Ellery 41 and 42 Weeks Old

Missing a little Ellery in your life? Here she is times two.

 

41 Weeks Old

This week marks Ellery being on the outside (of my womb) as long as she was on the inside. Crazy! It’s hard to believe that I was pregnant for as long as we have had her in our arms. Even harder to believe is that this cheerful, mischievous, always-moving girl is the same little person that was moving and kicking around in me, and was SO TINY when she was born. It’s truly amazing how much she has grown.

A lot has happened these past couple weeks. Ellery learned how to pull herself up on her crib. I laid her down for a  nap one day and when I stopped hearing her fuss I figured she had fallen asleep. Nope. Next thing I heard was happy little gurgles as she walked herself along the sides of her crib. I have been anticipating this for a while now, but what I was not anticipating was the huge effect this would have on her sleeping habits. For the next several days when we would lay her down for a nap she would cry and pull herself up and protest very loudly that she wanted to be rescued. If we went in to help her lay back down it only made her more upset, but just leaving her to settle herself wasn’t an option either because we knew she couldn’t get down by herself. All of a sudden she just didn’t want to sleep AT ALL anymore. There was one day (my birthday, but who’s keeping track) that we tried for over 3 hours to get her take a much-needed nap and no matter what we tried (crib, swing, rocking, laying with her, stroller ride) she refused to sleep.

We (fingers crossed) have worked through this a little now by adding a few extra minutes of cuddle time before laying her down to make sure she is good and drowsy. Ordinarily she prefers to just lay down and would push away from us rather than cuddle, but lately she has laid her head down on my shoulder and been content with rocking or walking together. We accept this without ANY complaints, of course. She still pulls herself every time she wakes up and really enjoys making her way around her entire crib.

She has started to really enjoy jumping either in her saucer, jumper, or just standing and bouncing those little legs. She kind of dances a little bit, sometimes even to music.

42 weeks old

Sorry for the dark pictures..it was a dark, dreary day.

Well, Ellery is officially crawling now! It started out with her army crawling around and pushing up to her hands and knees every once in a while. Then she would crawl ever so slowly for a few “steps” and then drop her knees to the floor again and army crawl. But now she is staying up on her hands and knees and gaining speed! She can get herself up to a sitting position from crawling also. When you combine this and her ever increasing ability to pull herself up on things and switch from object to object, she can get just about anywhere now. She is much more stable when standing up holding on to things and will often let go with one hand to either pick something up with the other hand or grab something else to hang on to. She can even bend all the way down to the floor while still holding on to the coffee table. This assures me that she CAN either sit down from standing by herself or that she’s really close to that.

We seem to have figured out her new sleeping habits a little better. She likes to cuddle in the rocker (most of the time) and then as soon as she lays down she gets her pacifier and her stuffed elephant. She LOVES Ollie the elephant and wraps her whole body around him. She wants her pacifier a lot less recently though, which I’m not necessarily going to complain about. After getting over her cold recently she didn’t have as much desire for it. Only when she’s in her crib and even then, only sometimes. Most days she takes 2 naps, but if they’re short we still have to sneak in an evening one. She has been waking up very early in the morning now ready to go—6:00 or earlier. We thought maybe it was because the sun was rising earlier and put light-blocking curtains in her room which makes it twice as dark. Unfortunately…no change. I’m very thankful that the hubby is on summer break and can help with the early mornings now though. Taking turns is a wonderful thing (as is being married to a teacher).

Ellery is such a smart little girl and is developing more personality and opinions every day. She will do things to get reactions out of us and has started repeating things if we laugh at them. Sometimes when we will go in for kisses she will blow raspberries right in our face. And then do it again and again, as many times as we react. She is definitely at a stage where she can understand much more than she can communicate and oftentimes defaults to yelling at us until we can try to figure out exactly what it is she wants. We have continued trying some sign language with her are hoping she starting doing some signs back soon. She has even started throwing some fits: arching her back, yelling, and/or kicking her feet when she doesn’t get her way. Oh boy, toddler-dom here we come.

