9 Months

And...this week has flown by and we blew right past the day Eleanor turned 9 months. Oops! Blogging mom of the year here.

Her appointment isn't until Monday, so late for some reason and I don't know why it was scheduled then, but I won't have stats until then. She seems to have thinned out a bit because she's so active, and I can tell she's long because she is wearing 12 month dresses for the length. Before I had children, I thought I always wanted petite little things, but having this roly poly baby to love on is way more fun.

At 9 months, Eleanor:

-is into everything. EVERYTHING. In a matter of minutes, she'll have destroyed the cords under the computer desk, taken the battery out of the charger for the mouse and either try to eat it or try to smash it, and then has moved onto the toilet paper in the bathroom. She's also learned that cabinets and drawers hide really awesome stuff.
-whatever she gets into ends up in her mouth. She does not have discerning taste. Paper. Books. Cardboard boxes. Roly poly bugs. Toilet cleaning brush. Dried peas below her high chair, because I didn't see them when I was sweeping after dinner. Avery's hair bows. More bugs. Trash from the trashcan. Toilet paper.
-is silent, for the most part. She doesn't talk much and prefers to move about silently, making you always wonder what she's up to. When Avery was silent as a baby/toddler, she was usually off reading a book. Not so with Eleanor.
-she has mastered the high-pitched scream. Goodness.
-does babble a little bit, mostly da-da and ni-ni-ni (usually when she's tired)
-is my little buddy. She follows me around and makes sure that I'm always within view while she's playing. She is such a momma's girl.
-has started separation anxiety. The only way she survives the nursery at Bible study or church is if someone she recognizes holds her the entire time, and even that involves quite a bit of crying. For some reason it's harder for me with Eleanor than it was with Avery. Maybe because Eleanor is a snuggler, and Avery wasn't?
-She cries when she wakes, but then is happy as can be as soon as she gets up. Avery did this too.
-is sleeping from 6:30 pm til sometime after 6 am, with the occasional 4 or 5 am wake-up to eat, and then she goes right back down til 7 when Avery wakes her.
-takes 2-3 naps a day. It varies because some days she takes 3 short naps, while other days she has a couple really great naps. I'd rather have two great naps.
-is eating 3 solid meals a day and nursing 4-5 times.
-loves all of the solid food I put in front of her and scarfs it. This is such a nice change! Cheerios, cheese, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, squash, mango (a favorite), banana, peas, black eyed peas, bread, avocado (not really her favorite), carrots, oatmeal....the list goes on. She doesn't like being spoon-fed as much, so we're phasing out the baby purees and going more with finger foods. I still spoon-feed her at least once a day to make sure she's getting enough in her belly, but it's nice that she's very hands on and really excited about eating.
-loves the sippy cup and is usually found trying to swipe Avery's cup.
-took a bottle finally, last Sunday, while Avery and I were at church. I left her home with Luke so she could finish her nap. I think she was jealous that Grayson got a bottle every day, so she wanted in on that action.
-flaps her arms in excitement.
-dances when I put music on.
-tries to duck away from the water when I rinse her hair.
-has pretty hair! It's growing in so nicely and is like a little cap on her head. I just love it.
-still adores her big sister, and she wants to play with everything that Avery plays with. I'm trying to teach Avery a balance of sharing, and letting her have her own time too.
-scavenges for food off of Avery's plate. Eleanor's solid meal times coordinate with the rest of us, in particular Avery's, so that Avery can eat in peace.
-loves the tabletop activity center (what do you call those things on legs that play music and such? We all have them)
-squeals and flaps her arms when her animal friends pop out from her Busy Poppin' Pals. She can close them, but she hasn't figured out how to open them again.
-LOVES bathtime. She and Avery often bathe together, and Eleanor crawls all over the tub chasing after the toys and then spends the rest of the time chewing on her favorites.

big sis came crashing in for a photo op

And we're quickly moving on...10 months here we come!

Our First Few Weeks of Summer, in Photos

First Dance Class

catching Avery before she ran off, again

Ms. Julie brought Avery to the front of the line so that she could keep an eye on her 

had to hold her hand because she wouldn't stay in line...are you sensing a theme here?

Avery had her very first dance class tonight! We're doing a short summer session to introduce her to dance, and if she likes it, we'll continue in the fall. The class is a combo of ballet and tap for 3 and 4 year olds, and she's taking it with her friend T. All of the other kids in the class listened well and followed instructions and mimicked the teacher's actions. Avery, on the other hand, spun around and watched herself in the mirror and ran off and picked her nose and slid around on her belly. When Ms. Julie wasn't giving instructions to the class, she was telling Avery to sit back down or stand in her spot or to pay attention. Oh goodness, I have THAT child!

She seemed to have a lot of fun, and she tried hard to pay attention, but the wiggles are strong in her, and she just was enamored with that huge mirror. I'm hoping that she will learn to follow instructions and to listen and to be still, even if she never learns to dance. :)

7 Years Ago...

...I married this guy. Funny and sweet and a whole lotta quirky, we're still laughing together.
...I tripped on the dress going up the chancel steps and had to be careful to not flash the pastor.
...I continued to trip on the dress and fell onto a family member at the reception.
...we had the BEST wedding cake ever. Virginia in Houston makes divine cakes. I wish she would mail us an anniversary cake every year.
...we danced awkwardly and I wish we had taken lessons. Things to remember when my girls get married.
...we were so young and naive.
...we promised forever, and we're living that out, minute by minute sometimes.
...brought us to today, celebrating all of life's ups and downs, the two beautiful girls God blessed us with, and the love we have for each other.

The Things I Think About As A Mom

-If I homeschool, will I ever get those cheesy drawings and cards and crafts made for me for Mother's Day? Probably not, because that feels a little self-serving. Would I be awful if I made my kids make them anyways?Because I REALLY want those gifts.

-I love all kids, but I like mine just a little bit more than yours.

-We have A LOT of pink in our house. Sometimes I can't find my children in the baby gear if they are wearing pink.   I fought this phenomenon when I was pregnant with Avery, but when you have girls, you will lose that battle, because people only know how to buy pink for girls. It's like there is a security sensor that goes off if you walk out of the store with something non-pink intended for a girl.

-Will my skin ever look normal again after two pregnancies (and hopefully more)? It's so odd and wrinkly.

-The revised version of the Candy Land board is too overwhelming for 3 year olds. It's so crazy colorful that they lose track of which square they should move to. Or maybe it's just too colorful for mom-eyes.

-Kids probably wouldn't be scared of the dark or monsters or strange sounds if people didn't make songs about not being scared of those things. I'm looking at you, VeggieTales!!!!

-Shame on you, Gerber company, for adding sugar to baby puffs. I will not be purchasing your puff products.

-At what age does a baby's eyesight become so impeccable that they can find the one lone crumb in the sea of carpet fibers, making you dig around in their mouths because you aren't sure what's in there?

-Only for the love of our children and concern for their safety do we as moms put our fingers into our baby's mouth. They could bite us, or worse...we could find a bug in there.

-Our attempts to not broadcast our means of discipline to the public are always thwarted by screams of, "I don't want a spanking!" They mumble any other time of the day, but not when we wish they would.

-I like to read books to Avery, but I hate when she interrupts me. Like, this REALLY bugs me.

-Turns out, I'm even competitive at board games designed for the 6-and-under crowd.

-Naptime is the best time to make and eat cookies. Then you don't have to share. And you can avoid the guilt over giving sugar and junk to your kids. Central Market refrigerated cookies are best for this, because you don't risk waking the kids with the sound of the mixer.

-The people who say that what you eat when you're pregnant sets the tone for eating habits of said child have never had children.