Category: Uncategorized

 {baby Violet & Eloise had so much fun together!}

{waiting for brunch at the new Portage Bay with Auntie Meg & Vi.}

{Eloise insisted that she carry this book up the stairs with her. Oh boy!}

{whenever Sadie comes in from outside, Eloise grabs the towel for wiping off her feet. it is so cute!}

{we are hosting Friendsgiving this next weekend & my to-do list for this week isn’t too bad.}

{we went to Auntie Sara’s to work on a project & Eloise loved reading with her.}

{I have been working on organizing all of Eloise’s old baby clothes & storing them by size. it is crazy to see all of her old clothes & how tiny they all are!}

{Eloise has an AWESOME bath Mohawk. thanks papa!}

{Friendsgiving day prep! I am officially done with all of the DIYs, hooray!}

{Eloise wanted to be outside with papa this afternoon.}

this weekend was a bit blustery & definitely felt like fall. we didn’t have a lot of plans, but it felt like we got things done! sadly, the holiday family photoshoot we had this morning didn’t happen due to the rain, so pray for some drier weather this week! also, how can it already by a week into November? how was your weekend? M

{lion: jellycat via nordstrom // tunic: Carter’s // leggings: Target // moccasins: Freshly Picked // book: Olivia Saves the Circus}

{month fourteen} this month it feels like eloise really went from an infant to a toddler (even though that officially happened when she turned one!) because she started WALKING! she was cruising all around before (meaning she could walk along if she was holding on to something, like the couch or coffee table) & even standing for a few seconds on her own, but now, now she is everywhere! when we were out on Orcas Island a few weekends ago was when she really started wanting to walk on her own & would go from point A to point B. now she is gaining a lot more momentum & learning how to balance, & it is amazing to watch her learn! she still can’t stand up on her own without having help (she needs something to climb up) so if she falls, she crawls until she gets to something she can stand up on, but I know that will come in time. these days she toddles (or waddles?) all around & it is the best. she still does better when she is holding onto something, & these days, the more things she has in her hands the better! does anyone else’s kid like to hold a million things in his or her hand at once? even though walking is brand-new for eloise, I know she will be running in no time, which is absolutely terrifying!

this month has also been a big one for teeth. eloise has gotten nearly all four of her molars in the past 6 weeks & we are blaming any extra fussiness or weirdness on them! aaron also noticed last week that eloise is getting her canines as well… oh boy. at least we are getting it all over with at once, right? & honestly, I can’t really complain. sure she has been up a few times at night in the past few weeks (which is a definite change from her sleeping entirely thru the night – 12 hours!) & we are blaming it on teeth, but who can blame her? I can’t imagine how painful it is to get molars (that is so much tooth thru the gum!) & she is still such a happy kid! the craziest part for me about her getting all of these teeth right now is that she looks so much older. once her canines come in, you really won’t see any more gum when she smiles.

a new trick that eloise has learned is to put objects inside a basket or bowl. this is a huge progression since she basically throws everything out of her toy baskets! while I am not counting on her to help me clean up all of her toys just yet, it is nice that she can put some of her toys away. you just have to be careful because sometimes she is nicely putting things away & then all of the sudden pulling them all back out! with this new found skill has also come being able to take simple direction. eloise will bring a toy or book, or stop doing something if I say “no thank you” (most of the time!). it is pretty cool to see how much she understands!

speaking of understanding, the last few weeks have also brought signs, as in sign language. we have been signing a few words to eloise since she was a newborn, but she didn’t really seem to notice until now. eloise can sign for milk, water, more, & please. I had my doubts about whether she would ever sign & if I was just signing for no reason at all, but lo & behold here she is signing away. it is awesome for me to be able to communicate with her & know exactly what she wants. sometimes she signs for water when she wants something to eat (they are the same sign to her) & she tugs on the neck of my shirt when she is thirsty (a habit that has stuck from nursing during the day), but she is doing so well. I want to start using “thank you” & a few other signs too. what signs to your kids know that I should be using?

