I originally planned on waiting until Ellie Mae’s one year milestone before updating her website. However, she has made some major developments in the past month that I feel like it warrants a post!
Unlike Hank, Ellie Mae wasn’t too warm to eating solids at 6 months… it wasn’t or isn’t that she’s a picky eater (far from it). She just had no interest. Loves booby milk way too much. Hank really loved eating solids and the weaning process began (all Hank’s lead) the day I started him on them. By 10 months old, Hank was 100% weaned. Ellie turned 11 months a week ago and she is still going strong with breastfeeding. She hates formula and I don’t have an oversupply to really pump milk, so I can only give her water in a sippy cup. I am looking forward to the day she turns one, so that I can start giving her cow’s milk (I am hoping that when this happens the weaning process will pick up a bit).
Anyway, just a little before she turned 10 months, Ellie Mae started to show real interest in foods. She loves eating meat just like Hank. She loves fruit (of course). And, unlike Hank, she loves bread and pasta. Unfortunately, getting her to eat vegetables is harder (Hank at her age welcomed vegetables with a wide open mouth). It’s kind of a battle with Ellie. Basically I have to hold her hands down (because she’ll flail them around / swat at the spoon) and jam the food in when her mouth opens from crying/screaming. It’s quite a spectacle.
Ellie Mae has eaten thus far: salmon (loves it like Hank), ribeye steak, ground bison, wagyu new york strip, braised lamb, duck, venison, paiche (type of white fish), halibut, lobster, chicken wings, turkey, chicken breast/tenderloins, scrambled eggs, truffle oil, my homemade ragu with beef short ribs, risotto, couscous, gnocchi, macaroni and cheese, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, carrots, brussels sprouts (hates them!), peas (hates them too!), tomatoes (loves them like Hank), oatmeal, pumpkin, butternut squash, bread, cheddar cheese, and you get the point… the list goes on! She’s definitely not a neophobic (so far).
She also badly BADLY wants to walk. She tries / practices every day. And she made her first couple of steps all by herself a day or two before her 11 month milestone. I feel like her feet are too small to support her chunky body and this is why she seems slower to master walking!
Ellie Mae loves talking / babbling. Though she hasn’t really increased her vocabulary since she turned 9 months old, she is already making two word sentences (e.g. “hi dad”).
We still do not know whether she will be right or left handed. She definitely eats more with her right hand… but she will only throw the ball with her left. It seems like she has more control / strength in her left hand though… time will tell.
We have so many hand-me-down toys for Ellie Mae (all Hank’s old toys), that I haven’t really bought anything for her this past year. For her first birthday, I feel like she really doesn’t need anything. As a result, up to about a week ago, I had planned on not getting her any gifts. Because my brain is all focused on pushing to wean her off the boob when she turns one, I was thinking of ways to help her self soothe during the night whenever she wakes up. The suggestion of a “lovey” or baby doll came up online as a way to assist toddlers to go back to sleep on their own in the middle of the night. So, I ended up using my Amazon Rewards Points and got her these two baby dolls:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078HYF86Y/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_QXW7Cb6K4BK33
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MUEFK0I/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_UXW7Cb3DT8M4C
The first one is a mini baby doll to take along on car rides, etc. I was too excited to keep this one in the closet, so I ended up giving it to her this past Saturday. I wish I had recorded her when she received it… because her face lit up and she squealed… she kept clutching and hugging the doll. The doll has a real nice vanilla smell too!
The other one is a larger version of the mini one and I will have her unwrap it on her birthday.
She’s been accumulating quite a bit of nicknames so far… I should really get everyone to vote on a nickname, so that we can settle on just one…
Nicknames So Far…
- Princess Buttermilk
- Princess Butterball (as in Butterball Turkey)
- Farley (as in Chris Farley… she looks like his offspring)
- Mona II (this is in honor of Debbie who was called Mona when we were growing up)
- Jelly Belly Ellie (Bob came up with this one)
- Roly poly (she falls / loses her center and rolls a lot)
- Pebbles (from the Flinstones… because her pony tail reminds me of Pebbles)
~ Photos ~
Below are some of my favorites over the past couple of months…
Loving her big brother Hugging him tight! Ready to eat poop! Yuck! Eating braised lamb Waiting for doctor Yay!! Partee!! Raise the roof! Her first baby doll! :-* She loves her baby!
~ Videos ~
Big Smiles & Laughs:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b8ql5jgj7cn2n3g/20190428_193220.mp4?dl=0
Trying to walk:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wt1wf39oe6e2ew2/20190522_162418.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uq6ruej87ay3zg9/20190522_143957.mp4?dl=0
Sippy cup:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ys8fsqf1pfco0ts/20190505_155635.mp4?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4n6a2ik65x6ra35/20190505_155656.mp4?dl=0
Fast crawler:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8i1djeu9h8gcltl/20190510_092657.mp4?dl=0
Playing ball / strong left hand:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y3dktbkq63pqxvk/20190529_104524.mp4?dl=0