Annie's 2 year and Ella's 7 year updates

Ella - 6/2012:

Height: 46 1/4" (50th percentile)

Weight: 48.2 pounds (50th percentile)

Annie - 10/2012:

Height: 36" (90-95th percentile)

Weight: 28.1 pounds (50-75th percentile)

Head: 19" (75th percentile)

Annie's 18 month update

Wow, this got here fast.  18 months.  And boy girl, were there some changes!  Thankfully, I can talk about talking in this update.  My little burst of craziness has finally decided to form words instead of reaching/pointing and "uh, uh"-ing at everything she wants.  I have not necessarily been worried these past months.  I know comparing her (or any child) to Ella for milestones is not wise as Ella was most likely talking IN the womb!  But, when the pediatrician asked at 15 months if she was saying any words and all I could say was "nothing other than 'ma',  'da' and what I thought was "ball", I was really hoping to be able to say a few more words at her 18 month check-up.  It was encouraging at that time that she was definitely understanding things that we said, so we chalked it up to the "second child" syndrome.

Well, I am happy to announce that Annie is talking!!!  Like most girls (except her mother), she loves talking on the phone.  She babbles away at anyone who will listen (or whoever she pretends is listening) and scarily, she knows how to dial her father's cell.  For now, he thinks it's cute (granted, at the beginning, he thought I was putting her up to it).  Although, every time someone calls my cell she automatically thinks it's Stephen and she proceeds to yell "dada, dada!" until I can finally make her understand it is not him I'm speaking to.  For actual words (and some phrases) she is saying, the list includes:

• ball
• dog
• good girl
• please
• lala (for Elmo)
• ickey (for Mickey)
• Sisssss (for sissy a.k.a Ella)
• Ice
• brush 
• bird
• night, night
• nose
• eye
• tickle
• ta-da

As for the rest of the 18 month check-up, Annie was all over Dr. Cooke.  She is a lover of anyone giving her attention.  She is very easy to examine and Annie even told the doctor to look in her ears (my continuously pointing at them and sticking her finger in them).  She had to get one shot (Hep A), but Annie actually cried for maybe 5 seconds, as she was instantly distracted by the Tweety Bird band-aid that was placed on her thigh.  

Finally, what we've all been waiting for....her 18 month stats!!!  Coming in at 24 pounds and 1 ounce, Annie is in the 46th percentile for weight.  Holding strong in the 92nd percentile, Annie is 33.5 inches tall (or long, however you like to say it)!  And she continues to have an above average head circumference at 18.75 inches, which puts her in the 80th percentile.  I'm convinced that her late-ish walking at 13-14 months has to do with her height/weight/head ratios compared to her tiny "Kelly feet" that she and Ella have been graced with.

As for other things going on in Annie's life, she is falling more and more in love with the water.  This makes me very happy as I was worried with her being born in MI and spending the first few years of her life here would stunt her ability to fall in the love with the water, but clearly it's just in our genes!  I'm looking forward to starting her in swim lessons late-Spring and I'm sure she'll be just like Ella and cry and get upset when the lessons are over.  I look forward to having two fish in the family who can enjoy the water together.  Annie does love her sister and wants to do everything she is doing.  I would say that is the biggest difference in having a second child who has an older sibling to watch and learn from.  Annie insists on being outside and hanging with Ella's friends (thank God most of them love Annie, too) and of course, she wants to play with all of Ella's things.  It is fun to see Annie's personality continue to bloom and to see how different from Ella she is, even though they look so much alike.

Until next time...

Ella & Annie - My Pride and Joy

Since my last kid update, Ella turned 6 years old and Annie is now 9 months old!  I know I say this every time, but where is the time going?!  It definitely seems like it goes by even faster with the second child.  I can't believe in three months I won't have a baby anymore.  And Ella, she will be starting 1st grade in a couple months (and then Stephen and I will be turning 32 and 31 respectively)!  OMW!!


So, over the past few months, Ella has definitely moved from her Kindergarten days into a young girl who has shown her blossoming interests and talents.  Late spring she finished her final swim class.  She has aspirations of being on a dive team, but yet this summer she wanted to take a break.  But, I am very proud of her and her accomplishments and her abilities.  She is a great swimmer and has every stroke down (except for the butterfly). 

She also had another great soccer season and scored three or four goals over the course of 6 games.  She has turned into a great team player and finally doesn't think that she has to score a goal every game to be successful.  We aren't sure what's next for her.  She is interested in starting dance or maybe going back to gymnastics, but I'm not sure I (or she) can handle both.  Until then, her summer has been filled with lots of play dates and running around the 'hood with her friends.  She has a little more freedom this summer as she is allowed to ride her scooter or bike (she is officially off training wheels - which I feel took longer for her since we really only ride bikes about 5 months out of the year) to her friends house's as most of them live in the front of the neighborhood like we do.  She definitely thinks she's hot-stuff and it reminds me of when I was her age and I was riding my bike everywhere and into OTHER neighborhoods to visit friends.  But, not only is that not possible as neighborhoods aren't connected or really close to ours, but I seriously doubt I would even let her if that was an option.  It's sad to think about.  Our world is making us all crazy and limiting the fun and freedom kids used to have outside.  Anyway, she loves hanging out in neighbors' blow-up pools and using her slip-n-slide.  


She has also spent a lot of time reading which I love!  It's amazing how much her reading has progressed even over this short summer since school ended.  We take weekly trips to the library where she gets to pick out two books and a DVD.  And she also loves reading to Annie!  Ella has also become a techie...she loves her iPod Nano, which is Stephen's old one.  So no, we did NOT buy her an iPod.  But, she does take over my new iPod Touch that I was finally able to upgrade to.  I'm pretty sure she knows how to use it better than I do.  All of a sudden I saw her on Netflix the other day and I thought she had bought something accidentally, but no, she was just watching some cartoons that she put in the Watch Now queue....seriously.  AND she knows how to use Stephen's iPad.  Come on!!


Oh, as for Ella's (my petite one) 6 year stats...She is a mere 44" tall (23rd percentile) and 43.4 pounds (39th percentile).  For some reason she is very sensitive about being small.  Not sure what to do about that one.  She's kinda screwed since she has me and her daddy's genes.