eloise has also started to cuddle with toys, particularly stuffed animals, & it is the cutest thing ever! she LOVES leo the lion who is the one in all of her monthly pictures. he is still about half her size, so she has to work at hauling him around. we also have a lot of different Jelly Cat stuffed animals (the smaller ones) thanks to Grammie & those are perfect for her right now! even though her lovey giraffe is her go-to for naptime & bedtime, she sometimes will grab another stuffed animal on the way to bed to cuddle with.

since we have had such a sunny & warm fall, we have continued to spend a lot of time outside during the day (& of course, now the rain is starting…) since it is nice to be in the fresh air & I think that being outside, even for a little bit, helps eloise sleep better! we don’t live near the airport, but are under a flight path so we get a few planes fly overhead. eloise has always noticed planes when we are outside & will look up & point them out. she can even find them in the sky when they are too high to hear! lately, if she hears a plane & we are inside, she will point up to the sky. such a smart little one!

like last month, eloise is still really into giving things – food, toys, books. food seems to be a little random since sometimes she wants to eat what she just gave you & other times she isn’t interested in eating it (at least at that moment). it is great when she brings over books because it gives us a chance to peruse a book during playtime. we read a lot of books each day since it is the first thing she wants to do when she wakes up & the last thing she wants to do before she goes to sleep; we must read at least a dozen books each day!

as I mentioned last month, eloise was back to see her physical therapist about her head tilt. since then, she was discharged because she had progressed enough, meaning her head tilt was not really present. I occasionally see it when she is tired or in her car seat if she is sleeping, but most of the time eloise has a straight head! plus, now that she is walking, she is really upright. even her cranial sacral therapist (who is like a baby chiropractor & we have been seeing since eloise was a newborn for both head tilt & latch issues) was so impressed with how straight & upright eloise was just the other day!

as I mentioned above, we have been noticing a change in eloise’s sleep, both during naptime & at nighttime. eloise is still taking two naps per day, for the most part, but I am starting to see signs that she may be ready for just one nap. yikes! a few weeks ago she actually went on a napping strike in the morning & for two or three days didn’t take that morning nap, & she seemed okay with it. I was ready to get her on a one-nap schedule, & then she started taking her morning nap again. I am mixed about the transition even though I know it is going to happen sooner or later. the biggest thing for me is that during her morning nap is when I get ready for the day (shower, get dressed) & check email, etc. I know that I will have more time to do things once she is down to just one nap, but I sure will miss two! eloise has also started waking more during napping & nighttime. she never used to wake up in the middle of naps, but she does now & I will go in & rock with her, lay her back down & she will go back to sleep. she is also up at least once during the night. part of it may be that we were out of town, but she seems to be waking around 6 or 6:30 am & wanting to nurse & then go back to sleep (until 8). & in the last week she has been waking around 1 or 2 am & wanting water. it is a pain to go upstairs & get her a cup of water in the middle of the night, but since she is going right back to sleep afterwards, it is hard to complain. I am hoping this is just a phase & she will get back into her normal sleeping patterns.

and finally, in the past few days, I have noticed two things: eloise is happy to sit & actually listen to a book being read (she used to just flip thru the pages as fast as she could!) & she started waving with her entire arm for hello & good-bye (as opposed to just with her hand which was really cute because she turned her hand towards herself & waved!).

{weight} I am guessing around 23 or 24 pounds, but I haven’t weighed her since last month!

{hair} dark (reddish) brown. it is starting to get long & is layered in the back with side-swept bangs in the front. (we are getting close to mullet territory so she may need a haircut soon!)

{teeth} four bottom teeth & four top teeth, two molars (one top & one bottom) with two more coming in, & the start of all four canines. phew!

{eyes} dark brown.

{clothes}  12 month, 12 to 18 month, 18 month, & some 18 to 24 month (though it is really big!)

{diapers} full-time cloth {bum genius freetime, pocket, & elemental} & honest company size 4 diapers at night with a bum genius diaper cover.

