27 weeks

Dear Baby Birdie,

You have been with us 27 weeks today, my little love! And man, have I loved every single second. Even though it is all going just too fast, you are so amazing and I LOVE being with you.

So what's new this week? Well Sunday was the same church-Daddy time-gym routine. BUT...drumroll...you actually SLEPT in church! Daddy stood in the back rocking you in your carseat and you zonked. I couldn't believe it. It has certainly been awhile since that happened.

Time at the gym was pretty awesome too. You were getting a little fussy, so I grabbed you an immediately you were all smiles. You have no idea how special that makes me feel, little one! I love knowing that you love being with me even a fraction of as much as I love being with you.

That night you slept pretty well. Except that I can't seem to get you to fall asleep on me any more. That makes me kind of sad. Early Monday morning you fell back asleep spooning with Daddy. You had LOTS of snuggles for him! You had your thumb in your mouth and you BOTH fell asleep with big smiles on you faces. You are such a little Daddy's girl. He is wrapped around your tiny, perfect little finger!

Monday was, as usual, jammy and Mommy time. I love spending the day just playing with you, bean! When you got up in the morning, you were ALL about singing to me. I even got a video of your choir practice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFPtHI-8qRU You are such a good little singer! I love listening to you sing! You are so much more vocal these days, even starting to string some sounds together like "ba ba." I am looking forward to you getting to the talking stage, but then again, I'm not looking forward to it all at the same time! 

You did give me a complete heart attack on Monday though, little one! You have never been one that can fall asleep playing. No way! You are way too into things. If you are playing and you get tired you let me know, usually VERY loudly, that you need a nap. But you do not just fall asleep. So, you were playing on your play mat, and I realized that it had been a couple minutes since I heard you. I came back to check on you and found this:

I went into complete PANIC mode. My heart just about stopped. I ran over to you, and...you stirred a little. WHAT? You fell asleep playing. How crazy!!! You NEVER do that! I spent the next 15 minutes watching your chest rise and fall, because this was just SO out of character for you. Then, you moved again, and kicked the piano, which woke you up. Rookie mommy move right there, I totally should have flipped the piano off, but I was so out of sorts with this happening, I just couldn't think straight. 

Tuesday we met Grandma and Grandpa Zaher at the mall for some walking around after Grandpa's doctor appointment. You got a couple early Easter presents, including a new DVD and a little birdie for our little birdie from Sophia the first. You are very interested on chewing on the poor birdies legs! But the bird certainly makes you smile and heaven knows we like your smile better than anything else in the world!

You also got another something special this week. Grandma Zaher made you some new sleepsacks. They are so adorable, and they are bigger so you can roll around like crazy. Which, speaking of rolling like crazy, you are so funny rolling in bed these days. You've figured out you can roll over on your belly and then lift your head to peek over the edge of the pack and play to see if I am in the bed next to you. You smarty pants! 

Wednesday would normally be a gym day, but the weather was bad so we didn't have practice. Well, at least it was bad in the morning. By the afternoon it had cleared up so we were able to run some errands. We got some stuff to make for dinner, and we got some supplies from the dollar store to make sensory bags for you. I made you a St. Patrick's theme one which you liked to play with, but I am having a little trouble showing you that you need to PLAY with it and not try to eat it, silly little one!

Speaking of eating, you are doing AMAZING feeding yourself. Through the week we added carrots and cauliflower to your diet. And you are at the point where you really are eating a lot. It amazes me to see how awesome you are at feeding yourself. 

Thursday was a busy day! I decided to try to get the carpets cleaned since I don't think it will be long before you are even more mobile, so you and Truff both spent a good portion of the day at Grandma's house. You guys got lots of attention and were worn out! You looked at the lights with Grandpa and took some naps on Grandma, and Truffle snuck upstairs and found his toys to bring out. You two are a handful, for sure! But I was super productive and got the carpets done. It is amazing how productive I am when I'm away from you. I just want so badly to get everything done so that I can get back to you as soon as humanly possible. I don't like being away from my baby bean and my favorite fuzzball. 

