Our Radiant Family

Eliana's First Cochlear Implant Activation - Day 1 & 2

2011-11-22T18:26:00.002-06:00

It has been amazing process and the day has finally come for Eliana's first cochlear implant activation. We didn't know what to expect and were told to keep our expectations in reasonable check since she will be learning to hear for the first time. Yesterday, several weeks after her first surgery on October 25, was activation day.

Here is a video of her responding to musical instruments, which is very fitting since she loves music so much.

On day one they just barely turn the device on in order to keep her from being overstimulated and possibly in pain because of the amount of sound that she would have to process. So, today we went back for them to adjust the device up. Here are a couple videos of her responding to both computer beeps directly into her device and also to speech sounds.

It has been a blessing to be the recipient of so much prayer and care from our family and friends throughout this journey so far. We still have a long road ahead of us, another surgery on December 13 for the left ear and multiple follow-up visits for speech therapy, but we know that God will lead us through the process just as He already has been doing throughout the past couple years. "He has done all things well." (Mark 7:37)

Anaiah's First Day of School

2011-09-03T20:59:00.005-05:00

As a sibling of a deaf student, Anaiah is able to attend Eliana's school. She is in the infant class twice a week. This is such a blessing. She is blessed to get such a quality education and structure at such a young age. They have story time, snack time, free play and sensory play where they can get messy! The teacher told us not to dress them in cute clothes because they get messy. That is hard to do with a little girl. I love dressing her up! It will be fun to see her have little friends and to meet and interact with new parents.

Eliana's First Day of School

2011-09-01T18:34:00.007-05:00

Eliana started her second year of preschool this past Tuesday. She was so excited! She loves school so much. She loves her teachers and her friends. She walked in like she owned the place!

Easter Girlies!

2011-04-26T09:33:00.005-05:00

This was Anaiah's first Easter! It is so hard to get good pics of the kiddos on a Sunday morning. Daddy gets to church really early and then mommy runs around like a crazy lady, trying to get there early! Eliana had a cute updo for church, but we took it out after church. We were lucky to go to two friend's houses. The first for lunch and then one for dinner. Eliana got to hunt eggs twice! We had a great day with friends. What a blessing it is to have them.

Baltimore Zoo

2011-03-24T15:18:00.006-05:00

Thanks to Groupon I was able to get our family a family pass for the Baltimore Zoo. Not only that, but it allows us to get in zoos across the US for free which will come in handy this summer when we visit family.

Last Friday was a beautiful day, so we loaded up the car, picked Eliana up from school and headed to the zoo. Eliana loves to walk around and see everything. This zoo had two really cool slides for kids and a really neat area they pull animals so that you can see them close up.

Although her face looks mean, she is signing "more" for more animals.

That python was a little to close for my liking. It got about a foot away from a little boy that wasn't scared at all. They kept having to pull the snake away.

Growing Up So Fast!

2011-03-15T19:24:00.006-05:00

The girls are growing like weeds! Eliana is doing wonderful at school. Learning more and more words. Sometimes she is signing so fast, I don't really know what she is trying to tell me. Anaiah is our little chunky. She started eating cereal and loves to gobble it up. She has such the sweetest personality and smiles all the time. She loves to watch people and is energized when she sees people around. She started the saucer this week and rode the swing for the first time at the park. She is also about to turn over.

Santa

2010-12-23T20:41:00.004-06:00

Eliana had several Christmas activities on her last day of school before Christmas break. They had a special story signed by the librarian and then a signing Santa. The lady in the video is a deaf lady that is a teacher at the school. She also comes to the house once a week to do home visits with Eliana, as well as teach me sign language. Her father came for Christmas and is the guy in the red suit! All the kids were really shy. Actually this was Eliana's first time seeing Santa since we don't take her to the one at the mall. He is asking her if she wanted Santa to bring her a bike and then he asks her if she wants a candy cane.

Eliana LOVES trains! A friend of ours asked if we would like to join their family on a Santa train that went through scenic Maryland. I am sure that it was scenic at one time, but now it is quite residential, but fun none the less. Eliana squealed when she saw the train, especially when we got on! Anaiah was pretty alert too for a 7 week old!

Anaiah Faith Smith

2010-11-17T19:48:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the delay in blogging for our non-Facebook friends and family! I will try to get a quick update of the last three or so weeks in the next few posts. First, introducing Anaiah Faith Smith, born on October 26 at 6:15 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz, and measuring 20 inches long. We have truly been blessed with another amazing little girl.

Patty holding Anaiah for the first time:

Resting peacefully after her first bath:

In her going home dress:

With her mom before she leaves for home:

With her daddy before she leaves for home:

With her big sister, Eliana, when she got home:

Harvestfest 2010

2010-10-06T18:10:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday we had our annual Harvestfest, which I get the honor of planning. It was such a great time. It is a free event for the community, complete with bounce houses, inflatable games, car show, firetruck, family photos, pumpkin painting and great food, including caramel apples, nachos, hotdogs, popcorn, sodas, and cotton candy. The kids love it and so do I! Mommy is usually working, so Daddy gets to take Eliana around. It always makes me a little sad to not get to see her enjoy herself. Here are a few pics!

