Elliott - 3/31/2015

Elliott had several bites of cinnamon roll and ate canned prunes (a limit of three prunes for him) for breakfast.  And drank lots of milk!  For lunch he ate several bites of a combination of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns.  He also ate waffle and a melon mix.  Kimberly and I talked about Elliott and routines this morning.  He is so good at several routines and mealtime is a primary one!  He marches right over to his highchair and stands right there for me to lift him up!

Cooper was at a dentist appointment and arrived late for breakfast.  Elliott had already eaten a good breakfast and drank LOTS of milk, but he was furious that he couldn't have more!  Hey, why can Cooper eat and not me!!??  Actually I would have given him something, but I was a bit leery because of the amount of milk he'd already consumed!

Mia is in Bozeman today and Cooper arrived late so it was just Elliott playing while Sophie slept.  It was fun to totally focus on Elliott and watch him as he explored several different areas and toys in the Daycare.  I was sitting by the bookrack (in the chair you see in the picture below) and he plopped down at the books and read and read and read.  I love it when he does that!  And he was reading LOUD again - it's almost like he's singing too!

I took this picture of Elliott because he was doing a GREAT job of walking around Sophie while driving his car on the table bench.  That's their race track and he was going around and around.  And whenever he came to where Sophie was laying he'd walk around her.  I was impressed!

Elliott - 3/30/2015

Elliott ate several bites of kix cereal and ate mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch he ate bites of ham sandwich, a bite of peas (which came right back out), and ate mandarin oranges.

Kimberly, you and I were talking about Elliott pooping on the way to Daycare this morning - he had poop number two before 10:30 this morning.  Geez, thanks a lot Elliott!!  :)   Just an FYI thing for you - it was very soupy and very smelly!

Elliott was looking at some books this morning and it appeared like he was showing one of the books to Sophie.  By the time I grabbed the camera to take the picture he had abandoned that idea and was now reaching for her binky!  So I got that picture instead!  :)  And I sanitized the binky after taking this picture as well!

But a few minutes later he was showing Sophie a book again.  I think this is so cute.  Sophie was gone all last week and she was happy to see Elliott this morning.  She was reaching for him and grabbing him and grinning.  Elliott was chuckling and loving it as well!

Sometimes Elliott will yell for a drink and when I bring it out he knows I want him to lay down and drink it and not pack it around.  Sometimes he'll lay down before I even get there and he's just waiting for me.  So cute.  The whole "laying down thing" started when he was still using the bottle and when he started holding it himself.  He's obviously old enough to sit and drink now rather than lay, but he's already programmed to lay so we'll just go with that for awhile!

Elliott - 3/27/2015

Elliott ate several bites of brown rice and raisins for breakfast.  For lunch he had a taste of meatloaf, ate pita bread, carrots, and apricots.

As you may have noticed this picture was taken yesterday afternoon when Elliott was reading books. He was doing the same thing again this morning so I just used yesterday's picture!  The picture does not portray how LOUD he was reading.  That cracks me up when he reads so loud!  It sounds like he's basically yelling and he goes on and on and on!  :)  Loud reading and making loud banging noises!  Yup, there's a theme here!

Here's a picture of what occasionally happens when the neighbor kids are not in school!  :)  This is the first day of Spring Break for them and neighbor Zach came over peering in our big window.  The kids think it's hilarious and were yelling for him to return when he left.

Elliott was pretty tired acting this morning so I put him down for a morning nap and he was soon asleep! He's playing now while the other ones are sleeping, but he's starting to get tired.  He pushed the cars around the bench of the table, played with the tambourines and jingle bells, and chewed on lots of the food toys!

Elliott - 3/26/2015

Elliott ate cinnamon toast and grapes for breakfast.  For lunch he had a bite of baked chicken, ate half of dinner roll, most of hash browns, and half of his cherries.

I get a kick out of watching what the kids head for first thing in the morning.  Elliott basically does "laps" stopping momentarily to play with a favorite toy and then moving on to the next one.  And he did that three or four times before he settled into playing with one thing for several minutes at a time. He played with the Jingle Bells (on the table in front of him in the picture), tambourine, driving cars on the bench around the table, food toys, stuffed puppies (that's what he's chewing on in the picture), and many more toys.