Friday I went to work out in the morning, then it was back home to cuddle with my favorite girl...YOU! You were in a pretty good mood. You are LOVING playing "this little piggy" these days. And you giggle up a storm when being ticked. You are so silly and ticklish, little bird. See? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpi2C8vQ73k

We continued our tradition of taking afternoon naps together too. That has to be one of my absolute favorite times of the day. Oh, and you gave me these eyes and managed to get a new toy, even though I am not supposed to be shopping these days!

Look at those eyes...they are absolutely stunning. You are so incredibly beautiful little one. I love staring at you. I could look at you for hours. I still can't believe that such an amazing little person is my daughter! What a very, very blessed Mommy I am! But yes, you can use those eyes to get anything you want. I hope you don't figure that out soon. So I ordered you a new toy that I am hoping motivates you to sit up more. You can sit up pretty well, but you don't particularly like it. Hopefully having something to play with sitting up with help you practice and make it easier for you to balance. 

Saturday morning started another busy day. We had pancakes for breakfast...even YOU! You loved pancakes. Yummo!

Then you spent some time with Daddy and came to the gym later for a stunt clinic we were at. You even ended up stunting with Uncle Jon! You will surely be doing a lot of that over the years, especially with as much as you like to be up in the air. 

Then it was home and some snuggles with Aunt Mandy. She just loves you too, little one. You have so many people in your life that love you so much. Further proof that you are just such a special little girl.

But you know what? I already knew that. From the first time I saw you 27 weeks ago, I was overwhelmed with how special and perfect you were, and I continue to be amazed daily. I love you so much baby bean. Being your Mommy really is the best thing in the entire world.

I love you!
Mommy

Cloth Diapering

So, I pretty much relied on blog posts when I was trying to navigate through the world of cloth diapers, so I thought it was only fair that I do one. Hopefully this helps someone out!

We started cloth diapers on E just after she was a week or so old. Now, she is a tiny baby, so my recommendations probably wouldn't be the best if you have a chunk. We started out with a dozen newborn prefolds, a Bummis Super Bright Newborn cover and a Thirsties XS cover (all from http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/ I can't recommend them enough!) as well as 6 Bum genius pocket diapers. Since E was barely 6 pounds, the one-size pockets were laughable on her. Those didn't really start to fit well until 4-5 months old. At first, the Bummi's cover fit the best, and then she started to grow out of that and fit into the Thirsties cover better.

The stash was small, and I was washing every day, but I wanted to make sure we were going to stick with this, before investing any more money into cloth diapering. So we did supplement with disposables as needed, and she slept in disposables too. This kept her feeling drier, and therefore sleeping longer, and was easier for us to clip her breathing monitor on.

Oh, and it is helpful to say that as far as the pre-folds, we have never done any of the specialty folds or used a snappy. We've always just tri-folded and stuck them in a cover. Easy peasy.

We decided we really liked cloth diapering, and so we ordered 2 more of the Thirsties covers in size Small, and 2 dozen prefolds in size small. This way, I can wash ever other day (or longer, depending). The prefolds started out as just being a choice since newborn pocket diapers or all-in-ones are so darn expensive, but now, we really like them. Easy to change, easy to launder, etc.

I have since ordered a couple more covers when one of the websites was having a seconds sale. ($7 covers? Yes please!) They are the flip covers and they work great too. The bonus is that they are one-size covers, so we can use them until she potty trains. Wooohoo!

We've just started using the Bum genius diapers more and more. First, because we now use those at night, and second, because she's in disposables rarely now. So when we are out ad about and/or when she is with someone who isn't really cloth-diaper savvy, we now use those. I love them too, athough they are a bit bulkier, especially since she is so tiny.

Really, we've not had any major leaks with these diapers. I am so impressed with how they contain everything.

