b-minus3days

Hanging in the crib

2009-11-26T13:51:00.001-05:00

Hanging in the crib, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

These kids like each other most of the time. that should last at least for another few weeks, right?

Going for a hike

2009-11-26T13:50:00.001-05:00

Going for a hike, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

This is just a beautiful photograph

Tall ships festival

2009-11-26T13:49:00.002-05:00

Tall ships festival, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

There comes a time when a man has to be a bad ass. Even if he has a baby on his chest.

afternoon at Fenway

2009-11-26T13:48:00.001-05:00

afternoon at Fenway, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Take me out to the ball game. This was both of the kids very first time at Fenway park. We bought them some peanuts and cracker jacks.

smile for the camera

2009-11-26T13:47:00.001-05:00

smile for the camera, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Here's a classic Elliot photo op.

Breakfast time

2009-11-26T13:46:00.003-05:00

Breakfast time, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

That's just pretty cute. Adeline wants more food. As usual.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-26T13:46:00.001-05:00

Halloween 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Here's a family Halloween portrait

Halloween 2009

2009-11-26T13:45:00.001-05:00

Halloween 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot the purple unicorn!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-26T13:44:00.001-05:00

Halloween 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Halloween in the garden. The fairy and the sleepy guy.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-26T13:43:00.003-05:00

Halloween 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Adeline was a fairy for Halloween. As if you couldn't tell. Justeen, well, she was just Justeen.

Jumping in the Leaves

2009-11-26T13:43:00.001-05:00

Jumping in the Leaves, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Fall was a big deal around here. Elliot and Henry jump in the huge leaf pile in the community garden.

Is she looking?

2009-05-27T16:49:00.001-04:00

Trip to New York, May 25, 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Adeline just doesn't understand the gravity of the situation. She's always shoe gazing.

happy baby

2009-05-27T16:47:00.001-04:00

Trip to New York, May 25, 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

We made it the statue of liberty and everyone is still happy. the statue looked amazing and the weather was great.

lounging on the grass

2009-05-27T16:46:00.001-04:00

Trip to New York, May 25, 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Addie always seems to find time for a little R&R.

Mister Softee

2009-05-27T16:45:00.001-04:00

Trip to New York, May 25, 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

All over the city, we are enticed by soft ice cream with sprinkles.

On the Empire State Building

2009-05-27T16:43:00.001-04:00

Trip to New York, May 25, 2009, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

After waiting for 2 hours, we finally got to the top. While the views were spectacular, cranky kids and an even crankier father, were a recipe for a very short atop the 86th floor viewing deck.

Anniversary at Fenway

2009-05-21T16:47:00.001-04:00

Anniversary at Fenway, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Justeen and I got to Fenway Park for a date. Of course, the Red Sox played some of the worst baseball in history. They lost 14-4. But, at least we got to drink beer away from children.

upside down smile

2009-05-21T16:46:00.001-04:00

Springtime with Addie, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot is practicing absurdity.

Nicki and Dennis Visit

2009-05-21T16:45:00.001-04:00

Nicki and Dennis Visit, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Addie's making friends with her aunt Nicki.

Heading to the Beach

2009-05-21T16:44:00.001-04:00

Heading to the Beach, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

The first warm day in April, we headed to the beach.

Springtime with Addie

2009-05-21T16:43:00.001-04:00

Springtime with Addie, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

well, that's just cute.

Springtime with Addie

2009-05-21T16:42:00.001-04:00

Springtime with Addie, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

These two get along famously most of the time. While there can be some hitting and poking, for the most part, it's fun and games.

Springtime with Addie

2009-05-21T16:41:00.001-04:00

Springtime with Addie, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Addie is doing a lot of smiling these days. Here she is on a typical morning.

Adeline and Elliot

2009-04-04T18:12:00.001-04:00

Adeline and Elliot, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Adeline and Elliot hanging out on the couch. Peace, love, and understanding.

Funny Adeline

2009-04-04T18:11:00.001-04:00

Funny Adeline, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Adeline shows her funny side in this lovely pic.

PJ competition

2009-01-31T15:09:00.001-05:00

adeline's first month, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Who has the brightest, most impressive PJs. Neither will give up easily.

his only true love

2009-01-31T15:06:00.001-05:00

adeline's first month, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Even with adeline in the picture, Elliot can't get enough of his pal Eva.

sweet pjs

2009-01-31T15:05:00.001-05:00

adeline's first month, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Now doesn't everyone wish they could sleep in a sack like this?

adeline and elliot

2009-01-31T15:04:00.001-05:00

adeline's first month, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot just can't get enough of that sweet adeline.

Elliot trying on my hat

2008-08-13T16:58:00.001-04:00

Elliot trying on my hat, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

This pic is just too darn cute. elliot has taken to wearing my hats these days. you can't fault the kid for having good taste.

Rainy Day

2008-07-24T09:23:00.001-04:00

photo.jpg, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot tries out his new dinosaur rain jacket. Puddles - watch out!

July 4th in Maine

2008-07-22T16:47:00.001-04:00

July 4th in Maine, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Check out Flickr to see photos from our now not-so-recent trip to Maine. We went up there on July 4th. It was a great time.

Naked Parking Lot

2008-07-03T21:20:00.001-04:00

Vermont Trip, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

A mad capped chase through the parking lot ensued as Elliot realized he wasn't wearing any clothes and no clothes were nearby to be draped on him. This is the life!

Vermont Trip

2008-07-03T21:18:00.001-04:00

Vermont Trip, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot in rock heaven. So many rocks, so little time.

Trip to Sonora, CA

2008-07-03T21:14:00.001-04:00

Trip to Sonora, CA, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot hangin' with grandma in Sonora. They're on a mission to see goats. (FYI - they found said goats.)

Vermont Trip

2008-07-03T17:25:00.004-04:00

Vermont Trip, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Justeen and Jiwon in the Vermont version of a cat house. Should I be jealous?

Vermont Trip

2008-07-03T17:25:00.003-04:00

Vermont Trip, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

elliot and dad looking at sheep.

Elliot in Vegas

2008-05-20T08:49:00.001-04:00

Elliot in Vegas, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

He got to ride a Harley for the first (and hopefully last) time. This is Elliot on his Uncle Dennis' hog. It was pure joy.

fish shirt

2008-05-07T16:16:00.001-04:00

fish shirt, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot gets a new fish shirt and all hell breaks loose. Check out all the new photos on flickr. sorry it's been so long since I've updated this thing.

Elliot's 2nd Birthday

2008-03-10T16:07:00.001-04:00

Elliot's 2nd Birthday, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Of all the gifts Elliot received for his second birthday, he couldn't get enough of the trash truck. This is him showing me the truck for the 100th time. It gets better each time.

