Eloise at 9 months

Little Elo is 9 months this week. I say this week because she was born on the 30th but there is no 30th this month so that's kind of weird : )  Yeh-yo as we like to call her is changing everyday & never ceases to smile when you look her way.  How can it be possible to love a child more & more with each passing day? This girl is precious to us....

STATS:
17 pounds 8 ounces- 25th percentile
27.75 inches- 50th percentile
Head- 46 centimeters- 65th percentile

I could just eat her up! We call her "squishy" all the time....because she is : ) 

What Squishy is up to at 9 months:

• says "mama" & "dada" to the right people
• points back at you when you point at her
• waves hello although it is so uncoordinated & ridiculously cute : ) 
• picks up cheerios/puffs with thumb & forefinger 20% of the time  & scoops it 80% of the time
• claps along with you 
• pulls forward onto knees & sits back down repeatedly...SO on the verge of crawling
• pulls herself up onto her knees in her crib
• passes toys from hand to hand
• rolls herself all over the place & scoots backward or in a circle to get what she needs
• squeals loudly when she gets excited about the dogs or sissy's entertainment
• rolls to the side of her crib & pulls down the bumper in order to entice her sister to get out of bed. Sister can't resist & sometimes ends up in the crib....nice ; ) 
• loves to sit outside on a blanket but gets to the edge & eats leaves/grass SO stinkin' fast!
• reaches to be picked up
• kicks her legs super fast in the car seat when she gets excited about her toy she is holding
• attempts escape when getting her diaper changed

Do you remember our first child's nearly bald head for the entire first year of life & into the second? Elo has already passed her up in the hair growth category!

She also passed her up in the acquiring of chompers!  Eloise got her first little tooth on February 8th at 8 MONTHS OLD! Char didn't get her first tooth until 15 MONTHS! Read all about that here. Elo was just a bit clingy two afternoons in a row but I didn't suspect it was teething.  We were all in the girls room & Eloise was rolling on the floor when I put my finger in her mouth & felt something super sharp....what do you know? A tooth! If you look close in the next photo you can see it on her bottom right. Up until February 8th., I had never nursed a baby that had teeth...ouch!

Little lady is still very interested in nursing which I am thankful for. She has been starting her day earlier for the past week so our times are 6:30, 10:15, 2:15, 5:15 & 7:15 (just before bed). She can consume all that she wants pretty quickly but loves to stay in that favorite place ; ) With starting the day before we are ready to get up, Rob usually goes to get her & I feed her in bed while we all snuggle. It has become our favorite way to start the day. She was doing great with solids until last week when she got a little stomach bug. She vomited on & off for a couple days so we dropped the solids & upped the nursing frequency. She did great with it, recovered & has gotten back to regular meals. Elo has mastered eating cheerios & puffs but is not interested in small chunks of food. In fact, tonight at dinner, I put about 15 puffs on her tray. She looked at her hands & noticed that she already had one in each & proceeded to smash her face down on her tray with her mouth wide open! Haha! It was great! Our new foods this month were few: almonds, mango, cantaloupe, red potato & corn.

She is still a great napper & has successfully dropped that late afternoon snooze. She is usually napping from 8-10:15 & 12-2:15 or 2:30.  Some days she gets cranky just before dinner time like she still needs the cat nap but I think she is adjusting well. If we are out & about she will doze off in the car. She is making me laugh with how she leans towards her crib as I am singing to her. Sometimes it almost throws me off balance ; ) Most of the time there is no fussing but if there is, she is quickly calmed with some pats on that squishy tushy. She is sleeping with a taggie blanket I made her & her lambie.

Eloise Hope, you are sweet as sweet can be! Keep on getting squishier...we love it  : ) 

Meet my nephew

Isaac Haddon Valentine

Born February 27, 2012 at 3:46am

6 pounds 7 ounces & 19 1/2 inches long

We are thankful to be adding this sweet boy to our family!

more to come on his exciting arrival...

project 365: [days 50-56]

February 19th- First tooth brushing for the littlest in the house.

February 20th- Our reading list for our Monday night "Mommy & Charlee time" where we snuggle
on my my "ban" as Char says & read however many books she chooses.

