First of all, Ellie goes through phases where she does one main thing with her mouth. And it can change daily. For instance, when we went to my parents, all she wanted to do was her buzzing, and then the day we played with Patches it was rubbing her tongue with her index finger. Later in Preston she just wanted to do this grunt/yell, and then she hit a screaming phase about the time we came home. She also, at random points in time, has done a motor boat sound with her lips, gurgled for a day at a time, had one of her puppy dog whimpering days, and made tons of other funny noises. Ok, they're not all funny. The yelling and screaming has us at our wits end.
The tongue rubbing from Grandma and Grandpa Rose's.
Oh, and on a side note, blowing at Ellie used to bug her because she hated the wind, so when she screamed to get her way, we would blow on her and she'd stop. Well, the joys of living in the Tri-Cities area is that it is always windy, so the girl has adjusted. Lately when we blow on her, she just gives us a cheeky smile. At least she still stops screaming, even if it's only to laugh at her parents and their pathetic attempt to control her.
Another reason we are currently at our wits end - sleep! It's like we have a new-born again these last few nights. We got home Monday and she slept straight through the night. And hasn't slept more than a few hours since. She's been sleeping on her side, and moving around so much in the crib, that every few hours she ends up upset and on her stomach crying like she's stuck there, or literally stuck in a corner of the crib. Awesome. Anybody know how to tie a 7 month old in one spot while she sleeps? The only positive is she doesn't need to eat at night, so I get up every few hours, reposition her, give her the wubbanub, and go back to sleep.
We think part of this may be teething. We're hoping it goes away FAST.
More fun things about Ellie. I mentioned before she started sitting on her own for a minute or two before break. Well, today she sat and played and we watched Muppet Treasure Island during lunch and she sat on her own for at least 20 minutes without a single topple. She's gotten so much better at it so quickly! Here's a picture from today.
She also still loves to stand, but she slowly walks backward when she is standing. She can go forward in her walker now though, and walked all the way across the kitchen at Grandma and Grandpa Bennett's, although she hasn't done it while I've been around of course...
Feet are also a good gauge of Ellie's excitement level. She kicks like crazy in general, but especially when she is happy or excited! Granted she's a much tougher crowd these days to make laugh, but when she gets really excited those feet just go!
She also loves her books more and more. She developed a new skill at Grandma and Grandpa Bennett's which is that she can pivot around on her stomach using her arms to push off the floor. And we discovered this new ability - while she was trying to get to her books on the floor. She can be so very upset and yet a book completely calms and hypnotizes her. As a result, we now read a book before each nap too so she can enjoy them more often.
Ellie also likes people. She smiles at anyone who will come talk to her, and likes to watch people while we're grocery shopping or out and about.
Ok, I'm sure that I have forgotten some things as Ellie does fun things and makes me laugh every day. Maybe one day I'll actually journal so I can remember it all. But in the meantime, you all get to enjoy my feeble attempts to capture how amazing our little girl truly is.
Ellie looks so grown up in that second picture. What a cutie!
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