Cuteski.

I'm usually in bed by this time, but Dave was not feeling swell and decided to go to bed. I'm awake and so is Elliott, so posting on the blog seemed like a good idea. Sorry for the lapse in posts, thanks for hanging in there!

We are doing very well. Baby Elliott is laying next to me on the couch, hiccuping happily after his late night dinner/snack/meal. Any concerns that we had about him losing weight short after birth were pretty much shot down at our pediatrician appointment on Friday. Elliott gained 13 ounces in 7 days. Babies SHOULD gain about an ounce a day, but our baby and his healthy appetite almost doubled that. He is otherwise healthy and we'll go back to see Dr. Hoop when Elliott is a month old. More about Dr. Hoop at a later date, although let me just say that I love our pediatrician. He is fabulous.

I had my first follow up appointment today. My incision is healing well and I am otherwise doing great. The farther I get away from the C-section, the better idea it was to skip that whole "labor" thing and move straight to delivery.

So much to say, but so little quiet time at this part of the evening. Elliott is a dream baby all day and then has a short fussy time from maybe 9pm-1am when staring at the kitchen lights and being walked around are about all that will soothe him. On a side note, me dictating this post is apparently another way to soothe Elliott, as he is now laying quietly beside me awake and listening intently. I tend to talk a lot, so having a little person who loves the sound of my voice seems oh so lovely.

Other highlights, as he is stirring more and spending more time chewing on his hands, which means my time here is short:

--Spending Friday through Tuesday under the adoring eyes of Grandma Carolyn. Elliott is still seeing stars from the flash on her camera. She was a big help and of course a great person to talk about how perfect/adorable/smart/amazing our baby is.

--Meeting Cat, Mark, Grace and Ally on Saturday. Grace is now in first grade and boys are chasing her on the playground. I remember when she was Elliott's age.

--Seeing Grandma Joy and Grandpa Joe on Friday night. Why aren't there more pictures of Elliott with Grandma Joy? Note to self, start taking more pictures!

--Crying for Uncle Nate again and meeting Aunt Larry (LaRissa) on Friday.

--Getting flowers from Auntie Melanie and Uncle Rob.

--Taking a few trips out of the house, including the MSU dairy store, Mom's work, Babies R Us and Target. Elliott seems to like his carseat and tends to sleep in the car and coo happily when he is awake. This bodes well for our plans to visit Aunt Melanie in Connecticut before my leave is over.

--Meeting lots of Daddy's family on Sunday at Breanne's birthday party. We surprised Great Grandma Wiacek (Busia) and got to wear Elliott's custom onesie that Melanie painted with the Polish flag that says "Cuteski." Grandma loved it, and Elliott looked like a little man in his Old Navy jeans and hooded sweatshirt. Aunt Patti was especially impressed at how cute Elliott is and agrees with me that he is a pretty baby.

--Having a few instances of 3-hour naps at night.

--Projectile pooping from his changing table to the door of his nursery (about 4.5 feet) this morning. Sorry, no pictures of that. Our son has amazing intestinal skills. He farts and poops like it is his job. Well, it sort of is...

Uncle Nate and I both have our braces on now. We are both looking forward to NOT having braces by the time Elliott's first birthday rolls around.

The very nice nurse at my appointment today said "Well Mom, looks like you lost out in the gene pool." when she saw Elliott and his Daddy. Elliott also crosses his feet at the ankles (a classic Dave pose) and sneezes in 2's like Dave as well. He is wide-eyed like I was as a baby, though, and he is definitely strong willed like yours truly.

But then, there are times like the one below... After a nice meal of "Mommy Milk" I have this beautiful little face looking up at me. *sigh* Who needs sleep, right?