The washing hasn't been bad. I do a cold cycle with no detergent and an extra rinse and then a hot cycle with detergent and an extra rinse. I dry the pre-folds and inserts, but hang the covers. It is not really nice enough to hang them outside, so I recently came up with a new solution...a pants space saver hanger in the laundry room. Voila! Perfect.

I am waiting on two new packages of diapers, so I will update when I get those. They are all pocket diapers, and I am way more excited than I should be over cloth diapers. Here's what I'm waiting on:

1. Kawaii Pure and Natural: These are stinking HARD to find, but I have high hopes. They are organic (yay!) REALLY reasonably priced, and they are a small one-size diaper. Most one size diapers go to 35lbs. These go to 22lbs, but still have 3 adjustments, so I am hoping they will be a little more trim and fit my skinny minnie a bit better. They problem is they are out of stock everywhere. I finally found ONE and it is on its way. If I like it, Kawaii is have a 20 percent off sale mid-March and I am hoping that they will restock by then because I have high hopes for these and if I like them half as much as I hope I do, I want a bazillion of them. Or at least enough to hit the $80 free shipping threshold! :)

2. Alva: This is another "bargain priced" pocket diaper company and I ordered a couple of these last week. I want to love them. Mostly because they have the CUTEST cloth diapers out there. Really, any CD Mom who tries to tell you that one of the reasons she CDs is because there are some stinking adorable diapers out there is LYING. Seriously. These are some CUTE diapers. http://www.alvababy.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_51_35&products_id=881
Yup, got that one for my baby birdy! Squee. So I want to love them because they are cute and cheap.

Crossing my fingers for GREAT experiences with these kinds! I'll update when they come!

Oh, and anyone who says they save money cloth diapering clearly does not have the kind of obsession with this that I do. I'm sure one day, I may. But right now, notsomuch.

26 weeks

Dear Baby Bean,

You are 26 weeks old today, which means that as of yesterday, you are OFFICIALLY 6 months old. Over half a year. WHAT? That cannot be possible. This week has been extra emotional for me. There is just no way in the world that I am the mommy of a 1/2 year old! Sniffle. Time is just going SO fast.

So what did we do this week? Well, Monday you woke up in the middle of the night screaming pretty badly, and so I was VERY worried about you. You get a little upset when you are tired but other than that, you really don't get that upset, little one. I think that those teeth might be really bothering you. We did finally get you back to sleep with lots of cuddles and a snack, though, and a touch of Tylenol. And you slept well.

There was a storm coming so we decided to go out Monday afternoon to get some errands done. You were great, as usual, and we were able to do a little running. The bad thing...the Easter bunny is going WAY overboard for you, bean. I asked him to only bring you some small stuff you need. That went out the window, BIG TIME. Whoopsy-daisy. It is just so much fun playing with you, he must know how much I love seeing your face light up when we pull out new toys.

I already wrote a little bit about your eating, but I just have to tell you again, you are doing SO well feeding yourself. And you LOVE food. I don't think there is anything that you've tried that you don't like. It is funny, you get SO impatient when I am making your food. I put you in your highchair, and you give me this look:

Yeah, got that LOUD and CLEAR, baby bird. That is the "Momma. Food. NOW." Look. Heaven forbid there comes a day when I have to do more than heat something up for you. There might just be a melt down. Yikes!

The other funny thing with eating (you've had avocado, banana, sweet potato and broccoli) is that Truff has learned EXACTLY what your highchair means too. He happily trots over and lays down right next to you to help "clean up" after you. See? He likes sweet potato best, and would like to request you drop more of that, okay? 

Okay, so back to our week. We went to walk the mall Tuesday morning in order to get a little exercise with Grandma. We had to get home early, though, because the bad weather was starting, and there was NO WAY I wanted to be out in icky weather with you. That evening, you did get to spend some time alone with Daddy, as I went to get some writing done. I'm always more productive when I leave to get work done, but I just miss you so stinking much, bean! Luckily, Daddy took great care of you, and even sent me some pics of you chowing on your sweet potato.

