Ellie @ 8 months!

My sunny, bubbly, super girl is 8 MONTHS OLD TODAY! I can't believe it. Honestly. Can. Not. It was around this time last year that I found out she would be a daughter baby, rather than a son baby. I've said many times that I just KNEW she was a girl and there are so many reasons why I was meant to have her in my life. That said, we're nearly a point where she'll have spent more time outside my body than inside. While this might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, it reminds me that she is her own person now. She has such a variety of likes and dislikes and it astounds me to see her act upon those. How does she KNOW she hates this? Was she born to be this sneaky little slywoman? So strange. In celebration of her eighth month, I will share some of her favorites and less-than-favorites.

Ellie loves...
1. Ellie absolutely loves to smile. It's really her favorite thing to do.

2. Her second favorite thing to do is chase our cat, Darwin. I truly do mean chase. With his cast on [only three more weeks left!], he's severely slowed and she takes advantage.

3. EB is about the luckiest girl on the planet in terms of the number of people who love her. She has, like, 7 sets of grandparents. And, as if that weren't enough, she has aunts and uncles out the woooooozow. Here she is with Aunt Lisa, Aunt Christina, Uncle Michael, and Uncle Brooke.

4. Burrito loves to sleep in the car. Within minutes of the engine revving, she's OUT.

5. Besides smiling and chasing Darwin, EB is known to love Naked Baby Time. She has kept it partly modest these days [can you keep it "partly modest"?] because of all the sunshine.

6. T-Rex LOVES grass. She truly just wants to eat it, but she could play and play in an open field for days. This is one of my favorite things about her because I love grass, too! Something about taking your little chickadee out to the park and seeing her enjoy nature... I don't know, it's too much for words. [Parents: I don't mean to sound preachy, but please. Get your kids outside. Their relationship with nature will be such a valuable one.]

7. T-Rex also has a favorite clothes basket. I'm not sure if it's a car or a train or a... I don't know what she thinks it is. It has wheels and she can stand, so maybe it doesn't need much more.

8. And, as always, my sweet eight month-old loves her parents! Her first word was "Dada" and she and Andrew have had a few skype conversations. What do a deployed Dad and an infant talk about? Who knows! And, everyone that knows us knows that Ellie is a Mama's girl. Hungry, sad, tired, in need of cuddles? She'll whine Mama and curl into my arms. Talk about heart-melting. Happy Eight Months, baby!! We are so proud of the little fireball you're becoming.

Ellie hates...
1. Mondays. Well, maybe not Mondays because she doesn't know what a week even is, but she hates days where, after lots of playing all weekend, she wakes up and only I play with her. Where are all her grandparents and aunts and uncles!? How could they leave her?! I'm pretty sure she expects everyone to quit their jobs and stay home to play in the pool with her.

2. Ducks. After a near-fatal accident involving a duck and a piece of bread, she has made it clear that there is no reconciliation for she and her billed enemies.

3. Allergies. Poor EB has horrible, awful allergies that started around the 6-month mark. Can you imagine!??!

4.  T-Rex hates to have the sun in her eyes. Which is great news for me considering my love for baby-sized sunglasses. Winning all around.

5. My little girly-girl hates having to poop. That sounds strange to say, but I have gotten THIS look quite a few times.

6. Did I mention that she hates her allergies?

7. She also hates an assortment of other things [being cold, not being allowed to eat the wires of my laptop, etc etc] which make her cry like this:

8. And, most of all, she really really really REALLY hates missing her Dad. Hey, America? Let's get this terrorism thing, like, over with, so she can have him home. Kthanks.

Ellie Brooke Knieriem, you are the light of our lives and we began living the day you were born. Know that we love you unconditionally and we're so grateful to have YOU [and all your silliness] as our daughter. Heavenly Father gave you to us for such a divine purpose and we hope that we are an example to you. Though you will not remember this time in your life, I will always think of it fondly and remember the sleepless nights, giggling, and squirming with such a pain in my heart that you just HAD to grow up. Our hearts beat for you, Burrito.