BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER.

Not a perfect Christmas, just the best one. Ever.

Reasons why today wasn't perfect:

1. Two days ago I realized that my yearly stress induced cold sore was taking hold on my lower lip. For whatever reason, this eye (and literally, lip) sore has appeared the previous three Decembers. It hurts, and it is unsightly. My dear sweet husband claims he doesn't notice it, but whenever I visualize it, all I can see is the legend of the larvae breast. And please, if you don't know what I'm talking about, and you are at all squeamish or prone to nightmares, do not click that link. It's awful. And it's fake. And it's really awful. But it is basically what I picture my face to look like right now. And it's exactly what you don't want captured in pictures that will be viewed for years to come.
   
2. We forgot to leave cookies out for Santa. So Justin and I ate them for breakfast.
3. Eliot woke up in the middle of the night for a 10 minute cuddle. I asked him this morning if he heard Santa, and he told me, "Yep". This should maybe be added to why today was the Best. Christmas. Ever.
4. Eliot got his first bonafide sweets-induced tummy ache. And it was my fault. I was making cookies at 9:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve and he asked for some chocolate chips. I figured, what the hell, it's Christmas! and gave him about 10 or so and a couple of refills. I even let him eat them in the living room at the coffee table while he watched Muzzy. Cut to about 15 minutes later when he walks in the kitchen and says, "Tummy huhts. No moh eat" and handed me his unfinished chips. I confirmed that it was indeed the chocolate and he spent the next twenty minutes lying on the couch with Blue and watching Elmo. I think we both learned a valuable lesson.
   
5. Two super smooshy, stinky, soak-the-diaper-in-the-toilet poops. When the second one was happening I asked Eliot, "Are you pooping?" and he responded, "No, fahtin'." It was a Christmas lie.
   
6. We wish ALL of our family could be with us for the holidays, but it's just not possible. So to our family in Pennsylvania, we missed you and we'll see you soon.
   

And now why this was the Best. Christmas. Ever:

1. Eliot slept until 7:45. Enough said.
2. He was so excited about Santa. And snowmen. And somewhat strangely, nutcrackers. He's into the holiday. And not so much for the presents. He was just really into the whole thing; he wanted us to sing Christmas songs and read books about Rudolph. He would squeak 'Santa!' any time he saw the jolly fat man in a store, or on a Coke can, or in a random photo up at the coffeeshop. He had the spirit.
   
3. During and after the Opening of the Gifts, Eliot repeatedly gave random hugs and kisses. When Justin put him into the car to go to my Grandparents, he kept saying, "Happy. Happy. Happy." And there were no tantrums, something with which Eliot has been experimenting.
4. Justin did really really great on his choice of gifts for me. And the fact that we were even able to exchange gifts, something we haven't done for a couple of years due to our need to conserve. And we even managed to have some rare and wonderful couple time during Eliot's nap. Best. X-mas. Ever.
   
5. My diet today consisted primarily of chocolate, fresh bread, and cheese and cheese foods. Who could ask for more?
6. Eliot has very generous grandparents. It made for a very lovely and copius display beneath our mini tree.
7. Most of all, I was with people I love more than anything on earth, hearing their voices and listening to their laughs. I laughed at corny jokes and snuggled with my cousin's baby. Good times.
   

And finally, for the piece de resistance. I decided about 3 or so weeks ago that I wanted to build a play kitchen for Eliot for Christmas. Small problem: I have very little experience in the realm of power tools and building and such. Justin, while handy, was swamped with other projects, and suggested we just buy one. I was determined though, and I employed the help of my sister's girlfriend Karissa who is a wonder with the circular saw and the drill. And she listened. And made suggestions, and this is what we came up with (cue angels):

Please ignore my wonky picture taking style. Apparently I can't take a level photo.