Now onto Annie.  My chunky monkey is now 9 months old.  Her stats right now show she is 29" long (91st percentile) and 20.5 pounds (76th percentile).  She decided to start crawling the day she turned 7 months old.  She first started out doing a military crawl, but within a month weeks finally got onto her hands and knees.  She also loves music and head bangs to her favorites songs.  She also claps when she gets excited.  She continues to teeth...constantly.  She has at least 9 teeth, if not more.  It's crazy.  Since she has so many teeth we started her on table foods around 8 months.  She loves black beans, cheese, tomatoes, watermelon, french fries...she would eat more if we let her.  She finally started babbling around 8 1/2 months.  I was getting a little worried there as it seemed our pediatrician was going to send us to a speech therapist if she wasn't babbling by her 9 month check up.  Thankfully, she finally started vocalizing some b's and d's...but she is still not saying ''mama' or 'dada'.  Oh well.  I think we're just a loud and talkative family that she's just listening and taking it all in.  I fear to think of what her first words or phrase might be!!  :)

While in Florida Annie was able to experience the water for the first time.  She was able to go swimming at her aunt's house and she also went to Blizzard Beach at Disney.  She also went to Blue Springs and handled the 72 degree water like a champ, unlike her mommy who screamed like a little girl when she jumped in.  Just like her sister, she LOVES the water.  She could stay in it all day.

I'm happy also to brag that both my girls love church and their children's department.  Ella is about to graduate from Waumba Land (birth to Kindergarten) and jump to UpStreet (1st-5th grade).  She is very excited about that, but she is also sad that she will be leaving her teachers that she has been around since she was 2.  And Annie loves the nursery!  Ms. Val is the best and Annie has blossomed.  I'm also happy that the nursery seems to be the only place where Annie doesn't cling to me!

I can't imagine what my girls will be doing during the next update.  I suppose the next one will be in a couple months when Ella starts 1st grade and then again in three months when Annie turns 1.  OMW!!!

Annie's 6 month stats

My baby is six months old today!  Where is the time going?  These past couple months have been such a blur to me and I feel like I'm missing out on what most likely is my last baby.  It seems to be going by so much faster than it did with Ella.  When Ella was a baby we had so much one-on-one time together and Stephen wasn't as busy then so we also had a lot of family time together. This time around, Stephen is super-busy and I clearly have more things that need my attention.  All that aside, I love having a baby in the house.  My favorite time of the day is when Annie wakes up in the morning and is babbling to herself and when I walk in she gives me the biggest smile she possibly can showing me those two cute little teeth she has.

Anyway, onto her stats.  Today she weighed 17 lb, 6 oz (72nd percentile) and her length was 28" (98th percentile)!!  She is pretty much on par with Ella's stats except for the fact that she is an inch taller than Ella was at 6 months.  I can't get over how big she is.  She is already wearing 9 mo. sleepers because if not she pops her snaps when she moves around!  And speaking of moving around, that's all this girl does.  She is not crawling, thank goodness, but she rolls and scoots to get wherever she wants to be.  She loves being on our wood floor more than the carpet.  And if she is sick of being on her play mat she'll scoot and roll over to her exersaucer to let me know that's where she wants to be now.  

She is still making her "chewbaca" sound effects and blowing raspberries, but not much "mama"or "dada" yet.  We'll see what the next couple weeks will hold.  She hasn't really been herself lately as she has been dealing with a little cold and I think she might be teething again.  Her eating habits have even been a little haywire.  She was so into her solids last month and then in the past two weeks she has not wanted anything to do with them!  

I'm looking forward to the weather finally warming up (consistently) so we can be outside more and enjoy nature.  When we were in FL taking care of my G'ma, I was able to take Annie on walks every day and it was so amazing to see her expressions and interests in the outdoors and seeing GREEN trees and grass and colorful flowers.  I hope we get to do that up here sooner rather than later.  Annie likes being outside when she gets the chance and she loves watching her big sister ride her scooter or bike and play out back on her play structure.  Before I know it, Annie will be doing those things, too!

Annie's 4 month stats

Happy Valentine's Day 2011!  A year ago today, in the very early morning hours of which I couldn't sleep since Stephen was on-call, I found out I was pregnant with Annie.  I was pretty surprised because we hadn't been trying very long.  And look at her now...4 months old and reaching one milestone after another - too fast in my opinion.  I am really wanting Annie to stay her small, baby self for as long as possible.  But, after her 4 month check up today I'm reminded again how fast she is growing and once again her stats made me laugh.  She is my chunky monkey and then around 18 mo. she'll slow dramatically and be my petite, skinny girl (just like her sister).

Today she weighed in at 14 lb, 8.5 oz. (70th percentile) and she was 26 inches long (96th percentile).  Her head circumference is still up there at 16 7/8" (90th percentile).  She got the same vaccines she got at her 2 month check up and was a champ once again.  If only that would last.  Ella became deathly afraid of shots around 4 and now we have to sit on top of her just for her to get a flu shot!!  I don't look forward to having to sit on top of both of them at some point in the future.


As for milestones, she can roll over from her tummy to her back, but not vice versa yet.  She can roll over on her side from her back, but not completely over onto her tummy.  (Again, I'm in no hurry for that.)  She is reaching for everything...toys, glasses, noses, necklaces, hair, etc.  And she loves to exercise her vocal chords - in a good, happy way.  She loves babbling and hearing herself making high-pitched noises.  It's very cute, for now anyway.  She also loves scooting on her back and lately we've been finding her in the morning lying in a completely different direction than we laid her down the night before.  And no, pediatrician friends, I am not taking off the bumper!  :)


We're going to try and start her on some solid food this week, but if she isn't into it we won't rush it.  I haven't decided whether I'm going to try rice cereal first or oatmeal.  I can't remember what I started Ella on first (guess I should look back in my blog).  We don't have any problem with food allergies, so it really doesn't matter.  So, let the messiness begin!!

Annie and Ella Updates

Time is flying by!  Not only is 2010 over, but my baby girl is 3 months old and my first baby girl is 5 1/2 and will be 6 before I know it.  These are the days that I want to stop time and sit down with my girls and just play and laugh mentally remember them at this age.  Ella's baby years flew by too fast with all the moving and new beginnings of motherhood and 'doctor'-hood.  I want so bad to cherish Annie as a baby and for time to slow down because I'm pretty sure I'm done having kids.  Yet as I am typing this post Annie is having more 'firsts' and reaching more and more milestones which only means one thing - she's growing up!  Ahhhh!

