She is 8 months old

Ellaree Rose is 8 months old.  She's weighing in around 17 lbs, a solid 17 pounds.  She wears 6-9 months clothes and size 3 diaper.  Since she stopped wearing her helmet, her hair is growing in.  She has two teeth and can crawl and pull up. She keeps me on my toes.  Here are some pictures of Ellaree's everyday life.

She pulled the clothes basket down and was stuck and couldn't get up.

Mommy trying to get a picture resulted in her standing in the chair.

She loves the handles of any bags.

In the clothes basket again.

Yes, she can open drawers too.

This one had me really tickeled.  She grabbed onto the potted plant with hands and legs and couldn't figure out how to let go.

Playing with her diaper bag.

Getting into our stash of baby stuff.  Daddy put her in the corner for this one. :)

Taking a nap in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

And just to show that we're not always all smiles...

She makes me a better person

Becoming a mommy has changed me in all the obvious ways, but 8 months later it really sunk in that Ellaree makes me a better person.  She needs so much from me and I have to give all of me to her.  It's amazing to see how I can give so much to one person.  From the minute she wakes up until she is sleeping peacefully (which she is these days) I am hers.  She depends on me for the staples, but also she watches every little thing that I do and she takes it all in.  So, I'm watching less TV and reading the Bible more.  I even turned on WMHK this morning while folding laundry.  For the past 3 years I have been in love with my Sirius radio from The Pulse to Blue Collar Comedy, but now I rarely listen to it in the car.  And if I do, it's on enLighten.  She's an impressionable little person and I want to raise her to be a Godly woman who always strives to be a better person. 

Friday Favorite(s)

Beautiful blue eyes

and two perfect little teeth.

Overdue Friday Favorite

Couldn't choose just one this time!

O sleep that will not come

I still remember the Mad About You episode where Paul and Jaime decide to let baby Mabel cry instead of picking her up.  I remember it because in my teenage wisdom I thought that I would never do that.

Fast forward 10, 15 years and I understand.

6:45 give baby nighttime bottle, baby is very sleepy
7:00 baby fights sleep and cries
7:01 bring baby to table while mommy and daddy eat
7:15 give baby rice cereal and more milk to make sure baby is full
7:30 put baby in crib
8:00 baby finally falls asleep playing with her caterpillar friend
8:30 dog refuses to come inside

11:00 baby cries, give baby paci, rub back
11:49 baby cries and is wide awake
11:50 change wet diaper
11:51-12:15 rock baby until she is asleep, back in crib
12:15 dog barks TOO much
12:16 make dog come inside
12:17 back in bed

12:29 baby cries

Ok, here's my test.
I will not get up.  Let baby cry until she falls back asleep.

12:31 baby stops crying
12:32 baby starts crying
12:33 start writing blog post in my head
12:34 baby stops crying
12:36 baby starts crying
12:37 wonder how daddy is sleeping through this
12:40 mommy gives

Ten minutes was my limit.

Make baby bottle. 
Sit in recliner and give baby bottle.
Realize that the angle of the baby in the dark makes her face look like an alien.
Still freaked out at the alien.
Don't look at baby.
Baby finishes bottle and is in "deep" sleep.
Stand up.
Baby's eyes pop open.

1:02 decide to get on computer and start this post
1:00 realize that the microwave clock was wrong
1:01 baby smiles and coos at the computer and mommy's heart melts
1:06 sit baby on floor to play and baby stares at me like I am crazy to let her play at 1am.

1:30 realize baby has a poo diaper
1:31 change diaper
1:32 debate what to do
1:40 we are all settled into the family bed
1:41 baby is out

4:30 wake to realize that we have actually slept for some period of time

4:30-7:00 baby sleeps but wiggles and grunts a lot disturbing mommy and daddy, mommy wakes often anyway to make sure baby has not smothered etc

7:00 daddy's alarm goes off

7:17 hello world!  baby is awake and in a great mood.  mommy and daddy just stare at her and do not speak to each other.

7:30 mommy fills daddy in on the night's events and he feels bad that he slept through most of it, daddy promises to take baby and let mommy get a nap when he gets home from his meeting.

Just an ordinary day at home...

**Updated**

Mommyhood means something new every day.  I am living the craziness I've only heard others talk about.  The cool thing is, most of the time, the only thing you can do is laugh.  Laughing turns it from something gross, frustrating, tiring, etc into a normal, easy-going day.  John and I are very laid back and easy going so it has been fairly easy to take it all in stride.  Today was just one of those days when I finally get in bed I'll just smile and laugh and look forward to a good night's sleep.

