Update

Well, Ella's walking a lot more now-from the kitchen into the den and almost to the door leading outside. She did this yesterday and today w/her sippy cup in her hand. Of course when she tried drinking from it while walking, she lost her balance and fell forward. No big deal, she just stopped herself w/her hands and stood up again and kept going. She still loves pushing the kitchen chairs around too. When she runs one into a wall, she just pulls the next one out and pushes that one as far as she can before it hits an obstruction too (she hasn't mastered turning yet). :-) And last night was a first for her. She fed herself a banana. Usually I feed it to her (w/the peel pulled down a little bit) and she takes bites off of it. Last night, she turned her head away after taking a couple bites, so I put it on her tray and she proceeded to eat the rest of it (I just had to continue helping her w/peeling it more). Miss Independent. We also discovered that she'll eat corn as long as it's on the cob-I guess b/c she can bite into it-she thinks little pieces pulled off are too mushy. She likes peeled apple pieces too. I always watch her carefully though b/c I'm scared of her choking. We've also added cereal to her breakfast choices. I give her a little of my cereal (Special K or Cheerios) mixed w/raspberries or blueberries and she loves it. So her food repertoire is exanding, thankfully, yet she's still nursing a lot as well. Actually more times than before (6 or 7x a day) though not as long at each feeding-especially during the day. I'm hoping to go 2 years with her bfeeding. I'd like for her to wean when she's ready, but if she's not ready by 2 years, we'll have to reevaluate things-how I'm feeling if I'm pregnant again, etc. I've given up the idea of trying to have a mini vacation w/out her-having to pump 5-7x a day isn't much of a vacation if you ask me, and I doubt she'd do well being apart from us for 2-3 days. It's all good though-I'm actually okay with it b/c I know I'm doing what's best for her right now and that's all that matters.