Eight months

Hi there! Elliott here. I'm a big EIGHT MONTHS OLD now, so I can write my own blog posts. I don't need mom to do it anymore. She's letting me type as long as I don't drool on the keyboard.

It's not like she has time to write a blog post anyway, with the way I'm keeping her busy! She gets home from work about 15 minutes after when I'd REALLY like her home, so as soon as she's home, I insist she hold me and feed me non-stop ( I miss her a lot). She loves it, though. Sometimes she makes me stay on the floor while she works in the kitchen. I can't have her doing all the chores, though, so I try to help. I think she appreciates it.

The rest of my day is pretty awesome. I spend the morning riding in the car with daddy, playing, and napping. I practice talking, too, and say "mmmmm" and "eh eh" and "dadada dadaad" pretty much all day. Dad's pretty excited about that. Also, a couple of weeks ago, we started regularly having something called "lunch", where I get yummy food in the middle of the day. Anytime I see mom or dad eating now, I demand to try some. I mean, it's only fair. I'm a growing boy.

Right now, my favorite thing to do during playtime goes like this: Crawl crawl crawl. Pull up on the nearest thing taller than me. Look around. Hit it a couple times. Plop down. Crawl crawl crawl. Repeat. Sometimes I bang blocks on the table or play in big brother Casey's crate. It makes lots of noise. I'm really good at making lots of noise. I'll be cruising soon- you just wait.

Me and dad, we have another project we're working on: putting new siding on the house. He climbs ladders, hammers a lot, and carries lots of stuff. Mostly, I watch. But, sometimes he lets me help! I like the green color mom and dad chose.

Here, I'm climbing the ladder.

Here, I'm eating the hammer. Yum.

Last month, I also got to meet lots of new people, most of who are related to me somehow. We went to a big park and got together for my second family reunion. I met a second cousin who was just my size! We hung out, and she shared her toys. We were supposed to go swimming, but then it got stormy. I was brave through the thunder! Mostly, I slept. Later in the month, I met more nice people at my aunt's in-laws' house. I'm not really sure of the official relation they are to me, but I still really liked them.

The only downside to this month was all these teeth that are making my mouth hurt. I thought the two teeth I have on the bottom were enough, why do I need more? I've got one more on the top now, and am working on a couple more. See?

Well, that's all this eight month old has to say. I'll let mom have the laptop back now. Hope to talk to you soon!
Love,
Elliott Casper

Attached

Now that Elliott's mobile- and fast- if I stand in the same place more than 15 seconds, he is pulling up on my pants, trying to climb my leg to get to me. Josh says that he doesn't do this to him during the day, just to me in the evenings. I'm sure it has something to do with an insecurity I've created by being gone at work all day, or something [insert mommy guilt here]. More likely, he wants to be firmly attached to me because I'm still his primary food source.

But, I'll let you in on a secret: I don't really actually mind the clinginess. I mean, sometimes I can't pick him up right.now.this.minute. because the dishes need to be done, or I've got a full laundry basket in my hands, or I have to, you know, eat. But the rest of the time? I kinda like him on my hip. Sure, it makes things around the house get done slower, or get put off until he's asleep, but I try to remember: Babies don't keep.

Lucky

This is getting ridiculous.

I've been lucky lately. I mean, I feel like I've always been lucky (Have you seen my husband and kid? Proof, right there.), but lately, it's been more obvious. Like, I keep winning things. Here's a list from the last 10 months or so:

- Dinner at a fancy restaurant and IMAX tickets in October from @IMAXIndy
- Tickets to Prairie Home Companion in Cincinatti from @paulapoundstone
- Gift certificate for camping and a local restaurant from 8greattowns.com
- Conner Prairie tickets from 8greattowns.com
- A really nice stroller from @Safety_1st
- A camera strap cover from Baby Makin' Machine
- Handmade notecards from Adventures in Babywearing
- Indianapolis Indians tickets from In Good Cents
- State fair food from Indiana Family of Farmers
- Symphony on the Prairie tickets from 8greattowns.com
- Bowling games from @Pinheadsbowling
- Restaurant gift certificate from @DevourDowntown
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It's been a lucky week! Edited to add: - Shutterfly photo book from Once A Month Mom
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It's not like I enter tons and tons of contests all day long! These are mostly around Indianapolis, from local companies or organizations. I've loved having the chance to explore local events with these opportunities- we've had a lot of fun, and gotten to do date nights we wouldn't have otherwise. But, now? I check the calendar before entering any contest, because that "off-chance" I might win doesn't seem so "off" anymore!

Seriously, though, I'm thankful for all these bloggers, twitterers and companies and wanted to give them a shout-out. The nice dinner in Indy and the Prairie Home Companion show were some really memorable dates Josh and I got to spend together right before Elliott showed up. The Indians game recently allowed us to bring along my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, two nephews, and Josh's cousin & wife. The family outing was fun! The stroller has been a blessing- it folds up small enough to pack in either car with lots of room to spare, and the sun shade on it has made summer outings at the fair or parades much cooler than if I was wearing the baby. We've got a few more date nights planned, courtesy of the bowling alley, symphony, and  downtown dining.

