9 Months Old!

What? Really? Baby Ellen is 9 months old already? We had her wellness visit today and made her 1 year appointment! I have to start thinking about her birthday party pretty soon. I think I need to be pinched. It still seems like she is a tiny infant that we just brought home yesterday.

She continues to be a very easy baby that is almost always a joy to be around, but she has gotten a little more normal over the past month. She has learned how to express herself when she gets mad, sad, or lonely. For example, she gets so mad when you take something away from her. She tenses up her little fists and screams. She even pinched Lucas the other day with her whole fist as she screamed at him! It was funny to Lucas and me : )

She has always been a very textbook baby, so it came to no surprise to us that she developed a case of separation anxiety over the past month or so. She prefers to be in my arms and will fuss if I leave the room, but if I go on about my business she gets over it quickly (usually). Jeff is not offended - he also thinks it's cute that when I give her to him she gets a concerned look on her face and reaches back for me. But she gets over it quickly and shows her dada much affection. She loves it when he raises her up in the air and brings her back down quickly. She has honored him by making his name his first word and will wave to him and call his name as she smiles from ear to ear.

Lucas is still her hero, however, there has been a little bit of sibling rivalry now that she can get to all of his toys. Lucas is a great big brother and really does look out for her. Ellen loves to climb the stairs and if she starts heading in that direction he says, "No Ahllen! You may fall down!" or if she's crying he says, "It's okay, Ahllen. It will be okay!" She is lucky to have him as a big brother.

Some big news in Miss Ellen's life (and mine) is that she is night weaned. I figured that if she wasn't nursing at night then maybe we could rotate Jeff in for some night time care, so I tried rocking her one night instead of nursing her and she was fine with it. Really what it means, however, is that she wants her mommy at night and doesn't care if it's nursing or just holding and cuddling (sweet baby). As a result of not eating at night, her appetite has increased during the day. She nurses for a long time when she wakes up, so she's still not big on breakfast, but eats a lot (relatively) for lunch and dinner. She is pretty much eating everything now, except for the few things that she can't eat until she's one year old (PB, honey, fish, nuts). I don't remember Lucas eating from our plates so young. Ellen prefers the finger foods and is very good about picking up just one piece at a time and swallowing it before she picks up another piece. She mostly eats strawberries, peaches, applesauce, banana, carrots, peas, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash, blueberries, oatmeal, bread, cheerios, goldfish, rice cakes. I'm looking forward to introducing her to all of the other fruits and veggies this month. She's also eaten chicken from my plate a couple of times. Big girl!

The little lady has 4 teeth now - two bottom ones and two top ones. She bit Jeff's leg yesterday when he was trying to button her pants!

She is tiny, which I think is genetic (and the doctor agrees). She only weighs 15 lbs and 11 oz, which is only 7% among other babies her age. Her height is in the 40th % and her head in 65th %. Her 6 month old clothes fit her perfectly now : )

Ellen is proud that she can wave, clap and stand up on her own without using anything as a prop. She is not cruising yet and the doctor says that most babies can't stand up on their own without a prop until after they cruise on the furniture, so maybe she'll just take some steps one day.

We love this little baby so much. She is so sweet and happy and it rubs off on people. She came to us this way, so I just hope that we can maintain it by showering her with love every day like we are doing now.