A Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving is such a wonderfully relaxing holiday. Eliot supervised all of the preparations and kept busy sorting through his box of "tools" at Grandpa and Noni's.

That weekend Spencer and I took Eliot down to Indiana to attend a wedding reception for our friend Bryn Grisham (neé Goates) and her new husband Zac. Spencer and I were great friends with Bryn in Madison. Attending French conversation group with Bryn in the back room of a little coffee shop on State Street is one of my favorite Madison memories. We are so happy for her and Zac and seeing them was well worth the trip.

It was also good practice for next spring when Eliot and I plan on driving down to South Bend, IN on the weekends to visit Daddy who will be installed at Notre Dame as a visiting scholar.

Happy Halloween!

Eliot's first Halloween was a blast. Our farm pumpkin made a nice Jack o' Lantern with one lower right tooth (just like Mr. Eliot--though today we found tooth #2). Eliot and I dressed up (though not exactly on Halloween). They say there's always some truth to a joke. Perhaps the same applies for costumes, 'cause you know I'd take a bullet for this boy.

We've been enjoying the Wisconsin fall. There have been some really beautiful days. The leaves are pretty much all on the ground now, but last week the whole city was a blaze of color. We've taken some nice walks and Eliot has loved watching the maple leaves outside his window at Grandpa and Noni's.

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!!

A Weekend Visit

This past weekend we were all treated to a visit from Spencer's dad, and brother Hugo. We were sad that Diane couldn't join them but work wouldn't let her get away (I can certainly sympathize). It was a whirlwind visit that included a Brewers game, a trip to Madison and the purchase of a car. Though Eliot didn't make it to the baseball game, or to Madison, he did help pick out our new vehicle and revelled in all the attention from Grandpa and Uncle Hugo.

Eliot got in some wrestling with Uncle Hugo but he still has a lot to learn (i.e. it's unsportsmanlike to take hold of your opponent's face).

Grandpa and Uncle Hugo also helped out with the bedtime routine, which included a healthy helping of green bean puree and rice cereal followed by a reading of 'Goodnight Moon'.

Like any visit with family, it was over too soon and left us looking forward to December.