been up to:

To the Park: Elliot went to the park for the first time!  Josh and I both had Wednesday afternoon off and we took Elliot to the park.  She's obviously not old enough to run around yet, but she seemed to enjoy the swings and the carousel.  We are so lucky to have such a gem of a park only minutes from our house...its actually walking distance from my office and uptown so we'll have to keep it in the running destination rotation.  

Winner, Winner: Elliot is a winner!  Elliot and I ran the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving this past week.  Ok, Elliot actually fell asleep around mile 2.  BUT, Elliot won the costume contest!  I'm pretty sure she won by default, but she was the CUTEST little indian ever.  I made her costume out of felt and ribbon and managed to whip it up during her nap on Wednesday afternoon.  Its all sew-free and made by knotting and hot-glue that I learned how to do by watching this video from Joann's.  (You can't really see in this picture, but she had a little papoose on the back of her costume to hold her stuffed animal like a mama!)

Elliot and I post-race waiting for the results 

cutest little baby ever?
yep.
and we have the trophy to prove it.

Thankful:  We are so thankful for so many things; the Lord is so very good and so good to us.  It was nice to have a day set aside to remember that this week.  I pray that we keep that mindset as we enter into these next holiday weeks!

elliot weekly: week 33

what we've been up to:

Never Met a Stranger:  Elliot continues to enjoy meeting new people...although, you'd never know they were "new" by the way she coos and smiles at everyone.  When I was pregnant with Elliot I prayed that she would be warm towards others, because I knew how many people the Lord had us in contact with through ministry.  I know she's little and could certainly develop a shy streak later on, but we're just going to enjoy our little social butterfly for now.

Huge Smiles: Elliot has a huge smile, complete with drool and giggles.  Noticeably absent: teeth.  Elliot doesn't have any teeth yet.  And, according to Aunt Joy (dental hygienist extraordinaire) it doesn't look like she has any teeth coming any time soon.  Oh well, we'll just enjoy our little gums-only girl for now :)

Bath Baby:  Elliot is still loving her bath time.  She'd probably play in the bathtub all day if we let her.  And, she loves to tote around her bath toys and play with them around the house.  We get quite the strange looks when we're out and about and Elliot is swinging around a rubber ducky!

elliot weekly: week 32

holding her water bottle at 32 weeks

What we've been up to:

Roll Over: Elliot is a rolling over champ!  She's been great with her tummy time and regularly rolls front to back (she definitely favors rolling to the right.)  She's not showing any interest in crawling yet and prefers to play with what's around her than crawling for a toy farther away.

Sing a Song: Elliot has been really into music lately.  If she's fussy in the car, turning on the radio (or plugging in the iPod) really seems to calm her down.  I don't think she has any real favorites so far, but I'm thinking she'll be a 'top 40s' girl.  Josh and Elliot rock out to the guitar while I'm running in the mornings.  It's fun to sneak into the house and hear them singing Vida la Vida or Mr. Jones (ok, let's be honest, Josh does the singing and Elliot just kind of lays on her back, grabs her feet in the air, smiles and does a sweet little baby scream.)

Elliot and Josh having a little sing-a-long/chew-toy time

elliot weekly: week 31

loving outdoor time at 31 weeks

What we've been up to this week:

Reach For It:  Elliot is getting so much better at reaching for toys (or my cell phone, keys, silverware or anything else she shouldn't be putting in her mouth!)  She will be sitting up, lean to one side to grab a toy, sit back up and pass the toy between her hands.  It's so wild to watch her....I just hear her think "I want what's over there....so I'm going to get it myself."  It is amazing to see her independence grow each day!

Arms Open Wide:  When Elliot is getting fussy/tired/bored and she starts to cry, she doesn't really hold her arms "up", she holds them out (like she's making a giant "T" shape.)  She holds her arms like this often and most of the time isn't trying to communicate "pick me up."  I feel like a bit of a mind-reader these days---trying to decipher what she wants, with one motion/gesture meaning multiple things.

In Its Place: Everything has a place....and Elliot believes that place is in her mouth.  Car keys, make-up, remote controls, towels and tabletops are all fair game for our little girl.  Yes, she did try to chew on the edge of a table at Early Girl in Asheville.  And yes, I did laugh while pulling her away.  What can I say, I guess our daughter is part beaver.