Overall though, she is such a happy, people-loving, funny little girl. Sometimes (especially when she is playing with or figuring out something new) she will kind of chuckle to herself. She has never-ending love for her puppy. Sometimes she will close to Mika on the floor while Mika is chewing on her bone and Ellery will slip her hand in and take the bone away from her. Mika is really patient and gentle and finds her moment to take the bone back and move over a little. She has become excellent at holding her own bottles and has even learned that she needs to tip them upward to get more liquid. She loves to wave to people now, sometimes will give high-five’s and even enjoys smacking our faces repeatedly on occasion.

Ellery 40 Weeks

40 weeks old

Our poor little peanut has a cold right now. I think all the ups and downs with the weather are getting to her. She has a perpetually runny nose and these little coughs that rack her body. If she’s awake she will cough and then cry because it hurts, if she’s asleep she will cough and then let out a little moan. It’s so hard to see/hear and even harder not to be able to really do much to help, but we’re hoping it passes soon.

Other than that she has been doing really well. I think we’ve mostly figured out her new schedule—it still varies from day to day, but we’ve got the pattern down anyway. I have never been able to set a consistent time for naptimes because she wakes up at a different time just about every morning. She has also been waking up pretty early (6-ish), but she has been mostly sleeping through the night so I think it’s a fair trade. Mostly we are down to 2 naps a day, but if they aren’t good naps then she needs a little cat nap in the evening so she can make it to bedtime.

She definitely can stay awake for longer now though, which pushes me to find more ways to entertain her. It is difficult to find new or creative things to do with her that are age appropriate. She LOVES being outside and playing in her swing or just sitting on the grass, but we have had SO MUCH rain lately that that’s not an option right now. She is okay with bubbles, but they don’t really entertain her much. We tried some homemade edible finger paint which was a fun experience, but a lot of work for her to just dump it out everywhere. What can we do that is safe for a 9 month old? Any suggestions??

She sleeps on her tummy most of the time now (rolls herself over), but she also really loves being close to the side of the crib. She has her feet up on the slats of her crib and sometimes will even hold on to it. Last night I rescued her (she was still sleeping) because she had both legs through one slat and was practically folded in half. She likes to curl up in the upper left corner of crib. Such a silly girl.

She tried some veggies this week and did better with them than I expected. She tried green beans (mashed up) and ate several bites at each serving before deciding she was going to close her mouth until you gave her something she liked better. She also tried some peas that I just poured on her tray and let her pick up. She ate some, and then again decided she’s rather be eating something else. She has been wanting to feed herself more and more. She will try to grab the spoon and then will immediately grab the food on the spoon to put it to her mouth. The other day she refused to let me feed her, so I ended up putting the oatmeal on her tray and letting her go to town. What a mess! But she was happy as a clam squishing her hands in it and feeding herself. Mika is also very happy with Ellery’s attempts at self-feeding as more and more food ends up on the floor. Thankfully Mika is not turned of by mushy half eaten bananas or gobs of oatmeal. Ellery even fed herself some avocado the other day and you could tell she felt quite proud of herself.

She likes to wave a lot now, but usually will do it more to get people’s attention and then as soon as they look at her she just stares at them. She still has never met a stranger and will go to anyone with a smile. She loves to wave at Mika all throughout the day. Ellery LOVES her puppy so much. She laughs at her when she is panting or chasing a ball. She chases her around in her walker. She army crawls over to her on the floor to try to steal her bone. She grabs onto her while standing and buries her face in her fur. She loves her dog.

She is babbling a lot these days with mostly da-da’s, but also ba-ba’s, ma-ma’s and lot of other sounds and noises. She still uses da-da when she’s angry a lot and it is pretty amusing. She will give me kisses on my chin, cheek, neck and shoulder and sometimes will even blow raspberries on me. She loves bath time so much still and just might turn into a fish. (Daddy got us a baby swimming pool so that might be a fun option when it warms up/dries off again too).

