8 Months

8 months. Wow.

I don't have any official stats this month... heck, I don't even have un-official ones. All I know is that she's big. And tall.

E. started crawling in her 7th month, much to her utter delight (freedom!), but after a few weeks of that, she decided that was no longer good enough. She pulls herself up on every object that she can - and lots of objects that she shouldn't.

Along with her newfound mobility has come a new set of challenges - for me. It is amazing (and unsettling) how fast a baby can crawl. And what you will turn around to find that baby getting into. Today it was chewing on the cord of the vacuum while I was vacuuming. And trying to eat paper, lint, and a dead bug off the floor. Oh, and trying to chew on the toilet plunger. AAAHHH!

I'm totally going to be gray by the time I'm 35.

I remember someone telling me, "8 months is a fun month. They really start getting a personality then." Boy do they ever. It is sooo funny to watch her crack up when the cat runs around the room. It is sooo NOT funny when she gets pissed about something.

But seriously, overall she is a pretty happy-go-lucky little girl. Just don't tell her 'No'. :)

Ready for Christmas!

Practicing her stance

Love. Love. Love.

7 Months

As I said in last month's post, I would use the official stats from her 6 month doctor visit for her 7 month stats, since her doctor appointment was only 2 weeks ago. They are:

Height - 28 inches (96%)

Weight- 19 lbs 11 oz (92%)

She has been consistently in 12 month clothing for awhile now, though I am finding that some of those (depends on the brand) don't have much more room to grow - yikes!

We introduced her to solids last month! I heard about this book, Baby Led Weaning, and wanted to give it a try, so her first foods consisted of whole pieces of banana and avocado. The concept is great; no having to puree any food for baby (which is great for me because I have the best intentions - but I'm so lazy!), or feed from a jar.... but E. didn't seem all that thrilled about the idea. She mostly just pushed the pieces around on her tray and didn't eat. They say that is fine, that means that baby is just not ready, but when I did puree up a batch of avocado, (ok, that was more for me. To eat with chips. Ha.) she loved it! So... purees it is, for now. So far she has eaten banana, avocado, sweet potato, pear, green beans, peas, carrots, applesauce, potato, and squash... oh, and she loves to suck on pickles!

Can you smile for Momma?

That's better!

No, you have to sit still!

No, you cannot chew on the camera!

Better late than never

Happy Halloween!

Ok, ok, I know I'm a wee bit late... but that's what happens when you have a baby. There never seems to be enough time in a day anymore for the incidentals - such as blog posting :)

This being E's first Halloween, we decided to dress her up and take her "trick-or-treating" with some friends and their little girl. I wasn't too picky about what she was going to dress up as, as long as it would be warm. I found the cow costume for E., then got the idea that we should all dress up as cows! It was fun making shirts and headpieces for C. and I, and I think I will try and make our costumes again next year!

I didn't plan on actually taking her up to the houses for candy, but C. insisted on trying to get some candy. He was doing pretty well until he got denied... by a little old lady!! She said E. was too young for candy! Haha.

It was chilly and drizzly, but E. loved riding in the wagon and seeing all of the kids in their costumes. Can't wait until next year when she can actually trick-or-treat!

Riding in the wagon

Daddy & E.

The Herd

6 Months

Oh. My. Goodness.

6 months. I can't believe it.

If you truly want to grasp the concept of how time flies, have a baby. Oh sure, there are days that feel like they will neeeever end. But sitting here, writing this 6 month update felt like YEARS away. I can't imagine how the next 6 months will fly by...

I am going to wait until next month for official height/weight stats, seeing as her 6 month checkup isn't until a few days before she turns 7 months. But I will say that C. tried for another "unofficial" weight, and he said she weighed 20 lbs. Say WHAT?!? I know 1 year olds that don't even weigh 20 lbs!!

