The Cook Family Adventure Blog: Family time!

Grandma Weis had a great time in Washington, but unfortunately had to go home – replaced by Grandma Cook just a few days later. Elliot was again tickled pink to head to the park on a regular basis and to take the water taxi over to Alki beach, a Seattle landmark that Crystal and Mac had never been to. Elliot and Grandma Cook also went to the Ballard locks to see the boats, fishes and kayakers – quite the event!! Perhaps most notably, and perhaps in revenge for Mac’s childhood, Grandma Cook brought a Raffi CD. Elliot now LOVES “Baby Beluga”, “Down by the Bay” and “Day-O.” She learned the words to these songs, it seems, almost overnight. We now sing them, approximately, seventy bajillion times a day. Thanks Mom………

Kelly was kind enough to make it out to Seattle for the weekend and Elliot took her back to the fish ladders at Ballard locks and to the wading pool at Green Lake park, where Elliot practiced her swimming and got so cold she turned blue and was shivering uncontrollably. It was a brief visit, but wonderful to see Kelly and have her meet Wes.

We were lucky enough to travel up to Bellingham at the beginning of July to visit out friends, Lori, Richard and Tristan. Elliot got to go berry picking with Tristan again and then, after a nap, went to go explore the tidepools of Teddy Bear cove. We found crabs, barnacles, seaweed and big purple starfish – all very exciting things if you are 2 years old. Dad and Elliot waded out into the ocean where Elliot challenged dad to a splash contest – everyone got wet and cold there.

Elliot’s mind is exploding right now. Her language advanced by leaps and bounds, it seems, on a nearly daily basis. She is able to construct simple sentences and begin to have conversations about abstract ideas (fear, scared, excited). Her receptive comprehension is impressive, she can follow the story lines of books we read her in detail (she loves Lady and the Tramp) and then answer questions about them days later (“Tramp eat spaghetti”). Perhaps most hilariously, she is starting to tell us about her dreams. Listening to a toddler describe, in their limited vocabulary, what crazy dreams that had during a nap is one of the highlights of the day. She continues at Seattle co-op preschool and in addition to being a nice social time for Crystal, Elliot is learning to play and share with kids her own age and slightly older. She is pretty much potty trained at this point, other than wearing diapers for extra security at night and nap times. Her body sense continues to develop rapidly as she is doing somersaults, jumping on her trampoline and starting to use her scoot bike. She is bursting into herself and when offered help, often emphatically replies” NO….I DO IT!!!!!” We are in trouble….

Wes is a wonderful baby, we love him tons and tons and his adventures are detailed in another blog entry. We spent a lot of time traveling to Portland to look at houses this month and while we have found several houses that are close to perfect – we have yet to find the perfect house. Hope springs eternal, however, and the search continues.

Elliot is learning:

- To ride a scoot bike

- To sing songs

- To walk on her tippy toes

- To do somersaults

- To understand books and stories

Elliot likes

- SWINGS!

- Saying things are AMAZING

- Watermelon

- Dancing, running and jumping

- Painting, singing and drawing