Elliot's 2nd Birthday

2008-03-10T16:05:00.001-04:00

Elliot's 2nd Birthday, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot turned two on Saturday. We had some friends over to celebrate the milestone. Charlie turns 35 today, so we had a combined party for the two of them. In all, I think Elliot was more impressed by his cake than Charlie was.

snow storm

2008-02-23T13:08:00.001-05:00

sitting in chair, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

About 9" of great powdery snow fell yesterday. This morning, the sky was clear and the sledding was perfect. The trees were outlined in white, and everything was covered with a nice padding. Elliot wouldn't wear his own "mitts" but after some cajoling, he put on "mommy's mitts." He lasted for about an hour before having an "i'm cold" attack and demanding to go inside.

standing outside

2008-02-19T10:59:00.001-05:00

standing outside, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

This photo was taken the last day of our recent trip to Vermont. Over President's Day weekend, we went up to a small town called Huntington with our friends Charlie, Rachel, Matt, Michelle and Eva. The trip was a blast. Lots of skiing, lots of falling on my butt, lots of good drink and good friends. And a little bit of sleeplessness because Elliot was a being a pill.

Finally asleep

2008-02-10T18:14:00.001-05:00

Finally asleep, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot wouldn't sleep today. We drove around town for about an hour while he struggled with closing his eyes. Finally, I parked in the arboretum near our house and read a book while he snored away. Ah, the joys of fatherhood.

elliotandterry

2008-01-26T14:58:00.001-05:00

elliotandterry, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Here we are visiting Terry and George in San Luis Obispo, California. There are many more pics of this event and others like it on my flickr site. I've decided it's a whole lot easier putting things on Flickr than constantly updating this darned blog.

Here's the link.

Public Health campaign

2008-01-26T14:56:00.001-05:00

Public Health campaign, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Abstinence is the only policy. Look what can happen if you don't read this sign. Look!

Groucho

2008-01-26T14:54:00.001-05:00

Groucho, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot: "I know we're jews, but this is ridiculous"

In a Box

2008-01-26T14:53:00.001-05:00

In a Box, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Elliot is drawn to boxes like Tom Cruise is drawn to weird alien folklore.

Family portrait

2008-01-26T14:47:00.001-05:00

Family portrait, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Hey, this was taken with my camera's timer. And everyone is centered. I'm impressed.

new sweater

2008-01-26T14:45:00.001-05:00

new sweater, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

Doesn't get more angelic than this. Well, sure it does, but this is a good pic anyway.

Elliot in Cabinet

2008-01-26T14:44:00.001-05:00

Elliot in Cabinet, originally uploaded by shimomatic.

This is the cabinet where the TV used to be. Elliot made himself at home.

Halloween

2007-11-12T17:02:00.001-05:00

Halloween was a busy time for us. We had three major activities: a party in the community garden, the annual lantern parade around Jamaica Pond, and handing out candy on the night itself. It was also a time when we realized procrastination isn't necessarily the best way to get things done. We waited to the last minute to get Elliot his costume, and we had to settle for a dinosaur costume that was a bit too small. Who knew? The important thing is: he got to learn what a dinosaur says. In case you don't know, it says "graaawl." Much like a lion and a bear.

Here's Elliot looking ferocious.

And again, waiting for his prey.

On the actual Halloween night, Elliot hung out with his other predator friend Henry. They were supposed to hand out candy together. Although most of the night, they simply took the candy out of the bowl and put it back in again. Fun fun!

As all good things must come to an end, his dinosaur persona was quickly replaced with sleepy boy persona. Here he is, after days of predator behavior, returning to his previous identity as the "perfect little angel." ha ha.

Vermont Trip

2007-11-12T16:48:00.000-05:00

We made it to Vermont this fall. With a great invitation from our friends with a house - we all headed up north to enjoy the foliage season.

It looked something like this:

And we felt something like this:

We went into this tool museum, where they have a collection of centuries of household and farm tools. Let's just say it wasn't child friendly. Elliot had quite the gleam in his eyes.

But, as with most trips to Vermont in the fall, the most important part of the trip was stomping in leaves. This is where Elliot made that discovery. I don't think he'll ever be the same.

The action is caught on tape. With that giggle, he is really saying, "Leaves will set me free!"

California Pool Madness

2007-11-12T16:39:00.000-05:00

In September, we took a trip to Los Angeles to visit with family. The theme of the trip: swimming pools. Elliot and water go together - perhaps that is why he says "das boot" quite regularly. It would seem that my son can pick a boat out of any picture, any he can recognize boats in pictures even where they don't exist.

Take a look at these boats:

We took lots of family pics - both at my parents' house:

This is Elliot, with his maternal grandmother and paternal great-grandmother.

And Justeen's sister's house:

Fall Harvest

2007-11-12T16:15:00.001-05:00

There are few excuses for being so inattentive to this blog. But, let me try to find them: this has been a crazy few months. It's hard for me to find the time to update this thing. Yeah, yeah, you say. Should your work life trump your ability to communicate your son's milestones? Well, no. But alas, it has. So, without further apology, allow me to present to you the last several months in pictures.

When we returned from the UK, we went directly to a New England farm so that we could regain our sense of place. Without much pause, we went straight to the petting zoo.

Elliot was not for a second fooled when I stood behind the great cardboard bison.

Then we sat.

But a funny thing happened during this trip to the farm. We discovered just how many peaches Elliot could eat at one time. I kid you not - the boy ate three of them. And no, he didn't have "running" problems afterward.

All was well.

On to London Town

2007-08-19T17:19:00.000-04:00

After a few days in Ireland, we flew down to London for the remainder of our trip. Really, the main mission of this trip was to visit our friends Jeannette and Guillaume (and of course their daughter Ella) who relocated to London in May. They live in a lovely neighborhood called Crouch End in the northern part of the city. They were kind enough to let us stay with them. And thank goodness they did. With the dollar being what it is, if forced to pay for accommodations in London, we wouldn't have been able to afford much more than a cardboard box and a pile of tabloids for shelter.

In some respects this was a reunion for Elliot and Ella, who haven't seen each other for months. But not just any months - these have been some pretty important months, developmentally. I suppose it's sort of like seeing your high school sweetheart after two decades and seeing that person in a whole new light. The difference between fourteen months and eighteen months must be similar to the difference between 18 years and 35 years. I have no hard evidence for this, but it seems like a reasonable comparison. I mean, the last time they saw each other, Elliot couldn't even recognize a cow or bus. Now, not only can he recognize those things, but add to that tractor, sheep, emu, pig and airplane, and you're getting close to his reality.

And, I'm certain, he was able to recognize Ella. Here he is upon setting eyes on his former Boston sweetheart.

From that point onward, they spent nearly every waking hour together. Of course, they often alternated their naps, so they only saw each other for a few hours a day. Perhaps the key to such a successful relationship.

One of the first things we did was head to the Peter Pan playground in the Kensington Gardens. It's funny how traveling with Elliot has opened our eyes to the nuance of playground design. This was a might fine playground and we all enjoyed the subtle differences it had from the typical American playground.

After a long stretch of play, Ella and Elliot found a nice little tree for a romantic lunch together. Elliot ate dirt. Ella, much to her parents dismay, ate nothing.

Then off for a little stroll.

...a little pillow talk.

...and then right to the bath. Kids today - they move so quickly.

