Eleven Exciting Months with Eloise Marie

Eleven months old. I know lots of people say it, but I now fully understand it: where does the time go? Days seem to slip by even faster now, when I used to wish them away for a better one, one where I was a wife and a momma. But now there isn't enough hours, or so it seems. Our little girl will be one in a month, and that makes this momma a bit teary-eyed. I often just stare at her and wonder how such a beautiful little person can exist. There are days when I feel crazy, and like I am not doing anything right, but then she smiles at me as a little reward for all the hard work this parenting thing is. Love this little girl, and I look forward to each day with her.

11 Months Old! 

Weight: 19 lbs. 

Length: 30 inches

1. Eating? What a big girl! She's still eating in her high chair and feeding herself, which can be a good and bad thing, since she is starting to express her opinions on some food items, mostly by throwing them on the floor. Oh dear...But she eats a lot of different things now: loves fruit (bananas the most), cereal, and anything bread, and tolerates peas and carrots, but isn't too keen on any other veggies as of yet. But that sounds like her parents. :) We'll just keep trying with her! And we're still nursing, which she now performs many feats of "gymnurstics"

2. Sleeping? She has now been found standing several times, with her swaddle still on, sometimes crying, sometimes talking, and sometimes laughing. So her crib had to be lowered again! She's a great night-time sleeper, thankfully, and usually takes a nap in the afternoon for a few hours, and sometimes in the early evening too. I am thankful for a little time to myself, and time to talk to Chris when he gets home, while we start dinner. 

3. Milestones?

This girl of ours seems to be learning something new each day! Even as I write this, I am thinking that I am surely forgetting something. She learned how to blow kisses, with the help of Memaw, only after a few tries! We were amazed and delighted of course. She's also mimicked other actions like talking on her little cell phone and stretching, like I do after I exercise. We better watch we do since there are little eyes watching now too!

She can now sport a tiny alfalfa pony-tail!

Loves looking out the window like her sister-dog, Lucy.

We're not so excited (well maybe a little) about all the moving she's now doing. She's learned how to get down from pulling up, started cruising around the furniture, and crawling A LOT and REALLY fast. Oh my! 

 She loves her new trick: pulling up AND getting down!

Makes it tricky to keep in her one place and out of things now...Haha!

Waving at her sweet Grandma Re and Apu Pinang, both angels in Heaven.

Books are some of her favorites now, and she's been imitating how we bob our heads to the words, which we didn't even realize until she began doing it! Clapping and lots of dancing are bigs parts of her newly learned repertoire too. And she's tried out both the swing and slide at the park, preferring the swing by a long shot. 

The past few months, she's really picked up on making noises, especially if we're talking or the TV is on, and now she is imitating sounds much more too. She finally said "Momma!" after weeks of saying "Dadda", but to our surprise, only when she's upset about something. There's been a few "Ba!", which I think is banana, and many "Ha!"s, for "Hi!", and even a couple "Ha Ca!", which we're thinking is for "Hi Cash!", since I say that about 30 times a day to the little guy we babysit. On top of all that, she imitates so many other sounds, like laughing, coughing, yelling, saying "Ahhh!", and so much more. She cracks us up everyday with her faces, her sounds, and her little actions!

4. Activities and adventures?

Eloise's month started with two snow days, and ended with two as well! How unusual to have snow days in December, January, February, and March this year! It was a fun excuse to relax, build a fire, and stay inside.

Snuggling in our bed on a chilly, wintry morning! Brrrr!

Love these beautiful icicles, though I'm ready for warmer weather!

We had a busy month celebrating many birthdays and babies! We went to lunch with our friend group, and their little girls, to welcome Baby Caroline Couch into the world. It was nice to get together with her momma and big sister, Devin and Addie.

That same day, we also threw a surprise Hogwarts 30th birthday party for our good friend Joellen. It was so much fun getting together with Joellen's mom, Diann, Jennie, and Maggie to plan a party for such a great friend. She was shocked and impressed with all our handiwork in the form of food and decor, and we even had a photo booth. We loved doing it and she loved the surprise too!

So much delicious and fun Harry Potter themed food!

Sorting hat made by Jennie and wands made by me!

Joellen and her cute momma, Diann!

There were many important birthdays this month, especially three right in a row in our family! We celebrated Hazel, Jacob, and Papa's birthday on Hazel's actual birthday with the whole family. They each had their own cakes that complimented each of their likes, and Jennie made an awesome Thunder themed one for Dad! The evening brought us many laughs watching the kiddos play with their new toys, and watching Eloise discover what was going on too. The following weekend we went to Hazel and Jacob's kid-friendly party at Jump Zone in Yukon. Ellie had her first experience in a bounce house but wasn't too sure about it. Jennie made cakes for each of the kids, which were AMAZING, and they ended the party with a special announcement...The Harris Family will grow by one in August! YAY! We are so excited to add another cousin to our family, and we can't wait to find out what it will be!

My sister is so talented! Excited for her to make Ellie's first birthday cake!

Hazel is saying, "This is my cousin, Eloise." :) So sweet.

Congrats Jen & Scott on baby #3! 

