14 Months

Somehow, my precious teeny baby has turned into a precious little toddler! It feels like I blinked, and she went from that chubby infant stage to the jeans-wearing, big girl who sings & dances along with the radio when we go for a drive. It's incredible, I tell you, how quickly they grow & change! And like I'm sure a thousand moms have said before, I just LOVE her at this age!

She laughs and smiles almost all day long! When we read books, she pays attention and laughs appropriately. She apparently finds my dancing hilarious (which isn't that hard to believe!), and is enamored with airplanes. Though she doesn't "say" much, she jabbers constantly, mimics sounds, and can find pretty much whatever it is that you've asked her to find. She does all kinds of animal sounds, my favorite (by far) is the monkey!! She cracks me up with her "ooh ohh, ahh ahh's"! She waves & gives kisses to practically everyone, and it just melts my heart to see how much joy she has to share :)
She is still an extremely laid back child. Now that's not to say that she's not busy!! Whew, she can wear me out! But, she rarely cries and gets over being upset in seconds...which I'm super thankful for. And, like I've mentioned before, she's a rule follower (just like me). She has certain cabinets/drawers that are "hers", and she knows it. If she touches one that isn't "hers", she'll look at me with those big blue eyes and shake her head "no". It's pretty funny to see actually! She did sneak off and find the toilet paper roll the other day though, and will make a bee-line for trash bags if I'm not careful and accidentally drop one :)

Books are, by far, her very favorite thing. We have them strewn everywhere it seems!! Besides her little Bible (above), she is really diggin' "Goodnight Gorilla" at the moment. It's pretty cute, if you haven't heard of it. Very few words, but an understandable story and really cute pictures. Anyway, it now gets read about 3 times a night :)

She's still a great sleeper, and has done a lot better with her eating lately. She used to really like veggies, but now...not so much. If I disguise them in whatever it is that she's eating that night she might eat a few bites. Other than that though, she's a bread and fruit kinda girl. She's in between sizes in clothes right now. Sometimes 12-18 months fit, sometimes they don't. She's pretty long, and I really hate for her pants to be too short (or for anyone's pants to be too short, for that matter!), so I usually put her in a size up just to keep that from happening. Am I weird?!

We tried coloring for the first time the other day, and though it wasn't a smashing success it wasn't a complete disaster either! At least she didn't try to eat the crayons :) She likes to watch Handy Manny in the afternoons, to swing on the porch when it's nice outside, and to cuddle anytime & anywhere (to my sheer and utter delight!). She's a sweet little girl, and every day that I get to spend with her is a blessing...and I'll never take it for granted.

13 Months

Lots of things have changed in just one short month!! The biggest news is that Miss E is now a walker!! We joke that it took her so long to pick it up because she's smart enough to know that walking means you don't get carried as often :) She's still a little wobbly, but she has the cutest little giggle whenever she arrives at her destination without having fallen on her booty! So cute! This is a short video of some of her very first steps.

She is also now in her "big girl" carseat. I think she's pretty comfortable :)

She likes to "hide" in the entertainment center. She gets in there every day!

She loves to be outside, especially with her daddy :)

**Please excuse our parched lawn!!**

She still really, really, really likes dogs!

She doesn't just like to play with one toy at a time...she'd rather "trail" her toys, as you can see here :)

We're now down to 1 nap a day. Whew!! What a transition that was! With all of the other health issues that have been going on with her this past month, we thought her change in sleeping habits were just a symptom. Nope!! Once we switched to just one nap, she's back to sleeping 12 hrs/night with NO screaming fits at 1am :) Happy Elli = Happy Mommy!

Happy 11 Month Birthday, Elliana!!

I think I was so in denial about Elli actually turning 11 months old, that I completely forgot what day it was! I went through almost the whole day on Sunday thinking that it was the 31st, and it kinda made me sad when I realized that I hadn't sung the "happy month birthday" song to her that morning. Umm, now that I'm thinking about it, Chris would probably have told me to keep that little tidbit to myself...he totally accepts my craziness, but I'm sure he's a little worried about what other people might think! Ha!

So our little girl is 11 months old now, learning new things seemingly every day, and is more fun than I ever imagined! She's wearing size 12-18 month clothes, size 3 diapers, and size 3 shoes (I finally bought some for her the other day! Poor girl!). She's a pro at crawling, and is crazy fast when she wants to be. She's not really interested in trying to walk, but loves to stand...both holding onto things and on her own. She also likes to climb, and it makes me a little nervous!! We'll be moving her mattress to the lowest level in her crib this weekend b/c our little monkey doesn't want to be confined!