The big milestone this month (actually it happened shortly after I posted the 5 month update) is... teeth! Both front bottom teeth, to be exact! (I guess to be really exact, they are called central incisors. I do not know teeth names.) I didn't even know they were coming until, well... they were there. I do remember on a Sunday morning E. woke up wailing - which is extremely unusual for her. She is always happy and smiley when she wakes up. But this particular morning she woke up quite unhappy, and she wouldn't open her eyes and seemed sensitive to light. Her face was all puffy, too. My first thought was, Oh boy, here we go. E's first sickness. We took her temperature, and it was only very slightly elevated. And like the first-time mother dealing with her first child's first sickness, I thought, OhmyGod she has meningitis she is going to die we have to go to the emergency room!!!! Ahem. Don't laugh. After frantically texting my bestie O. (who is on her second child, so has a much more level head), who reassured me it was 99.9% likely NOT meningitis (stop laughing), I managed to calm down a bit. After nursing her, she fell back asleep for a few hours, and woke up in a much better mood, seemingly feeling better. So, I didn't think much of it, until about 3 days later when E. was munching on a toy, and I caught a flash of white in her mouth! So, that's apparently how she reacts to teeth.

You're still laughing, aren't you.

Happy 1/2 Year, E! Momma loves you lots!

Fall Festivities

We took advantage of the unseasonably GORGEOUS weather last weekend and took E. for a hike on the Kettle Moraine trails. I could totally live in a warm climate year-round. *sigh*

E. loved the hike!

The fall colors were beautiful!

Zzzzzzz.

Last year, when we visited The Little Farmer, I was about 3 months pregnant. We were so excited to go this year, knowing E. would be with us this time, and be able to share in the fun of pumpkin picking, yummy caramel apples and muffins (well, for Daddy and I this year), hayrides, animals, and crafts. Again, with the weather being beautiful last weekend, we decided -against our better judgement- to take the trip. Usually we try to avoid TLF on weekends (especially warm weather weekends!) because it gets packed quickly. But we couldn't resist. Epic fail. Well, ok, it wasn't an epic fail. We did get our pumpkins, but that was all we stuck around for. It was sooo crowded, and trying to push a stroller through the crowds, and pull a wagon (to put the pumpkins in), was terrible. Plus the line for the caramel apples/muffins/craft barns were HUGE. So, we picked out our pumpkins....

...and went home and drove E. around on the 4-wheeler instead. Doesn't get much more country than that!

Picture time

We had the opportunity to get a fall photo session with the photographer who did E.'s newborn session, and I just have to share them with you because she does such an amazing job!

Love love love.

Jill Velicer Photography

5 Months

My sweet, silly girl - growing by leaps and bounds every day, it seems. E. is doing really well sitting up by herself, with only the occasional topple-over. We have graduated from the baby bathtub to sitting in about an inch or two of water in the "big people tub" for bath time. E. is still nursing with me, but also gets formula when she is at the sitters (Gma & Gpa N, usually) while I'm at work. I still wish I could have breastfed exclusively, but I try not to beat myself up about it. I am glad to be able to still nurse what I can.

We have not introduced solids yet (not counting the cake frosting Aunty L. snuck her a few months back, and the ice cream Daddy introduced her to, and the yogurt Gma N let her sample.... ok, so I have not officially introduced her to solids yet?!). Our plan is to wait until after her 6 month doctor appointment, and get the OK from Dr. K, then we will probably start. Her 6 month appointment is not until the beginning of November, and she will turn 7 months a few days later, so we will most likely wait until then. It should be interesting!

E. still goes to bed around 8-8:30pm, and usually sleeps until anywhere between 5-7am. Her wake up time varies greatly; it usually depends on if she slept through the night before. If she sleeps all night, she wakes up early (5-5:30am); if she woke up a few times, then she usually sleeps a little later (6-7am).

Unofficial stats for this month are:

Weight - 19 lbs (that can't be right.)

Height - 26 in (that can't be right either. That means she shrunk from last time.)

Ok, these are VERY unofficial!

She is almost exclusively in 12 month clothing, as that is the only size where the pants are long enough - she is definitely going to have my "can't find pants long enough" issue. Poor girl! Which reminds me, have you ever shopped at Once Upon A Child? It is a great baby/children's consignment shop that buys and sells gently used clothing. I just bought E. about 7-8 Baby Gap outfits there for about 1/3 the price! They also have baby furniture, strollers, car seats, etc. It's a great store!

I am looking forward to the next few months, and the beginning of the holiday season with E. First up will be her first Halloween - gotta start thinking about an outfit for her! And of course her first pumpkin picking experience. Can't wait!

Enjoying her first (chilly!) parade -Labor Day '11