For some reason (unknown to me - ha!) Elliott feels the need to crawl into the legos drawer every morning this week and mess around.  It's so cute!  He plays with the legos a little bit, but he has more fun making noise (which is probably the primary attraction!) shuffling the legos with his feet.  He appears to just be stretched out and laying there in the picture, but his feet were slipping out from under him and he was chuckling about it all!

We sang songs and he was loving the "Hickity Pickity Bumblebee" Song.  (The bee buzzes them and chants their name.)  Oh man, Elliott was roaring with laughter.  He was also roaring with laughter watching me bounce my pen using the spring in it.  Every time it would bounce he'd laugh like that was the funniest thing he'd ever seen!  So I did it over and over and over....!  :)

Elliott - 3/25/2015

Elliott ate whole wheat bagel and peaches for breakfast.  For lunch he ate bites of ham, ate mac-n- cheese, half of corn, and half of apple pieces.  He didn't want to taste the ham so I got some (primarily ham juice) on his lips and then put a few small pieces on his plate.  He licked his lips a few times and ended up eating almost all of it.

Elliott was doing some goofy things experimenting with the table.  By the time I got the camera he was about done, but this picture will help you get the idea.  You can see part of Cooper in the picture, but before Cooper arrived Elliott was able to move the entire table by pushing with his feet in this position.  Yesterday he was sitting on this same table bench, hanging onto the table with his hands, and kept sliding backwards until his butt was hanging way off the back of the bench.  Then he'd  slightly pushed back until he plopped off backwards.  And it all looked in slow motion.  Silly Elliott.

Elliott was putting this bucket over his face and enjoying the echoing sound it was producing when he'd make funny sounds.

Mia was reading this book and kept saying, "Sing with me Guys, sing with me."  And they are obediently sitting there listening.  (But not singing!)  Elliott left for awhile, but shortly thereafter went back over to join them.

Elliott - 3/24/2015

Elliott ate most of chex cereal and ate mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch he ate roast beef sandwich, a sip of tomato soup, and ate half of lettuce salad.

I was changing Elliott's poopy diaper and Cooper heard me say, "Well I'm gonna put some grease on you!"  Cooper said, "Nooo!  That's cream!!"  :)

Elliott loves the noise makers!  So the tambourines in this toy exchange are a big hit!  He loves thumping the toys on anything in the Daycare room that makes a big noise.  Which I don't mind except I don't let the kids thump toys on the big window.  He was also reading the books aloud again today.  (Which I love listening to him when he does that!)

Cooper was in the igloo having some alone time and Elliott had followed him over there to see what this was all about.  (Cooper said Mia had done something to him, but it was evident that his feelings were more hurt than anything, so he immediately went to the igloo.)  I thought it was cute how Elliott stopped at a "safe" distance to observe.  :)

Elliott - 3/23/2015

Elliott ate waffle and two servings of pears for breakfast.  For lunch he ate tuna and crackers, bites of sweet potatoes, and most of mandarin oranges.

I'd left the gate open to our living room and Elliott escaped of course and boy he really acted like he'd accomplished something spectacular!  He was giggling and taking off down the hall.  It was pretty hilarious.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and Mia was filling the plates with food and Elliott found a spot to eat.  (Some kabobs in his right hand and celery in his left hand!)  :)  He was also intrigued with the shape sorters and knew those shapes should go in one of the holes!  Cooper was helping him which was very cute.

This is another fun activity the kids like to do with the cars.  You can see a "crease" in the middle of table seat and they use that for their road.  And they'll go around and around the table many times.

Elliott was in a great mood all morning and explored lots of different books and other toys as well.  He wanted his binky a couple times, but caught a "second wind," re-grouped, and went right back to playing.  Needless to say he was ready for nap after eating lunch!

Elliott - 3/20/2015

Elliott ate oatmeal and canned prunes for breakfast.  (That's a fruit that all the kids love! It probably helps that they're sweetened!)  For lunch he had a bite of hash brown casserole (it didn't come back out, but he didn't want another bite either!), ate biscuit, and mandarin oranges.

Mia went potty and didn't shut the gate on the way back in.  I said, "Please shut the gate Mia so Elliott doesn't escape."  He heard the gate open and me talking and he went "sprinting" in that direction.  (Grinning like crazy!)

