Lots of New Things...

Ok, just a little note...I really messed this blog up. I wrote first since I didn't have all of the pictures needed for the blog. I thought I would be able to put the pictures in then copy and paste the body of the blog where I needed it. Well, it doesn't work that way. I thought I was able to do that before but I guess not. Anyway, you can see the pictures first then read about it afterward. Sorry! :(

Almost forgot...Ella's doctor update! We went in on Monday for Ella's 6 month check up. Everything looks great! She had a couple of shots which everyone hated! She did her hold her breath cry and her face turned all red, but she was fine a few minutes later. I hate seeing her like that but I know it is best for her. Well, her weight and height is right on track for her age. She is weighing in at 14 pounds and 15 ounces (50%) and is 26.75 inches tall (75%)! The doctor said she looks great and growing like she should now. She is on mostly formula so that has helped her gain some weight. He said that she should be about twice her birth weight now and tripled by the time she is one. She is still a little under but he said she would catch up when she gets more big girl food. Her developement is going great too! She is doing things at the begining of the milestone markers so we are happy the she is learning so fast! Way to go Ella!

She is sleeping so good in the stroller the big girl way!

Not so sure about the water yet!

Playing with some toys in the water! She has a cute red bandanna bikini on! Too Cute!

She is "flying" in the water!

There have been so many new things that Ella has discovered recently!

On her 6 month birthday she sat up on her own! We are so happy for her. She was playing with me on the floor and she decided that she wanted something, she reached for it and then just leaned away from me and stayed that way! She sometimes still leans a little too far to the side and falls over or gets too excited and jumps and falls backward but she is learning. Too cute! She is getting so big so fast!

The other thing that we have discovered is that she likes giving mommy kisses. She will just put her mouth(open) on my cheek and leave it there for a couple of seconds. At first I thought this was a fluke but then I asked her to give me a kiss and she did it again. It was so sweet since I just got home from running a couple of errands and daddy was there playing with her. I will always love those when I come home!!

For the past couple of weeks we have tried something new with the stroller. We are now putting her in there like a big girl without her car seat. She thinks it is really neat sitting that way. She just stares at everything and everyone until she gets tired then just falls asleep. It is so cute when I look down and she is holding the side of her seat while we stroll, just lounging and taking it all in!

We have also started getting the whole nap thing down. She takes about 3-4 naps a day depending how long they are. She certainly lets you know when she is ready for one! It really doesn't matter what time she gets up but her first nap is always about 9. She will fall asleep anywhere but prefers her bed. We have a routine every time she sleeps/naps...we go to her room and sit in the rocker, turn on her CD and read a couple of books, then we turn the mobile on as I lay her down. She will "talk" to her mobile for a few minutes before dozing off. Sometimes she still wants to know that I am there so she will cry until I go in and say it is ok then she just falls asleep without another peep after I leave.

This is one of my favorite things she has started doing. We will go to her closet and she will pick out what she wants to wear for the day! Well, I do help out a bit by picking out two for her to choose from. She chooses her outfit usually by pulling it to her mouth but at least I give her a choice.

We have also found out that she loves to swim! We were at my parents house last weekend and decided to try the pool out. At first we didn't know what to think so we started out slow. We put her feet in first and since she didn't cry we tried to put her lower in the water. Well, before we knew it she was all of the way in! We brought out some toys and then I thought I would try something. I got down in the water and held her like she was flying and went around the pool! She loved it! She wanted to kick and splash the whole time! It was the highlight of my weekend seeing her have so much fun!! Because she had so much fun we decided to buy a little blowup pool for her to splash and have fun in. We haven't tried it out yet but will soon!