Things Elliot has Learned

He has been changing quite a bit, learning so much that we can hardly keep track any more. He is eating so many new foods now, it has been fun experimenting with him. He has been playing more with his friends, and even strangers. He went for a walk today with his mom and kids everywhere were clamoring to hang out with him.
Elliot has been singing a lot more, and his singing is getting more impressive.
He has been feeding himself, which can be messy but his mom is encouraging it just the same.
He has been climbing onto furniture and standing on furniture (which we have been discouraging him from doing, but what are you going to do?).
He has added a few new dance moves to his routine. He has been dancing to the Wiggles, Raffi, Ann Murray, Question Period theme song from CTV, Hockey Night in Canada themesong, Oh Canada, God Save the Queen, noises emanating from his toys and even songs that must be in his head because we can't hear them.
He knows exactly what noises a fish and a dog make. He thinks all animals except fish pant like dogs do. He really really likes the Littlest Hobo.
He no longer seems to be fearful of his Grandpa Verwoerd and even had a fun time with him during their last visit.
I'm sure there are other things which have happened, and hopefully I'll remember them and add them to future blog entries.
If you'd like to see all of his most recent pictures, click on the word Gargamel.

Elliot's first Hockey Injury

I have, over the last few months, been looking everywhere for Elliot's first hockey stick. I refused a few times to spend more than five dollars on the tiny plastic sticks I found at Walmart, Granville Island and ToysRUs . I was beginning to lose hope of ever finding the perfect inexpensive hockey stick for Elliot. Then on the day of his last birthday party, his mom bought a cool plastic stick at the dollar store for 1.50. For five days he carried it around and I showed him how to stick handle and I showed him a wrist shot. The following Saturday he and I were playing enthusiastically with that same hockey stick. It turned out we were playing too enthusiastically as he ended up falling face first onto the ground, his hockey stick breaking his fall and shattering into pieces. For the day following, he bore a few red marks on his face. I have to admit, as sad as I was for him, I was also a little proud. :)

ps. The picture above isn't of his injury but I thought it was a cool collage of closeups so I threw it in.

The Second Gate

We had been using our vacuum cleaner to keep Elliot from climbing the stairs. He is quite frightened of the vacuum when it is running. That fear continued to exist inbetween cleanings as well, and if he showed some sign of overcoming his fear while the vacuum was off, we only had to make vacuum noises ourselves to remind him of the horrors of the Dirt Devil. However, one day while his mother was out and he was home with his dad, he began to poke and prod the vacuum cleaner as it sat on the first stair. Having discovered that it wasn't going to attack him at that stage he progressed to climbing beside the vacuum onto the stairs. He stopped for a second, looking at the vacuum in fear. Then his fearful face was replaced with a sly smile and he galloped up the stairs, me following disbelievingly.
At that point it became impossible for me to reinstill that fear, either by making scary noises myself or even running the vacuum again for real.
So we moved some stuff around and now we use our second gate on the stairs going up.

Everything is a Telephone

Elliot has been using anything he can find as a telephone, dutifully placing it to his right ear and speaking gobbly gook which probably means real words in his own head. He has used remote controls, actual phones, cellular phones, fridge magnets. Of course if he is actually on the phone with someone he all of a sudden loses all recognition of protocol and stares at the phone as if he's never seen one before.

Walk Like a Duck

As the weather begins to turn here in Cloverdale, Elliot has really been appreciating his cozy duck slippers which he received from his Grandma while we were in Saskatoon. Here are some pictures of him enjoying them.

The Last First Birthday Party

On Sunday, October the 16th, Elliot had many of his friends over at the Amenity Building for a fun birthday party. Mom worked hard to make the best cupcakes and put together the yummiest snacks and to have the coolest balloons to help make the day super special. Elliot had a great time sharing (and sometimes not-so-sharing) his new and old toys with his friends. With the Wiggles playing in the background, Elliot and the other kids and adults enjoyed a lovely Sunday afternoon out of the rain. It was great that so many people could come to share the celebration.

Besides Birthday Parties

There has been stuff going on other than Birthday parties (though it sometimes doesn't seem so). Elliot is walking more confidently each day. He is still falling quite a bit, sometimes hurting himself slightly. He has had some bumps and bruises. Today, in fact, he tried to walk down the stairs and ended up rolling down the stairs instead. He was fine, mostly just scared himself. He is trying so hard to be independent, which makes his mother sad and proud at the same time. He is making new noises almost every day. Yesterday he whistled in the car, the last few days he has been developing a fake laugh (perhaps he will grow up to be as sarcastic as his father and Ashton uncles). He received his one year immunization shots yesterday and handled it really well. He was unhappy when he was getting the shots but he recovered quickly. There was some worry that it would disrupt his lifestyle (he would be up at night, he would be grumpy etc...) but we've noticed no change. In fact the night after the shots, for the first time in a long time, he slept right through the night and gave his mother the opportunity to do the same.
He is growing up so quickly, changing so drastically each day. We are very proud of him.

Third of Four Birthday Parties

And then we had a Thanksgiving/Birthday party with Andrea's family. That was on Thanksgiving Monday. I ate a lot. Potatoes, Salmon, Brussel Sprouts, chips, pop and icecream cake. I am still feeling a little full and it has been three full days since that meal.
Elliot had quite a bit of fun with his aunts, uncles, grandma and grandpa. He showed off his walking skills all over the house. He received a few battery powered gifts and a cool tent from his auntie Shelley and uncle Dave which is set up in our living room right now and he loves playing in it.
To see the pictures from this event, click on the word Siberia.

Elliot's Real Birthday

On October the 6th, Elliot actually turned one years old. I am emphasizing the fact that he actually turned one years old on October the 6th because he has already had three seperate birthday parties and he has one more coming up. His mother went to great lengths to make that day a particularly special day. Dinner was homemade pizza and dessert was a caterpillar cake made with cupcakes and chocolate decorations (she made feet and antennae and eyes out of melted chocolate). Elliot pulled the cheese off of his pizza, licked off the tomato sauce and chewed on the crust. Then he licked the cream cheese icing off of his caterpillar and mashed some cupcakes into mush. He and I had a very long bath after that meal. He loved his presents from his parents. A chair and two classic toys. It was a very special day. We are looking forward to celebrating many more of Elliot's birthdays in the future. To see all of the pictures of his actual birthday, click on the words Non-Toxic.