I woke up before the baby and decided to shower while she was still sleeping since John and I planned to go grocery shopping first thing.  While I was in the shower, the baby woke up and John put her in the bed with him to watch the news.  I fed her her fruit and cereal and made a bottle for John to give her while I got ready.  (We work together because we are Team Hendrix).  When I was ready I dressed baby in a new outfit that looked pretty cute and I gave her back to John while I got the diaper bag ready etc.  When I walked in the kitchen baby was in her Bumbo and John was in the laundry room.  "She needs to be changed" he said.  Ok, a little spit up, I can clean this up.  Nope, it was everywhere including her back.  John was cleaning himself up, so I completely changed baby and the diaper while I was there.  Now we're ready to go.

We made it to the necessary evil (Walmart) and baby sat in the cart like a big girl for the first time.

Shopping went well and I kept baby entertained with Puffs.

During checkout I took baby out of the cart and noticed a wet, brownish spot on her pants.  I knew what it probably was, but since the people in line behind me had seen it, I made a verbal proclamation that it was indeed puff drool. 

In the car I gave baby her bottle while John loaded the groceries and then drove to CVS.  Baby was sleepy and I knew the drive home would do her in, so I wanted to get the diaper changed before we got home.  John went in CVS and locked the car with the remote.  So when I opened the back door the car the alarm went off.  Nothing I coud do to stop it, so I sat in the back with baby with the alarm going.  I have now realized that baby had a major blow-out and her clothes and the car seat are messed up.   I wrangle her down in the seat and strip her down.  At some point the horn stops blowing and just the hazard lights are blinking.  I get baby cleaned up and John returns and asks if I realize the hazard lights are on.  Yep, I do.

At this point we law abiding citizens actually discuss how to get baby back home without putting her in the car seat.  I thought sitting her in the middle and covering her with a blanket would be a good idea.  We decide not to test the Lexington PD.

I make a car seat cover out of a burp cloth and baby is in and asleep within minutes. 

Baby sleeps peacefully in her crib while John and I unload groceries and eat lunch.  We have just settled down for a nap ourselves while watching Y&R (John's a good husband) when baby wakes up.  I put her in the exersaucer in hopes of continuing my nap.  No such luck and and hour later I'm just cranky.  I admit I get cranky when I don't get a nap.  I'd rather stay on my feet all day then get an "almost nap." 

I decide to go for a walk since it is a beautiful 70 degrees.  Would you believe it?  Baby went to sleep during our walk... But she woke up in time for her first yard work with mommy.   I've waited on this day for a long time and she's definitely mine.  She immediately picked up a big handful of grass and put it in her mouth.  I can't wait for many more years of working together.



  John even realized the specialness of this moment and snapped this picture.

Then baby played with her cover-less car seat while I washed dishes. 

Then I started this post at 4:30pm and it is now 7:00pm.  The writing of this post encompassed dinner, bath time, and bedtime and much more such as 2 internet/ computer crashes.

I love it!  Ready for tomorrow!

Baby woke up at 1:30, 2:30, 3:00. 3:30, and at 3:38 I decided to just stay up.  John had to get up at 5:15, so I didn't want to keep getting in and out of bed.  I gave her a paci,  changed her diaper, and she was just wide awake.  So, I moved to the couch and she went back to sleep.  At 4 I put her in the crib and laid back down on the couch and about 20 minutes later she was back up.  I brought her back to the couch and did the only thing I could think of.... gave her a bottle.  She sucked it down and passed out.  The poor thing was hungry.  So we slept on the couch until John got up and then baby and me got back in my bed and slept until 7:30.  And so another day starts...

What do you do when...

What do you do when your 7 month old is pulling herself up.  I was just getting used to the crawling and the house was pretty much baby proof.  Now she is starting to pull up.  I find myself saying "sit down" a lot.  I won't post any bath photos,but she has learned to pull up in her little pink bath tub.  We had just gotten to the point where she would sit and play in the water and have the best time and I would just sit and watch her.  Now I can't let go of her for a second or she's standing up.  Ok, what's the big deal?  Well, we all know that a 7 month old standing up is immediately followed by a crash and a head bump.   I think I might just bathe her in the kitchen sink.   It's more contained and I won't break my back hanging onto her.

I put her in a laundry basket today.  I know our parents did it and I thought it would be something new and fun for a little bit while I folded clothes.  Yep, she can pull up in there too and it will tip over.  Like a good mom I put the camera down and didn't get any crying pictures...

She Graduated!

After a traumatic head scan and a bottle, Ellaree graduated from the helmet program. Yea!  There's a whole lot of numbers involved, but to sum it up her asymmetry was cut in half and her ears are lined up.  Now her hair can start to grow out of her helmet head, boy cut.



The red line is her head before and the blue line is after.

 Ellaree even got a trophy for graduation.  Her very own model of her head with her helmet.  One of those things we'll get out and tell stories on when she's Miss America (being facetious of course).

Bye Bye Helmet.