9 Months

I turned 9 months old on the 12th of April.

 

 

Here's some things you should know about me at 9 months:

 

 

(This is clearly the absolute worst ever monthday photo shoot.)

 

At my well child visit I weighed 19 lbs 9.5 oz (30th %) and measured 28.75 in long (60th %).

 

I can play peek-a-boo!

 

I can say DaDa, MaMa, and hi...although I don't like to say any of them very often.

 

I love to jibber jabber when I'm riding in my carseat.

 

I often "hum" myself to sleep for naps and at night time

 

 

Last month Mommy said she was hoping I'd be off purees and solely eating table foods by now. 

Ha, ha, Mommy! 

 

I've become quite the little booger in the bathtub!  I'm constantly trying to stand up in there.

 

Ear infections have been a regularly occuring illness for me.  I think I've already had 5 in my short lifetime.

 

My sissy usually gets the first smile out of me every morning.  I just love that girl!  Thankfully, the feeling is mutual.

 

 

I started swim lessons.  Daddy and I are in a "First Splash" class together.  It's designed to get me comfortable in the water and teach me to roll onto my back and float if I ever fall into a pool/lake/whatever. 

 

I've figured out how to "walk" with the help of walking toys, heavy baskets, chairs, and just about anything else I can stand behind and push.

 

 

I love to be outside!  Mommy and Daddy don't let me get on the ground too often, though, because I still put everything into my mouth.

 

I have developed a strong preference for Mommy and just recently started crying when she drops me off at "school" in the mornings.  The tears don't last long, though.

 

Not to brag, but I am a favorite of the teachers at my "school".  They all think I'm pretty awesome!

 

My family thinks I'm pretty awesome, too! 

Happy Monthday to Me! (Finally, Timely)

I turned 8 months old yesterday!

 

 

Here are some things you should know about me at 8 months:

I weighed 19 pounds at the doctor's office this weekend.  It was a sick visit and I had all my clothes/diaper on, so I'm probably still really in the 18 pound range.

I am a mover.  I love to crawl all over the place, pull myself up onto things, and attempt to climb onto kid-sized chairs.  Lately, I've crawling under tables and chairs to get a little "me time".

 

My favorite toys are balls, LeapFrog fridge magnets, my little airplane, and my Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Puppy. 

The puppy keeps me occupied during diaper changes.  Without it Mommy and Daddy don't stand a chance of getting me changed.

 

Mommy like to read books to me, but I don't have any favorites yet.  I'm happy with any book she'll let me stick in my mouth.

 

I love to nurse.  I'm still waking to eat at least once at night.  If I'm feeling a little under the weather, though, it'll probably be twice.

I love to eat "solid" foods.  Sweet potatoes and apples are some of my favorites. Peaches are my not-so-favorites. 

 

Most of my solid eating is done at school, but just this weekend I decided that I'd go ahead and start eating at home again.  I'm still on mostly purees (haven't quite mastered that raking ability yet), but Mommy's hoping that I'll transition to mostly finger foods by next month.

 

Sissy came up with a new nickname for me this month: Buckle.  Although, she uses a funny baby voice when she says it, so it sounds like Buck-o.

 

 

Mommy and Daddy actually started calling me by a new nickname, too: No.  Sometimes they call me No No Elliot.  They especially like to use that nickname when I'm in the middle of something really fun, like putting a cord in my mouth or pressing all the buttons on the DVD player.

 

 

I think I've already mentioned in a past monthday post that I like to give out open mouthed kisses.  Well, this month I added hugs to my affection aresenal.

 

I wave (flap my arm, actually) hello and goodbye.  So far, I really only like giving those waves to mommy and daddy.

 

My parents get really excited when I say DaDaDaDaDa.

 

I hear Mommy and Daddy tell other people all the time that I am the sweetest, happiest baby ever.

 

Happy 6th and 7th Monthday to Me

Elliot here.  Remember me? 

 

I'm sure you were wondering if I was ever gonna post an update.  Mommy is down and out with the flu, so she finally gave me a chance to get on the computer.  I'm gonna do a little (okay, a lot) of backtracking here.  I'll be a whole 8 months old next week, but before I go showing off what I can do now I thought I'd fill you in on the highlights of the last two months.

 

6 months

  

At 6 months I weighed 17 lbs 4.5 oz and measured 26.75 inches.  That put me in the 50th percentile for weight and 60th for height.

 

I started eating some solid foods about a week before my 6 month mark. I gobbled that stuff up right from the start.  Grabbing the spoon, and all.
 

 

I wasn't quite crawling, but my creeping was purposeful.  I could move myself toward toys and people that had captured my interest.

 

I was trying really, really hard to sit up.  The result was that I often ended up in the "downward dog" yoga pose.

 

7 months

 

 

This was a big month for me!  I figured out how to sit up two days after my 6 month birthday, then started crawling two weeks later.
 

 

 

I also had flu, croup, 3 ear infections, and conjunctivitis all within a 2 week span.  Combine that with strep throat for Daddy and Sissy (on top of her ear infection, conjunctivitis, and upper respitory infection), and you'll understand why the picture below pretty much sums up our month.

 

Mommy figured out that if she eats dairy, I get eczema flair ups (notice the redness in my cheeks in that 7 month picture).

 

I developed a cute little habit of scream/squealing when I'm happy.  My family loves it!

Happy Golden Birthday to Me!

Can you believe that I am 4 years old today!?  And it's the 4th of the month...so that makes it my golden birthday!

 

 

 

Here are some things you should know about me at 4 years old:

  

I love to draw!  Here's a picture I drew on the first day of school this year.  It was my first attempt at drawing people.

