Home Sweet, HOT, Home

We are back from our summer adventures and boy is it hot in California!  (It's in the 100s!)  I'm happy to report that Elliott slept through all of our plane rides.  (Unfortunately there were several other babies that cried the entire way...I felt bad for their parents who couldn't console them.)

Throughout our travels Elliott was probably held by at least a 100 people, (He should have a good immune system now!), bathed by almost everyone of our friends and family, and covered in hugs and kisses.  He is now almost 3 months and has been nicknamed smiley, because he smiles all the time...he even stopped mid-cry to smile, then continues to cry!

It's hard to recall every moment and event this summer, so here are a few of our favorite pics to highlight our travels.

With Christ and Jeff in Hollywood

Erin's parents and Grandparents

Ava Courtney...Elliott's first kiss on the lips!

Meeting cousin Ava Morgester...only 6 months apart

Cuddles with Amanda

Beach time with Daddy

Summer Craziness

Well, this will be the last post for at least another month.  We are starting our summer of craziness! 

Week 1- Reunion at Buckhorn
Week 2- Reunion, visit from KC friends, Dr appts, Baby Blessing, Spec
Week 3- SPECTACULAR
Week 4- Week of fun in KC for Elliott and I...classes for Kyle

It should be interesting to see how Elliott does with lots of new people and on the airplane.  We are just praying he isn't "The Crying Baby" on the airplane...you know the one that everyone turns to look at. I'm sure he will do great...even though Kyle is skeptical.  To be continued in August... 

Strawberry Picking!

One of the perks about living in California is all of the fresh produce!  Some of our friends live by a "you pick" farm that has tens and tens of fresh produce you can pick.  They invited us to go strawberry picking, which was an offer we couldn't refuse!  The strawberries were delicious and we found ourselves eating a strawberry for every one we put in our bucket.  (Definitely better than grocery store strawberries!)  It was SO hot...in the 90s, but a lot of fun.  After we picked strawberries we picked a random assortment of fresh veggies to take home for dinner.  :) We didn't get any pictures of the strawberry fields because we were more focused on picking and eating them! 

Palm Springs/Meeting Grandma Snethen

Kyle's camping season has officially started.  We had a great 5 weeks together and I'm sad he has to go back to work.  I was definitely getting used to having him around all of the time.  Not only does he change dirty diapers, but he puts Elliott to sleep in half the time it takes me.  I think Kyle is looking forward to a break from getting his clothes dirty with pee, poop and spit-up.  Yes, Kyle has been pooped on several times...and had pee shoot in his face!  (On one poop occasion when Kyle was changing Elliott's diaper he pooped and it shot off the changing table, onto Kyle's shirt and hit the carpet.  We both think he has a promising future ahead of him!)

My mom came to visit Elliott for a week during Kyle's first camp.  It was definitely love at first sight!  We had a great week together, even though it was 100+ degrees the entire time we were there!  Elliott had his first swim in the pool at night when it was cooler.  Not sure he liked it very much, but he has plenty of time to get used to swimming.  It was nice having my mom around to hang out with.  I even got some "me" time, which is pretty amazing!  Elliott enjoyed snuggling with Grandma...that is after I demonstrated the bouncing motion he likes.  Kyle joined us our last 2 days in Palm Springs, which was nice to be together.

Grandma and Grandpa Logan

Kyle's parents came to meet Elliott this past week.  It was so nice having two extra pairs of hands to help with household chores and take care of Elliott.  Kyle captured quite a few pictures of Elliott sleeping with Grandpa.  Kyle decided that Grandpa is not allowed to wear cologne because Elliott smells like Grandpa every time he holds him! We had a great few days together, but are glad to have things back to normal.

In Love...

We are definitely in love with this little bundle of joy!  From his tiny feet to his little nose, we are in love!  We have nick-named Elliott "Mittens" as he loves his hands.  (He came out with long nails, so we are keeping his hands covered so he doesn't scratch his face.)  Most times his hands are on either side of his head like the picture below. 

I've been a bit surprised at how exhausting being a new mom really is.  There are many days Kyle has to remind me to eat as all I think about is sleeping and feeding Elliott.  My body is definitely on what feels like a slow recovery.  Elliott is eating every 1-2 hours a day...which means I am breast feeding a lot!  We are blessed with a happy baby.  He only cries when he has gas, or is hungry and has already started to smile.

Meeting Relatives

My aunt Bea and uncle Ruben came to town last weekend on a visit from Russia.  It's been a year since we've seen them, so it was nice catching up.  Elliott also got to meet his great Tia Laura and cousin Lenny.  The best part of the visit was eating great Mexican food!  Always a party with the relatives!