11 months

11 months!!!!! Wowzers, time flies when you're having fun! I know I say it all the time but I am so blessed to have you, baby girl! Your personality is the best and those dimples melt my heart everyday. This month was another big one for the milestones!!

- you said 'mama' but you don't say it often and it's never directed towards me - but you said it!
- you said your first word! You say 'dk' and that's duke! You point to him and say 'dkkkk' with a big emphasis on the 'k' sound. We decided we can count this as your first word.
- you pull up to standing and then let go and stay standing for a couple seconds.
- you just started to cruise on the leather ottoman in order to get the remote.
-you love swinging on the swings at the park.
- you like finger foods! Puffs are still your favorite but bananas and sweet potatoes are a close second. You also like French toast, avocado, ground beef and carrots. You didn't seem to like kiwi, peaches or pears. Which is weird because you love pear purée- maybe it's a texture thing.
- You use random things as walkers. If they will move - you'll try to use them to walk.

It's amazing watching you grow up! Everyday I feel like you are doing something new. I love the stage we are in now, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss my tiny little cuddlebug who wasn't so independent. You are the absolute best thing in the whole world and I love spending as much time with you as possible! Your laugh is contagious and your happy personality is amazing! I think you like to be funny and make people laugh - just like your daddy! Is it bad that sometimes I will try to will youawake during naptime because I miss you? probably...

Eloise at 1 month:

Eloise at 2 months:

Eloise at 3 months:

Eloise at 4 months:

Eloise at 5 months:

Eloise at 6 months:

Eloise at 7 months:

Eloise at 8 months:

Eloise at 9 months:

Eloise at 10 months:

Eloise at 11 months:

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What I'm really into right now

Here are some of my favorite things right now:

* Brown Cow yogurt!! Mmmmm it is sooo good! I like the maple flavor- it's delicious! But, not the best yogurt if you're watching your calories.



* my slow cooker! Fall weather is my favorite to use my slow cooker. So far, I've made lentil soup, chicken and potato stew, chili and applesauce. I plan on using it a lot more, though!



* Lavash crackers from Costco with goat cheese and jelly! My new favorite snack!



* my baby food maker to steam fruits and veggies for finger foods. I'm paranoid of Eloise choking so I steam everything until it's super soft. It does such a good job!



*Frank's Red Hot!! I usually don't like spicy but lately I have been enjoying my food on the spicier side. This stuff is yummy on beans and rice and also dresses up pizza! My mouth is watering right now.



* The New Girl - this show is quickly becoming my new favorite! Stupid baseball has been ruining my Tuesday tv lineup so it hasn't been on but I can't wait until it's back!!
*Spinach dip from Costco (Costco seriously has the best things). So yummy with pretzel chips!!



* Bows in Eloise's hair! I love that it keeps it out of her face and it looks so cute. She, on the other hand, likes to take it out of her hair and hand it to me. If I distract her quickly after putting it in, I can sometimes get a good 10 minutes!



* My new Toms! Super comfy and cute! I saw baby toms and my sister brought up a good point - do they donate baby toms if you buy baby toms? Interesting thought!

So many great things to be thankful for :)


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Miss Eloise's first birthday preparations

Since I've extended my leave from work, we don't have the extra cash to spend on throwing a party like we usually would. I gave myself a $300 budget and got started. First, I needed a theme. I have seen so many cute themes for birthdays but I felt like a specific theme would limit what I could do myself. For example, if I chose a ladybug theme, I would really need to learn how to make an amazing ladybug or I would be tempted to buy party supplies instead of doing it myself. So instead, I decided to go with a main color scheme of pink. But, I'm using all different colors that are girly-with an emphasis on pink!
Now the breakdown of where my $300 is going:

- invitations and thank you cards from Shutterfly $50
- bakery cake $90
- food is free because my mom is cooking!!
- paper decorations and ribbon $35
- photos for decorations $35
- homemade cupcakes $10
- favors $30

Total so far = $250

So far I am under budget and I don't feel like there is too much left for me to do/buy. I might buy some pom decorations or a cake topper or maybe some balloons.

Also, I'm contemplating hiring a friend of my sister's who is a trying to becoming a photographer to take pictures. That would be another 1o0 bones but I feel that pictures are worth going over budget for. Plus, I don't want to worry about taking the pictures and I also want to be IN the pictures. We'll see if that pans out...

I am so excited for her birthday and I know that it's more about the people you spend it with than the decorations. I hope she loves it!!


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Baby clothes

As Eloise gets older, I'm having a harder and harder time finding clothes for her (especially affordable clothes). I want to dress her a certain way and it's hard to find that in stores. I want her to look like a baby girl and not a big girl. I'm a huge fan of rompers and jumpers and bubbles for little girls. (on a sidenote, there are no steadfast definitions for above mentioned items -

I believe bubbles are closest to onesies but with elastic around the thighs and it bubbles in the middle:

jumpers are dresses with thick straps, you can wear long sleeves underneath and tights if the weather permits:

A romper is an overall type playsuit: (this is the exact pattern my mother in law uses to make all of Ellie's clothes, minus the smocking)

