Elsie: month 7

Munchkin is growing too fast. She is seven months and WILD! She is all over the place. She crawls up on all fours now. No more army crawling for her! She pretty much just goes wherever she wants now-a-days! But I LOVE it! I thought having a crawler would be tough, but it truly gives me a little freedom. She doesn't need me to do everything for her.

Elsie has three words now. She says mama, dada, and hey! She says "hey" all the time! It is definitely her favorite word. We went to Cleveland this month to visit with the family and to get family picture made. I can't wait to see all of them. Elsie wore a vintage smocked dress and cowboy boots. She couldn't have been any cuter!

Elsie also started sleeping COMPLETELY through the night this month. She has always been a great sleeper, but if she would fuss at night we would get up and put her paci in and she would go right back to sleep. It wasn't a big deal, but I know you have to eventually stop even that. I jut haven't been ready for the whole cry it out method. THANKFULLY, she did it all on her own. She just stopped fussing at night. It was pretty shocking. She went from fussing about twice a night to nothing. She now sleeps completely through the night from 6:30 to 6:30....12 hours!! She still takes 2 two hour naps a day.

Can't wait for the holidays with this sweet girl!

Elsie: week 30

Elsie put us through the ringer this week. She figured out how to pull herself up in her crib. I went and laid her down, and she went to sleep. Before we went to bed, Trammel glanced at the monitor. To our surprise, she was standing up...IN HER NOT LOWERED CRIB. We are talking head all hanging over the edge, standing! This momma about had a heart attack. I rushed in there an scooped her up. We decided she would just sleep with us that night since it was 11 and we were too tired to lower her crib. Seriously.Bad.Idea. She thought it was play time for a solid hour. Then I tossed her (not really) in her pack and play, where she stood and screamed until 1:30. At this point, neither of us had had an ounce of shut eye. So we finally decided to lower her crib, at 1:45 AM!! I was a zombie! However, she did finally go to sleep once she was safe an sound back in her bed. Phew!! What a night?!?

She pretty much stood and cried/screamed every night for 4 days straight. Then the novelty wore off (just like everyone told me it would), and now she is back to going to bed at 6:30. Geez! I'm exhausted all over again just thinking/ writing about it!

Elsie got we first sippy cup this week... She is doing great with it. This is my last weekly post :( tear! But I am just having too hard of a time keeping up. I will start doing monthly post very soon!

Elsie: week 28 and 29

Two weeks in one post! It is getting too hard to keep blogging every week. I still write everything down, but to find time to put it on the good ol' blog has proven to be difficult.

My Sweet Elsie girl is currently 32 weeks old as I write this post! It is so hard to remember the small things from week 28 and 29, but I'm gonna give it a go...

She changes everyday! Yes, everyday! I have a friend who has a daughter who is 7 weeks older than Elsie. They were over the other night and I remember saying, "oh my gosh, I can't believe she is already pulling up!" The very next day Elsie showed me that she could do it too! Pulling up and standing! I just couldn't believe it. She has really strong legs to be so little. She was standing at week 29 and hasn't sat down since. :) She has a hard time pulling herself up, but if we help her, he will stand there forever. Don't get me wrong, she can pull herself up but it takes a lot of perseverance!

We have tried many foods since my last post. She is eating all grains, most veggies, and of course fruits! Her favorite foods are butternut squash, pears, plums, and oatmeal! Her not so favorite foods are green beans, peas....pretty much anything green. She eats her breakfast like its going out of style! She doesn't love dinner time because she is usually tired. I am still making all her food and will continue to do so until it isn't fun anymore.

Elsie got to watch her first Tennessee football game at 28 weeks, and every week since! She loves to hear Rocky Top and still jumps when daddy screams at the TV.

Elsie: week 27

Elsie has started to crawl! Yes, crawl! Well, army crawl, but STILL!!! My baby is CRAWLING y'all! I can't even stand how cute she is when she crawls. I want to just pick her up and kiss her all over. She gets so excited to be able to get to her toys without rolling. I can't believe how fast she is growing up! We had to lower her crib to the middle setting because she is pushing up on all fours and rocking. Life is about to change drastically.

Elsie had pears and carrots this week and loved them both. She is a great eater. I can't wait to give her combinations and table food! I am still making all her food, and I love every minute of it. I spend an hour every Sunday making fresh fruit. Every other week I make grains and veggies. It cost us about 30-35 dollars for the month. It would be less if I didn't use organic. In October, I am going to start from day one and actually add up how much I spend for the month, and how much it makes. I am going to be sad when she starts eating table food, because I actually really enjoy making her food. Next week, we will make plums (we have had some consolation issues) and brown rice!

Elsie: week 26

Well, apparently I can't keep up with blogging since going back to work. I want to make sure I remember every week of her life. I want to EVENTUALLY make a memory book of her first year, so I always write down her big moments each week. I just can't seem to get around to the Ol' blog.

I have missed my baby girl! Work is tough, but I am adjusting...slowly! Elsie is adjusting very well. She loves Bailey and that makes me happy. This week Elsie had butternut squash this week, and she absolutely loved it! She has become quite the little eater. She pretty much loves everything I give her these days.

Trammel got to take Elsie to her 6 moth appointment this week. It was the first time he has taken her To an appointment without me. She did great and Trammel wasn't too overwhelmed. She weighed 15.4 lbs and 25 inches long (35% in both). She has started to roll around like a little ball! She WILL get to where she wants to go. It is crazy seeing her move around. It makes me sad, but so happy at the same time. She will be on the go before I know it!

I can't wait for the Holidays! Elsie will be at the perfect age for Halloween and Christmas! The holidays will be a whole new experience. I can't wait to see her eyes light up on Halloween and at our Christmas tree! Ok, ok, I am getting a little ahead of myself.

Elsie: week 25

It's official, I am a working mom! After almost six months at home, school is back in session which means I am back to teaching! I love my job, but it is hard to describe how I feel. All I can say is my heart isn't in it. My heart is at home...with a nanny...

Speaking of our nanny, she is awesome! Her name is Bailey, and Elsie loves her. It is hard getting us both up and ready, but Bailey comes around 7:30 and helps out tremendously. Elsie's face lights up every time she walks in. It makes leaving a little easier, but I hope she doesn't like her more than me. #realmomfears

This week Elsie got her real, honest to goodness cold. She was so congested and couldn't breath at night. I made her sleep on an incline in our room for the whole week. I was scared to death that she was going to stop breathing. It broke my heart to see her suffering. We gave her Benadryl (per DR. Orders) at night. It really helped. She was sick all week. We maybe got 3-4 hours of sleep each night. Which wouldn't normally be a problem, but now I am a WORKING mom and I couldn't nap when she napped. It was a painful first week back.

On a good note, Elsie has apples this week! She loves them. She basically chomps her little lips together begging for more. What a little chunk. He is also rolling around like crazy. She is never where I leave her. She will be crawling soon, and my whole life will change! She is in size three diapers, and will be 6 months next week!