Miss E's eyes are still bright blue, and I think her hair will be strawberry blonde. There are times when it looks almost totally red, but in the sun it's a lot lighter. She said her first word the other day (besides Mama & Dada), and can you guess what it was? Puppy!! So cute! She saw one on America's Funniest Home Videos, and she just said it like it was nothing. Took us completely by surprise!

She is eating more and more "big girl food", and takes a Sippy cup easily now...though I still give her a bottle with her dinner at night. And she now has three teeny teeth, all on the bottom! She loves to be read to (especially at night), loves the water, seeing animals, knocking over her blocks, getting things "out" of other things (purses/bags/etc.), and sitting in Daddy's lap. She gets excited when she hears the Mickey Mouse song, and starts bobbing her little head & dancing. Her new "tricks" are sharing her toys w/ Mommy (when I ask), nodding her head "yes", playing peek-a-boo with whoever is in the room, and dropping a ball to make it bounce (she giggles uncontrollably when it works!).

These last 11 months have flown by! Each new day brings something different to discover, and it is such fun getting to experience that with her. She's such a sweet girl, and we've had so much fun watching her grow :)

Happy 10 Month Birthday, Elliana!!!

Miss E has been in our lives for 10 months now, and I am absolutely head over heels for her! She is learning so many things these days, and it seems that she has a new "trick" at every turn. Each stage of her short life has been incredible, just like everyone said it would be, and she amazes me each and every day.

We're just about done with baby food, but be watching for a post on that in the next few days. I need some serious help w/ meal ideas! We haven't really found anything that Elli doesn't like, though she definitely has her preferences. Her favorites include sweet potatoes (just like her Mama!), cheese, applesauce and green beans...and she did really well with pasta the other night too! She's still drinking about 20-24 oz of formula a day, and we started incorporating apple juice into her sippy of water last month (she's a big fan!).

She's been teething for the past 2 weeks as well, and I'm proud to say that our Elli Girl is no longer a toothless beauty!! She has ONE bright and shiny chomper in her grin now :) So cute!! And besides her nose being super runny, we haven't experienced any of the typical difficult teething problems. I'm excited that the first little guy finally decided to show up b/c introducing solids is quite difficult with a poor girl who doesn't have anything to chew with!!

She's still in size 3 diapers, and is wearing size 12 month clothes almost exclusively now. She weighed 21.5 lbs at her 9 month appt., and I'm pretty sure that she hasn't gained too much since then. If anything, her little leg roll-y's seem to be getting a little thinner (much to my disappointment!). We're not big on shoes around here, so I don't even know what size she's wearing yet. If she's not bare-foot (have I mentioned how HOT it is?!), she's in her socks. Is that terrible?!

Now that Miss Priss has learned to crawl, she is LOVING her new found freedom! When something catches her eye, she's quick to go exploring. She loves to play "chase", and laughs hysterically when you catch her. She's learned the words "no touch", and knows by the sound of my voice when she's gotten into something that she shouldn't be in...and 9 times out of 10 she'll put whatever it is down and move on to something else. She can entertain herself with her toys for longer periods of time now, and delights in talking to herself in the mirror. I love to hear her sweet little voice, it is such a precious sound! She likes to have her back rubbed at night, loves "Goodnight Moon", and has about a million tickle spots :) Soft, fuzzy things (like minky fabric) on her face makes her happy, and I sometimes find her rubbing her cheeks against her big stuffed animals when she gets sleepy.

Though she's not "cruising" around the furniture yet, she can pull herself up to standing, and will take steps while holding onto my hands. And the other day, thanks to my daily email from Productive Parenting, I had her hold onto a laundry basket while I slid it across the floor to see if she would walk w/ it...and she did!! Not only that, but when I let go, she pushed it and walked on her own! And she's doing this funny thing now where she walks like a crab...not sure if she's trying to stand up by herself, or what, but it sure is funny to watch!

These past 10 months have brought so much joy to both Chris and I. With Elli's first birthday coming up, I can't help but reminisce about all of the milestones & special moments that we've shared as a family this year. Those sweet little hands, those tiny little feet, and that precious little face have embedded themselves into our hearts...and we are better because of it.

Happy 10 month birthday, sweet child. You are so very loved.

Happy 9 Month Birthday, Elliana!!!