Yesterday Annie rolled over...1/2 way...for the first time.  I know this isn't a huge deal as rolling over is usually celebrated when then can fully roll over from front to back and vice versa, but I was proud of her because this is helping her enjoy her playmat, playpen and crib a bit more as she can look in different directions now.  She is also grasping objects more.  She has a rattle that she likes and she also holds her pacifier and a soft elephant/blanket thingy (I have no idea what to call it.  It's one of those little blankets that have a stuffed animal head attached to it).  Anyway, Ella was the first one to see Annie's half roll onto her side.  I was fixing dinner in the kitchen while Annie was in the living room on her playmat.  Ella came down from upstairs and ran into the kitchen saying, "Mommy!  Annie tipped over!  Annie tipped over!"  At first I was brushing Ella off because I knew Annie was lying on the ground so she couldn't really "tip over", but then Ella's sound of concern/surprise made me run in the living room to see what was going on and sure enough there was Annie on her right side cooing and looking around!  It made me smile and Ella thought it was really cool that she was the first one to see her new milestone.  I'm very curious to see what her stats will be on her 4 month check up next month.  

My ever growing, stubborn, hilarious, smart, beautiful 15.yo., um, 5 y.o. (ha ha) is coming home every day learning new spelling words, reading more, painting beautiful pictures (although I'm sick of all her stuff smelling like tempera paint!) and adding and subtracting like it's going out of style!  I am amazed at how much she is learning in Kindergarten.  But I am so thrilled with her love of reading and music (she gets that from me) and she is also really interested in science, but I have to say that was always my weak point.  Thank God that Stephen is strong in that area because when Science Fair projects come around, that's all him!  :)  

Ella will be starting her last couple rounds swim classes next month.  She has finished all her classes teaching her the different strokes.  She is now in an advanced class teaching better breathing techniques and longevity for lap swimming.  This summer she will be able to be on a swim team if she so desires, although she says she doesn't want to do races, she wants to dive!  I'm trying really hard to not live vicariously through her, but I loved being on a swim team when I was younger and even to this day I could stay in a pool for hours!

Overall, my girls are amazing!  Any mother out there with kids, especially girls, knows how I feel.  And this will be the post that I read and re-read over and over again to calm myself and remember how blessed I am on those days where I'm getting payback for being such a brat when I was little!  (Just kidding...no, I'm not.) 

Ella's 23 Month Update

It's May already?!?! We only have a few more weeks left in FL and I'm starting to get really sad, yet excited about our new journey. Ella doesn't know that anything big is getting ready to happen and I'm starting to worry about her adjusting. She was barely one when we moved back to FL last year and I didn't even give it a second thought, but now I'm concerned. We'll definitely make sure her room is put together first and will go ahead and put her crib up just so she's comfortable the first few weeks and then we'll get her new bed and furniture delivered.
As for a real update - Ella amazes me more and more EVERY day. She LOVES counting and can do so up to 20 and she'll even throw a few spanish numbers in there thanks to Dora, but we aren't necessarily teaching her that. She's also got the whole alphabet down, now we're trying to teach her the song to go with it, but that's not catching on very well. One thing new that she does that I absolutely love, is when she wakes up in the morning and comes downstairs, she says, "Morning mom"...and then proceeds to say that to whoever is there whether its the dogs or Stephen. I still have no idea where she picked that up.

Ella still loves the outdoors. She loves to 'mow' with her bubble-blowing mower, she loves her slide and her sandbox and she loves watching the cows in the pasture across our street. Yes, I know it's weird to think we have cows in our neighborhood, but we do. We live in the back of Southwood and there is pasture across the street where cows roam and eat grass twice a day, so we usually catch them early evening before dinner. All of us will miss the cows a lot!
Ella has also remembered her love for water. I was worried early on because she was very timid the first time we took her to the pool, but we've been a few more times and she's back to her normal self. She even started jumping off the wall into the water!!! I was shocked when she started doing that. :) She also learned how much fun the beach is. I can't wait to take her back. She had a blast in the ocean after she realized that the waves weren't out to get her. So, after a few minutes of running away from the waves, she got right in and let them knock her down, but for the most part, she kept her balance really well while the waves went by. She also loves collecting shells. We were trying to get her to build sand castles with us, but she just destroyed everything daddy and I built!

We also took Ella to Disney a couple weekends ago. The last two times she's been she went with her Aunt and cousins, so we were excited to go with her this time. We split the day up between Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Epcot wasn't really for her and the only reason we wanted to go was because we hadn't been in forever and were curious about the new rides, but we only went on a couple ofthe new rides...we'll have to do the Test Track next time. By the time we got to Animal Kingdom Ella was getting tired, but we still had fun. But, I'm looking forward to using up our special passes that we got and take her back to the Magic Kingdom and MGM before we leave FL for good. We'll be getting on that soon after graduation.

Speaking of graduation...I can't believe it's almost here. That weekend will be whirlwind with all the people who will be in town and everything we have going on, but I'm looking forward to it. I'll probably be giving you the next update a few days early due to our moving around the 5th and Ella will be getting her two year check up earlier that week. So, until then, hope all is well and keep us in your thought and prayers as our lives in the next few weeks will be very hectic and changing very quickly!

Ella's 22 Month Update

I can't believe my little girl is almost 2 years old! I know I say this all the time, but it's really scary how fast time flies. Since our last update, Ella has continues to broaden her vocabulary and can pretty much say anything. It's so nice to have her tell us what she wants or needs and it's also nice to be able to tell her anything and she understands it (whether she pays attention to you or not)! One thing I've really enjoyed is how much Ella is singing now. She sings herself to sleep or will just start singing in the car. I will say that her favorite songs are the theme song to Dora, Elmo, and The Backyardigans, so those songs are getting old, but we're trying to branch out and learn new songs.

Ella has also gone to Disney for the fourth time in her short life. The past two times have been without us and it's kinda sad that we're missing those times with her. But, she stayed with her cousins again last week while Stephen and I were in MI looking for a house. So, Ella went to MGM Studios and loved the Indiana Jones show the best! That's my favorite, too. I wish I could've seen her face when all the pyrotechnics went off!

Ella also enjoyed her first Easter egg hunt(s). She went with her cousins to their church this past Sat. and then we had one out her great-grandmother's house after church on Sunday. She definitely knew what she was doing and enjoyed opening all the eggs to get her prizes and candy! I'm not sure how many eggs she got with her cousins, but Stephen hid 48 eggs in my G'ma's backyard and Ella found every one of them!

So, back to our MI trip. Stephen and I were up there for 3 1/2 days and on Good Friday we found our house. Thankfully, the couple selling the house took our first offer! We aren't used to not getting a counter-offer, so we knew this was the place we were supposed to live in next. We're really excited about having a basement, too! The house in good condition for it being 7 years old and the paint that's on the walls are to our liking so we won't have to paint. WooHoo! I'm also very excited that we have an IKEA about 25 mi away. You know where I'll be the first few weeks in MI!! Anyway, it looks like we'll be moving up there around June 6th and closing the next day. Hopefully it will be warmer in June. It didn't get past 35 degrees the whole time we were in MI and it snowed the whole time, too!

