Monday, December 9, 2013

Elliot 5 Months

Our 5 month old big boy!!
1 month away from 6 months!! That is just crazy! This next month is going to go by so fast with our trip to Minnesota, Christmas and his Baptism.  Let's just press pause and stay here fore awhile, okay Elliot?
Of course he had to bring his zebra in for a picture :) 


This past month has been a big one for E. He is officially rolling. He just singles rolls for now, but tries to use his momentum to roll over again.  Most of the time it is just from his tummy to back, but he has done back to tummy(typically only at night).

Make it quick mama, I need to roll!

Along with rolling he has started just moving in general.  The kid never sits still anymore! Whether he is grabbing his feet and rolling or arching his back to move himself to get something, he never stops. This is also the case when he is in the bath. He splashes and moves like crazy! I can't wait to take him swimming!
Right before the splashing begins!

He also started eating solids this month. Our pediatrician told us we could start anytime between 4 and 6 months.(this is also on track with what they advise in the US now as well)  Initially I wanted to wait until 5 months, but his 4 month sleep regression was not going away and he was so into watching us eat.  So at 4.5 months we started with pureed vegetables.  He was not a fan the first day.  But everyday since he has been so excited to eat.  His favorite so far has been the pureed pumpkin.  I have been making all of his purees myself, which has been great!

Yummy!
He continues to look more like Brent everyday and has the blondest hair and sweet blue eyes. I can't wait to compare him to some of B's baby pictures when we are home. They only trait of mine that makes him differ from Brent is his nose. Glad there is a little of me!
Looking so much like his Papa!

He really is such a happy baby. I am truly amazed every single day by how much joy he brings into our lives and how his sweet giggle can erase any memory of a tough night or day. We love you E! Thanks for being so awesome!



Tuesday, November 26, 2013

On my iPhone

Here are some things we have been up to lately via my iPhone.

Elliot decided to pose for senior pictures

This is Sophie the giraffe.  She spends most of her days being shoved in Elliot's mouth and chomped on.  I think some teeth are coming!

After battling Elliot to love the bassinet on the stroller, we switched to the big kid seat. He loves it!

We met some friends at a pancake place in the woods near Amsterdam.  They have an area to feed and pet deer.


 Elliot's thoughts on carrots. Thankfully he liked them better then second day!


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Holiday Season

The Dutch Holiday season kicked off this past weekend when Sinterklaas came into town. You might remember we went to the festivities last year, but this year was a bit more fun with Elliot. Fun fact, the day after the Sinterklaas parade last year was when we found out we were expecting E!  Such a change in a year! We met up with our friends Sam and Dan before the parade, just like last year and we all got our spot along the canal.  It wasn't that cold out but we knew that we would be outside for awhile so we made sure to bundle E up. We had intentions of only doing the canal parade this year, but the parade with Sinterklaas on his horse ended up blocking our route home, so we saw that as well! Here are some of our pictures from the day. 


A common look for me, Starbucks in one hand and Elliot in the Ergo carrier :)

E got a good nap in on mama before the parade
Woke up just in time
Elliot got quick a lot of attention from the people on the canal boats.  Quite a few people yelled out, "Leuk Beertje!" which is cute little bear in Dutch. 
Smiles for the people going by
Papa and Elliot

The boys, Brent, Elliot and Dan

Elliot with the ladies
The big guy, Sinterklaas is here!

Notice this year there are far less picture of the parade and way more of a certain baby :) 


This parade made Brent and I even more excited for the holidays this year. These events are definitely more fun now that we are parents and know that as Elliot grows so will his excitement.






Saturday, November 9, 2013

Elliot 4 Months

So I know I say this every month but seriously, 4 months already!!!

The past month little man has gotten so strong! He loves to be standing!

He can be fussy and crabby and as soon as he is standing, happy as can be! It makes him look so much older whenever he is standing, didn't he listen when I told him he was supposed to stay little?

He still loves being swaddled when he sleeps.   He really needs it at night to settle down and it is instantly soothing for him.  Once he is calmed down he wiggles his 2 fingers out to the top so he can suck on them.  I joke with Brent that he will go to college being swaddled, the kid loves it!  I got this picture the other day when we came upstairs for nap time and I laid him on the bed to move something out of the crib and I turned around to get him and this is what i found
If only getting him to sleep was always this easy.

