9 months

NINE months...can you believe it?  I sure can't!  We scheduled her 1 year doctors appointment yesterday.  I wanted to cry!

So what has our big girl been up to?  Well, I have yet to mention on here that she is crawling up a storm!  She is everywhere and into everything.  We definitely cannot take our eyes off of this big girl now!  She is pulling up on the coffee table and the hearth (brick...yikes!) in the living room.  We definitely have begun the baby proofing process!
She still has her 2 little bottom teeth and I think the top two are working on pushing through as well.  She is sleeping 12 hours a night...like a dream!  Still napping twice a day and taking 3-8ounce bottles with oatmeal, yogurt and baby food in between.  Dr. Amy also said I could start introducing table foods in to her diet if I wanted.  So far the only "real food"  she has had are mashed potatoes, bites of a roll or bread, shredded 2 % cheese and a few bites of a baked potato.  I am not going to rush in to this too much, I don't want to mess her little tummy up!  She still loves her puffs, yogurt melts and baby mum mum's.

She moved up to the "Babies 2" room in the nursery last week since she is mobile, and I think she is having a blast!  The nursery workers are so sweet and really love on the babies in there.  She even sat at the table and ate Cheerios!  I had never fed her Cheerios myself, so I was a little uneasy hearing they had fed them to her but it seemed to be okay.  After all, Cheerios were the original "Puffs"!  She is still in a Pampers Baby Dry size 3 (we are moving on to "Cruisers" soon) and still in 9 months clothes.  She seems to be growing out of her PJ's the fastest because of the length.  Our girl is TALL!  Here are the stats:

Weight:  21 lbs. 2 oz. (75%)

Length: 29 1/2 inches (95%)

Head:  441/2 cm (50%)

It seems that she is really tapering off in the growth department.  She consistently stayed in the 90-95% in all areas until this visit.  I am happy with the growth still, don't get me wrong!  

Ellie loves books!  She wants to "read them herself" most of the time, though!  We have been given 5 or 6 Halloween books and have been reading them daily.  I love that she's loving books!

We are now busy getting ready for a Baby Dedication and the holidays.  I am so excited.  And I know I still have 3 months, but there are all sorts of "visions of a first birthday party" dancing in my head!!!!

Fun fun fun

We had another fun filled weekend!

Friday started off with Ellie's first ever Halloween Costume party at her friend Elam's house!

 His parents did a great job at party planning--everything from wagon rides to story time and even a fun craft project!  We made bats out of their handprints!

All of the babies wore their costumes and had a great time playing and crawling all over the place.  Wes and Kim had everything set up so CUTE!

(and yes, that is Ellie in the background sitting in Elam's highchair.  That girl was HUNGRY!)

They even had little treat bags!  Each baby got a book and a personalized pumpkin burp cloth made by Mrs. Marilyn, Wes's mom.  She is the sweet lady that makes all of Ellie's adorable shirts and things!  She's so talented.

Saturday felt like a REAL family day.  Don was off since they played on Thursday night so we had him home all day!  We ran errands and got some things checked off of our list around the house.  Saturday night, Aunt B, Uncle E, Parker and Mammie came to babysit Ellie so Don and I could head to Memphis to celebrate my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary!

Here is Ellie playing with Parker.  I think they both had lots of fun together!

Are they not the cutest?  I just love this!

Wow...60 years!  I wonder what we will look like in 58 more?!?!?!?!?  I love my Granny and Grandonna so much.  They have been exceptional grandparents to us.  Always overly supportive in everything we do.  They also love Ellie (or "Lil Bit" as Granny calls her) to pieces.

My mom and Uncle had arranged a super nice dinner at Erling Jensen's...a fabulous place in East Memphis.  We all ate way too much and enjoyed a wonderful night together.

This was their beautiful cake.  It was to die for!!!

Sunday was church and then Don headed to work.  Ellie and I relaxed and did a little shopping but didn't stay out long because it is finally raining in West Tennessee!

Show Us Your Life...Children's Rooms

I decided to participate in Kelly's "Show Us Your Life" today because Ellie's room is my favorite room in our house.  It has changed a little bit since the last time I posted.  We have the humidifier set up and the lamp I made is in need of repair, so it is off of the dresser for now.  We spend lots of time at the changing table it seems like but I find myself dressing her on the floor more because she just won't sit still!

