7 months old!

Elizabeth,

You turned 7 months old today! While I have loved EVERY stage so far, where you are now is especially fun! You are starting to get mobile... Daddy and I are about to become very busy trying to keep up with you. Watching you learn and grow each day is by far the best 'job' I could ever have! I love being able to stay home with you. Daddy and I love you and are looking forward to this next month!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Weight: 15 lbs 6.5 oz (as of Oct. 24)

Length: 27 inches

Diaper size: Size 2

Teeth: While no teeth have broken through yet, I can definitely feel the two bottom teeth! I know I've been saying this forever, but I *think* they'll come in soon!

Clothes size: 6-9 months, 9 months!

Sleep: You go to sleep around 7. Most of the time you sleep until at least 3-4am. You're not really hungry at that time, but if you fuss and don't put yourself back to sleep, we change your diaper and give you a small bottle. You then sleep until anywhere between 7 and 8 (Mommy definitely likes the waking up closer to 8...). You take two naps a day, with your morning nap being 2-3 hours (normally 2 1/2) and your afternoon nap 1 1/2-2 hours long.

Favorite activities/things: Playing on the floor, looking at yourself in the mirror, jumping - it doesn't matter if it's in your jumper, exersaucer, or on someone's lap, you just LOVE to jump!! You love using Mommy and Daddy's hands to get from laying down, to sitting, to standing. It won't be long before you're pulling up on actual objects. You also love to scoot/roll to get where you want to go. You're not going forwards yet, but you love going backwards! GiggleBellies is another favorite of yours these days. This is how I can get you still enough and distracted to cut your nails.

Eating: You still take a bottle about every 4 hours during the day. We're having a bit of a harder time getting you to finish your bottles lately... You're just so ready to play that you'll decide you're done about halfway through your bottle and just play with the nipple until I put you down to play. You've also decreased how much milk you're drinking... It's now between 23-26 ounces. I try to get you to drink more, but you just don't want it. The beginning of the month you did GREAT with your solids (3 meals a day), but the past couple days you haven't wanted to eat anything.  I've found out that you're not a big fan of store bought baby food. You definitely turned your nose up to it this weekend... We got the ok to start table food at your 6 month appointment, so I'm planning on starting with sweet potatoes and carrots soon, since those seem to be your favorite food. 

Nicknames: Sweet Pea, Sweet Thing, Lizzie, Miss E, Baby Doll

Talking: You still love to talk! Often times you'll wake up in the middle of the night and talk yourself back to sleep. You're exploring new sounds, too! It's so exciting! You've definitely learned your "m" sound this month! I can't wait for you to start actually referring to me as "mama!!"

New adventures: You got to go to College Station this past weekend to see Uncle Dustin. You did so great while there, especially for missing both of your naps (you just took short cat naps). You also got to go to the church where Mommy and Daddy met, and where Mommy worked for a long time. You did great in the church nursery! You also got to meet one of Mommy and Daddy's friends and their son. You just smiled and smiled at Mrs. Susan! It's rare for you to give smiles when you first meet someone these days.

New Skills: You sat up on your own for the first time on October 24. I missed it the first time, but luckily you did it again (and I had the camera on me!). You're also rolling to get to where you want and scooting backwards. It won't be long before you realize how to use your arms to move you forward instead of backwards!

Enjoy some pictures!

Does this paper taste yummy?

YUCK! I don't like paper...

Playing with my monkey

Ready to chase those puppies!

Tutu cute...

Gammie and Pops (my parents) went up to OSU to visit my sister a couple of weeks ago. And where do you think they happened to make a pit stop? A baby store, of course! While there, Pops saw something that he really liked... an adorable tutu! So I put Elizabeth in it this morning and took some pictures! This is for you Pops! :)

Fun weekend!

This weekend we got to take Elizabeth to my all time favorite place... College Station! My brother, Dustin, is still in school at A&M and my parents were driving down to see him for the weekend. Alan and I drove up there Saturday morning and the guys went to the gun range while the girls went shopping. I got to eat at one of my all time favorite restaurants - DoubleDaves!! I'd been craving it lately, so I was very excited to get to eat the most delicious pizza ever. :)

We planned leaving for CS during Elizabeth's nap time, knowing that she probably wouldn't get much sleep that afternoon (she won't sleep if we're out and about - too much going on!). Well... that didn't go as planned. Alan and I were listening to a CD with someone speaking (as opposed to music), and Elizabeth just chatted the entire way. So, about 15 minutes before we got to Dustin's apartment, Alan turned the radio on. And wouldn't you know it... as soon as he switched, Elizabeth's eyelids began to droop and she was out in about 2 minutes. I guess she didn't think she could sleep with all the talking.

The three of us stayed the night so we could go to Central Baptist Church the next morning. Oh, how I've missed that church! I LOVE where we're at now, but there is just something about going back. I spent 6 years at that church, with 3 1/2 of those years working in various departments. It was like coming home! We got to see some friends and meet their (16 month old) son for the first time. I was so glad to catch up with them!

Of course, I don't have any pictures... I meant to bring my portable hard drive so I could get them off Dad's camera, but we know how that always goes. Oh well. I'll just have to get them in a couple of weeks! :)

So here are a few pictures I took during the week instead.

we love playing outside!

watching the puppies

all ready for bed

playtime with Daddy!

loving grabbing Daddy's face

where'd my pants go?

Stay tuned tomorrow for some adorable pictures... (unless I decide I can't make it that long...)

Sittin' up!

Today Elizabeth hit another milestone... I had put her on the ground so I could go grab some clothes from her closet. Well, when I came back, I looked at Elizabeth and quickly realized that something was different... She had gone from playing on her tummy to sitting up! And she looked sooo proud of herself! Miss E had been trying to do it over the weekend, and had even gotten pretty close, but I couldn't believe she actually decided to do it while I was in the OTHER ROOM! I quickly grabbed my camera and put her back on her tummy, but she didn't do it again... typical child. ;) So I took pictures while she was spinning around and trying to get back up.

Smiling for the camera!

What are you doing?

Later this afternoon, I put her down on the ground and stayed behind her with my camera (thinking maybe she was camera shy). Lo and behold... she sat up again! It was the cutest thing ever! ::Sigh:: My baby girl is growing up way to fast!

Starting out by facing Mommy...

Then I started to turn...

...and sit up...

What do I do next?

Almost there...

So proud!

I fell down!

Goofy Girl

So today I was eating a Gogurt as a snack. I noticed Elizabeth staring intently at me while I was eating it, so when I finished, I started blowing air into it. This made Miss E go crazy! She was laughing so hard! So I grabbed my camera and videoed it. I got better footage off my iPhone (but it was also earlier in the day), but still got a great reaction with my other camera. Enjoy!

Beautiful weather!

Yesterday we had some beautiful, although quite chilly weather. Elizabeth and I went outside to enjoy the sun, but ended up not able to stay outside long. The wind was way too gusty, and it made it feel even colder outside. I took some pictures, though. And I need some tips... Most of the time I take my pictures in Av mode, but the coloring was WAY off on them. As soon as I changed my setting to auto, it was back to normal. I guess I need to read my manual...

in Av mode...

in auto...

LOVE!

Silly girl

Loving the wind in her face!

Pumpkin Patch... Take Two

On Saturday, we went to another pumpkin patch with some friends whose daughter is 3 months younger than Elizabeth. It wasn't exactly what I had expected, but we still managed to get some decent pictures. Don't tell Alan, but we're going to have to find another one so I can get some pictures of him and Elizabeth... ;)