"Dat"

Elias is obsessed with knowing what everything is called. He points to things and says, "Dat. Dat." repeatedly until you tell him what it is called. It quickly became apparent to me that I really don't know what a lot of things are called. What do you call the piece of metal that surrounds the lock on a door? A door knob plate? How about the giant bolt covers on light posts (I'm guessing you can gather I call them bolt covers)? What about the small rectangular shaped plastic box with holes in it at the church where Elias has his music class. Is that a monitor? A humidifier? A speaker? As you can see, it is hard to come up with names, and sometimes it is impossible to even know what something is. Never before would it have occurred to me that there are so many things that I can't name. I'm guessing that I'm really going to learn what I don't know once Elias gets old enough to ask me, "but why?"

The Zoo

A few weekends ago, Elias and I went to the zoo for the first time. It was absolutely packed because it was a free day. We lucked out by getting one of the last spots in the overflow parking lot, and it had only been opened 30 minutes. We took the whirlwind tour...meaning Elias staying in his stroller almost the whole time. It was hard for him to see over some of the fences and all of the people, but I think he enjoyed it anyway. He really liked the hippos and the birds (there were peacocks roaming around where we were eating), but wouldn't touch the snake (can't say I blame him). It is very difficult trying to get young children to SEE the animals in their habitats...especially to a kid that doesn't really talk yet. Oh well. Maybe next time he will finally get that the zoo isn't just rocks, grass, fences and glass panes.

Christmas Already

I know, I know...it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but I wanted to get this out there in case those handful of readers out there who are going to get Elias a Christmas gift are going to go shopping soon. I've decided to go for a theme based Christmas for Elias this year (learned this from Jamie!). If you were planning on getting him something, please get him some Duplo Legos. Duplo Legos are a little bigger than regular sized Legos (and compatible with regular Legos), and Elias seems to love them at the doctor's office. We already have a table "ordered", so just some Duplo building blocks (bricks) would be great. Lucky for me Elias doesn't know how to use the computer yet, so he won't read this and spoil Christmas morning.

Appalling to Some

Many of you won't understand and may even be a little appalled, but I'm finally, just now, starting to like Elias. Some people just adore babies. I've learned that I adore other people's babies. I'm definitely a fan of kids once they get a little older. Elias is starting to give out hugs and kisses, he is talking a lot (although we usually don't know what he is saying), he is beginning to know what he wants and doesn't want...all of these things gives him a personality. That makes him fun. So, while I've always loved Elias, now I'm really beginning to like him. No one really warned me that this may very well be the case, so if you haven't had any children yet, but plan to...it might take you a while to like your kid. I don't think it is that out of the ordinary...and I'm guessing it comes and goes.

What Didn't We Do?

Mom and Jim came out for a visit...or more like work detail. Below is the short list of what we accomplished:

Basement plumbing (only 4 trips to Home Depot)
Painted two tables and chairs for Elias, plus a strip by the front door that needed it
Shopping marathon - drug store, grocery stores, bookstores, goodwill, post office, ross, target
Fixed a few electrical switches
Hung up our sushi plate (finally)...it looks great!

We even managed to do something fun and went contra dancing on Friday night where our good friend Wendy was the caller. We all had a great time and danced until we were worn out and good and sore. Elias had a babysitter and slept through the whole thing at home.

You would think that with all that done I wouldn't have anything left on my list...but you would be wrong.

A New Condo

Why were you in Fraser for Halloween, you might ask? Well, we just closed on a condo up there giving us our very own mountain getaway. I think Matt is already dreaming of waking up, taking a quick bus ride to the mountain and skiing Winter Park on fresh powder (OK, he has been dreaming of that since the middle of summer, but now it will soon become a reality). Below is the view from our deck (and through a zoomed-in camera lens).



Let the visits from friends begin!

Halloween

Elias was a cowboy this Halloween, compliments of Grandma Darleen. He wore his costume on Friday to his music class and then on Saturday when we "trick-or-treated" around an outdoor mall up in Fraser, CO (the mountains). The stores mostly handed out little toys, so it was the perfect place to go (Matt was upset that we didn't get even a single piece of candy...for him mind you, not Elias). Everyone thought Elias made an adorable cowboy. He even got to ride on a Bison.


They had really decked the place out with witches, spiders, scary noises, webs, dry ice in the fountain and a pumpkin shaped dry-ice bubble machine (Elias' favorite).


All the kids were in costume and even many of the parents. It was the perfect thing to do to celebrate Halloween. Since Fraser is such a small town, it felt like a giant party where a bunch of old friends were getting together...and then we were there too.

Bright Idea?

Whose bright idea was it to make cups for kids that have a ring of clear liquid around the glass so it looks like there is water in it? They usually put little plastic toys in between the two layers of plastic so they float in the pretend water too. This makes it very difficult to determine if there is actually any real water in the glass and how much. Not such a good idea. Although, I guess I was the bright one who did buy the cup.

Elias Helping

Although he is the one who made the mess in the first place.