These terms are used interchangeably all the time by me so I tried to define them to make it easier.) Obviously, she will have to wait for next summer to wear bubbles again, it's too cold now!! I also like the 'theme' outfits. Apples and pumpkins for fall and snowmen and penguins for winter. Anyway, now that she's crawling I find that the cute dress jumpers aren't practical. So, mostly, Eloise wears pant rompers/playsuits that are appropriate for the weather. I can find some stuff at Gymboree but the older she gets the more 'teenage' the look. No need for graphic tees just yet. Carters is great for staples (sweatpants, pj's, white onesies, etc.) But anything else is just super common and you'll see babies everywhere with the same outfit. Baby Gap is great but again can get teenagery at times. Though, the clothes are made to last and wear incredibly well. Also, prices are up there - you get what you pay for. The other place I like to shop for Eloise is on Zulilly. It's a website with every type of baby thing you can find on sale. They carry a lot of the smocked and old fashioned clothes that I adore. I like 'candyland' brand and some others that carry bishop dresses and such. Zulilly also carries toys and maternity wear and shoes. It is a great website. Mini Boden is also one of my favorites! They have the cutest baby girl clothes with such sweet appliqués. I love little girl clothing with appliques and lucky for me both my mother and my mother in law can applique! But, again, they are very expensive.

example of a cute mouse applique at mini boden:

Lucky for me Julian's mom is such a great sewer and my mom is a pro at knitting! Gigi has made such beautiful playsuits and rompers for Eloise with the sweetest appliqués! My mom can make knitted sweaters and dresses and hats! Eloise has the most gorgeous handmade clothes wardrobe :) I just wonder what I would do if the grandma's weren't sewing? I guess I would be spending a fortune to dress my child.

Now, boys are a whole other story. I don't have a boy, so I can't say for sure how I would dress him. If you'd ask me now I would say bubbles and John-John's are OK until they hit a certain age/look. Once they stop looking like a dainty baby then it's time to move on, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love sweet bubbles and John-John's and rompers on baby boys! But, I also think toddler boys look super cute in shirts with Truck and Sailboat appliques. And who doesn't love a button down shirt and khaki's with a pullover sweater??

I can't wait to have a little boy and find out exactly how I would like to dress him!

Oh and in other exciting news---now that Eloise has hair (!!) I put a bow in it and it looked A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E and I can't wait to match a bow to every outfit! cutie patootie!

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Food

Everyday I find Eloise more and more amazing. She stood on her own today for the first time. She climbed on Duke like usual- and stood up. Then she let go and stood there, all on her own, for a few seconds! Amazing! Growing up too fast!
Besides that the most amazing thing is in the past four days Eloise has started finger foods!!! She still loves her puffs (obviously) but she also will pick up and eat the following:
Banana
Avocado
Sweet potatoes
French toast
Bread
Can you believe it? In four days she went from wanting nothing but puffs and yogurt to eating real people food! She still eats some purées because just finger foods alone aren't enough but soon we will be done with baby food. The only chunky stage three foods she will eat are the spaghetti and the chunky fruit. I can't wait to be done with the baby food! She still really enjoys purees so they aren't going anywhere for now! But, She will even eat regular old fashioned oats for breakfast. This week I'm also going to try ground turkey!

Boring post but it's a memory!


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random tidbits

-Time is flying by! I can't believe that it is already October, but I welcome the fall weather with open arms. I am sick of the heat and I am glad that I can wear jeans and sweatshirts.

-Eloise is starting finger foods. Well, maybe I should say she will use her fingers to eat puffs. ANYTHING ELSE she will not put in her mouth with her own fingers. Also, it is hit or miss with chunky purees. Sometimes she chews, sometimes she gags and vomits. It is totally frustrating. But, I'll keep working on it because I want to be able to cut up a banana and give it to her and not have to pack her purees for lunch in kindergarten. But, she has always done things on her own time so I am sure we will get there soon.

-I have started to plan baby girl's birthday. I have all these ideas and crafts I want to get done by November, so I started. I'm going to make a cute banner that says "Happy Birthday Eloise" and a triangle pennant to hang on her high chair. I also want to do a cute monthly picture craft. I actually gave myself a blister from too much crafting. Totes Ridic.

-We went apple picking last week. It was fun and Eloise got to wear her apple dress that my mom made for her--she was super cute and seemed to enjoy it. After apple picking I made applesauce, apple crisp and I am about to go make apple muffins. I found the BEST apple crisp recipe and it consists of Stacy's Pita Chips (my fav) so I was super excited. It was probably the best apple crisp I have ever had and Julian loved it so it worked out well!

-Gigi has made Eloise some beautiful outfits that I can't wait for her to wear! They are cuter than what you find in a store and free for me!! Love it!


-The more I play on Pintrest, the more crafts I find that I want to do. Kelli and Shannon are coming over this week to make a Halloween craft that include the kiddo's footprints. I hope that we do a craft for every holiday!

-I extended my leave from work until March. I know it seems like I am going to extend until I never go back but I really don't think that's how it's going to work out. I promised Julian that I would at least go back March, April, May and June and then that summer I can either say -"No, there is no way I can do this let's figure something out" OR I can say "Ok, let's get pregnant so I don't have to work much longer". I know it is going to be hard to leave Ellie belly and go to work everyday. But, it isn't the end of the world. I have to give it a try and keep a positive attitude! I can't say I hate being a working mom if I never tried. Plus, more money coming in means more vacations and *hopefully* a nice house in Monmouth County.