The Smith Family Adventures

Here we are for a snowy family portrait.

My dad’s birthday was on February 19th. He really wanted the whole family together so we packed off to Sunriver for President’s Day weekend. We had a blast there, and we got a February snow surprise so Elias got to use his cute snowsuit again….I mean…handsome snowsuit. The car rides went a little better this time as well. On the drive home Nathan and I were wondering whether we would ever have a non-stressful vacation again. Once we arrived in Sunriver everything went really smoothly but the drive is nerve-wracking with an infant.

Grandma Bartle pulling Elias and Uncle Greg in the sled.

On Saturday we got to play in the snow a little, and the boys shoveled the driveway. Elias got to (sort of) experience his first sled ride. He was pulled around in various laps on flat ground…but he seemed to like it. One time when Nathan was pulling me and Elias, some snow flew right into Elias’ face. He seemed to take it in stride and just went with it. We got it all brushed off and he was happy as can be.

Elias had fun looking at snowflakes with Uncle Scott

Over the weekend we played lots of games and just relaxed. Elias got to play with some new blocks and Uncle Scott created a working arch bridge. He called it “advanced block building” and told Elias he wasn’t quite ready for it yet. Elias got lots of fun time with his grandpa, grandma, aunt, and uncles on the Bartle side. These are the times we will remember and treasure as more time passes.

Looking at snow with Auntie Kristy and Uncle Greg

Elias likes to work on computers with Grandpa Bartle at home and at Sunriver.

Tonight on one of the occasions of Elias laughing I was reminded of Robert Heinlein’s novel Stranger in a Strange Land. The martian protagonist Valentine Michael Smith has the hardest time understanding earthling laughter. But in the course of the story Smith has an epiphany about the nature of human laughter: it almost always is a reflection of some wrong. From slapstick to black comedy, we mostly laugh as a reaction to the disorder we perceive, not out of joy.

Baby laughter is totally different. Elias does not understand sarcasm, he is not cynical, and he does not delight at others’ expense. When he laughs, it is fueled purely by happiness. I know it would be vain to keep my son from learning the adult conception of laughter. But I wish I laughed more like him.

I often read the news from BBC news online, and they have something called “Today in Pictures.” I decided to make my own version of Elias’ first valentine’s day. So here it is…Valentine’s Day in Pictures:

Happy Valentine's Day! Cute outfit.

Watching Hermione playing on the floor.

Hug me, Mom!

Tummy Time! Elias received the valentine dog from Grandma and Grandpa Bartle.

Back to watching Hermione. This time she is in the cat tower.

Tasting it is the best way to know if it's good, right?

Looking at the book and feeling the pages. Actually...mostly he just opened and closed the book on this page, but it's a start.

Just waking up from morning naptime.

The poor valentine outfit was soiled. Here is Elias waiting for me to decide what to dress him in.

In the swing to relax while Mommy does laundry.

More tummy time while waiting for Daddy to come home.

After Daddy got home, Elias went to play with grandma and grandpa Bartle so that mommy and daddy could go out to dinner for a valentine’s date. It was a fun day.

Lookin' good in sunglasses.

I have been meaning to post this for a couple days now….We’re always sure to set aside time for church and family time, but there’s nothing like weekends to catch up on some chores and other things while Elias plays with daddy.

It was sunny on one of our walks the other day, and I decided to give some sunglasses a try. I thought Elias might take them right off…but he just kind of sat there confused at first and then seemed resigned to his situation. When the sun was shining, he didn’t have to close his eyes! They are a little too big still, but they work. I thought he looked so cute that I stopped and snapped a picture.

Well…Elias isn’t exactly on the move yet. He’s not crawling or anything like that. But he has taken some amazing “steps” toward being mobile. He no longer just lays there where we put him down. He has learned how to arch his back to make it difficult to put him in the car seat….he has learned how to turn on his side when I am trying to change his diaper….and he has learned how to maneuver his body by wiggling on his back….not to mention that he rolls over from front to back like an expert now.

Elias rotated his body. When I put him there, he feet were under the beachball.

