Eleanor :: Ten Months Old

Our precious firstborn, it's that time of the month again... yep, a time to stop and reflect that you are officially the fastest growing human we know. How in the world are you 10 months old today? Well, although we could spend another 10 months contemplating how fast time flies with you... we really just pause here to again say, these past months have been the greatest of our lives, thus far. Eleanor, you continue to bring us unfathomable amounts of JOY - the outside world will never, EVER be able to understand why we always emphasize this so much... but you, my dear girl, are the most JOYOUS blessing of our lives, to date. And now, as we await your little sibling, we rejoice knowing that God has entrusted us with another one of his precious creations and our hearts may burst knowing that we will have another bundle of JOY in our home.

If I were to describe this month.... a blink. Literally, because I feel like all I did was blink and it has passed us by. Also, it seems as if Momma or Daddy blink, you have officially either crawled into the other room, climbed up on the sofa or have changed the channel with the remote.... we officially have a MOBILE, CURIOUS, NOSEY and EXPLORER of a girl in you.
We went to the doctor last week and found that you weigh 16.05 ounces (8%), you are 28.5 inches tall (75%) and your head is 43.4 cm (30%).... so, string bean, the story is the same... you are a tall, skinny little crumb. Your schedule is yet again, still freaking awesome. Up between 7:45-8am to eat your bottle and some oatmeal or fruit, nap from 9:15-11:15am, bottle and fruit/veggies at 11:30am, nap from 1:45-3:30pm, bottle at 3:45pm, play play play until dinner at 6:45pm which consists of a bottle and fruit/veggies.... for snacks, you LOVE cheerios, puffs, blueberries, cut up grapes and peaches, bananas... and well, anything Momma or Daddy is trying to eat.
You are no longer a "scoocher" but you are a big time crawler... like, road runner speed crawler and your VERY favorite thing is to be chased... when you know you are going somewhere you aren't supposed to, you look back to make sure we are watching and then take off... all the while giggling and screaming as we declare, "I'm going to get you!!" Yikes.
You definitely are TRYING when it comes to sign language, but so far, it seems at though the only thing you have caught onto is "All Done"... so you sign this for everything. Speaking of adopting something for everything.... your VERY favorite thing to do is shake your head NO. Awesome. So, whether we are asking you if you are excited to be a big sister, if you went potty in your diaper or if you want a pony for Christmas, you very adamantly shake your head, NO.
You are trying so hard to communicate with us... and Ba-Ba or screaming (out of excitement) is still your communication of choice. You have learned a few things and now say... Dadadadada, Mommommomma, Uh (for Uh-Oh) and Gah... (which is Momma's personal favorite - so exasperated!)... you also love to clap your hands, wave hi and bye-bye and you are SO musical - every time you hear music you sway, clap, or kick to the rhythm... you could be drinking from your bottle, riding in your carseat or playing on the floor... a song comes on that you like, you dance. (LOVE IT.)Maybe a little bit disturbing, but you love to climb up on the entertainment center or end tables and suck on the handles... kind of like you are nursing them. It grosses me out if I am being honest, and obviously I try to stop this as soon as I see it.... haha!
You are kind of over your Jumperoo or really anything that keeps you captive... darn. I think you have finally figured out that adults put you in this for your entertainment, of course, but also to catch a breather. And you just will. not. have. it.
We took you swimming for the first time and to say you love the water would not give your feelings to the pool justice... you are OBSESSED. You could have stayed in the pool (or actually, the hot tub that we warmed to bath temp) ALL day if we would have let you. Your swimsuit, however, is a different story... yep, size 6-12 months and lets just say it is quite scandalous it is so big on you.
You are still wearing size 3-9 month clothes... 9 months really only for dresses or jumpers... 3-6 month for everything else. You are still in size 2 diapers, but can wear a 3 if needed... it just looks like you have junk in your trunk as soon as we put it on :).
Still no teeth... but again, we are okay with it! You have learned to chew and gum anything that would require teeth, so you have adjusted well, my dear. Hands or something is still constantly in your mouth, but no pearly whites yet!You are also a Cruiser! You can pull up on the sofa, chairs and ottoman and cruise around the room as long as you are holding on to something.... so, even though you look like you are 4-6 months old, it is very possible that you may walk before you have even one tooth... love it! So ambitious, like your Momma.
