Little Blair Blog

Well, I missed another month again! And I quit doing the numbers, because it just got to be too much. Our poor other babies (if there is one or two…hopefully!) might not have much at all if I’m already not doing to great keeping up with Elle’s updates! Moving on now…Who is this big baby anyway? Goodness! Only 2 weeks until we’ll be throwing a party for serving a WHOLE YEAR! What is this craziness? These past two months have flown by especially fast. Suddenly Elle isn’t such a baby anymore and is more of a big girl. I have SO MANY images to share here. Actually, I have lots of images to work on period! (But a post about being a working mama will have to come later.) I know I’m two days early posting this, but if I don’t do it right now while munchkin is napping it probably won’t happen.

Development/ Things I want to remember: The biggest thing is that Eleanora started walking this past week! (Lord have mercy!) She has been doing really well holding one finger for about a month or two now. Slowly she’s become more and more independent. She can pull up and walk along the walls and furniture, climb stairs and she finally started crawling around 9 months. But the moment we’ve been waiting for (or dreading?) came yesterday when she got brave and took off on her own! It is the cutest thing to watch her wobble towards me. I really can’t believe she’s decided to walk now. She also loves to stick her feet over the side of her carseat while we ride in the car. It is the cutest thing. She can say “Dada” and “bye bye” but is still working on “Mama”…hopefully soon! She claps her hands and can wave “hi” and “bye” to us. She certainly keeps me on my toes! We’ve entered the always-on-the-go stage and it’s all I can do to keep up with her already. (I know it’s just starting though.) Throwing toys and dumping books off the shelf is her new super fun game. It’s mostly cute. It also looks like I may have gotten my wish for a curly-headed baby! The hair cannot be tamed anymore, and I’m ok with it! The later in the day, the more crazy the hair gets. I need to snap a good photo of her awesome bed-head. It is spectacular.

Weight: She’s was up to 17 lbs and 29 inches at her 9 month check up…50th and 95th percentiles respectively. She’s tall and somewhat lean right now, although that isn’t for the lack of food she consumes! She’s definitely lost a lot of pudginess and I miss all that baby squish like crazy!

Clothing: E girl still wears all of the same things really. GAP’s 6-12 month clothes have plenty of growing room. She’s in anything from 3 month dresses (as tops) to 9-12 month outfits, depending on what fits. I won’t lie, baby clothes are so fun.

Sleep: Her naps have changed a good bit in the last 2 months. We’ve gone from one long mid-day nap to 2 hour-hour and a half naps in the morning and late afternoon. They’re pretty reliable, except for when she’s teething…then naps are a nightmare. She still wakes up anywhere from 6-8am, but that mostly depends on how early we get up. If there is something going on, she wants to be a part of the action.

Eating: There isn’t much Elle doesn’t eat these days. With 4 teeth on top and two on bottom, she can bite a piece off of just about anything. She eats a whole bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, bottle before nap, veggies for lunch, cheerio snack, bottle at nap time and whatever we’re having for dinner. She’s easy in the food department, as long as she can eat when we’re eating.

Personality/ Mood: She’s happy most of the time. She is really into toys and her play house. Don’t even get me started on spoons, because apparently they are the best things in the world. She seems easy-going as long as there are things to see and play with around. She’s still a fantastic traveler and will ride in the car or stroller for hours on hours. I don’t know if it’s just a baby thing or her preference, but little lady will find any tag that there is to find on ANYTHING. She’s found tags on things I didn’t even know had tags. Oh, and she can find any dead bug or little piece of trash in the house. I keep a clean house, but she still finds them. It’s gross. She’s started “singing” and jabbering more lately. It’s adorable. Going outside will fix almost bad mood too. Grass and birds and dirt…oh my! What fun.

Loves: We’ve started bathing Elle in the sink, because well, it’s easier on my back and she loves it. She loves to make the biggest puddles all over the kitchen. My favorite is when she’s all done and we walk her to her room with just the hood of her chicken towel towel on her head, like she’s a little caped, naked, chicken-super-hero baby…my finger in one hand, her bath toys in the other. It is the most darling thing you’ve ever seen. She also loves playing peekaboo now. I’m pretty sure she’d giggle for as long as I would play. (My longest stretch is probably 25 minutes.) Any kind of tickle, peekaboo, I’m-going-to-get-you game is her favorite these days. I’ve started taking her on some bike rides now that we have her a seat and she smiles almost the whole time.

