Five... things my daughter has taught me

1. How amazing our God is. Aside from the fact that He chose me to be Elle's mommy, I am in complete awe of His power and sweet creation in what I now know as the most beautiful little girl alive.

2. Staring at your own child is addicting. I am a self proclaimed people watcher. I love going to the fair simply to gawk at the people who attend {and the food, of course}. But looking at your own child that you took part in creating... their little fingers, their nose and their toes... it has become my addiction. 

3. Life is not predictable or controllable. Anyone who knows me can vouch that I am type-A full tilt. Sparing the details, I have quickly learned this {BIG} lesson.

4. Everything can be turned into a nursery rhyme.

5. Love fully and fiercely. Elliet loves to wrap her arms around me, even in times when it's not really convenient {like in the middle of making dinner}. It serves as a great reminder to unconditionally always show love to others {even when they don't deserve it, even when they're being unlovable, even when they're busy...}

9, 10 & e.l.e.v.e.n Months

Oh Elliet!! You are changing so much, so fast! Sometimes I think you look older by the end of the day than you did just that very morning.

N.I.N.E

Stats: At your 9 month appt

You love to stand on your own - holding on to the ottoman, couch, or your crib. The look of pride and satisfaction on your face is amazing. Your expression just beams, "do you see what I'm doing mom? No big deal."


You are a great sleeper! You continue to sleep all night long, from 7pm to 6:30am. You take two naps per day anywhere from 30 mins - 2 hours. 

You're a great eater too! You very favorite food is bananas. 

T.E.N

You are into everything now and I really can't take my eyes off of you. Other than crawling, you love to be mobile in your walker. You speed race all through the house getting into everything possible. You love to open the drawers in the kitchen and pull out all the bowls, towels, etc that you can get your hands on. This month you celebrated your first Thanksgiving. We had a great time, however, the travel did interrupt your sleep routine and the first nights sleep was not quite your stellar performance. You love anything electronic... iphone, ipad, whatever you can get your hands on. Your favorite cartoons are Bubble Guppies and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. You love to play with books and hold them yourself, but you won't allow me to hold them and read them to you. If you do, it's only a page or so and then you want to hold it and play. Your becoming a cuddler more and more, you love to lay your head on my shoulder, you're such a sweet girl.

E.L.E.V.E.N

This is the last time I can refer to you in months only. You are going to be a big one year old next month! We haven't seen the Dr in a while, so I'm not sure how much you weigh. You are wearing 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. You have taken a step or two and will steady yourself, but it doesn't take long until your body meets the floor. You still have NO teeth! I can't believe it. Dr. Keller says that Mommy or Daddy must have been a late teether. That doesn't hold you back while eating though! You love chicken, green beans, carrots and mostly enjoy anything pasta like your Momma. You prefer to feed yourself and will still let me shovel some "bites" into your mouth before shaking your head "no" at me. You are still such a great little sleeper. 

7 & 8 months

Our little girl has turned 8 months! Wow, baby girl is busy! She is full on mobile and likes to explore. I can't believe how close she is getting to turning ONE!

She is such a sweetheart. She loves to laugh, coo, blow raspberries and smile. Just a sweet, sweet baby, and has the cutest personality that she is showing more of each day.

With each passing month comes so many firsts! She is now holding her bottle for herself, clapping her hands, and crawling. Our sweet girl is still wearing 6 months clothes and size 2 diapers.

Our eating adventures are still ongoing. Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes and bananas. She's not a fan of texture yet, so things like chicken are of no interest to her. She loves her mixed purees and seems to favor veggies over fruit. Recently we gave her a dill pickle spear and she absolutely loved it.

Elle still loves her bath time! She gets so excited as we're waiting on the bath to fill, she will bounce in my lap waiting to be allowed in. Once she's in, it's full on kicking and splashing mode.

Elliet is still a great sleeper. We listened to advice of sticking to a bedtime routine and it sure has paid off. We are in the bath around 6:30pm followed up with a massage of coconut oil before getting into her pj's and sitting in the rocking chair for her last bottle before bed. Her room window is darkened and we use a white noise machine. She sleeps from about 7:00pm to 6:30/7:00am. I love entering her room in the mornings, she is always so happy to see me! I get the sweetest, biggest, toothless grin and it melts my heart. She is also a decent napper, we can see stretches of sleep during nap time that can last 2 hours, but on an off day, can be as short as 30 mins. She normally takes two naps per day.

Her favorite toys consist of anything that was not intended as a baby toy. Ha. She loves empty water bottles, always wants the TV remote or our cell phones (although we don't let her have those, yuck!) and oh, Paisley's dog toys. She loves watching Paisley and enjoys pulling her beard, even though Paisley isn't as fond of this activity. However, Paisley is starting to come around and notice that she may just have a new playmate on her hands. She has started to take her toys near Ellie knowing that Elle will crawl towards them. If Ellie is quick enough to grab the toy, Paisley enjoys taking it away from her! Ha.

We are still waiting for the ever looming first tooth to arrive. I've been watching and feeling for it, but it has yet to appear.

We took our first "trip" to the Gaylord Resort in Grapevine, Texas to celebrate Aunt Sheila's 50th birthday. It was a great time. We took Kaitlin with us to help with Elle in the evenings and it worked out great.

I am so proud of this little life we've created. I stare at her in awe often. We love our sweet girl so so much. 

