Chunky Punky.

My family is a nickname family. I've had a variety of nicknames throughout my life, and most members of my family have one or another that has stuck. It's only natural that Elliott has a variety of nicknames as well. Unlike some families though, our nicknames tend to morph from their original form. Case in point, my brother Nathan, a.k.a. Uncle Nate.

Nathan became Nahum became Hum became Hummy.

Elliott began his life as my Pumpkin or my Pumpkin Baby. Partly because he was born in October, and partly because we fought with a mild case of jaundice during his first week of life and I told him I would call him Pumpkin so he didn't have to turn himself any more yellowish orange. Elliott has morphed as well.

Pumpkin Baby became Pumpkin/Pumpkin Boy became Punky became Chunky Punky.

I also call him Bub or Baby Bub. Anyway, he is chunky as all get-out these days. He has cute little roly poly thighs and a multitude of chins.

Our own Scott family Christmas miracle happened this week... Elliott slept through the night!!! My Mom kept telling me that it would just happen one night, but it's another one of those things that you just don't believe until it happens. Elliott went to sleep around 9pm after a good meal. Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 5AM!! My boobs hurt like hell, but my baby had slept for 8 hours! It was awesome. The next night, he did not eat well, so only slept from 9pm to 2:30, but still. Bedtime is a lovely concept. That's why I am blogging now, I fed Elliott and put him to bed at 9pm and I am reasonably sure that he won't wake up for several hours, so I don't feel the intense urgency to go to bed right away. I can do crazy things like check my email and blog. Hooray!

Dave and I made an excellent discovery this week. Both of our local malls have nursing rooms! Private areas with comfortable chairs and locked doors where I can feed the chunky punky. It is WONDERFUL and means that our holiday shopping got done in a hurry. Elliott is also getting better at being out and about. He can hang out in his carseat and stroll around the mall, staring at the lights and/or snoozing. He wants to be picked up now and again, but for the most part, he is a good shopper. However, he is also a good pooper. I knew when we went out today that he had not pooped in a while, but Dave and I were unprepared for the true poopfest that ensued today.

I fed him at home and we had lunch at Bennigan's (yum). We went to Toys R Us next, then to Target. During all of this time, he was a happy camper, but definitely started to get hungry at Target. Perhaps it was the popcorn smell... Anyway, so not knowing that the Meridian Mall had a "Nursing Lounge," I fed him in the car. He wasn't eating well, which usually means he is more focused on pooping than eating. Sure enough, two big poops. No big deal. Well, it was a big deal and he needed a new outfit once we got into the mall. Then, midway through our shopping he fussed, so I picked him up. I IMMEDIATELY put him back down when I touched/saw a HUGE poop stain on his back. Thank goodness we had two outfits in the diaper bag.

Speaking of poop, Elliott's last blowout had some expensive ramifications. Again, knew he had to poop, so when he finally went while I was holding him I made him dance around and tell Dave about how great he felt. Dave's face changed and he said calmly, "Um, honey, you have something on your shirt."

So yeah, I got pooped on. No big deal, but we've learned that baby poop stains quickly, so we put a load in the washer right away. I was smart enough to remember to take my chapstick out of my front pocket, but neglected to remember that my cell phone was in my back pocket. CRAP. So I washed my cell phone and had to buy a new one on ebay. It was craptacular.

Elliott is a ton of fun these days. He doesn't cry for the sake of crying anymore, which is a real treat. He smiles and coos and plays frequently throughout the day and is getting a pretty steady routine. He is VERY vocal and is "talking" quite a bit, especially to me. This could be because I talk to him all the time. :) He is much more interested in toys these days and is starting to enjoy sitting in his bouncer and playing or laying on the floor and cooing at his favorite toys, Mr. Turtle and Elephant.

If worrying were an Olympic sport, I would be a gold medalist. And I'm worrying a lot lately about going back to work. It's not like I have a lot of options, and I know that I will be able to worry a lot less with Elliott at home with Dave, but I love my little guy more every day. Elliott also likes our new couch. Hooray!

Dave is the yin to my yang, so he is working hard at reminding me how much I love my work and emphasizing the few weeks we have left together. They will go by quickly with the holidays fast approaching, but every day with Elliott is a real blessing.

We never should have gone to Baby Gap... That place is dangerous, and I am tempted to spend more on clothes for Elliott than I would ever pay for myself. And mine fit me for a lot longer!