Now, to find a babysitter!

Stories from the Fair

When I signed up to work the Lactation Station at the Indiana State Fair, I had my reasons. I thought it was an awesome idea- a quiet, semi-private, cool place to go with Baby in the midst of the hot, crowded fair. I love, love, love the fair, so free tickets and parking? I'll take them. If I had the chance to say "Way to go!" to a few nursing mamas, that'd be great. What I didn't expect was the stories.

One mom came by- "I breastfed my first more than 10 years ago for only 3 months. I didn't have much support. We want to have another, and I want to do better this time."

A pregnant mom- "I want to be able to nurse. My friend who just had a baby couldn't Where can I get help?"

Another pregnant mom- "Do you have information on pumping? I'll be going back to school when the baby's born."

A mom of an 18-month-old- "He's just down to nights and mornings, by my choice. We made it 8 months before I started to cut him off. I couldn't take it."

A mom of a 10 month old- "I'd like information on donating again. I've got 10,000 ounces in my freezer."

A lady and her mom- "I'm going to grab some brochures for my boyfriend's ex. She needs help with feeding their daughter, but I don't want to be too pushy, y'know?"

A fair worker- "There's a lady at my booth that needs to pump on her break. Can she come here? Do you have an outlet available? Do you have somewhere she could keep the milk?"

A young lady taking a picture of the booth - "Oh, I have to show this to my mom. She's a lactation consultant."

The mom of a four month old  - "Recently, she's been eating around the clock, all the time. I just wanted to stop by to see if you had any ideas."

Another nursing mom and myself were working the booth. We couldn't give any expert advice, but we could share our own experience, as we both are in the midst of nursing, pumping and working while figuring this all out for the first time. We could let nursing moms know "Keep it up, you're doing great" and advise moms-to-be to "Get the best advice you can. Get help. Give it your all- it's worth it." We got to meet a couple moms who wanted to donate to the Indiana Mother's Milk Bank, and got the opportunity to thank them for literally giving of themselves.

In a state that ranks high in obesity rates and low in breastfeeding rates, the Lactation Station is a small gesture, but is one that will hopefully normalize nursing and encourage more moms to give their babies the best start possible. I had Elliott with me for the four hours I was working the booth, and he watched people, nursed, and slept. I hope I also had the chance to show that babies can be a part of normal, day-to-day activities with no problem, and that nursing isn't something that needs to be hidden in private. I'm looking forward to the next two weekends, when I'll get to hear even more stories and smile at even more babies on Saturday mornings. If you'll be at the fair, stop by and say hi!

* Speaking of normalizing breastfeeding, the top picture was taken by a four year old at a family event. The conversation went like this: "Is he sleeping?" "No, he's eating." {Kind of confused} "Can I hold him?" "No... he's eating. Maybe when he's done." {Still confused, but grabs my camera in the meantime. She did get to hold him later}

sunday

The morning started early-
Elliott decided it was time to be up!

I snuck out to the garden before church
the long stretch without rain had been broken Friday night, but just barely. It was enough to encourage a bunch of cherry tomatoes to turn red, though, and for the squash plant to set a few more crooknecks. I dug the rest of the onions, and picked the first full-sized tomato

It was good to be back in our worship service. With traveling and visiting with friends, it had been a month since we had worshiped together. Elliott moved from the 'little babies' nursery to the 'crawlers' room, where the toys are far more interesting. Lots of sad babies made Elliott cry too, but I went & reassured him it was fun to be at church, and he was alright the rest of the time.

We ran into friends- they're buying their first house! That was exciting news.

After church, we had more good news- family was coming to visit that afternoon. We went out to lunch after church. Elliott discovered he likes pickles, but doesn't like cooked carrots.

Family was waiting for us when we got home. The boys continued working on the siding project. My mother in law and I took Elliott to Goodwill, where we looked for a few things. I'm super-thankful for the friends who let us use their hand-me-down clothes from their winter-born boys, but Elliott is moving into 12 month clothes, and all the  12-month clothes for winter-born boys are for winter, go figure. Long sleeves will not work for these 90 degree days. I picked him up a couple outfits.

I tried and tried to get the baby to nap, but the visitors were far too exciting. As dinner approached, I wondered what to feed the group. The perfect summer meal was waiting in the kitchen, and was thrown together quickly- green beans from Josh's parents' garden, corn and cantaloupe from the farmer's market, grassfed beef made into hamburgers, topped with onions and tomatoes picked just a few hours before, and homemade pickles. Brownies were conveniently already made to finish off the meal. Perfect.

At the end of the day, I discovered another friend is getting married. Two weddings on the calendar for me coming up. Weddings, houses, babies. Lots of excitement.

It was a good day.