And probably the real source of the larvae lip was all my worry that we would have put in all this work, and it would look like shit and possibly be a safety hazard, what with all the nails and screws and broken wood hanging about. But it didn't. And it was worth it, even the $20 spent on Abreva. Even though it took him nearly two hours to notice its hugeness, and even with all the excited prodding from his parents (don't you want to look under the sheet? What do you think Santa left under that sheet? Shall we have a look?) all while he instead chose to play with every single one of his gifts before getting to the kitchen.


But he loves it!

Yes, that is Blue in his mouth. But it is Christmas! Don't be such a Scrooge.

We topped off the day by hanging out with my family, and it was great to have both my sisters in town, though we missed Karissa who was in Denver with her family. Eliot was wound up on chocolate milk and white bread and drunk on my grandparent's 60 years-0-Santa collection. And when we got home, we read a new book, sang Santa Came to Town (a past tense version of Santa's Coming to Town) and laid him down for a long winter's nap.

BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!

Argh Matey

It's possible that I was more excited for Halloween than Eliot. Especially since he didn't even know it existed before Friday morning.

After much deliberation and many visits to pre-made costume-hawking web sites, it was decided that Eliot would dress as a pirate as 1. I could fashion his costume using items found around the house and 2. it involved a drawn on mustache, which basically sealed the deal. I knit his eye patch and found an old bandanna to complete the headgear. The belt was Justin's wrapped twice around Eliot's baby-slim waist. Though it helped to make the whole ensemble come together it did not last long due to it repeatedly falling around his ankles. He was surprisingly accommodating when it came to dressing him. The only hesitation came with the drawing of the eyeliner pencil facial hair, which explains why it's not exactly precise. But it didn't really matter, because look how mother-loving cute he is!

"Who me? I don't even know what rum is."

Once Justin got home from work we headed to my grandparent's house for chili and trick-or-treating. Eliot was more concerned about getting a much coveted ice cream cone than anything else. He ate dinner and then we hit the pavement. He isn't really familiar with candy, so it was more a concept than a reality, though he did know that he wanted some and when he got some (in his pumpkin bucket) he knew he really wanted some more. I think he understood that there was some sort of food stuff inside the packaging, but I don't know if he was aware of how delicious and hyperactivity inducing its ingredients were.

We knocked on about 10 doors and I'd ask Eliot "What does a Pirate say?" and he's softly reply "Argh." and then get his candy and say "thank you." in an equally tiny voice. He did really great though. In St. Louis, the tradition is that you have to tell a joke or sing a song or do a little dance before you get your candy. I think it might be dying out a bit, but I'm all about it. My grandparents are still sticklers for it, they even invite the kids into their house and chat them up a bit, which was how every house was when I was a kid.

When we got back to my grandparent's house, Eliot was treated to about 7 M&M's, and we could almost see the sugar energy radiating off of him. He stood in front of Justin, literally vibrating all over as he chewed each one, totally intoxicated with the wonder of candy-coated chocolate goodness. Afterward, Eliot took a bath and got into his pajamas; way past bedtime as expected. We hoped he might fall asleep in the car on the way home, but he chatted the entire ride; about candy, argh-ing, cones, Pop-pop, and the zoo. I was a little concerned that he was going to be too buzzed to sleep, but nothing but silence came from the monitor after we tucked him in.

Justin and I used to go to this Halloween party every year that lasted until 4am. We actually won costume contests. We'd always complain that we didn't want to dress up and then go all-out at the last minute. Those were super fun times. Of course, things changed, Eliot came into our lives, and those days are probably staying in the past. But watching Eliot enjoy and revel in something that was once the highlight of the year next to Christmas is way better. Way, way better.

Pumpkin Patch

We trekked over to Ekert's in Belleville on Saturday for the 2nd Annual Butter Family Pumpkin Pickin'. While it's more of a 'choosing' than a 'picking' it's still worth the drive.

Eliot enjoyed the tractor ride out to the patch and went right to work inspecting all the pumpkins. He was really disturbed, however, by pumpkins that had been smooshed, smashed, or otherwise damaged. Every time we passed a broken, rotting pumpkin corpse he'd make this new fake crying sound to indicate his worry and sadness over the tragedy. Unfortunately, there had apparently been a pumpkin battle earlier in the morning, because the field was littered with casualties, so we spent a lot of time reassuring him that those pumpkins would be returned to the earth from whence they came.

