Sunday, August 12, 2012

Here's the girl before church on Sunday, August 12. She didn't go to church this past Sunday, the 19th (her 16 month bday) because she has a congested cough. 

Swim Time

We ditched our huge blowup pool because it was getting slimy and we got this little one as a replacement. It's much easier and she enjoys it just as much. 

looking at Daddy

cute profile

cheesin

"don't go chasin waterfalls" If you don't know where that's from, be glad.

letting her age be known

"i'm done, get me out"

"I wasn't kidding, get me out!"

Sunday, August 5, 2012 + Baby Dedication

Josh & I tried to break the world record for oldest baby dedicated but another couple in our church beat us out for first place. We'll settle for second. We did baby dedication on Sunday, August 5, 2012 at our wonderful church, Ellendale Baptist. 

Here's the girl before we left:

Saying bye bye to her doggie

catching some Olympics before we head out

calling to make sure that Kate is coming to church 

catching some more TV with Daddy

Ellie Grace spotted some familiar faces while we were on stage

this was on the screen while we were on stage

our children's minister, David Johnson, praying for her

she prefers short prayers

Patrick (aka Pappy) graciously snapped pictures for us while we were up on stage and then they made us this great collage of pictures. So nice!

" Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

15 month Update

Ellie Grace had her 15 month well visit and shots at the doctor this week so I thought I would do a post with her stats and what is going on with her at this stage of life so we can look back and reminisce one day. 

(As of the writing of this post, Ellie Grace is really 15.5 months old in case anyone is counting.)

~She weighs 22 lbs and is 30.5" tall. The doctor said she is healthy and doing all the things she should at this stage. 

~She is drinking strictly whole milk now. If we are at home she has it warmed to lukewarm temperature but if we are out and about she drinks it at whatever temperature it is given to her. 

~She will only drink milk from her bottle. I've tried the sippy cup with milk but she's not having it so far. I try to give it to her and she just does the sign for milk over and over until I give it to her in a bottle. I don't know what I'm gonna do. The doc said she needs to be rid of it by 18 months for teeth concerns! I better get on the ball. I know I just need to be tougher with her about it but I'm just not good at that. 

~She eats really well, I think. Here is what she regularly eats: waffles, yogurt, bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, peaches, pears, bread, lunch meat turkey, Gerber ravioli, tilapia, cheese, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and goldfish crackers. 

~She's a great walker and she gets going pretty fast sometimes. She hasn't had any really bad falls yet. 

~She is loving shoes right now. She asks to put them on so I put some on her and she'll wear them for a while then she goes over to the closet and says, "shoes" and I've found that what she wants to do is switch pairs. It's very funny. Some of the shoes have rubbed a blister on her heel but she doesn't seem to care. 

~She says lots of things, but here is what I can think of right now. She says daddy, mommy, Nina (Josh's mom), Mia (my mom), Granddaddy (she tries to say this but she doesn't really get the grand part), Whitney, Saylor (her baby cousin, yet to be born), Bella, Hannah, Piper, puppy, duck, waffle, baby, lovie, rain, strawberry and bye bye. I know she says more than that but I don't understand what it is yet. She tries to repeat most anything we ask her to say.

~She is very attached to her lovie. Despite my strict efforts of only letting her have it in her bed when she was first starting to use a lovie, she now has it most of the time because she asks for it. I really do love that she has a lovie but I do see a potential problem in the making. Perhaps I can transition her to a blue lovie and it can be her "something blue" on her wedding day because I don't see her getting rid of it anytime before then. She'll be a beautiful bride even if she has a paci, lovie and a bottle. :)

~She likes to play, of course. She plays with her baby dolls and gives them hugs and kisses. She has a toy kitchen that has a sink and faucet and out of the blue one day she started pretending to wash her hands in that sink and she continues to do that. She still loves to play with balls. She loves to swing and go for walks. I can't wait until fall! We are going to be out there everyday probably twice a day. It's just too hot right now unless you go really early. She likes to ride the carousel at the mall. She likes baths. She's not crazy about reading. If she sits through one book without me having to use all of my strength to restrain her, it's rare. 

~She is having a little attitude a lot lately when I tell her no or won't give her exactly what she wants, exactly the way she ordered it at exactly that time. :) The way she shows that attitude is by grinding her teeth together, flailing her arms and grunting. It could be any combination of those three actions. 

~She is still doing independent playtime in a pack and play for 30 minutes in the morning and most days does pretty well with it. Looking back, I don't think it has helped her develop the skill of playing independently but it sure has allowed me to get some things done!

~The best thing is making her laugh, really crack up, when you aren't even trying to. Close second to that is when she has fallen asleep in the car and you get to carry her sleepy self to her bed and just hold her cuddly self for a few minutes before you put her down. That is so rare these days. If I had only known then what I know now, I would have held her while she slept more when she was a baby. But, I was too worried that she would only go to sleep with me holding her! Hindsight is 20/20. If (please notice the if) there is another baby in this house, I will hold it while it sleeps! I can't wait to hold baby Saylor Claire while she sleeps. 

~I'm sure there are more noteworthy things but that's all I can think of right now. 

(These pictures aren't official 15 month pictures or anything special, I just liked them and knew I couldn't do a post without pictures.) 

We love you, Ellie Grace. You are a sweet, precious little girl, most of the time.