photo taken by the beautiful, talented Irene!
Weight: 18.2 pounds, 7th percentile
Height: 29.3 inches, 25th percentile
(You may have seen the post I made a few weeks ago saying she was in the 3rd percentile for height...well, she was in the 3rd percentile according to the World Health Organization chart...I guess there are different charts some doctors use!)
Ella Grace's growth chart:
Updates:
Though she is little, she sure has a healthy appetite! The only explanation for her not being just as chubby as J that I can think of is that she sweats like mad, and since this appetite has really taken off, she has LOTS of dirty diapers...ha! She eats anything and everything. She will down pretty much anything she can feed to herself without hesitation. She loves: pickles, tomatoes, black beans, corn, cheerios, peas, carrots, lima beans, meatballs, bread, grapes, blueberries, apples, oranges, pears, strawberries, (I bought raspberries last week and neither of my kids really loved them, actually), bananas, she's acquiring more and more of a taste for yogurt, rice, noodles, oatmeal, cheese, I could go on and on here...she also now has really started to down milk (ie: not mommy's milk) like it's nobody's business!
The day after her birthday was the first day she folded her arms for family prayer! It was so sweet! And today during the blessing on the bread (sacrament), she folded her arms and looked up at me and saw I was bowing my head (yes, I was peeking!) and she bowed her head too! She did it again for the blessing on the water...so cute!
She just loves when you make animal sounds, especially the kitty cat and puppy dog sounds...those make her giggle for sure!
Ella Grace added lots of her words to her vocabulary as she neared her birthday! Lately the "B" sounds is her favorite. Here are the words in her repertoire so far:
ball, brother ("bra-bah"), Gigi, Pop Pop, Mama, Dada, balloon ("bubble"), book, bird, baby, bow, duck, duckie, quack quack (her own version;), I know there's more...I can't think! I typed a list in a text and now that text is gone:( I'll add more!
She sure can get into talkative little moods though! I love it when she does:)
This girl loves to be on the go! Her favorite thing is to climb the stairs, and of course to go back down (which she is quite talented at, I must say!). At Grandmommy and Pop Pop's house, she was headed down the stairs (with Pop Pop right next to her) while holding a toy. She got to the break in the stairs where it gets a little tricky for her to continue. Pop Pop said he recognized her thinking and that she realized she couldn't get down the next step while holding onto the toy. So she thought for a second, then used her independent little critical thinking mind;) and dropped the toy on the next step down, then got herself down, picked up her toy, and kept on going. Instead of calling out for help, she did it herself. That was pretty smart! She loves playing at the park and will climb like crazy trying to keep up with her brother!
She loves to do peekaboo! When we are reading "Baby Cakes" there's a page that says "hide from little baby cakes, peekaboo!" and when we turn to that page she immediately puts her hands over head and then thrusts them forward in her attempt to do peekaboo...she is delighted with herself when she does this! ;D Also right when we turn to the page "bouncy bouncy baby cakes on my lap. Yay for little baby cakes, clap, clap, clap!" she starts clapping! She knows what's coming and she just can't contain her excitement for it!
She absolutely loves music and she loves to dance! I love watching her eyes light up when music turns on, and I love to see her move her little body to the beat!
She is so cute because she knows just what to do with a brush and a bow, and tries to brush her hair all by herself and also to put her bow in. :)
Month recap:
We started out her month by taking Julian to his first day of school! Ella Grace and I had a wonderful time just being together. It was so eye-opening for me to have that time with her on his first day. We just went to the grocery store, but I realized myself connecting with her the way I did with Julian as a baby on a daily basis...narrating every step as I held her and whispered to her everything we were seeing and doing. With two children, that is not often possible anymore (especially when one of the two children is just as inquisitive as can be and has lots of conversations with and questions for Mommy:). In those moments, she was my entire focus and my entire world...there was nothing and no one distracting me from giving her my full attention. She was absolutely delighted.
With two children two and under, shopping at Publix often feels more like survival of the fittest than "a pleasure." But that morning was such a sweet memory in my life, and helped me remember to try a little harder not to take the little moments with my babies for granted.
The Saturday following Julian's first week of school, we went to Tallahassee to celebrate my niece's tenth birthday! Here are all of Caroline's cousins (except baby Ahna) ready to party! (Ella Grace appears to be in pre-sneeze mode...)
I love how she sits in these baby swings sometimes: criss-cross applesauce!
The next weekend, we went to Crescent Beach for Labor Day weekend with Stace's family. Am I wrong when I say there are very few more beautiful sights than seeing your parents/ in-laws/ siblings interact with and love your babies? No, no I'm not. Here is Pop Pop showing Ella Grace the moon:
One afternoon while there I went to get her from her nap, and saw she had a major mohawk going on...it was quite cute!
adorable baby girl.