The other day I set him down in his kick and crawl gym with his head underneath the toys and his feet underneath the ball. Then I went to go unload the dishwasher. When I came back a couple minutes later…he had somehow turned himself sideways. He just looked up at me with the funniest expression like “what did you expect, mom?” It was so cute I just had to take a picture of him sideways. Now I can no longer leave him there when doing chores because I don’t know where he will wiggle off to….we haven’t baby proofed the house yet.

On our family walk. Daddy and Elias.

Another fun event was putting Elias into the bjorn facing forward for the first time. Over the weekend we went on a walk and decided to try it. He really liked being able to see everything rather than being squished against us. When I took him yesterday, he “talked” to me a lot and kept turning his head backward to look at my face.

Elias has also finally been able to take advantage of the “around the world” gym that Uncle Scott, Auntie Kristy, and Uncle Greg got him for Christmas. He loves looking at the tropical bird and the penguin. He is so cute because he holds on to some of the parts to help himself balance. This will definitely strengthen his stomach muscles!

Elias playing in his around the world gym during the superbowl game.

Elias also had the opportunity to celebrate Grandma Smith’s birthday last week. We had fun eating at Red Robins and then came home for some visiting time. At Red Robins, Elias got startled by the Red Robin waiters and waitresses when they were singing a birthday song to the table next to us. He started crying really hard. I thought it was so funny because our waiter kept apologizing but it wasn’t really his fault. Overall, it’s been a great week!

Elias and Grandma Smith on her birthday

Elias had his 4 month well-baby check today. Here are the stats:

Weight: 16 pounds, 6 ounces – 78 percentile

Height: 26.3 inches – 90 percentile

Overall he is doing really well according to our doctor, so that is good news! He had to get two shots and an oral vaccine. Poor little guy was pretty upset. We are going to go take a walk in the sunshine now. That can cure many things…including sadness from shots I think.

Elias is 4 months old today! Besides the age milestone, we have had many other exciting events here in the last day or so. I’ll start with the most exciting:

Elias has rolled over from front to back three times today! The first two times only Nathan saw before church, but we were lucky enough to both see the third time and get it on video! He really is on his way to being mobile.

Also exciting for us was Elias moving on to a new bath situation. He was getting way too big for the sling in the infant bathtub so we took it out. He is also starting to enjoy baths a little more which is encouraging. We are determined to help him like the water!

Elias in the bath without the sling.

We both feel so lucky to be parents of this amazing little boy!

One other milestone to note: He has started putting himself to sleep now. We used to have to stay with him until he fell asleep, and then sneak out as quietly as possible. Now we can kiss him goodnight and leave. I hear that this may not last during teething and other things, but we’ll worry about that when it comes.

Here are some pictures of Elias that we took to mark his four months of life:

Mommy loves Elias

Daddy loves Elias

The traditional shot

Silly Boy

On his tummy

Just before he rolled over

Today we went over to the Ruter household so Nate could have a play date with Weston…..I mean……so we could hang out with some great people! Nate and Weston did work on Open Scriptures stuff, but it was fun for me and Elias to meet his wife and son. Their son is eight months old now, and it was the first time Elias really was in close contact with another baby besides his own reflection. Judging by the way their son can crawl and pull himself up, I was amazed at how much Elias will develop in the next four months. It was a fun Saturday for the Smith fam!

We went to a game night on Friday at the Bartle household. My poor mom had been wanting to have a game night ever since Christmas Day because she received the game “Apples to Apples”. We couldn’t get everyone together until this past Friday. It was odd because we normally see my family more often since they are so close…but my parents hadn’t really even seen Nathan since Christmas Day! Needless to say, it was time to get together.

My parents cooked a wonderful meal. Macadamia nut tilapia with yummy sides as well. After dinner we played games. The most interesting event of the evening, however, happened to Uncle Greg. He was holding Elias while we were all trying to build an around the world toy gym thing for Elias. Elias just happened to blow out his diaper when Greg was holding him. Greg was initiated into the poopy shirt club. We all laughed so loud that it scared Elias.

Scott was pretty proud that it was not him who had to figure out how to take off a poopy shirt….but in the words of a wise family friend…”It’s not if you get pooped on ….. it’s when.”