Happy Valentine's Day to our 9 month old!

Well, we finally got our computer back from the shop! It's amazing how much I depend on it! I'd come in the office 10 times a day to get on before realizing it wasn't here. Now that I've had time to return a million emails, it's time to post an update about Ellie.

She turned 9 months old on Valentine's Day. She is getting more and more fun everyday! I'm a little partial, I know, but she is so freakin' smart! She's also adorable, precious, cute, silly, funny, beautiful, and FUN! She loves to play with her toys of course, but she also loves to play with us. She likes for us to crawl down the hall and wait around the corner for her to catch up. Then we crawl around the next corner and the fun continues! She also loves to play peek-a-boo and will do it with a blanket or even her own shirt. She also likes to stand in the office window and hide behind the curtains. Then she'll push the curtains aside and crack up when I say "peek-a-boo!"

She also loves to roll and throw balls. She loves to put objects in baskets or other toys. When she takes them back out she always hands them to us. She loves to share! She still loves her teapot that plays music. Now we pretend to pour tea and she'll pretend to drink it and say "num." She really loves to be outside. We're going to get her a swing set as her birthday present, but plan on getting it as soon as it gets nice outside. Right now, we go out and sit in the hammock and swing. She loves that.

Here are some other facts about Elliott at 9 months:

-She weighs 19 lbs. 6 oz. (75th %). She is 27.25 inches long (50th %). Her head circumference is 18 inches (90th %). She must have a lot of brains in there!

-She still wears some 9 months, but I'm mostly buying her 12 month clothes now. They fit well, but sometimes the pants are a little long (which makes since according to her height vs. weight). She still wears size 3 diapers.

-She cut her two bottom middle teeth within two weeks of each other.

-She rubs her pointer finger and thumb together when she's nervous or anxious.

-She's getting good at feeding herself with a spoon (one that's already loaded with food, that is). She always gives herself the last few bites of the meal. However, if she's still hungry she'll cry and refuse the spoon because she knows that means the meal's almost over!

-She shakes her head back and forth to say no. She does it when she doesn't want something, but mostly she does it when she knows she's not supposed to be doing something (like getting into the dogs' water bowl or putting something in her mouth). If we catch her doing something she's not supposed to, she'll shake her head "no" and hand us whatever she has in her hand.

-She gives fives and waves hi and bye.

-She holds toys to her ear and pretends to talk on the phone.

-She recognizes the words oatmeal, snack, and milk. When we say these words she gets excited and starts saying "num, num."

-She's really into imitating us. She'll use her washcloth to give me a bath by rubbing on my arm or face. She also blows out air when I blow on her oatmeal or blow her a kiss.

-She tried lots of new foods this month: scrambled eggs, blueberries, squash, diced cooked apples, diced carrots, chicken and turkey, and pretty much anything else we eat. She loves it all! She's a great eater. We've also switched her afternoon formula from a bottle to a sippy and she likes that!

Here are some pictures of our big girl!

With her Ellie-phant
Her Valentine's Day present from mom and dad.

She also got some fun toys and books

from Grandma, Nana, and Nini.

Daddy's Little Love Bug

This is a picture of me at 9 months old.
A little darker and a little more hair, but Ellie does
look a lot like me.

I love this look. She's like, "I don't have to wear these

stupid headbands anymore! Woo hoo!"

(And she won't . . . I get so frustrated! She immediately

rips her headbands off now. I guess I'll have to wait

until she gets some hair!)

Ellie and Kyle are both Taurus, so I thought

this sleeper was really cute. Plus, it totally

describes them both on the back.

Oops! This ended up sideways, but it says,

"Strong. Warm and Loving. Charming.

Loves Kisses. Mommy's Little Taurus."

Ellie gives the best kisses! When you ask for sugar,

you better be ready for a big, wet kiss!

Another crazy sleep position. Her feet are under her chest.

Loves playing in momma's bathroom cabinet.

Two teeth!

Being silly with dad!

Hangin' out with Grandma

She loves getting all the mail out of the shred basket.

It can keep her busy for at least 10 minutes!

Happy 9 months Ellie Rose!

The Animal

I jokingly call Elliott my "Ellie-phant," but she really has been acting like a wild animal lately! Last night, I was putting laundry away in her room and weeding out all the clothes that are now too small. Kyle was changing the lightbulbs in our room which is right next door, so Ellie was going back and forth leaving a path of destruction! She was coming in her room and doing her favorite thing . . . pulling all of the newly folded and stacked clothes from the drawer. Then she would crawl into our room and go from the laundry basket of clean clothes to the dog toy basket and back pulling out everything she could get her hands on. Then she found a hair band under the bench at the end of our bed. The funny thing about it was that she would pick it up, play with it, then put it back under the bench. She did that several times. Kyle and I were cracking up because she has all of a sudden figured out that she can go anywhere (fast!) and she acts like a wild animal! It doesn't help that she loves to watch the dogs eat, play in their food, eat their food, and of course, play in their water bowl.

Here is what would happen EVERYTIME we feed the dogs (if we'd let it):

She crawls over and attempts to grab the food, but doesn't

because she's expecting me to say, "No, No!"
She watches Wylie leave his food bowl for a mid-bowl break.

You can't see here, but she's disappointed as Wylie returns.


She continues to watch Wylie eat and inches closer to the bowl.

Wylie loves Ellie, so he gives her a chance to dig in.

She does . . .

And Wylie and I watch in surprise as she eats the dog food.

(Of course, I immediately grabbed it out of her hand/mouth,

and only let her do it for the photo shoot . . . I know . . . bad

parenting all for the sake of pictures.) I LOVE the look on Wylie's

face here. "OMG . . . she really did it!"

So, there's a glimpse of my little animal. Of course, you'd never know that she can be like that in these precious pictures from Super Bowl Sunday.

Cold Days and Warm Baths

CABIN FEVER! What I . . . and probably most other Oklahomans . . . are feeling right now. I have not left the house (not even to check the mail) since Sunday. We finally ventured out this afternoon to get a few pictures of our little snow angel. Other than that, Ellie and I are as ready for the snow to melt as we were for it to get here. Funny how that works . . .

Ellie didn't quite know what to think of the snow. She didn't seem to like the -22 degree temperatures, of course. But, she also didn't seem too impressed with the six foot snow drifts in our backyard. Maybe next year.

She did, however, enjoy a warm bath. Inside. Where you don't have numb toes and fingers despite the 19 layers of clothes you're wearing.

Just relaxin' in the tub

Dad even managed to brush that little bit of hair into a mohawk!

The view from our back porch

(actually our dining room . . . I didn't even open the door!)

Front porch

Side of the house

Ellie's first snow angel

(no, we didn't really lay her in the snow, but Kyle

did a pretty good job making it look that way!)

Those are some serious icicles in the background.

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit.

All that playin' in the snow wore her out.

She passed out like this 2 hours before bedtime!

There's already more snow in the forecast for next week,

so get out while you can! I'm counting the days 'til spring!