10 Month Update!

10 months old today! And somehow it's the middle of December already. I can't believe how fast this year has flown by. It feels like I blinked and the year is almost over. We will be celebrating Ellison's first birthday in no time! Of course, I have had it all planned out in my head for about 6 months already. The party date has been set, 1 year pictures are scheduled, her outfit has been discussed with its creator (actually, I already got the tutu from her), and the rest of the planning is set to begin as soon as the holidays are over. I'm excited but also can't believe my baby will be one so soon.

A little off topic, but I feel like it needs to be said...the events at Sandy Hook Elementary School this past week were very hard for me to hear about as a parent. I can't even begin to imagine the hurt the families of the victims are experiencing. I hope and pray that my sweet baby girl has an innocent and beautiful childhood. Every child deserves that. It is already hard for me to leave Ellison to go to work, but this past weekend it was even harder than usual. I cherish every moment I spend with her. I think because of the population I work with and the time I spend away from her taking care of other people's very sick little ones, I probably cherish my time with her even more than the average mom! Now I will treasure it even more...

I don't want to get into political issues, because politics really aren't my thing and nowhere near what this blog is about, but I have to say that mental health issues are very close to my heart and I hope there is more of a focus on them after this latest tragedy. There is so much that can be done for people if they are able to seek and receive treatment!

Anyway...back to the real focus of this blog! Ellison!!! She is loving our Christmas decorations. She has been so good about not touching the tree (although we can't put wrapped gifts under it because she would get into them in a heartbeat), but there are a few other things she can't seem to resist. We have a snowman pillow that she loves to pull off the back of the couch and play with. Her absolute favorite decoration is a strand of penguin lights that play "Jingle Bells". When they are finished playing she points at them and laughs like she just saw the funniest thing in the world and needs them to play again right away. I think we play them at least 20 times a day! Kind of wonder what she will think when we put them away...

Watching the Jingle Bell lights

My mom took Ellison to meet Santa last week. I love her picture with him! I was a little nervous that she would cry and make a big fuss (she has a bit of stranger anxiety right now), but she was such a good girl! I thought I would be extremely sad to not do things like that with her, but I am (finally) starting to let it sink in that as much as I wish I could be, I can't be with her every minute. I still find it really hard being a working mom, especially working 12 hour night shifts. I guess I thought it would get easier! I feel guilty about needing to sleep during the day after working three or four nights in a row, but after being back at work for over 7 months I am finally letting myself take some extra time for rest. I actually asked my mom to take Ellison for a few extra hours in the past couple of weeks so I could get some sleep! I usually just nap when she naps when I get off a stretch at work. It makes for one tired mommy! I just committed to staying on nights for at least the next 2 years, so I guess I should get used to letting Ellison go for a few hours here and there so I can catch up on sleep.

 

Eating table food is going pretty well. Ells definitely has her favorites and will pick certain foods out first when there is a few different things on her tray. The main one she goes for first is cheese! She also really likes fruit (kiwi, pears, raspberries). We still have to give her a few tablespoons of rice cereal or oatmeal with most meals because she doesn't eat enough on her own most meals, and sometimes we still give her baby food fruits or veggies too. Meals definitely takes longer and are a lot messier than when she was just getting baby food! But it's really fun to watch her try new things and see what she will and won't like.

Ellison started crawling on her hands and knees in the past few days. She is still constantly on the go and trying to get into everything! She follows us everywhere and her current favorite hobbies include crawling up the stairs, pulling books off shelves, knocking down stacks of blocks (she does not tolerate things that are stacked on each other!), taking magnets off the refrigerator, and trying to climb into the dishwasher. She hasn't started opening cabinets or drawers yet, but baby-proofing those is on the to do list in the very near future!

Magnets are apparently really fun toys!

I am really getting excited to celebrate Ellison's first Christmas. We didn't do many "Christmas-y" things with her this year (like breakfast with Santa, look at lights at Candy Cane Lane, bake cookies, etc) because she is so little. Hopefully next year! Since it hasn't been real cold yet, it doesn't feel like Christmas at all to me. I am not ready for Christmas in just over a week, but I guess I can't stop it from coming! I am definitely looking forward to watching Ellison open her presents, play with her new toys, read her new books, and just enjoy being with her family! I think she is at a really good age for her first holiday season.

Next post will most likely be after the holidays. So many things to do before then...another post probably isn't in the cards! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

These bathtub pics made me laugh so I had to share!

Another fun toy...water bottles!

She does have actual toys...