11 Months

The (not so) little fella is almost ONE! It's cliche, but time FLIES! I think it's going even faster this go 'round....probably because I know he's our last & I want to savor every single moment of having little ones around. Here's what the big guy has been up to this month!

*Beginning to wear 12 month clothing and size 2 shoes. He's still in a size 3 diaper

*He has 5 teeth with a 6th one cutting through...he has 2 on the bottom & 3 on the top! He's teething like a champ! Just some yucky diapers, a touch of crankiness, and a ton of drool!

*He began pulling up shortly after he began crawling. He cruises along the furniture really fast & I think he'll be walking any minute now.

*He loves his musical walker, wood blocks, activity cube, his toy phone, real phones & remotes, unplugging cords, and looking out the window.

*He is into EVERYTHING...and he gets to it FAST. You seriously cannot put him down for more than a second without him taking off & getting ahold of something. Even Ms. Cain says she can't walk away from him, ever. He's super fast and can reach things that you think are far enough out of reach. It's exhausting!

*He hates having to be still. You can forget about changing diapers or getting him dressed without breaking a sweat from him wriggling and rolling throughout the whole ordeal.

*He loves bath time and is all over the place in the tub...makes me nervous!

*As with all of our kiddos, he has many, many nicknames. The most common are: Bubber Boy, Bubbers, Bubs, Diddle Boy, Hey Diddle Diddles, Tubs, Tubber Bubs, Lijey, Buster, Buster Brown, Buster Boy, Turkey Turk, and Stinker Pot. ;) We throw in the occasional "Eli" too.

*We're slowly transitioning over to whole milk, so he's taking less and less formula. He's now getting whole milk with dinner and to sip on throughout the afternoon. He still takes a 8oz bottle in the morning & 2 at the sitter's and then a 4oz before bed. He's officially done with baby food and loves chicken nuggets, fish sticks, cheese, goldfish, graham crackers, pizza, quesadillas, green beans, banana and much more.

I seriously cannot believe he will be one so soon. It's bittersweet that they grow up so fast, but I don't take a single second for granted. We're blessed that all of our children are growing, developing, and thriving as they should be. Elijah, you bring so much joy to all of our lives and we can't wait to see what the future holds for you. Love you, bubber boy!

See? Into everything!

10 Months

Well, we are about 9 days away from your 11th "month day", but once again...better late than never?!

At 10 months you:

*Wear 9 months in shirts/onesies and a 6 & 9 in shorts. You can wear a size 2 in shoes, but you hate them so you never wear them.

*Still in a size 3 diaper

*Eats 4 or 5 six-ounce bottles a day and a baby food for breakfast & dinner. You LOVE the oatmeal & cereal baby foods and several of the fruit and/or veggies. We've tried moving to Stage 3, but you hate anything with a texture & spit out any pasta or meat, so I've given up. You are finally liking Puffs, Crunchies & things like french fries, so we're making progress!

*You are crawling everywhere! You went from barely even trying to crawl to crawling everywhere! I think you may have "army crawled" for 3 or 4 days, but then went straight to hands and knees crawling. And you are fast. Very fast.

*You still love your sisters, the animals, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, clapping, shaking your head "no", saying "Dada", blowing raspberries with your mouth and on my leg, your doggy paci & doggy lovie, giving fives, and being super happy & smiley all the time.

*We have spent a lot of time in the water this summer and you are doing pretty well with it. You usually fuss for a few seconds/minutes and then are perfectly fine and don't want to get back out! I think it's because it's always a bit cold at first & you don't like that one bit. We give you a paci & you quit fussing and all is fine with the world.

9 months

Elijah Chase is 9 months old! I guess it's time to start planning his 1st birthday party! ;) Here's what the little turkey has been up to this month:

*Wears mostly 9mo, but can still get away with wearing his 6mo stuff. He's still wearing his 3-6 month shoes

*Officially in a size 3 diaper...the same size as Livy. ha! Sounds funny, but Sophia only got up to a size 3 before potty training and both girls were in a 3 by 9 months, so he's right on track . However, I believe Elijah will be our first child to need a size 4 eventually!

*Not sure weight/height...his 9mo well check is next week, so I'll update later...one day....hopefully...

*Still eats 4 six-ounce bottles of formula a day and a couple things of baby food. I was still getting concerned because he wouldn't eat his 2nd thing of baby food most days. He also still isn't a fan of Puffs, yogurt melts, those baby wheels, or anything with texture! He even cried when I tried to give him mashed potatoes & french fries! I think we may be turning a corner, though...he gummed on a french fry the other day without crying about it so maybe we're making progress.

