Nine Months of Eloise

My fearless Eloise,

This is really getting out of hand. I mean, I knew it was bound to happen considering I’ve been through it before, but do you really have to grow so quickly?? Surely you haven’t gone from my teeny newborn to a mobile baby in just a blink, but I suppose you have.

My prayer for you this month is that your life will be an example of nuance and duality. Right now, your personality is big but sweet; you are so independent but also love to snuggle; you are go-with-the-flow but also love a routine. The world right now would have you think that you have to pick sides; that if you support one thing, you have to hate the other. That’s just not true. You can be strong in your opinions and kind in your approach. You can fully support an idea but also have empathy and understanding for those on the other side.

Your brother and you will change the world!

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Growth:

We haven’t had an appointment this month, so I’m not sure how much you weigh or how long you are. You are wearing 6-12 month size clothes, 9 month jammies (which are too big), and size 3 diapers still. You aren’t quite as plump as your brother was at this age, but you are still deliciously squishy.

Crawling: you are so stinking fast! You can zip from one place to another and can scale whatever is in your way in record time. It’s so sweet to watch you just crawl to where you want to go, play with toys, and then move onto the next spot. Your brother has found your mobility frustrating because you really want to be where he is, but his toys are small or set up just for him. We’ve been trying to get creative with that situation.

You can also stand easily on your own with one hand on something, and a few times, you’ve walked a few steps while holding the zebra whom we call “Stripes.” Just in the last fe days have you started standing without holding onto anything. It's wild to see!

You can wave hello, say “hey,” “dada,” and a very jumbled version of “all done.” You clap in the cutest way I’ve ever seen and dance whenever you hear music. You give the best kisses, too!

Your personality and disposition are so sweet and so chill. You are definitely quick to be vocal about what you don’t like, but those are very few and far between.

Milk/Food:

Milk: We’re still going strong on frozen milk, though I get panicky as I watch the amount dwindle. We’ve been supplementing about 8 ounces a day with formula to keep you exposed to milk for allergy prevention, and since you do well with that, we’ll probably do a little more every day to make sure we can stretch my milk a little longer.

Food: So far, you’ve had 62 new foods. You are a champion eater, and we love having you at the table. Some of your favorites are black beans, blueberries, and chicken.

Sleeping:

Thankfully, there are no major updates here! You still sleep through the night, though I do wish you would wake up in the 6s instead of 5s. I don’t get you out of the bed until 6:00, but I’m a light sleeper and wake up when you start talking on the monitor.

We had to lower your mattress because you can stand in the bed now. It’s so cute to walk into you in the bed standing up in your sleep sack, reaching up for us to get you.

You are down to 2 naps a day except for the times when we are out and about and you can only get a cat nap in. Then you take 3, but they almost always line up with Sully's, and it's a nice quiet part to my day.

Favorite moments:

Chase: Sully loves to play chase, and he really likes for you to chase him or the other way around. When you catch on to what he’s doing, you squeal and do the quickest little scoot away. It is pure magic and a hopeful glance into the future of you two being friends.

One on One Time: Sully stayed with Sugar this month, so we got some good one on one time with you. It was definitely quiet without Brother, but it was fun to give you some special attention, too.

Serve Day: We worked as a family at Women's Hope last Saturday. Dad worked on the outside while you and Sully played with some sweet girls, and I worked on the inside. The three of us only made it an hour in before we started melting down, so we let Dad stay and finish up while we took Sully to his meet-the-teacher at school.

Anniversary: Mom and Dad left for 4 days this week to celebrate our anniversary. We had the best time hanging out together. Girl, let me tell you: never settle for less than the man your dad is. He's amazing, and I pray you find someone like him. You had a great time with Rara and Chief at our house.

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To all the "tigers" in your world, tell them "pooh pooh."

Love,

Mom