Dance Party

E loves music and dancing. He often picks out the Pandora station for the night. Lately he's been picking Deadmau5 Radio, which does make for some good dancing ;)

More from the Kitchen

I've been meaning to share this video for a while. Elliott was gifted this little kitchenette from our friends who saw it in a neighbor's garage sale and thought of him :)  Needless to say, he's put it to a lot of good use. Pooh is usually very full. And everything takes "4 minutes"!  This particular video also cracks me up, because he had to stop for a 'poop break'. heh.

Its also funny because this video was from June 13. I already see so many changes! He talks so much clearer now (and more, too!) and he looks so young! Hopefully this will teach me not to doddle too much in the future!

San Diego County Fair!!

Sisters

Moo

Creepy People Eyes

Kids

So Many Goats, So Little Time

"Race Car!"

Thinking: "What the Heck?" about the junior sling shot

$6

"Oh, Wow! Ride it?"

A Boy and His Dog

Buzz, Buzz

Fair Goers

Requirement Fulfilled: Smoked Turkey Leg

Plum Tuckered

Father's Day

We had such a nice Father's Day yesterday. It was filled with family and sweet moments. We started our day off at Gymboree where Elliott was a bear :)  This is Elliott playing along with the Gymbo dance at the end. I thought I was recording the whole thing, but found out I never hit record - hate that!  BUT, this is Elliott doing peak-a-boo :)
 
We then headed over to lunch where we met up with my parents and Robert and Meagan. Elliott has decided that he needs his own menu now when we go out to eat. The cute thing is that he has started reading out letters (some are right, some aren't) and I love that the reading connection is being made.




After lunch we headed over for a walk in Balboa Park. We brought Elliott's 'tricycle' along. He has a new balance bike, that he is *this* much too short to ride, on which the rule is he always has to wear his helmet.  But since he can't ride his bike, he now insists on riding his tricycle with his helmet on. And who are we to discourage good safety! (Jamee, I know you know this one well ;) I think one of my favorite moments of the day was when he came riding into the restaurant (we were finishing up, while Brad had taken Elliott to get his bike from the car), helmet and all. Needless to say, he gets quite a few chuckles and smiles when he's out riding :)

We stopped at the sculpture garden and it was such a lovely backdrop, I had to take a photo. (You can see Brad and Elliott under the sculpture.)

There was also a bit of tree climbing...

 
It was especially nice to celebrate this Father's Day knowing Brad is on the horizon to so many wonderful opportunities for him and our family. While there are still so many 'ifs' out there, the open spaces are slowly starting to fill in. This is a very exciting time for our little family and I wouldn't want anyone else by my side.  Happy Father's Day, Brad!

More Legos!!

One of the super fun things we've done over the last few weeks was visit Legoland again. I know going into it, I was by far more excited to go than Elliott (although he did start saying 'legos!' and pointing as we were making our way through the parking entrance queue). And why was I so excited? Star Wars Miniland, of course!!



I also knew Elliott would get a lot more out of it than the last time we visited in October last year. And boy, was I right! Miniland was by far the highlight of the visit. He wanted to see all the 'models' and push the 'buttons' (correctly pronounced 'buh-puns') to make the action portion of the models move.

I, of course, thought the Star Wars models were the best :) They were a little heavily weighted with scenes from the first three episodes and the Clone Wars (each of which I've only seen once, so I only recognized the scenes vs. getting all the little details), but the models of Endor, Hoth and Tantooine were awesome. Heck, I couldn't help myself and had to take a photo of myself with the Millennium Falcon :D


Besides the Star Wars models where Elliott was particularly fond of making the Hoth snow monster roar, he seemed to be really drawn to the model of New York City, where cars drove around the buildings and you could make break dancers dance on the street.

Elliott once again had a great time at the Duplo Village where he insisted on taking me for tractor rides, over and over again ('sit there! tractor back! ride!'). He also explained what everything was...in fact, this was a common theme of the day. I caught so many photos of Elliott explaining to me mid-word what things were. My favorite being when he was telling me that Bob the Builder had 'tools' in his belt. Hee.

