We rang in the new year with colds, and Ella hitting the ten month mark. I realized, looking at our blog, that the last picture I have taken was December 18th. So, Ella and I took a picture before church. We are both on cold medicine, so not the best, but we have a picture.

Ella is one busy girl. She loves her brother. If she wakes up before him, she will crawl to his door and bang on it if I’m not watching. She also loves her daddy. When he walks in from work, she gets so excited and immediately crawls to him. Ella is talking and telling stories all the time. Still no real words yet, though. For the last month, her bottom front teeth have been making slight appearances, and then disappearing. Yesterday, we finally felt the sharpness of teeth. Surprisingly her top right tooth, and bottom left tooth have broken the gum. It will be really funny if she only has these two teeth for a while.

Ella eats anything she can. She is a really good eater, and will still eat most baby foods. She also loves mac n cheese, and potatos and gravy. If you are eating anything, you are her new best friend. She loves to wrestle with Daddy and Jameson. He flips her around, and she laughs. She loves to be upside down, and will sometimes throw herself backwards while playing.

She is getting really steady on her feet. She can surf along the furniture, and will let go of things. She doesn’t trust herself yet, and will slowly sit down if she is not holding on to anything. Ella sleeps about 12-13 hours a night and another 3-4 during the day. She is still on 2 naps which is going to make church a little difficult. We were on the 12:30 schedule before, so her naps were before and after church. Now we are on the 9 am time, and morning are going to be rough until she switches to 1 nap.

Ella knows her name, and our voices. If someone else is holding her and I say something, she looks for me. She is happy most of the time. I am told constantly by others what a happy baby she is. I also get stopped a lot and told how cute or pretty she is. I laugh, because I get stopped almost every time we are out. Sometimes, I am in a hurry, and would rather people not stop me. But how can you resist this girl?

Early this month, I decided that was it. I was not buying anymore diapers for Jameson. So, I told him, “This is it. Mom is not buying any more diapers for Jameson, so when they’re gone we have to go potty on the toilet.” We’ve had treats Jameson picked out on top of the fridge since Halloween. He will even point to them and tell you, “Those are my dragon candies. Only if I go potty on the toilet.” But did he ever, no. So last Sunday, we ran out of diapers, which meant Monday morning, the training began. I think we went through about 7 pairs of underwear and pants on that day. Luckily, it never did get on the floor.

Monday afternoon, he finally told me before going that he needed to go. Each day has gotten better, and the amount of underwear we go through each day cuts in half. Today is Saturday, day 6. Jameson still has the same pair of underwear on we started out the day with. What’s different today? I’ve asked him about 5,000 times this week if he needs to go potty. Today, after I ask him, he turns and asks me, “Mom, do you need to go potty?” I respond with a, “No.” and he says, “Ok, tell me when you need to go, ok mom?” Ok child. Maybe I’ve said that phrase too many times this week.

Makes me laugh.

Also, if you want to keep Jameson busy and quiet, give him a puzzle. I bought a bunch of puzzles from the dollar store for Christmas, and this has kept him busy for the last hour. They’re 48 piece puzzles, too. He’s a pretty smart kid if you ask me. Although, he’s getting frustrated, because some of the puzzles are missing pieces. Where are they? Ella’s gotten a hold of them and eaten them. Then are now in the trash.

How is it that the 9 months leading up to a birth take an incredibly long time, but the 9 months after fly by? Ella has hit the 9 month mark.

We absolutely adore this girl. Every night Kevin walks in from work, and says, “Why is she so cute? How’d we get so lucky with suck cute kids?” I have to agree, except I will add that they have pretty cool parents. Want to see more of her cuteness? Or how her belly hangs over her pants?

In the last month, this girl has developed so many skills. She now surfs along the couch, and other furniture. Pulls herself up to everything, including using your pants to pull herself up while you’re cooking. She loves to climb. She is a difficult child to hold, because she will “climb” your body. She has gotten really fast at crawling, and tries to get to wherever Jameson is. She is starting to feed herself, and eat soft solid foods. Ella loves to sing along in church, and gets so excited when the organ starts. Jameson loves his sister now, and shows it. Yesterday, he stole 2 oreos from the cupboard. Ella was playing in his room. I went in to find her, called her name, and when she turned around I got a surprise. There was oreo everywhere! When I asked Jameson if he shared his cookies, he proudly responded, “Yes! I share with baby sister!” Lately, I have been finding numerous different kinds of food that she’s eating, that Jameson “shared” with her. Today, she found stairs, and didn’t hesitate to climb them. I also caught her just before she fell backward. Good thing our house has no stairs.