Doesn’t love: She doesn’t love being told no. Since she can move just about everywhere we’ve had to start some small disciplinary measures. She’s doing great so far. I don’t know if it’s our tone or what, but she listens and stops what she’s doing for the most part. We try to praise her a lot when she obeys. Of course, we have NO IDEA what we’re really doing or what will work, but maybe starting to teach her early will pay off. We think she’s pretty independent (as most firstborns) and that is great, but there also need to be boundaries. I want her to explore her freedom, but also know where is too far. We’ll see! It’s all such an adventure and we pray for wisdom. She also doesn’t love getting her diaper changed anymore. I have to employ as many tricks as I can to keep her still.

Boy, she sure is a cutie! Can we all just take a moment and swoon over how her headband matches her lips and eyes. How did I get so lucky? Mamahood is no walk in the park, but I’d sacrifice anything and everything  just for her. Learning how to work the job I love and care for her (even with a nanny!) is such a juggling act, but it’s stretching me and growing me into someone better. I’m thankful for how God is using her in my life to help me be more disciplined and passionate. We love you Eleanora!

This stage is my favorite. Elle is so fun these days. We have a new adventure every day. I’m really not sure how I thought any of the other stages were fun, because this is the best. She is learning so much. She seems to understand when we tell her “no” at least for a minute…then she forgets! She walks everywhere (with help) is full of laughs and smiles and is our little daredevil explorer. It’s hard to remember life before her. Sure we have plenty of hard days, but goodness she sure is fun! We even have fun changing diapers. I’m so grateful to be her mama. I also think I’m not biased when I say she’s the most gorgeous baby in the world! My girl, I love her to bits!

Development/ Things I want to remember: How can she be so big? (Cue tears!) She can pull herself up, so we lowered the crib…sad day. We have to keep an eye on her constantly because girlie likes to move! She’s everywhere in her walker or wiggling all over the floor and reaching things you didn’t know were in her grasp. The only thing that keeps her still is Winne the Pooh. She’s also a cuddle-bug. We think physical touch might one of her big love languages. She likes to “pet” our faces, hold our hands, cuddle up close, get her back scratched, and the list goes on. She’s also said “hi” and “hey” this month. It’s so cute! She still hasn’t started crawling more than a scoot or two…I can’t say I really mind! Her 3rd tooth appeared in the last week! It’s 2 over from the middle on the right! Haha! I didn’t even know that could happen. She’s a rebel that Elle girl!

Weight: I have no idea, but she doesn’t feel much heavier than last month. We have her 9 month check up next, so we will know then.

Clothing: We are practically living in rompers these days. They are the cutest! She wears anything from 0-3 dresses (as tops) to 9 month things. Actually, in some of these images she’s wearing a little sailor outfit that I wore when I was about her age. It’s really the only thing she’s worn of mine because the rest is an 80’s ruffles explosion! (No offense mom!)

Sleep: Sleep is from 8pm-7pm most of the time…or at least she gets ready for bed around 7-8pm. We’re pretty flexible. A lot of times we’re not even home by 8pm! She’s been teething some, so that has woken her up in the middle of the night some. She wakes up once every other night or two probably. Overall we can’t complain.

Eating: Elle loves to eat! She’s almost to all table food now. She’ll easily eat spinach, tomatoes, cheese and turkey for a meal. Sweet potatoes are still a favorite…but just about everything is yummy to her. She gets upset when we don’t give her our food! She can also drink out our glasses too. So big!

Personality/ Mood: We are thinking Elle might have a flair for the dramatic. She loves attention and is mostly happy, but missy knows how to throw a fit! Our poor nursery ladies! When she’s not with me, sometimes she’ll get so upset  she turns bright red and will spit up her food. She does great with me or her nanny, but not so great with people she doesn’t know well. She also gets impatient when we don’t feed her quickly enough, so we’re tying to teach her to sign please. Overall, she is great with going with the flow, especially when traveling with me. She is the BEST travel baby. She is perfectly content in new places. She seems to love exploring and seeing new things. When we get home, she knows and her face lights up too! She seems to be quite expressive too. We go through a lot of faces.

Loves: Elle LOVES other kids. Bath time. Food in general. Her bottle. Being outside. Swinging. Grass. Books. Her new favorite toy is a cute stuffed bear her Pops brought from France. 😉

Doesn’t love: Not being fed fast enough! Ha!