"Legos!" - explaining the cornstalks at the train ride were made of legos

"House!" - explaining he was standing in a big house

"Tools!" - Love

This trip also marked an important milestone: Elliott is 34 inches tall! I know this because he was officially tall enough to wedge his head under the 34 inch height marker for the shortest of the height-restricted rides. While we didn't try every 34 inch ride he would have been eligible to go on (after all we were with a non-34 inch tall companion), the one we did try was a ginormous fail. Our helicopter in the helicopter ride never made it off the ground...in fact, we had to be let off before it even started. This is where I think the 'parenting-karma' is coming back to me (hello, crying on Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland). He was fine until we sat down, then he started saying 'no, no, no' and then started crying (the big, heavy, sobbing, sad cries) to be let off. Well since this was supposed to be fun (for us as well as the people around us), I had the ride attendant let us off. Oh well, I tried! Maybe next time...and maybe on something that doesn't raise 20 feet into the air (intimidating much?).

And shockingly enough, we managed to leave the place without any new legos (although I had told myself that if they had the Thomas the Train duplo train, it was coming home with us), despite the tempting new Cars 2 duplo sets AND seeing the 'hard to find' duplo camping set (it has a tent!!).

Thanks again to our friends for bringing us along - we had SO much fun!!

The Introduction of Pretend Play

I think one of my favorite things right now is Elliott’s relatively new use of pretend play. He has been pretending remotes were telephones for some time, but this level of pretend play is different. He has become a master of cooking soup and fixing tea as well as making sure his animal friends (especially Pooh) are well fed and taken care of.

The spoils of Elliott's birthday party

I hadn’t really thought much about Elliott being ready for this type of play until he joined his new Gymboree class at the beginning of the year. As a result, pretend play ‘toys’ were heavily featured for his birthday. Not only did he end up with the coolest set of dishware (which not only is made from recycled milk jugs but can also actually be used!), but he now has a couple coordinating pots and pans as well as a set of stuffed veggies. I also made him a stove out of a cardboard box. Here you can see him playing with his new toys just after his birthday party (and yes, I am THAT behind in sharing this video). Mr. Polar Bear was well taken care of that day!

A (Birth)Day at the Aquarium

So I decided that having your child's birthday right after Christmas is almost as annoying as having your own birthday right after Christmas. It's hard to even think about planning birthday parties in the middle of the holidays. And then in the aftermath, you don't want to think about it either. Let alone the idea of birthday party gifts! Yikes, following new Christmas presents? It's just too much. This all to say that we kept things simple again this year. And since first and second birthday parties are (for the most part) totally lost on the honorees, we (again) made Elliott's birthday celebration a small family affair. Only this year it was a destination party at the Birch Aquarium!

Elliott loves to look at fish and fish tanks, (heck, remember the Free Zoo?) so we thought this was a great option. It was so much fun to see him with all the big tanks. He must have said "wow" and "wow, weird" I don't know how many times.

And sometimes, he was just content to take it all in.

They have a nice tide pool exhibit outside as well, even though Elliott was a bit small to really see what was going on in there.

We also discovered he was NOT a fan of the rubber lobster. He got behind grandma as fast as he could and just stayed like that until he was sure it wasn't alive...and even then he didn't want anything to do with it! Ha!

He was particularly concerned that some of the star fish were not in the water with the rest of the star fish and tried to rescue a couple of them. Fortunately, we managed to keep all the rubber star fish out of the tide pools!

They also had a great water exhibit outside. There were two tables with water that flowed from one side to the other. You could make adjustments to the current with the yellow and blue plates and then see the effect it had on boats you sent down stream. Needless to say, Elliott had a good time sending the boats on there way and even making adjustments to the stream (or at least trying to ;) He got some good assistance from grandpa and uncle Robert!

Here's a little video of how it worked:

All in all a great day!

No Excuse

We are a Lego family. There are very few brands we are loyal to around our home. But we are Lego purists. Both Brad and I grew up with Lego brand building blocks and frankly, neither one of us could wait to bring them back into our lives. We started out with a starter set of Duplos...then added a couple accessories, then added a few more for Christmas...then added a Lego train...and did I mention that a significant section of the Lego.com site was half off after Christmas? So yeah, Elliott has some Legos.

The best part about them, is one set isn't just one toy. It grows with the rest of the sets and before you know it, you might even be able to build a tower to the ceiling in your living room...one might say...

