Signs of a Growing Girl

Okay ... I'm going to state the obvious just one more time. (That's a lie - plenty more to come) Elaina is growing up so fast ! Seriously -our sweet baby girl is maturing and developing new skills every single day. She is truly incredible and I love being witness to her ever changing personality.

For the past few months, I've been struggling to break Elaina of having to sit in her bathseat for each and every bath. Both of Elaina's grandma's can attest to her intense dislike of sitting in the bathtub, without the security of her giant, plastic throne beneath her bare tush. The only solution I had been able to come up with has been to take a bath with her. She starts her protest immediately, even though I hold her securely next to me. Regardless, her anxiety decreases as we play together and we read her bathtub books and sing silly songs. Over the course of many co-baths, she's done well. ( I have to admit that climbing into a warm bathtub on a cold night is so relaxing and provides me with bonus hugging time with my girl ! )

As a result of our efforts, I put Elaina into the tub by herself on Tuesday night - bathseat and mommy-free - and she barely seemed to noticed ! Okay, so that was great, but how come it took her all this time and she suddenly just "forgot ?" Oh yeah ... she's a toddler. Now I realize that this seems minimal to the average reader, but Eric and I were beginning to wonder where we going to find a bathseat to accomodate a 6 year- old. We are extremely pleased with her latest accomplishment !

And about this girl of ours that seems to be growing at top speed ... Okay, I realize that I'm sentimental, but I had to hold back the tears as I was folding her laundry the other day. I had pulled out all of her size 18 month winter clothes and could hardly believe that she is going to be that big so soon. The clothes that I was folding no longer belonged to my sweet, little infant, fresh from the hospital nursery, but a beautiful little girl, loaded with charm and personality. I held up Elaina's a pair of size 18 month pants for Eric to see and my eyes began to moisten as I tried to hold back my ridiculous tears over our growing child. Duh .. that's what we want her to do. I could tell that Eric has been astonished with her growth as well, but he didn't see the need to cry over it. It's just a mom-thing.

I failed to mention that at her doctor's appointment on Monday, she weighed in at 22 pounds and is 31' tall. She ranks in the 50th percentile for her weight and 75th percentile for her height. I am pleased with that. The doctor made a point to comment on how healthy and proportionate she appeared and that she has never seen a little girl with such a bright smile. Oh yes ... that's our girl !

With a big girl, we make big changes. One of the recent changes we have made is that Elaina has grown into size 4 diapers ! Her size 3's have served her well, but the 4's seem to have a nicer, more comforatable appearance. I'd hate to think that my baby is walking around in a bikini diaper day after day !

And finally, Sweetness, herself just paid me a visit and I asked her if there was anything else that Mommy should say about her. Elaina wanted me to say, " Noggie." So, Noggie to all !