First Visit to Saskatoon

Elliot had a great time in Saskatoon, mostly hanging out with his grandparents and uncles. His first birthday party ever was celebrated in Saskatoon with friends and family coming to Grandma's house to eat cake and hand over cool presents. He is very much looking forward to visiting again soon. More pictures can be seen if you click on the word Harangue.

Elliot's First Plane

We were warned about taking an infant on a plane ride and we hoped against all odds that everything would be fine. All the while, fear lived inside of us like a pair of unmatched socks. The flight attendants warned us that he would start screaming during the ascent and the unavoidable descent due to the air pressure causing pain and discomfort in his ears. Doctors and nurses were recommending drugging him with Gravol or Tylenol. We refused (okay we ran out of time and didn't get around to it) but we needn't have worried. Elliot was fine. He laughed when the plane took off and laughed when the plane landed. He slept without any pharmaceutical aid and he continued to flirt with whatever girl would pay him any attention (he doesn't even care if she's one or ninety one).

Uncle Andrew and Aunt Cara

We all took a nice trip to Saskatoon in September and the first and foremost reason for the trip was to partake in the celebration of the marriage of Elliot's Uncle Andrew to the lovely Cara Martens. It was a wonderful day, their wedding day. The day was beautiful, Saskatoon always does autumn unlike any other city in the world. In celebration of the colourfulness of the season, Cara and Andrew went with a lot of reds in the decorations and in the garments. I was given the honour of being a groomsman for one of the finest people I have ever known, who also happens to be my brother Andrew. This was a big deal for me and I will always cherish this privilege for all my days.
Elliot also had a great time, and was often carted away from his parents by giggly girls from the Martens side of the family. He most definitely did not mind this, nor did his parents. I danced once, Elliot danced all night long. He is unlike me in many many ways.
One of the many joys I was able to experience during that day was the time with my brothers and parents and wife and kid and new sister in law. We were able to get some pictures done as well. Here are a couple, and if you want to see more you can click on the word ASPARAGUS.

Elliot the Great Patriot

When Elliot was inside his mother, his father(me) would often sing to him one of two songs. "Oh Canada" was one of them. The other was "God Save the Queen". Those are two of the few songs his father can sing that he doesn't dance to. So it is no great surprise to discover that he loves our Canadian flag and enjoys waving it proudly for all to see.

More pictures

By clicking on the word Fiddlediddle you will access a large selection of pictures including the ones included in this blog entry.

Uncle Clayton is Cool

Elliot often saves his widest smiles for his aunts and uncles so we weren't surprised at all to see his pearly white teeth when Uncle Clayton arrived last week. He hasn't stopped smiling much since. Uncle Clayton is a great play mate and an excellent conversationalist. Walking, running, swinging and face attacks (you have to experience it to understand what it means) are just a few of their favourite activities. In fact they even invented a game of their own called the "upside down game" where Uncle Clayton holds his hands as Elliot stands and dips his head all the way back so that everything is upside down.

We have been going on quite a few outings while Uncle Clayton has been here. Whiterock and the Zoo and Granville Island so far. Perhaps Stanley Park this weekend. We've watched quite a few Simpsons episodes and danced to the Wiggles quite a few times as well.

Elliot is eating lots of Cheerios, grapes, cookies and crackers on his own now. He is very close to walking on his own (taking a few steps here and there). Sometimes he doesn't even realize he is standing on his own and as soon as he does he falls down.

Uncle Clayton bought a french baguette today.

Crescent Beach

Yesterday, after I got home from work, we went to Crescent beach. It was a beautiful night. We ate fish and chips on the beach and Elliot played with the sand and the rocks (he liked to lick the rocks) and we dipped his feet in the water (and then cleaned them thoroughly as the water has carried many warnings this year).
It was such a nice time for all of us. Definitely one of our favourite places to visit.
I've also added a hundred pictures to Elliot's Yahoo Photo Album which you could probably find by clicking on the word Quack right now.

