How did our baby get to be a year and a half??
Elliot continues to grow and learn. She has seemed to turn into a talker almost overnight! One day we woke up and all of a sudden she was saying all kinds of new words and mimicking sounds. It is almost as if she woke up one day, decided "I got this" and then started to talk. She continues to be a fireball at the park and remains very confident - often going up to strangers just to say hi!
We were able to take a quick weekend up to the San Juan Islands at the end of September. We had a great weekend hanging out with our friends Lori, Richard and Tristan who is Elli's age. There was lots of hiking, playing on the shore, relaxing, and even a bike trip. Elliot loved the bike wagon and sported her new helmet.
October started off with Elliot's second backpacking trip. We took the dogs up to the North Cascades, just outside of the national park. We hiked a surprisingly difficult 4000 feet up to a fire tower on the edge of tree line. The fire tower was amazing giving us wonderful views of the snow at night and the mountains in the AMM. While another couple had staked out the actual fire tower for the night, we had a great night with the family and dogs in the tent. It was a cold and windy night in the mountains although we were all snuggled in tight in the tent. With 3 people and 2 dogs, a 4 person tent can actually get pretty warm. Elliot seemed to love running around in the wilderness and the view was outstanding.
We were then lucky enough to see the Nelsons, our friends from Portland, up here in Seattle. We shared a few delicious meals with them and our neighbors. This was followed by a surprisingly fun outing to the pumpkin farm. While selecting the optimal pumpkin for Halloween was certainly memorable, perhaps the most fun was the "corn pit" in the farm adventure section. This was essentially a 30x10x3 foot pit, lined with hay bales, of dried corn. If you are a 1.5 year old, there is very little as much fun as getting buried up to your waist in corn and then flinging it around all over. Certainly a highlight of Halloween.
Crystal hand-made costumes for each of us. We were all dinosaurs with tails, spikes and all! Elliot was, of course, the best dinosaur. While we could not trick-or-treat on Halloween, we did visit the zoo for the Green Lake Zoo Halloween celebration. Each animal area had a separate sponsor with healthy trick-or-treat snacks (yogurt, clif bars etc). Elli even got to spin the big kid wheel, which luckily landed on the color yellow, she was then asked if she knew any yellow fruits or vegetables. Crystal had a very proud moment when Elliot was able to say "nanna" for banana and win herself a string cheese.
Elliot and Crystal next traveled home to Wisconsin to see the family. It was a great fall weekend in Wisconsin with clear skies and dry weather. The flight was long with just Elli and Crystal but it was so great to see family. There was even cousin AJ and Shaun's baby shower and a hay wagon ride on the Weis farm.
This was followed by Boni Weis traveling out to Oregon to visit with the family (really she wanted to see Elliot, Crystal and I happened to be here). Grandma Weis and Elliot had fun learning, playing and adventuring in Seattle. Perhaps the highlight of the visit was a trip to Pike Place Market where the two adventurous ladies got to watch the fish merchants and try all kinds of delicious snacks while Crystal and Mac got an afternoon to take an underground tour of Seattle.
Elliot continues to show her independence and very strong personality. She is wanting to do things on her own and loves practicing putting on her shoes. It is great to watch her be able to follow 2-3 step instructions and show pride in accomplishing them. She is all about the hugs and kisses for adults and dogs alike! Unfortunately one of her new past times is chasing our dog cooper...we will have to work on this.
Things Elliot likes:
- Dogs!
- Books! Books! Books!
- Chasing Cooper around with her push-toys
- Dancing! Back and forth, circles.
- Putting things into boxes
- Taking them right back out again
Things Elliot isn't a fan of:
- Brushing her teeth
- Anything that involves sitting quietly for extended periods of time
- Spills (she goes immediately to get a towel and clean it up)
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| Elliot loved the bike trailer! |
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| Dog hugs |
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| Ferry ride to San Juans |
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| Elli and her friend Tristan reading some books |
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| Biking around Lopez Island |
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| Exploring shells |
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| Hanging out on the ferry |
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| Reading books on the deck on Lopez Island |
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| Trying out our new boots. Who needs clothes |
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| Adventure baby! Camping at the fire lookout |
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| Taking in the view |
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| I don't think it gets any cuter. |
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| Elli got to choose one pumpkin in the patch. She chose the worlds smallest pumpkin and insisted on using the HUGE trolley! |
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| Dad, I have my pumpkin, stop trying to give me bigger ones. |
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| Gotta love rain gear! |
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| Pumpkin farm with the Nelsons. |
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| Chair or dog? |
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| Cousins! |
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| Vintage Weis family tractor has been passed down generations! |
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| Hay ride on the Weis family farm. |
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| Every Weis kid gets to drive the tractor! |
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| Grandma Weis! |
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| Don't worry, just a cinnamon stick. |
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Sleepy family!
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