Happy Birthday li'l e

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

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.