Planting Spring Flowers

Life isn't just about looking cute at Grandpop's house; he makes her work for her money. I hear it took running water and soap to get those hands clean rather than the standard wet paper towel treatment.

Amazingly, she didn't eat any of that dirt. Yes, she is one of those babies who puts everything in her mouth. Over the weekend alone I fished out a piece of leaf, a rock, a paint chip, and a bite of dog food. That doesn't include all the other things she puts in her mouth that don't require fishing, or the things I didn't catch before they went down. Now when she's about to eat something nasty, the cheeky kid looks at me sideways to see if I'm watching. When I tell her, "Don't put that in your mouth," she turns her back to me and starts kicking her legs. Then she puts it in her mouth if I don't get there fast enough.

We spent several hours on a blanket in the front yard over the weekend, and compared to me, Ella looks like she's been tanning all summer. She definitely has her father's skin tone. Of course, I knew that when she was born with a darker tan than mine at the end of June. We are both suffering this infusion of pollen in the air, and her fourth tooth still hasn't broken through the skin. She feels so yucky that she keeps laying her little head down to rest. I can relate; I'd like to lay my little head down, too.

Now that she has mastered the art of crawling, standing up is starting to look effortless, too. She is starting to hold on to things with only one hand or let go and stand by herself for a few seconds. I can see her thinking about what to do next when she gets into standing position, so it probably won't be long before she starts taking some steps. I can't believe how fast this is happening.

I don't know if teething was our issue or if she's just too busy, but she preferred her milk from a cup over the weekend. After trying unsuccessfully to nurse her for several hours, I finally gave up and pumped for her. I handed her the cup of milk, and she drank it down and belched like a man. At one point, she was crawling and dragging the cup along behind her with her foot. Apparently she needed her milk to go. I'm not sure if we are on the fast track to self-weaning, or if this was a fluke, but it was certainly a change for us. She nursed well at nap time and bed time, but she just couldn't be bothered to be still long enough otherwise. I tried all the tricks - nursing in her bedroom with no distractions, nursing while she sat upright on my lap, etc but she wiggled and squirmed and had a little fit until I let her go (this is after she asked to nurse). It is very rare for babies to self-wean before the age of one, and most don't until 18 months or later, so I'm not sure what's up. I guess we'll roll with it and she can just have milk in a cup if she insists. I have decided that even if she quits nursing, I will keep pumping for her for quite a while. The immunological benefits of breastmilk increase after the first year, plus my milk will close any nutritional gaps in her diet so I don't have to worry as much about what she eats.

One thing I do know is that she is a busy little soul. There is a whole world to explore and conquer, and she is on a mission to do just that - one bit of fuzz and blade of grass at a time.