Special Moments

 We enjoyed a special outing on Labor Day.  Awe, to enjoy the quiet of a park that has plenty of trees, grass, playgrounds, geese, and places for me to sit and rest while Kyle and Eliana explore was exactly how I had hoped to spend the day.

Eliana has been fascinated by bubbles!  Plus, you can really see all of her hair growing!!!  I had forgotten about the bubbles up on the refrigerator until Kyle went into a nesting mode on Monday and clean a ton of stuff (including the top of the fridge) and rearranged our bedroom furniture.

Best part about our morning: While putting something in the fridge, the bag of homemade play dough dropped out.  Even though my kitchen is still a mess of dishes, I stopped, and made play dough faces and shapes with Eliana.  I'm so glad that while looking at all of those dishes Eliana said, "Mommy, play!"

August Happenings

                                     Troy and Eliana up above
If you click on the picture, you can see her growing locks in the back.

GramE, Kallie, and Eliana to the left

 August has been a blur of events.  I had a baby shower in the middle of the month.  I didn't bring my camera, but I'll get some pictures of the shower from my sister some time in the future.  If I haven't had the baby by then, I just might put them up on the blog. I'm not promising a whole lot of blogging once our newest wee one comes.  We had a lot of family come up from our hometown.  It was great for Eliana to see them, especially her cousin Kallie who she played very well with.

 Eliana and Kallie

 I found that I took my camera several places in August only to realize that I hadn't charged it.  Here are a few shots from the zoo with GramE and Rachelle.  Eliana loves the tigers and the Dino Dig.

 When Aunt Marcie visited later this month, we went to the zoo again.  We were there for the grand opening of the new sea lion exhibit.  It was AMAZING and so much nicer than the former one.  There is a whole section on the other side of the exhibit where you can see through glass into the underwater world of the sea lions and seals.  I meant to snap a picture of Eliana and Aunt Marcie, but alas I didn't.

 Eliana turned 26 months last week.  My how time flies.  Overall I love having a two year old.  She's been having a hard week with her two year molars coming in.  The top two are in, and the bottom two are partially in.  Eliana loves being outside.  Yesterday while Kyle, Eliana, and I were walking in the "cool" of the evening, Eliana said, "Look, I found it!"  Curious as to what "it" was, I asked and she smiled with glee, pointed, and said, "Clouds!!!!!!!!"  Awe.  I too enjoyed the clouds multiple times on our walk and was glad that Eliana pointed them out.

Eliana's memory is cracking us up.  In July, she saw Thomas.  Thomas showed her a giant stuffed animal tiger which happened to terrify her.  If you mention Thomas, she says, "Thomas. Tiger."  After the baby shower, which was nearly two weeks ago, Taylor was holding Eliana when she had an accident (which hasn't happened to anyone else while they were holding her).  Here and there she brings up, "Pee Pee on Taylor."  She is very sorry that she did so.

Things Eliana reads or is read to are very important to her.  She regularly goes looking for the moon outside since in one of her books a bear and the moon play hide and go seek.  She can tell you just about all of the words for Kitten for a Day as you turn the pages.  Dr. Seuss's ABC An Amazing Alphabet Book cracks her up on the "c" page because the camel is on the ceiling.  "Silly camel" is her response.  Her new favorite series is the Little Bear series.  We picked up another story today at the library.  It amazes me how she can sit and listen for such a long time.  It is such a blessing, because she isn't whining due to her teeth if she is sitting and listening.

We've reached the 35+ week mark in pregnancy!  Eliana often says, "The baby is growing!"  One night a week or so ago she said, "Baby sister.  Baby sister come out and play!"  I told her baby sister needs to keep growing for a few more weeks.  We love at night when after giving me a hug and a kiss, she kisses baby sister by kissing my belly.  We've been getting some of the baby gear out, and she loves playing with it all.  Her dollies have gone in the stroller, the car seat, and had their clothes changed multiple times thanks to Aunt Marcie's handy sewing work.

I paint, Daddy

This past weekend I had been working on the laptop for awhile when Eliana woke from her nap. She ate her snack while I got in a few more minutes before coming over and insisting, "My turn. Share, Daddy." So I opened up MS Paint and told her that she could not hit any buttons, but she could move her fingers on the touch pad. We played with many different colors and techniques, and I am proud to unveil her first masterpiece.

Now when she sees me at the laptop she shouts, "I paint. I paint, Daddy."