You have found the dryer and you LOVE when we do laundry.... in fact, most days I shut myself in the laundry room in order to get anything done because you want to get all up in the dryer and clothes... Speaking of clothes.. you definitely have an obsession with shoes. Either laying around or on someone's feet, you are not afraid to go up an untie any shoes, play with sandals and luckily Momma and Daddy have stopped you before you licked the bottom of soles... I am pretty sure that you would if we let you. Maybe we can punish you with this someday instead of washing your mouth out with soap?? Um, no.
You still LOVE going on walks and spent most of your 10th month enjoying outside... whether is was a walk with your DotDot or PawPaw (Momma had to work A LOT this month so you got extra grandparent time) or swinging in the backyard, you always have a ball...Your hair is still kicking up some major curl on the top, but it is no longer the "Gerber" baby curl... instead, it is starting to look a little messy / crazy curly. But don't be fooled... only on the top. You still have almost no hair on the sides or back, and what you do have is board straight. You really hate it when I make you wear bows... and you don't let them last long (as noted from every other picture).You have started to give real kisses.... like, you initiate them. In fact, today you actually came up to Momma, rested your head on my shoulder, then turned and kissed me on my cheek, only to return your head to my shoulder... MELT. MY. HEART. That was the best snuggle time I have ever had with you, because YOU initiated it... I could eat it up.
You have a kitchen the size of you. It is tiny and you will spend hours in the refrigerator, eating ice cubes, boiling water or eating the frying pan... or as of late, climbing and sitting on the fridge. We have decided to make the den the playroom... well really, maybe you decided this.. you and your toys have officially invaded and we block you in here whenever we are in the house.... we have baby-proofed that room as best as possible, so we now turn it over to you and your siblings. We are currently working to make our living room, "Our" room.... just an FYI, this is a donation, not an entitlement.
Grandpa Mike gave you a Blackberry because you always try to steal our iPhones... you just spend your time eating it and wishing it was an iPhone.
You are still looking like a GIRL - clone of your daddy.... your daddy makes the prettiest girl I have ever seen... but, you are definitely his spitting image.
Eleanor, again... more than anything I hope you can confidently proclaim that you had a Momma and Daddy that recognized that you first belong to Christ and that He gave you to us as our gift here on earth... and you are a true GIFT. We cherish our days with you and PRAY for many, many more.... in fact, for an eternity with you in the presence of our Savior. Eleanor, we pray you always know that we love you unconditionally... not because of what you do, how you perform, how you look or the decisions that you make... we just love YOU: your countenance, your character, your personality, YOU. Never, ever, ever doubt it... prayerfully, we will NEVER give you a reason to do so. Our hearts desire is that you grow up knowing that:
1. Jesus loves you, deeply
2. Momma and Daddy love you, constantly
3. You are going to be a big sister to a sibling(s) who will look up to you and we hope you will grow to be the best of friends.
You have made us so very glad.
Psalm 68:3 "But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!"

Comments

Katy Byrne said…
Your blog always makes me tear up! So sweet
Brooke said…
Karen, I have been reading your blog for a while, and I randomly met your mom at a wedding a few weeks ago. I hope you don't mind, but I told the story about our meeting on my blog, http://myfacebrooke.blogspot.com/, and added a link to yours. It was so great to meet Dot Dot, and I will not be shy to comment in the future now that we have officially "met".

Eleanor is such a beautiful, happy baby, and I am so excited about baby Rector #2! Congratulations!
Anonymous said…
me too, katy! i end up smiling, laffing, crying and mostly praising the LORD GOD for HIS Goodness and Love and Life! everytime i read and see pictures, i see some of the fruits of prayer and intercession for the past 3 decades. it fills me with the Joy of JESUS and definitely "makes me glad!"
p.s. eleanor is my background on my work computer and i just changed it to that last blk & white photo - suuwwweeeet!
luv y'all lots. shalom ~ aunt lynnie

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