Ten Months Old

The Girl is ten months old, going on two years old.  As we approach her first birthday I am shocked at how fast this year has gone and how smart our little girl is.  Elle is one determined little girl and when she sets her mind to something she gets very upset when she is told "NO" (I wonder who she gets that from?).  She has even started biting me when she doesn't get her way.  Can you say terrible two?  When I tell her no and pull her hand away from something she tries it one or two more times.  If she doesn't get her way when I pull her hand away she yells at me, sticks my hand near her mouth and bites.  She has never dared to do it with anyone else but that is something we are working really hard to nip in the butt.

She learned to sign "more" at about 8 1/2 months....we were so proud of her and thought she was the smartest baby.  Since then we have taught her "please" and "thank-you".  She does please wrong (rubs her arm instead of her chest) but Matt says it's a baseball signal so we are okay with it.  The important thing is that she is consistent and she always does the same signal so we know she is communicating.  We are going to buy a book and add some more signs.  One of the next suggested ones is "cookie", we don't doubt she will pick that one up very quickly.

We had her at the pediatrician last week to check on her choking again only to find out that the poor girl has acid reflux.  She is gaining weight still (clearly) so there is no huge concern but that is the reason she still spits up and has fairly gurgly burps.   I asked them if there was anything I could change or avoid in her diet to help, but he said unless she is drinking coffee or eating curry there isn't anything we should change.  It is expected that she will grow out of this at about one year.  

AT BIRTH:  7 lbs 6 oz, 19.25 inches

2 MONTHS: 9 lbs 15 oz, 22.5 inches

4 MONTHS: 12 lbs 6 oz, 24 inches

6 MONTHS: 17 lbs 4 oz, 26 inches

9 MONTHS: 18 lbs 12 oz, 27.25 inches

10 MONTHS: 19 lbs 14 oz, 

I am officially on the job hunt to start back after my maternity leave.  It is so sad to even think about going back, but that's reality so I am enjoying every second with her.

Abby turned one April 1!

Haircuts

Elle and I both got haircuts today in preparation for our trip to Florida.  Here are some pictures of why we needed them.

Trying to get her to look...

Trying to get her to smile...

I think we got a BEFORE picture!

Elle's hair was getting a little out of control...

Her bangs were hanging in her eyes...

They trimmed it up just enough to get it out of her eyes and help it look nice as it grows in.

Cute and tidy.

Here we are...AFTER our cuts.

We will be Florida bound soon!

9 Months Old

Elle is nine months old!!!  Well 9 months and a few weeks but all these pictures were taken at nine months.  She is doing sooooo well.  I had her at the doctor a week ago for her baby wellness check up and she did great!  She is in the 50th percentile all around.  That means she is completely normal...or average...or not at all special??  Haha not true, she is just growing and gaining weight at a normal rate!  Here is her growth so far:

AT BIRTH:  7 lbs 6 oz, 19.25 inches

2 MONTHS: 9 lbs 15 oz, 22.5 inches

4 MONTHS: 12 lbs 6 oz, 24 inches

6 MONTHS: 17 lbs 4 oz, 26 inches

9 MONTHS: 18 lbs 12 oz, 27.25 inches

She is crawling, climbing, pulling up on EVERYTHING, shuffling along furniture to get the toys she wants, signing "more", waving bye-bye and hello, and giving the best hugs in the world.  She is one cuddly little monkey!  She is busy, busy, busy as you can tell from the pictures below.  This is us trying to get her 9 month picture.  Now that she can move she no longer wants to sit still.  I put her in her jumperoo when I am making dinner so I know she can't get away.  She always protests for a few minutes...who wants to be confined when you can MOVE!!!!! 

I cannot believe how time has flown.  I feel like just yesterday I was counting the days to her birth.  Nine months of pregnancy is the longest nine months of your life, while the past nine months have probably been the fastest.  I feel like the time has flown!  Here's a funny picture....me at nine months pregnant and me and Elle at nine months old.  Funniest part...we combined weigh pretty much the same as me 9 months prego (yes I still have 2 nasty prego pounds I can't get rid of).