Wednesday was definitely a homebody kind of day for us. Lots of cuddles, which I love so incredibly much. We also decided to do a fashion show with some of your stuff from summer. Look at how stylish you are going to be, little one. 

You are so beautiful. I just can't get over that. Every time I look at you I am just amazed. You are absolutely perfect in every way!

The fashion show wore you out, and you fell asleep on me after nursing that afternoon. Truff had just gotten a bath (that is a long story of a naughty dog who learned he liked to dig...) and you both curled up on my lap and zonked for about an hour and a half. I was freezing, and not too comfortable, but it was still just perfect. I had tears in my eyes the entire time, and I spent the whole hour and a half just staring at you and thinking about how thankful I am for the two most amazing kiddos ever. The very best thing about having to wait for you much longer than I would have liked is that I appreciate you SO much more, bean. These moments, well, they are the best. I cannot tell you how many times I hoped and prayed for a moment like this, and now that I've got it, I soak up every single second. 

Wednesday night was gym night as usual. You typically hang out with Aunt Andrea, but she wasn't feeling good, so you hung out with your BFF Lily and her parents. She's a little younger than you, and you had fun with her. But you did pull off her socks. I wasn't surprised since you spend lots of time pulling off your own socks these days. Which makes sense because you LOVE to put your toes in your mouth. That is pretty much ALL that you do during bath time these days, silly girl!

Thursday was more walking for exercise, then back home so that I could skype into a meeting...but that got cancelled. And we were told to "be productive" which I took to mean take a nice nap with my favorite princess. I love curling up and snuggling with you and having a little snooze. 

Thursday night was photoshoot time! Putting that "6" on your onesie was crazy! We got some awesome pics of you. You were so smiley and gorgeous!

Trying to get you to sleep that night was fun. Or should I say funny? I nursed you to sleep like normal, but you woke up when I tried to put you in your pack n play. So we went in bed to nurse some more. You were looking up at me with those big eyes, pulled away for a second and started to giggle uncontrollably. Which made me giggle. Which made you giggle...you see where this is going? Eventually Daddy had to come check on us to see what in the world was going on! Whoops, we were just having a little too much fun, Dad!

Friday, I worked out and you went to Grandma's as usual, and then you had to go to the doctor for your 6 month appointment. The good news is, you are doing great. You are 14 lbs on the nose, and you were smiling and giggling up a storm for the nurse, especially when she was tickling you! In fact, you were so smiley that she almost had to go get another nurse to give you the shots because she just couldn't bear to be the one to make you sad. You have that effect on people, princess.

I hate when you get shots, but I love making it all better for you. We always spend the afternoon after shots cuddling, nursing, and just loving on each other, since shots are rough for both of us. So we had a very nice afternoon.

Today, we went out to lunch with Grandma and Grandpa to celebrate your half birthday, and spent the rest of the day around the house. But the best part about today? This morning snuggling in bed with you, Daddy, and Truff. You were so smiley and kept looking at me and smiling. When you look at me and those baby blues just light up, that makes me feel like the most special person in the entire world.

I cannot believe how fast time is going. You are changing and growing so much every single day. There is just no way that you can be 6 months old already. But every single day in these 6 months have been so incredible and you are just such a blessing, little bird. So although I wish time would slow down, I guess I will just have to make extra time to snuggle you and take in every single perfect little part of you, and every amazing new thing you learn and do. I am so lucky that I get to see all that! I love you so much, and I love being your Mommy. I can't wait to see what the next 6 months bring.

Happy 1/2 birthday, and I love you, baby bean!
Mommy

BLW- a week and a half in

Sometimes I feel like the spokesperson for some "alternative" parenting decisions. Both on here, and in "real life" I will talk anyone's ear off about the benefits of breastfeeding and cloth diapering. I feel absolutely passionate about both. So much so, that I am hoping for more cloth diapers for my birthday (just a liiiiittle obsessed), and I'm  little sad that I have to start solids. Which leads to another non-traditional parenting choice...baby led weaning.