Eliana's First Haircut

2010-07-16T19:50:00.005-05:00

Eliana got her first big girl haircut today. She had no expression. She didn't fuss or smile! She sat so still the entire time. She was so good. I couldn't believe how much she looked like a big girl sitting there!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-05T19:55:00.008-05:00

We had a great 4th of July! The day started at church with our church family and ended with some great friends and fireworks.

This is Anaiah in the belly! There didn't seem to be much room for all the food I ate!

Eliana always poses so well with her daddy! Not for Mommy!

Pool time!

She likes to drink the water...

And then spit out the water...

Fireworks time! Eliana was pretty tired by this point. But loved them!

Anaiah Faith Smith (a-NYE-ah)

2010-06-21T20:32:00.004-05:00

Your name. Your name wasn’t chosen by us, it was chosen by God. God has given us a special gift in you. He has entrusted you to us for a time, until we will be with Him in glory.

Your name is special for many reasons. One, your Daddy picked it. He also picked Eliana’s name. He is a Godly man who will love you far greater than anyone else here on earth. He will be your biggest fan with a shoulder to lean on and to cry on. He is someone you can look up to as a model for your future husband. He is the head of our house. God picked him for me, just as He picked him for you.

Anaiah is a Hebrew name. We wanted you to have a Hebrew name like Eliana, because when Christ took the form of a man, He was Hebrew. Your name in Hebrew also has true meaning derived from the Hebrew text. When choosing a name for you the two most important things that we considered where the meaning of the name and the circumstances when God brought you into our lives.

Anaiah means “God answers”. Your first name comes from how your conception, birth and life bring God glory. Just like Eliana, you are an answer to prayer. God answers prayers in different ways and in His own timing. Sometimes we might not understand His ways, but His ways are always perfect. Eight months before you were conceived, we lost Tristan Natia. Tristan’s name means, “Full of sorrow with hope.” Because of the hope we have in Christ, we knew the baby was with his/her Creator in Heaven. And we knew that although we had to pray and try for Tristan, we had hope that one day God would again answer our prayers for another child. Although we didn’t know it, God knew that you needed to enter the world at just the right time in order for your life to bring Him the greatest glory. You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do. Eliana’s conception brought God glory through many years of waiting and praying. Your conception brought God glory in a different way. What we thought was impossible, God made possible. When we thought that I couldn’t conceive on my own, God was beginning His masterpiece. He was forming you in the womb before we even knew you were there. What a precious time you had with your Creator before He made you known to us, just a few weeks later.

Just like with Eliana, we want you to remember that because God answers that means He is always there. He will never leave you baby. He will be with you at all times leading you, guiding you, comforting you, cheering for you and smiling down on you. He loves you baby. He created you. He always answers. My favorite passage is Psalm 139. This passage has always brought me comfort and I love that it has such a special meaning for me and for my girls. Verses 1-10 say, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it. Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” No matter if you mess up or turn away, remember that He never left you.

Faith. Your middle name, just like Eliana’s (Grace) comes from the way that we receive salvation from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Our faith is one of the most important things to us because it is what enables us to respond to God no matter what life may throw our way. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Last summer, we had hope that someday God would again bless our lives with another child. He did with a miracle. That miracle is you. Psalm 139:13-16 says, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” God’s fingerprint is on you, baby. He formed you with His very hands before we even knew you were there. You were made in secret. You were hoped for and God’s power was being displayed in what we could not see. That is faith.

It is our prayer that you will receive the same faith that we have that God answers. We pray that your name will remind you that both when things are going well and when times are tough that you can draw near to God because you know that He cares enough to hear and answer every prayer that you pray in faith. Sometimes the answer will be no, because God knows what is best for you. Sometimes the answer is yes, because God in His goodness wants to show you His love. Other times the answer is not yet, because God has something in store that is even greater than anything you could imagine. For us, you are God’s answer to our prayers and we have great faith that He is going to work all things in our lives for His glory and our good. We love you so much, Anaiah Faith!

Mothers Day 2010

2010-05-11T18:50:00.003-05:00

What an exciting Mother's Day. Two have Eliana and one in the belly! Jason took Eliana running around most of the weekend, so I had a lot of time to myself. Sunday I woke up to a balloon and cards in the car. Jason leaves really early on Sundays. Eliana almost gave the balloon surprise away the day before, when she came in signing balloon. When we got to church he had a vase full of flowers waiting for me. Then it was out to lunch and Smith family nap.

Easter 2010

2010-04-19T20:15:00.007-05:00

We had a great time celebrating Easter this year. Good Friday we went to a friend's house to decorate Easter eggs with other friends. Eliana was a little bored with it. She did put stickers on three. As she was carrying her plate back to the table, they fell and shattered. Oops! But she did love playing outside!

This is Eliana in her Easter dress. She loved the hat. She walked proudly into church with it on, but as soon as we got to the child's check in table she took it off and put it on the table. I guess you don't wear hats inside. The nice band aid on her head is compliments of a nice fall she took the week before. That thing is still healing up and I fear a permanent bad scar.

Here she is sporting her "first" heels. She loved them. She wanted to wear them the rest of the week.

We had a great time at the same friend's house for Easter lunch. We were there all day, playing, eating and having fun with a whole bunch of friends.

Eliana loved looking for eggs and loved finding out they had candy in them, even more!

This is one tired girl after a long day. We didn't leave until about 6:30 that evening. She had so much fun!

