9 Months and Counting

My squishy girl is 9 months. Unlike the month between 7 and 8 that seemed to last just shy of a year, this past month seems to have gone at normal speed. Also- I was late writing her 8 month post (late again), and I think that's also messing with my time comprehension. 

 I alluded to this in her last post, but she's officially crawling. She figured it out on Easter, and it was a very intentional, labored effort. About a week later, she had it down just fine. She spends a lot of time in the family room, blocked in, and she's usually pretty content exploring that area. She does like to escape when she can, and she quickly heads for the office or the toy room to see what she's missing out on. 

Elliana has become quite the tricky baby to feed. Just as we were hitting our strides with the baby food, she started discovering she likes to feed herself. I really want to take advantage of this desire of hers and switch her to table food. But all of her allergies have really made this process challenging. Also- she still has no teeth. I make her pancakes and muffins that I keep in the freezer. Other foods she has liked in bite size portions are kidney beans, watermelon, pasta, peas, cooked carrots and zucchini, bell pepper, and toast. Which, that may sound like a lot, but on any given day, she could reject any and all of those. 

Elliana got to go to the lake for the weekend. This was our first time being around people, really. My parents were there, and she actually did so well with them. She was a little slower to warm up to my dad, but she's always been very nervous about men other than her Daddy. She loved their dog, Jax. It was a great weekend, too quick, and it gave us hope that maybe she will adjust to being around family members quicker than we thought.

At her 9 month check-up, she was 28 inches long and just about 18 pounds. Long and lean. She's around the 75 percentile for height, and she's somewhere in the 40s for weight. She's still nursing 4 times a day, and I'm so ready to be done. 3 more months. We're going to make it!

This girl- she's such a delight. Every morning I start my quiet time with listing a few things I'm grateful for, and just about every morning I want to write Elliana. I love having her in our family, and I love how much the boys adore her. It's hard to imagine these days without her precious little self. In such a bizarre world we're living in right now, and Elliana makes ours so much brighter. 

To My 5 Year Boy

Oh Isaac,

I have caught myself several times just staring at you over the last several days. It seems obvious to me that you are changing, but I keep watching with great intention to see if I can catch the changes happening. You are really leaving behind those toddler days and ways, and now you are a big five year old. You hung on to your sweetness and toddler-ness in (mostly) good ways, and I see the bigger boy you are becoming. 

Isaac, you are a joy. You are full of laughter and silliness. You adore your baby sister, and you idolize your older brother. You have a tenderness that extends to those beyond your inner circle, whom you are fiercely loyal to. I hope I never forget (totally will) when you cried at a documentary showing a baby elephant's mom dying, leaving the baby elephant to go on in life without its Mama. It was too sad for you to watch. You came to sit with me and asked, "Is this real?" I often have to remind myself that you might possibly feel more strongly than the other boy we are parenting. 

Buddy, you can be a wrecking ball of affection, literally knocking us over with your hugs and love tackles. I have to ready myself when you come running towards me, so I can withstand your impact. I love that about you. You love hard. Literally. We still have to keep such a close eye on you with Elliana because we know that your strong love for her often leads to you squeezing her while uttering, "I just love her so much!" 

Four year old you would still choose to slip your hand in mine when we walked or hiked or just crossed the street. I don't know if five year old you will still do that. You exclaim several times a day, "Mommy, I love you!" And I try to pay attention, when I can, because I'm pretty sure teenage boys don't do this. As I said, I can already see that you are changing right in front of me. You are growing, moving towards wild boyhood. I'm confident I will love the boy you morph into, but Isaac, I have loved every bit of who you are as my little guy. My kitchen companion. My sidekick. My hair holding, thumb sucking, little boy. 

I love you, Isaac Dean. I love you, I like you, I enjoy you, and I'm proud of you.

Happy Birthday, big 5 year old! 
You are a gift!

Love,
Mommy