Laughing in the New Year!

Eliana is getting pretty good a rolling over! She didn't even fuss as she rolled again and again for us.

Eliana and her Nanny loved laughing together!

Happy New Year!

Six Months Old on Christmas!

Eliana's Big Nanny got her this hat and bib.

Nanny bought Eliana this dress and said that every little girl needs a dress.

Since it is cold here, we played dress up for a short time so that I could get these pictures for Nanny. I think bows can be cute, but I don't like the dents they leave. Eliana tends to wear bows for a picture now and again, but that is about it. If she had hair, I don't think it would have quite the same effect. I didn't have hair for two years, so I won't be surprised if Eliana doesn't have any for a while.

Isn't this dress splendid? A friend of mine got it for Eliana. We had this photo shoot before Christmas, but I am just now getting to posting it.

So, what do I know about my daughter?

*She used to take an hour to eat, and now it is usually around 20 minutes. She is getting two solid meals a day now.

*Three fourths of December was really hard on me because we were often home and Eliana was screaming every night for long periods of time. Eating solids has calmed that way down. For the past two weeks, we have been trying to get out of the house daily. That makes me such a happier person. Eliana lights of people's faces wherever we go, and that reminds me how neat she is.

*Eliana likes to sing first thing in the morning.

*Eliana has grown out of a size 2 diapers and hopefully soon will really fit a size 3. There is some form of her laundry on the shower curtain rod everyday for the last couple of weeks.

*Eliana likes to play with my hair. She doesn't pull it. Instead she likes to touch and feel it in her fingers.

*Eliana likes pinching her dad's face.

*Eliana has been going the nursery while I am at BSF. Part way through last year they opened up a class for her age. I was very nervous about letting her go, but now I find it as a nice breather. She doesn't sleep while there unless I go and help, but that is okay.

*PRAISE THE LORD! Eliana isn't screaming in the car anymore!!! That is a HUGE blessing. I can't even tell you what a difference that makes. If she is tired and ready to sleep, she will get fussy. I often try to avoid hitting her sleepy time while traveling. That makes our outings rather quick, but I'm okay with that.

*Eliana likes to be rocked to sleep. She is still sleeping in her swing, but I don't have it on anymore. That means she can also sleep in a bouncer while we travel. I've found that once she closes her eyes, she likes to be rocked for about 10 minutes. If I put her down before then, she often wakes up quickly. If I get so caught up in the book I'm reading that I go 20 minutes or more, she often wakes up quickly. If I try to lay her down in her crib, she wakes up within 10-20 minutes. May new year's resolution is to get her to sleep in her crib.

*Eliana is around 14 pounds. Yes, that is small for her age, but it isn't small for her. She has been steadily growing and gaining weight, so the doctor isn't worried.

Things people say about Eliana.

*I just want to squash her. -Tara (If you know Tara, you know that is a good thing:) )

*What big eyes. -many strangers

*I just love her. - Taylor

*She doesn't miss a thing. -many strangers

*She is so strong! -Brandy

*She is so alert. -many strangers

*Let me hold the beebee. -Trisha

Christmas

Pop Pop and Me

Eliana loved visiting family!

My family's dinner table. I thought it was super pretty.

Trisha and I took a picture. Tara jumped in too!

Thomas, Eliana, and Me

Food

Kyle made 8 cups of pumpkin puree. Eliana loves pumpkin!!! She has also had avocado and plum mixed with rice cereal. She has drank prune juice and apple juice to help system to not plug up. Next will be sweet potato!

Eliana hasn't quite figured out this source of food. The apple chunks are in the mesh part. She liked the handle more.

Eliana has been napping better and isn't fighting us with the long minutes of screaming at night to sleep. This makes Kyle and me much happier. Eliana isn't scheduled by any means, but she does have a pattern of 4 naps and waking up once during the night to eat. Those naps vary in length. Her awake time between each nap is around 2 hours.

Eliana loves her daddy, and her daddy loves her!

A Good Morning

Eliana and I are having a good morning. I praise God for the good nap she took this morning. While she was sleeping, I prayed over and over that she would take a good nap. I thanked Him for answering that prayer.

Eliana loves her elephant from her Aunt Tara. It has made car rides SO much better! I don't think she cried much in the car yesterday at all! Praise the Lord for that!

All I Want for Christmas

All I want for Christmas is for Eliana to take good naps, go to be at 8pm with out a fight, and to sleep for a few hours. I don't even mind being woken up once in the middle of the night if it meant she'd take good naps (longer than the 10-30 minutes ones we've been having) and didn't fight us (scream, push against Kyle and I, and won't sleep even if you lay her down and let her scream for an hour).

Yes, the picture is blurry because I didn't use flash. She woke up a minute later anyway, but this was an effort to get one of my favorite ways to see her. Asleep.

Eliana's First Meal!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After having a bad dream that my family fed Eliana all kinds of fruit without asking me, I decided it was time. I asked Kyle what he thought. He was hoping I'd be ready for this next step soon.

The bib turned out to be very much needed as more food went on it than stayed inside Eliana's mouth.

Kyle got to feed her first! She loves her daddy!

She was pretty cute to watch as she liked the spoon and wanted to hold it. After all, she has learned here lately that the things we bring her are meant to be chewed on.

I really wasn't going to put this picture up, but Kyle said he liked it. Why do parents always look so silly when they feed their wee ones?

Eliana is growing, growing, growing! I moved her into 6-9 month clothes today!

6 Year Anniversary!!!

On December 4th, Kyle and I were married for six years! Wow, that is a long time to me!

My friend Ellie Grover is a wonderful photographer. She regularly does these amazing shots with wedding rings. I also love her creative perspective with the bride's shoes too. I got to thinking that if Ellie can take pictures of rings, maybe I could too. Kyle put our rings on the camel in our nativity scene while we were cooking. After a relocation to outdoors, I thought the camel and the rings looked rather nice. I love taking pictures in overcast light!