She's resourceful

It's been chillier than normal here recently, but I'm still trying to get Ellie (and Penny) out for daily walks. Because of the temps, we've been going in the late afternoon. Usually when she gets up from her nap we immediately go down for a snack, but if we do that, we run out of daylight to take our walk. So I attempted snack on the go. The stroller is still a little big for her tiny little self, and she can't reach the snack tray. But don't think that stopped her. She figured out that if she held it with one hand and pulled herself up, that the back stroller seat would pull up with her and she could juuuuuust reach the cheerios. Well done, bugger. Well done.

Aerial Acrobatics with Daddy

It amazes me the way she just gives in to stuff like this. She does the same thing when we're at swimming with her back float. When we lock eyes, she just lets go, gives in to it, and (with one of my hands behind her neck), just floats. It's incredible. I want to believe there's something there about her feeling safe and secure with us...but more likely it's just her personality :)

Christmas Prep!

We are REALLY feeling the spirit this year, so we wasted no time after Thanksgiving getting our house ready for Christmas! We spent the weekend picking out a tree, doing a little "Small Business Saturday" shopping at Phoenix Flea, and decorating. This holiday season is just too much fun with peanut in the house. (Pics in the grass are after having a bite from the taco food truck at Phoenix Flea - so fun!)

Dinnertime shenanigans

Eleanor's first Thanksgiving

We celebrated a very low key Turkey Day this year. No one in town, no traveling to do, and it was pretty refreshing. We kicked off the day with a Turkey Day 5K in downtown Phoenix - it was the coldest it had been to date (in the low 40s!) so I got to dress little girl in some stinking cute winter clothes. Brad and I both did great (was so proud of him - he's been hesitant to run since his knee surgeries last year), and Ellie had a great time being pushed in the stroller watching the people go by. We came home, Ellie napped, and then we headed over to our friends' house (the Friedman's) to enjoy brunch, followed by a "happy hour" course of delicious cheese and charcuterie, and finally a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. The Friedman's have two young boys ages 8 and 11, and Ellie really had fun watching them play - they were super cute with her. Ellie powered through and stayed up well past her bedtime - we ended up heading home around 7:30.
A fabulous, easy day that made it easy to remember how much we have to be thankful for.

BUDDAH.

Turkey Day winding down - so thankful for these two!

My little organizer

Ellie has taken to organizing and sorting as of late, and I find it fascinating to watch. I've read a little about it, and it's apparently an important milestone - it uses a part of their brain that is important later for math and problem solving. Who knew? These fun little quirks/milestones simply amaze me. I could sit and just WATCH her for hours. You can see the wheels turning and when she figures out something new the look on her face is priceless. A couple of videos below.

PIGTAILS!

A few days before Turkey Day, I decided to give pigtails a try. Getting them in was easier than expected, and I literally followed her around afterward, squealing with joy. She looks like a totally different baby when she has pigtails in - I can see glimpses of her as a little girl!

50 weeks!

The universal plight of every mother

Every kid is different (of this I am sure now more than ever!), so lots of the typical mom issues/complaints don't truly apply to everyone (my kid doesn't nap! my kid doesn't sleep through the night! my kid won't eat vegetables! my kid can't walk yet!). However, there is one mom plight that I am CERTAIN is universal. It's one you hear all the time, starting when you're just a kid and your own mom is complaining about it.

WHAT DO I MAKE FOR DINNER?!?!?!

Silly me, I figured I'd have some time before this one started, but oh. my. LORD, now that she's eating real food and needs three real meals a day, I am constantly wondering what to feed her. I stand in front of the fridge, staring, and try to think: what should I feed her? should I actually cook something, or just give her some bits of things? half will end up on the floor in Penny's belly, so do I really want to go to the trouble of cooking? but it needs to be healthy! she hates plain veggies - if I don't cook them in things, will she ever eat them? and on and on and on. When it comes to this particular issue, I am SO ready for her to be bigger so I can make a sandwich with some apple slices and just hand it to her. This in between stage of not ready for hard foods/way past purees is killin' me.

And so the other night, in a moment of weary, I went against what I would normally find acceptable, and fed the kid some leftover Little Ceasar's pizza, her first "fast food". And she LOVED it. Sigh.*

Not that I ever judged other mom's and their decisions, but it is in these moments that I realize that when push comes to shove, sometimes you just have to do what makes life easier. And tonight, that was pizza. I think she'll survive (and hopefully grow to love pizza night as much as I do :)

*I am not opposed to pizza one bit. In fact, it's one of my most favoritest foods. I am trying so hard, though, to fill Ellie's belly with only very healthy things until she's old enough to verbally oppose what I put in front of her. Then it's all bets off. 

49 weeks!