Our last full day in London, we set out to do perhaps the most touristy thing in the city - a ride on the London eye. This magnificent sculpture (in the guise of a functioning Ferris Wheel) was absolutely worth the astronomical admission price of £15 (or $30).

We got in line. The line seemed huge - but it moved rather quickly. And luckily, with on again and off again London rain, we enjoyed very pleasant conditions while waiting in line (sorry, in the queue).

Elliot took a little snooze while we were waiting. I was a bit afraid he would sleep through the whole thing, but luckily he woke up just in time.

But once we got in the little capsule and started to rise, he noticed a boat (a bah, a bah) and he was wide awake.

He was also quite interested in the car above us. According to Elliot, they were in a bah, a bah, as well.

Perhaps the most stunning view of the 30 minute circle was this one of the Parliament building.

For Elliot, it was the buses passing over the bridges.

So, I'll end this post with this family portrait and one quick thought about our trip. We had a wonderful time, we were able to see great friends, Elliot got to see some exciting things, not to mention his sweetheart Ella and the wonderful world of airports, and all and all we had perfect weather. But there's one thing that will stick with me about this lovely part of the world: they call diapers "nappies." I don't think I could get used to that. So, in this picture below, we are smiling. But deep down, we are riddled with a deep sense of strangeness. We know that over two hundred years ago when the rebels gathered in Boston to throw tea in the harbor, they were not really upset by taxation without representation, they actually just felt silly calling diapers nappies, and because they didn't have any of that blue liquid used in tampon, paper towel and diaper commercials, they figured tea bags would be their symbolic gesture against the repressive naming regime that would force its people to use a term like nappy.

We have emerged as a sovereign nation, and have forcefully removed ourselves from that taxonomic nightmare. As it is written in our declaration of independence, the word nappy shall only be used to describe hair and maybe the general sense of filth that overcomes somebody after staying up all night on a transatlantic flight.

Cheerio!

Travels to the Emerald Isle

2007-08-19T16:29:00.000-04:00

We just returned from a week-long trip to Ireland and England. We had a great time - although traveling with a toddler is not as easy as it might sound. Elliot was on great behavior - but the nature of toddler behavior is such that it kept us on our toes constantly. Running here to keep from falling off a cliff, or there to keep him from running onto the tarmac at Heathrow. So, we've resolved ourselves to the hard cold truth that vacationing will not be relaxing for some time to come. All that said, I wouldn't give it up. Seeing the world through Elliot's eyes is a travel experience far better than any bus tour or cruise line could offer.

So, here's the long and the short of it. We flew from Boston on an overnight flight to Shannon, Ireland. I need to say just a few words about that unfortunate flight. We flew Aer Lingus. The flight left at 7:15 PM EDT and was scheduled to land in Shannon at 6:00 AM GDT. OK fine. We assumed that the Irish would know how to take care of us. In some respects they did. But in other, more important respects, they didn't. The flight was akin to baby torture. They kept the lights on through bar service (no free Guinness as one would expect), dinner, and then an agonizingly long duty free process. By the time they turned out the lights it was something like 11pm, with only two hours left of the flight. Elliot (and all the other babies on the flight) screamed for hours, as if begging them to have mercy on them and turn off the lights. Before 11pm rolled around, even the adults on the plane were crying. Here's a word of advice for you Aer Lingus, turn off the lights and let the poor babies sleep. People want sleep more than food on an overnight flight.

OK, so enough of that. We arrived safely in Shannon and we rented a car. News flash: they drive on the "wrong" side of the road over there. We were given a manual transmission vehicle and we had to quickly learn how to shift with our left hand. Weird. This would have been hard enough, but add the pencil thin roads to the equation, and you have an extremely stressful driving situation. The only saving grace was that it was early morning on Sunday and most people were still comfortably in their homes, giving us ample opportunity to meander the tiny roads of Ireland.

We eventually figure it out. I was the first to drive and Justeen likely had the equivalent of twenty massive heart attacks as I attempted to exercise my judgment about the width of the automobile. Suffice it to say that exercise is an ongoing process.

Anyhoo, our first stop was a sleepy little town on the West coast of Ireland called Quilty. Elliot was very happy to see the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

We needed some breakfast, so we popped into this little shop and picked up some food from the "deli." We passed on the blood pudding, but we were able to get a few poached eggs plopped in a bag for us. The Irish have a strange sense of taste. Well, the meal took a lot of Elliot, and in no time, he was back asleep.

Right around this time, we passed the stunningly beautiful Cliffs of Moher, but because of the sleeping baby, we were unable to get out of our car to see them. Wanting our child to sleep more than we wanted to see the world famous cliffs, we drove on.

We stayed in Galway, where our friends Roger and Neil met us. They live in Wolverhampton, England, and flew up to Ireland to visit with us. Enjoying the unusually lovely weather, we headed to the Eyre Square, the city's center, and let Elliot run around.

Roger and Neil only stayed for one night. Once they left, we decided to take the car out for some more heart thumping driving. We passed through the Connemara region (apparently famous for their ponies). The mountains were beautiful and the cost even more so.

We made our way to a little town called Clifton where we found some lunch and gazed at the mountains and surprisingly quiet north Atlantic.

After leaving Clifton, we stopped at a beach and let Elliot enjoy the sand between his toes (and in his diaper).

After leaving the beach, we passed a lovely little town called Round Stone. We thought, next time we come to Ireland, we're certainly staying here.

Alas, it was time to leave this beautiful place. While packing, Elliot seemed to be reflecting on what he experienced (or it could have just been the sand in his diaper).

The forbidden dance

2007-08-10T17:37:00.000-04:00

New Car and Jill (not related)

2007-08-10T09:59:00.000-04:00

We finally made the plunge and bought a new car. The little Golf wasn't cutting it - getting in and out of the 2-door on our hill was difficult and annoying. So, after much deliberation, we decided to buy a Subaru Forester. It's all-wheel drive and promises to handle very well in New England weather and the notoriously bad Boston roads.

On a completely different note (and if I weren't so lazy, should be a separate blog post), Jill, Elliot's nanny from last summer, came by last night for a visit. She hadn't seen Elliot for an entire year and was shocked by his rapid growth. But that's not saying much, this morning, I hadn't seen Elliot for eight hours, and I was shocked by his growth.

Speed Boat

2007-08-10T09:31:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, we all went out on a boat together. My colleague Jim has a little fishing boat that's docked up in the Parker river in Newbury, MA. This, Boston's north shore, is truly a beautiful part of the world. Lots of rivers that snake through marshland and dumps right out into a dramatic Atlantic. Elliot didn't much like the life jacket, but he put up with it in exchange for the thrill of his little lifetime.

Notice the grape on my shoulder. After about an hour, we found a little beach at which to dock. This is a view of Crane's beach, which was right across the way from the southern tip of Plum Island (which is where we docked the boat).

We threw an anchor in the water and walked out to the shore. Of course, Elliot wanted only to walk back into the water.

As you can see, he's having a grand ol' time.