We ventured out to get our first Christmas tree together on Monday. Dave put the lights on today. It's magical.

Dave always asks Elliott if he is calling Fiji when he holds his baby phone. I always ask him if he's calling Grandma.

Buff or fat? You make the call.

A pinch and a poke.

I'll start with the basics and see if I have time to add any photos... Elliott is sleeping soundly after his visit to the pediatrician this morning.

• Elliott weighs 13 pounds, 10 ozs. He has the chubby thighs and cheeks to prove it.
• He is now 24.25 inches long, up an inch in a month.
• He is in the 93rd percentile for his height and weight and the 75th for his head circumference.
• He got three shots and did relatively well, considering his temper. A dose of tylenol and a few servings of mommy milk and other than being a little extra sleepy, he seems fine.
• Elliott was doing so well, that we ventured out to get our Christmas tree today. It was a very memorable experience, as we had to wait for the owner to get back from the grain elevator to bale our tree and the little guy got hungry. Rather than feeding him in the car, the nice lady in the gift shop told us to take over the "Christmas Cafe'," a cute little cabin with coffee and donuts and a fireplace. Dave had a donut while I fed the baby. Then he pooped and we changed him there as well. I have a feeling when we go back next year (which we definitely will), we will not have the run of the place like we did this year. But I will always remember breastfeeding my baby in the Christmas Cafe.
• Dave successfully put up the lovely tree we purchased. My living room smells lovely.
• My living room also looks lovely with the new couch and chair in place. It looks like grown-ups live here.

The nap has ended... photos later.

Bad Blogger, Good Mommy.

Sorry, everyone. The work laptop I use at home has a horrible habit of freezing up when I download pictures and I have given up on posting several times in the last few weeks.
But enough excuses, onto pictures!


Elliott has a "bad" habit of falling asleep during "tummytime." I don't think he is going to die of SIDS while laying on the living room floor, so I'm not stressing out about the "back to sleep, tummy to play" campaign. He sleeps on his back at night.

Plus he looks like his Daddy when he sleeps like this. How cute is that?!

His little jeans are getting a tad too small, but the little striped onesie is one of my favorite things he owns. SO Cute!

When we were in Saginaw for Thanksgiving, Elliott met Rebecca. My sister Meredith is holding her (she is delicate and petite and much quieter than Elliott). Rebecca is the first daughter of one of Meredith's childhood friends, Mary. Mary visited and we freaked Meredith out by sitting next to each other on the couch and breastfeeding. I can understand why... it's not everyday that two people you've known for decades are sitting in your mother's living room with their infants.

I also love how Elliott is smiling at my Mom is this picture.

Elliott continues to love his "Pap," my Dad. Pap introduced "jumpajumpa" which Elliott loves. Jumpajumpa is basically what you say while lifting the little guy over your head repeatedly. It works wonders and makes him quiet down and take in his surroundings. Elliott is not a huge fan of Pap's hunting beard, it's scratchy, but he looooves his Pap.

Elliott is also in love with his Grandma Carolyn. She hides kisses behind his ear and tells him that they are always there for him. It is adorable.

I call this the "my daddy did WHAT when he was little?" face.

Dave and I are learning to multi-task and have conversations with Elliott while we are doing stuff around the house. He's not a big fan of being put down yet. Unless he wants to be put down, then he gets mad. Hey, the kid knows what he wants! Speaking of which, he'll also tell you whether or not he wants his pacifier (Binky to some, plug to others, suckie to me). We discovered during our Thanksgiving travels that it we needed to find a pacifier shaped like our pinkie fingers to pacify Elliott. He did not want the "orthodontically correct" pacifier that I got for free. Luckily, the Gerber silicone soft center pacifier worked. Otherwise, our pinkies may have never stopped looking like we had been in the bathtub for too long.

Elliott is a morning baby. He likes to hang out and coo and gurgle and blow bubbles and smile in the a.m. hours. If you catch him at the right times, he is quite the little charmer.

I love these little baseball shoes, but I had to shove his little feet inside of them. They were a one-day only wear and then they got put in the "too small" pile.

Whoa, sorry Elliott. Mommy isn't too good at taking pictures one-handed.

Sometimes, Dave takes the occasional picture. Usually after I make some strong hints. Like this afternoon when Elliott was wearing his adorable "baby pirate" outfit and sitting up like a champ.