{feeding} during the day, 4 hour cycles. nursing once a day (after she wakes up in the AM). 2 to 4 oz of milk in a sippy cup at mealtime, though she prefers water.

{likes} books, mama & papa’s cell phones, toys that squeak or rattle, singing & music, Sadie, standing, FaceTime, bathtime, standing, her snack cup, shoes, mama’s (diaper) bag, laughing.

{dislikes} having something taken away from her that she really wants to have, diaper changes, (sometimes) her carseat.

{nicknames} Bug{s}, Love Bug, Baby Bug, E, Wheezy, Kiddo, Love, Bugaboo, Ellie or Elle.

happy fourteen months eloise!

M

{lion: jellycat via nordstrom
// sweatshirt: Target // bloomers: Carter’s
// moccasins: Freshly Picked}

{month thirteen} it is hard to believe it has already been a month since eloise turned one, but it has. not having a weekly update has been really strange & it feels like there is SO much to share in this monthly post! eloise is becoming a toddler right before our eyes, & it is fun & terrifying at the same time. part of me wants her to stay little forever but everyone used to tell me “it gets so much more fun as kids get older” & we are finding that to be true.

if I could describe eloise this last month (other than her normal happy & joyful self) in just one word it would be BUSY. when she is awake, she is all over the place. she still likes to play independently, but quickly moves from one toy to another, one book to another, & all over the living room (which is where we spend most of our day during awake time if we are home). we have been able to “eloise-proof” the living room pretty well which is great since she can wander a bit without getting into too much trouble & I feel like I don’t have to say “no thank you” all day long. while I don’t always love having her play space in the middle of our living room, I do like that she has a big place to play & explore (because it is her house too, right?).

last month I talked about eloise’s torticollis & how we were going to have a collar fitted for her to help her over the last little bit of her head tilt. well, a few things changed & the short story is that we decided against it (the collar, that is). the long story is that eloise’s pediatrician was pretty hesitant to have her in a collar & suggested perhaps an orthopedic consult before going ahead with anything other than PT. then eloise’s pediatrician & her PT (Susie & Suzy, respectively) discussed & decided together that a collar wasn’t necessary, but they would support us if we wanted to go in that direction. we didn’t. so we had another PT appointment with Suzy last week & she was really impressed with eloise’s progress. enough that she discharged eloise from PT! there is still some head tilt present, but it comes & goes without being an issue. as eloise has become more upright & is standing more, it helps straighten her out. hopefully we are in the clear & won’t need any more PT in the future.

for the past few months eloise has been helpful in getting herself dressed, though it has become more helpful recently. she helps pull shirts off & on (over her large noggin’!), knows she has to switch whatever she is currently holding into the other hand for the sleeve, & even will stand up & move her weight from side-to-side to help with pant legs. while she really prefers to be in just a diaper (well, naked if she really had her way!) she does well with getting dressed. I have been loving having her big enough to be in separates – a top & bottoms – rather than a onesie. while onesies are nice & I just picked up a few for cooler weather, it is so nice for diaper changes to have to just take off her bottoms.

eloise has discovered her finger, specifically her pointer finger. she points & babbles at everything; sometimes she is very specific in what she is pointing at (like when she wants water at mealtime) & sometimes she just points at everything & anything (like when she is just up from a nap). it is really fun to have her so engaged in her environment & she is showing me what she is seeing. if anything is different, she will notice! eloise also has discovered, with pointing, that her pointer finger is a perfect fit in her nostril! she doesn’t do it a lot, but she does like to stick her finger up her nose… I don’t see that going away any time soon.

standing is the most fun thing for eloise these days & she likes to spend most of her time vertically. she cruises along everything until she runs out of support & then drops down to her knees & starts to crawl. she has been able to stand by herself for a few seconds, but by the time she realizes she is standing, she is down on her bottom. the times that she is most successful in standing on her own, she is also holding onto something. I heard recently from a mama friend that kids are able to stand on their own while holding something long before they can stand on their own (hands empty); I am not sure whether it is a balance thing or a mental thing, but I find it is definitely true with eloise! she loves to walk while holding onto your hands, though we really try not to do that with her too often. she did take a single step towards aaron the other day (twice in a row!) which she was pretty proud of. she doesn’t seem too motivated to walk yet since she knows she can crawl so much faster, but I suspect she will start taking solo steps any day now! plus, she can walk & push her little IKEA cart {as seen on instagram here}.