Basically the theory, in a nutshell, is that babies can feed themselves. No spoon "airplanes" and no purees. No trying to get them to eat. Offer food. Then they eat as much as they want. No stress.

Admittedly, I like the no-stress part. And the part where I don't actually have to feed her. It is awfully nice to all be eating as a family without having to alternate and feed her. But honestly, what tipped the scales in favor of this methodology is that even if this is completely bogus, you have got to admit that it is one heck of a sensory experience for the kiddo.

We are a week and a half in. She's tried avocado, broccoli, sweet potato and banana. I am amazed at how well she does feeding herself. And I have evidence that she is eating a lot more than I thought she was, at first. She handles to food, gets it to her mouth, and chomps away. Sometimes she squishes it between her fingers and sucks. She's pretty ingenious when it comes to eating.

It is MESSY. We have learned to strip her down as much as possible for meal times. But it is awesome. I can't say enough about how great it is. Not only is eating an active learning activity for her, it is so much less stressful for me. And it will only continue to get less and less stressful as she continues to branch out and can really eat whatever we are eating.

Yes, people look at me like I am crazy when I tell them that we are not feeding her, she is feeding herself. But I added another item to my "passionate parenting decisions" list.

Oh, and it produces cute pictures like this:

25 weeks

Dear Baby Bean,

I am a little late on your 25 week post! We had a very busy, and very rough weekend, so I didn't get a chance to do the post. Whoops. I'll make up for it now though, little one!

Let's see...we left off last Sunday. Sundays, as usual, were church, then home, then Daddy time, then gym. You were a cute little bean in your furry dress. You are so silly, though, you tried to get the headband off as quickly as possible, AND pull the bottom of the dress up, just so you could eat the fur. What? Silly, silly bean! You and your fur obsession!

We're still working on giving you solids. I am loving the baby-led weaning thing, but I will admit that I get a little twitchy about the mess it makes. You spent the day just COVERED in avocado. Truffle LOVES it, and has already figured out that when I put you in your high chair, he should come running over to see what you will drop. Who knew that puppies like avocados as much as little baby girls? You are doing so well at feeding yourself, though. I am impressed with you. You are getting a lot more solids then I thought, as evidenced by your diapers. Ick. Oh, and we also have to work on your manners, little one. No see-food here!

Monday was recovery day as usual. We did decide to take a little trek to Micheals since there were some good president's day sales going on, and we found some awesome stuff! Baskets for your room (that I have been looking for FOREVER!) picture frames, even your Easter basket! Yay! Good deals and you were GREAT on the shopping trip, as usual.

Tuesday was a bit rough. It is a good thing you are SO cute, little bean!

Because you were a STINKER. You did NOT want to nap. And then, when I finally got you to nap you woke up screaming. And then, even when we were down on the floor playing, you would start screaming even if I broke eye contact with you. You sure needed a lot of attention and I wasn't able to get anything done. Arg! The one thing that calmed you down? Truff. He got LOTS of treats because I could sit you next to him and you would just look at him and coo. And he tolerated you. I was awfully happy when Daddy got home and took the two of you to see Great Grandpa so that I could have a little down time. You wore me out.

Wednesday we were on the move again. But you LOVE being out and about, so no sweat for you! First we went and had coffee with a friend and her little one. You were awesome and napped in her stroller, but it sure was a wake up call for me about life with you in a couple years! I think you keep me on my toes now. Whoa! Regardless, this sweet smile makes it all worth it. 

Then, we walked around the mall (I wasn't chancing going home with as crabby as you had been the day before!) and finally met up with Grandma! The new Gymboree line had come out, and we were anxious to see it. Of course, we walked out with a good portion of it. More clothes for Miss Fashionista! Your Daddy and I are talking about family pictures this summer, and just thinking about what you are going to wear just about gives me hives. Too many options, baby bean!

