Eloise at Eleven Months

CLOTHES SIZE: 3-6 months, 6-9 months
DIAPER SIZE: Three

LIKES:
 - Dishwasher and oven
 - Seeing herself in mirrors and phones
 - Toilet and shower
 - Stuffed animals
 - Reading books! (FINALLY)
 - Drinking from a straw
 - Any and all water activities
 - Crawling up stairs
 - Mall play areas
 - Knocking down block/cup towers
 - Rolling around balls and chasing them
 - Playing peek-a-boo
 - Fruit (especially raspberries and frozen blueberries), yogurt, and buttered toast
 - Watching adults crawl
 - Strumming the guitar
 - Pulling everything off shelves/out of drawers
 - Balloons
 - Crawling over and under objects and people, rather than around them

DISLIKES:
 - Getting woken up from a nap
 - Getting her clothes changed
 - Most veggies
 - Loud, crowded, and generally overstimulating situations
 - Getting her face wiped after eating
 - Being left alone in a room (unless there is something in that room she isn't supposed to get in to...)
 - Teething

FIRSTS/MILESTONES:
 - Usually repeating "wow" and "uh oh" when asked (44 weeks)
 - Pincer grasp (44 weeks)
 - Walking along furniture (44 weeks)
 - Signing "drink" when thirsty (44 weeks)
 - Drinking from a straw (45 weeks)
 - Waving (46 weeks)
 - Pumpkin Patch (47 weeks)
 - First STEPS!!--four in a row! (47 weeks)

RANDOM NOTES:
 - Now has five teeth total, and is working on a sixth!
 - Singing typically calms Lou down (she loves Wheels on the Bus, and How Far I'll Go from Moana)
 - Wants to be participating in whatever you are doing
 - Drinks about 18 ounces of formula and eats three meals on a normal day
 - Takes two naps each day (the first is usually about an hour, the second an hour and a half)
 - We are SOOO excited for two hour church arriving in January, because church is currently the hardest part of our week haha--can nursery actually be for one year olds please?
 - Giggles and smiles more easily than ever.
 - Max number of steps so far is seven steps in a row.
 - Very social little babe, smiles and plays peek-a-boo with strangers and is very willing to go to other people.
 - Doesn't play very well on her own right now, Lou wants you on the floor right next to her as she is playing (AKA it is very hard to get anything else done when she is awake).

It has really become more apparent recently how adventurous and daring Eloise is. She is willing to try everything and go everywhere. We're a little shocked she hasn't seriously injured herself yet with the things she has gotten into, haha. She climbs in cabinets and over shelves, she tips over chairs and walks along the couch. If there is anything in her path, she prefers to try to go over it rather than around it. Eloise JUST took her first steps this week! Her maximum so far is seven steps, but she seems to be getting more balanced every day. I can't wait until she is walking, so the knees of all her pants stop turning brown and I can take her outside when it is wet haha.

The ultimate tower!! And cute background :)

Eloise's schedule is still almost the exact same as it was last month (found here), except we switched around her morning bottle and breakfast. Lou likes eating at the same time as us, so we eat breakfast altogether soon after she wakes up, then she has her first bottle before her morning nap. All her bottles are before she sleeps now, which I like.

Eloise has gotten sooo much better at eating the last couple months, it is wonderful! Yay for figuring out the pincer grasp finally! She still loves purees (how do I wean her off these?!) and wants them after eating quite a bit of other food at each meal, which I'm fine with for now. She still isn't a big fan of most vegetables and meats, but she will sometimes try them and like them. Compared to many babies, I still wouldn't say Eloise is a great eater. She is a bit picky. But she is so much better than she used to be! Here is what Lou eats most often throughout the day with lots of fruit, her favorite:

Breakfast - Fruit, buttered toast (sometimes with a nut butter and/or jam), and some of whatever we are eating (often eggs, breakfast casserole, pancakes, oatmeal, etc.)
Lunch - Fruit, crackers/bread, plain yogurt mixed with vegetable puree (the only way I can get her to eat veggies is mixed with yogurt, so disgusting), and sometimes dinner leftovers
Dinner - Fruit, cheese, puree with baby cereal mixed in, and some of whatever we are eating (pasta, meat, bread, sweet potato, veggies, etc.)

It's funny when we get together with friends who have babies that are ages similar to Eloise. Compared to those babies, Eloise is so energetic, wild, and loud haha. It can be a little exhausting sometimes, but we love having such a fun and active (and all consuming and busy) little babe WHO IS ALMOST ONE!!

Coming soon, the pumpkin patch post with more pictures of Eloise with pumpkins like the one above *heart eyes forever*