The new face of "no". Usually no tears, just a big ole pouty face when mom has to say no :)

Quick visit with Auntie Jill

Jill was in town for a couple short days for work, and we were able to squeeze in about 30 minutes one early afternoon to catch up. She hadn't seen Ellie since she was 11 weeks old! They picked up right where they left off, as evidenced below:

Walking buddy

Sometimes you just can't leave home without your doll. She held her doll close like this the entire morning walk: one hand on her soft skirt, one hand on her head. Mom swoon :)

"Can mama have besos?"

I am obsessed with this video. OBSESSED. 

Plus a sneak peek at her newest word :)

Family hike

Bug switch-off. B carried her the first half of the hike, and I carried her the second. She was such a trooper - it was chilly, and halfway through it started to sprinkle which by the end of the hike turned to a bit more than just a sprinkle. We were all a little chilly and a little damp, but the smile rarely left her face. She even tried to hold her hands out and catch the rain a few times! Love this inquisitive, easy-going bug. 

How we entertain ourselves these days...

Evening park visit

Every now and then, that last hour before daddy gets home gets the better of me, and we have to get out of the house. On this particular evening, daddy met us at the park on his way home from work and we all enjoyed some warm weather swinging. And E had her first trip down a slide! I figured she'd be so excited, squealing and giggling. But she acted like she'd be going down slides her whole life. Oh, bug. You're a funny little nugget. 

11 months.

Who knows what comes after 11? Well I do, and it's 12. Is she seriously four weeks away from ONE? Stop it, I can't even think about it right now. Instead I will focus on how incredibly amazing this 11 month old girl is.

Ellie is continuing to develop quite the personality, and is working on having some serious opinions. I'm really going to kick the signing back up because now that she's comfortable with pointing, she does it to indicate EVERYTHING. Don't get my wrong, this is pretty awesome (especially considering she's been at the pointing for well over a month and it's a 12 month fine motor skills milestone - clearly, she's a genius), but I can foresee how this could turn into some majorly frustrating moments for both mom and baby down the road. 

I feel like a broken record, but truly, this girl is a delight. She makes people smile. She engages with them. And oh, my heavens is she CUTE. I have so many moments where I realize I've been sitting just staring at her with a big goofy grin on my face while she's been playing contentedly. We MADE her. Like, for real. She grew in my belly. And just LOOK at her! Sigh. 

Some stats and more of what's making her special these days below:

As of 11/9/15:
Weight: approx. 19 pounds
Height: guessing around 29"
Loves: cheese, music class (and really all music), mom and dad, animals (especially dogs), her bunny and lamb stuffed animals, swinging, swimming/baths
Hates: when mom leaves her line of sight. still.
Size: still working most of the 9 month/6-12 month clothes, but a few size 12 things fit, size 3 diapers
-E went on her first hike this month! Mom and E did Pinnacle Peak (about 3.5 miles/1.5 hours, and she did great other than a little bit of fussing near the end)
-We've started weaning her nursing (see previous post).
-Nugget's fine motor skills are amazing. She can point, clap, wave, play peek-a-boo, give kisses, blow kisses, and do "so big" and/or "touchdown".
-She's figured out what her comb is for, and now when she gets a hold of it, she immediately holds it up to her head.
-Along the same lines, she has figured out what her play phone and camera are for. She holds her phone up to her head, and when I point a camera at her and say "say cheese!" she smiles. Melt.
-She also figured out how to blow. I was blowing on her food and she started mimicking. Didn't come out perfect, but you could definitely tell what she was doing.
-She talks! Ellie now confidently and clearly says mama, dada, and the best one, bye-bye accompanied by the cutest little wave you ever did see.
-And the big one...she CRAWLED! Finally! The day before she turned 11 months, little girl finally figured out how to really crawl. She only does it until she is close enough to whatever she wants to then throw herself towards it on her belly, but we'll take it!
-A few days before that, she figured out how to go from tummy to sitting without any help. (Should have realized that one would need to proceed the other :)

Dad's favorite things about Ellie:
1. Her giggle
2, Her curiosity
3. Her happy nature
4. How she waves to her animals when she gets up in the morning of after a nap
5. Snuggling
6. Her smooches
7. How sweet she looks when she's sleeping
8. Her crazy hair in the morning
9. Watching her splash in the bath

Mom's favorite things about Ellie:
1. How she wakes up: she never cries or fusses. I'll look at the monitor and realize she's been awake just playing with her stuffed animals and most recently I'll know she's up because I hear the music from the hanging toy she can reach in her crib.
2. When we're sitting and she just leans back into me, looks up and opens her mouth for a smooch.
3. How when I'm holding her and she gets a little shy with people, she'll nuzzle deep into my neck and hold on tight to me.
4. Seeing how excited she gets over things she loves: when we walk into music class, when we walk into the pool area for swimming, when I start to lower her into her tub, when Penny walks by her close enough for her to reach out and feel, when she sees the swings. The pure JOY this tiny person can exhibit is enough to remind me that I'm doing an okay job as her mommy. And little makes me feel better than when I feel like I got it right by taking her somewhere, or doing something with her that she loves.

