Eloise at 6 months

Sweet Eloise Hope will be 6 months old tomorrow! Half of the first year of life has passed and it has been a joyful time in our home.  She continues to be an absolute bright spot in our day with her precious smiles & giggles.

Here she is enjoying a new favorite activity.....


Swinging & swinging....she loves it & I love those knees!

STATS

Weight- 14lbs 11oz- 25th percentile

Length- 26 3/4 in- 75th percentile

Head Circumference- 75th percentile

What this little cutie patootie is up to at 6 months:

• still loving anything and everything about the outdoors- watching Sissy play soccer or blow bubbles, riding in the stroller enjoying a breeze, or just staring at the sky.  Outside=no fussing for this girl!
• grabs & holds on tightly to toys or Charlotte's hair
• grasps her feet & sucks on those yummy tootsies
• grins SO big when you sing & clap (or dance)
• can roll front to back & back to front with not much effort although she doesn't do it often
• can sit unassisted for a long time unless Charlotte comes by to knock her over : )
• reaches for toys while sitting bending almost in half & pulls herself back to a sitting position
• likes to sleep on her side or her back with her hands over her face
• smiles then buries her face into my shoulder when others talk to her...love this!
• making lots more noises & high pitched squeaks when excited
• sounded like she said "da" the other day
• loves Tiny Tales story time at the Library
• lets Charlotte hold her for long periods of time without crying

For Thanksgiving, Eloise got to try her first solid food & she loved it! Here she is checking out her banana's or as Char says "her menas."  She was pretty excited to get that first spoonful in her mouth!

She had a helper, as always. One who loves her almost as much as her mommy does : ) Charlotte actually did a pretty good job minus a couple spoonfuls that went directly into the back of her throat causing a little choking sound from the new eater...oops!  Charlotte has been Elo's dedicated trainer for the past few months placing a spoon in her mouth at least once a day while she pretend fed her along with Libby & London.  One day while I was working, Robby texted me a picture of Elo in her seat & Charlotte next to her with every spoon we own lined up perfectly in a row...headed straight for the smallest mouth in the house.  I guess it paid off because Elo scarfed down a half a banana without any hesitation!

 She had to give us at least one silly face even though she really loved her menas!

I am excited to move forward with solid foods for this one.  I made nearly all of Char's food & loved the little system I had going with cooking & freezing all sorts of healthy, delicious foods.  Up next on the menu: sweet potatoes, avocados, oatmeal & brown rice.

Eloise is still nursing 5 times a day usually at 7:15, 10:30, 2:30, 5:30 & 7:15.  So far I have added the solids in around lunch time & will see if that works as we continue. Our routine was shaken up around this house with the time change early this month & we were back to an evening snooze (4th nap) for a few weeks but have now dropped it again. She is napping 3 times a day usually from 8:30-10:30, 12-2:30, 4-5:30 & then sleeps goes down for the night around 7:30.

She is happy as can be to be laid down wide awake after a song and a snuggle & now "talks" to herself for about 5-10 minutes before falling asleep.  Maybe once every few days she will fuss for a minute before giving into a wonderful nap.  I tell you what, I would not put up a fight if someone made sure I was in my comfy clothes, made the room dark & told me it was time to take a nap!

Eloise really likes her puppy dogs, especially when they get up close & give her a kiss! Here she is with Bella Blue, the perfect dog.  Bennett has eaten about 9 socks & a pair of leg warmers this month...he is not my favorite right now.

The girls have been taking baths together & both love it! They will stay happy in there for a really long time.  Eloise usually ends up peeking out from behind the pile of toys her sister so lovingly places on top of her. Char says "more toys Eh-Wheese? oh oh okay! Here go!"

One final picture of Eloise sitting up all by herself.  I love this stage, it is like a whole new world opens up when they can sit & look around!

In six more months we will be celebrating that exciting first birthday! For now, I am going to enjoy every sweet moment with this girl....it is going by way too fast : )