Taking some steps on her own...

I wish I had photos of it to share, but the moments are so fast ... Elliot has been taking some steps on her own! Last Saturday was the first. In the afternoon, she stood up while "wrestling" with us in the floor & she started to take a step. That night, while playing in the upstairs playroom before bed, she stood straight up in the middle of the floor with no help (and far from us), she bounced while giggling, then she took a few steps (kind of side-ways). She lunged forward at me & I grabbed her & cheered for joy. She was laughing, but probably at me. Last night she took a step while sitting in the floor with Russ, but I wasn't looking!

I'm glad she's getting more courage! Every milestone she accomplishes makes her so much happier. When she learned to sit up & play, our lives became so much calmer! She was so happy. And when she learned to move around to get to more toys, boy was that exciting. Then she learned to crawl just after turning 11 months old -- now she can make herself happy most of the time! I haven't regretted any of it, as people tell us we will! And since she hates strollers most of the time, I can't wait for her to walk.

This is a sunflower hairclip I made for her. She should be in magazines... Another crazy bug!! Look close - it's devouring a bee. I definitely used the zoom on this - did not want to get too close! You can click on the photo to get a look up-close! September 1 - I heard a loud noise coming from the laundry room while watching TV, and I knew right away what it was … three little raccoons came in through the cat-door when we left the garage door cracked after dark. I opened the laundry door & tried to *shew* them away, but they were busy eating cat food. Two finally left through the cat-door, but the other just stared. And the first two kept trying to come back in. When I would shut the door to give him privacy to leave, he would just resume eating. Finally he ran to the corner & we removed the food so they would all leave! But not before grabbing a few photos… September 3 - Elliot is now 14 months old! She's about the same at 31" tall & close to 30 pounds. She has slowed down a bit, but is slimming up slowly as she is so much more active!
I decided to do another “photo shoot.” We haven’t really set one up since she learned to crawl after 11 months. Even then, it was tough-enough because she was mobile. Getting her to pose was easier when she didn’t move so much!

I actually got her to stand without support for quite some time while snapping photos. I figured out she was smiling because a dog was walking down the street behind me. After a while, she began to holler as if she was stuck in that standing position. September 5 - Labor Day weekend visit to Paducah.

Unfortunately, it had been raining, so getting a photo of the cousins was a bit hard. We'll try again sometime! But these aren't too bad. Elliot & Trevor playing... September 6 - walking at Grandma & Pawpaw's house... Trevor - grabbing some attention... September 11 - I like my new toybox, Mom! Thanks! (Elliot's new Bjorn potty seat). I learned that what I've been doing with her actually has a name: Elimination Communication. I didn't start this because of something I read; it was instinct. When she gives me a sign, I take her to the potty. It worked well at first, but unfortunately she now will quit going when I take her. She will sit on the new potty forever, but will not actually use it. One day, she will understand! I don't expect her to be potty-independent for a long time. At least 18 months, probably later. She loves playing Little Peoples! Most of these were mine growing up. We like watching her play with toys that we had. Learning to sit on her new potty seat ... with a little bribery... Tickle time with Daddy...before bedtime September 14 - view from the balcony into Elliotville. As Russ put it last night, every room in the house is hers. But it's cute. And now she's learning to put things back into their buckets, etc! Looking at the photo now, I'm not sure why her pants were so wet! She must've been slobbering big time. The upper molars are still working their way through, and it looks like she's getting more teeth. We forgot to put the gate back in front of the TV ... she loves Russ' nintendos! Ginger Edwards Taylor made Elliot a few hats for me. This is a pumpkin one - it will go great with all of her Halloween shirts! Cute. "Why you should always keep your kitchen drawers locked ... but at least it kept her happy while I cooked!" This has been a source of frustration for me. What you are looking at is a pair of Jumping Beans girls' pants size 3T compared with a pair of Garanimals BOYS' pants size 24months. The boys' pants are a younger size, but bigger in the butt, legs and length. Every clothing brand I've tried believes girls should be scrawny toothpicks, but it's OK for boys to real babies. We've managed to find a few cute girls' pants, but the only way she fits into girls' 24months is with disposable diapers (our Kushies cloth ones are huge). Forget wearing her "actual size." We bought several of these boys' pants in 24months size (they fit so easily over the cloth diapers with extra room) and hemmed them a little for her. I may have to start my own toddler clothing line for REAL girls. And there will be a size for babies who wear AIO cloth diapers, too!