2 Months of Parenthood

Well, last week Ellie turned 2 months old. I didn't post anything because her 2 month check-up was this last Monday. Our pediatrician said that Ellie was really healthy and her only warning was that Ellie is getting a little flatter on the right side of her head. She can look wherever, yet for some reason she prefers to look over her right shoulder... Oh well. The doctor also told me that Ellie can't be left unattended on a couch or anything anymore because she's too good a kicker, and that girl really does love to kick! And stand and jump when she's on my lap... Boy how she has grown! At her appointment Ellie weighed exactly 12 lbs and was measured at about 22.5 inches long. I say about because I maintain she's longer than that... She was really grumpy about being measured and the nurse gave up and read the measurement while Ellie's leg was still slightly bent. I know, I'm just being a mom, but she really is longer than that! As proof, here is Ellie next to our friend's 5 month old. They're almost the same size! Ok, well at least nearly the same length... Tess is way heavier and more able obviously. It was cute how she kept trying to hold (and occasionally eat) Ellie's hand. I can't believe they're so close in length!In fact, Ellie is wearing very few 0-3 month clothes these days and is in all 3-6 month jammies. Here is a picture of the really CUTE jammies Grandma Kerry got her for her first Halloween.
Oh, and she still took her shots like a total stud - crying for only a few seconds and done! So much easier on Mommy and Daddy who feel bad about her hurting, even if we know it's the best thing for her.

Other developments: Ellie was sick and is still slightly fighting the last drainage and cough occasionally. So she's been a pain about tummy time, only throwing fits and hardly moving, but she can hold her whole head and chest up easily when she wants to. We hardly help her with her head, and mostly just to keep her from throwing it back to look at lights, ceilings, and pictures on the walls - easily her favorite things. She also plays more! Here is a picture of her playing with Aunt Julie while Julie was still here. She LOVED Aunt Julie! Back to her playing... Yesterday we were in Target starting to buy a few small things for Chirstmas and Steve blew Ellie's mind with a Jack-in-the-box. It was so funny! But we didn't buy it. And Ellie enjoyed Peek-a-Boo today for the first time! Also, a friend gave us this play mat and Ellie is starting to really like it. As a result, I think we're going to get another, bigger one with more toys for her.
Did I mention this girl still loves her sleep? And can still fall asleep anywhere at any time? During this little nap - I was vacuuming the room. Other places Ellie can fall asleep? Like I said, anywhere. She started sitting on the couch before I turned and saw her fall down - and go to sleep.Another example of her loving to sleep and loving Aunt Julie. One of her favorite places to sleep for a while was in Julie's lap.
She also loves - naked time! I laid her down all bundled up in blankets one day when she fell asleep after I'd stripped her down for a minute and fed her. I heard little noises and went in to check on her to find this. She is such an expert at kicking out of covers...
And perhaps her favorite naked time: bath time. This girl loves the warm water! And has even come to like lotion time after her baths each night. In fact, she cries for a minute each night when I take her out of the bath, and then when I lay her down to lotion her up she smiles and talks at me now. This is her loving the bath Aunt Kathy brought us during the baby blessing. Steve said no pornographic pictures, and I have to agree about posting them online, so I've started using the washcloth trick... Because she just makes the best faces when she's loving bath time!

And, just for kicks, a picture of how Ellie was dressed coming home from a football game last week. It got cold, so we left at half-time, especially where she still rasps at times, but she had on an outfit, her coat, then this thick sleeper, and her hat. This picture really shows how her cheeks have filled out! (Granted it's exaggerated by tight clothes and seat belt, but still...)Yup, Ellie is getting so big! And we're so proud of her as she learns to do things! For instance, we've started a bedtime routine and she's gone down at 9:00 after her routine 3 nights in a row! Maybe she doesn't stay down, but she does go down for at least a while! This is much preferred to last week when one night she didn't go to bed till 4:45 AM! And I was ready to post a free baby ad on craigslist - first come first serve. She's cute, so I figured I wouldn't have to wait long....

She's also putting herself to sleep after playing for a while. She's still afraid of the dark, so we bought a lamp for her room so that I can turn that on and go back to bed, and she'll do the rest herself! Once again, this is a huge improvement for me so that I don't have to stay up or sleep in the recliner in her room till she puts herself down, especially since she usually wakes up for a 2 hour stretch at some point in the night.

And, she's starting to stretch some of her sleeping periods to 4.5 to 5.5 hours. So awesome for Mommy and Daddy! And her last greatest achievement happened only an hour or so ago. She cried herself to sleep! This may sound silly, but anyone who has seen her so tired she can't or won't go to sleep knows that this kid is stubborn and has a temper! As a result, she would cry for a half hour or longer and even if she fell asleep, she'd wake up 1 minute later even more angry that nobody had come and gotten her before she passed out. But, part of her night time routine is that we're trying to teach her that after 9:00 PM it's crib/bed time. So, after she woke up tonight and had been fed and changed, I laid her there and let her cry. When I went in, she just stopped and smiled at me. No Ellie, this is not the time to manipulate Mama. So, after that she didn't get answered, and eventually she cried herself to sleep!

We're so proud of our little Munchkin! Ok, this is all probably way more info than any of you want, but.... This is my life, and I love it!