Happy 9 Month Birthday, Elise!

As we celebrate Elise's 9-month birthday, she...

• Is 15 pounds, 4 ounces and 26-1/4 inches.
• Still wears size 2 diapers.
• Wears mostly 6-month clothes, but the pants are all still big in the waist.
• Loves to listen to music and dance with mommy and daddy.  (A favorite pastime in our family since we got rid of our television a few weeks ago.)
• Sometimes sings with me.  When I take showers, she sits in her bouncy seat in the bathroom.  By the end of the shower, she's usually ready to see me again and crying  For a couple of days, I was able to stave off her crying by singing a song my mom wrote for me when I was a baby (replacing "Em-a-lee" with "El-ee Laine").  The best part of this was that she would start making these cute singing sounds that she didn't normally make.
• Is learning how to give kisses.  She's most consistent with giving herself kisses in the mirror.  She rests her nose on the mirror, reaches her mouth forward so that it touches the mirror and then licks.  And lately she's also giving kisses to mommy and daddy, but only when she feels like it.
• Rolls all over the place.  She's getting really good at both rolling and scooting and really got the hang of things while at my parents' house since they have carpet in almost every room as opposed to our entirely hardwood, vinyl and tile flooring.  She has, however, gone for Coco's toys when they have been near.  And succeeded a couple of times - gross!
  
• Can sit but doesn't like to.  I talked to the pediatrician about it because she clearly has the capability to sit and does so quite well on our laps (including leaning forward to where we aren't supporting her.  Her reflux just seems to bother her when she sits by herself.  The pediatrician wasn't concerned at all because she could tell by how well Ellie is moving around and by the fact that she holds her legs in the air (and chews on her toes) for long periods of time that she definitely has the back and abdominal muscles she needs.  The pediatrician said she'll probably just end up being a stander rather than a sitter.
  
• Has two teeth, bottom center.  One is about 1/3 of the way out and the other one is still just peeking through.  She hasn't been overly drooly but does like to share her spit with the world from time to time.  She's also not overly fussy, which is nice for us.
• Is getting bored with all of her toys.  But Christmas is coming, and we're also going to go to Anthony's house soon so she can check out what he has to help mommy and daddy know what to get her.
• Is now sticking out her tongue and making what Kit calls the "PBBBLLPPP" sound at us.  It cracks us up, and we'll go back and forth blowing small amounts of spit on each other as we blow air out of our mouths with our tongues in the way.  We got a couple of cute videos last night so I'll try to remember to post them in the near future.
• Is getting better at eating baby food but doesn't like to eat a large volume at this point.  She's getting all the nutrition she needs from her bottles so we're just feeding her baby food for the experience anyway.  She's also been trying banana in one of those mesh teethers you can put fresh or frozen fruit in.  She makes a mess but enjoy smacking on the banana.
  
 

"This sippy cup thing is pretty cool."

 

 "If I could just get it in my mouth."

 

 Enjoying peas (I believe).

 

 

 

 I've never seen her do this before, but this is definitely "the look" feared by men everywhere when given by women.

 

 

"There we go.  I love this cup!"

 

Eating squash for the first time.

 

She loves to feed herself.

 

 

 

 

 "Aw yeah.  I am the coolest."

 

What she does with her socks in the car.

 

 Showing off her cute new sweatsuit from Susan, Anthony's mom.

 

My favorite smiles of her include these squinted eyes.

 

 

 

 Getting ready to go to grandpa and grandma's for Thanksgiving.

 

Enjoying some tummy time at grandpa and grandma's.

 

 

Her first good look at the (undecorated) Christmas tree.  More Christmas decor photos to come.

 

 Enjoying bananas for the first time.

 

 

Showing off her cool banana sticker.  When I was little, I would always put banana and apple stickers on my hand.  My mom had saved Ellie some when we visited for Thanksgiving, but we never remembered to put them on.  So in honor of her first banana, I took the sticker off of the very banana she ate from and snapped a couple of photos.

 

 

 How Ellie felt about the Beavers (Oregon State) loosing the Civil War game.  But shh...don't tell granddad.