With Jason going to work early on Sunday mornings, Eliana gets her basket for the time being, the next day. That way Daddy can see. She went straight for the eggs instead of toys, because she knew they would have candy.

Fun in the Sun... FINALLY!

2010-03-22T14:50:00.007-05:00

After a long cold winter and more snow than I can remember, we had a wonderful, sunny weekend. We took full advantage of it and headed to the park, on Saturday, with some friends from church. This park is amazing! It has the biggest playscapes I have ever seen. I haven't even climbed the stairs to the tallest slide, because it is so high. Eliana had no fear and climbed everything really well. She is a huge imitator and if she sees one kid doing something, that is her cue. That is good and bad. Her balance was great, despite previous balance and inner ear issues.

Sunday, was no different. After church, we took a picnic lunch to Harpers Ferry. That is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. Eliana fed the ducks and liked walking around with her independence. Notice the cuts and scrapes on her face. She bit it in the gravel right before heading to church and scraped her face pretty good. Then in Harpers Ferry, she did it again, right in the same spot! We ended the trip with ice cream cones.

The Big Sister

2010-03-08T07:18:00.005-06:00

We are so excited for Eliana to be a big sister. I think she will be a great one. She has been doing great with her hearing aids. I can tell now that she is hearing even more. She has noticed TV and will actually sit and watch a cartoon. You may even hear her laugh at something funny. She still isn't talking, but she will tell an occassional kid to be quiet. She recently learned the finger in front of the mouth with a shhhhh from watching Annie. When a kid with hearing aids tells you to "Shhhhh", then you must be loud.

This video is pretty random and not the most exciting thing, but hey, it is our little girl!

These were some pictures from her Auditory Brainstem Response test. She was under for 2 hours. She actually fell asleep before they drugged her. This test was back in November. She was such the big girl. She handled it all so well. She has always been pretty tough, though.

Snow Day!

2010-02-03T15:34:00.006-06:00

Eliana played in the snow for the first time today! I know, I know. Call me lazy, or call me whiney when it comes to snow, but we finally made it out there. We got 6 inches last weekend, 6 inches last night and they are calling for 24 inches this weekend. Man, I miss warm weather!

Eliana loved the snow. She went around on the snow board a few times and really liked that until she tipped over. Then the little princess wanted the snow brushed off of her hands. She quickly followed Jason's lead with making a snow man and had a fun time trying to find rocks for its face.

First off though, this is our rental house. Just so you can get an idea where we are living. We have a HUGE yard.

Christmas A Little Late

2010-02-02T19:06:00.004-06:00

It sure has been busy around the Smith house. We moved into a new rental home right before Christmas. And then I headed to Missouri for a 3 week trip. Coming back, involved a lot of appointments for Eliana and finishing unpacking.

Here are a few Christmas pics! First we headed to my parents in Kearney, MO. It was a great time to see my family. And then we headed to Springfield, MO to see Jason's parents and then off to Houston, MO to see Jason's Grandma and more Aunts, Uncles and even more cousins. It was so great to be surrounded by so much family. Eliana didn't meet a stranger. She felt so comfortable.

Party + Pony = Super Fun Times!

2009-11-09T21:26:00.007-06:00

I apologize in advance that these posts are going to be a little out of order, but I wanted to get these party pictures up.

An awesome couple at church, John and Kim Bittle, let us have Eliana's 2nd Birthday party at their house. They used to have a traveling petting zoo and pony rides business, but now just enjoy the animals at their house. The animals have been raised from birth and just roamed around with the kids. They had EVERYTHING! It was awesome. Plus they had a huge playscape within the fence. The kids would chase and pet and chase the animals. We had a BBQ with friends. It was a beautiful day for food, cake and families!

This is John and Kim's house. It was absolutely beautiful out there! And fun to see so many animals at one house.

Birthday cake time! Everyone is still talking about her little pumpkin cakes from last year, so I tried the recipe for cupcakes. They were pumpkin with chocolate chips and cream cheese icing.

This is Derek. He LOVES Eliana. He is a little boy from church. His mom says he talks about her all the time and is so stinkin' excited when he sees her.

Time to play! There was plenty of room to run around and be a kid! And to chase animals of course.

Eliana's first pony ride. She wasn't scared at all. She looks so small up there! She had the most excited smile when they put her up on the horse. That girl loves adventure!

One tired birthday girl. The fun lasted 3 hours! We loved it and are wondering how we will be able to top it next year!

Makenzie & Eliana

2009-10-19T20:23:00.004-05:00

We have been blessed with a great friendship here with Katie and Nathan Madrid. Eliana is blessed with a great friendship with Makenzie. Both with the middle name of Grace. Her first BFF... okay, maybe a little forced because the adults spend so much time together. Makenzie just turned 3 and gives Eliana great hand-me-downs. They have so much fun together. I have experienced the first "close the bedroom door to keep the parents out". And this is what they apparently do...

Fall Time!

2009-10-18T21:16:00.004-05:00

Fall is here. The leaves are changing and this area couldn't be more beautiful. After a photo shoot last weekend, Jason brought Eliana out for a few pics. Of course she loved the leaves.

