So busy!

Wow, there has been a lot going on. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've written and that Elliott is now a year and a half old!

Elliott has been to preschool twice. The first time I was the co-oping parent. He had fun but also was clingy at times. The next week he cried when I left him and was sad for the first half hour but later had fun, I'm told. After I picked him up, on the way back tot he car he was smiling so big three different people commented on how happy he looked. So I think he was not traumatized and in fact will really like it once he gets a little more used to the idea of being somewhere without mommy.

He has more words than last time I wrote but still not the best diction. He can sort of say and sign car, home, plane, bird and say nose, eyes, ears, head, feet, moon, star. After his very cute, "hi" and "bu-bye," "shoes" may be the clearest spoken word, and he likes to play with shoes, also signing by tapping them together. Oh, and he says "baby" pretty clearly and does the arm rocking sign. "Bubble" is also a frequent and rather clear word, accompanied by putting his finger to his mouth because he likes to try to blow bubbles himself (and can!) Some words he does not say but knows the sign or the noise the animal makes, like elephant, bear, cold, hot, tomato. "Music" is one of the most frequent signs he makes; he sure does love to sing and dance! He says and signs "please" when he wants to nurse, which happens quite frequently these days.

Elliott is sort of almost running and has learned how to spin in a circle when he is playing with one of the toys that spins around to music. We now have to spend a lot of time outside (I guess he says that word, too), blowing bubbles, playing with sidewalk chalk or just wandering around the yard or on the sidewalk, frequently with him carrying my keys (and he certainly knows that word!). He likes to climb up and down the hill in our backyard, down with help (he does ask for help verbally and signing), and up usually by himself. We spend a lot of time around the slide. Sadly, the ball we used to play with got torn by an animal, so we'll need to get a tougher one. Inside he is enjoying drawing with crayons and generally making a mess by pulling everything out of drawers. The salad spinner is a particular favorite and buys me some time to make food. When he's not industriously playing on his own, he wants to be held a lot lately but does not want to go in the sling or Ergo (with today's trip to the farmer's market being a happy exception).

There are times when wrestling Elliott into the car seat is literally impossible. We have to get out and walk, or if I'm lazy I let him sit in the drivers seat and play with the radio, windshield wipers, etc. He loves that. Sometimes if I give him food or another distraction he'll stop a tantrum on a dime, which makes it all the more frustrating that he was acting like the world was going to end. But sometimes I can't figure out what the magic switch is and just have to abort the attempt to get home or to wherever we were headed. He does really like looking at books and is asking for that more now (I guess that's a word, too), so it's more fun to read together.

The pictures here include Elliott's first pizza (with gluten-free crust and raw goat milk cheese), a day at the park, and our outing to see Kirin Ahluwalia at the Kennedy Center (he sat still for a few songs and then we just wandered around behind the seating). The school photo shows Elliott hanging out at the lunch table while the other kids were waiting to get picked up. We had to stay longer for me to clean, since I was the co-oping parent. Preschool teacher Peter is holding sleeping baby Nora, and you can also see aide Elizabeth and classmates Carsten and Carson (no, they are not related). There are two babies and four toddlers in Elliott's class.