Our Growing Girl

I don't remember the last time I took Eliana outside just to take pictures.  Although this trip outdoors also including getting the mail, I hoped I'd get a few nice shots.  I think there was such a long season of Eliana being a blur in initial photo shoots that I took a break.  Trying to get her to smile for a photo isn't happening much, but she did stand mostly still while I took a few photos.

 Thanks Elaine for the special necklace from New Zealand!  I'm hopeful that it will help her as she has her 2 year molars coming in any time now.

 These photos above and below were actually from June, but the outdoor look matched this post.  Plus I really don't know how much longer Eliana will nap, so it made sense to me to put them all together.  Eliana loves to be outside.  Drawing with chalk is a current favorite hobby.  She enjoys "helping" me with whatever I am drawing.  So there is often an animal with lovely stripes or spots on it from her handy work.

I'm amazed at how much she has grown from her 1st to her 2nd birthday.  In that year she learned to walk, run, and is currently working on jumping (which is hilarious to watch).  She feeds herself pretty well when she is interested in the food set before her.  Just last night I noticed that she is taller than the kitchen table.  I remember the season of her hitting her head on the underside of the table.  She loves to help do the dishes, switch the loads of laundry, sweep the floor, and just about anything else we do.  This morning she wanted moose in her hair since I was putting some in mine.  I tried to explain that she needs to wait until she has long curly hair, but she persistently asked for moose.  Needless to say she wasn't thrilled when I said no and put it away.  She figured out how the baby locks work on the few cabinets we keep them on.  She hasn't unloaded a cabinet for us, and she doesn't get in them unless we are talking about something she knows is in them.  For example, I mentioned needing to her some medicine, and she went and unlocked the cabinet for me.  We moved the medicine up to a top cupboard that she can't reach.  We'll continue to train her not to go in certain cabinets, but I wasn't willing to risk having the medicine in the same location.  This morning Iheard her saying parts of nursery rhymes,"Baa Baa Sheep.  Have any more?  Yes sir, Yes sir."  and "Twinkle, twinkle... twinkle, twinkle... wonder and then repeated"  which she says for all the words but in different sing-song voices.  Our little girl is growing, and we love her dearly.

Eliana is 2 years old!!!!!

Aimee and Aunt Marcie worked together to make this delicious cake!  Since the food theme was Mexican, they decided a fiesta cake with Dora would be appropriate.

Sophia, Jj, and their families joined us.  It was nice to have Eliana's neighborhood pals join us for the celebration of Kyle and Eliana's June birthdays.

                            Donald, Kelly, Taylor, Tanya              Ashlee and Dad

                            Tara and Trisha                                   Kyle, Uncle Michael, Ruli

 Nav, Jj, and Dj up front with April, Dominic, and Sophia in the back

 Mom, Aunt Dacra, Sarah, Aunt Marcie, Rachel, and Frank

                  Aimee, Troy, and Kallie                                Eliana's favorite spot for the party was this swing:)

 Eliana and Kyle received nice presents.  My favorite part was spending time with family and friends.  I loved how everyone was a part of the meal as we enjoyed three kinds of salsa, sweet fruit, burritos, chips, two tasty rice options, guacamole and more.  I couldn't decide what kind of salsa to try, so I had a little of all three on my burrito.  They were all fabulous!

 It is kind of hard to see the girls since they are in the shade of the tree, but it looks like Kallie wanted the cake as much as her cousin!!!

 Eliana has enjoyed using her desk, playing with the memory game I made, and playing in the sand at the volleyball court in our complex.

Thank you to everyone who made Kyle and Eliana's birthday celebration a fabulous day!

Things Eliana has been up to lately:
*Her vocabulary is exploding!  When I told Kyle to that recently, Eliana repeated, "Exploded!"  Last week after getting the mail she sat on the step near our home, patted the spot next to her, and said, "Sit awhile."  I was so surprised that she'd used awhile in context that I gladly obliged and enjoyed some of the morning outside.  I asked Kyle if he taught Eliana "awhile" and he said he hadn't.  My curiosity was solved at church on Sunday when Ruli remembered that is what he told Eliana when he and Rachel were watching her for a few days while we were at the mission expo.  It is so nice to have a Eliana talking with me.