I use some pillows for my back when I'm sitting in the chair.  There are three pillows - two big ones and a little one that you can see hanging from Elliott's mouth in the picture.  He always chooses this little pillow whenever I get up.  And then scampers across the room with it.  :)

He sat in front of the book rack reading for at least 10 minutes.  And he continued to play in that general area for several more minutes after he was done with the books.

Cooper and Mia were building tall towers with blocks again.  Elliott was continually threatening to knock over their towers.  Mia said, "That was rude Elliott!"  Ha ha!  Then she said, "That was rude TyTy!"  (That's her dog Titan.)  One other thing Mia said that you all might fine cute;  Sophie's nose was running and she was a bit fussy and Mia said, "I hope her Grandparents take good care of her!"

Elliott - 3/19/2015

Elliott ate whole wheat cinnamon toast and melon mix for breakfast.  For lunch I managed to get a piece of turkey on his lips so I think he may have tasted it or at least licked his lips!  :)  He ate dinner roll, most of green beans, and ate mangoes.  Mia arrived about breakfast time and Elliott was waiting to get in his highchair.  Mia's Mom asked, "Did he just say your name!?!"  Yup he sure did!  :)

I took this first picture yesterday afternoon after nap time.  I was holding the masks up to my face and Elliott was laughing like crazy.  As soon as I put it on him he went racing across the floor like he was really going someplace.  His age group rarely leaves a mask on for very long, so I was impressed that he didn't immediately yank it off!  I had time to get the camera and take a picture!

Elliott found the Book Stash that Mia and Cooper abandoned!  :)  Those two were "camping" (they called this their "campsite") and Elliott tried hard to invade the campsite earlier.  So he plopped down and read books here for a few minutes.

I took this picture of the kids playing because Elliott was laughing so hard.  Cooper is under Mia's blanket and Elliott thought that was the funniest thing ever!  Cooper kept walking towards him making funny sounds and Elliott just laughed harder.  Mia very graciously let them play with her blanket for several minutes before repossessing it!  :)

Elliott - 3/18/2015

Elliott ate whole wheat toast and mixed berries for breakfast.  Ok, I totally take back what I said yesterday about Elliott not being picky!  Geez!  I know better than to make a statement like that!  The next day they will prove you wrong!  For lunch he ate crackers and maybe a taste of ham, bean & bacon soup, and strawberries.

I took this picture (yesterday afternoon) of Elliott pushing the dump trucks up and down the sidewalk.  Shortly after I took this picture he crashed and rolled and bonked the side of his head on the sidewalk. A few moments after that the truck flipped up and bonked him on the forehead!  Geez!  It's a good thing he's a tough little fellow!

Here's a picture of Elliott playing on the bare toy shelf after helping empty the shelf of the building blocks.  He wasn't interested in playing with the blocks; just having fun on the shelf.

Cooper had been gone for over a week at his Grandpa and Grandma's Farm and he was glad to see everyone.  He was playing in the Big Box and Elliott started tossing toys into the box.  Cooper didn't want them and put them back out.  Well of course this is one of Elliott's favorite games here!  "You toss it out and I'll toss it back in!"

Cooper and Mia were also "hiding" from Elliott.  They haven't been able to play that game with Cooper gone and I think Elliott missed the game as well!  (If chuckling is an indicator!)  Elliott also sat in front of the book rack and read books.

Elliott - 3/17/2015

Elliott ate whole wheat bagel and apricots for breakfast.  For lunch he ate most of everything; chicken, elbow noodles topped with shredded cheese, peas, and applesauce.  I mixed it all together and he loved it.  It sure simplifies lots of things when a child is not a "picky eater!"

This is such a cute picture of Elliott I took first thing this morning!  I can enlarge it on my computer and it's ADORABLE!  A cute St. Paddy's Day outfit with a big cheesy grin!

I took this picture shortly after Sophie awoke from her morning nap.  Elliott went over and sat near her and she was grabbing him shirt and tugging on it.  Of course he didn't care and he may not have even noticed!  :)  It's cute how she reaches for him.

I was on the floor talking to the kids and Elliott snuggled in close and I was using his body for my pillow.  And he just laid nice and still for several minutes.  It was very cute and sweet.

Elliott played with lots of different toys and looked around out the window several times.  He went over to where Mia was stacking blocks and started pushing the piles over.  He'd push one, then intently watch her reaction.  She yelled a couple times and then she just decided to beat him at his own game.  She went and pushed them all over before he could.  And then went merrily on her way.

