One year ago today I was enormously pregnant with our 6th child. We didn't know the baby's gender and it was a whirlwind time in our life. We were in the final stages of closing on the home we owned. We had been in the rental home (the one we currently live in) for just 7 days, as we anticipated the closing of the other house any day (which didn't end up happening until 3 days after Ella was born).
Life was crazy. I was hugely, grossly pregnant and it being my 3rd pregnancy I never thought I'd make it to see my due date and still be with child. Little did I know that God's plans were for me to carry Ella for another 2 weeks. As I watch my sweet friend Britt creep up on her own due date, it brings back floods of memories from where I was at this exact time last year.
Our sweet Ella Joy is just over 11 months old and I cannot believe how quickly those months have flown by. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital or feeding her cereal for the first time or watching her roll over for the first time.
She is truly the most content, happy baby I've ever been around. I know I say that every month, but it's true. She smiles and laughs and talks all the time. And she just loves being in the mix of her older brothers and sisters.
She tolerates their hugs and kisses well, only shrieking her displeasure when she's really had too much.
When I go into her bedroom in the mornings, she crawls as hard as she can to the end of the bed and pulls up, squealing with delight. I just love kissing her plump, round cheeks. It never fails that I smooch one side and she turns her head so that I can smooch the other.
She's great at being on the go and doing things that require her to spend a lot of time on someone's lap. A few weeks ago we went to the Train Station. It was a long afternoon and as the trip spilled over into nap time, I was sure she would get so fussy that we'd have to head home early.
Instead, she sat on Luke's lap and before long was snoozing.
Even with squeals and laughter and train horns blaring she slept, completely content that the world was passing by.
She's completely weaned herself which just breaks my heart. I hope that I never forget the blessing of the last time the Lord let me nurse her. It was the night before I was scheduled to get my travel vaccines for my Guinea-Bissau trip. Ella had been sleeping through the night for quite some time and her daytime nursing sessions were minimal at best. For whatever reason (the Holy Spirit!) she woke up the in the middle of the night and refused a bottle. All she wanted was to nurse. I rocked and nursed her and treasured every, single second knowing that the next day I would voluntarily vaccinate myself with live viruses that could be passed through breastmilk. I rocked and nursed and prayed prayers of thanksgiving to God for giving me this one, final night of sweet silence with my baby girl.
It's no wonder Ella doesn't want to nurse anymore because she barely wants to sit still. She crawls at top speed to get into the same room with the other kids to see what they are doing and how she can be in the middle of it. Her sweet little laughter is infectious and her smiles are something that everyone in the family bids for.
She's not walking yet, but I anticipate it any day now. She pulls up on anything that will hold still and often lets go and stands on her own for several seconds at a time. Her little personality is beginning to show much more clearly and I can already tell she's going to be a mixture of all of her sisters' personalities. She adores being the center of attention, just like Olivia. She loves laughter and physical touch, like Ashlee. And she's tenderhearted like Elizabeth.
Our sweet Ellagoat. We all just adore and love her so very, very much. Happy (belated) 11 months sweet girl! I'm so excited to see what the Lord is going to do with your life!
