HIGH MAINTENANCE

Pitiful picture, I know. But this is what happens when she doesn't get what she wants. My sweet, peaceful little girl has become extremely high maintenance over the past week. She exhausts me! Ella is a rolling machine these days, problem is she still just rolls in the one direction so she keeps getting stuck, so literally every minute or so you have to go rescue her from wherever she is. Plus she still has the habit of while on her stomach slamming her face into the floor, so where does she try to roll to every time? The kitchen, where there is of course no carpet. So needless to say if Ella is on the floor you have to watch her every move. She was sitting up a lot better, and still is if you can make her sit still. Now instead of wanting to stand up from sitting she tries to throw herself forward so she can start rolling.

Eating is a whole other struggle, she has become a very distracted eater, and although she is hungry she just can't stop watching everything that is going on, mainly Hunter. When I feed her cereal she likes to stick her tongue out and spit, which Hunter comes over to watch because he thinks it's hilarious which then distracts Ella.

Now that all of our company is gone (we've had family visiting for 6 weeks) Ella is back in her room in her crib. She has been sleeping on her stomach now, and spits up a good bit. So, I attached one of those spit up sheets (the kind that tie on either side of the crib) so I wouldn't have to change the big sheet all the time. I went in yesterday to check on her during her nap and she had both of her arms stuck under it, so imagining in my mind her somehow getting her head stuck in there I took it out. Her next nap I tried just a lap pad, I went in to check on her and she was wrestling around with it and had it over her face. So I guess I'll just be changing the sheet everyday, good thing I have 4 of them!!

Even Ella's hair is high maintenance. All it wants to do is hang in her eyes, which it now goes down past her nose. So, countless times a day I am brushing it out of her eyes. When she is not on the floor playing or sleeping I put it in a little ponytail, but as soon as she starts moving around it comes out.

So, my Ella Grace is quite a bit of work these days. At night when it is just the two of us, and after I have wrestled her to sleep (I no longer consider it rocking her to sleep, you literally have to pin her arms down so she won't pull her pacifier out of her mouth), I sit and stare at her. So peaceful when she sleeps. Though I am wore out, I actually love that she is such a handful!! She has come so far from the tiny baby I brought home who we didn't even know if she could actually cry. I love that she is a mover and can't sit still for one minute, even in her sleep. And I especially love her attitude, and it's a big one. She knows what she wants and when she wants it. My husband said, "well maybe she figured out she really is a princess."

The above picture is after Ella's bath last night and I had just set her in the exersaucer, which apparently she did not want to be in. Even though she has quite a temper she is also very quick to give smiles. All it takes is me saying her name in a sweet voice and this is what I get. For a second anyway.