She is starting to talk. Nothing that sounds like words, but she is putting together sounds. “Ba ba ba, or da da da” are common around here. Every morning she wakes up and shakes her crib so it squeaks and you know she’s awake. As soon as you go in, she grabs hold of you and won’t let go till she is out of the crib. If Jameson is up, he will jump in her crib and entertain her for a few minutes before I get in there. She wears size 12 month clothing now, and will have her check up on the 15th. So I’ll have her stats, then. She is also starting to let go, which means she is standing!

I got this quick snap before she fell. She can only stand for a few seconds, but it’s a start. She just wants to walk and keep up with Jameson.

And, a photo can never be taken without Jameson. He had to jump in the pictures, and showed us his “silly faces.”

So there is a wrap up of where our little girl is at. She is moving out of the infant stage and into the toddler stage. I don’t know if I’m ready for that.

Literally. Ella can stand up to things, and she’s starting to surf. Kevin tried to catch her pushing the walker along.

Jameson doesn’t always like to talk on the phone, but his grandparents love talking to him. Usually, when they call, he’s too busy to talk. So, when he tells me he wants to call someone, we call them. I know he’ll actually talk to them. Today, Nov. 19th, he told me he wanted to call someone. When we distinguished who exactly he wanted to call, I dialed the number then let him push the speaker button. We put it on speaker so I can help translate the conversation. I told him, “As soon as you hear her say, “Hello”, say “Hi Grammy.” (Is that too many quotes in a quote?) Boy was she surprised when she answered and heard, “HI GRAMMY!” almost shouted into the phone. Here is what he looked like while he chatted.

After this conversation, it is clear. We have been away too long. He wants to visit Grammy on the farm after his nap.

Ella loves food. When she sees me get the can of Puffs for her, she goes nuts. Except if I get out the camera. Then she looks at me like this…

I just love her face, so I had to share it with you.

I think there is some type of fade switch in my child. You know. Like the kind you install in your house to make the lighting dim? Well, I think Jameson has one. Except his switch keeps getting brighter and brighter, and never goes dim. They say, “Terrible two’s and terrific three’s ,” right? I don’t think so.  It should be the “Unforgiving, three’s.” Jameson’s switch isn’t turning to terrific. It’s just getting higher and higher, and so is my stress level. For instance, here was my day.

I was planning on going to a Mom’s craft fair this Saturday. It has a bunch of vendors with items for Mom’s or children. Some crafts, classes, activities, products, you get the picture. Logistics didn’t work out, because Kevin had planned on going shooting in the afternoon, so I took the kids with me.

Jameson was so great, and Ella slept most of the time. He loved going to all the different tables, and being able to participate in crafts at some of them. He kept telling me, “I’m being a good boy, Mom!” And he was. I was so grateful. Except when I was ready to leave, and he was still looking. After 3 hours, we were finally able to leave without too much of a fight. We got in the car, picked up some lunch, and headed to our next stop.

Well, Jameson fell asleep on the way to the store. You would think, with both kids asleep, I would have just headed home. Nope. I was up north and needed to go to all the stores while I was up that way. So we entered the dollar store, after I pulled Jameson from his slumber out into the cold air. I think I lost him about 10 time,s one of which my mother-in-law called me in the middle of. So sorry if I was short on the phone. I was a little stressed. There were some other kids there running the isles, and Jameson felt he needed to follow his “friends.”

We finally made it out of that store with only an extra bag of candy and his favorite fairy pez dispenser. Then we headed to the store I miss the most but hate… Wal Mart. It’s about a 35 minute drive with no traffic from our house. So I was trying to get some things for his birthday (without him noticing), and in the process he found a Big Buzz. This was after examining the other toy isles for a good 15 minutes.  Well, when I told him it was time to go, he lost it. I pushed too far, and I realize that, but my patience were gone. Really not a good combo for us both. He started his tantrum, on the floor. Yelling as loud as he could over his crying, “I want Big Buzz.” So since I had stuff I needed to buy, and this store isn’t just up the street for me, I did what I thought best at the moment. I couldn’t just take my kids and leave, leaving my cart and all, because it takes too much effort to get there.

