35 Weeks

Ella is into everything! One of her favorite things is the water bowl. We probably pull her away from it ten times a day. There's no where to put it that she can't get to it but La Roo can. So we just have to watch her. Fortunately it's not so much a safety issue as just a mess issue.

Ella and Maggie playing on Father's Day. Maggie is definitely warming up to Ella. Every time we would pick her up Maggie would say "That's my cousin! Put her down." It was really cute. And of course, Ella is just crazy about her.

I ordered baby gates to put up to keep her in the living room/kitchen area, but they haven't come yet. So for now, I just let her explore and follow her closely when she heads into the other rooms. She stood outside the office doors and banged on them and yelled at Lilly for a good ten or fifteen minutes when she discovered her in there.

We're continuing to try new foods. This is her trying cantaloupe for the first time. She seemed to like it about as much as anything else, so not a lot. She did eat some of it though. It's a good thing she still nurses so well, she's obviously not missing any meals.

When I'm in the kitchen and I want Ella to stay where I can see her, I open this cabinet and let her play with everything. It's mostly her stuff, bowls, bottles, pacifiers, etc. It keeps her very entertained, out of trouble, and in my sight.

Ella's bottom front two teeth are really starting to push up on her gums. For about a week now you can clearly feel them. I can't tell if they're hurting her but it's hard to imagine that it's not uncomfortable. For the first time she's interested in her teething ring, as long as it's cold anyway. She slept horribly Saturday night and seemed cranky and uncomfortable all day Sunday. I finally broke down Sunday night and gave her some ibuprofen. It was her first time to ever have any medicine besides the eye ointment and vitamin K shot at birth. I was really anxious giving it to her, but it seemed to help and she slept better that night. I just wish I knew for sure if she's hurting or not. If she is, I have no problem giving her medicine, but if she's not, I don't want to medicate her for no reason...

We've been taking her to the little water park near our house. We spend most of our time in the lazy river. There's a "beach" end of it where it's very shallow. I sit with her in that area and she crawls all around. Sometimes she takes off crawling out toward the deeper part. Eventually I grab her and pull her back, but I wonder how far she would go if I let her. If there are any other babies or little kids around, she goes after them. I take her around the "river" part of it to try to practice her swim stuff, but she doesn't seem to like that as much.

Ella is quite a little drummer. She has started banging on anything she can- her legs, the floor, her bongos, whatever! Any time I turn music on or start singing to her, she starts banging her little hands. Also if I clap or bang my hands, she gets going too. It's so cute. I swear sometimes she copies the rhythm or number of beats that I do, but it might be a coincidence.

It's busy, busy around here! She is definitely keeping me on my toes.