Eliana Outdoors

It is absolutely gorgeous out today!  Eliana LOVED being outside!  It was actually kind of hard to take her picture since she found so much to look at. Below are some possible thoughts of my wee one who is getting SO BIG!

Ha Ha! I found the grass!

Peace!

Is this my better side?

Or this one?

Look, the plant behind me makes me look like I have some CRAZY hair!

Awe, aren't I cute?

Evangeline

Leanne had mentioned how much Evangeline doesn't like to go shopping.  I clearly remember going to Winco when Eliana was her age. I tried to be brave and go by myself.  My timing worked well so that I fed her and got through all of the shopping at a quick pace.  The only problem was getting in line.  By that time she was done being awake and wanted to sleep.  I couldn't hold her and load the groceries onto the conveyor belt, nor could I hold her and bag.  Eliana went from whimpering to all out screaming.  For months after that, Kyle went with me grocery shopping so that line time could be daddy or mommy time.  With the memory clear in my mind, I offered to watch Evangeline while Leanne and Malachi went shopping.  When Eliana was younger, I didn't feel confident that I could handle Eliana and anyone else.  Now that she is 8 months, I figured I had a little bit more understanding of how Eliana worked.  Evangline got dropped off while Eliana napped.  I did what I do with Eliana oh so often; we had a photo shoot!

I love her gorgeous blue eyes!!!

Evangeline had already passed her smiling window, but she was a good sport for photos.

The months of rocking Eliana paid off.  I was able to rock Evangline to sleep in about 3 minutes!  Wahoo!  Five minutes after laying her down, Eliana woke up.  It all worked out wonderfully.  It was so nice to be able to help out Leanne and to visit with Evangeline.  She made me realize how big Eliana is getting!

A proud daddy

This morning, while mom slept, I was handing Eliana puffs.  Puffs are cereal-like snacks for babies that melt in your mouth.  She opened her mouth and leaned forward for me to put it in her mouth.  However, I moved my hand far enough away that she had to pick it out of my hand herself.  A puff went into the palm of her hand so that she couldn't see it.  Since she couldn't see it, she thought it wasn't there and put her hand out for another one.  Ha.  We tried again.  She used her thumb and either forefinger or middle finger to pick it up.  Once a puff was in her grasp, I pushed her hand to her mouth.  When the puff hit her gums she let go and started chomping on it.  SCORE!  She did that twice this morning.  The third puff required my help to get it into her mouth.

Last night, I sat Eliana in the floor to play while I lowered the matress in her crib.  She took the top off of a toy cookie jar, reached into it, grabbed individual shapes, and pulled them out.  WOW!  Once all the shapes were on the floor she began gumming the cookie jar.  Tasha put the shapes back inside and Eliana did it again.  I remember about three weeks ago that she wouldn't put her hand in the cookie jar, let alone notice the shapes inside of it. 

I am such a proud daddy!

It is Finished!

I finished the piece I started here and continued to work on here!  Eliana and I dropped it off at Fiful earlier this week.  They were so excited to have original art.  I was simply blessed to create art, know that it would be put up some place, and be able to put to use some of Eliana's nap time for God.

Eliana enjoyed admiring my work:)

I had to take a slightly slanted shot since the piece is now in glass.  Kyle fixed up the frame with a little putty, new paint, card board backing, and new fasteners to keep the back on.  I married a handy man!

Here was my inspiration.  I took this photo back in July 2008 while vacationing with Tara and her family in Santa Cruz.  I was stunned by these flowers that seemed to hang upside down.

A Sunny Sunday

Grandpa Franklin and Grandma Jan bought this cute outfit for Eliana many, many moons ago.  Isn't it too cute?

This picture cracked me up.  She struck a serious pose that professionals get people to do.  It only lasted a moment, but I caught it.

Trying to get good one arm photos is a challenge for when there are just 2 people.  It is a good thing Eliana has learned that our camera is something to smile and look at!

I know the sun is a bit bright here, thus the lack of my color changing glasses, but her grin was SO cute!

Sippy Cup

Eliana is busy learning lots of things.  She is learning to sleep in her crib.  Right now I am putting her down for her afternoon nap in her crib.  She isn't sleeping as long, and she does fuss for a while, but it is a start.  Eliana has learned to put her arms up if she wants to be held.  The sound of her door quietly opening as is barely scrapes across the carpet causes her to turn and see if I'm there; she has even woken up for that sound.  The sound of the front door opening often means dad is home!  She looks with anticipation and smiles ear to ear when he comes in.  Below is a pictorial display of her in the process of learning to use a sippy cup.

Chewing on the top, but there is no tilt in the cup to actually get any water.

An upside down cup makes for a good chew toy.

She has also tried chewing on the handles, but I missed the photo opportunity for that.

Eliana is 8 Months Old!

Oh the many faces of Eliana!

Teething and More...

Eliana is a funny girl. She prefers her bananas squished, not pureed. She had been fighting eating a lot lately. Her lips would close tight and eating went from a ten minute activity to double or triple that with a hope that half of the normal amount of food went in. On Sunday morning I was feeding her bananas when I felt a tooth coming in. I was so excited that I woke up Kyle so that he could feel them too. I realized later that day that she wasn't getting one tooth but both of her middle bottom teeth! It is very hard to see her teeth for two reasons. One, they are barely there. Two, when you push her bottom lip down, she automatically sticks her tongue out. :)

We went to Bakersfield on Feb. 12th for Pop Pop's Surprise 80th birthday party. That night Eliana was up every hour at least once because of congestion. She hasn't figured out how to breath out of her mouth yet, so a plugged nose meant she couldn't get air. Thus, neither of us got much sleep. It was hardly better the following night. On Monday, we went to the doctor and found out that, on top of the congestion, she has an ear infection. She had her first real fever that afternoon. There is nothing quite as scary for me being a new mom as my baby being sick. The meds helped and the fever broke some time in the middle of the night. It took a little bit, but she is good to go now!

Things Eliana is good at:

1. Smiling

2. Singing

3. Being giddy with glee when her daddy comes home

4. Pinching. Ouch!

5. Waking up once a night between 2-5 to feed (at least it is down to once a night!)

6. Going to bed between 7 and 8:30

7. Napping without having to be rocked!!! This is new over the past 2 weeks! I still swaddle her and lay her in her swing, but she is awake when I set her down and then falls asleep on her own. I'll be trying the crib again soon!

8. Standing while holding onto my fingers

9. Sitting unassisted

10. Scooting backwards on her tummy

11. Entertaining herself for longer periods of time

12. Making people (including strangers) smile

13. Greeting the day with joy