In other Smith news, Eliana has her big Auditory Brainstem Response test this Friday. She goes into the pediatrician on Wednesday to see if her ears are clear of fluid. If they are, she has her test at the hospital in Fairfax, Virginia on Friday. That will be a hard day for her. Her test is at 12:30pm, and she can't eat or drink for 6 hours before. Try explaining to a 2 yr old that can't understand words why we can't give her anything. We are going to wake her up at 6am to give her a big breakfast and hopefully, she will take a morning nap before the trip. It will take us an hour to get there. We have to be there an hour ahead. She will be put under, so that will be hard. We are hoping that after this test she will be a candidate for hearing aids.

We can hear her babble, but I have never heard her voice. That was a realization I had today while talking to a friend. She was talking about her three year old that insisted she call her Cinderella. I was wondering what it would be like to have a conversation with Eliana. Hear her use words. And then there is the realization that we might not. So many things you don't think about, it makes my heart hurt.

Good news is she is picking up the sign language. She will come and ask (sign) for milk if she is thirsty. She was looking at a book the other day and I came in the room. She was signing ball. I was confused. She pointed to the picture and it was a picture of balls. I was so happy. I asked her what was on the next page and she signed cat. She also pointed to her picture and signed her name without any prompting. That one caught us off guard. The cool thing about that is that I thought that you spelled out someones name. You actually use the first letter of the name and pair it with a characteristic or attribute the person has, from the shoulders up. Eliana's is the letter e signed from the corner of the mouth up to the cheek. That is for laugh or smile, which she does all the time.

My Girl and My Man

2009-09-24T09:47:00.007-05:00

Jason and Eliana and I went to a local battlefield. It was a lot of fun. Eliana loved climbing on the canons. She is a strong little thing. She climb all the way to the top in her little girl heels. Here is a view from the hill we were on. Absolutely breathtaking.

Tall Enough for Carnival Rides

2009-08-29T09:01:00.006-05:00

Last night Jason, Eliana and I went to the Jefferson County Fair. Like last year, our church handed out free water and our small group where signed up. Our group has a lot of small kids, so the spouses split up. Some would take the kids, while some stayed back to hand out water. Eliana had a great time looking at the animals. Looking at her walk around on her own was so strange. Last year she was only 9 mths and I could still picture Jason carrying her around in that same building! She liked the baby ducks the best. And squealed with delight!

Eliana also got to ride her very first amusement park ride. She had a little friend with her. Oh my goodness! To see her excited face. She was like a volcano of excitement, that you couldn't help to be just as excited. I loved it and so did she! To tell you the truth, these moved pretty fast, and the train also moved around the track, but would also spin. Both myself and the other spouse said that our spouses would be too scared to let them ride these rides.

Smith Family Adventures

2009-08-15T08:58:00.008-05:00

This summer has been so fun with Eliana. She is at such a fun age. She makes us smile and laugh all the time. She is getting so big. When it is time to eat, she goes and pulls a chair out from the table and climbs up. She climbs into the car and into her car seat, and then back out again when it is time. She loves to brush her teeth and LOVES the water. There aren't many swimming pools around here, so we have enjoyed the Shenandoah river.

As for her hearing. She is deaf in her right ear and a mild hearing loss in her left. She has been tested for a program here in West Virginia and she begins meeting with a speech therapist this week. After the testing they said that she is above where she should be for her age in cognitive and development. They said she was really smart. But she can't hear, so she is below in vocabulary. We will begin with sign language and she will get a hearing aid. She will go for a more in depth test to see what the problem is. She will have to be put under and it will take a half a day. That is a little scary for us. But after that, she can hopefully get the hearing aid. We won't know until after that if she is a candidate for the implant.

Here are a few pics:

This was actually pretty cute. She had gotten the crown from a birthday party the week before and it was still in the car. One day we were driving somewhere and I look back and she had put it on her head and was going along with the ride. Loved it!

We had a great day at the DC Zoo and American History Museum. Everything was packed, then again, it was a Saturday.

Eliana loves the river. Well, she loves water in general. Now, if she sees us grab a swim diaper she shrieks with excitement. The river is perfect, it is the perfect height for her on the edge. And the scenery is absolutely beautiful.

Summertime Fun

2009-07-20T10:02:00.009-05:00

Jason and I had the opportunity to head home, to Missouri, for a 3 week vacation. We truly miss family and love for Eliana to get to spend time with them. Although, it ended with a tragedy, we made some great memories and Eliana had more fun than she could handle!

Making ice cream with PaPa. I don't know how much help she was sitting right in front of the handle!

Eliana and Gma Hayes. We had such a great time at Houston, MO with Gma. I think Eliana collected a lot more bruises and scrapes to add to her collection. She even got her first band aid.

PaPa and Eliana. Eliana had PaPa running all over the place at Gma's. She wanted to explore everything and everywhere.

Being nosy. Eliana loves to be nosy and look out the window. Eliana and Gma Hayes were checking to see what Gma and PaPa were doing.

Eliana, Gma Judy and Jason. It was so nice to see Eliana warm up to everyone so quickly. Especially with as little time as she gets to spend with them.

Gma Melissa's house. She got to go swimming everyday! It was easier to just put her swimsuit on when we let her outside.

4th of July. We had a wonderful 4th of July grilling and chilling. Eliana loved the fireworks. She would point to my nephew, who was lighting them, and then point to the sky. That was his cue it was time to light another one. Then she would get the biggest smile on her face.

Fun with snaps! Eliana got introduced to snaps by my sister, Penny and niece, Joy. We tried to teach her to step on them. When she did on accident she would laugh. She was pretty good at throwing them down, too.