*He loves to spin around while sitting on his bottom and has begun to army crawl to get where he wants. He's been getting up onto all fours and rocking a lot, but hasn't "officially" crawled yet.

*He is full of personality! He loves to shake his head no, clap, say "yeah!", give "fives", give mommy kisses, says "dada", "noo", and "yeah". He is so smiley and happy about 97% of the time.

*Still a good sleeper! In bed around 7 and gets up around 6:30-7:30 now that we can sleep in a little for summer!

*We've been traveling a bit this summer (Branson, Wynnewood, etc) and he has been SO agreeable! He's done the car rides like a champ and was so sweet about being in his stroller so much while in Branson. We were so proud about what a big boy he was on our trips!

8 months

Well, I'm a bit closer to the actual "month-date" this time! The little chunker turned 8 months old on the 10th. I guess it's about time to start planning his first birthday...yikes!

At 8 months old, Elijah:

*Wears 6 month, 6-9 month, and 9 month clothing. He'll be solely in 9 month soon...he probably should be now, but I want to get some use out of the clothes we bought him thinking he'd still be in 6-9 month clothing! He can still wear the 3-6 month shoes, though.

*Wears a size 2 diaper but will most likely go up to a 3 when we buy more

*Eats four 8oz bottles of formula and 2 containers of baby food a day. He loves all of the oatmeal/cereal combinations, fruits, and most veggies. He likes most of the dinner blends, too, but there is one that he hates and I can't remember what that one is! Hope I don't accidentally buy it again...oops!

*Still has an aversion to eating anything solid or lumpy. He seriously gags and cries if you try to give him a Puff, or yogurt melt, or thick baby food, or anything that isn't extremely smooth. He cried when I took a tiny bit of Sophia's banana, smushed it on my finger, and put it in his mouth. To be honest, though, I'm really hoping this isn't a sign of something problematic...I really thought he'd be over this by now....

*He sits up like a champ and tries to reach anything and everything within a 5 foot radius of him. He went from not sitting up, to sitting up perfectly...barely any falling over or learning balance.

*He rolls around to get where he wants to go. He also has an extremely long wing-span...we really have to watch out because this boy can reach just about anything he sees.

*He is so smiley and laughy and adorable! Such an easy-going baby, very laid back, calm and happy....a complete joy to be around. He lets his sisters crawl all over him and he barely makes a peep...well, besides a laugh!

*Still only says "dada" and jabbers a little bit. He is trying to clap and wave/say "bye" but we're not quite there.

*He has turned into a side sleeper and I think it's so adorable! He goes to sleep around 7 pm and starts playing/cooing around 5:30 am but will often put himself back to sleep after a few minutes and not get back up until around 7 am.

*He now takes a "big bath" with the girls in the big tub. No more baby tub! They all think this is the best thing ever!

Found him like this one morning. He had started out facing the OTHER way at the OTHER end of the crib! That blanket immediately went in a drawer.

7 months

So, Mr. Eli is actually almost 8 months at this point, but here's what he was up to when he turned 7 months. Better late than never, right?!

*Weighs 17 lbs 6 oz and is 25 3/4 inches long ( I know this because he had his 6 month shots a few days before he turned 7 months ;)

*Wears 6 month clothing...and he is quickly beginning to fill those out. I think we'll be in 9 month clothes sooner than I expected!

*Loves food! He takes 5 six ounce bottles a day, eats a cereal/oatmeal with fruit baby food in the morning and a veggie or fruit for dinner. We've tried the Puffs and yogurt melts and he isn't a fan...he doesn't like the texture.

*He started sitting up unassisted the day he turned 7 months old. He does things at his own pace! He easily rolls over from back to front & front to back and can roll across the floor pretty quickly.

*He can say dada and jabbers a lot. He loves to shake his head side to side when you say nooo...and he's trying to say "noooo" while he does it...so stinkin' cute!

*He loves his jumparoo, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, his pacifier w/the dog attached, his sisters, his mommy (and daddy, too!), his toes, hitting his belly, and taking baths.

*He still sleeps pretty well. Eats a dinner around 5:30, a bottle around 6:30 and then bed around 7. He sleeps in his crib and will often go to sleep on his own in it. He sleeps through the night but wakes up pretty early: around 5:30 most days. He's pretty good about playing around in his crib and will sometimes find his pacifer and just go back to sleep after a few minutes. He takes a morning nap and a late afternoon nap....sometimes in his crib and sometimes in your arms.

*He is seriously the sweetest, easiest baby around. We are constantly being told how sweet he is and how laid back he is and how easy he is, and just how all-around good he is! He is SUCH a blessing!

Hopefully I'll write his 8 month stats closer to the actual date....which will be soon! ha!