Caroline Hazel; 6-9 months

So I totally missed updating with Caroline's 6-month stats....and I just skipped her 9-month appointment (no need to drag 3 kids to the doctor's office for 1.5 hours for them to tell me my baby is little, with a large noggin, and to make sure I baby-proof my house)...BUT, I do have some stinkin' cute pictures of her from the last few months, so that's something.

 At 6 months, Caroline was in the 10th-ish percentile for height and weight, and the 95th-ish for hat size.  Typical Ellis child, I guess.

 At this point in life, she was still taking 3-4 naps per day, nursing despite my miserly milk supply, and almost sitting up. 

And when I started her on solid foods, she was all in.  She was NOT interested in normal baby food like rice cereal or purees, however.  Caroline wanted whatever her sisters were eating, and she wanted to do it herself. 

She definitely does NOT get that independent streak from her mother...........

 At 9 months (and now almost 10 months), Caroline is crawling, standing, and even taking a few steps from Dad to Mom. 

She is totally a Daddy's girl.  Caroline lights up and lunges for him whenever he's in the room.  When she hears his voice as he's coming home from work she starts bouncing and giggling.  It is pretty much the cutest thing ever.  Caroline does NOT like to be left with strangers these days.  Especially at the gym.  She adores her sisters, and they can make her laugh even in the middle of a major melt-down.  This really comes in handy in the car. 

This is an example of a sister-induced laugh, mid melt-down.  Grimace or Smile....she's still cute!

Caroline was totally weaned by about 9 months.  A combination of no milk, and a potential vacation opportunity sans kids was enough for me to call it quits on nursing.  She wasn't a huge fan of bottles, but sippy cups were pretty fun, so that's how we did it.  I do miss the intimacy that comes with nursing but I must say, it's nice to have a little more freedom.  Mostly though, I'm glad to not be constantly worrying about if she is getting enough, I'm glad that she's finally sleeping through the night (I guess a full belly is really helpful for that...), and I'm glad I don't have to be trying to convince a baby to nurse while she's mostly interested in watching her sisters.  And those teeth are REALLY sharp.  Really. 

She's a sweet, sweet baby.  And it's amazing how much faster it goes by the second time around! I have to say, too, that having just ONE baby is a totally different experience.  Having twins is really special, and really fun, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.  But.  One baby....it's just so much SIMPLER.   When she cries, I can hold her.  When she's hungry, I feed her.  When she's tired, I put her down for a nap.  We have a 'schedule,' but it's nothing like 'The Schedule' I used to need to handle two babies at a time. 

I'm not saying life's a piece of cake, and that one baby is no big deal.   I am saying that life is good, I'm so grateful little Caroline is a part of our family, and can you BELIEVE that I have THREE CHILDREN????  Crazy. 

ps.  Photo credits for the 6-month pics go to my amazing sister-in-law, Megan. And the 9-month pictures were done by my amazing friend, Natalie Rumsey.