Eliana, her cousin Joy and a flower necklace. What kid doesn't prance around wearing a beautiful one of a kind weed necklace.

Juice boxes! Eliana got to have her first juice box at Gma Melissa's and I must say it turned into an addiction. She could down those puppies in less than a minute!

Eliana got to go to the zoo for the first time, in KC. She loved it! It was so fun to see her face light up at every animal. She was so stinkin' excited.

As for the loss of our baby. I ended up passing the baby after a lot of heavy pain and bleeding, the night before I flew home. We almost had to rush me to the ER. The baby came out whole and intact and in my hand. Jason and I decided that when the time came, we would want to bury it. We were able to do that at a family cemetary. My dad does all things well, with such care and precision and honor. He mad a small white box for it with the baby's name engraved on the top. Since we didn't know the sex of the baby, Jason and I decided on a boy and girl's name. We named the baby, Tristan Natia Smith, meaning "Full of sorrow with hope".

July 5, 2009

2009-07-06T21:59:00.002-05:00

Yesterday evening Jason and I had to head to the ER. We were shopping with my parents and Eliana and I decided to go to the bathroom. There was bleeding. We headed to the ER, conveniently on the way home to my parents. I called my doctor. He said light to moderate was normal and I could wait for my appointment in a week. I would say moderate, but I don't think I could wait and not know. I got checked in quickly. They gave me an IV and a catheter. Oh, so painful. The hardest thing was not knowing what was going on with the baby. They finally took me back for the sonogram. I should be almost 11 weeks. She did an external and couldn't see anything. She did an internal. She saw the baby, but it measured the same as it did on our last sonogram, over 3 weeks ago. She couldn't get a heartbeat.

We went back to my room to wait for the doctor to release me. Jason went to get Eliana from my parents in the waiting room. She did wonderful, even though it was so late. She didn't fuss once. He brought her back and she smiled when she saw me. No matter how sad I was, that helped. She wanted me. He put her on the bed. She came right up to me and placed her head on my chest and patted me. How did she know that is exactly what I needed. She would lift her head, point to the iv and then back to my chest.

I have to go back Wednesday for blood work to confirm nothing is growing. I didn't sleep last night. I am so tired. I cry a lot. The hardest thing now is knowing that the baby is still in there, but is not alive. I still have my appointment next Monday. I will probably have to get a D&C since it has been so long and I haven't passed anything. I didn't bleed again after that small amount before the ER.

No matter how small, this was my baby and it is hard knowing that we won't get to meet him or her. As a parent you want to protect, but there wasn't anything I could do. We are traveling back at the end of the week. We were going to drive home on Thursday, for two days. Since we don't know what will happen with my bleeding, I am going to fly. Pray that either I will pass this pregnancy smoothly or that everything will hold off until I see the doctor.

Patty Smith Photography

2009-06-14T18:22:00.008-05:00

I am so excited to be starting a new adventure. I had a degree in Photography from college, but was too chicken to do anything with it. But I recently decided to start my own photography business to go along with my graphic design business. The website isn't up yet, but a temporary one will be up soon. I recently had the honor of photographing our dear friends, during their labor and delivery. What an amazing opportunity. I also had the privilege of photographing their newborn and family photos a week later. Here are a some of my favorites.

Smith #2

2009-06-14T17:01:00.002-05:00

Last Friday, we got to see baby #2. We even got to hear the heartbeat. Although the baby is measuring smaller than 7 weeks, the doctor is going to keep our due date the same. Smith #2 should be here around January 28. We are super excited. Eliana was more interested in watching the sono tech, than see the jelly bean blob on the screen. Baby is doing well, Eliana is doing great, and Jason and I are truly blessed.

How big is she?

2009-05-19T18:49:00.003-05:00

Big enough to be a Big Sis!

Yes, Jason and I have been blessed with a little brother or sister for Eliana. We are due January 27 and are extremely excited. When I got pregnant with Eliana I thought it was one of the most exciting days of my life and finding out about a second child would be exciting, but not as. Not true. I am totally elated. The kind where all you want to do is smile and think you are going to explode at any minute with excitement.

I visited a new doctor a few months ago. He had me do blood tests each month to see if I was ovulating. I wasn't. So, he decided that because of my age (I would be 35 in September) he would put me on the same treatment I had for Eliana, immediately. I did that for the first month this month and it worked! Just like Eliana! I go to the doctor on Thursday for the first time.

Pray that we will have a safe pregnancy and that God will grow this little one up healthy and strong.

Eliana's Spring Photos

2009-04-22T14:21:00.003-05:00

These are Eliana's spring pictures in her Easter dress. These were taken at Harper's Ferry.

A beautiful, big day

2009-04-18T17:44:00.004-05:00

We had such a great day today. We went to Harpers Ferry for some pictures of Eliana and had a family picnic. I could never tire of going there, it is just so beautiful! Eliana is big enough to hold your hand and walk, so that is what she did! I will post pictures of that later.

After a LONG nap, she went to a neighborhood Easter egg hunt. It got cancelled last weekend, because of rain. She had fun, mostly flirting with the little boys. And when she came up on an egg, she would point to it and expect us to pick it up and put it in her basket.