Back to Ella, I really hope that she adjusts well to MI and can understand what's going on a little bit. I want to make her comfortable first and foremost and let her realize that this is her new home. Her room is smaller than the one she has now, but the finished basement will make up for that and she can have a play area down there. Well, I feel like there should be more to Ella's update, but she's really just building on things that I've talked about previously. I'm sure there will be a lot more to talk about in the next couple months!

Ella's 21 Month Update

It's March already! I can't believe it. Two and a half more months and we'll be leaving FL for at least 6 years...tims is really flying by and I'm realizing it more and more as Ella is changing and growing up so quickly. This past month has been unreal for me in the motherhood department mainly because I've been amazed at Ella's progress. I know I've said about the same thing every month for the past couple months, but Ella truly learns a ton of news things every DAY...forget every week! She literally copies everything we say and do (which keeps us in check) and we can't go out in public without her starting a coversation or someone coming up to her to talk to her.

The most amazing progress to me is her vocabulary. I was happy with her progress a month ago, but now I'm just flat out in awe. She is talking and singing constantly. She tells us what she wants/needs and can tell us more how she's feeling and it makes things so much easier and less stressful. One of my favorite things that she's says now is 'sorry'. We've been trying really hard to get her to grasp the meaning of 'sorry' and why we say it. Sometimes she gets rough with the dogs and we tel lher to say 'sorry'...well, I think she's about got the concept, because she has started to say 'sorry' to me and Stephen when she does things that she thinks 'hurts' us. It's really cute. Another cute thing is when we do hurt ourselves (i.e., stub our toes pr bump into things) and we say 'ouch' or however we show our pain, she'll make sure we're OK and she won't be satisfied until we tell her that we're OK.

Another big accomplishment is that Ella finally went to the bathroom in her potty. It wasn't anything specific that I did, she was just sitting on her potty after she had asked to go potty and she was reading a book while I was in the kitchen and she came running in saying, "uh oh". I followed her in the bathroom wondering what she had gotten into when she led me to her toilet and pointed in it and said, "uh oh" again. I smiled and said, "Yeah! That's what you're supposed to do! I praised her for what seemed like forever because I wanted her to know that she had done a good thing. She seemed a little confused, but she's always up for praise.

Ella has also been enjoying her new slide that her Papa bought her when he was down last weekend. So, now she has her own sandbox and slide in her backyard. She loves and we go out every afternoon after her nap and play for about an hour. I love the slide, too, because I don't have to help her up it or down it. The steps are sturdy and wide enough for her to climb up and the slide reaches all the way to the ground, so she lands on her feet...or her butt...whichever she prefers at the moment. :)

This time next month our house will officially be on the market and we'll slowly but surly be preparing to move again. Where you ask? Well, we'll find that out this Thurs. around noon. You know I'll post another blog to update you...I will say that we'll most likely match in Philly or Michigan (keep your fingers crossed for Michigan). Until then, hope all is well and I would love to hear from you!

Ella's 20 Month Update

The past month has again flown by and brought along a lot growth for Ella. She's a little taller and has officially reached the 24lb mark. She has also had a lot of growth in her vocabulary. It's hard for me to tell you every thing that she's saying now, but I will say that she has clearly said her first two sentences which were: "What did you do?" and "Where did daddy go?". She has finally started saying 'yes' appropriately, so now I don't have to guess when her no means no and when her no means yes. It cool to be able to understand her more and more every day. Before I know it, we'll be having mini-coversations!

Potty training is still going slow, probably because of me, but she has yet to actually go in the potty. She just sits on it and laughs. She likes to sit ducky on it, too! If only I could get ducky to use the bathroom to show her what to do. For some reason she doesn't get what I'm doing when I'm using the bathroom, but that may be TMI for most of you. Anyway, I'm not pushing anything either, so it'll be a slow process.

This past week I left Ella for the first time. Needless to say, I was a mess! Ella was great and had a blast with her three cousins, especially Rebekah who is 4. They played outside for hours at a time and they also went to Disney this past Wed. Ella finally got to meet the characters since it wasn't very crowded and she hugged and kissed every one of them. Hopefully I'll be getting some copies of the pictures soon and I'll post them ASAP. Anyway, Stephen and I went to Philly to check out the city since that's Stephen's #1 choice for residency. So, Angela (Stephen's sister) watched Ella for three days. I knew she would be fine, but it was hard for me and I missed her terribly. It might have been a little easier if I was in a warm location sun bathing or swimming my worries away, but instead I was freezing my butt off and wanting to be with her!
Ella has also started going to KidCare for about and hour or so in the morning at our YMCA while I work out. She had a rough time letting me leave her the first time, but I soon found out that she was enjoying herself and loved the adults watching her. I'm looking forward to that being a daily routine if not at least 3 days a week.

And unfortunately Ella came down with a bad cold yesterday and is running a fever. I don't know exactly how bad it is because we're in Daytona for the weekend and I don't have her thermometer with me, but we're just giving her Tylenol Sinus and Cold for Infants and suctioning her nose all the time...fun, fun! I hope she gets over this quickly! As for the rest of the month, we'll be laying low and trying to enjoy our final months in Florida.

Ella's 19 Month Update

What whirlwind this past month has been! It's been very chaotic and we've barely been home at all. Christmas has come and gone and it was bittersweet this year as we spent our last Christmas with Stephen's mom. Sadly, she lost her battle with breast cancer on January 1st. We've all been going through and array of emotions as we are glad that mom isn't suffering anymore and is home with her Lord, but of course we're also sad because of the obvious reasons. Stephen has lost his mom, Ella has lost her Nana, and I've lost my second mom...again, to cancer. We returned home from WV where mom was buried and Stephen has since then been busy with interviews. It seems like life will never be 'normal'.

Thankfully through all of this Ella faired pretty well. She traveled pretty good and slept better than she usually does when we're not at home. She enjoyed her Christmas' with Nana and Papa and with her Great-Grandma in Gainesville. She got some really great gifts from cute outfits to books to a Dora the Explorer Power Wheels Jeep!!! She really enjoys riding around and surprisingly caught on very quickly when it came to pushing the pedal to go.

