We just finished a great weekend. He had his six month appointment on Friday, and he hit the charts at 18 pounds, 14.5 ounces and 26.5 inches. Mike was able to come to the appointment for us, so it was nice not to deal with the shots alone. Although, frankly, the shots don’t bother me. There’s an extreme outbreak of pertussis here in Washington, so I say “bring on those vaccines, please, and be quick about it!” Thankfully Elliott just got his third pertussis shot and Mike and I are covered. Friday night we had dinner at a cute restaurant around the corner from us — a nice treat since we don’t usually go out on Fridays.

Saturday was a really nice day, and we did some shopping and errands and lunch out. It’s so nice how great Elliott does when we’re out. He typically likes being pushed around in the stroller and watching everything. He gets fussy if he gets tired or hungry (like when he needed a nap in target), but mostly he’s happy. And he likes to flirt with old ladies.

It’s definitely getting harder to take him to restaurants — he’s not quite ready for a high chair, but when you hold him he wants to put his hands in your food and his mouth on, say, your Starbucks latte. It will be nice when we get to a point where he can have some finger food. When we are home we give him solids when we’re eating at the table so he can learn how this whole eating thing works. (So far he’s had cereal, avocado, peas, carrots and squash. Next up: pears, sweet potatoes and oatmeal.)

Sunday Elliott took his first ferry ride! It was a beautiful day, so we headed over to Bainbridge Island on the ferry. Elliott finally saw Elliott Bay, and plenty of pictures were taken. On the island we had lunch by the marina and bought the baby some overpriced children’s clothes from a little kids boutique over there.

Every day he is cuter and more fun. This weekend we fly again to Cincy, and next month we go to New Mexico, yay!

In March, we flew to Cincinnati — just the two of us. It went fine. I learned the trick is to pack as light as possible (which is, not very) and just accept help when people offer. Like someone sitting next to me said, “most of these people have kids, they understand.” Elliott did fine on the flights, other than his uncanny need to be starving the 20 minutes it takes to board.

We had a great visit, and he went to the zoo for the first time! He saw giraffes, chickens, goats, kangaroos, polar bears, elephants and who knows what else he actually noticed.

This past Saturday was one of the first beautiful sunny days we’ve had, and we attempted to go to the zoo here. Apparently the rest of Seattle thought of it, too, and we couldn’t park anywhere near the zoo. So we headed downtown to the waterfront, which is one of my favorite places in town. We took Elliott to the aquarium instead. He liked it, although I probably liked it more. There was a new baby sea otter to visit.

On Easter, we had a nice family day and took Elliott swimming for the first time. He had a blast, and we signed up for lessons. Videos to come, when we get around to it.

For years I had pictured it at the church we attended in Cincinnati (Bellarmine Chapel) at the same mass we attended each week. Even though we live out here, that church still feels like home to us. We were married there, I was confirmed there, and we performed in the music group for a year before moving. So I just couldn’t picture my child’s baptism any other way.

A lot of our family’s baptisms are done in private ceremonies, which is beautiful and certainly more convenient for guests. (Sorry, guests.) But I always liked the way our church did them during service, which is a little more like the church I grew up in. It was always fun to see the little babies up in front of the whole congregation. And they cry and scream and everyone gets a kick out of it.

Elliott was close to perfect. He was a little restless and talkative during the service, but handled his immersion very well. We chose to have him “dunked,” or basically sitting in the font (nekid!) and getting water dumped on his head. He blinked and looked confused but the little fish did not cry. Frankly, we were more worried he would poo in the font. That would perhaps have not been the most holy of behavior.

Elliott’s four grandparents, his Aunt Laura, Uncle Dan, Uncle Nate, Cousin Tessa, Godparents Stephen and Lauren, “cousin” Jocelyn, several of Mike’s Aunts, Uncles and Cousins and a couple of my dear friends were in attendance, as well as many friends from our music group and some other familiar faces from our years of attending Bellarmine. We had a Becky’s Best cake (yum) afterward, and there was not a single piece left. The party people at the church did a great job setting everything up and cleaning. I think our family wanted to help but it was barely even necessary, everything went so smoothly.

We were so grateful and excited to show him off and have such a special event go so well. We will always remember it. I had one of those moments where I realized I had to stop worrying about whether everyone could see and felt included and remember to pay attention to what was happening to my kid! I almost missed it. It’s still early enough that sometimes I almost forget I’m the mom and I have to make sure I can see and that I don’t forget to observe his experiences. I can already tell how fast they go.

Rather than a big party, we just had the short reception and we had a dinner for immediate family and godparents beforehand. We planned a family style meal at Ferrari’s, where we had our rehearsal dinner more than 10 years ago now. Food was delicious, service was great, and it was attended by Elliott’s Aunt, Uncles, Grandparents, Cousin and Godfamily, with the exception of our nephew Morgan (who was probably having much more fun at home, bless him) and his Godparents’ son William, who mom and dad had deemed ‘too talkative’ for the event. Ah, little boys — we look forward to watching ours grow up.

Elliott received many generous and sweet gifts, and per our request some donations to organizations that help kids and families.

His outfit came from an online store based in Gig Harbor Washington, handmade not far from here. It was adorable and perfect and I will keep it for him forever! He also had a special hat and bib from Venice (thanks Timmy and Rosie!) and some sweet little shoes I found in Batesville that my parents got for him.

Elliott barely pays any attention to all the songs and activities, and pretty much just wants to stare at the other babies. He’s social, what can I say.