The Best Things in Life

Bubbles...

Balls...

Walks...

Naps...

It's a...

GIRL!!

Meet our newest addition, Priscilla. (Yeah, I know...but everyone thinks it's a perfect name!)

Christmas Came and Went

Without much of a fuss even. Each year I am amazed at how fast Christmas is over. You would think that at almost 34 I would be used to it, well I am not. It's always sad when it's time to take down the decorations (I usually do it around New Year's). We didn't do much this year. It seemed like there was always someone sick. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was my turn. YUCK!

So I watched Christmas movies with scenes of fabulous holiday parties and now my plan is to someday own a big house where I can host a big Christmas party. Wouldn't that be so much fun!!??

Elliot wasn't real interested in opening gifts, but he sure did love some of them! His big Tonka dump truck and Fisher Price basketball hoop were among the most popular to him. I love his Scout and I think, in time he will too!! I got a new camera (well, it was an early present, Tony gave it to me in the beginning of December) and I love it. I got some sweaters, books and pj's. Tony got new dishes, a remote car starter, satellite radio in his truck (an early present from me and I pay for yearly) and lots of Yankee stuff. And Elvis got a Loofa Dog that's about twice the size of him...he loves his Loofas!

Some pics of the day...

Christmas Eve

With 1 of 3 riding toys
In Daddy's Yankee Wastebasket

Among his "a few" new things (that caterpillar in the background is awesome too!)

Elvis with his giant dog.

With his Tonka truck

Showing his cousin how to use the basketball hoop

They were waiting for the food to come out.

Summertime

Finally, some real summer weather up here!!! We've had nice walks, outside playtime, pool time, it's been fantastic. Today at the pool, Tony dunked Elliot for the first time. He didn't seem to hate it, but he didn't seem to like it either...he didn't seem fazed at all. I hope that's a good thing. I really hate being under water and I don't want Elliot to be afraid or hate it too.

Elliot is pulling up like a champ. He is also trying to stand. It's so cute. He'll pull up on the activity table, really slowly let go and then grab ahold real fast. He is also trying to cruise along the couch. He just about has that down. It's all happening way too fast for me. I didn't think any of this would have happened for few more months. I wonder if he'll be an early walker or just stay at this point for awhile?

I think tooth #3 is coming soon. This time I mean it. It looks like one is coming down and getting ready to break through. One side of his top gums looks like a bump. He won't keep his fingers or anything else out of his mouth and his sleep is all screwy. These top ones seem worse than his bottom 2. They just appeared out of nowhere.

Elvis has been having a good time too...he loves swim times. And we're thinking of going to a Pug meet up this fall. There's a parade, gala and other events. Looks like fun!

I'm So Sad

I had a fantastic day with both my boys. The weather was terrific, sunny and hot, so after Elliot's morning nap I packed everyone up and we went swimming. Elvis just loves to swim. Then we went to visit Grandma B (my mom) at her office and made the rounds. After some loving (for both) and biscuits for Elvis, we took a walk down Main St. and went to Elvis's favorite store. It's a pet boutique and they sell the cutest stuff. After some more loving and biscuits (it was all about Elvis here) we headed back to the car.

Then it was lunch time, play time and nap time (for Elliot and Elvis). I used that time to install a convertible car seat in Tony's truck. (No more infant seat, it's bittersweet.) Then Elliot got up, we had some more playtime, dinner and took Elvis out for his evening exercise.

Back home, more playtime, bottle, book and off to bed. Then I made some asparagus for Elliot, cleaned the kitchen, straightened up the living room and dining room and now it's time for bed for me.

How I wish I could do it all over again tomorrow, but I must go to work. I am so sad thinking about it. At least there's only 3 more days until the weekend!

And just because.....

Elliot's toys...

What he would rather play with...

Playdates

Our microwave died last night, just quit. Unfortunately, I live in an area where the closest place to get a new one is an hour away. Fortunately, I took today off so Tony could go to a golf tournament. Then I found out the my sister, who lives in this city an hour away, was off today too. So I packed up Elliot and Elvis and made a day out of the trip.

I went to visit my sister so the "kids" all had a playdate...Elliot with his 4 year old cousin Wyatt and Elvis with my sister's dogs Molly, a yellow lab and Stella, a beagle mix. We were there for about 3 hours and everyone had a good time. Then it was off to Target to get a microwave and a couple other things and KFC to pick up dinner.

Not what was originally planned for my extra day with Elliot, but somethings just happen. The weather wasn't cooperating for my orginal plan anyway, and while I have a list of things that need to be done around the house, this was more fun!

I will leave the list until next Tuesday, when I will be off again while Tony goes to NYC to a Yankees game. It's supposed to be a rainy, thunderstorm day then anyway.

Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot, Elliot had Cheerios for the first time this morning and LOVED them. He is getting so good at getting food into his mouth and chewing that we are starting to transition to table food. I loved making his baby food, but will enjoy having the space back in our freezer. I have to make a batch, so this time I am mashing and dicing food then freezing.

Bumps and Bruises

Now that crawling is in full swing, so are the bumps and bruises. Elliot decided to crawl over the bottom "shelf" part of our coffee table last night, but couldn't quite make it onto it and smashed his face on the edge. I have never heard him cry so hard, I felt horrible.

To top it off, I had twisted my ankle pretty bad while out on our daily walk and it really hurt. My brain said "Run to Elliot" and I did, twisting it again and falling to the floor almost on top of the poor kid.

So he was crying, I was trying not to, and Tony was trying to figure out who to check on first. Elvis just sat there looking at us like we were all fools.

In the end, Tony consoled Elliot, I iced my ankle (which still hurts and is swollen...a trip to the doctor may be in order) and Elvis went to bed.

Aaaaahhh, and it's just the beginning!

Another Day at the Beach~Pic Heavy

Well, actually just a couple of hours this morning. We had some sunshine this morning so when Elliot got up from his nap we headed out to the beach. He ate some sand, tore down my sandcastles, played in the water and laughed hysterically at the other kids in the lake. All they did was look at him or run in the water. Who knows why babies laugh at things?? Here are some pics from our day.
Just before I took this they were both chewing on something. I thought it was funny, grabbed the camera and as I was taking the picture Elliot took the beads out of his mouth. Bummer, but they are still both too cute and I love getting pics with them both in it.
And just to share...I love this onesie!

Elvis Swims

The first summer we had Elvis a number of people told us that pugs don't/can't swim. Apparently, their small, condensed bodies make staying afloat almost impossible. So, we simply tried to get him into the water. It took some coaxing, but eventually he went up to the top of his legs, then to his chest. He loved to bound on the shoreline, making huge splashes while trying to eat them.

The second summer, he went a little deeper and his feet actually came up off the bottom. Not for long, though, maybe just a couple of doggy paddles and he was back where he could touch. By the end of summer, he would actually go after a stick (if it was close) but he loved the water and we couldn't drive by a lake without him whining to go "swimming".

This is his third summer and I am proud to say MY pug can swim. Take that all you pug owners who said it couldn't happen. Maybe you just need to be supportive and encouraging to your puggy. Elvis has surprised us by how far he will go, especially for a wonderful stick!

Now, if we could only figure out how to get him to fetch a stick on land. Hmmmmm.