Elliot's First Christmas

22 December - 26 December, 2014  

Merry Christmas, Elliot!!

While it would have been wonderful to take Elliot to Minnesota for Christmas to meet family and friends, Devin and I decided months prior that we would stay in California for the holiday.  Not only is Christmas in MN cold as, it's usually pretty hectic and we didn't want to try to navigate multiple family gatherings with a one month old.

Staying in California allowed us the opportunity to spend Christmas in Tahoe with the Harkness family (Jill, Jason & Shal, Shaila, and Navya) and Nancy and Jeff.  Jason and Shal rented a house in Tahoe Donner for the season, so despite being in California, we still had snow and chilly temperatures for Christmas.  All told there were 7 adults, 3 children and 3 dogs at the house!

As usual, Devin and I waited until the last minute to pack.  It's one thing to pack for the 2 of us and Yeti, but this was our first time packing for Elliot.  The amount of "stuff" we decided to bring for 4 days still takes my breath away.  ;)  Clothes, diaper bag, pack n play, boppy, stroller, pump, car seat - unreal.  I like to think we'll get better at this.     

Elliot's first "road trip" was a successful 3 hours to Lake Tahoe.  He did pretty well and slept most of the drive. We pulled over once so three of us could eat, one of us could have his diaper changed, and one of us could pee on a tree.  (Yeti, not Devin.)

The house was great!  It had enough beds for everyone, a nice kitchen, and a cozy living room where Jason and Shal had put up a beautiful Christmas tree - it was a very comfortable place to spend Christmas.

Elliot and great auntie Jill

Best Buds

Shaila started ski lessons this winter (yay!) and we all met her for lunch after a class at Squaw.  It was so much fun to see her in her PINK gear!  Pink ski pants, jacket, helmet, mittens, and boots!  I'm excited for the age when we can get Elliot out on the mountain like that!  (Jason was the only other one to ski - the snow wasn't great but he had a season pass so he'd go out for a few runs while Shaila was in class.)

Navya and Shaila pushing Elliot in the stroller.

Ohhhh, my little peanut!

One of the only times I really used the Moby Wrap.  

I really liked it, but wrapping is a clumsy process.

Watching ice skaters and making s'mores.

(Yes, it looks like his head is on fire.)

***Christmas Eve***

Merry Christmas to the loves of our lives!

Yeti, trying to rid himself of his elf hat/ears.

I can't wait to see these two in action once Elliot can keep up!

Seriously, best buds.

***Christmas Day*** 

Shaila (3.5 yrs), Elliot (1 mo), Navya (1.5 yrs) 

Devin, building a trampoline. 

Jason, building a doll house.

We had such a lovely time in Tahoe - it was a fabulous place to spend our first Christmas with Elliot.  We are so thankful to Jason and Shal for hosting a wonderful Christmas this year!

The best gift

That I ever got

Didn't really weigh a lot

It didn't have a ribbon 'round

And it sometimes made a terrible sound

The best of all it seems to me

It wasn't 'neath the Christmas tree

And yet, I guess I'd have to say

That is made all the other presents twice as gay

The best gift that I've ever known

I'd always wanted most to own

Yet in my dreams of sugar and spice

I never thought it could be so nice

The best gift that I'll ever get

Was sometimes dry and sometimes wet

Was usually pink but oftentimes red

As it lay so innocently in its bed

The best gift of the year to me

The one I hold most dear to me

A gift that simply drove me wild

Was a tiny newborn child...

A very short post.

Just a few pictures from the week leading up to Christmas...

Baby acne and dry skin in full swing.

One lesson we learned was that dressing Elliot in anything other than pajamas wasn't going to happen.  These sleep and play outfits are cute, warm enough, and easy to change.  I didn't have many to begin with but thankfully Elliot received a number of them as hand-me-downs from his older buddy, Kasper Williams.