So, I headed for the back corner of the store, and let him sit in the corner and throw his tantrum. I happened to be at the gun counter at this point. The poor guy there, just kept looking at me with a smile. He got to watch me try and put Jameson in the cart, with stiff legs. Then try to put him in the basket part and move Ella to the front part, then back, and so on. For a time, I held him in the front part like a baby as tight as I could while he scream, tried to claw, pinch, and whatever else he could do. In this whole process, he lost both shoes which then had to be retrieved and put in the basket. Somewhere along the lines, Ella lost her binki. She won’t take any other kind, and I have to order them off the website. So that really sucked. All the while this is going on he’s yelling, “I’m being a good boy. I want big Buzz. I’m being a good boy!” Really knows how to show it, right.

Finally, he spotted his beloved fairy pez dispenser in the diaper bag, and asked for it. Upon some bargaining, he had to stop crying and sit in the cart, he calmed down and I delivered the pez. We then hurried through the store to finish and get out before any more upsets. Which didn’t happen, but it wasn’t as dramatic.

So again I ask, when does this switch start to dim, and I get my loving little boy back? Because it’s definitely not at 3. His birthday is next week and the closer we get, the worse he gets. This independence he demands is getting to me. I will say, when he is being nice, he’s extremely loving and fun. He is awesome. But, when he’s naughty, it’s bad. For both of us.

I’m a little behind, but on November 1st, Ella hit 8 months old. That morning when she woke up, I went in to get her. I was greeted by this sight…

Yes, that’s right. She was standing in her crib. If Jameson wakes up before her, I usually find both of them in the crib. She loves it. Please don’t judge me and the fact that my little girls sleeps in blue and trains. Also, after 8 months, I finally ordered her bedding, and I hope I can have her room put together by Christmas. The bedding is on back order so it might take till then.

Anyway, our mornings usually go as follows. The kids wake up within 10 minutes of each other. If Jameson is up first, he beats me into Ella’s room. She now stands in her crib and shakes the side so it squeaks, until I come in. Jameson climbs in the crib, and tries to stand on the two rails while Ella laughs at him. One day, the crib is going to break.

So Ella is 8 months old now. There are a few things she’s conquered since the first of the month, but I will do my update as of today.

• She is fully crawling, and getting pretty quick. She loves to come find you, and especially loves to bang the cupboard door in the bathroom. She loves getting into Jameson’s room, and follows me around the kitchen hoping I’ll drop something I’m cooking.
• She can now pull herself up and stand at anything. She can’t quite get down yet. She still kind of lets go and falls. Once in a while she yells for help. Mostly when her feet are too far apart, and she’s stuck.
• She loves food. She will cry crocodile tears if you don’t share. Story to follow…
• She can now hold her own bottle. You still have to watch her, because when there’s about an ounce left, she’ll play with the bottle and get milk everywhere.
• She is sleeping from between 7-8 pm till 7-8 am. (Except this week with daylight savings. Didn’t save me any sleep!)
• She can grab her puffs and put them in her mouth. (Open her hand and put the puff in.)
• She thinks Jameson is the funniest person alive.
• She is starting to reach for you to pick her up. Love it!
• Ella is definitely hitting the attachment stage. She goes to other people, but only on her terms. You can’t take her from us or she wants to come right back. But, if she crawls to you, it’s fair game.
• She loves to play with her binki. She will pull it out, flip it around, and put it back in herself. She won’t really take it, unless she’s tired.
• She weighs about 20 lbs.
• She is eating real food in small pieces.
• Her favorite is to crawl to the front door and eat the leaves that have been tracked in
• She loves to sing. At church, as soon as the organ starts, she gets so excited and starts yelling.

So one night Kevin had some ice cream. She crawled to him so he let her have a taste. After about 2-3 taste, he looked at her and said, That’s enough.” Then set his ice cream down on the other side of him. She immediately started to cry with huge crocodile tears! At first, we didn’t think that could really be in reaction to him telling her no more. So he gave her a little bit more, and the tears turned off. We started laughing. He set the cup down, and they immediately were back. It was so funny, but her cry was so sad.