*February 21st- Enjoying a walk & snuggle simultaneously in the beautiful weather.

February 22nd- Date night at the movies with my Jenny Girl

February 23rd- Gave Bella Blue some extra scratches.

 

February 24th- Finished these cute little bows for my niece to wear with her Big Sister shirt

February 25th- We "helped" Daddy mulch the flowerbeds- ie we colored with our chalk & provided moral support. Here is Char checking out herself.  Look at those bruises all up & down her cute little legs!

Grammy & GG...we love you!

Every February since we moved to Orlando, Rob's Grandma Virginia & her sister-in-law Edna come to spend a weekend with us.  This was the second year that Jeannine, aka Grammy, decided to fly over from Texas to join in the fun.  I will say that the visit was wonderful for multiple reasons but especially since there were no sickies goin' around.  For about 5 visits in a row with the Valentines, someone has been either vomiting or dealing with a cold or some other annoying ailment : ) We were healthy & happy last weekend and welcomed a fun crew to our home.

Jeannine flew in Thursday around lunchtime and the girls & I brought her to our house for a bit.  We spent the evening at Steve & Jenny's house where they cooked us a delicious dinner.  Char & Kar-Bear enjoyed having Grammy to play with during dinner...

On Friday, Virginia & Edna arrived just in time for lunch & some playtime outside with the girls. Here is my absolutely adorable niece who is going to be a big sister any day now!

Despite eating like a horse, this girl maintains her slim figure by running non stop ALL DAY LONG!
 Her poor pregnant mommy is exhausted!

Friday night, we cooked a Taco Feast complete with Valentine Margaritas.  Jenny drank a shooter sized portion ; ) We bathed all the cousins together & got the kids down before relaxing on the couch & consuming S'more cookies. We couldn't get them out of our minds following Jenny's shower so we whipped up another batch.

Saturday morning, we spent some time outside while Charlotte attempted to ride her tricycle.  I am not sure why it is so difficult for her when she is quite coordinated but, she got frustrated soon after this picture was taken and decided to run around instead.

We did come across this little bitty spider web found in the sidewalk crack. It was maybe an inch wide & so pretty!

The little girls did some snoozin' after lunch while the Grandma's went shopping. I got some sewing done for Jenny, Karis & Isaac since she was having contractions like crazy. I added a closure on her diaper bag, made a crayon roll up for Karis as a gift to her from her baby bro & then got started on some "Big Sister, Little Brother" shirts for the adorable pair.  It is amazing what you can get done with a quiet house!

After naps we loaded up & went straight to Downtown Celebration. We were planning on a park but when we walked outside & were reminded that we live in sunny (hot) Florida, we ran back in to grab swimsuits & towels so the girls could enjoy the fountain.

Eloise got to enjoy a ride on Daddy's shoulders while the stroller carried all our bags. She is so happy up there!

The fountain, oh the fountain, it makes kids so happy! This was our first visit since late summer 2011 & the girls quickly warmed up to the idea of playing in the water.  Charlotte more so than Karis but they both had a great time.

I wish I could say that Char was being so sweet & comforting to her frightened cousin but really she was trying to drag her to the middle of the fountain : ) That's my girl...such a risk taker!

Eloise took a liking to Aunt Edna as you can see below.

I still can't believe that we got the picture below. There are about 10 in a row & 4 of them were great!

What lovely ladies to grace our presence over the weekend.  The girls loved you & we did too! Looking forward to next February!

project 365: [days 43-49]

February 12th- Spent the day with the Peck Family.  Eloise couldn't keep her lips off that hairless head of Drew's : )

February 13th- Playdate at the park with Anna, Clara & Alex

February 14th-  Valentine's breakfast at the Valentines.

February 15th- Charlotte's new OCD activity...lining up her "ribbums" as she calls them.

February 16th-  Picked up this lovely lady (aka Grammy)  from the airport.

February 17th- Eloise & Great Grandmother Virginia met for the first time.

February 18th-  Took photos of Jenny & her beautiful baby bump at 37 weeks.

