Ella-isms {Month Seven}

Right, we survived 6 months with Ella and now have got this parenting down pat. NOT! She is just changing up on us so quickly that we can't keep up. Slow down, baby girl...It's been fun to see her become so much more aware of people and her surroundings, but because of that, we can't get away with too much anymore =(. What ever happened to my baby that can just sit still and be perfectly content. As soon as Ella wakes up, she is on the go. Lucky for me, she doesn't mind playing by herself as long as I'm in the room, so you might or might not see be plopped down on a chair with a coffee in one hand and my lap top in the other...ha. I feel bad doing this all the time, so really try to limit this "downtime" I give myself. Let's just say, I'm on the floor a lot these days. It's been fun though, watching her crawl around, stand up and play with all her toys. I know kids don't need lots of toys to be entertained and it's more for the parents, but I can't help but try and research what the "best toys" are for her age group. Ha. It's just fun seeing them play with different things. I haven't gone too crazy buying things and have been thankful to friends for giving us some great hand me down toys. One thing we sucked up and did was buy her a swing set. It's a simple two swing set with trapeze bar, but I  know it'll give us hours of entertainment for years to come. She loves swinging at friends houses and it's her favorite activity at My Gym, a kids fitness program I enrolled her in last month. Anyhow, we have slowly converted the office into a playroom to accommodate this busy, mobile girl. 

Eating has been a huge thing for us this month. She went from eating 1-2 solid meals a day with mainly pouches to 3 full meals. I made a good amount of baby food for her last month so we've been enjoying that. In addition to purees, I try to give her more finger foods, so diced fruits, toast, steamed veggies and whatever else I think she can handle. She's found a new love for graham crackers and has kicked the baby puffs to the curb! I love giving her new things to try and watching her reaction to it. I'm not a strict mom when it comes to what my baby eats, I just want her to have fun with it and enjoy it so that in the long run, she can hopefully learn that food is life! At least for me it is..haha

Besides a wedding we attended in Nebraska earlier this month, we've been staying put in Bakersfield so that's been nice. No packing, long car rides, or sleeping in hotel rooms! As much as I enjoy traveling, I'm all about some down time as well. With all the downtime we've been having at home, we went ahead and decided to do some sleep training again, since co-sleeping just wasn't cutting it for us. She was waking up more often than she should and I just felt like she wasn't sleeping comfortably anymore. She needed her space to roll around and sprawl out. After about a week into it, I think we're finally seeing the brighter side of things, yay! Again, I'm not super strict with this as she still gets into bed with me in the early mornings and naps are still on the bed, but at least our bed time routine is becoming easier. Once our night time sleep gets regular, I will try and tackle naps. 

We have really enjoyed watching Ella change and grow over the last month. I'm hoping she will slow down a bit as I feel like time is passing by so quickly. I'm still enjoying staying at home with her, but I'm not going to lie, some days, I wish I can just drop her off somewhere so someone else can deal with putting her down for naps! I think that is the hardest part of my day; without those naps, I can't ever get anything done on my own. 

Here are some Ella-isms at month seven!

Weight: 15lbs 9oz - pretty much the same, I guess with all her movements she hasn't gained any weight
Height: 26 inches + some. Someone has some long legs...
Features: long limbs. when she sits in her high chair, all i can see are legs and a wee head..haha. her hair is growing back too, so we actually have something to brush now. 
Likes: books, books, books - the only time she will kind of sit still is if I pull out a book and read it to her. she also enjoys puppet time at My Gym. so anything with characters in it and talking, she enjoys. loves swinging...
Dislikes: the bath! i have no idea what happened but she cries and whimpers every time we give her a bath now. no more splashing and smiling. i'm hoping this changes because now, bath time is really short and it's not fun. 
Movement: in addition to the full on crawling, she is pulling herself up to stand everywhere: bookcases, play table, coffee table, and her favorite - the crib! i sometimes feel this is what prevents her from being able to go to sleep quickly but there is nothing else we can do about it because the crib is at it's lowest already. one day, she will learn.  
Sleeps: working our way into the crib full time. let's just say, it's been an adjustment for both Ella and us. naps are still on the bed, but we shall work on transitioning into the crib soon...fun stuff, i know!
Eats: she's doing three meals a day now.. I just kind of experiment with whatever; so far, so good. She is still not taking the bottle but will drink out of a sippy cup; water only, I must add. I'm pretty much ready to have her take some form of milk from someone other than me, so whatever it takes to get there, I'm willing to try. I can't believe I've been exclusively breastfeeding for almost 8 months now! 

That's Miss Ella at month seven. See you in a couple weeks, again! I know, I'm a bit behind this blogging thing, but I just don't have the desire to sit in front of a computer and write about Ella when I get some free time...online shopping and chatting with friends have been my priority on the computer when I get my hands on it! Have a good one!