Ten Months of Eloise

My classy girl,

Fun fact about Mom: I used to be really into everything Coco Chanel. I loved anything fashion design, and something about Chanel always appealed to me. I would sketch dresses that I would design and practice a logo with my name (dropping the “Ann” because I thought just “Leigh” sounded fancy). I spent hours looking at clothes online and wrote my high school research paper on her. When I was in tenth grade, my mom took me to Auburn to design camp. We drove up with two of my friends, and I spent a couple of days learning about fashion design and interior design, and while there, even got to design and sew a dress. Creativity always has been a huge part of my life, including now.

Something about having babies brings out my creativity in a new, fresh way. I can’t quite connect the thought in my head, but I think it has something to do with how creatively and perfectly God created y’all. He created us in his image, and I strongly believe part of his “image” is creativity. I view creativity as a way of self-expression that makes something that honors God, no matter what I’m making.

You may not love the same hobbies I do, and that’s okay. I will continue to offer you exposure to various projects and crafts, and I’m excited for the things you decide to try.

Growth:

You've been out longer than you were in! We've loved 43 weeks with you so far!

At your last appointment, you weighed 18.5 pounds and were 27 inches. You haven’t grown any taller but have gained weight. Now that you are so mobile, I’m afraid those squishy legs of yours will start to disappear.

You can communicate so many things! You easily sign “all done” and say “mmmm-a” for more. You can make a kissing sound when we sign “I love you,” and you can give a big smile when we say “big cheese.” You love to play "peek-a-boo" in the curtains.

You went from crawling to standing really quickly, and this month, you can take steps! It’s already so much fun with you crawling to us, so I know walking will be even better! You don’t let any kind of surface slow you down. We had to start putting socks on you outside because you were moving so quickly on the concrete and scraping your ankles.

You cut a tooth and almost have another one through! It’s a little one on the bottom and so cute!

Your personality brightens any kind of day! You are content but vocal, snuggly but independent, curious but safe. You know when you are doing what you aren’t supposed to because I can call you and you scoot so quickly across the floor. You stand up for yourself to Sully but also light up when you see him every morning. You do this thing we call "Ding Ding" because there is a character on a show, Better Call Saul, that scrunches his nose and blows out and rings a bell to communicate. You scrunch your nose and snort like him.

Milk/Food:

I was thinking you would drop some feeds now that you eat three meals a day but that’s not the case. You do both!

You have tried 82 foods so far, and we’ll get to 100 before you’re one. Your favorites lately are eggs (talk about nerve wracking), berries, and cheese.

Sleep:

You have a consistent routine of sleep, making life a touch easier. At two naps a day, it’s much easier to predict your schedule and gauge how tired you are. You also sleep through the night still, with the occasional wake up whenever your tooth came in and whenever you were figuring out how to walk. Those are understandable, though and not often.

Favorite Moments:

-After Dinner: After you and Sully are done with dinner, we let you both get down from the table while Dad and I finish up our meal. You guys almost always end up under the table, and it’s so sweet to hear your giggles.

-Outside Time: We’ve put in some pretty good hours outside lately. Our driveway is pretty scratchy, but it doesn’t slow you down one bit when we play in the water hose. You bear crawl everywhere you want to go. We also eat some lunch on the porch, swing, and go for walks while Sully looks for trash to pick up. Some nights, we take the golf cart around the neighborhood, too. It’s breezy and relaxed and fun.

-Realizing How Much You Look Like Me: Holy Moly! I didn’t really connect how much you look like me until I came across a new set of my baby pictures. It’s wild to look at you and see myself.