The Changing of the Seasons: A Faux Mantle’s Story

So I have really been wanting to post more on this old bloggity blog. I’m amazed/thankful that I’ve been able to stay faithful with the Ellery updates, but for a while now that is all that I have posted and I kind of miss sharing some of my projects. I still make stuff as often as I can and I usually even take pictures to share, but then that’s as far as it goes.

I have updated our mantle several times, but then the season/holiday passes before I blog about it. So, I think I’ll share some of the different mantles I have had and then I’ll show you the one I decorated today. Keep in mind, we don’t really have a mantle, so I work with what we do have.

Valentine’s Day

I made the conversation heart specimen art the previous year for V-day, and the 3D flower heart art and alphabet I LOVE YOU this past year. (More tutorials that I never posted..). The tulips were from my love and are one of my favorite flowers. The red books are from our wedding and the pictures are obviously of the mister and I.

Easter mantle

I also experimented with less eggs which made it look a lot simpler/cleaner.

I cut out the Easter eggs from my paint chip collection, cut some triangles out of scrapbook paper for bunting, and glued on the letters that I cut out with my Silhouette. The Bible is turned to Isaiah 53 and the cross is from Hobby Lobby. I made the paper flowers a while ago and then just glued on some sticks for stems. The white vases are also leftover from our wedding. And the egg is an egg shaker!

Then I took away the eggs for spring (after Easter).

Current mantle
(bright, fun, colorful, almost-summer mantle)

I covered those red books with brown paper (from a paper bag and some brown wrapping paper) so I could use my new bicycle bookends from Design Atelier Article that I won from a giveaway on East Coast Creative. It took a little while for them to get to me (they had to come all the way from Ukraine!), but as soon as the package arrived I KNEW I had to display them.

I created a little felt flower bunting by clipping the flowers on some twine. The sunflower paper flowers are left over from some I made for a  baby shower this past Sunday (more to come from that soon I hope). The green fabric and Dream sign were just hanging around the craft room. I love challenging myself to decorate with things that I already have around the house. Saves money and forces me to be extra creative.

And that, my friends, is the evolution of our mantle in the past several months. Thanks for sticking with me through sparse posts and catch-up.

CraftyScrappyHappy

Ellery 39 Weeks

Oh boy! She is mobile!

39 weeks and 9 months old

Ellery has always been a mover, but now she can actually get places. She has started army crawling all around the floor. She sees something she wants and pulls herself along to get to it. She will sometimes do the “inchworm” where she gets up on her hands and knees, lays on her belly, and repeats to get places. She can rotate 360 degrees on her tummy so she can easily change direction. And a few times she has even done a full fledged CRAWL! We are so proud, but know that we are in trouble now that she can SEE something and GO to it. Nothing is safe.

She still loves walking on the side of the coffee table and practicing moving from object to object. She will even walk backwards in her walker which is really fun to watch. She will back up slowly and then run forward. She wants to be standing (supported and/or carefully watched) all day long. Which means anytime I try to eat, clean, or do ANYthing else, she can get very disgruntled.

She has been waving a lot more lately and usually in the right context so I’m pretty sure she understands. She uses her whole arm of course, but is very generous with who she waves to. Sometimes me, sometimes daddy, sometimes strangers we pass on walks, etc. She has loved that we have been outside a lot more lately. She loves swinging. She loves sitting in the grass and trying to eat dandelions. She loves going for walks and trying to hold on to Mika’s leash if it comes close enough to the stroller.

She says “dada” ALL the time now and not just when she’s mad. It’s her new favorite syllable to repeat. Or sometimes she just sticks with one “da”. She has been trying to nod her head up down, but mostly it just looks like she’s head banging or something. She is getting really good at holding her own bottle whether it has milk or juice in it. Sometimes she wants to sit up in your lap and drink it so that she can see out.

