December 25, 2012

My Big 1 year old

Oh my sweet baby Ellie, how is it that you can be one year old already?!?!?! Time is flying by to quickly for this Momma's heart. Well, in most ways. I am ready and have been ready for the past 9+ months for you to sleep through the night. You don't seem to understand how precious sleep is in this house! One day you will get it ;) I'm trying to re-teach your big sister as well, what is with you girls?? I guess you both just LOVE your Momma so much you have to be with me all the time. No time for sleeping when we could be cuddling huh?!? Here are some stats and fun things about my sweet Christmas girl;

-You probably weigh between 19-20 lbs. You really slimmed down and aren't a chunker since you learned to crawl. We don't have health insurance for awhile so you won't go to your 12 mo well check. We will check your weight probably at 15 mo! You are super healthy and growing, right on track with your age and clothes size so I know your fine :)

-You wear a size 4 diaper. You could fit into a 3 but I just bought bigger sizes so that is what you wear ;) It holds more too so I don't have to change you as often. A win-win for Momma if you ask me!

-You wear mostly size 12 mo clothes. Some 12 mo pants are to long for my short girl. My poor girls will never be tall super modals. That's OK you're both still gorgeous to me and your Daddy! You can wear 9 mo pants, some 9 mo shirts, and some 6-9 mo stuff and 6-12 mo stuff. Baby clothes are CONFUSING. They need universal sizing between all brands. This Momma can't keep up!

-This is where I would insert what size shoe you wear, but my dear you are just like Hailey and HATE shoes. You ball up your toes and refuse to let me put them on you. Whatever I give up! So no shoes for you. Momma doesn't let you walk in public places anyway so it is what it is! Your sister did this for about a year and now is completely obsessed with shoes (to the point of driving her Mother crazy) so I have hope!

-You never have and never will take a binkie. That is OK with me, you never wake up during the night cuz it fell out :) BUT I can't just pop it in and you go back to sleep. You MUST nurse if you wake up at night to go back to sleep. Ugh. Weening is not going to be easy or fun with you!

-You nurse about 5 times a day. 6-7am, 10am, 1:30pm, 5pm, and at 10pm. I am trying to get rid of the 5pm and 10am. But honestly it makes me just as sad as you, I know what your crying for and I give in! It's my last little baby to nurse so if it takes us 6 more months or so to fully ween that is OK with me. I like that we have more flexibility and I can be away from you for longer time periods. We'll get there :) Of course I wouldn't be offended if you dropped the 6-7 am feeding and slept from 10:30-9am :hint hint: but you have a pretty good little schedule and are flexible!

-You still nap twice a day. At 11am for about 30-45 minutes and then in the afternoon from 2-4:15 with Sissy. 99% of the time I just swaddle you and plop you in your crib and your out, no fussing! I also have to wake you both times. Silly girl, NIGHT time is for sleeping not during the day! I swear you haven't grown out of the newborn nights/days confusion ;)

-You are 1, and you are STILL swaddled. Not from lack of trying on my part. I have tried sooo many times to not use it, or keep your arms out. It might work for a day or 2 then we're back to screaming uncontrollably until I swaddle your arms. I know you won't go to high school and have to be swaddled, but honestly it's kinda crazy that we have gone this long with them. You still fit in them fairly well so I'll figure it out in the coming months! I don't want to stop nursing AND swaddling at the same time so we'll ween both slowly :)

-You are a total 2nd child. Your clothes never match, you wear the same bib for multiple meals (your sis had a brand new clean one for every.single.meal. We went through like 5 bibs a day! Crazy!) and I barely have any pictures of you :( I'm sorry. It's not that Momma doesn't love you, I am just way to busy!!! Keeping up with you & your sister is exhausting!

-You are FULLY WALKING! I am so proud of you! You started the week of Thanksgiving and have really taken off. I don't think I've really seen you crawl much the last couple days. It's taken you awhile b/c your so little but we are super proud! It's so cute to see you coming around a corner. I'm still not used to it! You've had plenty of falls and bumps and bruises but you're a tough cookie and just fuss a little and get up and keep going!

-You can't talk but man can you communicate your wants/needs better then ANY Baby I have ever been around. Probably b/c you're strong willed like your Momma and Sissy ;) You scream and point at exactly what you want. When you don't want something you shake your head NO back and forth. It's hilarious! If your poopy you play with the diaper wipes. When I tell you to say something you ALWAYS talk back to me. I'm sure your giving "your" answer to my question! Smart Girl :) I know people will think I'm crazy but since about 9 months I swear you've said thank you. It sounds like "tan ya" or some baby gabble but it sounds JUST like thank you. Your Uncle Andy, Daddy, and Sissy agree that is exactly what it sounds like! And of course you do the normal baby talk that sounds just like real words. All parents think their babies are brilliant and said "YES Dada" but really all babies do that! I'm sure you'll be an early talker unlike Hailey!