So, with 2007 already upon us Ella is continuing her race to independence. It is so amazing at how INDEPENDENT she is when I don't want her to be and how DEPENDENT she is when I don't want her to be. She loves to feed herself and unfortunately I probably don't let her do it as much as I should because I never feel like cleaning up messes! :) She also loves to UNDRESS herself. She's getting a little better at brushing her teeth but more often than not I have to intervene and she HATES that! She's still a great eater and will not eat Gerber Graduates anymore. I don't know if she finally realized that they taste bad or what, but she only wants what we eat.

On the annoying side, I'm trying to grow her bangs out so they're the same length as the rest of her hair and she does not like keeping barrettes in her hair, so they're ALWAYS in her eyes and it drives me nuts! She also like to come ito the kitchen while I'm cooking and open all the drawers and just leave...so I'm banging my hips against the corners (and quietly cursing) while I cook.

We're also getting ready to venture into potty training. My only problem is that Ella still doesn't know 'yes'. She can say it when I tell her to say it, but she still just say 'no' to everything. I hear that's not good when it comes to potty training because she won't tell me that she has to go or what not. So, I guess we'll be starting slowly. :)

The next month, Lord willing, will be a little more normal and a little more fun. Ella will be starting gymnastics at our YMCA and hopefully Stephen and I will be able to play racquetball a little more since they offer free child-care!! The weather is nice and I'm hoping to be outside a lot more and be more active. That's my New Year's Resolution(s). I'm hoping since I have a kid now that those will be easier to stick to since Ella always wants to be active!
Wishing y'all a great 2007!

Ella's 18 Month Update

Christmas is but two weeks away and yet it seems like I haven't had time to enjoy the season. We've been very busy these first 11 days of December. We just got back from a trip to NC where Stephen had an interview at UNC - Chapel Hill. Thankfully he loved it because that's where I really want to go. But, other than that, the trip was very stressful and exhausting. We left with our daughter on Thurs. and yet a few hours into the trip she was replaced by someone else's daughter. That's the only way I can explain what we put up with for 3 days. I have NEVER seen Ella be so high-maintenance and so demanding. She literally screamed for three days straight no matter what her mood and no matter what she needed or wanted. Somehow she forgot that she could talk and refused to used her words to tell us what was wrong. But, most of the time nothing was wrong, she just wanted to be difficult. I say this not to complain or to be mean to my child, but I seriously think she's already starting 'the terrible twos'! I remember reading something before Ella was born saying that this period could start as early as 18 months but didn't think about it because hey, she wasn't here yet and I was going to have the perfect kid, right?!?! I will say that she's been traveling so much lately and I know sitting in your carseat for 9 hours can't be fun even though we stopped and let her run around as much as we thought she needed to. And I will say that as soon as we got back home (early Sunday morning) she was back to her 'normal' self. But, the screaming has got to stop! I don't understand why she won't use her words since she knows how to communicate most things to us.

Anyway, now that we're back we are getting ready to go see Santa sometime this week. I've been trying very hard to get her to recognize Santa so she won't be afraid when I pass her off to him. She seems to know who he is and can say 'santa', but we'll see how it goes when she sees the 'real' thing. She'll also be getting her hair cut again. It's growing like weeds and it needs shaping really bad and then we'll go get her 18 month/Christmas pics taken Friday afternoon. So, y'all should be getting some updated pics real soon.

As far as new things she's doing...these updates are starting to get monotonous in the fact that now that she's getting older she doesn't have as many 'firsts' and is really just building upon things. I will say that she has an afinity for jumping. She loves to show us how high she can jump and she loves landing on her butt and saying 'uh-oh'! In fact, she says 'uh-oh' so much I never really know if something is really wrong! She's also playing with the dogs more and in a rougher way. Most of the time they just lay there and take it, but I truly think she thinks Gator is her oversized stuffed animal.

Another thing with Ella is that she's getting way more independent and wants to do everything herself which makes certain situations difficult because I don't necessarily WANT her to do it herself at that time. But, overall, she's feeding herself with utensils pretty well and helps me dress her. She also loves brushing her hair - if only I could get her to like brushing her teeth!!
Until next month, I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and we hope that we'll be seeing you soon, too!

Ella's 17 Month Update

Another late update...sorry y'all. Things are getting more chaotic and I'm beginning to think this is how the rest of my life is going to be. We've all been through colds and this past weekend I was diagnosed with a kidney infection and also found out that I still have a kidney stone lingering in my left kidney. It's about 5mm and I'm not looking forward to passing it, so I'm going to get lithotripsy done and just get it taken care of before it starts moving even though it's been there since the last time I had a bout with kidney stones. So, the last few days I've been dealing with naseau, pain, lethargy...you know all the fun stuff that you can't really deal with when you have a toddler running around! Anyway, I'm feeling a little better today and I've actually been able to get some things done...this blog being one of them!

On to Ella...she has turned into an independent, stubborn wanna-be 15 year old. The girl knows what she wants and when she doesn't get it she has a full meltdown! Thankfully she gets over it pretty fast. When Ella IS getting her way or occupying herself with things she's allowed to play with she is a total delight and is amazing at figuring things out and making us laugh. She is still in love with the outdoors. She loves raisins. She loves Sesame Street and The Backyardigans. She loves her great-grandma. She loves her Nana and Papa. And she still loves her duckie!
Speaking of duckie...Halloween was a blast! Ella was a duck and she waddled around the neighborhood knocking on doors and saying 'thank you' after she got candy. About halfway through she got clingy and wanted me (and only me) to carry her. I couldn't take that for too long, so we were out for a little over an hour. But, Ella filled her candy bag and mom and dad and our neighbors enjoyed the candy for the next few days!

Besides Halloween, our past month has been uneventful since we've been dealing with illnesses and Stephen has been traveling a lot between here and Daytona visiting his mother and also traveling to interviews. So, Ella hasn't had a lot of adventures lately. But, we're all looking forward to the holidays and can't wait for the new memories that will be made. This time next month I'll have sent out our Christmas cards and decorated the house...hopefully you'll feel our Christmas cheer through my next blog.

Again, sorry for the unusual update, but things are unusual around here. Hope all is well with those of you who read these and I hope you are getting into the spirit of things, too!

Ella's 16 Month Update

Sorry this is a few days late. This week has gotten away from me and I'm finally getting able to sit down and blog about Ella. She is keeping us going and most of the time that's a good thing because it keeps us entertained with all her shenanigans and her story-telling. She still loves to dance to any music she hears. It doesn't matter if it's on the radio, if it's a commercial, or the stinkin' weather channel, if it's music, she'll stop what she's doing and dance!

