Lately

We've been busy with life lately!  Ellie is blossoming into such a vibrant little girl. She can sit up all by herself,  loves playing with her feet,  and still loves bouncing (especially while we get ready in the morning). She turns 9 months tomorrow and finally has her special infant care clinic appointment next week so more updates will be coming later this weekend/next week!

First Snow

The winter weather has finally reached the triangle.  As enchanting as the winter-scapes we have out our windows are, it has moved out infant care clinic appointment back until March.  So we won't find out how Ellie's weight gain is going until she gets her next Synergis shot at the end of next week.  

Ellie loved being scooped up by her daddy to experience her first snow fall.  She smiled at the flakes and looked a little confused when she felt their cold sting on her face.

I am reading this amazing book right now called The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.  The life experiences and lessons he shares are inspiring and this book makes me want to put achieving my childhood dreams towards the top of my priority list.  It is also made me reflect on how to help Ellie develop her creativity and aspire to really live her dreams.  Randy's parents taught him that things are just things, that people are far more important.  They let him paint his dreams on his bedroom walls (maybe we will do canvases that she can hang up in her room instead) and those paintings that his sister helped him paint continued to inspire him, even when he would come back and visit after leaving for college.  

At eight months, we are already seeing her independent and strong willed spirit.  I have a feeling the biggest hurdle for me to get over is to let her do things in her own way and in her own time (hence the sweet potatoes on my kitchen wall after dinner every night).  Creativity can flourish if we give it space and let the person explore it by themselves.  Structure is wonderful, and children thrive by it.  But flexibility can be our greatest asset in parenting.  

Eight Months

Last night, Wesley and I were looking through all of our pictures and videos of Ellie.  You can see a recap of the last seven months here.  She is starting to look more and more like a little girl instead of a baby!  This last month has brought us a few challenges with weight gain and we ultimately decided that the best thing for us to monitor her intake is to wean her from nursing.  Right now she doesn't want to take more than 20-23oz a day.  The pediatrician really wants her to be at the 24-32oz range.  Miss Independent cannot be coerced into taking more than she wants.  Wesley and I's obstinance seems to have been passed on ;)

This last month has also brought more milestones!  She can sit up by herself... we still have to be right behind her because she hasn't mastered balance when reaching for toys just yet.  She loves bending at the waist, is finally starting to realize it is worth her time and energy to roll over, and reaching for all and every toy and item in site.  She has mastered sweet peas, sweet potatoes, and green beans and now is only interested in eating if she gets to feed herself.  This morning I turned around for 30 seconds to fill her cup with water and I hear a crash as she was able to grab, pick up, and throw her plate and spoon on the floor.  As I am typing I am remembering that there are sweet potatoes on the wall from her dinner escapades that I still need to wipe up.  She is still sleeping pretty well, considering that she already has two teeth in and cutting more and takes 3 naps a day. 

We love our Ellie-bean!

Grow, Ellie, grow! 

Peas

Ellie is quickly changing from our sweet baby to our adventurous little girl. We started peas over the weekend. The verdict: she LOVED them! Move over rice cereal...the wonderful world of vegetables is now being explored. She likes them so much we are having to mix a little of her cereal in them to get her to keep eating it. She is eating twice a day now. We are moving onto sweet potatoes tomorrow.  Such a big girl!

Two weeks ago we went for her next dose of Synergis and found that she had only gained 5 ounces in the last 4 weeks.  She had started sleeping through the night and eating every 4 hours during the day. The pediatrician and I decided that the best thing to try and see if she was getting enough was to offer some formula after I fed her to see if she would take any more. She did and in 9 days gained 2.5 ounces. So her current weight is 13lbs 6.5 ounces.  We are now in the process of getting her to just take bottles so I can track her intake. I have to admit I am less than thrilled to be pumping again but sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do! 

We will be able to check her weight again next week at her Special Infant Care Clinic appointment. Fingers crossed she will be gaining some more!!

Grow Ellie Grow!

^^Her favorite way to eat is try "help" by grabbing the spoon right where the food is. 

Hot mess!!

^^Delicious!!!

Cuteness

Just a few cute pictures today!

Baby Pictures

Many months ago when I was pregnant, I spent a lot of time trying to picture what Ellie would look like.  It wouldn't matter regardless when she was born if she looked more like Wesley or me, I think I just wanted to put a face with her name that we had finally chosen.

I looked through both my and Wesley's baby pictures.  Last night, my mom posted a comparison of Ellie and I on Facebook, so I thought it would be fun to put up both Wesley and I's comparisons with her here.

^^Me circa 1989

^^Me and Ellie

^^Ellie and Wesley

^^Ellie and Wesley

Goldilocks

^^Her face when you animatedly say "Mmmmm...tasty!"

^^ "Yeah mom, it's not that tasty...."

I had every intention of waiting until Ellie was 6 months adjusted age to start her on any type of solid food.  Her pediatrician and I had talked about how that would be ok since she is still so small and is currently getting everything she needs while nursing.  As I began reading about starting solids in my myriad of baby books at the start of January, I realized that she was pretty much displaying all of the signs that she was ready for this next step. 

So I few days before Wesley and I decided to take the leap, I let her play with one of her green spoons while I was eating to get her used to it.  As you can see above, being handed the spoon to play with is her most favorite part of "dinner time."  She even tries to grab the spoon when a spoonful is on the way to her mouth.  Wesley is already going through withdrawal of her wanting to be more independent.  In his head it is rice cereal today... prom dress shopping tomorrow.

She likes the rice cereal much better than I thought.  We are still entertained with her "what is this stuff?!?" faces but she does eat it without too much protest.  However, it does have to be just right.... too cold or too hot, too soupy or too thick and our Goldilocks won't have it!