Elliott - 3/16/2015

Elliott drank his milk, but wasn't interested in eating much breakfast.  He started playing with it and tossing the dried cranberries onto the floor.  So he was probably getting a bit hungry by lunch time.  He ate cheese pizza, corn, and tropical fruit.  

Elliott was saying, "daddy daddy daddy daddy..." all morning.  Mia finally told him; "He's NOT Daddy!  He's your Gary!"  Ha ha ha!  Pretty cute.

Mia had her blanket laying on the floor and Elliott sat on it and looked at her to see her reaction.  Mia yelled and pulled hard to get the blanket away from him.  I told her she could take it to the big box if she didn't want Elliott to get it.  So she headed that way and put it in, but immediately decided that was kind of fun and took it back over beside him to tempt him with some more blanket play.  And he didn't disappoint her!

Elliott was watching Mia and laughing as she was running all over the room being a "horsey," making various horsey snorts and squeals.  I must say she is quite entertaining!

Here's a picture of Elliott and Mia with the Panda Bear.  Mia said, "I'm so happy you found the Panda Bear!"  :)  I didn't realize he was missing!

Elliott played with the big legos blocks again this morning.  Mia had some of these already stacked, but he added the little ones on the top.

Elliott - 3/13/2015

Elliott ate half of breakfast; Malt-o-meal cereal and raisins.  For lunch he had bites of ground beef, elbow noodles topped with shredded cheese, apple pieces, and ate his mixed fruit.

It is nice to have Elliott back today and I'm thankful he's feeling better.  He had a good morning and was engaging in play with the toys and having fun.  He was also very playful when I was changing his diaper and interacting with him.  Back to his old (young) self!  :)

He was playing with the masks and as you can see in the picture he knows where they go; on my head somehow!!  He also played with the big legos blocks and read lots of books.

Later, he saw Mia putting on the masks and look how he's reaching for that thing!  Speaking of Mia, she yelled, "He (Elliott) stepped on my blankie!"  (Except he hadn't - I was watching)  I said, "No he didn't.  Mia said, "Well he almost did!!"  :)

Elliott saw Sophie's seat on the toy shelf and he managed to pull it over and reached her blanket.  Then he spotted her binky laying on the blanket.  He grabbed the binky and headed across the room to where Sophie was at and stuck the binky in her mouth.  :)

Elliott - 3/10/2015

Elliott ate most of waffle serving and half of hash browns.  He basically ate nothing for lunch; and only a couple sips of milk which is highly unusual.  I'm pretty concerned about how he's feeling today Kimberly.  He played ok for awhile first thing this morning, but has gradually been getting more fussy and needed his binky most of the morning.  So you may be getting a call this afternoon.  Hopefully not, but we'll see.

Elliott was playing beside Sophie and he was watching the "fish" swim around when I took this picture.  For anyone reading this who hasn't been at Little Treasures, our "fish" are the best kind; Fake ones!  :)  The little tank takes very little maintenance!!  

Oh yes, Kimberly - Elliott has 3 diapers left at Little Treasures.  Thank you.

He has been walking back to the little room at nap times.  This is becoming our routine and he does well with it, as long as he's feeling good!  And it saves my back from having to carry him!  Good job Elliott and I thank you!  :)

Elliott - 3/9/2015

Elliott ate a few cheerios and ate banana serving for breakfast.  For lunch he ate cheese sandwich, sip of tomato soup, and ate most of mandarin oranges.

Kimberly - you said he chewed up his binky last night.  Shortly after you dropped him off he was getting fussy so I got his binky and he really started chewing on.  (rather than sucking)  So I got him a chew (teething) toy instead and he was satisfied with it and chewed on it for several minutes.

We did a toy, book, and puzzle exchange this weekend and this set of toys has an animal theme.  I put this lion mask on him and quickly took a picture.  :)  He makes a cute little lion!

Mia was wearing a lion suit and Elliott was pretty impressed with that!  He was starting to roar (like Mia was doing) when I took this picture.

I went into the kitchen to get his cup of milk and he was saying, "Gary Gary Gary..."  Mia and him were saying, "hi hi hi..." back-n-forth to each other and he was also mimicking some silly sounds she was making.  Mia is also a "language" person and she was getting a kick out of that.