This pic won't cooperate, but here's a sideways version of Elliot taking a little nap on the boat ride back to the dock.

summertime fun

2007-07-20T16:05:00.001-04:00

Summer is here and in New England that means blow-up kiddie pools. So, we rolled ours out and let the kids take a dip. Here they are on July 4th taking in the sun and surf. The other naked kid is Henry - Elliot's good friend from daycare.

Elliot is making an offering. It's a brown rubber turtle.

But it's not all kiddie pools and backyards, there is also a fairly large ocean nearby. And beyond that, there's this thing called Cape Cod. We took a boat from Boston to the tip of the Cape - a little town called Provincetown. Or as it is lovingly known by the locals, P-town. P-town is a pretty fantastic place - it's family friendly, Massachusetts style. We happened to go to P-town during "bear week." Here bear does not refer to honey-eating, picnic-basket stealing wildlife. These bears, as the captain of the boat said, are OK to feed - but they like the expensive liquid kind of food.

Anyway, here's the port of P-town. That tall thing in the background in the pilgrim monument. The pilgrims landed in p-town before heading to Plymouth. They took one look at the place and said, man, the new world is a "freakin' sand dune" and continued on their way.

Another pic of the port from the perspective of the ferry.

We only had a few hours to spend there, so after eating lunch, we went promptly to the beach. It was a great, north facing beach, with a 360-degree view of water. Truly spectacular. But, what was more spectacular was Elliot's yellow pale. Here's Justeen getting him all set up.

And here's his yellow pale.

And here he is pouring freezing ocean water on me.

Oh yeah, and our friend Mindy was visiting. She was on her way back from Africa and decided to stop by Boston again. She stayed a week and we're already looking forward to her passage next summer.

Elliot's Mikvah

2007-07-18T16:53:00.001-04:00

We had a Mikvah and naming ceremony for Elliot at the Temple we've been attending here in Boston. Basically, the mikvah was a formality. As Justeen is not Jewish, Elliot's identity would be in question to some lame people who care about such things. So, we went through the process so that there would be no confusion. It was actually a nice little thing - three rabbis came to a nice warm bath and Elliot got to play in the water.

The next day, we had the naming ceremony during friday night services. Here's what I wrote and what the rabbi read:

Elliot's hebrew name will be Eliyahu. The reason we named him Elliot, and the reason we would like his Hebrew name to reflect his English name, is because of our understanding of the significance of the prophet Elijah. We are both intrigued by this figure - his understated wisdom, his modesty, his deep sense of justice. We want our son to be successful - but we measure success not simply in economic terms, we measure success in his ability to be self-sufficient, and in his understanding that all actions of the self are situated in the actions of the community. Elijah understood that individuals only exist in societies, and individual actions are social actions. We want our son to have a deep respect for self, but an even deeper respect for the society he lives in and the communities that embrace him. We want our son to respect authority, but like Elijah, not to be afraid to question it when he knows its wrong. This is also the relationship we want him to have to Judaism. We want him to respect its traditions, but never blindly. We want him to take comfort and solace in its community; but never at the expense of his ability to think freely.

Finally, each year when we leave a cup for Elijah at the Seder table, we understand it as a symbol of hope - as the impossible pursuit of redemption. And the figure of Elijah reminds us each year that redemption isn't something that just shows up. It takes hard work and perseverance. The messiah will not come until peace and social justice are restored in the world, and it is we who must strive for and work towards creating a society that is fair and just for all. We give our son a name that is at once utopian and pragmatic. We give him a name that embodies our hope in him, our hope in the world, without burdening him with impossible expectations.

California Without Dad

2007-07-18T16:43:00.001-04:00

While I was home working on my book, Justeen and Elliot went to California for a visit. Most importantly, Justeen braved the solo travel with toddler on a six-hour flight. She is truly a brave soul. So, I don't have narration to this pics - but I thought in the interest of documenting Elliot's life, I would post them.

Here's Elliot and Maryann. It's blurry, but darn cute.

Here they are struggling over rights to the very annoying Pets.com toy. Ah, neither Maryann or Elliot are able to let go of the swingin' 90s.

Terry and George came up for a visit. I don't know what they're doing. But it looks like a good time.

And, one of Elliot's favorite pastimes - swinging (not in the 1970s sense).

Justeen: "I could have had a V-8"

DJ Baby

2007-07-16T17:13:00.001-04:00

Just who needs the sound canceling ear phones?

Some Pictures from Daycare

2007-07-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

See More Pics Here

Elliot Learns to Say Izzy

2007-06-07T07:30:00.000-04:00

It took awhile, but Elliot learned how to say the name of his favorite being.

Visit from the Grand 'rents

2007-05-26T12:39:00.001-04:00

My parents rolled into town last week for a quick visit. The weather turned sour, but we had a great time nonetheless. The first two days dipped into the 40s and dumped rain - so we opted to keep our activities indoors. We went to the museum of science because we had heard great things about the toddler room. And we were not disappointed. Here's a brief sampling of the activities:

a giant litebright

a cave thingy with plush bugs

and a massive xylophone at elliot's level

There were also little monkeys involved and later a temper tantrum. Sadly, I had to go to a meeting and missed out on the monkeys and the tantrum. Too bad.

The next day, still cold and rainy, we set out for the new Institute of Contemporary Art on the South Boston waterfront. Elliot loved running back and forth along a long corridor with big glass walls that lurched above the harbor. Here we are contemplating the moody scene.

Finally, on Sunday, the weather cleared and we set out to Old Sturbridge Village - a living museum of New England life in the 1830s. It turned out to be a beautiful day and a pretty amazing place. I was expecting total cheese. When in fact, the place was rather tastefully presented. All sorts of characters roamed the little village and were quite knowledgeable about history and their particular craft. We spoke to a guy about gardening for a good twenty minutes, and the blacksmith kept my dad busy for longer than some podcast about the stock market.

Here are a couple views of the landscape...

One of the things that fascinated Elliot was this odd puritan bowling game. Here it is in action.

The only problem is you have to pick up your own pins. No automated system here.

At the end of the day, everyone was happy. Elliot got to bowl, my parents got to taste life in the old new england (would that then just be england?), and I got to learn about sticking vegetables in sand to last through the winter. All told, smiles all around.

Then the time came for the grand 'rents to get on a plane back for LA. Elliot had four days of activity and was just ready to rest.

Visit to the Museum

2007-05-26T12:31:00.000-04:00

One morning, after breakfast, we decided to go to the children's museum. We figured, we have a child, and we'd like to see other children preserved under glass.

Elliot was a bit taken back by this prospect. But he was game for anything. We arrived at the museum, and as it turns out, we weren't greeted by famous embalmed children, or a history of child evolution. When considering the museum, I forgot to take notice of the apostrophe. It's not a children museum; quite on the contrary, it's a children's museum. A museum for children, not about them. Well go figure.

So, we played basketball.

Posed with Big Poppy...

Traveled through tubes...

And played with water.

All in all, a pretty great day for one and all. We're happy when Elliot's happy, and Elliot found a unique state of bliss at the museum not about children.