Two Tails Thursday

2009-04-16T20:23:00.003-05:00

My big girl was sporting some big girl pony tails today. With two crowns, one being in the middle of the back of her head, it proved challenging. But we got it all up!

So Thankful... Easter 2009

2009-04-13T13:41:00.005-05:00

This weekend we reflected on how much we are thankful. For without the birth of Christ, we would not have had all that is Easter. We are so thankful that God sent us a Savior. For only that, we should wake up each day thankful. And even though, we may experience much pain in our life, God also sends us little blessings. Even more ways to be thankful to a loving God. Blessings, such as spending Easter with a beautiful little girl.

Coring Easter Eggs...
Eliana wasn't really that interested in the whole decorating thing. She was mostly interested in the little medal hooks you use to get the eggs out of the dye. She would much rather grab the egg out of the dye with her hands.

The Easter Dress...
Okay, so this is the best picture I could get. We went to a friends house after church for lunch and she never stopped. She was on the go the whole time. We are hoping to get some pictures of her in it this week. Wish us luck on that one, kids are wiggly. Yeah, and notice the white tights with the cute canvas slip-ons? It was a little chilly when we woke up and a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do!

The Hunt...
This was cute. Eliana took a nap when the other kids, 12 in total, hunted for eggs. The little kids saved some for Eliana to hunt when she woke up. She had a little entourage helping her the whole time. She didn't have to lift a finger, they put them in the basket for her!

Her sights are set high for that future spouse. See how she tries to hide her amazement.

She loved the trampoline. It was funny to watch her walk around on it.

The Easter Basket...
She was so excited when she turned the corner. Look how she stands, surveying the goods.

What a wonderful Easter for the Smith family. We hope yours was just as special and that you found many things to be thankful for.

She keeps going, and going, and going...

2009-04-02T13:58:00.005-05:00

This past Sunday, Eliana attended the birthday party of one of her 3 year old friends. Yeah, she hangs out with the older crowd. The party was at this cool indoor place. It had playscapes, a moon bounce, and plenty of things to climb on, over, under and through! It was for 2 hours and she did not stop the entire 2 hours. She didn't even want to stop for food or a drink. She had so much fun! It is definitely a place I will take her to again. And, if you notice, her lip is all healed up with no scar!

She loves the slide! She even does well when she gets to the bottom. I didn't know if she would fly right off, or put her feet down to stop herself. She has also learned to put her hands on the slide to prolong the thrill. One time, she even climbed in and up the stairs by herself to go down the slide, with daddy at the top, of course.

This is a party favor she got. She carried it everywhere! She would even climb things while holding it.

This area was for kids specifically under the age of three. She loved to carry around the blocks. She would climb in and out of this area, the whole time.

So her new thing is standing on her head. Well, she basically looks like a triangle. She stiffs her legs and then puts her head on the ground, so her bottom is in the air. She does this all the time at home, too. Not sure why.

And this is her tattoo. It took 3 days for that thing to come off! It was so much fun to see her interacting with the other kids, like a big girl. One little boy would come over to her, pat her shoulder, say hi and then run off. She followed him around a lot, copying what he did.

A few other things that she is doing these days. She smacks her mouth to make kisses. If you kiss her head, she I guess hears the sound and smacks a kiss right back at you. Yesterday I was talking on the phone, she sees me, says "hi da, da" and smacks her lips. I guess, da da is the only one I talk to. Yes, that was who was on the phone. She has decided that what lies behind the cabinet doors is an adventure. She never messed with them until now. If she sees us, she quickly closes the door. Or if we say "no" she puts the stuff back and quickly shuts the door. She likes for you to chase her and if you do, she cracks up.

When I was little, my dad would lie on the ground and balance us in the air on his feet, so we could fly. Holding our hands of course. I do that with Eliana. When you go to put your foot on her chest, she already starts to crack up, which makes me crack up. So, it takes a minute for her to get in the air, after we both have stopped laughing. She is such a joy and every time I have those moments with her, I am even more thankful I stay home with her.

In Stitches

2009-03-23T12:26:00.006-05:00

Eliana Grace had to get her first set of stitches last night. And although this was her second trip to the ER, it was our first experience with a child and stitches. We were at church last night, I was attending a class, Jason was teaching one and Eliana was in the nursery. It was about 6:30 pm, after the kids had dinner that I was told that Eliana fell, cut her lip, it was pretty bad and Jason had her. She was bleeding everywhere, crying and had a pretty big gash in her lip. She calmed down and we headed out the door. We called the pediatrician and they said to take her to the ER. She was happy as a clam on the ride there. We get there about 7:30 pm. She was great in the waiting room. She walked around smiling at everyone, with this big gash on her lip. When we got called back, she became a favorite of the nurses. She was as happy as can be. She was laughing so hard. She even made her famous sound and Jason heard nurses at the desk say she sounded like a pterodactyl. I guess that is what they do sound like! When she got her 3 stitches, I left the room. I was about to cry and about to pass out. She cried during that, but when I came back, was all smiles again. She constantly amazes me. On the way out the nurses gave her a little toy for being so good. On the way home, she didn't even cry because she was tired, and it was almost 11:30 pm. Here are a few pics of her beautiful smile.

The culprit. Her sippy cup. The straw is actually rubber, so she must have hit it pretty hard.

Here is the stuffed kitty the nurses gave her before we left.

Her new, best friend through thick and thin... at least for today.

