My Little Helper

Delaney loves to help me--with everything. She helps me unload the dishwasher, fold and put laundry away, throw away dirty diapers, open up the mail..... The list is endless. But her favorite thing to help me with is feeding Elliot--she loves to help give him a bottle, put on his little bib (she insists on wearing one too-but only when Elliot is eating-she won't wear a bib when she eats!), stir his food, give him spoonfulls, and even wipe his little face. I can't even feed them both at the same time, because Laney will drop her food in a second to help feed Elliot.

SOLD!

This little gold 1997 Saturn with 147k+ miles, no power nothin' and an iffy air conditioner (NOT a good thing in Las Vegas) is mine no more. It's been a great car. In August 2001, my dad and I drove out to Colorado with all of my belongings in this little trunk, and I've never looked back. I drove the car out to the California high desert in January 2003 and then over the Cajon Pass and into the smoggy Inland Empire in September 2003. I kept my college diploma in the trunk until October 2004-when a couple of misguided 14 year old boys stole the car, living out of it for a few days, until they were pulled over for blowing through a stop sign. The kids had stolen everything that could possibly have any value (sweatshirts, change, cds...), but left my diploma untouched. I figured that this was a sign, and decided to put my diploma somewhere 'safe', and I haven't seen it since! In October 2005, Dave hitched the car to the U-Haul truck and we headed to Vegas.

I loved this trusty little car-it was so reliable and I never had to worry about a dent, scratch or spill. It got me where I needed to go. So-now we're onto bigger (but probably can't find a better) car!

For the record, this little car sat outside of our dead end street for less than 24 hours with a 'For Sale' sign before we had an offer. Someone obviously could see what a great little car it is!

Six Months!

Today Elliot is six months old! He loves to play every baby game imaginable and is a shameless flirt. He's such a sweetie and we can't imagine our family without him. He makes our lives so wonderful.

Elliot had a well baby visit with Dr. Downey who is our absolute, most favorite doctor ever. Dave and I would love to be patients of Dr. Downey-if only he accepted patients over the age of 12..... Elliot is 14 pounds 11 ounces and is 25 1/2 inches long. We're very impressed that he remains on the growth chart.

What A Day......

I knew that today would be a long day. Dave needed 'my' car, so we were stuck at home all day and it was over 105 degrees outside, so the park was out of the question. My friend Jodi and her twins came over to play this morning-and then her little boy went home, took a nap and woke up with pink eye and a double ear infection! Our kids are always spreading germs back and forth. Speaking of germs, Elliot had a really, really upset belly today (use your imagination).

At lunchtime, Delaney wanted some of my salad, so I poured some of it into a little red bowl for her. While I was walking Elliot, unloading the dishwasher, and tring to eat a bite or two, Laney decided that her bowl would make a good hat and dumped the salad on her head. I turned around just in time to see the olive oil and vinegar run down her head. I thought briefly about giving her a bath but was so busy with Elliot that I quickly forgot about it. Laney was very pleased with herself and walked around the rest of the day like a movie star, not wanting to mess up her new hairstyle!

Morning At The Park

We love the parks in Las Vegas, which has been wonderful because we spend A LOT of time at the parks. I really don't know what I would do with Delaney and Elliot most days if we didn't head to a park, so Delaney can run around and play and I can talk with some adults! We usually go to the parks right around our neighborhood, but this morning we went to Centennial Hills, which has a great sprinkler area for the little ones.

Delaney loving the water

Delaney crawling through tunnels.

Elliot enjoying the shade (and Mr. Frog-of course).

Buddies

Lately Delaney insists that Elliot sit right next to her when she eats. She keeps him
entertained by shaking her drink (which for some reason Elliot finds absolutely hilarious!) and screeching. Elliot will just laugh and laugh at her and she loves being the entertainer. They totally have their own little jokes and language.

Mother's Day

I LOVE Mother's Day. I like it soooo much more than my birthday (which is pretty irrelevant) and even more than Christmas. I think that I like Mother's Day more than my birthday and Christmas and Easter combined!

And today was a wonderful Mother's Day-complete with flowers, cupcakes and a pedicure. We went over to a friends' house for a BBQ, which was really nice--except for when Delaney spotted her friend's little red car (which looks a lot like her own little red car) and didn't want to share (this is a bit of an understatement). Delaney is a super feisty and strong willed little girl, and there's no changing her mind. So-Grandma Mary saved the day, keeping the peace, and entertaining Delaney and her little friend (far, far away from the coveted red car!).

Scraped Knees

Delaney is officially a big girl-she has her first scraped knees from playing at the park! She's very proud to show everyone her 'boos' and tries to kiss her little knees herself. She wants to check out everyone's knees for boo-boos-even her dollies' and stuffed animals' knees.

Bath Time

Delaney and Elliot have just recently started to take baths together, and it's adorable. Delaney fills up Elliot's little bathtub with cups and bowls of water, and then 'helps' me wash Elliot. Elliot loves every second, never taking his eyes off of busy Delaney, laughing, kicking and splashing. It's one of my favorite times of the day.

Elliot's First Supper

Not every nearly 6 month old boy is so lucky as to have his 'big' sister repeatedly (and not-so-gently) shove gruelly rice cereal down his throat! Elliot is a wonderful sport!

Compromise

Delaney loves, loves, loves to play with her dollies and stuffed animals. She puts them in Elliot's swing, bouncer chair and car seat. She insists that they wear diapers, binkies and socks. She rocks them, feeds them and burps them . Delaney often wants me to move Elliot from wherever he's sitting to make room for her baby. And-sometimes she'll compromise, and even allow Elliot to sit there too!

Pigtails

Babysitting

While Dave and I went from rental home to rental home to rental home in Carson City, Delaney and Elliot had a fun day with Gramps and Grandma Mary, playing at the park and checking out the critters at Petsmart.

At the end of the day, Dave and I found a cute little house close to town with a wonderful backyard-lots of big trees and even grass!

Lake Mead Marina

Gramps and Grandma Mary came into town, and Delaney loves every bit of the extra attention! Dave took the day off from work and we headed to the Lake Mead Marina to feed buttery popcorn (I know-so healthy!) to the fish and stray duck or two. Delaney had a wonderful time and went through three big bags of popcorn in no time at all. Gramps took the great pics below!

Grandma Mary and Elliot enjoy the sunshine.

A large number of scary fish and the stray duck.

Gramps and Delaney toss popcorn to the fish.