His zebra "lovey" has really become his best friend(after me of course :)).  I love that he has something that he finds as a source of comfort

 Both of his comforts, his zebra and his fingers

He is wearing 3 month or 3-6 month clothes right now. He will be moving up to 6 month pajamas any day now, his 3 month ones are getting pretty short in the length!
Busting out :)

Elliot is really getting to a fun age. He giggles, smiles and talks all the time. It makes up for that extra wake up he has been doing lately :) 


Monday, November 4, 2013

Last MN post and flight back

Our trip to Minnesota was really such a good time.  I was so impressed with how Elliot did.  This little boy is used to spending all day with just his mom(until Brent gets home of course) and he did fantastic seeing multiple at a time.  He was almost always in big groups and being passed around and he did wonderful.  This is great since we both have big families and he needs to get used to lots of people!  He also did fantastic with both dogs.  We've been sad that Elliot hasn't had the dogs around from the beginning and worried about how he would react to them but he loved them.  He never once cried or was scared of them.

Hanging with Sammy before flying back

On flight back to the Netherlands was great! Elliot had a blowout which required a pajama change 15 minutes into the flight and thankfully that was our only issue.  After that he fell asleep and stayed asleep for the majority of the flight.  I was actually able to watch a couple of movies!
At the airport selfie 

 In the bassinet on the plane, he was only in it for a little over an hour of the flight but it was really nice have available.  Oh, and I had the entire bulkhead row to myself this flight- it was great!  I am hoping our next set of flights goes as well as both of these did.  Thankfully Brent will be with us next time.  Thanks everyone who made time to see Elliot and I while we were home.  I know we didn't get to see everyone but we have another trip in 6 weeks :) 

Have a good Monday!

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

So Many Get Togethers

Elliot and I had such a good time while we were in Minnesota.  He got to meet so many family members and friends of Brent and mine.  I am so happy and grateful that the two of us were able to make this trip.  Here are some pictures from out different meet ups.   WARNING: Picture overload!

Snuggles with Grandpa Kemper 

 Cousin Mabel

 Cousin Owen
Cousin Violet and E, 11 months apart 

Cousin Keira 

 Meeting Great Grandpa Welle

Great Grandpa and E

Auntie Missy and cousin Mabel 

Tummy time with his puppies

After church donuts with cousins Ryan, William and Sam

Dinner with grandma Kemper

Coffee with Oma

Meeting new buddy Smith

There were so many other get togethers and pictures that other people took.  If you have some please send them my way!

Sunday, October 27, 2013

First Babysitter

When we were in Minnesota Elliot had his first babysitter.  I had an appointment to get my hair cut so my sister in law Kristin took care of E for me.  They live super close to my hairdresser so it was perfect.   I knew he was going to be in great hands but it was still tough for me to leave him!  I found myself telling Kristin all of these things and completely forgetting, she has 3 kids of her own and would manage just fine :) 

Quinn was a big help for her mommy :) 

They sent me pictures throughout my haircut which made it much easier!
Lots of smiles for auntie

He did so well and it was good for me to take a couple of hours for myself.  But I sure was happy to see him when I picked him up :)

Thanks Kristin and Quinn for helping me out!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Elliot's first flight

2 weeks ago I said I was writing a post about Elliot's first flight, finally here it is!

2 weeks ago Elliot and I flew to the US for a trip.  It was Elliot's first time flying and of course my first time traveling with him.  I have to say I wasn't really to nervous about the flight itself because I knew i could always get up with him if need be.  I stressed more about whether to bring the stroller or not!
Anyways, Elliot did AMAZING!! The flight ended up being an hour longer than normal because of turbulence, so 9 hours.  He didn't cry until the last 15 minutes of the flight, which I think was due to his ears as we were descending.  The flight attendants were very helpful the entire flight and made everything even smoother.
Here is a few pics from our travel day
All ready to board! He held on tight to his passport :) 

I had bulkhead seating so I could use the bassinet.  E was a little skeptical 

My mom picked us up at the airport and we went home to relax.  Jet lag hit E pretty hard the first day

Passed out on Mommy

So tired! 

 Coco loves her little brother

I'll have a bunch of Minnesota posts coming soon!