48 weeks!

Right HERE, mommy!

REALLY into pointing these days.

The weaning has begun

Around early October, Ellie started making it clear that she was ready to wean from nursing a bit. Her nursing sessions were getting shorter and shorter, and a few minutes in to every single one, she lost interest and it became work to keep her latched on and interested.
When we finished our travels in October, I started the process as thankfully I had a lot of milk stored up in the freezer. I started with replacing her post morning nap nursing session with a bottle. In true Ellie fashion, she didn't miss a beat and gladly and willingly accepted it. My body had to realize what was going on, but after only a few short days, the pain was gone and it had leveled out. (I continue to be amazed at what our bodies are capable of!) We went along with that for a couple of weeks, so she was eating 5 times a day - 4 nursed and 1 bottle.

At her 9 month check up the pediatrician said that milkies 4 times a day was pretty average for babies her age, and with her just sy of 11 months and still eating 5 times a day, it got me thinking. One afternoon when I got her up from her nap, I thought maybe, just maybe if I didn't mention it, she wouldn't need her post afternoon nap milkies. So I got her up, changed her diaper, and instead of nursing her, took her down and gave her a real food snack. Didn't seem to phase her in the least, and so as of about a week ago, we're down to her eating just 4 times a day - 3 nursed and 1 bottle. 

Since we had a baby in the middle of cold and flu season, I'm going to try to continue nursing her in the morning and before bed for a few months after her 1st birthday, but soon after her 12 month check up, I'll probably try to cut the midday feed, too.

It's very bittersweet, and I feel so, so lucky that nursing was as easy for me as it was. I know so many people who struggle with their supply, or who just can't keep up pumping after going back to work. From the first time we tried when she was just hours old, E latched perfectly and other than one tiny mastitis set back when she was 10 weeks old, it's been very smooth sailing. I am trying so hard to soak in every nursing session she has now, because it's become so evident in the last few weeks how quickly this phase of our lives together is passing. It's been so, so special. 

Babies are amazing. What they are able to learn and how far they come in 12 short months is nothing short of miraculous. I've asked other moms about weaning, and most have said that they had to wean their kids - that their kids never showed interested in slowing down the nursing. Part of me wishes that E was still completely into it - that feeling of being needed is incredible. But without saying a word she articulates so much, and I have learned to listen to my little girl, even when she's telling me something I may not want to hear. She's been telling me she's ready to phase into the next chapter, and even when it stings a little, I have to listen. I love her too much not to. 

Doing A-OK her first go at a bottle instead of the boob

Another morning, another baba (but really because do you not just DIE when you see babies in skinny jeans?!

Mom pride - the emotion is REAL

The last couple of days Ellis has done some amazing things, and I just have to write it down so I don't forget this feeling. Yesterday, she was sitting on the floor in the living room playing with her toys. Her favorite book was sitting flat on the hardwood floor, and she reached for it with one hand. Not being able to get her fingers under the book, she was unsuccessful in picking it up. Instead of giving up, she tried for a solid three minutes (an eternity attempting one task), switching her hands, pushing it back and forth. It took everything in me to just sit there and watch. She let out a couple of whines here and there, but never cried and never got upset. Finally, she maneuvered it against the rug and picked it up. She looked up at me with the biggest smile on her face, and I proceeded to cry, hug her and tell her over and over again how proud I was of her. I pray she keeps this incredible determination throughout her life...it was inspiring.

This evening, she was playing on the floor with her toys again before bedtime. She was sitting, then flopped herself onto her tummy, and was scooting around like she does. She got herself wedged by the toy basket, and all of the sudden kicked a leg out, pushed with her hands, sat herself back up again and immediately reached into her toy basket. Same reaction as the day before, and she was just as proud of herself. She went from tummy to sitting five more times in the next 10 minutes - it's a habit that's sticking and it makes me so happy and proud to see her finally doing some solid moving. 

My heart can hardly take the swelling that's been going on. I have never felt so PROUD of anyone for anything, ever. Heaven help me when she starts doing real big person things, and help me times a thousand when she starts tackling things that I've never done or accomplished. I cannot wait to tell her, from now until my last breath, how proud every tiny, amazing thing she does makes me. 

Video of her 3rd and 5th sit below :)

Ellie's first hike

This week we decided to take advantage of these amazingly cool temps and I took Ellie on her first hike! We hiked Pinnacle Peak, which is the one I did most before I got pregnant. It was pretty funny heading back on the trail, but this time with a 19 pound nugget on my back. She did amazingly well - figured out my water bottle and would take sips as I held it back in her direction. She fussed a little towards the end, but after an hour and a half, I'd probably fuss a little, too if I was stuck in a backpack. I think the cool, fresh air did us both some good, and I can't wait to take her again! (Yes, she kept her little hand on my shoulder the majority of the time - mom swoon)

47 weeks!

Loving a book I read as a little girl!