A little bit later, we were at playgroup. I was sitting by the table with the food (we were having our Halloween treats that day). I gave her an apple to gnaw on. While she gnawed on that, I grabbed a wheat thin to eat. She dropped her apple, and started crying those crocodile tears. Everyone turned to look what was wrong as I popped the wheat thin in my mouth. Ella gave me the most devastating look. So, I gave her her apple back. That was not good enough. So I gave her a cracker. You would think she would start by sucking on it. Not my daughter. She shoved that whole wheat thin in her mouth, and then gagged on it. I had to do the finger swoop to get it out, but then she cried even harder. So I got another one, and I tried to hold it so she could suck on it. Nope. She got a hold of it and shoved that one in her mouth. So, I once again removed the cracker, and we left the table. She cried so hard, everyone was laughing. They couldn’t believe at such an early age she was so demanding of food and knew what it was.

So that’s Ella. Jameson on the other hand, has decided naps are no longer needed. Now, I frequently find him like this around 5 pm.

Great.

(October 1st)

Ella at 7 months

This little girl has hit her 7 month mark. I can’t believe it. About 3 weeks ago, she was 18.5 pounds which puts her in the 95%. When I find the paper from the doctor, I’ll fill in the rest. I know her height was in the 90% and her head below 25%. Weird that my children have small heads. Nice, but weird. At this point, her accomplishments are:

rocking on all four’s

Looking when her name is called

Rolling every direction possible along with army crawling

Trying to push herself up to sitting position

• Sitting, although not long.
• Blowing raspberries
• Smacking her lips
• Feeding herself with hand to mouth (not able to open hand and eat from it yet)
• Passing items between hands
• Chew everything
• Belly laughs and giggles
• Yell to let you know she wants something. She definitely loves her own voice
• Loves to watch her older brother
• Will stand if you hold her hands
• Will take steps forward if guided and held by you
• Sleeps through the night, usually about 8 pm till 7:30ish am (at least I do, so I hope she is)
• Trying really hard to crawl, but can get to whatever she wants by army scooting
• Will eat pretty much any solid (fruits and vegetables) if hungry, but starting to feed real food. She loves graham crackers and rice cakes.

Almost every one comments on her cheeks. I’ve had people walking by my car as I’m getting her out, and stop to say, “Look at those cheeks!” She is a pretty content baby, and loves attention. We already have a little diva on our hands.

(September 21st)

While talking to my sister one day, she mentioned how her daughter loves graham crackers. I hadn’t thought of giving Ella graham crackers. Well, I had an opened package, which means they are soft. The humidity here softens anything left open… not cool. (Sometimes, I miss the dryness of the desert.) So I got some out for Ella to munch on. She DEVOURED them. She probably went through about 6 crackers, and in the end, the crumbs probably equaled one.

I love how babies use their toes to push against everything.

This little girl makes good use of her hands if there’s food around. I’m sure you couldn’t tell that, though. And if you have graham crackers, watch out. Ella will be after them.

(September 10-12)

Jameson waited all day for Papa to come. He was even really good, and wanted to show his sister some love. FINALLY! It has taken about 6 months for this to happen, but I finally have some pictures with Jameson showing some love for his sister.

Papa and Grammy finally came by, and Jameson showed off his skateboarding skills.

On our way to dinner, Jameson was showing Dad his singing skills. Usually, he doesn’t sing in the car for Dad. That show is only for Mom.

(In the middle he shouts…”I see a bus!”)

We ended up at a Korean bbq restaurant. We weren’t quite sure what to do, so the servers helped us. You actually grill your own meat at your table. Would have been really good, except we started talking and forgot about our meet for a little bit. Oops. It was really good. Papa took over grilling ,while Jameson was a walrus with Grammy.

Saturday, we headed out for our adventures. We had some brunch first…

The boys headed out to check out gun shops, and we headed over to Bainbridge. After going earlier in the week, I knew Debbie would love the little shops. We found some really neat things, and met back up with the boys later that night. Ella did so well shopping with us for the day. Sunday, Grammy and Papa stopped by for one last good-bye before heading home, and before we headed off to church. Jameson wasn’t too excited about them leaving.

Thanks for a fun weekend!