(By the way - this is one reason I love my husband...not only did he build the best Lego tower ever...he thought to video it...to which we both immediately thought Also sprach Zarathustra was the only possible soundtrack to said video.)

(And I swear the Legos are Elliott's...unless of course I can't restrain myself from getting out the Lego Supermarket he is getting for his birthday and putting it together right now...which I would be lying to you if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind, once or twice...there's a Lego steak!)

(Do they have Legorehab?)

A Few Videos from Texas...

Oh yeah...I don't know if I mentioned it or not...but mama got a new camera for Christmas! Woo! Thank you Cyber Monday sales! It is still a point and click, but with significant technological improvements so that I can actually...wait for it...take pictures INSIDE!! I'm beyond thrilled :) Anyway, it also takes some pretty neat videos, of which I shall share a few from our trip to Houston.

First up...this is what happens when a four year old feeds and almost two year old:

One of the outings we made while in Texas was to a place called It'z (think Dave and Busters for families). Elliott had a great time there getting in and out of the car racing games - who would have guessed? Mama and Brad had fun playing skee ball and basketball, respectively and earned enough tickets for a bumpy ball and a giant blow up crayon for Elliott. However, Elliott also enjoyed their toddler train ride, which he went on many, many times:

And this is Elliott and Leila at Gymboree class. We discovered that not only did they have a Gymboree close by, but they had a fairly convenient 'family' class. We also ended up being the only ones in class that day! Both kids got to take the class for free, which is good since I'm pretty sure they were counting the seconds until their lunch break...

Merry Christmas!

Perhaps the best part about buying gifts for an almost 2 year old...



It really is easy to make them happy!

Blurry, but nice

It can be a bit challenging to get any photos at Gymboree that aren't a giant blurry mess. But I lucked out the other week with some fun blurry, but nice pictures. The video at the end is just for fun...he really gets around during class. There's always something else to do or explore.

Gymboree!

For the last month or so, Elliott and I have been attending a class at Gymboree. The reasons we had to sign him up for such a class were several fold. Primarily, it was a chance for Elliott to spend some time, regularly, with kids his own age - something he just wasn't getting at home otherwise. He has also reached the physical experimentation stage and wants to climb on everything. Gymboree offers a perfect setting to do this in - lots of complicated things to do in a safe environment. And bonus? It's a special time for Elliott and I to hang out together. Brad comes occasionally, but for the most part it is something special that Elliott and I do together on the weekends. There's lots of music (I discovered here that Elliott is a big fan of the Beatles - naturally ;) and every two weeks the obstacle course is changed up to focus on a new 'curriculum'. We just finished 'toss and bounce' - ha! So, you will likely be seeing more Gymboree related photos and videos around here...but probably not too many that are in focus since my camera doesn't like the lighting and the flash pictures are terrible.

Montana!

Elliott and my trip to Montana to visit my friend and her family was nothing short of wonderful. We had such a great time, got up close and personal with some farm animals, visited some of the best playgrounds - EVER, and got to spend some quality time with a great friend and her awesome kids.

We arrived in Missoula on the evening of November 6th. It was already growing dark when we got there and it was dark, dark by the time we reached Kristie's home in Florence, Montana. We didn't get a chance to see how pretty their property was until the next morning. When I opened up the blinds in our room Sunday morning, Elliott exclaimed "Trees!" And boy was he, right!

My friend also told us that they were now the proud owners of six chickens "The Ladies" and a cow "The Cow" aka "Cheeseburger" (I'm sure you can guess why he has such a moniker). Elliott was fascinated by the chickens and really loved to follow them around. This was Elliott's first experience with them out of the coup.

They are really beautiful chickens and it was so much fun to watch them eat and run around.

I have to admit, the cow was a little odd and had these big googly eyes. But one of my favorite memories from our trip is when my friend's husband asked Elliott if he wanted to go out and help feed the cow, to which Elliott responded by running straight to the front door, saying "Moo" and "Cow", over and over. Hee, hee.

Now as you can probably guess, it was a little chilly while we were there. I think we woke up to ~20 degrees each morning and I don't believe I saw it ever get over 43 degrees, with it usually being in the 30ies most of the day. Luckily Old Navy had a 50% off sale on kids coats the week before we left because I almost didn't get him a coat (~$50!!!), but not only did he wear it, he really used it every day we were there.