Some fun things that Ella has done this past month...we took her to Chucky Cheese with her friend Chloe and she had a blast. Unfortunately this CC was a bit ghetto and a lot of stuff there wasn't working, but Ella and Chloe were too young to realize that and still had the time of their lives. Mommy also had fun as I played every game that worked and won tons of tickets to win Ella some nice bling and stickers and a Winnie the Pooh magnet! And of course, Ella's favorite part was the music and concert that CC and his friends put on (every 15 minutes)! She also had her first pizza and loved it!

Ella went swimming for the last time this year a couple weeks ago. The water has already cooled down a lot with the temperature change. We were all freezing, but Ella didn't care. She was still having a blast and jumping in, but once she started turning blue, we figured we should go home. Our pool is officially closing on the 15th for the winter and I hope that Ella doesn't forget her love of the water!

Ella also accompanied us to a med. school get-together at a doctor's farm in Cairo, GA. She got to see 8 horses and we even got a carriage ride, too. There were tons of chickens and three dogs, so Ella was very happy to see all the animals. There was also a big lake and I was just waiting for her to jump in, but we were able to keep her out of it thankfully.

The biggest change this past month has been the weather and we're all enjoying it. We're actually missing Boston a little bit...but then we snap back into reality. Ella loves being outside and gets hurt pretty much every thime we're are outside, but after she's recovered she wants right back out. She loves picking flowers and playing in mulch. By the end of our time outside she looks like a 'mulch monster' because it's stuck all over her! She could be a new character on Sesame Street! She also loves to run. Unfortunately, she hasn't really grasped how to stop when she wants so she's either running into one of us or randomly falling down to stop herself.
As any mother knows, this point in time kids are learning so much. More than we really know. And I couldn't even begin to tell you all the things that Ella understands. She obviously understands more than she can say which is normal, but it's just amazing to me all the things I can ask her to do and she does it or the things that we can talk about and she understands me. But, she is learning more words weekly and it's fun to add a new noun or verb to our conversations. Her favorite word right now is 'toe' and I think it's because she hurt her toe a few weeks ago and we had to go to the doctor to get it cleaned up. Hopefully she doesn't have to learn all her words due to traumas. :) Ella can also show you where all the parts of her body are and we're trying to get her to do it to the song 'Head, shoulders, knees, and toes". And we've finally gotten Ella to say 'down' when she wants to get down from her high chair or if she wants us to put her down from carrying her.

Her favorite food is still green beans and I've been making them fresh lately and she loves 'em! She also likes bananas...A LOT! She wasn't really into them when she was getting them out of a jar, but she loves them now. She actually went into the kitchen this morning (after she'd already eaten breakfast) and told me she wanted a banana.

We've been busy getting ready for Halloween and Ella is enjoying all the decorations. In the process of us putting up decorations outside we met some new neighbors who moved in a couple months ago and Ella made a new friend named Elizabeth. She's 2 and is riding a tricycle now and Ella just loves watching her do all the things a 'big girl' can do. They also love to chase each other and laugh at absolutely nothing! I think we're going trick-or-treating together, too!

Well, next month I'll put up Halloween pics and tell you about all the new things Ella has grasped this month. Hope all is well and have a safe and happy Halloween!

Ella's 14 Month Update!

This past month has been a complete blur! I'm sure there will be many things that I forget to put in this update and it may seem like I'm jumping from one thing to another, but I seriously am just amazed at how time is flying by. It seems like Ella's 1st birthday was ages ago and I'm getting sad that we'll be leaving our new house before I know it!

So, as for Ella, since she has learned to walk she is a completely different child. She is very independent and seems like she's jumped to her terrible-two's at times in the sense that she has her moments when she purposely pushes your buttons to see how much she can get away with and then she doesn't hesitate to throw a fit if she doesn't get her way! But, even though we've had to deal with those issues, her spunk and smarts and newfound abilities far outweigh those few moments. She gets more fun every day and I enjoy being a mom more and more. And I enjoy all the new things we can do together now that she can walk...ok, I guess there's not really a lot of NEW things we can do together, it's just more adventurous all the way around now that I can let her walk on her own and just follow her. She's starting to run, but that's when she starts falling more. But, I'm sure she'll have that down soon and then the dogs will really have something to worry about!

Ella is also very much into eating! Not that she eats all the time, but when she does, she'll eat anything! And she only want to what daddy and I are eating if we're all eating at the same time. But, I'm very proud of her that she's more like me in the sense that she'll try anything at least once and has a good pallet for food. She likes everything I put on her plate...or I should say on her highchair tray. I have not yet felt ready to give her food on a plate or in a bowl because she still likes to throw things on the floor. So, right now she gets her sippy cup with her meals and likes to chuck that onto the floor when she's done drinking from it. That in itself is annoying, so I'm not ready to clean up after her when it comes to food being everywhere. She already gets it on the walls around her highchair!

Ella has started to try and put our shoes on her feet. She loves trying to wear our shoes, but hasn't mastered walking in them yet. I think Stephen's shoes will be to hard for for a while, but she'll get up in my sandals and walk a few steps, but then trips over them. She also likes to wear hats! Especially daddy's Harvard baseball cap. I need to get a picture of it and post it, it's so cute!

Ella is also very much ready to have full conversations with people...or anything that will listen (she tries to have conversations with our dogs, but they usually leave her before she's done talking)! She has mastered her first sentence: "Where did (fill in the blank) go?" This all started when Stephen and I would ask her where the other one of us would go if we would leave to use the restroom or something. She quickly caught and started asking us first. Now, she asks where the dogs went or where her ducky went. Granted, every word isn't clear, but you know exactly what she's trying to say. She's still obsessed with the word "baby" and every time we say something that starts with the letter 'b', she says "baby". She has also learned to say 'thank you'. She won't say it automatically when she should, but when you tell her to say it, she says it perfectly. But, 'you're welcome' seems to confuse her at the moment.

Also, since my last update, Ella finished swimming lessons and got her first certificate! We hang that proudly on the refrigerator. Unfortunately, soon after she finished her swimming lessons we were out of town and then she got sick and had a bilateral ear infection! So, yesterday was the first day swimming since her cold and I was worried that she might have forgotten some things that she learned, but she didn't. She was still as confident as ever and walked around that pool like she owned it! She still likes going under water and she and daddy jumped in the pool together a couple times. It's so funny to see people watching us and thinking we're crazy, which with most little ones, it probably would be a little much. But, Ella LOVES the water and she doesn't mind it at all. And as most people know, I could care less what other people think, especially other mothers (but that's another blog)!