Little Miss Muffet

2009-03-20T14:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Eliana had her first experience with 8 legged friends. I was in the living room and I heard a horrible, and loud, cry/scream from Eliana. She was in the kitchen. I rush quickly to her. She is just standing there crying. I looked to see what the problem could be, and I see a little, bitty spider on the floor. She is just looking and screaming at it. The thing was only about 1/4 of an inch in diameter. I got a napkin, got the spider and comforted my scared little girl. Later that afternoon, I hear the same scream. I rush to her playroom and she is just standing there again. I guessed it was a spider and quickly looked for it. I spotted it, got it and again tried to comfort my little girl. I can now see that she isn't a fan and maybe I need to spray the house!

I was thinking about it later that night. Thinking about my own fears. I am not a fan of spiders either, but when you aren't at home to have mom or dad to get them, you kind of have to suck it up. I used to be terrified of all thing insect, and even throw in a fear of snakes. I would make my little sister sleep with me, because I heard a cricket in the room. But I do know that if the biggest, scariest spider or the biggest, slimiest snake was scaring my little girl, I would protect her. How quickly we throw our own fears aside to protect the ones we love. I would throw myself in front of her without a thought. And some fears, almost turn into obstacles that we have to overcome, instead of fear. Obstacles that we have to get through to get to our baby.

More Eliana

2009-03-18T13:34:00.006-05:00

We went to the coffee shop again to hear some kiddie music. Eliana loves it. There wasn't as many kids there this time. Jason went with me and my friend brought her husband. And the we met two other girls with their one year olds.

Eliana kept closing this suitcase and then standing on the top of it. One time we caught this little boy asking her nicely to step off of it. He was using hand gestures and explaining it to her and she just stared at him.

Yes, Eliana tried a milkshake for the first time. She kept coming back for sips. Of course she was a fan.

Last night Eliana watched the neighbors throw a football in the street again. She LOVES to watch people. She was cracking up, so I grabbed the camera. She stopped laughing then, of course. This was right before her bath, so she is bare legs and bare feet!

For Aunt Penny

2009-03-12T12:43:00.004-05:00

Okay, this one is for Aunt Penny. She has been wanting me to put up video of Eliana walking, for some time. I grabbed the camera while I was on the phone with her, so it is short and sweet, and has me whispering discretely, "I'm video'in (is that a word) her". I didn't want Penny to think I was ignoring her.

So, here goes. Eliana got real excited to see the camera. She comes right for me and I point to the cat, and she went straight for him, instead of poking the camera lens. Her new thing is to grab his tail as he is walking off. So, you hear the cat not happy and see her holding his tail, trailing behind him. I also caught her pinning him down today. The bear, is a bear that this Crouch's gave Eliana on Sunday. She carries it, or tries to carry it, around everywhere. It is almost the same size as her!

Nosy Neighbor

2009-03-09T21:28:00.003-05:00

I don't know if I will get a mom award today. First of all, my baby was either in pajamas or her underwear (aka onesie) all day. She even sported her pajamas to Wal-Mart. Yep, I said it. And I even let her eat day-old goldfish that were left in her car seat cup holder on the ride over.

See, it got really hot in her room last night, even with a fan, so I put her in a onesie. Then, I put her pajama pants over it while she played. She wore it to her nap and I decided that since she didn't sleep in them, I would just leave them on her. We weren't going anywhere, right? I realize I needed to go to Wal-Mart (no Target here yet), so might as well put on the matching top. We get in the car and she spots the goldfish from yesterday. I thought she had eaten them. She grabbed one and put it in her mouth. Oh well. I don't think I brushed her hair either.

When we get home it was hot, so I took the pajamas off. She stood at the window, staring at the kids across the street. So nosy.

On another note. She threw away her own diaper today. I changed her in the living room and was looking at the tv, I turn and notice she has taken off with her dirty diaper. I walk up to her before she turns the corner and she reaches up to give it to me. I ask her if she was throwing it away. She reaches for it back. I give it to her and then she proceeds to the trash can with it. I open the lid and she tosses it in. How smart is that? And gross, should I have let my baby carry a dirty diaper? See, no mom award today.

Startin' Early

2009-03-03T10:16:00.004-06:00

We have Eliana Grace well trained at our house. When it is time to work, it is time to work. Yesterday, she grabbed the pole to the mop and started pushing it on the floor, like it is meant to. And look how serious she is about her work. Such care. And the vacuum. Oh, my. She loved it. That was the first time I vacuumed with her there, and she cracked up. She kept chasing the vacuum, wanting to touch it.

Eliana's hair is getting so long, especially in the back. It gets caught in her bibs.

For The Love of Technology

2009-02-28T09:27:00.008-06:00

Eliana was drawn to technology this morning. She seems to know that the mouse key on the laptop is the one that gets things done. Why bother with pushing the other keys? She also likes to turn the tv on and then walk away. On a side note, she really likes to sit and watch her videos. When she was really little, she couldn't move, so sitting and watching videos was what she did. And then when she was mobile, she would watch, then go play and then watch and go play. Now she sits on some cushions and will watch the video and when it is over she gets up. It is so cute to see her sitting there like a big girl.

We have a little park across the street. She had fun as usual. She even went down the slide by herself. Jason was at the top to let her go and I was at the bottom to catch her. She loved it! Cracked up every time.

