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Elliot's Friend Tate

Our next door neighbour Tate has been hanging out in our house in the weekday mornings while his mom goes back to work. Elliot and Tate have been having lots of fun together. Elliot is learning to share his toys and to play games with Tate. Tate is three weeks younger than Elliot.

Pumpkin Patch

We all went to the pumpkin patch at Aldor Acres. Elliot had a great time picking out our pumpkin and petting the animals (mostly with his head).
We carved the pumpkin to look happy and welcoming and not scary at all.

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.

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.