(Because I'm playing catch-up I can compare these pictures to my current little boy.  The change Elliot has gone through in the past 5.5 months is incredible.  For experienced parents this is not a profound statement, and I've been reminded of it over and over again: "they grow so quickly!"  For me, the months seem to pass as they always do, but I just can't get over the evolution of this little person.)    

xoxoxo

Three Weeks - 16 December

Elliot, 

You're three weeks old!  You've moved into a bit of an awkward stage.  Your poor face has just broken out with baby acne, you have dry skin and you're quite gangly, with long skinny arms and legs.  (You look a little like a frog.  But the cutest frog ever!)  Don't worry son, your face will clear and you'll grow into your limbs.

Your umbilical cord stump fell off, which means we can give you a proper bath but have not done so yet.  I'm excited to see how you like the water.

You're still sleeping in our room in the Pack N Play and we're swaddling you with one arm out.  You wake up about every 2-3 hours at night to eat.  At night I'm able to fill you up with breast feeding alone, but during the day you need supplementation.  You eat a lot!

You are the sweetest little boy.  You love to be held and rocked.  You're very interactive and engaged - you look in the direction of voices and seem to pay attention and track.  (Maybe it's just me but I think you're pretty smart.)  ;)

Dad is going back to work this week, so it's just you and me, kid!  

I love you, Small E.

The week between 2 and 3.

Our first week without family in town was a success; Devin and I managed pretty well.  We mastered things like using our car seat, assembling strollers, cleaning bottles, wiping pee off the wall next to the changing table, taking Yeti out while juggling Elliot, and so on.

Early in the week we decided to utilize our bitchin' UppaBaby stroller.  We plopped El in and walked to have lunch at a cafe with outdoor seating.  It was amazing!  We realized that yes, we can do this!  We can have our baby and drink wine too.  ;)  We really felt quite accomplished.

I also decided it was a good time to try breastfeeding in public, what with Devin around to help.  I just went for it and it wasn't so bad.  I'm not a fan of the cover - it gets in the way and is mostly a pain, but i guess its better than the alternative.  Also, do you like my shades? Yeah, they are Devin's sunglasses.  Apparently I didn't bring mine.

We also took our boys to the beach.  Elliot was in the carrier, I promise.

The best dog in the whole wide world turned 8 on December 12th and enjoyed a steak in celebration. (The pictures are a bit blurry, but you get the idea.)  We love love love you, T!  This year is an adjustment for all of us and you're doing well so far!

Steak coma.

Elliot finally met Kirsten!  She had been with us in the hospital through his birth, but had to leave before she was able to meet him.  This was an emotional introduction for me because Kirsten was such an important figure in Elliot's birth story.

The rest of the week, in pictures...

BTW, I can't read this book to Elliot withs sobbing.

He loves his Sandy Beach picture!

xoxo

Two Weeks - 9 December

Elliot,

You're two weeks old!  You continue to sleep in the Pack N Play in our room, swaddled but with one arm out - you seem to like having your right arm super-manning above your head.

You're breastfeeding and drinking formula, 2 oz at a time.  I try to breastfeed first and follow up with a bottle if you still seem hungry, which you usually do.  We're getting better at breastfeeding but it's still pretty uncomfortable (read: painful) for me.

The diaper rash is still around but at the one week appointment your doctor demonstrated just how much Aquaphor we needed to be using.  We were putting it on thinly, like lip gloss, but we needed to basically frost your bum with the stuff!  (I ordered 2 big tubs from Amazon.)  You also spend about 15 minutes each morning without a diaper, which is helping with diaper rash too.

You make great faces and especially like to form your little mouth into an "o."  You like your changing table and the picture of Sandy Beach, although I don't know that you can focus on it yet.

You do not like tummy time and only tolerate it for a few minutes right now.

It's just you, me, Dad, and Yeti right now!  We're doing well.  Dad and I are tired, but we're managing.  The advice all new parents get, "sleep when the baby sleeps," isn't very realistic.  It's the only time I'm able to get anything done!  Dad still has a few more classes left for the semester, but he'll be done soon.

We love you very much, Small Fry!