Avert your eyes from this most gruesome scene!

In addition to his fear of (or concern for?) broken pumpkins, Eliot was also very disturbed by a Halloween witch doll on a broom in the gift shop. He kept pointing to it and saying, "Doll...broom" and then doing that strange fake crying sound. I will try and capture it on audio for your listening pleasure. He is still talking about that damned doll. We keep reassuring him that the doll is a) not harmful b) lives in another state and therefore cannot find us and c) Mommy and Daddy will protect him from her by melting her with a pail of water if need be. There is currently a ban on the word doll as it only sends him into faux hysterics (again with the fake scared noise).

The main reason we drive across state lines to buy a pumpkin we could easily get in the grocery store is to take the requisite child atop a big orange squash photo, as evidenced here:

Eliot - Age 19 months

And what a difference a year makes:

Eliot - Age 7 months

It's incredible how much he has changed in just one year. For example, he's stopped dressing so punk and started favoring a much preppier look. I mean Crocs? Really? Last year he was all, "Shoes are just trappings of the corporate machine, I'm going in my socks!" and "Anarchy!" I'm sure I could doctor that sweater up with some iron ons and a couple of giant safety pins and he'd be good to go. If only he'd let me.

Now I just have to come up with a costume (and yes, the punk thing did just occur to me, but Justin wasn't on board, so that threw that out the window). Something that layers or can easily have the arms cut off as St. Louis has been sort of sweltering for October recently. It was in the mid-80s this weekend. It's really dampening my Halloween spirit. Last year, he was a hot dog (or veggie dog, depending on what you eat) and he pretty much lost half his body weight via his sweat glands as he was wrapped in thick fleece during a similar heat wave. So, any costume suggestions (and links to how-to make or buy) are appreciated!

Baby Fever - Cured

Little did we realize having a new 'baby' in the house would be so realistic. Much to Justin's chagrin, Lola still has Eliot's rapt attention. Last night, E requested that she sit in the Bumbo and 'eat' dinner with him, and she even joined him in the bathtub for a pre-bedtime swim.

Justin was really hesitant to let Lola sleep in E's bed. He's still really creeped out by her and her presence seems to be putting him in something of a mood. He denied that he's scared of her. I'm not completely convinced. But Eliot was very insistent that Lola be put in his bed, and I complied, because I'm a wuss and just wanted my precious little baby child to GO TO SLEEP.

Around midnight, I heard him complaining a bit, and I really hoped he would just curl up and settle back to sleep. No. I went in and tried to get him to lie back down. No. After a few more attempts coupled with an increase in his volume, I pulled him out of his crib and into our bed. He seemed to relax, I thought he was asleep, lying there on my chest like a newborn. As soon as I put him in his own bed the screaming returned, and he requested DADA! which was unusual, but completely welcome. Dada settled him down - twice, and after a quick pop in by me, he was quiet at around 1:30. A.M. In the morning.

I was hopeful that Eliot would sleep until at least 6. No again. 5 a.m. He was ready to go, and as soon as I got him out of bed he said, "Lola". Sigh.

Justin is convinced that Lola was the culprit, because she is big and hard and not cuddly and soft like the doll he wishes Eliot would love. Possibly her old lady fragrance woke him. Or maybe she comes alive and jumps on the mattress demanding cookies. Who knows. But she's in our life now and we just have to learn to love her. And keep hope alive that he will forget all about her.

That's not going to happen, is it?

This is what 5:00 a.m. looks like, for those of you who slept through it.

Chocolate Coated Family

Easter was a pretty low-key affair for the Butter family. We sort of slept in (read: took a nap after Eliot went down for his first (and only) nap of the day) and I'm fairly sure I ate Dark Chocolate M&Ms for breakfast. Or Reese's cups. Or both. I definitely had a stomachache before lunch, which didn't stop me from eating non-stop ALL DAY LONG.