On the way to the pool...on a BRIGHT sunny day!
Baby girl is not walking yet, but she'd likely medal in a fastest crawling contest!
Here is Ella Grace doing what she loves best, with her favorite toy tempting her in the background!
She really loves lift-the-flap books! She has an affinity for Karen Katz, and many other authors, too:) Every day when I go to get her from her crib, the very first thing she says is "book!" as she stares intently at her nightstand covered with books. So it has now become our routine to not only read before sleeping, but directly upon waking up, too!
She loves to play with brother during bath time! He likes to splash water all over the place, and she likes to splash in the newly formed puddles on the floor. He also likes to give his baby kisses!
sweet siblings:)
baby kisses.
Baby talkin!
Getting soaked:)
Cute kiddos after bath time:
Having the time of her life! She loves to push the lion's nose and dance to its music!
This is her "OH NO!!!!! DISASTER!" face she made when she ran into the wall (roadblock)...
This girl is SO playful and SO energetic and full of enthusiasm! I think she'll be passionate like her brother. Ha! Where'd they get that from? ;)
She's always had a lot of hair for her age, but I think it grew a couple inches in this last month alone! I also love that it has some curl to it. It's starting to get in her eyes like crazy so the bow is no longer used merely to keep her clothed;), but is actually a real necessity!
One Saturday we called up the Savages to see if they wanted to come swim with us. Trent was studying but Amelia brought her kiddos over with some lunch! Since she was already out, I told her TJ and Ayla could just borrow swimsuits- and don't they all look so cute!? :)
Ella Grace in heaven:
For her first birthday, Ella Grace got a baby doll from Grandmommy and Pop Pop (and also her first Disney princess baby doll for the Glenns!)...finally this child will have something to play with besides her brother's cars and trains;) The morning after she opened her baby doll present, Stace snapped some photos of her on his phone snuggling with her new toy:
Those eyelashes...
Another baby doll picture:
Chowing down/ photo shoot:
practicing her ballet moves:
I caught her sitting like this last week and thought it was just so cute! Look at those little feetsies!
Uh-oh...she found Mommy's credit card, and she may want to call the number on the screen...
Last week...snacking and sporting a size 6-9 month outfit:
Love this profile...
Look at those sweet little lips!
Less than one hour.
One.
Just one week after her birth, we were struck again with worry when the nurse called and told me Ella Grace needed more bloodwork because her newborn screen came back irregular. It showed that her chances of having an extremely rare disease called PKU were likely, and her TSH levels were high, indicating hypothyroidism. The worst part is that they called on a Friday afternoon! ACK! Note to nurses: please don't ever do that to a new mom! (Again, with the hormones flying all over the place!!) I sat there with Google that weekend reading about all the things that could go wrong...mental retardation being something that could happen with both of the diseases. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness...I couldn't believe what was happening. Stace and his dad both gave her the most beautiful blessings, and again, I held onto those words as I took her to each blood draw and heard her heart-breaking screams as they squeezed her little foot for more blood for an agonizing amount of time.
These photos were taken right after getting her blood redrawn for the first time. I was a wreck.
Then! Her new pediatrician heard a click in her hips, and we were off to pediatric orthopedist appointments in both Jacksonville and Gainesville, trying to find out if sweet baby girl had developmental hip displaysia and would be wearing a harness for years to come. After several ultrasounds and visits to both radiologists and orthopedists, the doctors' conclusion was that the problem had fixed itself. We have an x-ray to do this week, and will do them each year until she is five, but all in all, the worry is gone! How grateful I am!How grateful I am that all were false alarms. But I do believe that all these experiences helped me to internalize a little bit more fully one important thing: it is such a blessing to have a healthy child. Several months after she was born, I found out in a ward council meeting that a sweet ("sweet" really does not do her justice...she is amazing) friend of mine's new baby had spina bifida. I stared down at my sleeping baby girl, after just receiving news that she was fully healthy, and just cried. I could not stop the tears, even while in that meeting. My heart ached for my friend who I know was experiencing a heart ache I could not comprehend, and for that little baby, and again, I was reminded...what a blessing it is to have a healthy child.
I love this sweet baby girl so much, and I am so grateful she is mine. I am so honored and humbled that Heavenly Father entrusted both she and her brother to Stace and I's care. Sometimes I am overwhelmed in feeling so far from being equal to the task of raising these precious children, but I am comforted to know that He believes in me. He sent them to me for a reason, even when the doctors told me it wasn't going to happen, and knows that with His help I can do it. And His opinion is the only one that matters. So quiet down, self!
They are mine, but truly, they are His. I am so grateful to be their mommy. How I love these sweet, and sometimes challenging, babies!
Happy birthday, to my beautiful, sweet Ella Gracie girl!
