Happy, Curious, Doll Baby

Eliana (aka E bug, Sugga Bugga, E bear, Bugga Boo, etc),
You have changed A LOT since I last blogged.  Life has gotten a lot crazier since I started working again, and your dad started grad school.  So, here's the update on what you're up to.

You really enjoy going to the babysitter's house 4 days a week while I work.  Some days you don't seem like you want to come home with me.  While you are there, you play with 3 other kids, and I think you like that.  I always feel bad when you go to the sitter after I get there.  However, your dad reassures me that I should feel good about this because you like it there so much.  He's right.  We are blessed to have such a great place for you to go.

On Fridays, you stay home with your dad.  You enjoy staying home with daddy, and he really enjoys getting to take care of you all day by himself.  When I'm around, you want me to do everything for you.

It was only a few short months ago that you figured out the whole crawling thing.  This progressed to pulling up on things.  Then, you started getting good at walking while holding on.  Now, you stand for pretty decent lengths of time.  You also take a few shaky steps on your own.  We are pretty sure you will be walking before your first birthday.  This is exciting, but I still can't believe how big you're getting.

Lately, we have been getting a kick out of your stories.  You babble away like you are saying the most interesting things.  We think your stories are fascinating, and I'm sure it won't be long before your stories actually make sense.  We also learned that I say the word 'seriously' a little too often.  It sounds like you are repeating me after I say it.  Oops.

Your personality is really starting to come out.  Many people at church describe you as happy.  Others have considered you curious and a doll baby.  We agree with all of those descriptions.

We can't believe that it is time to plan your first birthday.  It seems like this year has flown by.  Where did all of that time go?  Weren't you just a little peanut all snuggled in my arms just yesterday?  We have truly enjoyed every stage of your development this year.  It has been such an adventure in so many ways.  We love you so much, and we feel so blessed to be your parents.  You have changed our lives in so many ways.  We look forward to all you'll start to do before your birthday.

This is your first time coloring.  You like to eat the paper and  crayons.  We'll keep trying until you get it.  

This was the beginning of pulling yourself up.  Notice the Xbox controller on the couch.  You are probably trying to get it. You like to play with daddy's controller and the remote.

You like bath time.  Now, you take a bath in the big bath tub.  Lately, you like to stand up the whole time, which is a little tricky for me.  

This is the scrunchy face.  You make it when you're excited and sometimes when you're upset.  It makes us laugh, but you don't really do it as much anymore.  

You got a new toy on mommy's birthday.  I'm not sure how that worked out.  :)

Occasionally, you snuggle for a few minutes and watch TV with daddy.  He enjoys these moments.

You're a big 9 month old.  

You like to grab our glasses and daddy's hats.  

This is your first trip to an orchard.  We picked out some pumpkins on this trip.  

You're looking like such a big girl these days.  You just got to start using your snack catcher.  It doesn't "catch" the snacks because you shake it around until they all fall on the floor.  Then, you eat them.  It would be nice if you would figure out how to use it better because it grosses me out that you eat off the floor.  

2nd zoo trip.  You don't seem to notice the elephants behind us.  

Happy 10 months!  It was hard to get good pictures of you because you were all over the place.  

Happy girl!

This little stinker face cracks me up.  I see it when you know you're not supposed to do something like eat toilet paper.

Here's your pumpkin.  You must have thought it tasted pretty good.

Daddy helped carve your pumpkin.  You were a little more interested in the lighter, which was quickly moved out of your reach.  Ha!  

Fun While it Lasted

Today marks the very last day of being a stay at home mom, which I've enjoyed for the last 8 months.  There were definitely days in the past 8 months where I wondered if I was cut out for this job because it's much harder than I every imagined, but I love every minute of it.  When I was in college, I always thought that I would get bored as a stay at home mom, so I vowed to be a working mom.  However, I started teaching and quickly learned that one can't possibly be 100% teacher and 100% mom.  Something has to give along the way.  Thankfully, my job this  year is still an aide position.  I will work hourly for the Title I program, which means no report cards or parent conferences.  I can leave at the end of the day and resume being wife and mom.  I keep telling myself that this will be a good thing for Eliana and for me, but I tear up just thinking about leaving her.  It's a good thing in that we could really use the money to pay for Fred's grad school and to replenish savings after having to buy a new, used car.  It will also be good for Eliana to be around other kids and not so attached to me.  Ultimately, I know this is just part of our bigger story for now.  So, we'll make the best of it.

Since I haven't blogged in quite a few months, you should know that Eliana has been up to a lot.  She sits, crawls backwards and slowly forwards, rolls both ways, chews on everything,  has a top and bottom tooth, loves walking in her walker,  is so active, reaches for everything, claps her hands, claps her feet, claps her hands and feet at the same time, is a generally happy baby, grunts when she's frustrated, wants to learn things on her own, seems to be very independent, is starting to enjoy food better, and makes us laugh daily.