Mother's Day

2007-05-26T09:38:00.000-04:00

To celebrate mother's day, the three of us went down to the public garden to have a picnic. We bought some sandwiches and fruit at this little market in Beacon Hill. Elliot was unhappy with how much it cost.

He was upset, but he wanted to eat anyway.

I mean how could you stay upset when the woman of honor is looking so good.

After lunch, we all went to the pond to look at the ducks. There were many, and we were told about each one.

Bye bye Boston

2007-05-26T09:19:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, long time. We should just assume that every entry begins with this sentiment. It's funny, as time goes on, Elliot is photographed less. Not that he's waning in cuteness - that factor is still very high. Only that I realize that parenting and documenting are each full time jobs. If I can only pick one - it would have to be documenting, but Justeen forced me to reconsider.

Jeannette, Guillaume and Ella moved to London. Here's some documents of their last day in Boston together, hangin' with their pops.

Walking through the cemetery

Preparing to go down slide

And off we go!

It was a bitter sweet day. We had a nice time strolling around and we vowed to do it again sometime soon. And we just might take a trip out to London town this summer to say a quick hello.

Elliot dealt with the pain by digging in the dirt. Whatever works.

And when we told him we weren't interested in having his dirt, he got very upset.

Day in the Life

2007-04-18T07:14:00.000-04:00

I know, too long. So for all of you Elliot fans, I've decided to do a "day in the life" portrait of the little man. He's more than 13 months old now and he's walking up a storm. So, his days often consist of walking, pooing and eating. Because this is a family blog, I'll leave out the middle element.

The day starts with a healthy dose of cheerios - some in the mouth and some elsewhere.

Then it's time for exercise. Here's the little guy doing laps indoors.

He then takes the activity to the streets (or our backyard), whichever comes first.

Then, it's time to eat. Walking takes a lot of energy, and you can never get too much cheese and yogurt in the system.

And finally, it's time to clean up. He takes to the bath and washes the stress away.

More to come soon. I promise.

Happy Birthday li'l e

2007-03-13T09:15:00.000-04:00

We threw a party for Elliot on the big occasion of his first birthday. It was really a fantastic affair. Elliot had a good time, mostly because he likes nothing more than to look at people when they're paying attention to him. So, we had about 25 people in our house, all of whom paid him ample attention. Here's the invite we sent out.

We were impressed that he has not only been reading the New Republic, but that the New Republic thinks it important enough to report on his birthday. Little did we know that his influence spreads well beyond the relatively centrist New Republic. Our friends Sam and Zsuzsa pointed out that, in fact, the Nation has also been reporting on this story.

I'm so proud that Elliot is already affecting Leftist discourse in this country. So the occasion was more monumental than we had anticipated. In any case, Elliot was dressed up in his colorful birthday outfit, awaiting the arrival of his guests.

The night before, the two elders (Justeen and Eric) baked a carrot cake for the little guy and wrote on it with raisins. I know, very clever.

So many people bought so many great things for him. We received all sorts of books and other playthings that will surely keep Elliot and his parents busy for the foreseeable future. Brooke and Cher bought him a slick firetruck that he immediately took to. Here he is confidently strolling through the living room looking for emergencies.

And finally, to the end the day, Elliot posed for a picture with his ladies. Only one, and already a sly dog.

Winter Fun

2007-03-13T08:49:00.000-04:00

I know. It's been a long time since I've posted to the blog. I've been very busy and I apologize to those who rely on their regular dose of Elliot news and pics. Well, let's see, we had a fairly disappointing winter, in that we only received about six inches of snow (the average is 41 inches). That means no skiing, and not the ideal conditions for sledding. But we made due. One saturday a few weeks ago, we had a visit from our friend Roger. He's from a strange land across the pond, where they call diapers "nappies." In any case, we let him stay with us for several days and we showed him the delights of a relatively snowless winter in Jamaica Plain.

First we set out to have brunch at our favorite food spot - Centre Street Cafe (notice the British spelling of center - I think that subtlety went unnoticed by Roger). Here we are waiting in line in 30 degree temps for our hearty meal.

It was a bit cold, but everyone seems terribly happy, don't they? Soon after we were satiated by good food, we went home and Roger and little e had some quality time. Elliot felt powerful because finally he had more hair then one of the "tall ones."

There was no containing his enthusiasm for life.

It's important to note that Elliot has recently discovered the wonders of his little bike. He can almost scoot himself about on his own. And the fact that it makes a real annoying noise just adds to the wonder.

But winter time is not all indoor play. Remember I mentioned that we only had a few inches of snow. Well, a few inches is better than nothing. We went out, faced with trials of icy snow and attempted to do a bit sliding back and forth. As we discovered, putting lil e in his sled and carting him about is far more entertaining for everybody than having him in his carrier. Sadly, the snow has now melted, so the sled will likely stay in our stinky basement until next Winter. However, we look forward to pushing and pulling him about in other contraptions as the weather permits.

Elliot's swim class

2007-02-11T06:42:00.000-05:00

This video is from Elliot's first swim class. He really enjoyed it - unfortunately, we haven't been back a second time. Last week we were too busy, and today, the little guy is pretty sick. So, we're not going to be dropping him in cold water anytime soon.

Back in Boston

2007-02-09T22:48:00.000-05:00

We got home and, while we found ourselves experiencing relatively warm weather, it was still time to break out the heavy clothes. Here's Elliot in his snow suit, his fuzzy hat, receiving some fuzzy kisses from his favorite dog.

The next day, we all set out on a walk. There's always something to see in our neighborhood cemetery.

I can't imagine a cuter photograph than this one...

Elliot attempts to grow his cute power by sucking it out of Ella's head.

But he ends up all wet.

xmas time

2007-02-09T22:34:00.000-05:00

As soon as the santa hat was brought out, we knew immediately that it belonged on Elliot's head. And guess what, we were right. He likes like a natural, doesn't he?

Not only did Elliot enjoy playing Santa, he also enjoyed playing cowboy. When we first put him on the horse with some of his cousins, he didn't look too happy.

But put him on with his mom and it's a different story. She just makes everything fun.

The fun continued...

Someone looks confused in this pic...not sure who.

And here's Elliot having fun with yet another set of grandparents.

Was this boy always smiling? The pictures suggest that, don't they. But then I remember that we don't take pictures when he's screaming at the top of his lungs at 3am.

Travelling around So-Cal

2007-02-09T22:27:00.000-05:00

Our trips to California are always packed. Since Elliot joined us, they're even more so. But, Elliot makes the travel that much more fun. He knows how to laugh at the simple things in life. Here he is sitting on his Grandpa's lap. I've helped the viewer identify the subjects in this paper by dressing the baby in a "baby" shirt.

After awhile, Elliot grows a bit tired of posing for pictures.

And here's the bean posing with another set of grandparents, enjoying the sunny weather and eating grass.

It looks like he's eaten a bit too much grass.

Spa-time

2007-02-09T22:24:00.000-05:00

It's no surprise that Elliot enjoys water. So, when we went to California to visit, we knew we had to bring some swim diapers with us. Elliot needed something to wear in the spa, too. Here's his first dip in the "pool."

