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.

What's New...

...with Fred - He has been enjoying Children's Ministry a lot.  Recently, he attended a Family Ministry Lab in Texas.  He learned a lot, and he is excited to implement some of these things in his ministry.  In April, he is getting together to discuss ministry with some friends, and he will be attending another conference.  Things with him are busy but good.

Last week, Fred took some time off for a staycation, and it was wonderful.  We did absolutely nothing except hang out all together at home.  It was lovely.

...with Erin - I have been LOVING my time at home with Eliana.  Previously, I said that I would go back to work in April and May as a Title I aide in Mooresville.  Well, I really don't get paid a lot for this job, and some other circumstances have happened.  So, we decided that it is best for me to stay at home for now.  I am really excited about this because I was not looking forward to leaving Eliana.  I do love teaching, but I have a new priority now.  If a job opens up in the fall, I am happy to take it because we could use the extra income, and I love using my talents.  However, it is not looking too promising.  We'll see what happens.

...with Eliana - Eliana has found her voice, and it is loud.  She has started talking very loudly lately, and it is really funny.  We love to listen to her stories.

Fred put together her jumperoo, and she is starting to like it more each day.  She even talks to the rooster on occasion (see the video below).  Her feet do not touch the floor at all, but she still moves around in it pretty good.

One day we caught Eliana rolling over from her stomach to her back.  It was totally an accident, but she's starting to get the hang of it.  We keep practicing.  

She likes to sit up a lot.  When I lay her in the Boppy, she tries to sit up like a big girl.  She's so silly.  

Our first date night since having the baby.  It was so nice!  Grandma Smith was in town to watch Eliana.  Eliana slept the whole time.  

Grandma couldn't resist buying Eliana this swimsuit.  She's definitely ready for the warm weather.

Such a cutie!

This was Eliana's first time sitting up in the stroller like a big girl.  She does not like the sun to be in her eyes.  

It was really sunny and windy, but it was nice to get outside for a few minutes.  This girl definitely gets lots of momma love each day.  I can't help it.  

This momma loves her baby.  

I just bought these cute headbands from a shop called Crochet Cuteness.  I think they're pretty cute if you ask me.  

I love it!

Some daddy love.  :)  Eliana is definitely looking at the television like always.  

 

Always an Adventure

This past weekend has been an adventure with little miss Eliana.  Friday was an extremely off day for her.  She was not eating or sleeping well.  I thought it was related to her gas issues as always, but I thought we had just gotten that figured out with my diet and medicine.  Throughout the day, she just seemed to get worse, and she cried more often.  I finally realized something else was wrong.  In addition to not eating or sleeping well, she has been drooling a lot and munching on her fists like crazy.  At about midnight, I realized it had to be teething.  Then, I sent Fred on a wild excursion looking for something topical to relieve her pain.  It helped a little bit.  The next night I decided that it would be a brilliant idea to transition her to her own room/crib.  I again had an awful night of sleep, and she did as well.  The next day she slept a lot because she was so tired.  I think things are starting to get back to normal, but she woke up a few times last night.  I was getting so used to sleeping through the night.  Life with an infant is always an adventure.  The pharmacist told me it was going to get a lot worse before it will get better.  I disagree.  I know that there will be trials and frustrations as we try to decode what is wrong with Eliana, but it's the best adventure that we've ever been a part of.  We signed up for all of it.  We love our baby girl, and we would do anything for her.  We absolutely love being her mom and dad.

Such a sleepy girl!

This shirt says, "Mommy's little sweetie."  She totally is.  I love her!

Please notice her hair.  I think she is working on getting rid of her hair towards the bottom, but it hasn't gone away yet.  So, it just looks a little strange for now.  Poor girl!  I keep telling her to work on growing her hair out.  

This is her new friend, Eddie Elephant.  I just realized that we should probably call her Ellie Elephant instead.

Rainy Day

Today has been nice and relaxing.  We haven't had any plans, and Fred will be back sometime tonight from his trip.  Eliana hasn't taken great naps this afternoon.  Hopefully, she'll be ready for bed at a decent time tonight.

I caught this cute picture during her short 30 minute nap this afternoon.  

3 months

I know that I always start out with this comment, but I still can't believe how big Eliana is getting.  Fred just commented the other day that this stage of her life is so fun.  I think every stage is going to be really fun in a lot of ways and somewhat frustrating in others.  As I type this, Eliana is napping peacefully in her crib.  In December, I never thought this day would come.  Here is what we're up to lately.

1. Eliana is finding her fists and sucking on them.  I'm sure this will eventually lead to thumb sucking.  She won't take a pacifier, so it's all she has left.  

2. Eliana is enjoying bath time a lot.  After she gets clean, she enjoys kicking her feet in the warm water. She proceeds to scream once I take her out of the water.

3. She is starting to sleep a lot more at night, which I have blogged about before.  However, it's a very exciting thing for me.

4. Overall, she cracks us up with her little noises and talking.  She is getting a lot more verbal, and she gets that honestly.  Plus, I try to talk to her and read to her a lot.  

5. She's starting to get really good at holding her head up.  Tummy time is still not her favorite, but it's getting better.  

We are so in love with our baby girl.  Happy 3 months!