Eliana, we love you so much.  You are such a fun girl, and we love watching you grow up.  We are starting to see some of your personality, and we love that you are so active.  We can't wait to see who you become, but you could really slow it down.  Lately, you seem to learn so many new things each day.

5 months

My mom made this outfit, and it's really cute.

This is how Eliana likes to sleep sometimes.

6 months - She was barely sitting by herself.  

June 23 - Happy Birthday, daddy!  We visited camp.

6 months

E and Aunt Carrie

Eliana and Grandma Schmitt

Eliana's first time swimming

Daddy and Eliana checking out the giraffes at the zoo.

I don't think she notices the huge elephant behind her.

I made this headband for her.  I think she looks pretty cute.

VBS 2011

7 months

7 months

Grandma Smith and Eliana

Uncle Jason and Eliana - She loved him. :)

She's pretty strong.  This is all part of her moving around routine.

This is how I found Eliana one day after waking up from a nap.  She's just chillin' out. 

8 months - I should have put the sticker on her outfit before getting her dressed.  She was determined to get that sticker off, and I barely got any pictures of her looking at the camera.  Silly girl!

A Little of This and That

I've been really bad at the blog lately, but there hasn't been anything too interesting going on around here.  Eliana and I just pretty much hang out at home every day.  Lately, it's been so rainy that we can't get out to take walks or anything.  Thankfully, we have a lot on the schedule for May.  This month holds several birthdays, Ovations at church, a wedding, and our anniversary.  I'm happy to have some things to look forward to this month.  It is getting hard to stay at home by myself each day.  I love Eliana and getting to be with her, but I need things to do.

Last weekend, it was Easter, and we got to celebrate with Fred's mom and sister.  We all went to church, which was nice for me.  I haven't been to church for myself in a long time.  Lately, I've been going to teach and then coming home.

Last week, we took Eliana to the doctor again for her reflux problems.  We had taken her off of her medicine for a week, but she was really struggling.  I started to give her the medicine again, and we saw some improvements.  However, we were still having some really fussy times where I could tell she was uncomfortable.  So, the doctor wanted to see us, and she started her on a different medicine.  So far, it seems to be helping.  I'm so glad because she was pretty miserable.  I feel bad because she has had little episodes like this for a few months, but I just thought it was teeth.  I think I was wrong.  Poor girl!

We'll wait a little bit longer to start her on the rice cereal because of the reflux.  We need to make sure the medicine is doing what it needs to before adding something else that could cause problems.

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.

I walked away for a brief moment.  When I came back, she had her pillow in her hand.  

Happy Easter!

This is a little bit mean, but we had to get the picture.  She will love it someday.

Eliana's first Easter!

Enjoying some tummy time on the couch!

Before our walk....

...after our walk.  The hat did a really nice job of keeping the sun out of her eyes.

4 Months

Eliana turned 4 months old on April 7, so I'm a little behind.  However, we did just go to the doctor this Monday.  Here is what we're up to.

She weighs in at 15 pounds and 7 ounces, which is the 84th percentile.
She is 24.75 inches tall, which is the 67th percentile.
Her head is in the 58th percentile.

Lately, Eliana has been keeping her head level with her body when you hold her hands to lift her up.  She has accidentally rolled over twice now.  Usually, she just gets really mad after a few minutes on her belly because she can't figure out how to roll over.

Her hands are always in her mouth.  I think she has to be working on teeth, but I do realize this is a developmental thing, too.

Eliana is still sleeping in her napper thing and freaks out when I put her in the crib.  The doctor said to just keep trying.  She sleeps so well in her napper that it's hard for me to try the "crying out" method in her crib.  I like to get some sleep.  Eliana sleeps pretty well at night for 5-8 hours at a time.  She does pretty well for naps depending on how long she sleeps at night.  Her naps are not always planned out, but she is usually ready for one after being up for 2 hours.

The doctor said we could go off of her reflux medicine and see how it goes.  I'm still somewhat watching my diet for now.  We can start rice cereal when we want.  Our doctor recommended once a day to get her motor skills going.  She seems really interested in food when we're eating, so we will start her soon.  I set up her high chair, but I'm trying to figure out what to feed her.  I'm reading a book about making my own baby food.

Overall, Eliana is a very happy baby, and we just love getting to know her more each day.

This was her first Sunday at church.  I taught first grade, and she hung out at the elementary check in with her new friend, Julie.  

I'm not quite sure how she sleeps like this.  She was clearly ready for bed.

Go Bucks!

Happy 4 months!  This is daddy's baby blanket.  

She's telling me something really interesting.  

This is typical.

Our "natural beauty" after bath time.