The Easter Bunny did show up, and brought E some relatively inoffensive gifts. He included some Cadbury Cream Eggs for Justin, since he's far from home and all.

The Lord giveth....

Seriously, this is all for me?

My mom gave Eliot a duck we promptly dubbed "Quackers" and my sister Laura and her girlfriend Karissa gave him a bountiful basket as well. And my grandparents gave him an Easter Rhino. Don't you remember that part in the resurrection story? All in all, he ended up with SEVEN stuffed animals. And he proved to each one that he had enough love to go around by giving each a squeeze and a baby-style open mouth kiss. Egg-tastic!

December + Christmas II

Daddy's birthday (with Riley) and Eliot's first try of ice cream cake. Just a taste!
Oh wait, this is the last known photo of my cell phone. Once again, hmmm.
The plane ride home. He was a prince.

December + Christmas I

Christmas in Pennsylvania with Justin's family.
Princess Eliot opening his/her presents on x-mas eve. I'm sure he will appreciate this photo later.
Merry Christmas, jerkfaces. A very sick E in his Christmas rocker, courtesy of Na.
First x-mas present. Note the look of extreme joy on his face.
A very cute, feverish, and very drugged Eliot at his Great Grandma's on Christmas afternoon.

Eliot's nose started dripping on the airplane on the way to PA, and from there on, it was snot city. A couple of days later, he developed a rash, and we were told he had Roseola, a super contagious, but usually harmless virus. As if having a super cold were not enough misery for one little person, E was working on cutting his top two teeth (for Christmas!). The left one actually broke through one night, but sadly retreated. The trip was, for the most part, miserable, except for the love and company of Justin's family. We were supposed to go to Chicago afterward to attend our friends Anna and Chris's wedding, but were unable due to Eliot's illness. I was (and am!) really sad that we missed it. I'm sure it was beautiful and I probably would have needed an entire box of tissues. Happy wedding Anna and Chris!

December - Christmas

Meet your new friend TenderHeart bear; he will be getting up with you at 3am from now on.
This is the last known photograph of my cell phone before it mysteriously stopped working. Hmmm.
Here's a pre-Christmas snuggle pic of a mildly sick Eliot with a very excited cousin Riley.

October

How to snuggle with a hot dog:
This face cracks Justin up every time.
Sweaty Hot Dog.
First cold. Note the snot snake hanging out on the upper lip.
When we were last together, dear readers, I had posted a Halloween picture of E. with promises of more. While I'm sure after Christmas, none of you took me seriously anymore, I'm finally living up to my word. To recap, E had a candy-less holiday, we went to his great grandparents for chili and trick-or-treaters and he stayed up way past his bedtime. It was unseasonably warm, so he sweat his diaper off the entire evening (see sweaty hot dog picture).

He also had his first cold in October, which was pretty mild compared to what he got at Christmas (see 'December' - coming soon). It was mostly a lot of snotty sneezes and some late night crying. I caught his cold and was about 10 times more affected; while I was hacking up mutant loogies and whining about how tired I was, he was happily babbling in a puddle of his own nose juice.

Pumpkin Pickin'!

Even though Eliot is only one day shy of eight months, I really wanted to take him to a pumpkin patch. Some of my own best childhood memories are of my whole family, grandparents and aunts, uncles, and cousins included, heading out to Rombach's in Chesterfield for a day of pumpkin picking fun. We'd spend the day in the patch, the maize maze, and in the hay bale fort.

Our own visit was not that activity-packed, but we did get to ride a tractor-pulled wagon out to the actual pumpkin patch at Eckert's in Belleville. (Quick note - there's a pumpkin patch - the place where the pumpkins actually grow, and then there's a pumpkin stand, a place where the pumpkins have been transported and arranged on hay bales for sale. The latter is not an acceptable alternative.) The trip was mostly for my own nostalgic purposes, and in order to get a picture like the one above for E's baby book.