This past month also brought Eloise's very first Valentine's Day. Both my Mom and Dad gave little treats on this holiday, so we had to get her her very own Ellie sized bear (since she was loving on ours from when we were little quite a bit), a Biscuit the Dog book, and a little felt owl bag. Valentine's Day fell on a Friday, so after lunch at Norman High with Cash and his momma, Chris came home early and had a fun evening with our little family. We had planned to just stay home, but instead we went out and about, to the mall and then to a delicious dinner at our favorite, Chuy's. It was such a simple and fun night together. Later on that weekend Chris and I had a romantic night out (Oooo La La!) to the Melting Pot and to see Beauty & the Beast at the Civic Center. We love our girl and our time with her, but it's always nice to get out by ourselves and feel like real adults again. We both even showered! Haha!

Ellie's first Valentine, Cash William Lewis!

So much fun! Love our time together.

Despite the snow and ice, we have had a few days of warmer weather that we've made sure to take advantage of by heading out to the park. It's an adventure with two babies, but the two big kiddos are very helpful to me! Joellen and I have started training for our 5K Color Run coming up soon, so we've enjoyed the evening weather too. 

More babies are being born to Tiger mommas, so we made sure to celebrate them this month too. We attended a shower a Roxanne's for Baby Klingensmith, helped host a shower for Mr. Jackson Hoggatt. Our shower was a ball themed party that we've dreamt of having for several years now, where all the food is shaped like balls! And how perfect for a little boy's baby shower...Haha! It is so fun to share these first time motherhood experiences with so many incredible women. I am loving this season in our lives. 

A few more adventures with momma friends were to see "Frozen" at the Warren with the Harris and Buller Family, and of course, our Mimi. We had to leave early, but it was so much fun to see it again, and both babies did great! We ventured out to the Science Museum with the some lovely ladies, Danielle, Mckenzie, Clara, and Joyce this month too. I'm not sure if the babies knew where we were or what we were doing, but it was good for me to get out with them, even if I was pooped by the end of the day. :)

In addition to all the family birthdays this month, we had several in our friend group to celebrate: Lacy, Lindsey, and Adam. We went to Kaiser's, a small local diner type place with handmade shakes, burgers, and fries. It was DELICIOUS and so fun because we had the whole place to ourselves. Then we went over to Loan's beautiful home for more desserts and game night fun.

Last but most definitely not least, our Lucy-dog turned four this month! It actually fell on Ellie's 11-month birthday, so there was much to be grateful for on that day. Though Lucy has taken second place, she is still a very important part of our everyday lives. Watching her and Ellie together warms our hearts, knowing they'll be best buddies very soon.

Happy Birthday Lucy-Dog!

5. Favorite baby item? Books and boxes. Sounds odd for the second one, but for anyone who's a parent, they know that kids love boxes. Or really anything that's not a toy. Hah! She's had fun over the past week or so playing in a box, and even standing up and sitting down playing peek-a-boo. And now she really loves books! The tiny ones seem to be her favorite, and she loves helping turn the pages. She's even bobbed her head along to us reading to her, just like we do. Like I said, she imitates everything! And we don't even know we're doing it sometimes until she does it too. What a ham!

6. Favorite moment this past month? Hmmmm... So many little moments here and there again. Seeing her learn to crawl REALLY fast, watching her "discover" our house, tiny wrist waves at pictures of family she has met and those she will only meet in Heaven, the excitement in her eyes when her Dadda comes home, her smiles at every turn, and her sweet voice just almost saying "Hi!" to us. The simple, everyday moments with her are the best.

7. Looking forward to this next month? Her FIRST BIRTHDAY!!! Well, maybe I'm 100% excited about it, because she's not my tiny baby anymore! But I am excited to celebrate with her at her "Up!" themed party. It's going to be a fun month for sure, with a nice Spring Break to do some fun things too. 

8. Visitors?: No new ones still, but time with friends and family is something that is very important to us, and that we try to do every week. It's less now with a baby, but those that have supported us, loved on us, and just been there for us and Ellie are still so important in our lives. And if you're reading this, you are probably one of them...Thank you and we love you!

9. One thing I've learned:

I've learned my limitations and when to ask for help. And by knowing these limitations and needing a break sometimes, I learned that it doesn't make me a bad mom. Mommy-guilt is so much bigger than I thought; before Ellie I had no idea I would feel any of it! But I am getting better at it, though it still exists, and remind myself that I am a better mom when I get breaks and ask for help. This may be close to what I've learned these past few months, but it's part of the continuos learning process that I am thankful to be a part of!

10. My message to Ellie:

Gorgeous girl...You are almost ONE! WOW! Your little personality has been shining through more and more this month, and we have found that you are quite hilarious. Your head bobs to music and books as we read them, you make silly faces while you eat, and you've learned to clap your hands too. Everyday you seem to learn something new and imitate us in a new way too. Our love grow for you each day, just when we think we can't love you any more than we already do. We're excited to share more firsts and memories with you in this last month of your first year! We are so grateful to be your parents!

Here are a few more of our favorites from this past month:

They love each other!

 Sister-Dog & Cat-Brother... She loves them!

Learning to read books, or just turn the pages. :)

Sweet sleeping babes.

My childhood favorite might be one of Ellie's too!

Our Mimi!

I think she's ready to go to Disney...Anyone?!? ;)

Those eyes...

Love this face!

She really likes her cookies...

And Lucy hopes she'll drop some!

Oh what joy you bring to our everyday!!!