Thursday was a little more shopping. And you were a HAPPY girl. I have no idea what had you so cranky early in the week, but I am certainly glad it has passed. You snuggled up and took a sweet nap with me when we got home, and then we went to Great Grandpa's house again. Your Great Uncle was in from Colorado, and got to meet you! How exciting! Of course, you charmed him with your sweet smiles and laughed up a storm at Great Grandpa again. I have no idea what you find so funny with him, but you sure do think he is funny!

Friday was the usual too...I went to the Y and worked out and you got some time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. We even stayed over there a little while so that I could get some work done. It was nice for both of us, I got some work done, and you got to play with Grandma and Grandpa. You liked that a LOT! You loved running your fingers through Grandpa's hair! And you took some great naps cuddled up with Grandma.

Friday night you spent some time with your Aunt Lori and Uncle Pete. They love seeing your cute little smile and giggle. And Daddy and I got to have a nice dinner. While we love having time out, we just miss you terribly. Aunt Lori and Uncle Pete yelled at us for coming back too soon, but we just couldn't stand any more time without our baby bean!

Little did we know, you were going to give us LOTS of baby bean time! You didn't sleep at all that night. By 1am I had been up with you about 3 times. Arg! I was one very tired Mommy, and you were one very upset little girl. I hate it when you get upset. I just want to see you happy and smiley and well-rested all the time!

Saturday, even though we were both tired, we went on a road trip! You came with me to Grand Rapids to a meeting and to meet Aunt Mandy for lunch. I dressed my baby birdie in lots of birdies and you looked adorable. You were VERY excited to go with.

You were fantastic on the trip. You napped all the way up and back, and had minimal fussiness the entire time. Yay! And everyone loved seeing you.

Sunday was church, as usual. But Grandma and Grandpa Mason had gotten home from their trip and came with us. They definitely wanted to see you! But another rough night made you very tired. You were singing like crazy in church...even when it was supposed to be quiet, so we got to spend some time outside. We tried to go to lunch with Grandma and Grandpa too, but that didn't work too well, either, because you were very overtired.

Luckily, you came home, took a good nap, and chowed on some broccoli. It amazes me how well yu eat, little one. You are SO good at that. Especially the broccoli. You love it, and I love that it is a little less messy than avocado.

Speaking of messy, those toes...they are your favorite things! You love to pull your socks off, and you can finally get your toes in your mouth, silly one! Since everything else goes in your mouth these days, why not you toes, hm?

You are SO much fun, little one. Even when you have bad nights and you let out those sobs that just break my heart, I cherish every single second we get to spend together. You are amazing, and even though you are growing up way too fast, it is so exciting to just see all the new things that you can do and all the things that click. Even 25 weeks later I wonder how, out of all the Mommies in the world,  I got picked to be yours. I love to see your face light up when you see me, but I've got to tell you, little one, my face lights up 20 times brighter when I see you.

I love you so much!!!
Mommy

Okay one more vent...

I've got to get this out. And...amazingly enough, it is almost the exact same vent I had months ago.

Ellie is generally a happy baby. As long as she is entertained, semi-rested, and fed, she's all smiles.

Which is why, when people tell me she is grumpy or sad, or whatever, I get stabby.

She goes to bed between 8 and 8:30. If she is still up at 9, she is going to be in a meltdown. She normally wakes up around 8 and has a morning nap by 10 at the latest. If she is up at 7 and doesn't take a morning nap, then at 11:30, she will be in an epic meltdown.

See a pattern? It has nothing to do with her MOOD. It has to do with the biological need for sleep. E is actually pretty adaptable and not a baby that has a set pattern, but come ON. There are developmental expectations that you just can't push past. Oh, and don't tell me what to do with my kid. Thankyouverymuch.

I don't like people today. I am planning on spending all day hibernating with my babies.

24 weeks!

Dear Baby Bean,

You are 24 weeks old today! You are growing so fast, I just can't stand it. Your Daddy and I have both had lots of moments where we look at you and you seem to grow right before our eyes. You are getting to be such a big girl...where did my baby bird go???

