Saturday, January 3, 2015

9 Months and then 10 months



9 months-

My little Elsie Lou is pulling herself up on everything!! During thanksgiving break she was trying it out and now she is a full on pro- couches, chairs, people... you are a mountain to be climbed. The Christmas tree is her Everest, but we are doing our best to keep her at base camp with some baby friendly & low hanging ornaments that she can stay occupied with.   It cracks me up to see such a little person standing with those little pudgy legs. It's all she wants to do.  When she first was trying to pull herself up she would try to use her mouth and bite and it was so funny. She is still a scooter. She gets into crawling position a lot and can take steps but she must think it's unnecessary at this point since she is getting everywhere she wants to go.

She still has her one little tooth, but it doesn't stop her from going full piranha. When she is nursing. She knows she isn't supposed to, but she does it and then looks up at me with this mischievous smile. Pushing boundaries that one.

She loves to feed herself, and I let her quite a bit since it's less messy than her intercepting her spoon and rubbing it all over her hair and face.

And then Els woke up from a nap early - the holidays happened, and I never got back to finishing the 9 month post.  Onward to ten months, friends!


Within the last few days she has started to stand on her own, proud and tall. She can stand without holding anything for a few seconds, with the cutest "MOM LOOK!" smile on her face.

She can crawl- although she still doesn't prefer it.  She is going to do things her own way and in her own time, my little miss.

She is still my little foodie. Her favorite snacks are banana slices and avocado. She is really over purees and wants the chunky stuff. I try to just give her a mashed version of whatever I am eating, or components of it.

She loves to share her binky with you, and give big sloppy kisses. She loves to wave.  She says "dada" and "ba" for ball. You know, because the word ball is so much more important than say, "momma".  She loves music, and likes to bounce and wave her arms when it comes on. She has a few toys that have songs, and she likes to lay her head right against them so she can get a really good listen. She likes to pretend different things are a phone and she holds them up to her ear and chats away.

She is in love with the white supersoft Jellycat that I got her for Christmas. She snuggles it at night and likes to have it along as a car buddy.  Els likes to hand you her toys and she is grasping little concepts like stacking blocks, and putting toys away in her basket. She can push a ball back and forth with me.  I watched a very concentrated little Els try to put her sock back on a few days ago. For some reason it was the cutest thing.

She is over hating everyone!! Hallelujah!! She tolerates many people and even likes some. I am sooo very glad. The only mommy will do days could be tough. She is getting brave and likes to venture out in church and rob the binks of unsuspecting other babes, and to bang on different surfaces until she finds one loud enough to turn everyone's head in sacrament meeting.

She is a petite little girl, at her 9 month visit she weighed 19 pounds and was 28 inches long.  She has always always been a picky nurser, and has been getting up once or twice to nurse at night. I figure growing as fast as babies do she needs it.  We have had some rough nights with teething ( two little teeth now !), but I am not the cry it out type. It's a little late in the game but I am slowly working on getting her to sleep in her own bed. 

She doesn't like to be restrained. I blame the swaddle. PTSD. ( Post Tight Swaddle Disorder). Sometimes it takes two people to wrestle her into her carseat (after she is in, she is fine)  She doesn't have much tolerance for the stroller, and she tries to climb out of her high chair.

It is literally something new everyday at this point. I am so enjoying watching her learn how to be her own little person,  she is just brimming with personality and such a spunky girl. She has my whole heart a million times over, that Elsie Lou.