Some big things are happening around here lately. First of all, Eleanor is definitely a walker! She occasionally still topples onto her butt, but she has learned that she can walk further if she slows down a bit, and she definitely prefers to walk. She'll giggle the whole time because she's so proud of herself. Eleanor can walk across the room 90% of the time without falling. If she's got somewhere to go quickly she will still bear crawl though. :)
The other big thing is that Eleanor has been going through some separation anxiety from me. I don't remember Bennett having that, but he was always pretty outgoing and went to a babysitter's house so he was always used to being away from me for some time. I think Eleanor is just realizing that I can leave her and so we had a few really tough weeks where I could not put her down or leave her sight without her crying. She would cling to my legs crying while I made dinner. I had to hold her while going to the bathroom. It kind of started when she was sick with a cold/stomach bug, so that might have had something to do with it. The past few weeks have been rough though and included me getting pretty frustrated and having occasional tears. Her clinginess made Bennett more clingy so many many times I was holding both my kids on my lap at the same time while they tried to push each other off. Oy. Thankfully this weekend she got better at walking and now she seems happier to follow Bennett around or carry toys around the house. She definitely still comes and checks in with me while playing, and I try to sit patiently on the floor so she knows I'm not going anywhere. I call her my "Velcro baby." :) I've been reading a little about separation anxiety and some of the advice seems to be helping. I try to tell her when I'm leaving the room so it doesn't seem like I'm sneaking away. A stage like this can last 4-5 weeks!!! We are 2-3 weeks in and it seems like it's maybe getting better.
Eleanor is super observant but fairly quiet. I feel like she's always watching us and learning, though. I was blowing on some hot food for her, then I handed it to her and she blew on it! One day we were playing with the Little People Farm and without pointing I said, "Can you put the cow in the barn?" (She was holding the cow). She crawled over and put it in the barn! I was surprised she knew what I meant! At my brother's house I was eating pumpkin pie and sharing with her, and when mine was gone I said, "Go ask your daddy if you can have some of his," And she walked right over to him! She loves to have you read her books and will often bring them to us and sit on our laps. She likes to turn the pages! Her favorite one is "Good night Gorilla." She loves to read it over and over. Eleanor says mama and dada and sometimes meaningfully. Like Brad came home from work and she crawled over saying, "Dada dada dada!" over and over. When I ask her to say Bennett she says, "Baba!" Often when I ask her to say things she moves her lips but no sound comes out, which is pretty cute, like she's trying to figure out how to mimic that word/sound. She sometimes "woofs" when you ask what the doggy says and anytime she hears the song, "We are the Dinosaurs" she starts roaring. Also the other day we were all chanting "Go pack go!" because Ben loves to do that, and she started waving her hand with us. Now she does it anytime we say Go Pack Go. :)
Eleanor loves to crawl away from us and have us "get her." She giggles the whole time. She also loves copying Bennett and laughing with him. Sometimes he's good about letting her play with him and sometimes he will shout, "No Eleanor!" When he does that she crawls over to me instead. Eleanor also loves dancing and music. She likes to sneak in some TV time when Bennett is watching it. I sometimes allow this in desperate times like when I'm trying to make dinner.
Eleanor is a GOOD eater! She's down to nursing about 4 times per day: early morning, and then before her two naps, and at bedtime. She also drinks water from a sippy cup throughout the day and is really good at it. If Ben leaves his around, though, she will try and steal that one because it usually has a juice/water mix in it. At dinner Eleanor prefers to sit in a booster seat over her high chair. She will eat whatever we're eating for the most part. She usually eats more than Bennett! (Although he's going through a picky eater stage). I think she can eat so much because she's got so many teeth. Her 8th tooth on bottom is finally coming through!!!
Eleanor is FINALLY sleeping through the night. Hooray!!! About two weeks or so ago I just couldn't handle night feeding anymore. I am so exhausted because Brad and I go to bed late (10:30/11) and the kids are up early (5:45/6am) and nursing 1-2x per night was just too much. So we had one night of 1.5 hours of crying it out, with us going in and shushing her every few minutes. Since that one night she's been fine. She will occasionally wake up around 2/3 and cry but puts herself back to sleep most times. Once in awhile Brad goes in to shush her and then she's fine. Feels great to know I get to sleep all night again. I am also SO READY to give up nursing but since Eleanor doesn't take a bottle I have to wait until she's a year and can have milk in her sippy cup. I think it'll go okay since she does well with the sippy cup. Eleanor sleeps at night 7pm-6am (give or take a little) and still naps twice (8:30 and 12:30ish for about 1.5 hours each).
Diaper changes/clothing changes are pretty much a disaster lately. Eleanor usually rolls over and crawls away before you can put the new diaper on. She thinks this is hilarious. She is wearing size 3 diapers and 9/12 month clothes. She has some 12-18 month dresses I got last year at Gap on clearance and they are a little big on her but we make them work for church. The hardest thing is finding shoes that fit her because her feet are so slender and baby shoes are SO WIDE!
A lot of people have asked me lately how I like being home instead of working. I miss teaching a lot, but I do not miss trying to do both, and it's nice I can do all our errands and cleaning/laundry during the week. Our weekends are usually free for us other than some yard work as needed. Sometimes when the kids are sick, or with Eleanor's clingy stage I get a little stressed and frustrated and then everyone in the whole house is crabbier, so I'm trying to stay positive even when things are tough. If you asked Brad, he'd probably say the same thing. On good days we both feel good about me staying home, but on bad days he probably wishes I was at work so I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed by the kids. Although being home with two littles ones is really really hard, being home is also pretty amazing. So many small moments I would miss if I wasn't here - like Eleanor and Bennett giggling together under the kitchen table. Or playing outside with Bennett, exploring with our "lookers" and finding pinecones during Eleanor's morning nap. But it's definitely easier when everyone is healthy and happy! And when we can get outside! Yikes winter will be long! :)
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