Ella's 1 Year Update

This past week has been such a whirlwind I'm surprised this update is only a few days late! Last weekend we were in Jupiter, FL for my best friend's baby shower and Ella had a blast with her family! Then we drove to Port Orange Sunday evening to spend the next few days with Stephen's family who were going to fly out with us Wed to go to Boston for Stephen's graduation from Harvard. We were busy swimming, playing with dogs, shopping and celebrating Ella's birthday early with Stephen's family! I was very nervous about the flight to and from Boston because I had no idea how I was going to keep Ella still since we did not pay for her own seat. Thankfully the third seat next to us ws empty both ways so we were able to lay Ella down in between us to sleep. Granted, before she would sleep she was very antsy and loud!! But, overall it went a lot better than expected. We got back from Boston Fri around 5pm and immediately drove to Gainesville to pick up my G'ma so she would be here for Ella's party the next day. So, we didn't get back to Tallahassee until 11pm that evening.
Ella's party was in the afternoon that Sat. which was good because I had a lot of stuff to take care of before people started coming over! It was a small affair, but Ella still had a lot of fun and got a lot of cool toys that she really enjoys.

Yesterday we woke up to news about Tropical Storm Alberto. While in the process of taking my G'ma back to Gainesville, we had to decide whether we should turn around and just have her stay with us a couple more days since it was suppose to hit Cedar Key which is directly West of her, but she really wanted to get back and make sure she had her medication on hand just in case it turned out to be worse than expected. So, Ella and I didn't get back from Gainesville until 4:15pm yesterday and she and I both are ready to not travel anymore for a long while. She is so sick of her car seat and I'm sick of not being home and not getting the chance to finish unpacking, etc. So, we are here to stay for a while. I don't even want to think about going somewhere for a couple months.

Now, for Ella's official update...her 12 month doctor appt. isn't until this Thurs. so I will definitely blog again to give you those stats. But, as for her personality and social skills...she is blossoming every day and it's amazing what she's started doing just inthe past couple days! She is still not walking...I feel it could be any day now, but she is really not interested at this point. She is completely fine with crawling and cruising. She points at everything and says "that" and then we tell her what she's pointing at. She waves hello and goodbye to everyone! And just in the past couple days she has started this new belly dance. It's hard to explain, but it's pretty funny when you see it. She loves going up and down the stairs..we don't let her do it unless we're with her, but I'm thankful that she quickly learned how to go down the stairs backwards instead of head first! Ella has also learned the signal for touchdown and makes a noise everytime she does it and then starts clapping, so we're really excited for football season to come because she'll be ready!!! She's been eating weird lately. She stopped eating baby food completely...she just won't have anything to do with it. So, she'll eat crackers, tomatoes, bread, and cheese. She still only has 6 teeth...I think she's teething because the past couple days she's been a little difficult, but I can't tell where her teeth are coming in. So, we'll see if she gets some new ones here shortly.

Today, we went to the public library for story and singing time and she absolutely loved it! She enjoyed watching the other kids and we'll definitely be making this a weekly event. I just wish it was easier to get around Boston so we could've started this earlier. Better late than never I guess. So, Ella is sleeping right now and she should be out for another hour or so. You'll be hearing from me again on Thurs. and before I sign off I have to say Happy Birthday to Analise. It's a day late, but we were thinking about you yesterday!

Ella's 11 Month Update

Today was a big day for Ella! She got her first haircut! We found a place called "Snip-It's" that only does kids hair and when we walked in it was like walking into a Dr. Seuss book. Everything was kid-oriented and every chair had a TV next to it playing cartoons. Since it was Ella's first hair cut they treated her extra special and took and before and after picture for us to take home. She even got a certificate signifying her first hair cut for showing courage and bravery. She got a cute purple bow in her hair and a balloon to take home! I was very impressed with this place, but unfortunately there's only one in FL and it's in Wellington which will be 6 hours south of us! So, I don't know what we'll do for the next hair cut. But, I was very proud of her. She didn't cry even though you could tell she was a little nervous.

As for other things, this past month has flown by and Ella has become more and more independent. She is standing by herself now and loves to look out our windows that are in our bedroom. Since the window pretty much go from the floor to the ceiling she can sit or stand in front of the window and talk to the people passing by. And she definitely lets you know when she sees a dog! She gets really excited and starts pointing and saying, "da!!". I would say that's her new big thing - pointing. She's still very inconsistent with waving, but she'll point to everyone and everything, especially if she's dropped something that she wants you to pick up for her....again and again and again!

Ella has also started completely feeding herself at mealtime. She has moved up to Gerber Graduates and loves eating the vegetables and ravioli. I'm trying to wean her completely from the bottle and I'm thinking about going and starting her on whole milk now instead of waiting for her 12 month checkup. I think it'll be pretty obvious if her stomach doesn't handle the whole milk and I seriously don't think she'll have a problem. So, when I do that, I will only give her milk from her sippy cup. Right now she's only getting water from her sippy cup.
As I said earlier, Ella is standing on her own now for short periods of time. I'm sure she'll be walking 'soon', but I couldn't venture to guess what 'soon' is. Ella and I have started a new pasttime by watching The Backyardigans together almost every afternoon depending on what's going on with our busy schedules. I think I even like it more than she does!

I'm looking forward to her next doctor visit to see how long she has gotten and how much she weighs. I try to do it myself on the scale, but it never comes out right. Unfortunately, she'll be getting shots this go 'round. But, we'll be going back to Dr. Hugger's office in FL!!

As for FL, we'll be leaving here on the 16th of May and closing on our house on the 19th. I am very excited to get Ella's BIGGER nursery all set up and to get her over to our pool. And I'll be looking into Mommy and Me swimming lessons ASAP. We hope now that we'll be in a bigger place and a little more settled that we'll have a lot of people come visit. We want Ella to be able to enjoy all of our family and friends sine we've been so isolated the past 9 months. And that includes all of you reading this. Hope to see you soon!

Ella's 10 Month Update

Another month has flown by! I can't believe we're going to be back in FL in 6 weeks. I am thrilled to get Ella down there for good so she can start wearing less clothes and we can start doing more things outside, like swimming! Ella is still infatuated with water, probably even more now than ever before. She loves taking baths and she loves crawling into the bathroom and pulling herself up on the tub to see if there's any water in it. We definitely have to be very careful with her! Thankfully we're going to have a brand new YMCA in our development in Tallahassee and I plan on getting her into swimming lessons ASAP.

