So busy ... and so much fun

Eliana turned 10 months old last week and she's just doing so much. She's started handing us things and then taking them back. We've perfected putting objects into things now...for the longest time she loved to take toys out of her box and we've been working on how to put them back in. Now, if only we can teach her how to clean up her toys when she's done playing with them...


Another item, she loves to take things down and make messes. The other day I babysat a friend's baby who is 7-months-old. I was looking at something on the computer and then looked at the girls to see what they were doing and there was a big pile of books and both girls playing with them. She also likes to take the laundry out of the basket or off the couch after I've folded them.

She's had her first cold this last week and I'd say she did pretty well. We're still battling the runny nose, but other than that she's doing much better. And now she's given it to her mom and dad. The weather is started to get cooler now, so it might stick around for a little while.

Also, she's starting to get into the cabinets. Kevin's having to put the child safety locks on the doors to keep her out. She doesn't like it very much, but hopefully she'll get bored of trying.

Do you think she's gonna have curly hair?

9 Months and Counting...

Eliana is now 9 months old ... Can you believe it?! She's so fun and is learning more and more every day. She's crawling like a pro and pulling up to anything that will hold her weight ... the couch, the bookshelf, my leg, the toilet, her canvas toy box, the stove (when it's not on, of course). Obviously we have to get her down from some of those things, but you get the point. The nursery director at church said she's gonna have to move to the next room because she's "too busy". She' s only been in this room a couple months, but I guess she's advanced so fast they can't keep up with her.

She had her 9 month checkup and she's growing great - right in the 50th percentile on height and weight. She is now 18 lbs. 5 oz. and 27 1/2 inches tall. This time she got to sit on the weight scale instead of lay on it. She's such a big girl. She did get a flu shot and get her hemoglobin checked. Doctor said everything looks fine and she's growing great.

We love how much older she's acting. She likes to get down her books and read them by herself. She sits there and flips through the pages. She is getting to know cause and effect a lot more. Since we have hard wood floors, toys go flying around sometimes and she likes to hit them to see what they'll do, especially balls. She loves peek-a-boo and will pull the blanket off her own head and our heads. Pat-a-cake is a favorite as well. She's talking a lot more and will respond to you.

She's eating more solids and loves to "beg" (as Kevin calls it) to eat the food we have. We've transitioned to an older formula for babies 9-24 months to make sure she's getting the important nutrients she needs. But she pretty much eats anything we give her - thankfully - and we hope it continues.

She's just getting so big and can't believe in three more months she'll be one-year-old.

Strange

Eliana Mobilized

It's a little dark of a video. We took this at night, so we didn't have great lighting.

Videos of Eliana

Our Month of July

This past month has been a hot one here in Texas. We've had a lot going on and a lot on our minds. Here is a little recap of what we've been doing:

4th of July Weekend

Kevin's parents came to visit us this weekend. Eliana loved seeing them. We couldn't really do much outside because the temperature was over 100 degrees each day, but that just meant lots of playtime with Eliana. Kevin and his dad grilled one night and the food was delicious!

July 12th & 19th

Kevin was asked to preach at a church east of Fort Worth near Canton, Texas. It's a small country church and we really love the people. They have asked Kevin to consider becoming the Pastor, but we believe God is calling us in a different direction. Meanwhile, we enjoyed venturing out to part of Texas we hadn't seen before. Eliana has done great on the trips. We're so blessed with such a good baby girl.

July 15th - Eliana turned 6 months old!

No, we didn't throw a party, but instead she got more vaccinations. She handled it ok, but she did have a temperature and was quite fussy the rest of the day - can you blame her?!

July 31st

Today we said goodbye to our very good friends Tim and Jill McPherson. Tim and Jill are very special to us as they have been our friends and neighbors since we moved here 3 years ago. Tim and Kevin were accountability partners during their first semester in Spiritual Formation class back in 2006. Now Tim has become the Pastor of a church in Brownsville, TN. We celebrate with them in this new chapter of their lives, but we will miss them so much. Thankfully, most of their church are St. Louis Cardinal baseball fans, so hopefully they will come to appreciate that which Kevin and I have loved our entire lives.

August

August is now here and Kevin will be starting classes again very soon. Taking the summer off has been a nice break for him, but now he has to get back into the study mindset. Pray for him to stay focused and motivated. Thanks!

Ellie's First Independence Day

Eliana celebrated her first ever 4th of July by falling asleep at 8pm and sleeping all night. Yep, we wore her out. Kevin's parents came to Fort Worth to spend some time with us this weekend. There wasn't much we could do since the temperature was over 100 degrees each day, but we had plenty of play time with Eliana.

Over the last few weeks she's mastered rolling over from back to tummy. It's like an automatic motion as soon as you lay her down somewhere: floor, crib, changing table... You really have to watch where you put her so she doesn't go tumbling to the floor. She really likes playing with toys on her tummy now. And today she's said dada for the first time. Of course we do know that it's just jabber and she really isn't connecting that with Kevin, but it's fun anyway. We're working on sitting up and it seems to be quite a challenge. We use the boppy pillow around her so when she falls back she has a safe, soft place to land, but then sometimes she seems to be more interested in playing with it than sitting, so she ends up sprawled out over it by the end of the session. And she also wants to lean forward instead of keeping her back straight. So for those of you experienced parents who know good tips on teaching a baby to sit up, please leave comments. But she usually does sit for just a minute by herself. She's so cute!

Two weekends in June Kevin has had the opportunity to preach at churches here in Texas. One was in East Texas about 1 1/2 hours from Fort Worth. The other was way out in West Texas about 3 hours away. The second church was a lot of fun to travel to because we really got to see the Big Texas Sky. Man, it really gets flat out there. But it was beautiful, too. Eliana did great on the trips. She slept most of the way in the car to and from the locations and did really good with all the new people as well. She always sleeps well, so we're thankful for that. Kevin gets to preach at the one in East Texas again next weekend, so pray for him as he prepares.

Starting Solids

Pediatrician approved - we've started solids!

Feeding a 4-month-old baby is a great adventure, especially when she's learned how to blow raspberries and ends up spitting cereal all over me. Sometimes she seems a little more interested in her Bumbo seat than in the cereal, but we're learning. She's definitely not opposed to the taste. Thanks Teresa and Chris for the soft spoons!

Checkup

Eliana had her 4th month checkup today - which mean SHOTS!!! First of all, she was not a happy baby because she did not want to be in her carseat, so she cried the whole way to the doctor's office. Then while in the checkup room, she was getting really tired, so she was crying again. Then they poked her, which just made for a really upset baby. Needless to say she quickly fell asleep in the car when we left.

She's just growing and growing. She's gained 7 pounds since she was born, so now she's 14 lbs. 4 oz. And she's also grown 6 1/4 inches, so she's 24 3/4 in. tall. The doctor said she's growing well and developing well and looks really good - she even checked out her head to see if it was shaped properly and said she looks really good. The doctor asked several questions about what she can do - grab things, hold herself on her arms while on her tummy, jabber, etc., which Eliana has been doing. We're so proud of our growing baby girl!!!

My First Mother's Day

My first Mother's Day was great! Just as I was getting up to feed Eliana, Kevin went into her room, unwraped her from the snuggle blanket and put my gift on her for her to hold. She was smiling and being so cute. It was awesome! The package said MOM on it. After church we just hung out at home and enjoyed our baby girl. She's growing and growing. Hope you had a great day, too!