Now, when you see the full photo album from this trip, there is one thing featured VERY prominently, the playgrounds. Not only because we visited a couple due to the company we were keeping :) , but also because they have some of the coolest playgrounds I have ever seen. They are truly community efforts with the contributors names prominently featured on the fencing and other special features. They are also very different than what we are used to seeing here. They are primarily wood, cement and a cement looking composite. Each one also has a theme and a very unique design. The one in Florence has a pioneer theme and Elliott is climbing over the seats in a (un)covered wagon in the video below:

(You can hear Elliott saying "iseeyou" a couple times :)

The one you see below (I forget its proper name - the kids all knew them by name), but it was a giant twisty tower that a dragon had taken over.

We visited this particular playground in Missoula, which sat next to the fastest carousel...ever. (It was all I could do to keep Elliott and I from sliding off our bench seat!). It was really elaborate with lots of twisty ups and downs and secret ways here and there. I had so much fun exploring the main tower, I can only imagine how awesome it would be for a kid! The best part? Even though the tower was made for older kids, the steps were all 1/2 tall, so Elliott was able to navigate everything really easily.

One of the best parts of our trip was spending time with Kristie's kids. They were so much fun and were so great with Elliott. By the time we left, they could do the best imitation of Elliott I've ever heard...to the point, I sometimes couldn't tell if it was Elliott or one of the other boys saying "Da, Dah" (what he usually calls to me - and apparently all parental-types - when he's trying to get my attention).

Elliott was also very intrigued by them and all they did. I often caught him just following someone around...even into the bathroom. He also seemed to really enjoy being at the dining room table when James did his homework in the evening. They were also very good sports and shared their cars, which Elliott was obsessed with (He had to point out and say "cars" every time he saw one or wanted to play with them). Kyle even picked a couple cars out of their collection so Elliott could start a collection of his own!

And the trains...I had recently been thinking Elliott might be interested in trains, but hadn't really put much thought into it beyond that. As soon as he saw them, Elliott was drawn to Matthew's Thomas the Train set. This is the most concentrated I have seen Elliott play for quite some time and he would have stayed out in the play room all day, if we had let him...just pushing and pulling the train cars around on the tracks.

(Needless to say, a train set may have already been purchased for Christmas...)

Each day we were there we got to explore a new little part of the surrounding area and got a feel for the Montana way of life. It was so beautiful and we apparently didn't even hit it on a "good day". I have a whole series of 'scenery' photos coming up after this post, that I felt need to stand on their own and now be bogged down with words. And I will also be posting my Montana photo album on our photo share site in the next few days, so look for that as well.

Both Elliott and I were sad Brad wasn't able to join us on our little Montana adventure because he would have had a great time as well. But with his school schedule we probably wouldn't have been able to plan a trip out there any time soon if Elliott and I hadn't taken off on our own.

Now this brings me to something I don't want to dwell on too much...our flights. I was VERY nervous about flying with Elliott on my own. Almost to the point where I wasn't sure I could do it before I booked my ticket. But I didn't want that to stop me from going and I knew the trip itself would be great for both of us. So I bought tickets and promptly wanted to throw up. Fortunately, I had some time to get myself together before the trip and the day of our first flight went perfectly. I was able to sit next to an empty seat and use Elliott's car seat for the flight. He was great and even slept most of the trip. I couldn't have asked for more. Unfortunately, the 'low budge' nature of the Missoula airport (paper lists instead of computers) led to a lot of miscommunication about the availability of an empty seat on our flight home. I was finally told I couldn't move my seat next to an empty seat because the flight was full and I would have to check the car seat at the gate. I was prepared for this since I hadn't paid for Elliott's ticket and that would have been fine. However, what still chaps my hide is the fact that it turned out there was indeed one empty seat on the plane...the ONE NEXT TO ME. But by the time I knew this, it was too late to get the car seat out from under the plane. So the flight home was not smooth and not painless and had its share of tears, screams and mini tantrums. I'm just glad Elliott is almost 2 so the dilemma over to buy or not to buy a seat will soon be a moot point...at least once we get through our Christmas travel :P