September - Fair Time

Regular milk or chocolate milk?

Baa, Baa Sheep

 Here we are getting to pictures from September. We got to go visit a small town fair and the animals were the highlight of the day.

This little piggy stayed home...

How about pumpkin pie for the whole neighborhood?

Its a floral sea anemone. :)

Rachel: It is a duct tape jacket!

Guess Visit

Grandpa and grandma with the sisters

Position the camera, click without bumping, and RUN into place!

Grandpa Mark, Natalie, Grandma Bonnie, Daddy, Eliana, and Mommy

Smiles + Looks at the camera = Miracle

Grandpa and granddaughter

 Dad, I absolutely love this picture!

Eliana-zilla loves to destroy any and every tower that gets in her way!

 Thank you! - Eliana

Clack-clack. Clack-clack. "What is that sound?" "Oh, it is Eliana rocking in the kitchen!"

Bonnie, the enchiladas were a hit; even with Eliana "fussy eater". Her favorite part was the crunchy edges. "More crunchy, pleeease!

Wings

Daddy, I want to wear my wings.

Daddy: Are you a bird?
Daughter: No! I am Eliana.
Daddy: Are you a flying zebra with a unicorn horn?
Daughter: No! I am Eliana.
Daddy: Can you fly?
Daughter: Yes! I am Eliana.

I am two, and I think that what I say needs to go.

Here I am

Sleeping while dad gets breakfast ready for big sister.

We are off to see the pediatrician.

Mama took me outside for the first time.

Here I am with my Daddy.

My big sister is Eliana. She is so excited that I have finally come out to play.

"First Impression"

Before big sister would hold me, she needed to have my blanket across her lap. I love my blanket, Aunt Marcie!

Wide awake.

My Nanny came to visit me.

Welcome Natalie Grace

Natalie Grace

Born October 9, 2012 at 12:19am

8 lbs 3 oz and 20-1/2 inches long

Name Meaning

Natalie: Christ's birthday
Grace: Unmerited Favor

Corresponding Bible verses

Isaiah 9:6-7
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Ephesians 2:8-9
 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Personal Importance

Besides sounding pretty, we love the meaning of Natalie Grace because of its spiritual importance. Humanity has chosen to reject their Creator's love and lordship. This rebellion has severed our relationship. God's ultimate desire is for restoration. John 3:16-18 says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." These three verses sum up God's great love and plan for salvation.

May Natalie be an instrument in the hands of God. May she love Him with all of her heart, mind, and soul. May she love others how He first loved her.

Baby Shower

 Rachel with the help of Sarah, Aunt Marcie, and Aunt Dacra threw me a beautiful shower on August 18th.  Trisha took the photos for me.  Since she doesn't live in town, it took a little while for me to get the photos.

We played some hilarious games like trying to figure out what white substance was in various bags.  Was that flour, salt, sugar, or laundry soap?  The guests had to try to not say baby.  I gave my clothes pen up almost immediately.  Friends and family wrote down some very thoughtful wishes for the coming baby.  Rachel read aloud a game as we passed a diaper around to our right or left depending upon what she said. The teacher in me thinks it would be a GREAT game to remind students to listen carefully.  I loved all of the games!

 

Janeth, me, and Mary                         Joanne, me, and Judy

One of the most special times was the time of prayer.  We'll be needing prayer as we continue to prepare for this wee one.  We've made it to week 39, and we didn't even make it to week 37 with Eliana.  We'll need prayer as we labor and deliver.  We'll need prayer as we transition from a family of three to a family of four.  I've been praying specifically that that this wee one will sleep better and not spit up on me all the live long day like Eliana did.  I was so very blessed by all of the prayers.

 April's little Amelia came a few days after my shower.  It has been such a blessing to have a neighbor who really understands pregnancy and to watch as she has transitioned to a family of four.

                  Theresa, Michele, Emily, me, and Lynda                  Rachel, me, and Sarah
The photos above are of family and friends who have made many special memories over the summer with us.  I'm so very grateful for them.

                                      Aimee and me                                 Aunt Marcie, me, and GramE
It is always a blessing to have family from out of town come.  The photos above and below are of family who went the extra mile, literally, and encouraged me by their willingness to give up an afternoon.

                           GramE, Aunt Debbie, and me                  me, Taylor, Mom, and Trisha
 Awe. I was just reflecting on how many sweets I had that day.  I figure since I am very careful most days about how much sugar I intact, due to me initially not passing the glucose test, I could splurge for one day.  Pass the M&Ms!

                                          Mom and me                                        Trisha and me
Thanks again friends and family for blessing us with tons of diapers, encouraging words, thoughtful gifts, and you love.

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.