Elliott - 3/6/2015

Elliott's blog will be a bit short today.  He played pretty well this morning, but he got sick (joined brother Noah at home) and left at lunch time.

He ate oatmeal and several dried cranberries for breakfast.  However, he ate very little at lunch and drank very little milk.  That's when you know Elliott is not feeling well!!  He loves his food and milk!

Cooper built the sidewalk you see in the picture and Elliott was crawling on it and playing with the big boys.  However, by the time I got the camera he was just laying on the floor watching.  (You do see him in the picture, right!?)  :)

Elliott makes me laugh!  He's a fun-loving little fellow and he likes to push the limits a bit.  And he'll look at me to watch my reaction; "Is this ok?!?"  For example, he took the baby toys I sat on the floor beside Sophie and took them to the Big Box and threw them inside.  Then he looked at me grinning and seemingly said, "What about that?"  You little skunk!  I put those toys beside her because she can't crawl and retrieve her own toys yet!!  :)

Elliott - 3/5/2015

Elliott ate a half serving of whole wheat english muffin and ate blueberries for breakfast.  For lunch he had a couple bites of turkey sandwich, ate green beans, and half of his strawberries.

Cooper is keeping a close eye on Elliott's chosen method of playing on the sit-n-spins!  Elliott is looking at Cooper and saying, "What do you mean this thing spins!?!"  :)

This is a picture of what was really bugging Cooper!  Elliott has watched Mia and Cooper poke toys that fit in the table hole many many times.  So Elliott started playing there too!  Cooper spotted him trying to stick the phone in the hole and he was trying to fix it.

It was actually very cute as Cooper showed him how to fit one of the spoons in the hole.  Obviously, as you can see in the picture, Elliott was still determined to jam that phone in there.  (Much to Cooper's agitation!!)  :)

I had Sophie sitting in the highchair and feeding her in the Daycare room.  Elliott kept handing legos pieces up to her.  Very cute.  He also read lots of books (LOUD), banging toys (LOUD), examining the bottom of the sit-n-spins, and playing with the blocks.  I love those big legos blocks because Elliott can be successful putting them together and the "older" ones still enjoy playing with them as well.  Those blocks get used everyday!

Elliott - 3/3/2015

Elliott ate cinnamon roll and canned prunes for breakfast.  For lunch he ate scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, and cheese combo.  He also ate waffle and melon mix.

Here's a picture of Elliott enjoying some toys we brought in from the patio.  We have several toys in a tub outside that we use for rainy days.

He was watching Mia and Cooper play with this hole in the center of the table you see in the picture. (That hole has been a source of entertainment for several years now!)  There are a couple of legos pieces that will fit in there and one child will be on top of the table and the other child underneath.  After they left Elliott crawled put there and played.  (The legos piece he has will not go through, but he had the concept!)  He also likes to crawl on the table and shove off any toy that someone leaves up there.  He keeps me on my toes!!  :)

After lunch he was the only one awake and he was playing LOUD!  :)  He had legos pieces and was banging on anything that would make a big noise - he loves that game!  He was running around on the mattress again laughing his head off. Then he was talking as well.  LOUD!  Ha!  I swear he was saying, "Daddy, Mommy, Gary" and several other things I couldn't understand.

Elliott - 3/2/2015

Elliott ate a few bites of kix cereal and ate his mixed fruit for breakfast.  For lunch he ate ham sandwich, peas, and mandarin oranges.

I was feeding Sophie when Elliott came so Lauralea went out and got him.  She was holding him and said, "Are you my Elliott baby?"  Cooper did not like that!  He said (very emphatically), "That's Gary's Elliott Baby!!"  He repeated himself just in case she didn't get it the first time!  :)

I took these pictures of Elliott when he was the only one awake and he was having a blast on the mattress by himself.  Here he is laughing and holding his arms high in the  air!

He was stomping around and trying to jig up and down.  And he never quit chuckling.  You can see in the picture how he is concentrating; it's not easy to balance and walk around on the mattress at the same time and he was working hard at it.  He finally got tired and was ready for his afternoon nap.  He just laid down on the mattress and relaxed there for several minutes.  Ok Sweetie!  I can understand a not-so-subtle hint!  :)

He was stacking blocks again -up to four blocks- then knocking them over.  That kept him entertained for several minutes.  He also stood on the step looking out the window, slapping the window with his hand, and laughing.  :)