in the past few weeks I have noticed that eloise has started offering me (or Aaron or grammie) the food, book, or toy she has in her hand. with food, she often will pick up a piece of food, offer it to someone, but then not give away that piece of food, opting instead to eat it! with books I find that she is happy if I sit her in my lap & read her that book. it is a fun stage that really makes her seem like a toddler!

as I shared in the past, we decided not to completely child-proof our house, meaning that not every door & cabinet has a lock. because of this, we have to be more mindful of eloise when she is in the kitchen, but it also meant that we stocked a lower cabinet (the one by the fridge) to be completely eloise-safe. it houses (cloth) napkins, placemats, plastic straws (use a paper straw if you are at our house, trust me!), & all of eloise’s food stuff (cups, bottles, plastic containers, bibs, etc.). she knows exactly which cabinet it is & will often head straight for it when making her way into the kitchen. she knows that the other cabinets are off-limits, but still tries to go for them anyways (which we tell her “no thank you” or “stop”). it is nice to have a place where I know she won’t destroy anything if I need a few minutes to get a meal prepped or dishes cleaned up.

eloise has learned “hello” & “good-bye,” & will wave accordingly if she hears those words. she used to do a big arm wave, but now folds her fingers down in a small little hand wave. it is the cutest thing ever. she waves to people, dogs, & inanimate objects. the funniest thing about it is that she waves backwards (towards herself)! someday she will figure out to flip that hand around, but for now it is pretty sweet!

the DVD collection we have in the bottom two bookshelves in our living room is a constant source of fascination & activity for eloise. she spends a lot of time pulling the DVDs off of the shelves onto the floor & sadie’s dog bed below, & then will sit down & examine some of the DVDs. she has learned which ones she can open which she really enjoys, almost like reading a book. we haven’t watched any of the DVDs in years (seriously) & have talked about getting rid of them, but I think eloise would be disappointed. & as much of a pain as it is to clean them up a few times a day, the DVDs have become a good object for independent play that I think they will be around for some time (probably until I completely redo that bookshelf!).

from the time eloise started becoming mobile, the remote control to the Xbox (& tv) has been a fun toy. she quickly learned that the remote would come apart into two pieces if she dropped it hard enough, so every time she has it, she is trying to throw it on the ground. this was inadvertent on our part that she learned this fun little trick which she also tests with other electronics (like cell phones…); had we realized earlier what kind of habit we were creating (& teaching her) we would have stopped her immediately. oh well. live & learn, right? & in her attempt to break apart the remote (which isn’t actually harmful to the remote itself) she sometimes also turns on the tv which to a child who has zero amount of screen time (with the exception of FaceTime with family) is the best thing ever!

eloise is still eating really well, though she is starting to show more phases of eating more & eating less, whereas before she was just eating so much! she has a great appetite & we mostly stick to three meals a day, with an occasional snack after her afternoon nap to help get her to dinner. we (eloise & I) tend to eat a pretty early lunch (11:30 am) each day so that we have lots of time for an activity or an errand in the early afternoon before we have to be home for bedtime. she seems to do well with the schedule that we are currently on with two naps a day – the morning nap is generally 45 to 60 minutes & the afternoon nap is generally 45 to 120 minutes – & as much as I would love to only have one nap to schedule around, I really think she still needs two. lately we have pretty much been doing a family meal at dinner meaning eloise eats what we eat, the exception being that I always roast extra veggies for her. this is great because it means that we don’t have to cook two meals & we can all eat dinner together as a family of three. family meals have always been really important to aaron & me, even when life is really crazy (like during law school or a new job). this also limits eloise in her newest need of having to eat whatever mama is eating. generally we have different food for breakfast & lunch, & if she sees me eating something that is really different from what she is eating, she has to get in on it too! sometimes it is a good thing because eloise is broadening her palette, but other times it means she wants something that she shouldn’t be eating (& I probably shouldn’t be either!) that has added salt or sugar, etc.

