A Whole New World

Dear Elliot,
The ground has been covered with snow for months and months. Here in Minnesota, we all kind of hibernate indoors from November until March or April, when the temperatures start to make their way into the 40's, all that snow starts to melt, and the you can finally step outside your house without wearing 14 layers of clothing.

Once spring hits, people start to emerge from their homes. You catch up with the neighbors you literally haven't seen in months. You walk around in T-shirts and sandals because it just feels so good to feel the  fresh air on your bare skin. We might have to wait longer than most for it, but here in Minnesota, spring is a wonderful, magical time of year. And this spring is even more exciting than most, because it follows the longest, worst winter of probably ever.

The last time the grass wasn't covered in snow, you were barely old enough to notice it. Now, it's like the coolest thing in the world. And even cooler? Rocks. And the little chunks of asphalt from the cracks in the driveway. And puddles--oh the puddles!

To you, it's like a whole new world has opened up before you.

We spent a lot of time out of the house today, me following you around as you explored this exciting new place we call "outside."You were in heaven, and it was so much fun to watch.

You were especially into picking up rocks and trying to eat them. I probably ran after you saying, "No! Elliot, we don't eat rocks!" 50 times tonight, no joke. 

It is seriously such a joy seeing the world through your eyes. We grow up, turn into adults and almost forget that you know what? Yeah, splashing in puddles in pretty freakin' awesome.

Thanks for letting me into your world, little E. I love you more than you'll ever know!

XOXO,

Mom

The "Dog" I'll Never Forget

Dear Elliot,
Tonight started out like any other night. You were taking a bath after making a mess of yourself during dinner--splashing around, chewing on your toys, the usual. Then you started looking through the new bath book your Auntie Katie got you, got to the Dalmatian page, held it up and said "Dog!"

It actually sounded more like "Doug", but it was very clearly a "D" sound followed by a "G" sound. It was definitely not one of your usual babble words. I started freaking out and said "Andy! He just said dog!" Dad pointed to the Dalmatian and said, "what's this?" You again said "dog!" You said it a few more times. Then I ran downstairs to get my phone to get it on video, but of course, by the time I got back upstairs, you had lost interest and moved on to trying to pull the cap off a bottle of shampoo.

But oh my gosh! You said "dog!" You already say "mama" and "dada" and sort of "book" ("buh") and "this" ("iss") but this is your first no-denying it word besides the standard Mom and Dad. I can't really describe the thrill of this moment! I definitely teared up a bit.

I've said it before (and I'm sure I'll say it again), but this is really the best stage yet. I love watching so many things "click" and come together. I love watching you turn into such a special little person.

I can't wait to see what your next word will be--if you're going in order of things you love, it will probably be some type of food, or maybe "computer cord!"

I love you so much,

Mom

Toddler

Dear Elliot,
I think you have grown and changed more in the last couple of weeks than you have at any other point in your life thus far. It's like you turned a year old and BOOM. You're a toddler.

You've been taking steps on your own for awhile now, but over the last week or so you've gone from walking sometimes with crawling as your main/preferred mode of transportation, to walking I'd say 90% of the time. You've learned how to get yourself up into standing position (from sitting, without pulling up on something), and are moving so fast now! You've still got the adorable drunk zombie walk going on, but you're now a very speedy and efficient drunk little zombie :). It's so much fun taking you out places and following you around. It's something I've imagined and looked forward to doing for so long (like before you were even born); I love it just as much as I thought I would.

You have also become so much better at communicating what you want/need. Your two main gestures are pointing (to whatever you want/wherever you want to go) and waving. The waving is seriously the cutest thing ever. You used to do more of a "salute", where you'd put your hand out to say hello to people, but now you move your wrist up and down and wave at everyone and everything. You are the most friendly little boy in the world. It's so funny to see you get confused (almost upset) when you wave at a stranger and they don't wave back (usually just because they didn't see you). Most of the time I can say "Elliot, can you wave?" and you'll do it instantly. Like this:

You've also gotten quite good at letting us know when you're mad. It used to be that I could take something away and you'd kind of just be like "welp, okay, guess I'll find something else to play with." Yeah, not so much anymore. You've started throwing little fits, where you'll arch your back and throw yourself dramatically on the ground. The fits usually only last a few seconds, but I feel like I've gotten a glimpse into the future and it scares me a little! :) I have to say, you are incredibly hard to say "no" to!

Overall, I just love how happy you are. It's really easy to get insecure and stressed out about whether or not I'm doing a good job at this whole parenting thing. But when it's all said and done, I look at your big, straggle-toothed smile; hear your deliriously happy laugh; watch you clapping to yourself in delight and think I must be doing something right. 

I hope your ridiculously happy nature is something you never outgrow. I hope you keep that huge grin, that squealing laugh, and that you never stop cheering for yourself. Most of all I hope you always know how much you're loved. Seriously kid, I can't even explain how much you mean to me.

I love you, Baby Boy.