Squirrel Huntin' 2012

We spent last Saturday out in the woods on a hunt for squirrels.  On our way we chanted "We're goin' on a squirrel hunt! We're gonna catch a big one! I'm not afraid, are you? Look, It's a river! Can't go over it, can't go under it, we've gotta got through it!" It all worked great with our substitute animal until we were sneaking in the cave & had to say, Oh nooooo, a squirrel! It just wasn't the same effect as a big scary bear. Anyhow, it was good for a laugh & something to keep a toddler occupied on the car ride.

We are deeming this a Valentine tradition during small game season now that we have done it two years in a row.  Check out last years post here.  Once again, we did not even see ONE SQUIRREL! I said it last year & agree with myself, I think that was a good thing for Charlotte to not have to see her Daddy kill & skin a squirrel at 2 years old. Maybe she will be ready next year ; )

A few differences for Squirrel Huntin' 2012; 2 little girls in tow, Bella Bella blue dog joined us & we actually fired off a few shots.

Warning, many pictures to follow.....I couldn't help myself!

Charlotte did a lot of waving her arms while walking through tall grass.

the beautiful Blue Belle

I was wondering how Char would be out in the "wild."  Sometimes she is clingy when she is unsure of her surroundings but on this day, she was beyond confident & we saw a lot of this....

As she ran through the bush all on her own, I chased behind her with a baby strapped to me. SO FUN ; )

 We also saw a lot of this....

She was all smiles all day! She LOVES the great outdoors!

We drove in through the bumpy terrain praying that Old Beller wouldn't croak in her kennel. She has a tendency to hyperventilate while riding in a vehicle unless heavily drugged with Benadryl : ) She was still alive when we arrived at our first stop. We hopped out & headed down a path that led to this beautiful bit of water.

We were in & out of the truck as we went from game trail to game trail. Eloise even got to do some driving! Not really but she got to pretend!

oooo that grin!

After some squirrel lookin', we headed over to Billy Lake (isn't that the best name for a lake? haha!).  We ate our lunch in the back of the truck & then enjoyed the view.

It was definitely fun to have a 2 1/2 year old instead of a 1 1/2 year old this time around.  Char was not quite as steady on her feet last year and was worn out so much more quickly. This year she ran full speed the whole time yelling "I wanna go squel huntin!" We woud tell her that we were "squel" huntin' & she would say "NO! I wanna go squel huntin!" She walked along the path yelling "Squels! Whe ah you? You in hay? No" onto the next bush "in hay?" She was covered in dirt from head to toe and she soaked her shoes & pant legs about an hour into our trip by jumping in a puddle.  I love that she likes to get dirty!

We felt like we should at least fire the gun off since we were huntin' & all. Rob found a water bottle & put it on one of the many palm trees ( I know, palm trees in the woods? That's Florida for you!). Rob let Charlotte take a look at his gun & then she stood by me while he shot at the bottle.  He put a hole right through it! We SO could have had some squirrel stew had we seen a little furry friend!

I also took a couple shots...and missed : ( I used to be a fairly good shot when we lived in Dallas. I guess that was only with a pistol though which was just a tiny bit different than this one ; )

Cousin Karis let us borrow her off-roading stroller.  It was awesome for when this tired mama couldn't haul miss chunky monkey around in the Ergo for another minute! She smiled as we bumped along.

 And our award winning red neck picture of the day.....drum roll please.....

Going potty in the back of the truck next to Old Beller with her honor roll bumper sticker : )

Thanks to that dog kennel, we had a place to set the camera that was out of reach of some dangerous hands while it took our picture.

These two have a good time together.  Her legs did get a little tired toward the end & she opted for a ride on her favorite shoulders.

So, with the lack of squirrels around, we got to laughing saying that if we ran over a squirrel while driving that it would really tick Rob off. Turns out, when we were leaving the land we found out that a kid that had been there earlier in the morning had left with 12 squirrels! What the heck? We didn't even see ONE up in a tree or anything! Robby said that he bet that guy didn't bring his entourage of women with him though ; ) I am pretty certain that he didn't have as much fun as we did!

Looking forward to next year's trip....3rd time's the charm right?