10 Months Old

Ella is 10 months old and I can't believe it! I know I say I can't believe it every time as she turns another month older so just know that next month I'll say the same thing, but really I can't believe it. Here it is July and next month she'll be one!! How did this happen? It's been a crazy 10 months but she is such a little joy and is definitely our strong-willed-child-with-a-smile. You know, these are the kids that are strong-willed and kind of fool you because they have a huge grin on their face the whole time so you don't realize they're strong-willed. That's Ella, strong-willed-with-a-smile. She's a feisty one and even though she's tiny, she can hold her own. She is sitting up now on her own and we're so proud of her. She is rolling to get to where she wants to go and pushing herself up on her tummy comes very easily now. Physically she is much stronger and is very active which is exciting to see. She isn't crawling yet and I don't know if she will but we are working on that and she is doing better during each of her PT sessions.

Feedings are still about the same. Some days are good meaning she maybe takes half of her bottle and some days she will hardly eat anything which is always awesome. She hasn't been doing very well with baby food lately either but I think the whole teething thing is really affecting her. She has three teeth now and I can feel two more that about to pop up so I think that could be bothering her or at least in my blame-storming sessions to come up with a reason this so far is the best option so we'll go with teething being the reason, makes me feel a little better. :) But, that's just how it goes so we're doing the best we can. Ella is doing well overall and we are seeing progress even though it is slow. She probably weighs close to 13 1/2 pounds now which is great for her but is still extremely small for her age. We are doing the best we can to pack on the pounds but it's very hard when she just can't take in much volume. This would be why we are still on a newborn feeding schedule at 10 months old and having to feed her every 3 hours around the clock. Brrruuutal! Seriously, can someone throw me a bone here? Soooo, I just continue to put on my song and dance everyday, every 3 hours to try to get her to eat so if anyone needs a good laugh, show times are daily starting at 9,12,3 and 6 pm. I'm just a one man show, a triple-threat I like to call myself if you will because I sing, dance AND act. Pretty fantastic, whatever it takes right? Other than that, Ella is very happy, smiley and loves attention. She is such a blessing to our family and we are so thankful for her.

In other big news, we have a date for her shoulder surgery. Crraaazy! The surgery will be August 19th. We are very glad to have a date set but now that it's almost here when I think about it I get a lump in my throat and my stomach turns so I find myself not wanting to think about it. We are meeting with 3 of the 5 surgeons next week on July 16th to discuss MRI results and hear their plans for surgery. We have a lot of questions so this should be a very informative meeting. We have been told numerous times that these surgeons are the best of the best for this so we are so thankful that we live where we do and are blessed to have such amazing care for Ella. We'll update when we have more details next week. Thanks for your continued prayers on this. This is a big deal and something we have been working towards ever since Ella's birth so keep the prayers coming. Once we know more next week I'll be able to have more specific prayer requests but for now please pray that Ella stays healthy and continues to gain weight.

As for Miss Eva, the girl is one hot mess. She is always up to or into something. She loves Ella and is so sweet with her. This is kind of a sad but also funny story and just gives you an idea of our reality here. Whenever she is playing she pretends alot with her dolls, you know dressing them, taking them places. Well, whenever I ask her where she is taking her babies she either says a) to the doctor or b) to church. There you have it, our life in a nutshell, we are either going to the doctor or going to church. Amazing. Oh no, it's not to wal-mart or grandma's house, it's the doctor or church. She does this a lot but I just started thinking about it lately and how this is always her response. Even though I know how hard things are with Ella affects her she is rolling with the punches extremely well and is just the best big sister ever. She's even learning how to semi-work Ella's feeding pump and when it beeps she knows which of the nine buttons to push to turn it off. Normal? No. But I know that through all of this the Lord is preparing her little heart for his amazing purposes and having a sister like Ella is going to help her know her God in more intimate ways and for that I am so thankful.

And back to her getting into things. This is what she was wearing the other day when she got up from her nap. Obviously, someone did not take a nap. I don't know where she thinks she's going...actually I do, probably one of two places.

And here is what happens if we leave the bathroom door unlocked.

Lotion anyone? FYI, this did not happen on my watch. Aahh, fun times with dad. :)

More to come!