Elliot's swim class

Back in Boston

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

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

Elliot's First Halloween

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Secret Lives of Beans

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.