We had her 9 month dr. appointment on Tuesday and it went really well. She made up the shots we missed at her 6 month and she really only cried while they were doing it. As soon as I picked her up she was okay. When we got home was another story. She was a little extra cranky and sleepy so I let her lie down for an extra nap. When we got her up she was burning up with a fever. It stayed around 102 for the rest of that night and into the next morning a little. Poor little dear was miserable and would not let me put her down or move my face from next to hers. She was very fitful in her sleep, but by the next afternoon she was pretty much back to 100%. This is the first reaction she’s really had from vaccinations so far. I’m glad that even though she was not feeling well for a night, that that’s all it was.

She is 18 lbs. 2 oz (50% percentile), 28 inches long (63%), and her head circumference is 17 3/4 inches (82%—what a growing brain she has!). She has only gained about 2 pounds in the past 3 months, but grew 1 1/2 inches so I think she is thinning out a little. She is actually wearing the size clothing that she is and that seems to rarely happen.

 

Ellery 37 and 38 Weeks

 

 

Playing catch-up again..

37 weeks old

Sometimes I can’t get over how much of a people-person Ellery is. She LOVES people. She can be grumpy and fussy, but if someone shows up to our house she is all smiles. If a stranger comes up to her and gives her attention, she will give them big smiles and put out her arms to go to them. And if she is NOT getting the attention she wants from people, she will make herself heard so that she does. Of course, she also has a soft spot for some special people in her life. Mommy and Daddy are favorites (most of the time), both Grandmas elicit pure joy, and we have several other friends and family members that she gets excited every time she sees. I will say she seems to especially like older people and guys with beards. But, don’t worry, if you’re a person, she probably loves you. This of course is very helpful in many ways and makes it almost pain-free to let others watch her. We will just have to work on “stranger danger” when she’s a little older.

Another of her little quirks is that she seems to like things that make loud noises like the vacuum cleaner or hair dryer. She never gets scared and seems to actually enjoy the sound. She will chase after the vacuum in her walker and try to grab it and she LOVES getting air in her face from the hair dryer (on the lowest, coolest setting don’t you worry). Funny, funny girl.

She has started banging the back of her head on things (which is normal? I heard that it was in a baby progress email, but it’s weird). When she is in her walker, saucer, high chair, or our arms she will throw her head back and bang it repeatedly on whatever is behind her. Sometimes she will hit it quite hard and then sit up not exactly pleased. To which I tell her NOT to bang her head.

She is still standing all the time and loves to practice moving from object to object. She will walk along the side of the coffee table, lean and reach out her hands to a nearby chair, grab it with her hands and then walk her feet closer, and then turn around and repeat the whole process over and over. She also does this with us—hold on to Mom/Dad, go to the chair, back to Mom/Dad and repeat, repeat, repeat. The trouble is that she seems so sure footed, but the one time you take your arms away or blink, she falls.

We have added a few new foods to her growing list including butternut squash, yogurt, and bread. Oh, and I have started giving her watered down apple juice which she LOVES. We gave up on the sippy cup for a little while and have just been sticking to bottles for juice and water (and milk) because it works and then she gets what she needs. After having tried a plethora of different types of cups, I figured we’ll just take a break and come back to it. She can hold the bottle by herself, so that’s a start.

38 weeks old

So, never underestimate the sheer delight of dressing your daughter like a princess. I mean, come on, she could do just about anything in a tutu and make it look cute. (I said “just about,” don’t get technical on me). Plus it gave her something to hold onto so she was able to sit still for about 3.2 seconds longer this week.