-You do sign language for all done and more. It's A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E and it really helps if you want more to eat, etc.

-You clap for yourself! I swear it took Hailey until 15+ months to clap! You love to stand and if I say "Yay for Ellie!" and clap, you beam and clap for yourself! Usually you haven't done anything I just LOVE seeing you clap. It's one of my most favorite baby things :)

-You are very ticklish and if I tickle your sides you give the most adorable belly laugh. Gets me every single time!

-You officially have 4 teeth! The bottom one came up w/out me every knowing you were teething (no drooling nothing! But, all of the sudden one night you were up screaming for 4 hours straight! I nursed you no less then 6 times in those 4 hours and you would NOT GO TO SLEEP! Bless your heart as soon as I gave you tylenol you were out!). Then the 2nd one came in much easier. The top 2 have taken at least 2 months to come in! Holy Moly! We have an amber teething necklace and I think it has helped a LOT. You haven't lost any sleep over the top 2! But, you seem to be extra whiny/clingy. Whatever I know it will pass and you sure are cute and fun to cuddle.

-You HATED to cuddle as a little tiny newborn. You just wanted to be left alone. When it was time to sleep, no rocking, or cuddling for you just straight in your crib. The last 4-6 weeks you will just come up to me or Daddy and lay your head on our shoulder and lay there for a couple seconds before going again! (you NEVER.STOP.MOVING!!!!!) It is soooooooo precious and I think I enjoy it more now then I would as a newborn. You are soooooooo sweet and cuddly now! Of course my favorite time of night is when you fall asleep on me while nursing. I usually hold you for just a few minutes longer before putting you to bed. I LOVE my sweet sleeping princess!!!

-You LOVE your sister something fierce. She hung the stars, moon, sun AND made sliced bread as far as your concerned. I find this hilarious, just the other day she was trying to "help" (honestly she was) and flipped you on your back from a standing position, causing you to hit your head about 3 times going down. You cried and cried and was so dramatic, then about 2 minutes later she was running all over the living room spinning around and being crazy and you loved it! You were hilarious! She pushes you down, takes your toys, and "loves" you wayyyy to hard but you are still obsessed w/ her and want to do exactly what she does! It's adorable. She is pretty much the only one that can make you laugh (aside from us tickling you). You give the biggest hardest belly laughs I have ever heard when she says pe-ew at her food. Seriously hilarious! We have so many videos of you laughing super hard at her. It's adorable and I know she loves you, just doesn't quite know how to be gentle and loving with you yet. My hope is for you girls to be the very best friends, and I can see that happening already! <3>

-Along with shoes you loathe socks. It's a never ending battle of me putting them on and you ripping them off. Silly girl it's like 13 degrees outside you need your socks! I guess your going to be a flip flop girl like Momma and Hailey ;) Luckily you always keep them on when we're out, but they just get in your way at home!

-It's hilarious when I ask "Ellie do you want to nurse?" you immediately drop WHATEVER your doing and rush over to me. You definitely know what it means!

-You are finally sleeping better. You go to bed around 10:15-10:30 and sleep until 6-7, nurse and are up for the day sometime between 9-9:30! YAY! Of course you have your random wanting to eat at 3,4,5 am night but I can deal w/ it every now and then and not every.single.night! 

-I know you won't nurse, be swaddled, and cry at night forever, but girl I am afraid you will go off to college with no eyebrows :( Poor sweet Girl, you just don't look very feminine w/out your eyebrows. You don't have anymore then you did the day you were born. When will they start growing?? (don't worry you are my gorgeous girl and Mommy still loves you the same. But I don't think I will be very good at drawing them on!) 

-I hope you know how much we love and adore you sweet Girl, but mostly I hope you have a heart and a passion for Jesus. He loves you even more then I can ever imagine! I hope I can plant a seed in your sweet heart for him, and that you see Jesus' love through your Daddy and I. We love you like crazy and know you will be a light in this world! 

 


We love you with all our hearts, you are the sweetest funniest girl ever! You complete our family and we couldn't ask for a better Ellie Bellie! :) Love you sweet girl, Happy Birthday!!!

P.S. Please remember not to hate your Momma one day that you were born ON Christmas :/ It wasn't my choice and just remember, God had it all planned and must think you're pretty special to share the day w/ Jesus!


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