Events: Various

1: It was my birthday yesterday! Happy birthday to me! I wore my tiara, and only got puked on twice.

2: Last Friday Elliot had his first non-miserable tummy time experience. I attribute this entirely to the good influence of Francie Bea, another baby in Elliot's new playgroup-thing, who while younger than Elliot is totally rocking the tummy time. Francie is great at tummy time and is super cheerful about it. I had her give Elliot a talking to and he seems to have taken the lesson to heart.

3: Elliot has a new playgroup-thing! Which means: I do too. Sort of out of no where, these four other new moms and I have started getting together. It is great. All of our babies are doing a crappy job of sleeping right now, and it is so wonderful to have some solidarity through that. I think we are all scared of "sleep nazi" Mark Weissbluth coming to yell at us. I would put a link there to Weissbluth's book about Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child, but I'm too tired, so you'll have to believe me that it exists and that it is vaguely terrifying.

4: Elliot is doing a crappy job of sleeping right now. It's been bad for a couple of weeks. I had attributed this to his cold, but lately I've been starting to suspect that he is using his cold to manipulate his way into special, middle o' the night attention. Hrumph. Sneaky creature. Last night was better, though--almost six hours the first stretch.

5: At dinner Saturday night I gave Elliot some garlic mashed potatoes! So much for rice cereal, eh? Our pediatrician said there was no real need to give Elliot solid foods, yet, but that I could if it sounded fun. So last week, while eating a banana, I tried to feed him a couple of bites. He gummed them, but didn't really swallow them. But I think he really ate some potatoes! I'm not sure, because I didn't notice any change in his "stool," but he seemed really to swallow at least a couple of bites. Watching him push the potatoes around his mouth was hilarious and so sweet. We were sadly without any of our cameras (shocking!) so you'll have to just imagine.

6: Today I left Elliot alone on his changing table for a second while I ran to the bathroom. (Sorry 'bout that DCFS...I had to go; I promise I was fast). Anyway, I'd given him something to hold--the outfit I was getting ready to put on him--and while I was in the other room I could hear him laughing. Just by himself! Laughing! Like he'd made a joke, and was cracking himself up. I mean, really: five months ago, he wasn't even born, and here he is, a comedian. Amazing.