Yes, she does have her first pony tail in...isn't it so cute?  Love her hair so much!!!!

Getting Ready For Florida

We are so excited about our vacation in just a few weeks.  We were out at Walmart tonight getting Elle some new running shoes.  Her bf Charlie had some cute shoes on at our church social and since Elle's feet have finally started to grow and she is trying to stand and shuffling around furniture we thought we would get her some new shoes.  While we were there we picked up a few other things.

Little Swimmers were on sale so we picked up a pack for Florida.  We are counting on the weather to be warm enough to swim since Elle LOVES swimming.  When we got home we decided to try her bathing suits on.

The above bathing suit is up to 9 months and the top was rather tiny on our chunky monkey.  Matt reminded me though that cousin Melissa also bought her a bathing suit so we tried it and it fits perfect.  Look how cute! 

Her hair was terrible from having her hat on so we thought this hat matched the one shoulder look.  Haha

Noah, from Noah and the Ark was also present! :)

Finally, this week Elle was interested in my glass of water.  She wanted it so badly that I let her try drinking from a cup.  Luckily it was water since she covered herself in it.  Since she was so intent on it I thought I would try her again with her sippy cup from Nana and Grandad.  She was loving it.  Don't mind the fact that she has no clothes on...it was just easier to wipe her down. :)

She was so proud of herself but the Gator cup is still a little advanced for her so we bought her a more age appropriate one at Walmart.  As soon as we got home she tried it out.  Look at  how big she is!!!

Can you say TODDLER?  She doesn't look like a baby anymore.  

We're Coming to Florida

Our flights our booked, travel plans are made and I've started pulling out summer stuff for Elle.  We are so excited that we are able to visit our family in Jacksonville in March.  It is a totally unexpected trip but we are escaping the cold weather, which seemed to be letting up but is now turning snowy again, and heading for sunshine.  I am so excited because all the spring stuff is starting to show up in the stores and I now have an excuse to buy them for Elle.  I am also excited because she has a few pairs of sandals and a bathing suit she wasn't going to get to wear due to the sizes and our cold weather.  I even pulled this super cute hat out of the closet yesterday.  It fits perfectly!  She looks like she's ready to go doesn't she?

Teeth!!!!

Please excuse the food all over her face!  Yesterday, as I was feeding her green beans and butternut squash she kept making the funniest face and showing me her teeth.  Since I've been trying for two weeks to get a good shot of her teeth I yelled to Matt to come with the camera.  Instead of trying to clean her mouth off between bites, we were trying to get her to show her teeth!  Matt was able to snap this great picture of them!  While it looks like she might be crying, she isn't, she's just being a total ham.  

Below is a picture of her eating her "Crispy Rice", the organic version of Rice Krispies (I think the name is funny).  She's pretty proud of herself for doing it on her own however, she is not that good at hitting her mouth!  

Elle's 8 Months Old

 Where did January go?  We are already in February and running in fast forward!  Elle turned 8 months a week ago...8 months going on three years.  She is so full of life and personality.  I look at her and no longer see a baby girl I see a child emerging.  She pretends to eat with her mouth when she sees food, bounces to the beat when music comes on, and laughs when I laugh at her.  She is the happiest little person I have ever met.

  Matt just got back from Mexico.  He had a good time and came home with a tan!  I was so jealous happy for him.  While he was away Elle and I stayed with my parents so I didn't climb the walls being alone with an eight month old.  While we were there Nana gave her the traditional sink bath.  My Mom loves bathing them and does so whenever she has them over night.  I warned her that Elle was not like her cousins and it would be a Shamoo show the minute she hit the water.  Here's the only photo I snapped before we decided she needed to get out.

Here she is playing dangerously with her Father.  Perhaps this is why she seems a little unsure when I leave her alone with him.  

 Being a little poser!

 Embracing the "bad hair day"!

 

With wild hair comes wild hair-dos...this is Elle with her Rihanna do.  As Matt says,  Rihanna gets her "hair-did", Elle with her hair-did.

Lazy Saturday mornings mean play-time with penguin.  They say you start to look like someone the more time you spend with them.  Elle and her BFF, Penguin.