*Eliana has been in the process of toilet training for a few weeks now.  We had some bumps in the road with us being gone for a few days and Vacation Bible School the week after we came back.  However, I will gladly share that last Friday she didn't have any accidents!!!  Her nap times are dry most of the time.  Soon, we'll start working on night time.  This past week I tried to stay home most of the time and really focus on toilet training.  We only went outside after she went to the bathroom, and those were for some what short periods of time.  She is bare bottomed at home so that she won't have to take the extra time fussing with a diaper, pull up, or panties.  We are still using a diaper at night and pull ups when we go to church or think we'll be gone a long time.  Although she did go to the bathroom at one of my baby appointments, she hasn't gone outside of the home since then that I can recall.

*Kyle and I are listening to To Train Up a Child by Michael and Debi Pearl.  We HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who interacts with kids.  Former Sunday school teachers gave it to us when Eliana was first born.  I listened to a cd and a half and thought it would be best for Kyle and I to listen to it together.  So, two years later we are.  We've already worked on being more consistent with Eliana and making sure she understands expectations and consequences.  I think it is part of what helped the toilet training this past week.  I've seen improvements with less whining and screaming.  Praise the Lord for improvements!!!

*Eliana's eating habits continue to vary.  Most days she enjoys breakfast and lunch.  Most days dinner is a struggle.  She loves fruit and she can correctly name many of them.  I think her current favorites are grapes and plumbs.  She also enjoys bananas, peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, apples, blueberries, and a few others that aren't coming to mind.  In order to help her eat more of her dinner, we often keep the fruit on our plate and explain what she needs to eat in order to get more of the fruit.
The last few days her tummy has been upset, so we wonder if part of the lack of eating, combine with a clear running nose, and finger chewing means she is getting her two year molars.  So far we haven't had a fever, so that is a blessing.

*Eliana's current favorite book is Mitchell's License.  She and I bought it for Kyle's birthday last year.  I thought it would be a nice book for her and her daddy to read together.  Little did I know that it would be her favorite story to be read while she sits on the toilet.  We've read it so much that she knows some of the words for several of the pages.   

Eliana is 23 months old!!!

Blogger wasn't being my friend when Eliana turned 23 months old, so some of the updates for what she has been up to in the last month and the beginning of this month.

*Eliana has more words that I can count.  She has been putting two words together and some times even a phrase here and there.  This past week she said "baby sister" which blew me away since I hadn't been talking about the baby at the time.  She also said "big sister" the next day.  I think it has to do with so many people talking to her about being a sister.  Other phrases that come to mind: "fix it", "dog poo poo" (which we watch out for when we walk", and "Elaine's house" (which she points to when we walk to get the mail).

*After visiting my family two weeks ago, my mom gave us a mini potty for Eliana to use.  The next morning, she had her babies and stuffed animals take turns going on the potty.  Then she decided she wanted to go too!  That day she went 5 times!!!  Although I wasn't sure if she was ready yet, that made it clear that we were on the adventure into potty training land.  For the first few days I kept a diaper on her, and she told me most of the time just after she had gone.  Once Kyle left for his seminary class we tried the bare bottom approach.  She has had more successes than accidents.  She has had several starting in the wrong spot and then finishing in the right spot.  Her diaper is drier at nap time.  So, we are moving in the right direction!  I can't tell you how many hours I've spent this week reading to Eliana while she waits to go.  I tried having her watch some movies while sitting on the potty, but that didn't seem to help. It did make her want to watch tv a lot.  So, I cut that out after two days.  We don't normally watch movies, and I didn't want her to have that habit.  I save Veggie Tales for those days when I need to cook, she has whined a good part of the afternoon, and she is clinging to me while I'm trying to cook.  I know there are tons of ways to potty train.  The bare bottom approach seems to be working better than the days when she had a diaper on.  Plus, she likes getting a mini pretzel when she is successful.  She still wears a diaper when we are out and about or when company is over.   I am praying for wisdom as I can tell my frustration is starting to kick in when she was just sitting on the toilet and two minutes later she has an accident two feet from the toilet.

*New words since potty training: potty, pee pee, pretzel, tomato, Bob, and Larry.

*We're working on her asking for help rather than whining and then pitching a fit out of frustration.  I think we are making progress!!!

*Eliana talks a lot.  I LOVE it!  There may come a day when I wish she was quieter, but I'll take talking over the months when she was a screaming infant any day!  She understands so much, and she is constantly trying out new words.  Yesterday she learned Joanne, our dinner guest, and tried out awesome after Joanne said it.