This pic is a little blurry, but how can I resist posting that face.

Pre-Holiday PIcs

2007-02-09T22:20:00.000-05:00

There's a lot to say. It's been over a month since I posted to this blog and there are a lot of people very upset with me. I'm going to slowly recapture my audience with a bunch of cute-as-can-be Elliot pics. This post has a bunch of pre-holiday images.

Below is Elliot hanging with his pop on the couch.

And here's Elliot and his good friend Luciano. The have the same haircut.

Elliot Does California...Again, part I

2006-12-23T10:58:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted the updates of Elliot's life. As it turns out, Elliot is still growing and doing great. He's crawling now, he's still smiling and talking in his own special language. Below is the first of a series of posts of his California trip. We're in Los Angeles now visiting his great grandparents (featured below), grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and what nots. Elliot is beside himself with excitement; if only everyone was as happy to see him as his family - he'd be even more smiley than he is already.

Elliot crawling (sort of)

2006-11-25T11:38:00.000-05:00

Here's the little bean experimenting with his newfound skill of crawling. His major motivator? Not his parents - the remote control. We are already taking the back seat to technology. Notice at the end of this video, when Elliot is seconds away from victory, Justeen cruelly removes his assigned target away from him. Will someone please call DSS?!

Elliot's First Thanksgiving

2006-11-25T10:31:00.000-05:00

Sadly, we weren't able to go to California for Thanksgiving this year, but we're thankful to have had a loving and welcoming home in which to celebrate. Rachel's parents, Norma and Arnold, invited us to their home for the holiday (their other home on Martha's Vineyard was featured previously on this blog). We had a lovely meal and much to give thanks for (as Rachel put it, her father began the meal with a celebratory diatribe/toast about the recent landslide victory of the Democrats). Elliot basked in the good spirits as well - despite a leaky nose, he was his typical affable self.

Here's Charlie (Rachel's husband) inviting Elliot to join us at the table.

And here's Elliot after joining the table conversation.

And one last pose from a satiated duo.

Elliot Does San Francisco

2006-11-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

Justeen took her annual trip to San Francisco to meet her mom and sisters. Elliot went with her this year. My sense is there's only a few years remaining before Elliot refuses to go on these all-girl shopping excursions - so it's good that everyone enjoys his company now. I mean, this is not to suggest that we're going to force him into restrictive gender roles or anything, but I'm just betting odds here. Honestly, I can't much stand shopping with Justeen. She does a lot of looking through glass and not enough throwing down of plastic. It's common after Justeen has gone "shopping" for her to come back empty handed, and, most surprisingly, to be fully satisfied with the experience.

In any case, here are the photos from little e's first all-chick shopping trip. Here's the group posing for a pic.

Here's Justeen's mom when she learned what a Franciscan crab actually is.

And finally, Elliot looking innocent after a long day.

More Bouncing for Halloween

2006-11-04T08:23:00.000-05:00

Never too tired to bounce, Elliot has a time on his friend Kathleen.

Elliot's First Halloween

2006-11-04T07:55:00.000-05:00

Because he has long loved the song "Five Little Speckled Frogs," and because he has recently taken to the activity of bouncing, a frog was the ideal mascaraed for Elliot. When we found this "speckled frog" outfit," we decided he had to wear it.

On the Sunday before Halloween, we had a party in our community garden. Lots of people from the neighborhood came out on a beautifully blustery Fall day to parade their children in costumes, bob for apples, scavenge for junk, and beat a pinata.

Even Izzy joined the fun. He was a ladybug. And don't worry, the irony of our dog being the prey of our son was not lost on us.

Here's a group photo with all the kids. And some of the parents of those kids unable to pose.

On Halloween night (an unusually warm night here), our favorite folks (Jeannette, Guillaume and Ella) came by to help us hand out candy to neighborhood beggars (i mean, kids). As you can see, our two little speckled frogs were quite the spectacle themselves.

The Bean Family Go to Chicago

2006-11-04T07:44:00.000-05:00

Justeen had to go to a conference. So, the whole family got on a plane and went to Chicago. While Justeen was hobnobbing, the little bean and I wandered the streets of Chi-town, looking for fun. We came across a number of things - Halloween festivals, stunning architecture, crowded sidewalks - all things that kept us occupied.

Here's the bean in his sweet ride, waiting for a sweet tour.

When Justeen was finished, she joined us in our wanderings. Here they are in Millennium Park - a wonderful display of open space and art in the middle of the city.

But, as traveling is always exhausting, it often takes a toll on you. The day we left, we decided to go to the Chicago history museum. Even before we arrived, Elliot decided he was done. He tipped forward in such a way that was temporarily irreversible. For about an hour, we walked around the city with what appeared to be a dead baby.

Mildly Amused

2006-10-29T09:35:00.000-05:00

We bought Elliot a new toy - it's kind of like a Coney Island for babies. It has shopping, movies, amusement, voyeurism, and perhaps even a little theater. Surely, we thought, Elliot will find back-to-back hours of amusement in this thing. In practice, after thirty minutes of absolute thrill, the mood turned to mild amusement. As you can see in this video - it's as if he's just smiling so we don't feel bad.

Grandparents' Visit

2006-10-16T20:30:00.000-04:00

It's always a treat when the grandparents come out to visit. They stopped over to see us on their way back from Deutschland. Actually, they stopped over to see Elliot. It seems as though we've merely become conduits for our child. Take this blog for instance - you don't read it to see pictures of me do you? no. It's all about the ol' boy. Granted, he's a lot cuter than his old man. But, I can type faster than he can. So, there.

There they are sitting on the chairs we keep around in our backyard - well, it's the cemetary, but sometimes I think it's our backyard. Izzy poos in there enough for us to call it our own. They didn't sit for long. In no time, we went off apple picking and pumpkin sitting. Here's Elliot sitting on his favorite squash.

Any time we weren't grabbing for fruit or vegetables, Mary Ann took it upon herself to hold on to the bean. And the bean was loving it. Here he is practicing his boxing moves with grandmother. She really wants him to be a boxer - don't ask me why.

'steen was pretty happy to have her mom in town. Here they are pretending to like each other for Elliot's sake. It looks like he's buying it.

Sadly, the grandparents left. So, to make Elliot feel better, we bought him a new hat. Our parenting philosophy is that you can cover up all wounds with a fashionable hat. We learned that from Dr. Laura.

Here it is again. The hat is irresistable. You really can't try to resist this hat.

And if that weren't enough, here he is in a cartigan vest. He really is like a little doll. I'm proud of myself when I can dress him well. Ah, the small victories of parenting are as grand the greatest victories of nations. Only when I win, I get a cute picture as a reward. What do you get if you win a war but a few new lines on a map.

Leaving Fall

2006-10-16T20:18:00.000-04:00

Every walk, every drive is a treat, because each time I leave the house, the landscape has changed just a little more.

It would seem as though Elliot has found a certain enthusiasm for the changing seasons already.