So, we left off last Saturday. We spent most of the day at home, cooking and having sing-a-longs. We did have to run out on a couple errands. You were a good girl, just chewing on your O-ring. You love chewing on that thing. In fact, you like it better than the actual teether we have attached to your car seat. Go figure!

Sunday was the usual...church, Daddy time, then to the gym. We did go and order your big girl highchair after church. AND we managed to squeak in a short photo shoot since we had your Valentine's dress on. You were not the most cooperative, but we did get one that is super cute. See?

Look how gorgeous you are, baby bean! I love this picture...it is my new favorite! I seem to have new favorite pics all the time, though. You are very photogenic, and Daddy does such an awesome job taking pictures of you, and I am so thankful for that. You are growing and changing so much that I love looking back on them. I've started making a book for your first year, and I cannot believe how much you'v changed! I love having all the pictures to remember, though. All the photo shoots are definitely worth it. 

Speaking of pictures, Monday Grandma and Grandpa Zaher got back from visiting everyone in Wisconsin, and brought back a cool picture; a painting by Aunt Jane! How cool is this? It is just amazing!

Tuesday we also got out a bit and walked around. We both get a little restless being cooped up all day. So, when we are feeling a bit stir-crazy, some Target or Mall time makes us much more sane. We got home, and you played with your new favorite toys:

Yup! You are OBSESSED with your toes. I cannot even keep socks on you these days...you rip them right off in order to play with your feet. Silly bean!

Wednesday was crazy! I went and worked out, so you spent some time with Grandma, and then later in the afternoon, I had a meeting, so you hung out with Aunt Lori. Whew! You were one tired girl after all that. But, look how much fun you had with Aunt Haileigh? You love her...but you are never ever ever allowed to talk to her about boys okay? 

Oh, and just in time for Valentine's Day you learned about kisses! When someone blows you a kiss, you think it is hysterical and giggle up a storm. But now you can make little kisses back. How cute are you, princess? Let me tell you...stinking adorable!!!

Did I say Valentine's Day? Yup, that was Thursday...your very first Valentine's Day! We had an awesome day together and we both got a treat...you took two naps on me. I love spending time just curling up with you. I'd love to nap with you, but I just can't. I still just want to stare at you, so it is too hard for me to sleep. I'll take the sweet cuddles with my Valentine though!

We also spent a lot of time playing with Truffle. We've started referring to you as "The Claw" since we think that Truffle is sufficiently scared of you coming near him, as you sure like to grab all that fur! He does make you giggle though, and the only way we can get you to practice your sitting up is if he is there for you to watch. Sometimes you get to be too much for him, though, and he hides under your blanket to get away from you!

We had lots of fun hanging out and having a low-key Valentine's Day as a family. I definitely have the best Valentines ever this year. You, Daddy and Truffle are all so sweet and keep my heart so full! I just love you so much, baby bean!

Friday you went over to Grandma's again, then we went to meet Daddy for lunch. We had a nice lunch, but the best part was Daddy getting to show you off to his co-workers again. You put on a SHOW! Giggles and smiles for all, and Daddy threw you all around, showing off all your tricks. You are a ham.

Oh, one more thing about the feet and your new obsession with ripping off your socks...it is driving Truffle crazy. You will rip off your sock and taunt him with it. He KNOWS he will get in trouble if he gets it, but you always put it soooo close. You are such a little stinker!

Today was a big day. First we took a trip over to West End Bakery. Those ladies LOVED you and we got some yummy treats. We had to forego cake for Daddy's birthday because of you, so we made up for it now! When we got home, your high chair had come, so we decided to try it out and give you some avocado. You loved it and did fairly well with handling it too, even though it was really slippery. Eating real food makes you seem so big, now, though little bean!

Even though you are growing up WAY too fast for my liking, I've got to say, I absolutely love every single day with you. You are such a special little girl, and you bring your Daddy and I SO much happiness, I really think one of these times my heart will just burst. You are so amazing and watching you learn and grow is the best. I love you so much, little one!

I love you, Ellie!

Mommy