*Eliana was "reading" to herself.  Eliana has loved books for most of her life.  She picked up Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb after it had been gone at a friend's house for a week.  She said, "Many monkeys" for most of the pages.  I was amazed that her memory is getting so strong.  It probably has been for awhile, but now she has words to show it.  After I read part of it to her today she said, "Dum, Dum, Dum" and "drum, drum, drum" as she read.

A rock climber, a ladybug, and a baby!!!

Eliana loves to climb up rocks (with Kyle's help) and then jump off them (again with Kyle's help).  It is one of her new favorite things.  If the rock is half the size of the one pictured, she can climb it on her own and enjoys finding a spot to sit and enjoy the view.

I'm so glad we took pictures of ladybugs when we did.  A tractor came the next day and trimmed all of the grass.  Maybe the ladybugs are still out there, but they sure were fun to find in grass that seemed like a jungle to Eliana.

 If you look really carefully, you can see that there is a baby bump!!!  Wahoo!  We are 16 weeks pregnant.  The baby is the size of an avacado, has toe nails growing this week, and is pumping 25 pints of blood through the heart.  Amazing!  I've been able to feel the baby move for a couple of weeks.  I wouldn't say I've felt a kick yet like I remember Eliana's kicks, but there is definitely movement!

A few ways we told people:
GramE was visiting when we found out we were pregnant back in January.  We tried to have Eliana hand her the test, but Eliana was unwilling to share this new object.  GramE had just woken up, but she was now wide awake and thrilled with the good news!

We told my family by having the announcement in Pop Pop's 81st birthday card.  I had said it was a secret and that he was the first to know on our side, so he just read the card and closed it.  I laughed and said he could read it to everyone now.:) These kind of announcements sometimes catch people off guard.  Trisha understood first what Pop Pop read and gave me a big hug!

We were still keeping our circle of in the know pretty small when he told Anita over the phone that the I was napping because the blueberry sized baby was tiring me out.  So Anita, a trusted friend, was added to the circle of prayerful friends in the know.

I gave Jeff, a former coworker, a math problem to solve.  15 + 25 = 40.  40 is October 3rd.  I told him I'd explain after Bible and Art Club.  After an the club, he wasn't too sure what I was talking about.  I explained that 15 was that day (April 11th), to think in weeks, and think about why 40 is so important to females.  Awe, then there was recognition in his eyes.

On Sunday I told Cathy and Donna while Kyle was putting Eliana in the nursery.  Kyle poked his head out of the nursery and with an astonished face said, "WHAT?!?!?!"  He really had them wondering for a second if I had told them before I told Kyle.

Easter

 Easter wouldn't be Easter without an attempt at a family photo.  Oh the joys of the one arm photo.  Oh the faces Eliana makes.  Enjoy!

 We enjoyed the afternoon with Judy, Harry, and their family.  Harry and Judy had prepared an amazing meal with the help of her sister.  After the family left, Eliana had a special Easter egg hunt!  Judy had filled the eggs with teddy grahams and animal crackers.  Eliana loved them, as is clearly portrayed by the bulging cheek in the picture below.  We taught Eliana how to open eggs earlier that week, so she thought it was important to open as many of the eggs as possible.  She didn't realize at first that these eggs would actually have something in them!

Kyle, Judy, Peanut, and Eliana

Eliana wasn't too sure about Peanut at first, but she got brave enough to pet her.  She even stopped flinching when Peanut came by.  Peanut just wanted to smother her in kisses.

Outdoor Fun in the Sun

What is more fun than wandering through the tall grass with a tennis ball?  I'm not sure what pleases Eliana more, but I know she loves to go through these tall grasses in search of ladybugs.  She is learning to throw a tennis ball.  We're encouraging her to associate balls with throwing, and throwing with outside only.  Last week she was so excited about her new found talent of throwing that she tossed a few toys overhead and didn't understand why Kyle wasn't too happy with her.  Luckily, we have space near us for her to toss a ball and play, play, play!

 Look at the glee on Timothy's face as he is hoisted up into the air by his dad.  Awe, it is the little things that are such great blessings.

Yeah for a visit from Travis, Allison, and Callen (pictured).  Callen loved that we brought a couple of balls to play with.  It was great to see them!

Callen and Eliana are just about the same size and height.  I'm sure that he'll grow taller than her one of these days.

Yeah for a picnic play time with friends!  Thanks again Allison for setting up the gathering.