His latest trick is holding onto his toys. If you put it into his hand, he'll hang on. Only if he wants to, of course. So far, he loves the giraffe and elephant from his play gym and the little Baby Einstein turtle guy the best.

Luckily, I can make him smile and take a picture at the same time. I call him "guy smiley" when he gets all cooey and cute like this. Plus, Guy Smiley is one of the coolest guys on Sesame Street.

Raise your hand if you're cute!

Awww, sleeping babies. My Mom bought Elliott this adorable fleecey sleeper from Carter's. It has a snowman on the front and little pockets in the shape of mittens and little snowflakes on the bottom of the feet. I don't know what it is about Carter clothes, but they are always my favorite. The 3 month stuff fits him perfectly right now... but not for long I'm sure.

Elliott hasn't quiiiite figured out that he owns his hands, but he is much better at getting his hands to his mouth. This is quite helpful when he just wants to suck for the sake of sucking. He can't decide if he likes his thumb or his first two fingers better... Really, he would always rather be eating. Hands are only a delicious appetizer in Elliott's baby world.

End of photos and onto my random babbling...

Thanksgiving was marvelous. Elliott is getting better and better at traveling. He likes his carseat, sleeps well in the car, but wakes up raging mad about being tricked into sleeping somewhere other than in our arms. That, and I think he can't effectively fart or poop in his carseat, which makes him even madder. Intestinal difficulties are one of Elliott's biggest challenges. This is just one more reason why I am glad I am breastfeeding. That and the fact that my clothes all fit and I weigh less than I did before I was pregnant.

But I digress... Thanksgiving. Drove north on Wednesday, stopped in Gaylord to visit the Scott's, continued on to Central Lake, ate delicious food at the Newcomb's, drove to Saginaw, ate delicious leftovers at the Ebig's, shopped a little while my Dad monopolized Elliott, woke up Sunday morning to discover that our car wouldn't start. Taking apart the dashboard and wiggling some wires has it working again, but I'm sure you all understand why we are moving up our car shopping efforts. There can be no wire-wiggling when traveling with an infant.

We also bought a new couch and chair. Having spent lots of time sitting on our old, broken-down couch week after week, I finally cracked and just visited the pushy salesmen at Art Van. The couch arrives tomorrow, hooray! We celebrated by renting a Rug Doctor and cleaning the carpet, too. (actually, Dave cleaned the carpets. I fed and played with the baby.) It looks and smells lovely in our house. However, we moved everything out to clean the carpets, and don't want to move it back before the new furniture arrives, so we are camping out in the basement "manroom" if we want to watch television.

Aaaaah, television. Some of you may know that we have been without cable for almost four years. I never missed it, but Dave certainly did. I didn't think it was fair to coop him up in the house with an infant and no ESPN and it's downright handy to have the internet at home, too. Plus, I love Elliott a lot, but I can only stare at his cuteness for so long when I am nursing him. Eventually, I need in some distractions. The Food Network, The Price is Right (I'm loving Drew Carey), TLC's Baby Block, Ellen, Oprah, Wheel of Fortune and much, much more! TV is a lovely guilty pleasure of mine, and Dave has even MORE sports knowledge than he did before.

Elliott had his first official "babysitter" last week as well. My best friend Mary Frog Toes has a lovely sister, Teresa. She is a nursing student at MSU and was very happy to watch Elliott while we went and met Tyler the seemingly slimy car salesman who we eventually discovered speaks four languages and spent a large portion of his youth as a church missionary in Haiti. Go figure. Anyway, Teresa did a great job watching Elliott. He was smiling and cooing at her when we got back, only to start fussing when I took him from her. Hmmm, I tried not to be offended. :)

Dave picked up another bartending job at a bowling alley on the north end. He'll work some evenings and the occasional weekend as well. His Dad and Pam suggested we put a picture of our cutie on the tip jar and write "Elliott's College Fund" on it. HA.

In other big news, Elliott has officially moved out of our bedroom and into his big boy crib. So far, so good! We also moved my rocker upstairs, which has been awesome. The next step will be to stop bathing him in the kitchen sink and start using his infant tub upstairs. This will also mean I'll start dressing him upstairs as well. Time flies, everyone.

I promise, I'll try to be better at posting! But rest assured, I'm doing my best to be a good mommy, even if I'm a bad blogger.