Fearful of the Future

As you can probably imagine taking one's first step is a big deal. I've been thinking a lot about this recently as Elliot is so very close to walking (or something very much like it). I think that the focus, most often, is on the physical step that takes place. The act of moving on your own, with only two limbs touching the ground, is liberating and opens up a whole new chapter in your life. That is why I have been considering lately how Elliot must be feeling about taking his first step. The emotional element of that advancement must be harrowing as well. Not only do you have the fear of falling face first into the ground (or whatever inanimate object might be ahead of you or behind you) but you may also have the realization that you are moving into a life more independent, which I imagine could be quite frightening as well. Elliot likes walking while holding on to mom or dad's hands, or holding himself up on their pant legs. Walking is solitary.
But I'm probably reading way too much into this. I generally over-analyze things.
We have been trying to be encouraging but not pushy when it comes to Elliot walking. At least as it is now we can almost keep up with him. Tough luck for us when he starts walking and running on his own.

Plenty of Pictures as Promised

Sorry no pictures

I'm throwing this together from work, so I can't post any new pictures right now, but I will soon. There are a couple of cool developments which I would love to share with you.

First of all, Elliot took a step on Sunday. We had Andrea's family over for a BBQ birthday bash for me (because I am getting old). While we were all in the living room Grandpa Verwoerd reached out to Elliot while he was holding on to his mom and standing up and Grandpa said "come to Grandpa". Elliot let go and solidly stepped away from his mother. How long he stood there has been debated. I think it was two or three seconds before Andrea grabbed him, Andrea says it was ten seconds. It may have been somewhere in between.

Second of all, while I was giving Elliot a bath on Monday, he was playing with his little race car. He loves cars and trucks right now, pushing them along the carpet and making them drive. On Monday, during his bath, he was making car noises like his dad does. He did the "vroom" while the car was going and then a "scrreeach" when it made sharp turns.

Third of all, he slept all night for two nights in a row (more importantly, he let his mother sleep for two whole nights).

Fourthly, for lunch today Andrea fed Elliot wheat for the first time and he ate it really well. This opens up a whole bunch of new food possibilities which we are excited about.

He is smiling a lot still, which you will see if I ever put up more pictures (which is what everyone is really here for).

Elliot the Elephant

I've got some great pictures of Elliot looking like an elephant. I hope you enjoy the one found here.
For my thirty first birthday, Elliot got me season one of the Muppets on DVD. We watched a couple of episodes today.
We've kept pretty busy the last few days, going out nearly every night. We visited with our friend Mark, going to the Olive Garden and watching a movie. We went to our friend Cindy and Derrick's where Elliot and I played with some little plastic hockey sticks. Elliot and his mother went on a few day trips, visiting friends and getting his Social Insurance Number done. We had lots of fun at the Cloverdale Blueberry Festival. Elliot is climbing the stairs faster than his dad can run up the stairs. We're trying to train him to sleep in his playpen so he can sleep when we visit Saskatoon in September.
We had a collection of cheap cork coasters which Elliot has found a great deal of pleasure in destroying. Many times over the last couple of weeks we have assumed that they are all found and destroyed and then we find him with another one, in pieces, in his mouth.
He is walking around our coffee table quite easily.
He is growing up way too fast. We can't keep up. But we'll keep trying.

Wiggling to the Wiggles

Andrea picked up a Wiggles music CD at the library on Saturday when we were visiting. Then she tried it on him and he started to dance. His way of dancing is to stand up against something and bounce in rythm. He is already a much better dancer that his dad, so he must be learning this stuff from his mom. He also sings. He was actually singing and dancing with no music in the background at one point in the weekend. He also quite often sings to himself when he is playing, or eating in his highchair or during bathtime. He seems to be a very musically interested kid so far.
We also borrowed a Builder Bob DVD from the library and Elliot wasn't really interested in that. The story may have been complicated. Also, Builder Bob isn't really very smart.
Last Thursday night Aunty Shelley came to visit for dinner and Elliot really enjoyed that. He really seems to enjoy visits from his Aunts and Uncles. He was smiling and playing and showing off way more than usual.
Yesterday was his friend Chloe's baptism at church. It was a wonderful service and a great lunch afterwards as friends and family gathered to celebrate. Elliot was also happy to see Joshua, Annika and many other familiar faces.

Elliot enters America, barely

On Sunday, July 31st, we took our son across the border for the very first time. He was down there for about six hours and wasn't shot at or conscripted, which is the exact opposite of what his father predicted would happen. We went and visited his Grandparent's vacation trailer at "The Glen" and visited with them as well as his mother's cousins and their son Tyler. It was a lot of fun. We might even go back one day.

Also, when I was over in the US I built a spanish church out of lego.