As for other things, I'm sure she is officially over the 20 lb mark by now. She is eating well and enjoying trying new solids. I've been letting her try more and more kinds of foods since she has 5 teeth now, but some of her favorites are still the kinds of food that she doesn't need to chew on. As I was saying earlier, she is cruising around the place like she owns it and would love to just crawl around all day long if I let her. I will be very happy when we have a bigger area at our next house for her to be adventurous in, but I'm sure she'll be walking by then. She is getting so steady on her feet and loves to pull herself up on things and then let go to see how long she can stand up by herself. Thankfully she mastered the proper way to fall on her butt.
Her hair has gotten long and it looks like I can actually start doing things with it now, but every time I put a barrett in it falls out or she pulls it out and tries to eat it. So, nevermind. But, I'm thinking about getting her hair cut soon. It needs some shaping.

As for words, she's still saying 'mama' and 'dada', but she's started saying 'da' when she sees dogs. I purposely stopped saying our dogs names to her so she would learn that they're dogs first, so now she says 'da' whenever she sees any dog, so apparently it worked.
Ella is also enjoying meeting other kids. She's been like this for the longest time, but now that she has been around them more, she is just so tickled to be able to watch them or touch them, or 'talk' to them. She has a friend at the gym who she gets to play with in the nursery and it helps a lot because she doesn't realize I'm not there.

She is about to celebrate her first Easter and I'm looking forward to when she's old enough to dye eggs with me and have Easter egg hunts. But, for now, she has baby Easter gifts to enjoy that are overflowing in a cute Easter basket. Until next time, we hope all of you have a wonderful Easter, too.

Ella's 9 month Update

Ella has changed so much this past month...

The biggest thing to me is that Ella is always standing in her crib when I come in to get her in the morning or when she wakes up from a nap. This is also a problem when we put her down to sleep because she knows she can get back up, so she just stands up in the corner of her crib an cries for us. I would have to say that her ability to do this and the freedom that she gets from crawling around is really making her happy and and turning her into 'Curious Ella'. Her favorite things now is to be on the floor and crawl and pull herself up on things. And once she pulls up on the couch or the playpen, she likes to walk herself from end to end. She also likes crawilng after a toy and picking it up and throwing it a little farther out of her reach and going after it again and again. This new level of freedom that Ella has has also diminished my level of freedom. Besides the fact that I have to watch her at all times now, she has also developed separation anxiety and does not like me to leave her alone at all. She really doesn't ever want Stephen to hold her either. But, we don't always give her her way. We can pretty much tell the difference when she's really upset about it or if she's just trying to get attention. But, it is difficult to get anything done and it's hard to get to do little things like check my e-mail or go to the bathroom without her having to sit in her exersaucer or playpen and just cry for a couple minutes; although half the time she'll settle down quickly and just start playing by herself.

As for food, she loves to feed herself. Whenever we got out to eat, her favorite thing is the bread! She's also a huge fan of Cheerios, but what baby isn't?!?! I can definitely use Cheerios as a distraction tool if I want/need to get something done. The dogs also like it when I feed her Cheerios because she usually gives them some, too. As for her main meals, she has moved into the Level 3 area and is enjoying more varieties, buther favorite food is still sweet potatoes. She is not a fan of anything green (she must get that from her father!) and she won't eat meat by itself. She likes it better when it's mixed with something. Her three and a half teeth help her chew on everything, not just her food! She loves playing with and gnawing on drawstrings that are either on our waistbands or on our sweatshirts and she still has a fascination with keys; unfortunately not hers, but mine!

Ella's hair is getting very long and I'm excited about bein able to put barretts and bows in it, but what's weird is that even though it's gotten longer and it totally looks like I could do that, I really can't yet. But, I also need to go get some more hair accesories. She won't keep the headbands on and the clips I have now just don't stay in her hair. We got her 9 month pictures taken last night and I wish there was something that I could've put in her hair...it would've looked better I think.

As far as speaking, Ella hasn't learned any new words. She's still just saying "mama" and "dada", but at least I think she's knows what's she's saying now. Stephen was holding her the other night and she looked overat me and said "mama" and then reached for me. So, either that was a major coincidence or she's actually understanding who's who and what's she's saying. I'm definitely ready for her to start talking. I can't wait to have coversations with her!
Ella's favorite pasttime is still taking a bath! She loves the water and I can't wait to get back to FL and start her in swimming lessons! We have a lot of bath toys that she and I play with every other night and she's started crawling in the bath now...so, I don't put as much water in it and I need to get little sticky things for the bottom of the tub...I suppose I should just not let her do that, but since I'm in there with her it doesn't seem like a big deal.

I'll be back later to post her stat's from the doctor's appt.

Ella's 8 month update

Originally posted on February 10, 2006.

Wow, I'm actually going to get this update done on time! I guess I'll start out by saying that we took Ella to see "Curious George" for her 8 month brithday. And I'll just say that she's in an awkward stage to see a movie at the theater...the last movie we took her to was Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. She was very good during that movie and either sat and watched it or ate and slept. At this movie she watched it off and on and then would start play screaming, etc. which is cute, but of course we're always worried it might annoy someone else (even though there were only three other families there at the time). She also got tired near the middle of the movie and she would not settle down and fall asleep even if I took her in the back and walked/rocked her. So, it'll probably be a while before we take her to another movie.
As far as her milestones are going, she's still on track. Stephen says he thinks she's a little ahead, but he's biased. I mean she could be, but how do you really measure that? Anyway, she's still enjoying her solids. She's about ready to start on level 3 foods and is also enjoying feeding herself. Now, when I say this I don't mean with a spoon. But, she loves Zwieback (toast for babies) or any onther bread that tough enough for her to suck on and let it melt in her mouth (like French bread). She's almost got her pincer grasp down, too.
Ella is also VERY close to crawling. If she hadn't been so sick for a over a week, she would probably be crawling already. She loves being on the floor and she's been rocking on her hands and knees for a while now; she gets so frustrated because she can't get anywhere. She starts moving forward and falls on her stomach. She also loves to pull up on things. Thankfully she only does it on things that are very sturdy like our couch, ourselves, and in her playpen. I'm actually surprised she hasn't started pulling herself up in her crib, but I am glad about that because I hear that once they know how to do that they'll wake up in the middle of the night and do so and that's just not good for me! She hasn't seemed to pick up anything language-wise. She still says 'mama', 'dada', 'baba'...but again, I don't think they have any meaning to her, yet.
I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting. I'll blog again if I think of any, but I'm so tired right now. We're supposedly getting a blizzard late tomorrow evening through Sunday morning, so we were out all day today preparing for that. Ella went down 30 minutes ago and I'm not far off.