Typical Day

4:00 am: Feed Baby then go back to sleep (hopefully)
7:00 am: Get up with baby, feed baby, watch "Dawson's Creek", shower
8:00 am: Play with baby, give baby a bath making sure to get in between all his rolls of fat
9:00 am: Go outside and look at flowers, play with baby, wait for baby to get grumpy and tired
10:00 am: Feed baby and baby falls asleep. Watch "a baby story" on TV
10:30 am: Start working (grading online classes)
12:30 pm: Finish work, eat a fast lunch and wait for baby to wake up.
1:00 pm: Feed baby
2:00-4:30 pm: Play with baby, take baby for a walk, look at flowers, do some laundry, wait patiently for dad to come home.
5:00 pm: Our dad gets home and takes the baby from the mom and watches "King of the Hill" or baseball, or both.
5:30 pm: Mom fixes dinner and eats it by herself, usually standing up. Baby screaming at dad because he doesn't like evenings.
6:00 pm: Dad eats and gives screaming baby to mom. Give baby special colic drops to try and get him to stop screaming.
6:30 pm: Dad cleans up dinner dishes and mom rocks screaming baby to sleep, momentarily. We all go upstairs into the baby's room...the new family room. We watch "Seinfeld" and wait for the baby to wake up.
7:00 pm: A): Grumpy baby wakes up and gets excited because we take his clothes off and let him hang out in his diaper. B): Grumpy baby wakes up even grumpier and screams.
7:30 pm: Mom gets to work and dad takes care of baby with the undetermined temperment
8:00 pm: Put formerly grumpy now happy baby's pajamas on and feed him cereal. Watch baby eat cereal frantically. Dad and baby watch "CSI: Miami" while mom works.
8:30 pm: Feed baby what is left of his bottle that didn't get mixed into the cereal. Watch baby's eyes get heavy.
9:00 pm: Put "sleeping" baby in bed. See "sleeping baby's" eyes open wide as soon as his head hits the mattress because he decides he is no longer sleepy. Turn on mobile that plays Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. Dad and baby watch "CSI: Miami" again while mom keeps working.
9:30 pm: Mom done working, ready to help with baby, or get ready for bed herself.
10:00 pm: Still waiting for "sleepy baby" to fall asleep. Restart mobile. Trying to teach baby to sleep on his own.
10:30 pm: Still waiting...
11:00 pm: Decide to feed sleeping baby again. He can't finish his bottle because he is so sleepy, but this time, he stays asleep when his head hits the mattress.
11:15 pm: Go to bed. Wait for cycle to start all over again.

Baby Kryptonite

Maybe we should have named him Kal-el (superman reference, get it?) because after a week of trial and error and a lot of screaming, the monkey baby has discovered his kryptonite. We feed Elliott his cereal around 8 pm every night and the last three nights he's actually decided that eating it isn't half bad. Maybe it's because he's hungry or maybe it's because of the pinch of sugar I add (mom told me to) that makes it go down a little more smoothly. Regardless of the reason, Elliott has decided that cereal is A-Okay. Mom and Dad like it to. Cereal makes the baby sleep...FOR HOURS AT A TIME! Elliot can now make it, at night, 6-7 hours with out waking up and begging for food. It's such a great thing.

Thank you cereal. Thank you.

Spring has sprung!

Spring time is here. The weather is getting warmer, the flowers are starting to bloom, and there is a sense of happiness floating through the air. The blahs of winter are behind us. No more snow, just lovely rainstorms. No more grey, but bright and beautiful colors. No more getting stuck indoors all the time but evening walks and daily trips to grandma's swimming pool. Oh yes, the good weather is here.

To commemorate, a picture from my flower bed just the other day.

10 weeks

Elliott is 10 weeks old today. This morning I got to thinking that at this point, maybe the weekly update isn't necessary. Perhaps we'll make a move to bi-weekly or monthly. Does anyone out there care?

Anywhoo, in the last week, the little guy seems to be developing an even greater sense of his personality. We had a fun weekend with him and I think Ross said 10 times or so either 1) He is so big, or 2) He is so funny. I agree with both statements. He is huge and completely entertaining and amusing.

Last night Elliott slept from 9 pm to 4 am. Yes! That was a 7 hour stretch. Good job baby!

We've tried cereal for the last week but the monkey hates it. We're guessing he has texture issues like his mom and that cereal is just too slow. As his Grandma Petersen says, Elliott is just too serious and concerned about food to be bothered with cereal. She's probably right.

Elliott is getting very good at holding up his own head and has to face out. I think that the cuddly baby days are fast leaving us for a kid that has to see everything the world has to offer without any interruptions. Any bets on when he starts talking, walking, and telling us what to do?

Purely Random

Ross and I opened a savings account for Elliott this weekend. For it's initial finding, we cashed out some of my savings bonds. This gave the little monkey a good start. The oldest bond I had was purchased for me by my Great Grandpa the year I was born, 1978.

This bond got Elliott the most cash. Thank you Grandpa.

As we were finishing up at the credit union on Saturday, a stereotypical dumb cowboy kid carrying a Sobe iced-tea walked in with three other people. The available teller said, "may I help you?" and the moron responded, "I just bought me a new 4-wheeler and I gotta get the check for it wroten out." Wroten? Only in Utah.

On Friday afternoon, Elliott and I went to watch Uncle Willie play basketball at school. I've posted pictures of Willie's "hugeness" before, but this one is rather stunning. He is such a big kid. A nice, soft, cuddly, happy, smart big kid, but a big'un nonetheless.

I would say the kid he is guarding in this pic is an "average" 6th grader. Go figure.