Elliot 10 months

This little guy is non stop!! This past month he has picked the pace of everything he does and amazes us with his speed. These pictures have become quite challenging!

I had about 2 seconds to get this shot

and then the moving started

Are we done mom?

He eats anything you put in front of him and rivals his papa in the amount he can eat. I look at him and seriously wonder where all of this food in going, and then I realize he never stops moving and he is using it all up! He eats 3 meals a day, normally 2 snacks and nurses as well. This kid never goes hungry!

He loves frozen fruit in his teether, of course its SUPER messy!

Elliot has 3 teeth now(2 on bottom, 1 on top) and loves brushing them right along with us. We let him "brush" and then he lets us brush. Hoping he stays this cooperative!

You can kind of see his bottom teeth

New this month
*Points to his hair when asked where it is
*Kicks a soccer ball when we walk with him(Brent is a proud papa :))
*Takes his zebra lovie everywhere with him. I don't let him take it out of the house, but he just loves it and really gets a lot of comfort from it
*Gives high fives
*Claps whenever he is excited
*Signs more, he is always asking for more :) It's not perfect but we know what he is asking for when he does it
*Starting to sign all done
*Walks/runs behind his push toy
*When you say bye Elliot, he waves and smiles at you
*Flirts with the check girls at the grocery store, never fails, every time :)

Elliot every month you are just more and more fun! We love you buddy!

Elliot 9 Months

9 months! That means only 3 more months until 1!!

The only picture I could get before he took off!

This past month has brought us a little mover! Elliot is go-go all the time now. I swear, the speed he crawls at gets faster every day. Within days of learning how to crawl on all fours, Elliot began pulling himself up on everything.  He loves standing and is completely comfortable holding onto just one of our fingers while he is standing. At his last appointment they told me they think he will be walking before his next appointment(at 11 months). Let me tell you I am not ready for that!!

After his nap when he pulled up in the crib for the first time. He was so proud! 

He is still a great eater and since getting over being sick his appetite has tripled. He prefers to eat whole or cut up foods over purees and want to always feed himself.

Sleeping has not been the greatest this month for Elliot. With him getting sick and not eating much during the day he was waking at night. The doctor had me nurse him at night for about a week during and after being sick to help get his weight back up. So then we had to re-break that habit. Thankfully, he is getting back on schedule. I am still enjoying anytime he will fall asleep on me :)

Enjoying the nice weather with a sleepy baby

Starbucks is exhausting :) 

He does a really great job of entertaining himself. But of course has to have a constant eye on him because he quickly can get into EVERYTHING! We got him a small ball pit a few weeks ago that we bring out a few times a week. If I am lucky I can get 5-10 minutes of him playing before he remembers he knows how to crawl out. 

He even lets his papa in to play with him

New this month

*He waves "bye-bye" 

*Does so big. He used need our hands to do it but now brings them over his head whenever you ask      how big he is 

*He is really close to clapping. He brings his hands together softly or misses completely but he's trying :) 

*Like I said before pulls up on everything, especially if it is not stable

*Gives kisses-he loves giving kisses! They are a bit slobbery but it is so sweet and i take all I can get!

*He loves turning the pages in books when we are reading and loves "reading" by himself

*Talking all of the time. There are days he will talk in his stroller the whole way him from the grocery store. I wonder where he gets that from :) 

Every month just seems to be more and more fun with Elliot! Looking forward to seeing what month 10 brings us!

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!

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 :) 

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!

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!

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!!

Elliot 2 Months

2 months already!! I feel like I was just writing his 1 month post! Where is the button to slow him down?

He had his 2 month appointment today which meant he got his first set of shots.  He cried, I cried and now we are giving him lots of snuggles!

Everyday with Elliot just gets better and better.  This past month has been filled with so many highlights.
Here are just a few

 Smiling back at us

Seriously, how can your day not be great when it starts with this face 

Interacts with the animals on his play mat

He loves this thing! When he first played with it he was a little scared, I think there was just too much going on for him.  He also is quite intrigued with the baby in the mirror on the play mat, it is so funny!

He is starting to finally love his bath, but his favorite is still getting dried off right after

So peaceful

He also LOVES getting his diaper changed now.  He could be crying and as soon as you put him on the changing table he smiles and "talks" to us

Talking during his diaper change

Sucking on his fingers

More and more he is finding either his thumb or his pointer and middle finger to suck on.  So far it is always on his right hand.  He does not like pacifiers at all so we will see if this sticks!

As much as I want him to stay my snugly little boy forever, it is so fun to see him develop and learn new things :)

Have a good Monday!

Mindy