SHE WALKS!

Oh my ... it's been far too long since I've updated. I guess I'm not as good at this as I thought I would be.
Well anyhow, Ellie started standing on her own (from the floor to standing without holding on to anything) on Wednesday March 25 and then decided to take her very first 5 steps on March 31!!!!! She's taken series of small steps here and there ever since but no "serious" walking yet.
She had her 9 month check up on Thursday March 26th and everything was great, as usual! She's 28 3/4" tall and weighs 19.8 pounds! This puts her in between the 50 and 75th percentile for her height and between the 25 and 50th percentile for her weight. Tall and skinny I guess. She didn't have to get any shots this time (yaaaaay!!) because she's all caught up already! She did have to get some blood work done though to check for anemia. They stuck her finger twice and she didn't even flinch. The results came back perfectly fine, so there are really no worries whatsoever! She's PERFECT!

We took her camping up the Tucannon on March 16th for one night, it went amazingly! We borrowed my parennts' 5th wheel so Ellie had SOME sort of room to get down and crawl. She went fishing for the first time and caught her very first fish on her own Dora the Explorer fishing pole! We were very proud of her! Mommy helped her reel it in. We went back the following weekend, for the annual 3-D archery shoot, for 4 nights this time! It went as well as can be expected for 3 days of rain and poor Ellie being stuck in her stroller the entire time. It was just too yucky to let her get down and explore. We came home a day early because she woke up at 230 in the morning and was up until 530 with diarrhea. I figured it was time to get her home and back into her comfort zone and routine. Everyone else decided they were tired of all the rain and snow so they came home later that day as well. All in all, it was a great experience and we can't wait to take her up camping and fishing again! I think she really had a good time!

I've been busy planning Ellie's 1st birthday party! I can't believe she'll be ONE in a month and a half! Time FLIES! I've been making the invitations in the free time I have while she's napping. I'm really excited for it! It's going to be cupcake theme and should be a great time! We're having a big backyard bbq with her closest friends and family!

Ellie's 1 year checkup is scheduled for May 26th!

Ellie's 1st ouchie

Last Friday, January 16th, Ellie got into a serious fight with our baby gate AND the refrigerator and they both kicked her butt. Her and one of the little girls I watch were standing at the gate watching me fix lunch and the gate wasn't latched all the way. It fell forward with both of them attached and Ellie's face made contact with the corner of the frige. She had an instant bruise and goose egg. I panicked and called Eilin and had her leave work and come help me. I didn't know if I should just ice her head or take her to the E.R. or what! We ended up taking her to the E.R. and although nothing was seriously wrong, the E.R. doc said it was a good thing I brought her in just in case. Head injuries and babies are common, but nothing to mess with. So ... she has a pretty "accessory" for now. Hahahaha! Poor baby! She's tough, she only cried for literally about 45 seconds. She had a pretty good headache for the first couple days but is now back to her normal busy self!
She also had her check up yesterday (Jan. 22) and Dr. Hall gave us the First Aid poster, they usually don't give out until the 1 year appointment. He said it looks like we're gonna need it! HAHAHAHA!
She weighs 18.6 pounds and is 27 3/4" tall! She is between the 25th and 50th percentile for both height and weight! She's is VERY active and her Dr. says we better watch out! He's pretty sure she's going to be an early walker because the pulling up on things, and getting herself down from the standing position are things they expect 10 month old babies to do! YAY! Baby-proofing here come the McLaughlin's!

9 month check up (at 10 months) is Thursday March 26

one more makes 3

Today is the start of a new week for me and it brings another little girl! She comes in the form of a 3 year old called Claire! I was approached last week about watching another child one week out of the month. I happily accepted and today is her first day with me! So far, so good!! My count is now Ellie, Kristen, and Claire ... a house FULL of estrogen! I'm loving it! It's definitely a lot busier, but I really don't mind! If this week goes well with her, I'll have her every month when she comes visit her Daddy! If nothing else, we could definitely use the extra money! I'll keep you all updated as the process unfolds!

She never seizes to amaze me ...

