My baby is ONE year old already! He turned one on May 1, 2009.
This first year always flies by, especially with baby #6! It seems to have gone super fast with him. I can remember so clearly everything about his pregnancy, labor and birth! My "little" 10 1/2 lb newborn was the most precious thing...and he still is. Elliot just loves his Mama. He loves me maybe a little too much. If I am in the room, he needs to be with me, in my arms, playing with me on the floor, snuggling or nursing, and will scream and fight anyone who prevents him from getting to me. Mama does not get much of a break from him, as he is quite attached, and really does not prefer ever going to anyone else (unless I am not at home...then he'll go to Dad quite fine).
Some words that he says are: "Mama", "Baa" (Ball), "Dada", "Gggg" (Jeremy), "Dddd" (dog) and "Kssss" (kiss). He loves to play with balls, go on swings at the park, hang out in my Snuggly, go on walks with Mom and the beagles and play/rough-house with his brothers. His sisters love to sing to him and sometimes they will sit and play the piano with him, which is very cute. He also loves all the dogs and hangs on them, kisses them and snuggles with Fatsy, the best beagle-nurse ever!! She still hangs out with him all the time, protecting him from harm, although Elliot is so big and strong, sometimes I worry that he will hurt Fatsy with the way he hangs on her, and grabs her. But, Fatsy does not seem to mind and lets him grab her, without running away (like many of the other dogs do!). Elliot is not walking yet, but he will hold on to the furniture and cruise around very fast. He can crawl super quick and get all around the house in a matter of seconds. We've had to block the stairs, as he can scale the stairs very quickly too. One thing that drives me nuts is that he will try and get into the dog's big water bowl (many times a day!), so as soon as I hear him scooting towards the kitchen, I have to pick up the water bowl right away, or else he is soaking wet and loving it. Sometimes we forget to put the bowl back down for hours. The poor dogs have had a few months of being extra thirsty at times I think.
People keep asking me how much he weighs. I do not have the exact measurements in ounces, but we've weighed him on our scale at home and he weighs approximately 27 lbs, give or take a few ounces. I still need to get his height as well. Yep, he continues to be a big boy.
We had a birthday party for Elliot last Saturday with the extended family...about 35 people in all. Actually the party was a triple celebration. Kateri turned 6 yrs old on April 30, Elliot turned one yr old on May 1st and Oliver had his First Communion on May 2nd. So, how's that for a lot going on at once! It's always busy at the Traben household.
We had a little party for Kateri's 6th bday on April 28th at Rescue Village, which is an animal shelter (for dogs, cats and some farm animals) near our home. It was very nice and the kids got to tour the place, play with some pooches and learn about animal rescue! Kateri invited 10 of her friends from our homeschool co-op. All the girls are very close in age (their bdays range from November- May...all turning 6!), all except for Luanna and Augustine who are both 4 1/2 (the 2 little ones in the front left and right). And, of course, Kateri is the small little fairy-creature in the center.
Kateri has been asking me for an American Girl doll for about a year now. She had decided on Julie, the 1974 hippie girl, which I thought was pretty cool, since that is the era I was born in!
Here is Kateri with the triple celebration bday/Communion cake on May 2nd.