The crib is made by Delta and is the "Jayden" crib.  I had her bedding made from a store out of Mobile, AL called Polka Tot Designs.  They were wonderful to work with and I LOVE her bedding and everything else they have.  I will definitely be ordering from them again SOMEDAY;)  

The wall color I cannot remember but it is Valspar from Lowe's.  The pink on the backs of the shelves is made by Behr.  

We ordered her dresser from J.C. Penney and I love how it matches the crib color perfectly.  I am so glad I went with Antique White!  My mom and grandmother made the curtain valance and I love how it coordinates with the bedding fabric and our Moses Basket.  The rug is from Pottery Barn Kids.  The chandelier was in my  nursery as a baby and I love it in here.  It also adds a special sentimental touch.

I am so glad we had these shelves in her room.  We received so many picture frames, books and nick nacks that we would have never been able to display other wise.  

Here is her jam packed closet.  I am ashamed to be putting this up here but I'm just keeping it real!  It is a mess and I need to get back in there and re-organize again but I need a whole day to do so!  In here now are all of her 6 month to 2T clothes...HA!  Her dresser is also crammed full but I wouldn't dare show you that mess too!  I also keep extra formula, diapers, wipes, shoes, medicines, baby wash, lotions, etc. in the closet.

  I am glad these door shelves were here.  We have really used this extra storage!

Here is her changing table now.  Not so cute, but with this stuffy nose we run the humidifier all night!  I got the striped basket at Hobby Lobby and keep diapers, lotion, rash cream, powder and her brush in there.  We also have a wipe warmer back there that I didn't think I would need, but really like!  We opted out of a diaper genie and I haven't missed it one bit.  We just use plenty of Lysol and scented trash bags to keep her room from smelling like a dirty diaper!

I made this hair bow holder and we have another one that I won from Carmen's Custom Creations.

This is her growth chart given as a gift by some sweet friends. 

I love her room!  It was fun to put together and I hope she stays in this crib as long as possible!

Our weekend

I have an extremely busy week ahead (traveling a lot every day... plus a night time baby shower and another football game) so while Don is still working and Ellie is in bed, I thought I would get a quick post in!  We enjoyed a nice weekend at HOME!  I feel like we have been packing up every weekend for forever so it was nice to not have any plans and be at home.

I love this little birdie shirt we had  made.  Too bad by the time I went to take her picture she was covered in carrots!  Oh, and the cell phone is never far away from this baby!  She has to have a remote or phone in her hands at ALL times.

Don's team played Saturday and that was our only event scheduled for the entire weekend!  Ellie sported another new shirt made by Mrs. Marilyn for the occasion.  I think it turned out super cute!

Ellie did great once again and stayed in her smaller stroller almost the whole time!  I hesitated to buy another stroller but now I am SO glad we did.  It fit perfectly in between the bleachers so it worked out great.  She snacked, played, and slept some too.  She continues to amaze me at these football games.  I don't know why I always worry!

Sleepy head.  SO sweet!

Coach Pitt of course had to have a picture with his biggest fans;)

7 month pictures

Here are a few new professional pictures!  As always, you can go to Kristina Only's website, click on contact, current customers click here, children, and click on Ellie-7 months.  The password is our last name.  Or better yet, I put the link on my Facebook page!

Yes, the flower band is HUGE and over the top.  It's growing on me:)

Happy Fall

Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin.  

God lifts you up,  takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.  

He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff--  

including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc.   

Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for  

all the world to see.   

Happy Fall! 

Love, 

**I received this saying in an email from a VERY loyal blog reader:)  I thought it was too sweet not to share.

Hello!

Okay, I think I am FINALLY feeling back to normal again.  I know..it's Wednesday but this past weekend just wore me out!  Not to mention that October is an extremely busy month for me at work.  Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining.  I love my job and am grateful to have it.  It's just a balancing act that I am still working on juggling.

On to more important things...pictures!

Ellie has changed so much in the last week it seems.  She is seriously so close to crawling. She is pulling up on everything so Don lowered her crib because she was about to literally jump out of it the other night.

Don's mom gave her this pumpkin and she loves it!  It sings "Monster Mash" and dances.  It is so cute!  He also just gave me the okay to order a new "big girl" car seat for my car.  We registered for one and received it, but still need another one.  I have a brand in mind that I want and they just happen to not be very cheap (of course) but I really think it's time and that makes me very sad!  She is just growing way too fast.