Elliott has such a bubbly personality.

A slight miscalculation

Elliott rode the mall carousel for the first time this weekend. We thought he would really like it. We were so very wrong. If you think he looks a little unhappy in this shot, you should have seen him after the carousel actually started moving.

Top 10 Reasons Why my Daddy is the Best

1. He always slices my breakfast banana into the perfect bite-size pieces.

2. He puts together toys made of a zillion pieces and installs car seats with the precision of a highly skilled engineer.

3. He is the strongest guy I know. He can toss me into the air 40 times without breaking a sweat. (Well, maybe 30 times.)

4. He showed me all my best dance moves.

5. He personally applies diaper cream to my hiney every night, just to be proactive.

6. He makes me laugh all the time, even when it means acting like a fool in public.

7. He knows the exact angle at which to tilt my head back in the tub: just far enough for rinsing my hair but not so far that I get scared.

8. He taught me the proper way to respond when someone says, "Gimme five."

9. He brushes my hair in the morning and makes sure that it parts on the same side his does.

10. He hugs and kisses and tells me he loves me every single day.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, DADDY! Love, Elliott

Vital stats

Elliott's 15-month physical was this week, and he is still growing like crazy!

Weight: 25 lbs., 13 oz. (50-75th percentile)

Length: 33 inches (90-97th percentile)

Alternate plan

So what do you do when you plan all week to go to the zoo but then it rains Saturday? Why, you use your brand-spanking-new annual memberships at the McWane Science Center, of course. Elliott had an insane amount of fun for hours in Itty Bitty Magic City (just for kids ages 1-5). And when he started feeling a little tired, we went to the IMAX movie about sea life. He just quietly munched on cookies (organic, of course!) for most of the 45-minute show. Then he played some more. I don't think he's going to get tired of this place anytime soon.

By the way, we have 4 photos of him carrying this banana at 4 different play stations.

I'm gonna tickle your teeth with my special toothbrush...

Elliott met the dentist on Saturday! I thought they would just take a little look-see ("yep, those are teeth") and be done with it. Nope. They actually planned and fully expected to do a complete dental visit. And it went amazingly well. Except for a brief moment of panic in the beginning and a definite aversion to flossing (which we all hate), Elliott really liked having his teeth cleaned. And the office was fun with its drive-in theater decor. As a first-time visitor, he even got to put his handprint on a ceiling tile.

Crabby day

Check him out in his airbrushed vacation shirt (souvenir from Mawmaw). It's almost like being back at the beach.

Walking on the Beach

Splash Pad!

We're thinking about installing a splash pad at our house.