Breakthrough!

Eliot's first tooth has seen the light of day! It was discovered this morning as a small white line along his gum line. It's just visible in the photo above (one of about 20 attempts to capture it on film). If you run your finger along his gums you can feel its sharp, serrated surface. So all this grumpy, clingy, feverish, drooling, gnawing, chomping business has been for a legitimate reason after all. Congratulations to our little guy!

Bath time!

The girls at work threw me a baby shower--in some shadowy, previous life--and the question was posed, "What is Nora looking forward to most about caring for her baby?" Any or all of the offered suggestions could have made the cut, but the one I picked was bathing.

I have loved giving Eliot his baths ever since that first sponge bath back when his belly button consisted of a plastic clamp.

Graduating first to the kitchen sink, then to the bathtub, Eliot has grown to love them too. Now when I turn on the water to draw his bath his legs start pumping in anticipation and he reaches down toward the water.

Bubbles are a fascination, plastic cups and whiffle balls a delight, and that gurgling sound as the water drains, an unfathomable mystery...

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend Eliot and I drove out to the farm to find the perfect pumpkin for Eliot's first Halloween. Barthel's Fruit Farm features prominantly in my own childhood. When I was young (well, younger than I am now) my family and I would head out to Barthel's in the summer to pick fresh strawberries and snap peas. In the fall we picked apples and pumpkins. Trips to the farm were always followed with a flurry of culinary activities. Strawberry freezer jam, strawberry pie, applesauce and apple crisp were just some of the things we looked forward to.

When Eliot and I arrived at the pumpkin patch things looked a little less promising than we'd hoped. After trudging around in the mud, and picking my way around peices of smashed pumpkin, I had decided that we were going to have to return to the main barn to select a nice, clean specimen.

But just at the edge of the patch, we spotted it. Sitting upright with a nice, shiny round face and a gently curving stem (perfect for taking hold of), our pumpkin was waiting patiently for us. Eliot seemed pleased and we headed back to the barn where I sipped some warm spiced cider and Eliot supervised the apple sorting machine with rapt attention. We got some good pie apples (which we transformed into apple crisp later that evening) and counted the outing a great success.

Go Oilers!!

The Oilers' first game is on tonight, and in this household that means chips, salsa, and donut holes with a side of Spencer's running commentary.

Eliot is learning at an early age that if you want to be a part of this family you have to show a little team spirit. Eliot's got spirit in spades and the PJs and jersey help with the rest.

GO TEAM!!