365 Days. 12 Months. 1 Year.

Well folks, it's here.  Eliot is 1-year old.  Our Baby Godzilla clocked in with a compact 22 pound 12 ounce and  29+ inch frame.  And with only 30 minutes of naptime all day, Eliot celebrated his first year on Sunday, February 13, 2011.

All the grandparents were in town, as were Aunt Liz, Uncle Pete, cousins Hudson & Grady and a sprinkle of friends to help us celebrate. As we sang Happy Birthday, Eliot ate every square inch of the icing - making sure to spit out any real cake that found its way to his mouth.

We decorated to honor Eliot's nickname-sake, Godzilla...(if Godzilla were from Mexico, however, instead of his native Japan.)  After all, Eliot growls, throws blocks, and snarls kind of like a monster - only his dimple shows while he's doing it, which is very poor monster etiquette.

A Godzilla pinata seemed a good idea until Eliot befriended him. So, we let the bigger kiddos crash into the #1 pinata and Eliot got to keep his new friend (he currently resides in the kitchen and makes sure Eliot eats all his dinner.)

Cupcakes were for dessert. We had six leftover so I ate two for dinner...what? 

Eliot's favorite toy is his maraca, aka "cha-cha". You may have seen the post where his is holding on to his cha-cha for dear life while he ate breakfast.  So, here they are as party favors in hopes that they didn't turn in to weapons...

Murphy, who is two hours older than Eliot, came to party. He is just as curious and adventurous, and it's sweet to watch them bond. I can only hope that Eliot's life will be blessed with great friends so that he too can enjoy the gift of friendship. Surely when Eliot figures out that sharing is a way better form of introduction than biting, he'll build a solid group.  Surely...

The time has quickly passed, but each day is just as joyous as the next.  Like people always say, it only gets better. Our love for this kid is overwhelming to say the least, and it's the greatest experience we have ever known.

Happy Birthday little buddy.

New Years Day at Gruene

With Eliot already being a musical savant having mastered the guitar, piano, maracas, & wind chime all by the age of 10 months, we felt it was time to take him to see his first live music show.  And what better place than Texas' oldest (and best) dancehall, Gruene Hall.  And, frankly, what better band than our honky-tonk hero friends, Walt Wilkins & the Mystiqueros.

He was quite the hit with the locals in his enormous kiddie soundproof headphones - he looked like he should have been directing 747s at the airport instead of 2-stepping with Mom.  Alas, 2 previous hours at the outlet mall, a lack of an afternoon nap, & too many of the aforementioned locals getting a bit too close for comfort had us leaving after 6 songs...

But it was still very cool to share one our of favorite places with our little buddy Eliot.  And with a little more practice on the wind chime, we're sure he'll be back & sitting in with the band in no time.

October and November

The Fierce Godzilla. Roarrr

It's been a busy couple of months. Eliot is crawling, pulling up on the coffee table and has two new teeth top teeth. To date, he's got about 5.5 teeth. He's discovered the computer cords, the simple pleasure of dropping things to hear them crash and the fact that my nose is attached to my face. He's eating chopped up egg, broccoli & cheese omelets and loves yogurt and mashed sweet potatoes-separately of course.  For Halloween, Eliot was dressed as "Godzilla" (in dinosaur costume), and watched us carve his name in to a pumpkin to celebrate his first Halloween.


Testing, testing 1, 2, 3...

Eliot has also figured out Belle's worst fear: pulling on her collar and shaking it. Over there, you can see he's about to reach up and grab it. He thinks it's really funny when he does it too-shreaks like a Taradactyl.  Thankfully, Belle has been very patient with Eliot and is trying to build up her tolerance for his funny business. We have caught her napping on Eliot's rug while he sleeps so we know she secretly likes him.  She also has started to put herself in "time out" when she gets in trouble and other times, she'll just leave the room if Eliot starts to make his way to her tail - so at least she's showing signs of progress.

Other things to update are that Eliot has started clapping.  He's very proud of that skill, and he now waves wildly with one arm while he holds on for dear life to a cabinet handle with the other.
He's started "pointing" to (read: smacking) things in the book and loves to strum the strings on Rob's guitar. The picture below has nothing to do with updates - I just like that he was very intent on holding his cha-cha (rattle) while eating. Silly me tried to grab and suggest putting cha-cha down so he could use his other hand to eat, but I got this warning expression.  So, I let him be one with is cha-cha during dinner...


Don't even think about it...



.

A little Downward Facing Dog, Anyone?

It's pretty hard trying to keep your yoga stance while balancing on a pop up book and some baby wipes...

 

Let's get physical

Here a cluck, there a cluck, everywhere a cluck-cluck

New to This Kind of Stuff

Welcome one, welcome all. We've never done something like this before, but seeing that Eliot is so loved by friends and family - and everyone is spread out across the US -we've started a blog. Plus, it helps us to record his life for ourselves in an organized fashion and not on my blackberry.

So, that's us up there- The Albertson Family. Rob is the baby daddy. I'm Catherine, the mother (duh) and Eliot is the one wondering what in the world is so funny. A big thank you to our friend Natalie for her marvelous talent in photography.

Eight months ago Mister Eliot arrived at a teeny little 6 pounds, 4 ounces at 12:30am. He was a calm little dude with his dad's heart shaped mouth and skeptical brow, and his mother's love for soft blankets, jammies and a little nuzzle. I have six nephews and one niece - so I'm no stranger to babies, poop & hearding cats on field trips. Infact, I worked in a daycare while I was in college. I also worked in a tanning salon - bc I'm so tan. But I am a stranger to the needs of raising a bright star. I can make a bottle, change a diaper and prep a tanning bed with my eyes closed, but being responsible for raising a human to make good choices? Different story. On the other hand, Rob had never held a child or changed a diaper- nor had he raised anyone (except belle). So when this little boy came in to our lives we stared at each other with wide eyes. Here he is - a life swaddled in a blanket and a diaper. Incredible. Needless to say, Rob became a pro right out of the gate. Calm and gentle and fantastic at diaper duty.  Together we are raising a precious, stinky little boy who greets us every single morning with a smile. There's no better start to my day than seeing Rob stumble in with big hair and a giggling Eliot. The sight of them takes my breath and words will never adaquately express how thankful I am for our life.

Today, Eliot is 8 months old, has two teeth, says "dada" and raises hell for food. He's sitting and trying to crawl, throwing things and studies belle when she runs in circles. He's grown from being a chill, quiet little baby with a furrowed brow (aren't most newborns like that?)to a talkative, smiling, laughing entertainer.

Lately he has been very interested in entertaining his shadow. I walked in to the living room the other day to find him swat at the shadow on the wall, throw his head back and laugh hysterically. Like he's high fived his long lost college buddy...he's very advanced if you ask me. He pretty much goes with the flow - owning a patient temperment (unless food is involved) and a very curious George interest, and totally entertains himself by watching the world around him.

So here's our blog. I'll fill this space with news, pictures and random chatter, and I hope you enjoy reading it.