Elan's First Ironman Lake Placid

This weekend was Ironman Lake Placid. Since we really enjoy the town of Lake Placid and have fond memories of doing Ironmans we decided to take Elan up so he could experience his first Ironman.  Instead of driving the way we always have we decided to drive north to Burlington VT and cross into NY via a ferry.  Elan had a blast on the boat. 

On Saturday morning we took Elan for a hike near Whiteface Mountain.  It was a lovely hike with nice views overlooking the valley below. As he has with all our hikes, Elan was very alert on the way up the mountain and then slept on the ride back down. 

On Sunday morning we got up early and drove to Lake Placid to watch the Ironman.  Elan loved watching all the people.  We sat for a while watching the bikes come down a hill (pictures below).  Elan figured it out pretty quickly that they would come down from one direction.  So when a group of cyclists would pass he would watch them, laugh, then look back up the hill for the next group of cyclists.  It was too cute.

Elan is also starting to feed himself.  While very messy he usually has a blast while trying.  He has started to eat crackers about a week ago and now he is a pro at it!  It probably helps that our little man has 6 teeth!  Despite the fact that Elan had 4 teeth come in at the same time, it never seemed to bother him.

8 Months Old!!!

Funky Sleeper

Elan has become quite a mover during his sleep. We will go in and check on him and usually he cracks us up. Ah, to be a kid and sleep with no worries...how wonderful that must be. If you notice on the first picture Elan was playing with the tie from his bumper before his passed out. It is funny because he is able to get behind the bumper and untie the ties so he can play with them.

Elan's obsession with Puna continues. While Puna will let him pet her for a brief second and if Elan has food anywhere on his hands and face she will gladly lick it off....she still keeps her distance most of the time.

What, More Teeth?

Pretty soon Elan is going to have a mouth full of teeth. For the last few weeks his 4 top teeth have started to poke through and on Sunday, one finally popped out! I'm sure the other 3 will quickly follow. It was pretty crazy because we were playing and noticed that the teeth were getting very close to the surface and then put Elan down for his morning nap. He took a relatively long nap (we actually had to wake him up because we needed it leave) and when I was changing his diaper I realized that one tooth came through!! Our little man slept through the whole thing. Crazy.

On Saturday we went to a birthday party and Elan got to swing for the first time. On Sunday we did another family hike at Mt. Wachusett and then went to Hudson to a friend's house to watch the final World Cup game. We were planning on going swimming but ran out of time. Maybe next time! Elan has become quite an eater. As of right now he doesn't have his parent's sweet tooth! So far of the foods I've made for Elan that he likes best are kale-spinach, acorn squash, peas-green beans, and sweet potato-broccoli. Elan's least favorite food is blueberry-mango (which I think is yummy). He is a funny kid!

Happy 4th of July!

This weekend was quite action packed for Elan. On Saturday we went to REI and got a hiking pack for Elan. It was really funny because as soon as we put him in it and placed him on Mat's back he started laughing like crazy. It was hysterical. So, on Sunday morning we headed up to New Hampshire to spend the 4th at our friend's lake house on Lake Winnipesaukee. We hiked Mt. Major which is only a few miles from our friend's house. Elan laughed and babbled the entire way up the mountain....and then slept the entire way down.

Below is a picture from the top of Mt. Major over looking Lake Winnipesaukee. I don't know how Elan slept in this position while Mat was hiking down but he did!

When we got back from our hike we spent the rest of the day relaxing by the water. Elan loved sitting and watching Puna and Newman (our friend's dog) swimming and playing fetch. We watched some fireworks at night but Elan slept through it all. It was a big day for our little guy.

On Monday morning we took Elan on his first boat ride to Wolfeboro where we had breakfast and Elan shared a tropical fruit smoothie with Mat. We really like the town of Wolfeboro. It has a cute main street with cafes and unique speciality shops. Elan didn't really enjoy the boat ride too much. Probably because he had to be in a life vest and couldn't move very much. So below is a picture of his pouty face. After breakfast we hiked Mt. Major again but going a different route. Elan, again, babbled on the way up and slept on the way down. All in all is was a fantastic weekend.

1st Swim Lesson

Elan had his first swim lesson today. He seemed to enjoy himself but was getting cold by the end! We think he is the youngest in the class but probably one of the only kids that didn't cry. We are taking the swim lessons at the YMCA. They have some really interesting rules, like all kids had to wear flotation devices, which was kind of weird and only one parent can be in the water (which is understandable) but the other parent can't be on the pool deck...they have to watch from the lobby. Next week I'll go in the water with Elan.

Later on it was so warm outside that we decided that Elan should go swimming again in his pool. He had fun playing and of course, watching Puna and chewing on his toys.

Goofy Elan

Elan usually wakes up in the morning in a great mood and spends time babbling to his toys until we go get him. Well, this morning Mat went in to get Elan and he was babbling away like this.......................................

When Mat pulled away the bumper Elan started giggling. What a goofy little guy!

If you look closely, Elan is playing with the tag on the bumper. The kid is obsessed with tags!

We have had a number of days that were well over 90-degrees so our little house was pretty hot! We kept cool with fans. Elan was happy hanging out in his diaper. What a good sport :)