Thursday, June 12, 2014

9 months



Our sweet girl turned 9 months old on April 26th.

It was a big month for her!  She took her first steps!!

She began the month by upping the ante on cruising and started lunging from one piece of furniture to the next (or kind of throwing her body towards the desired location and grabbing on).  Then in the early weeks of May she started taking a step or two to get one from furniture item to the next or from the coffee table to a person nearby.  But she wasn't really interested in walking holding onto our hands.  She'd just whine and sit down. Then on May 21st she decided she was ready to walk!  And she strung together multiple steps to cross the playroom.

Here's a link to the video on facebook.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201900738469186&l=8401276020223167146

In other exciting news, Ellie got her second tooth!  On April 30th, we could finally feel it.  It had been lurking just under the gum for weeks.  And on May 8th we finally moved her out of the infant seat into a big girl car seat.

Some of her verbal utterances this month include:
Uh dut uh duh
Uh dai yee
Dai dai
Dah dah dah

She's still in size 2 diapers (Pampers Swaddlers) for the moment.  She's in 9 months clothes and has moved into 12 month pajamas for the length.  And those are none too long either.
She's sleeping pretty well for us.  Most nights she will sleep through the night.  She goes in bed between 7:15 and 7:45 and cries for 5-10 minutes before conking out.  Then she is up between 6:45 and 7:30.  She's taking two naps totaling about 3 hours a day.  The morning nap starts around 10-10:30 and the afternoon nap starts around 2:30 or 3.

She nurses in the morning and then gets topped off with a bottle.  She gets 3 more bottles throughout the day.  So bottle times are usually 7/8, 11/12, 4, and 7, give or take depending on sleep.

She loves solid foods.  She's usually getting 3 meals a day unless she sleeps through lunch time.  She loves meat and gobbles up any put in front of her.  She wasn't a big fan of the piece of my dad's halibut but it had been grilled and was pretty firm so maybe she didn't like the grilled taste.  With only the 1 and half teeth, she can't manage really crunchy stuff yet but she will eat most anything else we give her.  Fruit, soft vegetables, meat, yogurt, beans, rice, pasta.  We are pretty much done with purees.  She really seems to enjoy well seasoned food, eating it more quickly than something that is plain.  And she can pack the food away, impressing everyone, even us, with how much she eats. Since Claire has pulled back on how much she eats, there are many meals where it seems Ellie eats more than Claire.
Well hello there gorgeous!
Chilling in Wal-Mart on her 9 month birthday
Hmm, what's under here?

Enjoying a nice day outside!
Grass is so entertaining!
Even if she can't run around with Claire,
she can have some fun of her own!
Being cute!
A little downward dog to round out the evening?
Naked baby bum!
Just doing a little shopping, mama
First time in a big girl car seat
Cowgirl baby!



Friday, June 6, 2014

Easter 2014, the big day!

Easter was on April 20th this year.  We started the morning at our house with Easter baskets and a small egg hunt in the living room.  Then we headed off to church.  After that we brunched with the Schulzes and hunted more eggs.  Then it was off to the Simpson house for dinner and more egg hunting.  All the stops make for a busy day but we really do love being able to celebrate with all our family!

The Easter bunny visited!

Movies!
Claire lets Ellie look at her bubbles
Time to look for eggs!
Ellie found her Cheerio filled ones
Pause for a pose
Found one!
Let's see what's inside!
Mmm, Cheerios!
Easter cuties!

And at the Schulzes......

Four gorgeous cousins
How Ellie hunts for eggs
Claire on the search

Kerrington on the move
Kiersten spots one
All the eggs have been found....
Time to open them up!
Grandma shows Ellie the Easter toys
And at the Simpson's.......

There's no stopping her now!
Audrey's on a mission!
I'll get this one
Pretty girl
Uncle JJ helps Ellie find a few eggs
Our cuties!
(Taken right before Claire let go of Ellie and Ellie
fell sideways and bumped her face on a brick.  Yay!)
Snuggling with Paaps
Paaps and his girls
"My first Easter!"  


Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Easter 2014, pre and post celebratoins

A week before Easter, our neighborhood had a few festivities.  There was an egg hunt, petting zoo, and a visit from the Easter bunny.  Claire did great with the petting zoo and the Easter bunny!

Off to the fun!
Ready to egg hunt!
Just a few people...

Her whopping one egg....
Fortunately there were plenty left from the
toddler egg hunt so she got a few more
Reviewing her spoils
An egg for Ellie
Add caption

Claire visits the petting zoo



She was very excited to see the Easter bunny!

Looking cute on the way to the next event!
(Aunt LeeAnn's birthday dinner)


And after Easter.....
There was one more Easter celebration at Claire's school.  It was also spirit week and sports team day at school.  So Claire was dressed in a Falcons shirt instead of her Easter finest.  Here are a few pictures from her the Easter egg hunt portion of her party.