Well last night Cory, Ellie and I ventured out to Touchet to watch my Dad's basketball game. Grama and Grampa were there so that was nice! Grama got to play with Ellie and feed her Pepsi then give her back! LOL! Lucky for us she takes after me and crashed as soon as we got her in the car! Thank God caffeine doesn't affect her the way it affects most! Dad got to see her and hold her for a few minutes before his game started too! During the game Grampa decided it was time for Missy to meet "her granddaughter" and took Ellie over while I was out getting a soda for Grama. UGH! I didn't see it, but when I came back I was told what Missy's reaction was ... for those of you that know the situation, YOU might even be surprised by this ... Missy put her hand up, as if to block herself, and completely turned her back to Ellie. I didn't find this out until we were on our way home. We had to leave before the game was over because Cory had to get ready for work, but as soon as I got home, I called Dad. There was no answer so I text him to call me ASAP. He did and as soon as I answered I lost it. He was very sympathetic and even more on my side. I explained to him my hurt feelings and misunderstanding, and he said he agreed and that he didn't understand it either. Although it doesn't make it better, or different, it does let me know that all this time Dad HAS been on my side. I guess the only thing I can do is pray for God to help me forgive her, and trust that He will judge her and I don't have to. I know I'm a good person and I don't deserve the way she treats me. I refuse to allow my daughter to go through what I went through with my Dad and Missy, so if it ever come to be, I will call Missy out and make her feel like total shit in front of anyone there! I will stand up for my daughter the way my Dad has never been able to. I will do everything in my power so that Ellie KNOWS her Grampa and has a relationship with him, without Missy getting in the way.

Thanks for letting me vent =)

Time Flies

OH MY GOLLY GOSH!!!
I can't believe how fast time has gone by... Our baby girl is now 7.5 months old! WHAT THE HELL??!?? We have been super busy chasing Ellie around. We decided to do things our own way and go by what we feel she is "telling" us. We started feeding her rice cereal and baby oatmeal at about 3 months and fruits and veggies at around 4. Ellie is very advanced and her Dr. wasn't concerned in the least about our decisions! He confirmed that if/when she starts trying to pull food off of my plate or taking the spoon out of our hand when we're feeding her...she's ready for finger foods! We then discovered that baby food is really just a waste of money so we just made our own and shortly after starting that we increased her variety of foods and she now eats EVERYTHING except citrus fruits, peanut butter, and raw honey. With her 2 bottom teeth present and accounted for and the next two coming in as we speak (one on each side of her existing 2), her favorite foods include scrambie eggs, chocolate chip waffles, toast with her Nana's homemade strawberry jam and peaches! She also thoroughly enjoys cottage cheese, chicken noodle and chicken with rice soup, ravioli, spaghetti, green beans, smashed potatoes, carrots, pears, and yogurt! Definitely a healthy eater!
She was scooting herself around the living room floor at about 6 weeks, started bear crawling [or what we call "Mowgli" (from the Jungle Book)] at 3.5 months, then officially started crawling at 6 months. Immediately following she decided that crawling was a bore and started pulling herself up was more adventurous! She taught herself to walk behind a push walker all by herself as soon as she started crawling and walks along whatever it is that she's pulled herself up on as well.
She is truly an amazing baby! I've never seen a happier child! Sometimes I worry that i just think that because she is mine and I'm biased... but all the comments I get in public confirm what I already know! She IS the happiest baby ever! She is very low-maintenance and easy to care for! She goes to sleep at night with no problems [as long as she has her "me me" (Binky) and her baby] and stays asleep for 11-12 hours every night (which she's been doing since she was 2 weeks old)!!!
At her last appt., three days ago, she was 17.14 pounds and 27 1/4 inches tall. This puts her between the 25th and 50th percentile for weight and 50th and 75th percentile for height!
As for Cory and I. Cory took 3 weeks off when Ellie was born (I can't remember if I said that before) and I was diagnosed with Anxiety and medicated. Since then things have straightened out, thank God! Cory has gone back to working nights at the Penitentiary and I continued watching Kristen once CC started Fall Quarter in September. That pretty much brings us up to speed I think! One of my New Year's Resolutions is to make sure I keep up with our blog! Not only so you all can stay informed, but so that I can print all my entries off and Ellie will have them to look at when she's older! So, although it's a little late (it's January 5th) ......

HAPPY NEW YEAR! MAY 2009 BE FULL OF WONDERFUL MEMORIES!

stayed tuned...

6 month checkup: Thursday, January 22, 2009.