Laughing with Students

This week a student asked if we were going to have a Bible and Art Club next year.  I touched my belly and said I wasn't sure since I'll be having a baby in the fall.  She and the others were totally shocked to find that I was pregnant.

"You didn't tell us!!!" came the quick surprised response of the girl.  I could tell in her voice that she was slightly offended that I hadn't shared my secret sooner, and yet she was completely excited at the same time.

"You didn't ask."  I meekly replied.

"YOU CAN'T ASK THAT!!!" came the quick reply of the girl.

"You're right.  You can't."  I chucked and smiled back.

"That is a personal question." her friend informed me as if I didn't know.

A student who had gone to get some water returned a few minutes later and three of the girls yelled that I was pregnant.  I don't know if he was more shocked that I was pregnant or that he had such an onslaught of loud voices nearly knocking him over as soon as he stepped into the room.

Eliana is 22 Months Old!!!

Eliana and I waved at the animals we saw at the Vintage Days last weekend.  We also got to see some former students and fellow teachers.  Yeah for unexpected meetings!

Words Eliana has said this month:
"Where's Harry?"  She is still wondering where Harry, Judy's husband, is even though we haven't seen him since Easter.  I think the sounds of the airplanes remind her of him.

"Later, Later!!!" This is because Rachel tells her, "See you later alligator."

"GramE."  Finally after months of not even trying, she said GramE, or her version of it, today!

Things Eliana has tried this month:
She has successfully tried to not nap on multiple days.  With the baby coming in the fall I'm really hoping she will still be napping.  Sometimes after she has played and whined for some time, I can go into her room and lay on the floor while telling her, "Mommy is laying down.  You need to lay down."  Most of the time this works, and once she is quiet for a few minutes, we are both asleep.

She has tried ignoring our directions like, "Come here." or "Pick up xyz." or "Put your feet down (off the table)."  It isn't that she doesn't hear us.  She looks at us and watches to see what our reaction will be to her disobedience.  So, she has gotten quite a few finger flicks and swats to the bottom for ignoring us.  She is then reminded that we love her, and we expect obedience.

Rachel, Ruli, Sarah, Bryce, Kyle, Eliana, and I went swimming for the first time this year.  Eliana forgot all of the fun she had last year and was unwilling to get in the water for quite some time.  I think it had to do with the water still being cool since it went from 60 degrees to the high 90s in a week.  Once she got in, she enjoyed herself thoroughly.

Eliana has successfully rerouted our return path from getting the mail to include seeing if her two wee friends are outside to play.  We met a few neighbors a few weeks back, and Eliana affectionately calls their names as we walk toward their apartments.

Other Eliana updates:
She eats breakfast and lunch pretty well on most days.  She tends to not be a big fan of dinner.  Breakfast is often oatmeal with occasional pancakes or waffles on special days.  Lunch is often sandwiches and fruit for her and leftovers for me.  I don't tend to try and give her leftovers unless she actually ate them the night before.  Even if she LOVED the meal for dinner, she isn't likely to even LIKE it for lunch the next day.  Complicated, but she is growing.

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.