XOXO,

Mom

12 Months of Cute

Dear Elliot,
I almost forgot to share this (I meant to include it with your first birthday post)! I finally have your first year collage complete:

It is so crazy and so fun to look back and see how much you've grown and changed over the last 12 months. At one month you totally had the old man look down. At three months you started to look more like a little boy and less like a tiny baby. At five months you were at your peak of chubbiness. By six months you were sitting up so well on your own. At eight and nine months you were incredibly squirmy and it was really hard to get a good picture. At 11 months you were so over the whole sitting thing altogether, and by 12 months you literally walked around the futon while we tried to take your picture. 

Each and every month I thought there was no possible way you could ever be any cuter. But each and every month you proved me wrong. 

It's hard to imagine ever being able to love you more than I do right now, but it seems like my love just grows bigger and bigger with everyday we spend together. Corny? Yep. But true? Absolutely.

XOXO,

Mom

Ps. I have some more baby shoe articles up over at About.com if anyone out there is interested:

Q&A: All About Baby Shoes

The Best Baby Sandals of 2013

European Baby Shoes

Zoo Day

Dear Elliot,
Yesterday we took you to the Minnesota Zoo for the first time. I have been anxiously waiting for you to be old enough to really enjoy it (it's not cheap!) and it looks like we picked the perfect age to go, because you loved it! We actually ended up buying a membership so we'll be able to visit as much as we want this spring/summer. I can't wait!

Before we even got into the actual zoo you were having a ball. I decided to try positioning you face-forward in our Baby Hawk carrier so you could see everything. I know, I know. Forward-facing is "bad" and I've probably permanently deformed your spine or something, but really, it wasn't for very long and you seemed incredibly comfortable and content.

Your little pointer finger was in action pretty much constantly once we got to the animals. It was a lot of fun pointing everything out with you and explaining what we were seeing. 

I swear you recognized this guy from your beloved Brown Bear, Brown Bear book :)

The zoo has an indoor area called Discovery Bay with lots of sea animals and things you can touch and feel. You had the time of your life getting out and running around!

We also went on a Monorail ride and got to see all the outdoor exhibits from way up high. You thought it was pretty awesome being able to look out the window and see all the cool animals outside.

This look right here? I don't know how else to describe it besides pure joy :)

After checking out a few more exhibits we went to the gift shop so you could pick out a special souvenir. I remember being a kid and thinking there was literally nothing in the world as awesome as getting to buy one of the overpriced stuffed animals they sold in those shops. You didn't seem to have much of a preference, so we got you a sweet bat stuffed animal. You've become obsessed with it! Like I have never seen you get as excited as you get about this thing. It's super cute.

I had so much fun with you, El. There is seriously nothing better than getting see and experience the world through your eyes. With you, everything is new and exciting. When you're happy, I'm happy. That's really all there is to it.

I love you so much!

Always,

Mom

Elzilla Turns 1!

Dear Elliot,
Happy (belated) first birthday! So you've been a year old for about three days now and it still hasn't completely sunk in yet. When you were first born I couldn't even fathom what it would be like to have a toddler, and here we are! In some ways it seems like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital; in other ways I can barely remember life before you were in it.

So for your first birthday party we decided to do a Godzilla theme. Actually, make that an Elzilla theme. I originally had these big dreams of doing a Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party, with handmade caterpillar pompom decorations, a spread of all the different foods featured in the story, and other Pinterest-y details. But life happened. And at the last minute, we decided to instead base your party around your favorite activity in the whole wide world: destroying things! Dad designed these awesome invites and we just printed them out at home:

He also made a pretty sweet table background:

(I take full credit for the Elzilla doll!)

And these super cool cardboard buildings for you and your baby-zilla friends to knock over:

(I found the hats at the Dollar Store. Pretty sure they're actually dinosaurs, but close enough!)

For your outfit you wore a dino shirt I found at the Baby Gap Outlet. Again, as close to Godzilla as I could find (they're both pretty destructive creatures, right?)

Our place was a bit cramped once everybody arrived, but it was so much fun seeing so many of the friends and family that love you all in one room! 

You were much more into opening your presents than at Christmas. Everyone gave you such awesome gifts. You are one loved and lucky little boy!

(Auntie Rachel made you this amazing felt "quiet book")

(Starting to get a bit overwhelmed from all the excitement, ha!)

For your cake, we wanted to give you something fun to destroy. So Dad made the cutest castle cake for you to dig into. You actually didn't go as nuts as I thought you would--I think it was a mix of everyone staring at you and the fact that the cake didn't have much frosting on it. You still had a lot of fun playing/eating it though:

It was a wonderful day celebrating the wonderful little person you're turning out to be. There were multiple times that day where I'd look down at you and tear up a bit just thinking about how much I love you. About how insanely happy I am to be your mom and watch you grow up. This has been the best year of my life and I am just so excited for all the years--and birthday parties--still to come.

(We tried to get a family pic the night of your birthday--this was the best we got. I kind of love it!)

Happy birthday, my crazy little Elzilla! I love you more than words can say!

XOXO,

Mom