another really fun thing that eloise has learned this past month is to shake her head (like she’s saying “no”). while she doesn’t know that a head shake is the same thing as “no,” she sometimes shakes in a conversationally appropriate way which is really funny! often I find that she shakes her head when she hears music & is “dancing” (meaning she is bouncing up & down while standing – the cutest) like she is moving to the beat. I am just waiting for the day that she learns how to say “no” & that shaking her head means the same thing. oh toddlerhood!

& the last update (I told you, there was so much happening this past month!) is that eloise learned how to kiss. she opens her mouth & comes right at your face (usually your mouth or nose) with a big slobbery kiss. it is pretty sweet & I don’t even really know where she learned it, other than the fact that she gets approximately 500 kisses each day on her face from her mama! she doesn’t know the word “kiss” yet like she knows “clap” and “wave,” but it won’t be long before she can kiss on command!

{weight} I am guessing 22 pounds.

{hair} dark (reddish) brown. it is starting to get long & is layered in the back with side-swept bangs in the front.

{teeth} four bottom teeth & four-and-a-half top teeth (one top molar is half-in & her bottom gums look swollen).

{eyes} dark brown.

{clothes}  6 to 12 month, 9 month (in pants), 12 month, & some 12 to 18 month (18 is super long!).

{diapers} full-time cloth {bum genius freetime, pocket, & elemental} & honest company size 4 diapers at night with a bum genius diaper cover.

{feeding} during the day, 4 hour cycles. nursing twice a day (after she wakes up in the AM & after her second nap). 2 to 4 oz of milk in a sippy cup at mealtime & a few oz in a sippy cup at bedtime.

{likes} books, mama & papa’s cell phone, toys that squeak or rattle, singing & music, Sadie, standing, FaceTime, bathtime, standing, her snack cup, shoes, mama’s (diaper) bag.

{dislikes} having something taken away from her that she really wants to have, diaper changes, (sometimes) her carseat.

{nicknames} Bug{s}, Love Bug, Baby Bug, E, Wheezy, Kiddo, Love, Bugaboo, Ellie or Elle.

happy thirteen months eloise!

M

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wait, today is Friday? Holy cow this week flew by! It’s been a busy one with Eloise’s half birthday and my birthday (tomorrow). I always feel like birthdays make things extra busy!

be sure to check out what everyone else is loving this week: Kendra, Mary Beth, Amanda, & Laura!

I don’t have any favorites to share, but I will include a new favorite of my two Valentines this year!

What are you loving this week? And Happy Valentines Day weekend!
M

{celebrated our four year wedding anniversary on friday!}

{even though we did a no gift anniversary this year, I woke up to flowers from my lovely husband!}

{celebratory date night was book of mormon! much more vulgar than I expected, but hilarious.}

{we started moving back into the house this weekend – again – & decided I should wash & iron the curtains for the living room before putting them back up since everything was covered in dust. glad I did this, but a little sad that the curtains shrunk in the wash!!}

{ben & sarah came over & helped hang our gallery wall in our living room, & organize until we can move into the new space.}

{sunday house project meant work in the nursery! we can’t fully move everything into the space yet, but we took the opportunity to paint some stripes on the ceiling. so excited!}

{ordered a free trial of diapers & wipes from honest company. these are newborn diapers & I can’t get over how teeny tiny they are! oh boy.}

this weekend was a whirlwind of hot summer weather, celebrations, & house work. we were able to take some time on friday to really celebrate our wedding anniversary which was so, so fun. plus, we know it’s one of the last big dates we will get in before this babe arrives {we also have a date planned this week to see sara bareilles!}. we spent the rest of the weekend moving things to the house & getting some work done – organizing, cleaning, painting. can’t believe how fast this weekend went.. also, holy august – we are having a baby this month!

how was your weekend?

M