Nine months. Nine Months!!! That's just three months shy of 1 year!! I just can't believe it...our little girl is growing so quickly. As I commented in a previous post, I feel like Elli's 8th month brought with it lots of new "tricks", and some fun new experiences.

We finally had to lower Miss E's bed to the 2nd level because she started pulling up on the ledge. We knew we were in trouble when we watched her (on the monitor) throw her paci over the side of her crib, and proceed to try to retrieve it Tarzan style! Luckily, she's not strong enough to truly fly over the side, but still...we didn't want to take any chances! The pic above is her peeking over her new "higher" bedrail. She's not quite sure if she likes it yet. Ha!

In other news, we're still not crawling. Not that I'm complaining, but I just keep thinking "today is going to be THE day!". She's so close, and just gets so frustrated when she realizes that she ends up further away from the toy than when she started! It's quite comical to watch, but I can only imagine how irritating it would be to continue to go backwards when all of your effort & concentration is willing you forwards! Don't worry, I'll keep y'all updated...I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon :)

She's still great with sleeping, though the whole "sitting up thing" is starting to put a hamper on her napping. It's like her little body involuntarily sits up mid-nap, and throws her off. She'll start crying, and when I go to get her she's completely dazed and looking at me like, "how in the world did I get here...and why am I sitting up??". Again, quite comical! She's gone to eating 4 times a day, and we've found out that she LOVES rice puffs (the banana flavor). She's still in size 3 diapers, and wears 9-12 month clothes. We go for her 9 month well-baby appointment tomorrow, and I'm anxious to see how much she weighs. I'm thinking about 21 lbs, but we'll see! She can clap, is still working on waving, and can say 3 things: "dada, mama, & baba (byebye)". She loves to get into things...you name it, she's in it! And, as such, we decided to go ahead and baby-proof the house this weekend :)

Elli still has a very low-key, and sweet demeanor. She's smiling and laughing more every day (you used to have to really work at it to get her to smile...just like her daddy when he was a baby, I hear!), and hardly ever cries. She's still great when we take her places, and she loves sitting in her stroller the "right" way. So far, no tantrums, though I've seen a few more fist shakes than I'd like to lately :) Ha!! She's more fun every day, and is just a joy to be around. What a great 9 months this has been, what an adventure! I can't wait to see what the future holds for our precious baby girl!

Happy 8 Month Birthday, Elliana!!

8 months already! Just 4 more, and she'll be 1...can it be?! The older she gets, the more fun she is, and the more I love her. Every day brings something new, and I absolutely treasure every moment. I know everyone says this, but I really can't image my life without her in it. Thank you, Lord, for this sweet sweet girl...she is such a blessing.

Our little miss is growing every day!! She's pretty much exclusively in 9 month clothes, and still wears a size 3 diaper. I found some super cute shoes the other day at Target that were size 2, and they were too big...so I guess we'll stick w/ just socks for a little while longer. We're still working on the 2 nap thing, I'm not sure we'll get there any time soon! Like I've said before, our girl likes her sleep! She can stand while holding on to something, and really prefers to be on her feet. I'm thinking we might have a walker before we have a crawler b/c she's just not interested in crawling AT ALL!! She can turn, roll, pivot & push, but there is no forward or backward movement going on. I don't know whether to be happy or concerned about that :) Ha! She reaches for things, can almost point, feeds herself her bottle, is getting the hang of a sippy cup, and likes to explore everything around her. She's got the hand wave down for "bye bye", she just doesn't raise her arm to do it. It's quite funny to see, actually! Her daddy can still get the most giggles from her, and she does her happy dance every time he comes in the door from work...super cute! She's "talking" more and more, but we've yet to get a mama or dada out of her (not for lack of trying!). She LOVES Elmo & Bert, all the songs on the Raffi CD, bedtime stories with Daddy, and eating (we know who she's related to!!). I'm happy to announce that she's even started to like peas :) We've now incorporated the Stage 2 baby food into her meals, and she's doing really well with it. I even bought some rice puffs the other day, but I'm a little hesitant to give them to her...it means she's growing up!! All in all, I think she's right on track, I just wish time wasn't speeding by quite so quickly!

Wanna see some pics? I knew you did :)

Our sweet girl

Bert's foot...yummy!
Quite possibly my favorite picture of her!

What a big girl!!

Happy 7 Month Birthday, Elliana!!