Fall is about hats

2006-10-16T19:49:00.000-04:00

Fall is here. The leaves are turning colors, the weather has turned, and we set out to explore our options in hats. Here's Elliot trying to find something to match his mood.

And speaking of hats, here's a crane we saw in the park. Even the birds take this time of year to put on funny hats.

Elliot's Bounce

2006-10-08T09:34:00.000-04:00

Elliot has discovered the beauty of bouncing on the bed. Have we created a monster? Perhaps.

The Secret Lives of Beans

2006-09-22T08:11:00.000-04:00

Something is going on in this picture - exactly what I can't be sure. Elliot obviously has some problem with Izzy. Perhaps Izzy has something in his beard, perhaps Izzy has licked Elliot on the face (think Lucy's reaction to Snoopy), or perhaps Elliot wants to pull Izzy's hair and Izzy resisted. Whatever is going on, I feel like my son is experiencing his first relationship about which he is keeping me in the dark. Perhaps a little preview of his teenage years.

6 months or half a year

2006-09-10T11:36:00.000-04:00

On Friday, the bean turned that magic number - that elusive midpoint between zero and one. When celebrating his mid-year arrival, I couldn't resist thinking of Zeno's most troubling paradox. As Aristotle tells it: "That which is in locomotion must arrive at the half-way stage before it arrives at its goal." Well, that makes perfect sense, until you conclude that a thing could never arrive at its goal, because there is always a half-way point between two points. The paradoxical conclusion is that travel over a finite distance can never be begun or completed - thus rendering all motion an illusion. Well, darn - that puts the bean's most celebratory milestone into perspective, doesn't it? He is travelling towards something - walking, eating, talking and reasoning - but when its marked in developmental stages and increments of time, it all seems like a race to a finish line that is not really a finish, nor marked by a line. The bean is changing everyday - but each change is a fait accompli as opposed to a marker on a path towards a distant conclusion. So, the bean's progress towards completion is, thankfully, an illusion.

I give you proof. Does this action of saturday morning pre-coffee, haven't-gotten-out-of-bed-yet, and justeen-gone-crazy-with-the-camera, appear to be a midpoint. It doesn't get more "complete" than this.

Or this one, moments later, both dog and baby appear to have a whole new lease on life. Father is out of the picture - likely taking a shower or stumbling to find more coffee. Somehow, justeen manages to retain control of the camera.

What you see in the image below is Elliot's new smile. He has taken to biting his upper lip and organzing the sides of his mouth upwards. The result is a smile, but with only the slightest alteration, it can be a pout.

Here's Elliot, another day, waiting to go for a walk.

And that's me in the background - playing the guitar in a vain attempt to entertain the lad. He's far more entertained by his mother and the camera.

Speaking of his mother. Here they are posing together. Aren't they sweet? Notice that they have the exact same eyes. And Justeen is also a "poo factory."

Look ma, no hands. That's right. He's sitting all by his lonesome on some precarious box thing in the middle of the cemetary. Of course, we are on hand for any possible variations in his upright status.

And then, I sweep him away for a little walk. Although, he seems overly concerned with that camera again.

We return home from our long walk and the bean falls asleep. This gives me precious few seconds to do a little gardening. He likes being in the garden, he just refuses to hold a hoe.

stops and starts

2006-08-26T11:31:00.000-04:00

The short time of Elliot's existence has been filled with stops and starts. He stopped waking up five times a night, he started again; he stopped liking the song about the bus to happy land, he started liking the song about speckled frogs; and most recently, he stopped hanging out with Jill and started hanging out with Helda.

So Jill has been our babysitter since the end of May and she has, in all regards, been fantastic. Elliot has taken to her like a planet designation to Pluto. Wait, no, that doesn't work. What I mean to say is that Elliot likes her a lot. They played games, read books, sang songs, took walks and had an all around fantastic time. On Jill's last day, to only minor tears (from my eager-to-tear-when-happy wife Justeen), we went into our backyard and snapped some photos.

These guys are like the kids from 90210. No matter where they go to college next year, they'll always be close.

So no one is happy about Jill leaving us, but she's back to school and an internship. We all wish her the best of luck in her career with children. No matter the context, the kids she comes into contact with will surely be better for it.

Our new day care is good. Elliot has been there a week and he seems happy about it. The other kids seem to like him and he hasn't told us of any troubles thus far. And it's oh so convenient. We stroll him down to the bottom of the hill each morning and then stroll him up each night. Izzy seems to like the extra excuse to get out of the house, too.

Since my last post, Elliot has experienced another big start. He started eating solid food - rice cereal to be exact. And it's very funny. He sits in his little spongy chair and dive bombs the spoon with his face. He's heard the speckled frog song so many times that he imagines the spoon to be a fly and his face, a long tongue. Don't worry dude, I'm not going to steal your rice cereal. You can have it.

Here he is having his sorbet (fingers) between courses.

And then, straight back to business.

Well, while we're on the topic of starts. Elliot and Ella's parents had a bit of one themselves. Just this week, we got our first nighttime babysitter. Jeannette and Guillaume got theirs and we got ours and we went out "on the town" for some fine Italian food. Not only that, but we had an adult conversation over dinner. We didn't mention babies and the baby world once over our extended three-course meal. We had a great time and we learned that parents are happier if they get a little life-break now and then. It's always great to come home to the bean, but it's nice to have someplace to come home from now and again.

And we felt no need to be guilty. Below is a picture of Elliot and his new babysitter Lauren. He doesn't look too upset about the whole thing.

Martha's Vineyard

2006-08-07T22:02:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, we went to the Vineyard (pronounced with a New England lock jaw). Our friend Rachel's parents have a house there, and she invited us to come and stay. Martha's Vineyard is a storied place - one of those places you might just assume would be far surpassed by its reputation. But that wasn't our experience. The island is fairly magical - even when you don't see water, there's a feeling of being on an island. The landscape looks similar to other places in Mass, but there's a separation from land that you don't get on the main land (or off island as they say). There's a feeling of being apart from the rest of the country - only seven miles off the coast.

But before we were able to enjoy the intense seclusion of the place, we had to enjoy the insane crowds of a summering New England. People pack onto the ferries that leave every 45 minutes. We jammed ourselves on only to arrive in an even more crowded port town. But, soon, Rachel picked us up and drove us off to a wooded rural town, with a sandy, brushy oceanside landscape. Here's the view from the porch.

Elliot slept in the car from Oaks Bluff (the port town) to the house. He woke up and I can only imagine his surprise when he opened his eyes. Rachel's husband Charlie and their friend Andrea were at the house when we arrived. Without much delay, we got in the car and drove a mile to their semi-private beach.

The beach was great. Izzy ran free, Justeen learned to boogie board, and the bean just lounged on the beach.

At some point he asked that his mom and I leave him alone so he could more effectively pick up on some chicks. In no time, two of them (Rachel and Andrea) were by his side.

Notice the confidence with which he grabs onto his ladies. He surely must have learned that from his dad. After some time alone with his ladies, the bean demanded we all gather for a group portrait. Here it is, minus Justeen - she was behind the camera.

