A Little Pale Pickle Eater

(She still won't take a bottle)

Eleanor has had an exciting few weeks! She's begun to explore new foods including guacamole (yum!), bananas (yum!) and pickles (YUM! (Can you believe it?!)). She loves nothing more than to gnaw on anything cold and wet. Refrigerated cantaloupe and pineapple chunks feel especially nice on her teething-fevered gums, and she loves nothing more than to spend a half hour bonding with Daddy and a slightly green banana. She's also been eye-balling our food and has been known to reach for chocolate (just like mommy).

'Can I have what you're having?'

She also loves her new baby food purees. Last week we visited our local farmer and bought many pounds of fresh veggies and fruits. I then steamed it all and pureed it in small batches and froze the puree in ice cube trays in order to make baby sized portions. Eleanor's favorite flavor is our pear and raspberry puree.

She's also sitting up with greater verticality and confidence, and is laughing harder at Daddy's funny faces and Mommy's tickles. She now spends more alone time with toys before she becomes frustrated, and is getting quite skilled at turning pages and pushing buttons (she has found that Daddy's buttons are easiest to push (wink, wink)).

Eleanor snoozes with her Snoedel from Grandma

Eleanor had her 6 month check up on Friday and was given gold stars in all areas except sleep. This Thursday we're going to let Eleanor cry a bit. Her 90 minute average sleep pattern at night has got to get better!

We're planning to treat her like an 8 month old baby (she has separation anxiety already) and go to her every 10 minutes. . . all night long. . . for as many days as it takes. Wish us LUCK! I seriously need to stock the freezer with ice cream for night time comfort and the cupboard with coffee for morning survival. Mommy and Daddy are not looking forward to this, but Eleanor is cognizant enough now to know when she should be sleeping, and we're confident that she's ready to start putting herself back to sleep!

Until next week!