Future Guacamole Lover

I am a literalist. (According to spell check that's not a word, but I'm making it one.)

I read all directions to everything. Repeatedly. And follow them literally. This includes instructions to things like my shampoo bottle, kitchen gadgets, recipes, games (I'm an avid, literal rule-follower when I play games)...basically, anything that comes with words to read and inform.

With the internet and the plethora of variations to everything under the sun online, I often find myself reading 17 different opinions about how to do something before I make up my mind (to the chagrin of my husband, who often gets to hear all 17 versions). Since having a baby, these habits have only multiplied.

For example, cloth diapers. I emailed friends, I read and reread articles and books, I read blogs, I read the instructions that came with the diapers I finally ordered (and still look over them from time to time), and after six months I can say that I finally feel comfortable with the process of how to clean them and use them properly.

That's my hope in this process: eventually, I become an "expert" at what I am researching and feel confident in my knowledge and skill level. With a new baby, this applies to everything from cloth diapers to nursing to pumping and storing milk to naptimes and sleeping strategies to eating strategies to the daily updates I receive from multiple baby websites about everything there is to know or not know about raising a baby.

Enter the next milestone I've been studying and preparing for: introducing solid food. First, I had to decide when this should happen (based on all the research, APA recommendations, needs of my baby), and then what to feed her, how often, organic or not, frozen or fresh, hand-made or store bought...the list is seemingly endless.

The good news is that we've entered the stage of solid foods, and after much research I am feeling ready to give it a whirl (and I feel like my daughter is ready). Hence, today Ellie got her first taste of avocado. No, not rice cereal, but instead green, smooth, creamy, pureed avocado. Verdict? Success! She loved it, though at times she was confused by the texture and taste:

Waiting patiently.

After the first bite, she grabbed the spoon and tried to feed herself. I wonder what this means for her personality as she gets older?



Happy girl.

In case you're curious, we've decided to go mostly organic and to make all of our baby food at home. I'm looking forward to all the new flavors my daughter will get to experience over the next several months.

Funny Little Girl

Our little one is getting quite the personality. One day Melissa shot this video when Ellie couldn't stop laughing at her little rattle. I got home five minutes later and shook the rattle in front of her and she acted like it was the most boring thing she'd ever seen. I guess it's only funny when mom does it.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

We are enjoying the beautiful 75-80 degree weather. It's been absolutely beautiful and a great time for Ellie to explore the outdoors. Today she experienced grass, and spent many minutes just rolling her fingers across it, feeling it and playing with it. She's definitely in exploratory-mode these days. She sees something and army crawls across the room or ground or blanket to reach it and play.



She always crosses her legs while she's laying on her tummy. So relaxed and just "chillin'."

Playing with a mirror:


My beautiful girl, scrunching her nose.

If you look closely, you can see her new tooth popping through in her bottom gums.

Marking a Minor Milestone

"This is her first time."

I looked quickly down as I said this, and started writing on the check-in sheet. I bit my lip to fight back the one tear trying to break through.

Ellie is five and a half months old, and this was the first time I've left her in the nursery at church. For some people, this may not seem like a big deal. And I know it's a blip in the radar of firsts and separation anxiety to come. I never thought I'd be one of those moms who can't be away from her baby for an hour. Or an hour and 15 minutes. But I was counting down the minutes, checking the time on my cell phone constantly during the church service and sermon (Sorry, Pastor James).

We have an amazingly great baby. And I know I'm the mom and I am biased, but seriously, she's one of the most easy-going, least fussy, happy, smiley, content babies I've known. This week she cut her first tooth and I was expecting a lot of fuss, since that's what all the books said to expect, but there's been virtually none of that. She continues to smile and be happy all day long.

But, despite all this, I was still nervous throughout the church service. I kept imagining that maybe she was crying or fussy, even though I knew she probably wasn't. And even if she was, she'd survive. Mostly, I just really missed her.

I dashed out of the sanctuary as soon as the last AMEN was said, and went to find my girl. She was sitting on the lap of one of the nursery workers, along with another baby. She was playing and smiling. She was fine. Happy. Unaware that I had been anxiously waiting to return to her.

"She did great. She was all smiles the whole time," came the report.

As I walked over to scoop her into my arms, I fought one more little tear. I felt a little silly for even feeling anxious. I knew she'd do just great. This whole process was the first of an endless number of situations where I will have to learn to let go as my baby continues to gain her independence.

Lucky for me, we can both take baby steps towards each new milestone.

Ellie Update

We finally bought Ellie a jumperaoo so she could play and stand. We tested one out at a friend's house and she loved it, so we decided it was time to get one for her.

There's a tiny mirror on one of the toys, and she loves to bend her head down and look at herself, like in this picture:


We were out running errands and Ellie was contently playing with a few toys, and gripping all of them at once in her car seat.


Ellie has been scooting all over the place. We usually place her on the big mat in the pictures below, and within a few minutes she makes it across the room, playing with toys, or going after anything that grabs her attention. Yesterday she went for the coffee table and was grabbing books off of the shelf underneath. I guess it's time to "baby-proof."





The other big Ellie news is that she cut her first tooth this week! We barely noticed because she really hasn't seemed to be in pain or fussy. She has been eating slightly less, but that's about the only indication that something was different, and suddenly we noticed her bottom gums were a bit sharper than normal! Ellie is such a sweet, pleasant baby. She rarely fusses and when she does it's usually when she misses her nap and is a bit overtired...but, aren't we all a little cranky when we don't get enough sleep?