Ellie girl is 9 months old!
As in...she has been outside my tummy as long as she was inside!
As long as my pregnancy felt...this time here with us has flown by and been so much fun.
At 9 months...
this is my MOST favorite age so far! I love everyday seeing Ellie soak in her world and learn new cognitive skills. There is no greater satisfaction in the world than seeing her actually DO something we have spent months trying to teach her.
Ellie is in:
mainly 3-6 month size clothing, however she can still wear some 0-3 month. I have packed up most of her 0-3 though, as I want her to get good wear out of her 3-6 fall/winter clothes before she starts wearing spring.
Size 2 diapers during the day--and size 3 at night for better absorbency. They are huge on her but I like that she wakes up in the morning without her pj's being soaked through.
I'll update her weight and height, along with percentiles on Thursday following her 9 month visit.
Some milestones this month:
Our biggest one has been getting out of the nap nanny. I never thought the day would come! We've been NN free for 2 weeks now and while she still is not the same sleeper as she was in it, she is getting used to it and will make it through the night with 1-2 wake ups. We make her cry it out and go back to sleep so hopefully she will be back to "normal" soon.
She is rolling EVERYWHERE. It is amazing how much her gross motor has improved since getting rid of the NN. She is pushing up really high on her hands and every now and then will get up on her knees. Crawling is on our horizon and we are ready for it!
She loves being on her tummy...she sleeps on her tummy. It's so weird that she spent the first 8 months of her life hating tummy time and suddenly she loves it.
Ellie is waving "hi" and "bye"...mainly holding up her arm with a tiny arm flick. We love it!
She loves to shake her head "no" when we do it and say "no, no, no!"
Ellie is reaching for preferred people (although subtle)...I'm pretty sure she's only held by "preferred people". :)
Her favorite game is peek a boo and she will play it with whatever she has available...her shirt, a blanket, a toy. She LOVES it.
She attends Bouncing Babies every Tuesday morning with Mrs. Denise and reports are that she loves it.
One of Ellie's favorite activities is reading--her favorite books are the "Llama Llama" series. She gets so excited and laughs and kicks her legs when you turn the page.
Ellie is eating pretty much everything at this point. She's eaten lots of table food this month--she has a preference to fruits and carbs. She is her mother's child :)
Bananas, peaches and mangos are her favorite fruits.
Pancakes are her favorite carb.
Broccoli and carrots are her favorite veggies.
She's not a huge lover of meats although she will tolerate them. I can't bear the pureed meats in jars so I just make her some when I cook dinner and she eats what we do.
She has had salmon and eats it well.
She gets a container of Yo Baby every day or so...loves it.
Ellie's schedule at 9 months:
7--wake up/bottle
8--Breakfast (fruit/pancake/yogurt)
9:30--nap
11--bottle
12--lunch (veggies/cereal)
1:30--nap
3--bottle
5--sometimes a nap
6--dinner (veggie/fruit/meat)
7--bath and bottle
7:30--bed
We finally bought a couch upstairs and we are slowly transitioning it to a "play room" (versus the junk room that it is now). We love spending time up there and it helps control the house looking like Toys R Us.
She has gotten to be such a cheeseball. She laughs and giggles and smiles all day (as long as she is rested and fed). Her toothy grin is my most favorite thing in the world. (Still hanging tough with the two bottom teeth...no new ones have erupted yet)
We are told often by strangers that she looks like the Gerber baby. Her cheeks get really rosy when she is outside!
We went to brunch a couple of sundays ago with friends from Sunday School and after several people stopped by the table to talk to Ellie, Katherine asked me "Is this what happens when you have a baby?" Yes is the resounding answer!
Ellie loves going out to eat. She is never fussy and always behaves like an angel--mainly because she is so interested in what everyone else in the restaurant is doing. She is one nosy baby girl.
We are having a difficult time figuring out how to entertain her in the car...she does not like to sit still for that long without someone reading to her or playing peek a boo. Clearly I cannot do this as well as drive so we get creative. and listen to a lot of crying.
She does like listening to Praise Baby in the car and still loves the dvd's, as well as Einstein. We let her have "chill out" time in her Nap Nanny while she watches her movie every now and then (when we are desperate because she is exhausted but we are biding time till bedtime!)
Ellie loves other babies and children. She is fixated by them and watches their every move. She's a very observant baby--more interested in taking things in then doing them herself.
This past week especially she has developed a temper. She has little to no tolerance for waiting on food when it's time to eat--I just make her fuss most of the time to try to teach her patience.
I took away my pump (because that is not a very cheap "toy") and she threw a complete hissy fit...I told her that if she were old enough she would have definitely gotten a spanking for that nonsense!
Tantrums aside, she is a precious, perfectly loveable, happy baby girl that we could not love one more ounce! Happy 9 months Ellie bug!
