11 Months Old!!!

I can't believe Eliana is 11 months old.  It simply amazes me that she is nearly a year old.  My, my, my how time truly flies.  What a blessing she is to us, our family, our friends, and the many strangers who smile when they see her.

Eliana has dark eyes, and I've been working on capturing them for awhile.  I read a blog with amazing photography and interesting stories of a family with 14 kids.  The youngest is a day younger than Eliana.  Renee occasionally posts photography tips.  I just play around with my camera.  I really don't know much in regards to technical terms.  The picture of her son Tucker amazed me, and I've been working to capture Eliana's eyes since then.  http://bakersdozen.typepad.com/a_bakerss_dozen_daily_lif/2010/12/aperture-and-why-it-matters.html

Last week I read a blog by Misty and found a tip that made a difference.  It wasn't in super techy words, so I got the gist of what she was saying.  Plus, her blog is full of great photography, fun, and conviction of a follower of Jesus.  http://garrison-serendipity.blogspot.com/2011/05/proof-and-few-tips.html

Eliana likes to help me take my pictures:)  Lately she enjoys grabbing the cap and strap that are attached to the camera.  She is so fast these days that it can be hard to capture her quick movements as she crawls and explores. 

Eliana is a day old in this picture.  She was at the hospital getting her oxygenation levels tested while in her car seat.  Kyle went with her, and I'm pretty sure I thought about her the entire time she was gone.

Look at how big she has gotten!!!   Go back and compare where Tigger is in each picture.  Eliana was smiling at her daddy through the car window.  Eliana gets so excited when Kyle comes home.  Sometimes we are up before him.  She loves to wake up her sleeping daddy by crawling across the mountains of blankets to pat his face or grab his nose.  Kyle can be hard to rise in the morning, but he often wakes up quickly when his daughter is ready to play with him.

Family came to visit when Eliana was dedicated at church this past Sunday.  I'm so glad that Eliana is loved by her Aunt Trisha and Aunt Taylor! 

 I LOVE this picture of Eliana with her Aunt Tara.  I was impressed that Tara let her play with her necklace.  Not only did she play with it, she also chewed on it with those two new teeth that are breaking through on the top.  Eliana has a good grip.  She hasn't broken anyone's necklace yet, but she has the potential to!  We always know when Eliana has been with Aunt Tara because she comes back with glitter on her head from Tara's many kisses:)

Eliana's Grandpa Mark and Grandma Bonnie got a bear for Eliana back at Christmas time.  It had been hiding under the Christmas tree and was discovered after we had already left. HA!  Eliana didn't mind the wait.  At six months old, she didn't know how to open presents.  

Eliana loved the tissue paper!  She was elated by all of the exciting noises that tearing, crunching, and squeezing the tissue made.

Eliana has recently discovered that boxes are loads of fun!  Who needs presents?  Boxes can be just as entertaining:)    

Our home isn't the best well lit.  It cracks me up how many times I take pictures or go outside and realize that Eliana's face has sweet potato, green beans, or other food on it.  She is now in the phase were she prefers to feed herself.  She enjoys picking up French cut green beans, cooked carrots (which she wouldn't touch if they were pureed), banana (also something she didn't care too much for pureed), and bread (Oh how she LOVES bread of all kinds... wheat, sour dough, tortilla, and French bread just to name a few). 

Eliana was almost three months old in these pictures.  My goodness she was small.  I guess I was just used to her being that size since I didn't really have anyone to compare her to.

Now she actually finds this toy fun! It plays music as she either pushes it around or bangs on the tops. She likes to hit the tops as its lights flash. Ruli is going to make a drummer out of her yet.

 A profile of my sweet baby.

Eliana is on the go as soon as she wakes up!  Her memory is developing to where she notices anything new in the living room.  One day last week we picked up a light weight stroller for travel and a new puzzle.  She went from the puzzle, to the stroller, and ended with the box the stroller came in.

She gave me an amazing gift the last two days by sleeping through the night.  I don't know if it will last, or if it was sound sleep due to her adventures out of town.  Either way, I didn't mind in the slightest:)

There are pros and cons to each stage of her growth.  I appreciate the increase in sleep, how busy she keeps me during the day, and the many smiles she brings to so many people.  I am thankful that she still loves being in her stroller, the sweet smile she gets while enjoying the breeze in the park swing, and that she rarely screams in the car anymore.  Teaching her that no, she can't do everything she wants, isn't easy; but I'm glad she can't tell me no back yet.  Well, I guess she does in her own way, but she isn't using the word no back;)  I miss when she used to fall asleep on my chest.  I miss rocking her to sleep.  Although at 6+ months old I didn't know how much longer I could take it.  Now we just lay her down in her crib, give her a small soft blanket, and often she goes into sleepy land all by herself.  I'm so thankful that she doesn't cry as much as she used to.  Eliana doesn't go by a strict schedule, but she does have a pattern.  Once she is up for the day somewhere between 5am and 8am, she takes her morning nap about two hours later.  Her morning nap is around two glorious hours in which I try to get all of the things done that I used to be able to do when she was awake.  She'd rather play with me than watch me read my Bible up at the table, shower, or watch me do chores.  Now she wants to help me read, figure out how she can get me out of the shower faster, and see what it would be like to get into the dishwasher.  After being awake, she is normally up for two to three hours and then down for a nap that lasts some where between an hour to two hours.  Then she is up for the rest of the afternoon until between 6:30pm and 8pm depending upon when she got up for the day.  

I love this precious gift from God, our daughter.