Chris and I were talking the other day about how "6 months" still sounds super young, like a baby-baby. But 7 months...that's like, I don't know, not baby-baby anymore. She's just getting so big, and smart, and fun! An absolute doll, I tell ya!

She's still a great sleeper, almost to the point of making me forget how sleep-deprived I was for the first 3 months of her life :) She'll sleep 13 hrs a night if I let her, but as it stands now I try to wake her up after 12. She still takes 3 naps a day of about 1-1.5 hrs each, and gives me the biggest, most beautiful smile ever when I walk in her room to get her out of her crib. She wears size 2-3 diapers, and 9 mo. clothes. She's still not crawling, or even rolling really. She can roll both ways, but she doesn't use that skill to move around...she's pretty content to just hang out on whichever side suits her that day. She sleeps on her tummy, with her little hands folded under her head...precious! And in true lady fashion, she crosses her little feet at every opportunity. She crinkles her nose when she smiles, and (like me) usually has her mouth open when she does it. She LOVES her new "buddy Bert", her jump-a-roo, playing "chase mommy", being "SUPER ELLI!!!", and eating her socks. She's not a big fan of loud noises (she has sensitive ears!), or missing her naps. Being a Daddy's Girl is an understatement, I am constantly in awe of the love that Chris & Elli have for one another. She does great at church in the nursery, and doesn't seem to have too much separation anxiety. We just found our first babysitter (that's not family or a close friend), and we're excited (and a little nervous!) to use her this weekend.

Elli will participate in the Baby Dedication at our church in a few weeks and in preparation for that, Chris and I have to write a letter to her expressing our hopes, dreams, and prayers for her life. I've been thinking a lot about what I will write over the past few days, and I'm excited about actually sitting down w/ Chris and putting our thoughts and feelings on paper. The Lord has used these 7 short months to teach me so much about life, unconditional love, having a sensitive heart, the importance of patience and thankfulness, and recognizing His enormous blessings. This sweet little girl has changed me; shown me, in a different way, how God must look at all of mankind. My child is precious and perfect in my eyes. And we, all of us, have that same favor in His.

Happy 7 Month Birthday, my lovely Elliana. You're such a special girl.

Happy 6 Month Birthday Elliana!!

Time flies when you're having fun, right?! Well it sure seems to be speeding by us quicker than ever lately, so we must be having a blast :) Elli turned 6 months old today, and I can hardly believe it. Chris got to go in to work a little later this morning (7:45!!), so he was able to sing to her with me. Yes, I sing "Happy Birthday" to her every month...have I told y'all how much I love birthdays?!?! She was so cute this morning, too. When she saw her daddy looking down at her, she just lit up. I love that she already has such a close bond with him, it warms my heart to see them together.

She's doing wonderfully with her cereal. Oh, that reminds me that I haven't posted pics of that yet! They're priceless! Babies w/ food all over their faces are simply the cutest...hmmm, wonder why that doesn't work for adults? Ha! Anyway, she eats cereal in the morning & right before bed, & she absolutely loves it. I think she just needed a little more time to be really ready for it. And she's sleeping through the night, too. No more waking up at 4am!! WooHoo!! She's super curious about everything. If she can reach it, she'll grab it. It's really cute right now, I'm wondering if I'll be thinking the same thing in a few months! She jabbers all the time, too. Mostly when she's eating, oddly enough. She reaches for both of us, sits up on her own, and can stand for about 2-3 min. if holding on to something or if we're holding her hands. Her favorite toy is this heart-thing...Chris calls it the "Crazy Octopus Heart-Shaped Guy". It's brightly colored, and has all these tabs coming out of it that make noise and feel funny. She LOVES it! She now sleeps with a "lovey", and she's still the most snuggly baby I've ever been around.

We have her 6 month "well baby" visit this Friday, and I'm anxious to find out her stats! I'm pretty sure she still weighs a little under 16 lbs, but I think she's grown a lot taller in the last month or two. We'll see :)

In 6 short months, this sweet little girl has brought more joy and happiness to my life than I could have ever imagined. She makes me want to be better...a better servant of the Lord, a better wife, mother, sister, friend. I want to set a good example for her, to protect her, to nurture her curiosity & voice, to help her explore her gifts, and to ultimately provide a solid foundation for her so that one day she can fly out into the world on her own knowing that she will always have a family who loves & supports her no matter what she chooses to do.

Happy 6 month birthday, precious one. I love you.

Hi friends!!

Sweet Smile

And....I'm done :)

Happy 5 Month Birthday, Elli!!