We had an EVENTFUL week last week. Ellery and I drove 5 hours 6 1/2 hours to meet up with my mom in a hotel for the weekend and it was WONDERFUL. The drive down was terrible patience-building and the nights were a bit tricky in the hotel, but we had SUCH a great time with Grandma. Overall, she did super great for being in a strange place for several days, being constantly stimulated, being in out of the car all the time, and being without her Daddy and doggy.

She had a few firsts while we were there like being in a pool for the first time. At first she was very unsure and looked like maybe she would complain for a while, but she never fussed and it didn’t take her long to get used to the water. She loves baths so I figured this wouldn’t be a huge stretch from that. The first day in the pool she was very relaxed and would set her head on Grandma’s shoulder, let the rest of her body go limp and float, and just slowly move around and relax around the pool. It was very sweet, especially for a girl who hardly ever stays still. The next day she became a bit more adventurous and learned to splash. She also went to a zoo for the very first time and seemed to really enjoy it. We would hold her up so she could see the animals and she would focus in and stare and get excited. After all of the animal fun she was exhausted so she fell asleep on a stroller ride and we walked along the boardwalk by Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful weekend full of sweet memories and good times. We miss Grandma already though!

When she got home she seemed to want to make up for lost time and start developing new habits. She started angrily babbling a little when she cries sometimes and she said “Dada!” So far it has only been while she’s upset (apparently she knows what/who she wants), but now that she knows how I’m sure she’ll start babbling it happily soon. She also has started pushing up on her hands and knees and even attempting forward movement. Last week I would have said she was way closer to walking than crawling, but now she is making strides in the crawling direction. She also has started trying to climb a little (especially when we are holding her) and even get herself out of the chair during our pictures this week. She got on her tummy, threw her legs of the side of the chair, and slowly slid down till her feet hit the floor. Intentional? Probably not. Skillful? Absolutely.

One of my favorite things right now is what she does when she is excited. She will pump both arms and legs vigorously and even pant a little. She has started doing this every day when Daddy gets home AND has even started preferring him sometimes. I don’t mind sharing and I think seeing my little girl love on her Daddy is just about the best thing ever. Mostly she will be in his arms, start to go to me, but then decide that she still wants Daddy.

Wow..that was long. If you read all that you probably deserve a sticker.

Ellery 36 Weeks

It is SO hard to get a picture of this little girl where she is not moving, looking away, trying to eat the camera, trying to eat the camera strap, or trying to escape!!

I can’t believe how big/old this little girl is getting! It seems like she develops a new talent at the beginning of the week and has it perfected by the end of the week. She is just growing by leaps and bounds! Daddy started working with her on picking up food and feeding herself. She started with puffs (she LOVES those things), moved on to small pieces of banana, and now she can pick both up by herself, get them in her mouth, and chew them! (I love the little accomplishments that parents celebrate..hehe.) She really enjoys feeding herself, but also still does really well with us feeding her. She has tried a few new foods (mango, butternut squash) with great success. And man, this girl can eat a whole lot!

I know we’re pretty partial, but Ellery has to be the cutest little girl in the world. She has starting breathing in out and quickly through her nose and kicking and waving her arms when she is excited. She also crinkles her nose when she smiles sometimes which is adorable. She gets really excited when we come in to get her out of her crib and she will look up smile, put her head down, and repeat over and over. She has been chewing on her tongue a lot, especially on the right side, and we keep expecting to see some more teeth. Nothing so far, but it has to be soon!

Lest you think it is all smiles and giggles, I will let you know that this past week has been a difficult one. I think she is trying to extend her wake times and minimize napping, but we have had a hard go of it. At first I would lay her down for her morning nap and she would just cry and cry and get herself so worked up which is very unusual for her. Usually when she is tired she wants to be laid down and she goes right to sleep. So, I have kept her up for longer times, but it is so inconsistent still. Some days she still gets tired around the 2 hour mark, other days she can stay up for 3 or 4 hours. She also started waking more frequently during the night again which made for a very tired mama. We are working through it and I’m hoping we will both get the hang of her new schedule soon.

