Elsie's First Christmas

 Here's a video of Elsie opening presents on her very first Christmas! 

She's practicing present opening for her birthday! haha 

It's a long video (might be hard for some to watch all of it) but we wanted Elsie's grandparents to be able to watch her excitement on Christmas morning just like if they had been able to be here.

Santa

Elsie has pretty much hated Santa this year. 

She's seen him 3 times and the last time she didn't cry but I can't really say she enjoyed it. 

Maybe next year! 

Elsie's 9 Month Update

Little Elsie Mae is 9 months old tomorrow!

Time is flying by! I can't believe she will be a year old in only 3 months!

It's harder to get her to sit still for pictures than ever before as she's always crawling around and climbing up on anything and everything. 

This month Elsie:

Started sleeping through the night!!! That's the biggest update. She's been doing that all month now. She even did so in the hotel for us when we went away for the holiday!

Eats about 29 ounces of formula a day, in about 5 bottles. She also eats some solid food at breakfast and dinner and I'm trying to get her started on lunches but she is iffy on that. Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, any type of fruit but definitely bananas, and the baby cheese puffs. She also likes oatmeal for breakfast.

We just went to the doctor for her 9 month check up and shes just over 21 pounds (85th percentile) and 27.75 inches (58th percentile) long!

As I mentioned before she climbs any and everything. She also will walk while holding on to her walker or anything else that she can manage to push. And she scales the couch. We are gonna have a walker soon >.<

She loves books and I read to her before bed every night.

She still loves Elmo. She will smile at him no matter how sour of a mood she is in.

She also loves to play with animal magnets on the fridge. Most of the time it will keep her busy while I cook dinner.

She still only has two bottom teeth but there's one on top that is starting to make an appearance. Should be through the skin any day now it seems.

Hmm I think that's all for this month. 

She's a busy little bee, always playing and on the go! 

8 Month Update

Elsie Mae is 8 months old today! 

This month she:

-eats cheerios (and would eat them all day if we let her) and eats purees 2-3 times a day

-drinks about 28-30 ounces of formula a day

-pulls up to stand on everything she can

-crawls everywhere and has a super cute fast crawl reserved for when she's really excited (she usually snorts whole doing this haha)

-she has slept through the night for one week now (!!!!!) and fingers crossed that she has just figured out that's what she should do haha 

-her favorite thing in the whole world is Elmo. She absolutely lights up when she sees him or when I put on Sesame Street. She watches it every morning.  

-She can say "bababa" and occasionally will throw in a "mamama" she also makes a cute chewbacca like sound

-she's wearing almost all 9-12 month clothes,  size 4 diapers,  and her chunky little toes barely fit a size 3

I can't wait to see how much shes grown at her doctors appointment at the end of the month!

(our little leopard a few days ago)

We love love love her!

Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Kurbisausstellung in Ludwigsburg, Germany. This is the largest pumpkin festival in Europe. 

Contests are held for the largest pumpkins in Germany and in Europe. These are huge pumpkins!  Last year the heaviest pumpkin was 1054 kg!

This festival is also huge. It doesn't look that big when you first arrive but the majority of the festival is located behind the palace.

There are a variety of pumpkin foods as well as typical German foods. I went out on a limb and tried the vegetarian pumpkin burger. It was delicious!

The pumpkin sculptures (I guess you could call them) were very impressive!

We bought two small pumpkins, which I let Elsie pick out.  I never knew the were so many types of pumpkin!

We had a really good time at this festival and I would highly recommend it! 

Baby's First Cold

A few weeks back, Elsie got her very first cold. She had a very stuffy nose for a few weeks and then got a cough. We are lucky she didn't get sick at all until she was almost 7 months old! So for my future reference and anyone else who's battling baby's first cold, this is what worked for us.

Boogie Wipes Natural Saline Kids and Baby Nose Wipes for Cold and Flu, Unscented, 30 Count (Pack of 3) : for those crusty boogers, and to keep baby's nose from getting sore from all the wiping

Little Remedies Noses Saline Spray/Drops, 0.5 Ounce : to keep thing moist (yuck)

Nasal aspirator: we have the good old fashioned kind, and I'm probably the last mom on the planet to have not used the Nose Frida, but we have managed to suck out many a boogie with the basic aspirator

Crane Usa EE-3186 Elephant Cool Mist Humidifier : works wonders on stuffy noses! I put it on at night and during nap times. I actually plan to use it in Elsie's room all winter because we have radiators here which dry up the air

Also, for really stuffy nights, I have elevated one end of Elsie's crib mattress which seems to help a bit.

It's really tough when baby catches a cold because they just don't understand why they feel so gross but it will pass.

Elsie's 7 Months Old!

Elsie is seven months old today! 

We took some pictures outside and some pictures inside because it is really really sunny this morning!

"I'm gonna eat this"

It has been quite a big month for Elsie! 

This month she:

-started eating a lot more purees about 6-8 oz a day. She had tried pretty much all the stage 1 and 2 purees that don't contain meat. She loves sweet potatoes and bananas but hates green beans. She also tasted a pickle and made a really silly face. 

-also, she started eating puffs and yogurt melts and LOVES them 

-got to spend a week and a half with her Meme! (we miss her!)

-learned how to give sloppy kisses

-got her first 2 teeth! (two middle bottom)

-got her first stuffy nose (we've been lucky)

-started sitting up by herself

-started sleeping on her tummy (but still gets up several times a night)

-started crawling!!

-pulls up to stand

-loves peek-a-boo

Our little girl is so much fun! I can't believe how big she's getting!