 And here's a "quilt" I created a few weeks ago during Qq week at school.

 

 

 

I am full of questions. 

Some of my recent inquiries include:

How do Mommies get their babies out of their bellies? (I've been asking this question on a semi-monthly basis for the last year.  I keep hoping for a clearer answer every time I ask it.)

When we die, can our bodies not move anymore?  Can we move in heaven?

How old will I live to be?

(After learning about the Lord's Prayer) Why Jesus prayed to himself?

What if a fire is in our house when we're not home?

Can I have some candy?

 

Despite Mommy and Daddy's best efforts to keep me otherwise, I am a huge Disney Princess fan.

 

 

I love to have books read to me.  Berenstein Bears, Little Critter, and the Laura Numeroff's "If You Give A..." series are some of my favorites.  I'm even learning to do a little bit of reading myself. 

 

 

I like to write my name and (attempt to write) Elliot's.  I'm still not convinced that the letters have to be placed in a straight line, though...or that 'E' contains only three horizontal lines.

 

I am fascinated with potty words (you know: poo, pee, poop, foot, toot, bottom, booty...)!  In fact, Mommy and Daddy recently decided to ban all such words from every room but the bathroom.

 

Even though I've been at school for 5 months now, I still have a hard time saying goodbye to Mommy and Daddy most mornings.  

 

I still loathe the Happy Birthday song!

 

 

I have a great memory.  Recently I reminded Mommy of an event that occured just a few weeks before I turned one.  We hadn't spoken of said event in 3 years!

 

Daddy says he loves to see my creativity expressed when I play pretend, make up songs, and dress myself.

 

Speaking of, I've recently discovered the joy of choosing my own clothes.  Which means that Mommy now has to differentiate between "at home" outfits and "going somewhere" outfits.

Family Photos

Back in mid-December we had our first official family of four photo shoot.  The photographer was one of Mommy's friends from high school, and we were all thrilled with her work!

 

All photos by Lisa Michelle Photography.

 

 

Mommy and Daddy were also thrilled with my cooperativeness at the shoot. 

 

 

 The last two times we've had family photos, I was on the other end of the cooperation spectrum.

 

 

This time around, though, I was more than happy to ham it up.

 

 

 And the next day (when Mommy showed me the sneek peek shots Mrs. Lisa had posted on Face Book) I cheerily exclaimed that I looked like a "beautiful princess".

 

 

And who could deny that this little guy makes one handsome prince?

 

 

2012 in Review

Here's a little look back at our family's year.

 

January

Mommy and Daddy made the announcement that 2012 would see us become a family of four.

 

February

We celebrated my 3rd birthday with a Very Hungry Katerpillar party.

 

March

We celebrated St. Patrick's day at the Oriz boys' birthday party.  Mommy and I made Shamrock Shakes when we got home.  We did't take any pictures of them, but I did talk about them for the remaining 9 months of the year!

 

April

Dan asked Auntie to be his wife. She said yes!

 

Mommy's belly grew. So did my aversion to unexpected noises.

 

 

May

We welcomed the Texas heat with a little trip to the zoo.  Mommy tried really hard not to be jealous of Daddy's canteen.

 

June 

We (meaning Daddy, Uncle Dan, and Grampa) painted Elliot's nursery...

 

and transitioned me into a "big girl" bed.

 

I also performed in my first ballet recital!

 

July

We welcomed Elliot into our family!

 

August

I struggled through the transition from only child to big sister.  And Mommy struggled through the transition of being a "mother of one" to "mother of two".

 

My "Obey Right Away" chart helped us both!

 

Mommy also turned 30,

 

Elliot had his first Sunday at church,

 

And I started "school".

 

 

September 

 Mommy really began to feel like she had a handle on this "mother of two" thing. 

(Even though she can't figure out how to get this picture to orient correctly in Blogger!  She loves the picture...so you're just gonna have to cock your head to the right.)

 

Then she returned to work...and realized that "working mother of two" is an even more challenging title to bear than "mother of two".

 

Elliot joined me at "school", too!

 

October

Auntie and Dan tied the knot and I made my (rather loud) debut as a flower girl.

 

 

November

We celebrated Thanksgiving with lots of family (both the biological and handpicked kind).

 

 

December

I was totally into Christmas this year, so Mommy and Daddy thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the holiday with an (almost) 4 year old ball of energy and a little baby.

 

 

I suppose if I had to choose one word to describe the past year for our family it would be "transition".  Mommy and Daddy are incredibly thankful for God's strength and grace through 2012, as well as the love and advice they've received from friends and family who have walked this parenthood path before them.

 

We're all excited to discover what 2013 has in store for us! 

Sunday Best

Today was one of those Sundays where, if Mommy had it to do all over again, we would have just stayed home!

 

Yesterday I woke up from my "rest time" with a stomach ache and fever.  As the day turned to evening, however, I began to feel much better.  This morning I woke as good as new, so Mommy decided to go ahead and take Elliot and me to church and just have us sit with her instead of going to our nursery classes.

 

 

Well, we hadn't been in the service more than 10 minutes when Elliot started into the most pitiful cry Mommy had ever heard come from his mouth.  I joined Elliot's protest chorus as soon as I realized Mommy was about to escape to the foyer with Elliot and leave me in the sanctuary with Poppy.

 

So, Mommy, Mimi, Elliot, and I spent the remainder of the service in the church foyer.  You'd be suprised at how much activity actually takes place out there during the service.

 

In total, I had about 3 meltdowns while we were at church. 

 

Once we got home, though, there was not even a trace of sadness left!