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!

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!

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!

Elliot 3 months

Elliot is 3 months old today!
Wow, this past month has been a whirlwind, but it sure has been fun!  Such a big boy!

It is about impossible to get a picture of hime not moving these days! I couldn't get one of him smiling and stretched out at the same time, so one of each!

Elliot is changing so much each day and is just becoming so much fun.  He LOVES talking to us and gives us lots of smiles, especially first thing in the morning.  Usually looking like he grew overnight! 

Here are some of Elliot's 2-3 month happenings

He had his first bottle.  It didn't go so well the first time but thankfully he has taken to it. Which leads me to... 

My first time away from Elliot(other than biking to the grocery store for 15 minutes).  I met a friend out close to our house to I could be home quickly if necessary(it was necessary :) )

He rolled over for the first time..with the help of the slope on the bed :)  Hoping he waits a little bit longer to actually start rolling.  He also love tummy time and is really starting to push him self up.  He loves having someone in front of him to talk to while he does it.

He has regressed a little in his night time sleeping.  He used to sleep a good 7.5 hour stretch wake up eat and then sleep until morning.  The past week or so he has been waking up twice a night again.  Let's hope it's just a growth spurt!  We are working on getting his naps figured out during the day so hopefully once that happens he'll get the nights figured out. 

Check back tomorrow for a recap about Elliot's first flight yesterday!!

First Family Road Trip

Two weeks ago we took our first road trip as a family to Germany, with our 11 week old who hates his car seat.  Let's just say we were all a bit nervous going into this 6.5 hour drive.  Well Elliot proved us all wrong and did awesome! (on the way there at least:))  

We did have some snuggle stops

But most of the car ride Elliot spent like this

He holds my hand a lot when he is in his car seat, I love it :)

We got to Berlin and got checked into our apartment where we all stayed.  It was nice to have a space where we could all spend time together, especially after Elliot went to bed.
Dinner the first night was at a traditional style German restaurant which was great, a lot of food but really good.

Elliot looks thrilled

Even the beers were huge! Definitely did not finish it!

I'll recap the rest of the trip tomorrow!

Oma and Opa come to town!

The past few few weeks Elliot has been spending some great time with his Oma and Opa Anderson.  Brent's parents came into town for a few days before they spent some time in France and then came back to Utrecht again.  We all then traveled to Berlin together for a work event for Brent and Chuck.  It was so great for Elliot to get to spend so much time with family!  Thank you for the visit Chuck and Mary and for all the love you showed our little guy!

Meeting Opa for the first time

 Snuggles and smiles for Oma

Walking in the park

Keeping Elliot entertained at lunch

Oma loves black licorice!