She also has continued to be super clingy to me. I had to just stop expecting to get anything done around the house during the day between her needing me by her side constantly and the lack of naps. She still is SUCH a people person though, so I don’t think it’s “stranger danger” or “separation anxiety” completely. Maybe she just really thinks I’m fun to be around. Although, I can’t say I would argue with her. I try to do some fun things with her even though she’s still so little. We have some neighborhood ducks (their names are Fred and Myrtle) that hang out in backyards and the nearby golf course. Well, we came home the other day and they were down the road a little ways from our house. I quick went inside to grab a piece of bread and tiptoed up to the ducks with Ellery. They let us get really close and gobbled up all the little pieces of bread “we” threw for them. Ellery was fascinated. She just stayed really still and quiet and watched the little critters. I guess I am pretty fun.

 

Ellery 34 Weeks and 35 Weeks

Double feature today.

34 weeks old

It’s getting increasingly difficult to take pictures now without her moving all over the place. She leans forward, grabs the side of the chair, tries to escape, etc. It’s quite the challenge to take pictures AND make sure she stays safe. She is (and always has been) SUCH a wiggle worm. Most of the time when we are holding her she will turn her body around to face out, then back to face you, and repeat over and over. I think she really enjoys being able to try things and throw her body around with the security of knowing we will catch her.

Ellery is becoming quite the little eater! We are up to 3 solid meals a day. We tried peaches this week and they were an instant hit! She is slowly getting the hang of sippy cups, and really loves eating little puffs. For the most part she just grabs a bunch and holds them in her clenched fists for a while. But she is working on picking them up between two fingers and eating them herself! She is also getting pretty good at knocking them on the floor, which Mika very much approves of.

We worked on some sleep habits this week, or more specifically lack of sleep habits. We tried a little bit of sleep training which was super difficult the first night, but has really helped her in sleeping for longer periods of time at night since then. (Last night was really rough too, but we’re working on it.)

35 weeks and 8 months old

She is getting really good at getting down to her belly from sitting up. She looks so controlled sometimes that I just expect her to keep going and start crawling. She is starting to get the leg movements down for crawling, but still isn’t really getting up on her knees. She just has such a strong drive and desire to go that I know it can’t be too far in the future. We even tried letting her hold on to a toy with wheels and walk herself around and she is pretty good at it! She gets going pretty well and mostly keeps up with it. She does a great job at taking steps at least. The hubby and I will sit on the floor across from each other and walk her back and forth between  us (which she really enjoys). Usually she holds on to our hands as she goes, but she has taken two steps on her own so far! I continue to be amazed at how well she does in her walker. Not only has she become excellent at maneuvering it, but she is so smart! If she gets stuck somewhere she will back up, turn slightly, and try again. She enjoys ramming into things and exploring every room she can get to.

She is starting to become a little more clingy. During the day she wants me to be by her side as much as possible, even if she’s playing by herself, she just wants me there. This is super flattering, but makes it harder to get things done obviously. She hasn’t really had any “stranger danger” and has even started getting really excited to see other people she knows well besides just us. She really does love people.

I can’t believe that not only is she 8 months old, but she is already fitting into some 12 month clothes! Eek! I’m hoping she doesn’t start outgrowing her summer stuff before it gets warm. 9 month pants are still a bit long on her, but she fits pretty snugly in everything else.

She just has such a fun little personality that gets bigger every day. She is ticklish, but is suuper ticklish when she’s tired. She has started gnawing on the coffee table which caused me to put a teething cloth on her crib (just cut some fleece and tied it to the side of the crib) because it won’t be long before she’s pulling herself up there and chewing away. She has a mischievous little smile and loves playing games. She loves music especially “The Wheels on the Bus”.  She loves being outside even for just the little moments we have done that recently. It has just been so cold and rainy still that we are cooped up most of the time. She loves watching Mika run around and chase balls.