Six Months

Where does the time go?! Six months, already! I know I'm behind.. by almost a month, but hey, what's a busy Momma to do? 

I'm not sure there are another six months of my life that can rival the change that this past six months have brought. In a six month period, our little girl has learned to breathe, cry, eat, sleep, smile, laugh, kick, roll over, squeal, shake toys, grab things with her hands, bounce her little body, sit quietly in her carseat, eat rice cereal and all kinds of vegetables, grab Mommy's hair, adore her Daddy, coo at Grandma, pet our dog, sit on her own, look at picture books, love the water, and enjoy some of her favorite toys. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! 

                       

At six month this little beauty is in the 92nd percentile for height, at 27.1 inches and she is in the 43rd percentile for weight, at 15 lb 8 oz. She is healthy and strong and still we await the signs of teeth. She is in six months clothes and wearing size two diapers. She has such strong legs!

Your first trip to the lake was a success! You really enjoy the water. You love grandma's pool and you love splashing the water during bath time. 

She loves watching Paisley play with her chew toys and will laugh hysterically at her, however, she also loves pulling Paisley's hair. We hoped we've remedied that issue by having her hair cut very short during her last trip to the groomer. 

I love spending my time our little 'boo bear.' I am the president of her fan club and I soak up all her snuggles and coo's. Her babbles often include, "mmamamma," and even though she doesn't know what she is saying, I'll take it, it's close enough to "mama" for me!

Until next month... which is officially only 8 days away.. oops. 

                                                     

4/5 Months

 

Oh our sweet Elle! She is just growing and changing and happy, happy, happy. At her 4 month appointment she weighed 14 lbs. Recently, she turned 5 months and we had to visit the Dr again (poor baby girl has eczema), she's gained 1 lb since her visit a month ago, she's now weighing in at 15 lb 1 oz.

Months 4 and 5 have been so fun. There have been so many changes it seems there is something new everyday.  She wants to sit up on her own so badly, I don't think it will be long before she accomplishes this. Her laughs are the sweetest sound! She still loves bath time and sleeps very well. She will sleep through the entire night but most often she will wake once to eat and go right back to sleeping soundly.

 

 

 



 

Upon her 4 month checkup, Dr. Keller suggested that we introduce food. We began with rice cereal and added apples, bananas, green beans, carrots and sweet potatoes. She seems to be a lover of vegetables and we have dropped the fruits out the mix for now. Sometimes I just can't feed it to her fast enough and she's so frantic she gets angry! Other times in between bites she will smile and give an excited "mmmmmmm." Did I mention we also get messy?

 

 

 

 

Tummy time is becoming more of an acceptable activity for Elle but she has yet to roll over. She enjoys being outside and getting fresh air. We sit on the back deck often and she looks around and has started to take more notice of Paisley. She also enjoys going for walks in the stroller.



 

 

 

She has found her thumb and started to suck on it every now and then. While it is awfully cute, especially when she curls her pointer finger around her nose while doing so, I hope it does not become a habit. She loves to chew on her Sophie giraffe, although, her favorite of all toys would be the IPhone or IPad. She really likes to rewatch herself after being recorded!

 

We celebrated Fathers Day recently by sleeping in and spending time just enjoying our little family.

 

 

We love, love, love our baby girl!

 

 

 



 



 







Five... things I want to teach my daughter

1. Never hold onto anything tighter then your holding onto God.

2. People learn how to treat you based on what you accept from them.

3. Collect moments, not things.

4. We all fall down. If you fail, get up and try again. Those who never tumble never meet their potential.

5. Focus on the good, be thankful for what you have and give all the glory to God.



3 Months Old

Sweet Brown was right, "ain't nobody got time for that!" This new Mama is quickly learning life with a little one leaves little time for much else .. sooo I'm a few weeks behind, but better late then never, right?



I think we've hit the golden age of babyhood... happy but not yet mobile and getting more predictable. She's such an easy baby {and I'm pretty certain that I will not be this lucky with her siblings}. She's becoming so much more interactive, she is full of smiles and she loves to talk {about whatever it is she's babbling about}, our conversations are the highlight of my day! She is so much more alert and curious, she loves to flirt with the fan {as most babies do} and examine her surroundings.

 



She's a good little sleeper. She is still sleeping in the bassinet of her pack n' play in our bedroom. I haven't had the urge to get her into her crib, I enjoy her being close. She has slept through the entire night a handful of times, however, it's normal that she wakes up just once for a diaper change and to eat anywhere between 3 and 5am. She falls right back to sleep as soon as her belly has been filled. I don't mind waking up with her, she is always so excited to see me arrive at her bed side, I get the biggest grin.

 



She still loves her hands. She loves to suck on them and examine them. And it's not only her hands that she loves putting in her mouth... rattles, blankees, mommy and daddy's fingers... nothing is off limits.

 

Elle spends her weekdays with her G-Ro. Grandparents are so special and we are so thankful Elle is so loved and gets to spend so much time with her grandma.

 

 

All tuckered out from a hard day of play! =)







Saturday's and Sunday's are our favorite days, we try to make them as lazy as possible. We snuggle in the mornings with Dad and spend our time hanging out and giving kisses.

 

 

 

Month three has been so much fun. We love watching our precious girl learn new things and reach different milestones. I can't wait to report back about month four!