I know I say this every month, but Holy Cow where is the time going?! Can it have really been 5 months since that sweet baby girl came into our lives? That's almost half of a year...what?! I mean, of course I want her to continue to thrive & grow, but can we do it a little bit slower please?! Next thing I know she'll be crawling around telling me that she needs chocolate (I assume this will be what she says since she is my daughter, after all!). I'm not sure I'm ready for that!

What has she been up to these days? Well, let's see...she hams it up for the camera on a pretty regular basis (as shown in these pics!), continues to roll over both ways, is sitting up on her own, LOVES her new bouncer, squeals with laughter when she's happy, jabbers away with me while I'm cooking dinner, and has an affinity for things that go on her head. Oh wait, that last one might have been mine :) We're continuing to hold off on Rice Cereal b/c, well...girlfriend is definitely not hurting in the weight department and I still just don't think she's ready. And we are looking for a new way to give her baths. She's outgrown her small tub, but she can't really sit up well enough (for a long enough period of time) for us to move to the big tub. If you saw our bathroom, you'd understand...it's a parent's bath-giving nightmare!! Our kitchen sink is divided, and both sections are pretty small so that's out. I did see a pretty cool thing that fits in the kitchen sink the other day, but I'm not sure I want to spend over $50 for it. Any of your mommies out there have any other ideas?

Let's see, what else? She wears size 3-6 mo. clothes, but 6-9mo. sleepers (her poor little feet get all squished in the smaller ones!). Her hair is really starting to grow in, and I think it gets more and more strawberry blonde each day. She reaches for me to pick her up when I'm done changing her diaper, and she still sports a smile every morning when I go in to wake her up. She's doing great with sleeping as well. Most nights she'll sleep from 10 (when I give her a "dream-feed") to 7:30/8ish, but if she does wake up, it's only once at around 4AM. If that happens, she just takes a bottle and goes right back to sleep. She takes 3 naps a day, and they last about 1-1.5 hours. She still isn't really a cryer...now she has more of a shriek to get our attention and then she's done. She loves books just like her mommy, and she loves doing "Super Elli" with her daddy as he flies her around the room. Every time she laughs she gives herself the hiccups, and she is just about the most endearing thing I have ever seen. I don't know how it's possible, but I love her more every single day.

Elli wearing a sweet little jumper that my friend, Sam, knitted for her. Yes, I said knitted! This super cute outfit is totally handmade...oh, and it has bloomers too!! You should see the whole thing in person...it's simply too precious for words!

Me? Oh, you think I'm cute? Why, thank you. Thank you very much! :)

This cute-ums hat was a Valentines gift from GG & Grandaddy. Isn't it just devine?! Oh, how I love it...and Elli does too :)

Happy 4 Month Birthday, Elliana!!

We had our 4 month "well baby" appointment on Wednesday, and everything seems to be looking good for our girl! She's weighing in at a whopping 15lbs 5 oz (90th percentile), and is 25 inches tall (75th percentile)! The Dr. said she's perfectly proportioned, so I'm not too concerned that she's been putting on a few extra rolls around those sweet legs :) She's not rolling over yet, but she's so close she can almost taste it! She can lift/hold her head up really well, and she's working on lifting her body up & supporting herself on her arms/hands. She still loves her bouncy chair, and now that she has a Bumbo (thanks GG!!), she loves that too!! It's so crazy to see her sitting up in that thing...she looks too much like a little girl, and not enough like my tiny baby! She's "talking" all the time now, and smiles & laughs a lot more, too. If I can ever figure out how to do the video thing on here, I'll post a cute one of her laughing...it gets me every time!

We also started sleep training again, and it's been fantastic! This time we went with the Ferber Method. A few days ago, when we put her to bed at 8, she cried for about an hour (us checking on her every 10 min). She then slept from 10pm - 5am, and then from 5:30am-9am (when I woke her up!). She had also had her shots that day, so I think that's why she was so sleepy! But then the next night she only cried for about 15 min (with us checking on her at the 10min mark), and then she was down...she ate her "dream-feed" at 10, and slept from then til 3:30am and then went back to sleep until 7:30. Though I don't want to jinx it by saying this, but I think it has been a success. My goal was for her to only wake up once per night, and she's doing great!

She's learning new things every day, and she is truly the happiest baby I've ever seen! I'm one proud Mama :)

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Elli!!!

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone...

It's on to the Christmas clothes!!!