When we returned from the beach. We grilled some amazing fish, made some great food, and enjoyed the dinner in this snazzy little sun porch.

So even if Elliot doesn't remember his first (and hopefully not last) trip to the Vineyard (hint hint Rachel), I hope these pictures will remind him what a relaxing time he spent that one weekend in August.

Elliot and Ella in their first big film

2006-08-04T13:19:00.000-04:00

Great Grandma's 85th

2006-08-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

The bean family went to Seattle to help celebrate Elliot's Great Grandma Millie's 85 birthday. We arrived late Thursday night into the SeaTac airport and drove directly to our little B&B called the Hogland House in Mukilteo, WA. I booked this place online, knowing nothing of it. Based on the website, and my own propensity towards good luck, I assumed it was going to be crappy. Well, this is what we got:

An absolutely stunning house overlooking the Puget Sound. And, even better, we were the only guests staying in the place, there was a fantastic hot tub (as you see), and the inn sitter (the normal inn keeper was out of town) was a fantastic cook and made us the most remarkable breakfasts. So, either my luck is changing, or the dual good kharma powers of Justeen and Elliot overpowered the normal balance of the universe.

As not to belabor this point, I should move on. The next day, we took a ferry to a nearby island and walked around. Here we are embarking on our walk. Elliot turned his hat to the side and set out to have a good day. Well, lo an behold, we had a fantastic day.

After stopping in a few locations, we drove about sixty miles up the island and stopped at a place called Deception Pass. This place got its name because of the deceptively erratic currents that occur down below.

Elliot was not so impressed by the dramatic drop. Although his parents felt slightly stricken with Vertigo as they began walking across the bridge. With oncoming traffic on one side and a dramatic drop on the other, holding a squirmy, drooly baby never felt so precarious. We promptly turned around and went back to a secure surface.

The next day, my parents arrived in town for the party. We met them at their B&B in Everett, WA.

My mother immediately commandeered Elliot for her own consumption. Luckily, I was there to preserve the moment with my handy Casio camera. Elliot felt right at home on his grandmother's lap. Without any hesitation he was playing and posing for the camera.

The next day was the big party. Here's the birthday girl and part of the bean family.

The following day, we were able to see Justeen's mom (who was in town visiting her daughter-in-law). This trip required amazing coordination on so many fronts. So, again, in typical grandmother style, Elliot was commandeered.

His evil grin and menacing eyes are not indicative of how he was feeling at this moment. He often looks as though he's plotting to take over the world.

Finally, we all paused for a photograph while wandering around in Seattle's extreme 95 degree heat.

We got on a plane later that night and returned home. The bean slept on our red eye flight - and of course I didn't. Some things never change. We escaped the west coast heatwave, only to be greeted with some mass of hellish air on its travels east. I'm glad that I was able to experience the great heat wave of '06 on both coasts.

Birthday in Baltimore

2006-07-11T10:05:00.000-04:00

The thing about babies is that it's not convenient for them to be away from their mothers for too long. So, because Justeen had to give a talk at a conference in Baltimore, the whole family tagged along. I was on Elliot duty while Justeen said smart stuff to people, and Elliot was on Daddy duty. The great thing about conferences is that they really are just excuses to travel places. In fact, the whole family, Justeen included, spent a bunch of time tooling around town. But before we get to the Baltimore pics, here's Elliot in his monkey chair.

Only days after Elliot's monkey encounter, the beans got on a plane to Baltimore. In only about an hour we arrived in "Charm City" and Elliot was ready to enjoy some summer fun. He put on his pants and his shades and strolled around the Inner Harbor looking for chicks.

He found one. But it turned out to be his mother. Ah, so Freudian.

After many hours of walking around, we all got on the water taxi and made our way around the harbor. This was Elliot's first time on a boat (can you believe it? 4 months old and never on a boat.)

Speaking of 4 months - as it turns out, Elliot turned that ripe ol' age while we were there. So, in honor of his geriatric feat, we all went on a merry-go-round. I think this was the fastest carousel I've ever experienced. I thought I was going to spit up. By the end of the ride, we were all putting our fists in our mouths.

long time gone

2006-07-11T09:55:00.000-04:00

Quite a bit of time has passed since my last post. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to find the time to get the word about Elliot out. But, this does not mean I intend to stop. It only means I intend to be more diligent. So, quite a lot has happened since our Father's Day excursion to Cape Cod. Elliot has been growing like a wild fire. He went to the doctor yesterday and the official word on his weight is 19.6 pounds. That is literally off the charts. He was in the 97 percentile, which was the highest line on the chart. Now, he was plotted above that point. I think he just might be the biggest baby in all of history. I mean, with such a burly father, it's no wonder he's so massive.

Sometimes he gets so tired carrying around his girth that he just falls asleep. Here he is taking a nap while eating his lunch. Notice how he's managed to keep the bottle in his mouth even without consciousness. What a talented little tyke.

Here he is sleeping after a long walk in his double stroller. What you can't see is that Ella is sitting behind him (also asleep).

After a quick cat nap, the little bean is awake and trying out his new tricks. Just last week, he rolled over onto his stomach. He looks so proud once he's done it. In the picture below, I think he's trying to figure out why the world is upside down from its usual appearance.

Cape Cod and Father's Day

2006-06-19T18:04:00.000-04:00

It all started, when Mindy came into town. Returning from Malawi for a visit home, Mindy stopped over in Boston as her portal into the United States. The one in the hat below is Elliot.

We took a walk in the cemetary on a beautiful Saturday afternoon and sat near the pond so Elliot could take a load off. Below Elliot and his Mom are practicing their synchronized swimming routine (of course, with no water).

The next day, for Father's Day, we made our way down to Cape Cod. Mindy's friend from Malawi, Diane, who you will see in later pictures, was there visiting her parents (who you will also see). But below, you'll see Elliot and me clamming. That's right, Elliot is a big fan of shell fish - despite the kosher thing. I'll have a talk with him later. Anyway, here we are (not really) looking for clams.

After a time, we returned to the house and prepared our Cape Cod meal, which included fresh clams (quahogs, steamers and razors), clam chowder, and lobster. And with a view like that, who could complain? You might notice that Elliot is complaining in the picture below, but that's only because we told him he could only eat one lobster con leche. He was upset.

To work off our dinner. Elliot suggested that we take a walk on the beach. He set out before us, but we quickly caught up.

"Gotcha!" His mom caught up to him and picked him up. He didn't seem too upset.

And after some coaxing, he even started to laugh about it.

Once I emerged from my shell fish coma, I joined them on the beach for a picture. This is a north facing beach, so we have some nice light on our cheeks.

And alas, Justeen jumps behind the camera to snap a photo of Mindy, Diane, me and the bean. Soon after this picture was taken, we got in the car and drove in hideous traffic for our seventy mile trip back to Boston. I suppose we weren't the only ones with the bright idea to retreat for the cape on Father's Day.

And quite without warning, Elliot jumps in front of the camera!