"Oh Baby, Baby, you were not supposed to grow..."

I went to Brigham City today to borrow a big-girl carseat for Ella. Heather helped me strap it into the Jeep and we were on our way. It was so weird to get home and pack Ella's old carseat away. I recently packed her little bathtub seat as well. It is so surreal to put these things in storage for another baby and know that Ella does not need them any more since she is such a big girl now.

It feels like we have crossed some sort of bridge and from now on it just goes and goes like a whirlwind and before we know it she's going off to Kindergarten in big girl panties and her hair in braids. It is a bit more sad than I had anticipated. Even now, as I write I feel a bit teary that she isn't our little Lamb-Bo anymore, laying in my arms and squeaking out little lamb noises.

Each new phase of her life has brought the joy of seeing her progress and grow, but it is also a bit saddening. This must be what women talk about when they have their final baby and breastfeed a bit longer and baby them a bit more, because when those milestones are outgrown you know you will never be there, with that little baby again.

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Super Genius???

Today I went for Ella's 9 month wellness visit. When the Doctor came in Ella was screaming her head off since she was cruising the furniture and grabbed the Doctor's stool which spun around and she fell on her face. Good start.

Dr. Sandvig started asking me about Ella's development. She said Ella is leaps and bounds above her age in certain areas. First we talked about Ella's reasoning skills and Dr. Sandvig was amazed that Ella had been using tools to obtain items she wants. Then she asked about her mobility. We set Ella down and Dr. Sandvig watched her cruise and said she was doing incredibly well.

Then she asked about speech. I said that Ella babbled a lot and had recently started using Ma-ma and Da-da descriminately. The Pediatrician said that was very advanced and then looked at Ella and said, "Well, everything looks good. Should we check you lungs next?" And Ella said, "Okay!". It was so crazy! Yes, I do think it was a total fluke. She has never said it since, it was just a total coincidence, but it was so crazy! I assured Dr. Sandvig that Ella was not quite THAT advance with speech and we both had a good laugh.

Then Ella got her shots and as we were loading her into the carseat Dr. Sandvig says, "You know she has grown out of that carseat right?" I was puzzled. Our doctor had been so adamant that babies got new seats when they were 20 lbs AND 1 year old, not one or the other, but both. She informed me that babies also need a new seat when they reach 24 inches and Ella was past that. Dang! We had not planned on that expense for a few more months. I mentioned it to Heather and she said she had a seat we could borrow for 2 months until we could buy our own. Heather...WHAT A LIFE-SAVER!!!

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Crawling? Nah...I'm cruising!

When I went into Ella's room todat to get her from her morning nap I found her standing up cruising the perimeter of her crib. Well, I think the whole crawling thing is not happening with this chick. She's cruising quite well. I think she will probably just cruise for a while and then start walking. Now all we need are some teeth to appear!

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Today was Ella's first Thanksgiving. We had it, as a family, in our new house. It was great. We had great food and Ella even ate Gerber Turkey and Sweet Potato Dinner. We are so Thankful that we are a family and that Ella continues to have good health. What a wonderful year filled with blessings we have had.

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Water Baby

Ella loves her bath time. She has graduated form the little tub seat and just sits alone and splashes in the water. I give her a bath on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays each week. It is fun to watch her play. She also likes to take showers with Mommy, but it is hard to hold her when she is so active these days, so that doesn't happen too often.

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RSV Shots!

Yesterday we heard the great news that Ella qualified for her series of RSV shots. That means if she gets RSV she has a better chance of recovery. There were 7 criteria for high risk and she had to have 5 of those criteria just to be considered by the health insurance to cover them. The shots are $2500 each and she has to get 5 or 6 of them. One every 28 days throughout all of RSV season.

Today we headed to the pediatrician Office to get her first shot. They weighed her then mixed the shot solution which has to sit for 20 minutes. Then they gave her the shot and we had to wait 30 more minutes to make sure there was no reaction. She did fine. We are so blessed to have been chosen since they are only giving these shots to 100 children in Utah this year.

This photo was taken right before she got her shot. She had no idea what was coming.

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Healthy Self Esteem

Ella has started loving looking at herself in the mirror. She talks and smiles and waves at herself. It is so cute to see how enchanted she is with her own appearance.

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Getting ready to cruise!

Ella has started pulling up and seems to be getting ready to cruise the furniture. She tries occasionally to let go with one hand and move away, but falls. She wants to be mobile so badly. I try to help her along, but she seems to be on her own time.

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