Giant Shoes

All kids seem to love wearing adult shoes. I know there are a few pictures of me in my parent's shoes. Elias can now put my clogs on by himself and walk around the house.

But he needed a little help when it came to these work boots:

Alone

There is something about being alone that I just love. I think it is one of the things I miss the most about my pre-family days. I get plenty of time to myself while Elias naps or plays with Matt, but it isn't the same as being the only one at home. When Matt takes Elias to the grocery store...now those are the days.

Lego Extravanganza

The gorgeous homemade Lego table arrived a few weeks ago (Thanks Jim!) as a late Christmas present for Elias. There are three inserts that are interchangeable. I think one will be for these bigger Legos, one will be for regular sized Legos (we already have the base plates for it and they fit beautifully) and one will be for trains (which we have and will be coming out for Elias' 2nd B-day). Elias immediately got his chair and pulled it up to the table. I figure in the picture below he is saying, "I've got this awesome Lego table. What do you have?"

No Laughing

Elias is getting more and more words every day, but his pronunciation isn't the greatest. The other day he pointed to the porch at the orange flag on top of his bike trailer and said, "flag." Except the g is more of a "ck" sound, the "a" is more of an "uh" and the "l" isn't really pronounced. Go ahead and try it, but no laughing. We wouldn't want to encourage him.

Cross Your Fingers

In the past few weeks, Elias has developed a temper. I'm hoping I can attribute it to him getting his two year molars, but when I feel in his mouth, I can't really tell if he is getting teeth. He has thrown many a tantrum, sometimes becoming inconsolable, and he has taken to throwing his toys when he gets mad or frustrated. We are implementing time outs which seem to work fairly well, but I'm crossing my fingers that this is just because of pesky molars trying to eek their way in. Otherwise the terrible twos (which most people say are really the terrible threes) are going to last a really long time.

Night, Night Aliens

When Elias was born, we got this wonderful quilt from my cousin's wife, Chris. It has been hanging in Elias' room from the beginning, but just recently Elias starting insisting that before bed we go up to the quilt and say, "Night, night aliens" as he points to all the extraterrestrials. I'm glad they sleep as well as Elias does.

Julia

Elias and Julia have been best buddies at school since they were in infant together. I ran into Julia's Mom the other day, and she said that ever since the new year has started, Elias gives Julia a big hug when she arrives in the morning. Julia isn't sure what to make of it, but I guess it helped her get back into the swing of school since her Mom said she threw a pretty big fit the first day back after the break. I guess Julia would have rather stayed at home. When Matt dropped Elias off that first day in January, I guess Elias kept saying, "Bye bye. Bye bye." Couldn't get rid of Matt fast enough.

Very Special Gifts

We got quite a few homemade gifts this year, and they really are the best kind. I thought I would highlight one here. Matt's Aunt, Serena, painted this picture of Elias. When we went out for his cousin Chris' wedding in California, we managed to make it to the beach one day. Elias really enjoyed it, so it is really nice to have this painting to remember our trip. What a very special gift.

Vacation...I Think Not

Even though Christmas wasn't quite what we hoped, we did manage to have a little fun. We took a snowsuited Elias sledding and to the playgrounds up in Fraser. Once we got home, we walked to the park to play nearly every day. The big, twisty, yellow slide is his favorite. Elias even walked home from the school one afternoon (about 5 blocks). On Friday night, Matt and I went out swing dancing while Dad babysat. Today, Elias and I went to the Children's Museum.

The thing is, I wouldn't really call this time off of work a vacation. It really as been quite a bit of work. Entertaining Elias is a full time job, and since the daycare has been closed, we've had to do it all ourselves. I must say, I am looking forward to heading back to work tomorrow...and I'm pretty sure Elias is looking forward to school. Matt and I can only be interesting for so long.

Flirting?

There is a fine line between flirting and creepy. I'll tell him when he's older.

Merry "Hurl" Christmas

Puzzles!

The perfect way to use the Lego bin

We had the best of intentions this Christmas, but to say it didn't really turn out would be an understatement. Elias caught a throwing up bug at school which he gave to me just before Matt's parents arrived. I gave it to Matt, Matt gave it to both his parents; even Sumo got sick. At least Dad didn't get it. We (Marjie, Paul, Don, Elias, Matt, Sumo and I) went up to the condo and spent some cold days up there for Christmas despite everyone's troubles. Elias got too many presents, but that always seems to be the way. A summary: puzzles, Legos, a homemade Lego table that will arrive in February, Thomas the Train magnetic book and lunch box, homemade pillow, homemade race cars, musical clackers, books. I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Matt and I got gifts to charity, plus I got a hand carved jewelry box. We are glad that a bunch of our family came to Denver to spend Christmas with us, even though "sick" is the main gift we gave. I have a feeling they are reconsidering for next year.