Eleanor is 8 Months Old!

My sweet baby girl turned 8 months old yesterday! I can't believe how the time has flown! SO MUCH has happened in this 8th month!

It has been incredible to see her growth especially now that she is crawling, which she began in her 8th month...NYE 2010 to be exact! She also has started to bud her top teeth. They are adorable coming in, much bigger than her bottom teeth which of course makes sense but it will be so weird to see her smile look so different. You can see them if you lift up her lip but they of course will take a while longer to come down all the way.

Eleanor has known who we are for quite a while and when we say "Where's _______?" concerning me, Andy, Marmi, or Pop Pop, sometimes the Aunts too, she knows. It wasn't until recently that we would say, "Where's Pop Pop?" and she would look at him and start making the Pop Pop Pop Pop movement with her lips. A slight whisper sometimes come out like she is breathing and saying it but it is definitely her word for Pop Pop. SUPER cool! So we haven't decided if it is her first "word" persay, because she doesn't really voice it.

In reference to her noises - she also still does the bah and mah sounds and has recently discovered her HIGHEST pitch. It is hilarious, she talks in a little chirping high pitched noise and all the time. She loves to talk to herself now, especially in the car or when she is trying to make herself fall asleep at night. The funniest instance of this was when we were driving to Andy's dentist appt., I was driving, and in a rush. I was speeding of course and flying around cars - nothing less than you would expect from a typical Dallas driver on a mission to get somewhere, and Eleanor is doing her high pitched scream and Andy is narrating behind each shriek, "Oh no, Mommy is going to KILLLL USSS!!" You had to be there I guess and of course E wasn't shrieking in response to my driving...let's hope :)

On the crawling note, she is going EVERYWHERE! Not just to get a toy a few feet away. She now crawls circles around and through her room/bathroom/hallway when we are getting her bath ready. She crawls into our bathroom and all around the apt. The funniest is when we are getting ready and she crawls into our bathroom which has mirrors over the closet doors and laughs at herself in the mirror. She has always loved looking at the mirror but when she is as clsoe as she can get on the floor, she will run into the mirror like a little bird in glass - luckily she doesn't splat like the bird! I was also told today that, at Marmi's house, she followed Pop Pop from the living room all the way to his bathroom to watch him shave. I used to do that when I was little too and he would pat aftershave on my cheeks like him and then I would shine his shoes with a towel. Oh memories :) Maybe Eleanor will get to help him do that too!

We have always thought our little one to be strong, she was lifting her legs to her face at a young age and has always been able to pull herself up. She now has accomplished the feat of lifting what I would think heavy toys and moving them. She has a little toy train that she literally lifted with the handle and moved from one side of her body to the other while sitting. She didn't drag it, she lifted it. I know this is silly for me to be raving about but I couldn't believe it. She is getting SO BIG!

Also in reference to her movement, she is starting to try to pull up on things. She pulls up on the couch on me and other toys. I most noticed this when she and her friend Katie were playing with her piano. They were kind of not sharing well so I took the piano away and put it on the couch. Eleanor crawled over to the couch and tried to pull up on it to get to her piano! Crazy girl! On that note, she is very assertive already and knows exactly what she wants - I am in trouble!

In the food department, Eleanor has tried more foods and has even accomplished the feat of drinking through a straw! She still snacks on her little puffs but because she is expending so much more energy with her crawling has switched to three meals a day and a couple of snacks in between. We are still trying to work out what she should have aside from the puffs which she, as a friend put it, "is addicted to them like crack" but she has had little pieces of cut up banana (super slimey though) and then just sometimes gets smaller versions of her meals fed to her. She is taking 8oz bottle feedings when she gets a bottle and when I feed her (I always feed her when she is with me, she is still getting bottles at mom's during the day.) and eats about 4-5 times a day from the breast or bottle. My milk supply is really down though...not sure why...so she only gets about a bottle a day of breast milk plus I feed her at night so is getting 2 - 3 formula bottles but somehow is satisfied on the weekends when I alone feed her. She has added the following this month to her diet:

- green beans

- apples

- pears

- mangoes

- butternut squash

- egg yolks scrambled (didn't really like but they have a pretty strong flavor anyway, I need to try again)

Eleanor also still LOVES to read books, especially before she goes to bed. Her favorite books are, "I Love You, Goodnight", "Goodnight Moon", and her two bilingual books, "Animals/Animales" and Colors/Colores." She absolutely loves "I Love You Goodnight" as she laughs and smiles everytime we read it and even now when I am feeding her her night feeding in the rocking chair she pulls off, reaches up, and grabs for it! This makes my heart melt not only because it is so cute that she recognizes something she likes but also that she likes a book that is nothing but a bunch of SIMILES! The R/LA teacher loves this! :)

In the napping department, we think she is trying to give/gave up a nap. She takes a pretty good one in the morning and in the afternoon but sometimes doesn't nap in between. She is starting to love to play more and can stay up longer! It is crazy watching her grow! Speaking of growing, you upped to size 3 diapers and are wearing 9 months clothes in Carters and Ralph Lauren and 6-12months in Old Navy/Gap/Gymboree clothes. I don't remember the Target sizes but somewhere around that...in shoes you are wearing 2's but are probably ready for 3s and the little 0-6 month baby UGGs and MEA bought you are JUST now fitting you!

Sweet baby girl, you make your Daddy and I SO HAPPY! We love getting to see your smile when we come home from work each day. No matter how tired we are, you energize us and make our day so perfect! We couldn't imagine life without you and have loved seeing you grow and accomplish so much in this 8th month of your life! We love you and pray in Thanksgiving for you every day!