It is fun to see Eliana eating with a fork and off a plate. She doesn't bother the plate, which is good. Although one time I caught her lifting up her bowl. I kept telling her no, no touch. But then I turned again and she was doing it again, trying to drink the juice left over from her ravioli. How smart is that! She does give up on her fork, if she can't stab the food fast enough. She had Mexican food for the first time the other night. She liked it, until she got a little pepper in her mouth. Boy was she looking for that milk!

Beans in the Belfry

2009-02-16T19:22:00.005-06:00

Today Eliana and I experienced a new place with a friend of mine and her 2 year old daughter. The third Monday of every month, Mister Don sings kids songs for preschoolers. The place is a 98 year old church that has been turned into an eclectic looking coffee shop. There is a small stage, toys and even a costume trunk. We get there early and Eliana takes off for the kids on the stage playing with the toys. She is walking all the time, but wobbles a little. She has just recently decided that walking is her main mode of transportation. I bring her back to me as Mister Don sets up for the music. He has a bag of instruments for the kids. He starts playing and Eliana starts dancing in front of me. She loves music! And she loves to dance! She danced more than any other kid. She went right up to the stage again to play with the instruments and even got on the stage several times. One time I looked over, she is standing on the stage, alone, staring up at Mister Don and then starts dancing and clapping to the music. I apologize in advance for the pics. It wasn't very bright and I had my small camera.

This is Eliana dancing. I should have hit video instead of camera. It was so cute to see her so excited and moving to the music.

This is one of the times she was on stage. This was just after she was standing there dancing in front of him. I guess she decided that she needed an instrument. That is what the bag is in front of her. He did encourage the kids to stand on the stage, she just happened to be the only one at that time. I was afraid she would go up to the microphone, but she didn't, thank goodness.

One fun day for one tired little girl. As soon as we got home, she went straight to bed. I had to wake her because it was after her dinner time.

My Baby Girl: Time to Play

2009-02-09T19:35:00.003-06:00

A Little Bit of Random

2009-02-03T12:39:00.005-06:00

Eliana does this thing now, that if I say "Eliana, do this" and cock my head to the left or right, she does it too, with a really big smile. She also loves to dance.

Eliana got to play with a few friends at a Super Bowl Party.

Oh Say Can You See

2009-01-20T12:42:00.004-06:00

Jason came home for lunch, and as a family we watched the inauguration of our newest president. Eliana even got to eat lunch in the living room.

And of course Eliana participated in her first singing of the national anthem. She smiled through it.

Let is Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

2009-01-19T17:51:00.003-06:00

We saw our first, WV snowfall today. Much to my surprise, after Eliana's morning nap, it was snowing. I came downstairs and looked out the back door and huge snowflakes were coming down. Eliana smiled real big. I put her at the back door and she just kept smiling. I must admit, it was really pretty. But that is only because I was snug at home and not having to drive in it.

Better Late Than Never - Our Christmas Vacation

2009-01-10T12:29:00.009-06:00

What a two weeks. Jason and I had the opportunity to head back to Missouri for the holidays. We flew into Kansas City and stayed with my family through Christmas Eve, when we opened gifts. Drove down to Springfield, Missouri Christmas Eve night for more gifts with Jason's side and then off to his Grandma's, 2 hours away, for Christmas Day lunch with his Mom's side. We were there for two days and then back to Springfield where we had breakfast with Jason's dad's side. We were at his parents a few more days, even caught a quick SBU basketball game at our college, and then headed back to my parents a few days before coming home. Whew! But what a great time to see family. We were able to see everyone. Sibling's on both sides. And it was fun to see Eliana interact with everyone. She never skipped a beat and nobody was a stranger! This may seem like a lot of pictures, but I wished I would have taken more with family.

Eliana loved her presents. It was so fun to see her with them.

Eliana loved this little kitchen at my mom's. She played with it everyday.

It was so fun to see Eliana with her presents. This was her second go at it, so she started realizing that whatever was under that paper was going to be fun. We got to Jason's parents house, Christmas Eve night, after driving down Kansas City. We hopped on the couch and let our little miss independent sit with her cousins on the floor to open presents. It was so strange to see our little girl being a big girl.

"I think this dress will look beautiful on me!" Cousin Sarah helped her open this one.

Stocking time! She wasn't really interested at first, until I started pulling stuff out of it, then she started reaching her little arm in.

Lovin' that tractor! My daughter has a huge fascination with cars. After this picture she took over, poor cousin, Kayden, didn't have a chance! My mom had a few at her house as well and she LOVED them!

Four generations: Judy, Eliana, Grandma Hayes and Jason

Eliana and Grandma Hayes take beautiful pictures! They are both so very beautiful!

Grandma Judy and a tired Eliana. The Saturday after Christmas we had a family reunion breakfast at Jason's Aunt Mary's. Mary is Jason's dad's sister. It was great to see that side of the family, as well.

Eliana's cousin Allison was a great little helper. Eliana loved spending time with all her cousins.

Eliana and her cousin Demi.

Okay, so my sister made fun of me for this one. I took Eliana to change her diaper and forgot to snap the onesie. We look down at her later and it was sticking out. I never did fix that onesie!

Eliana with her Aunt Penny.

Penny's dog "Puppy" and Eliana peacefully checking out the outside.

Eliana and her cousin, Joy. Joy was a great little mother hen and played so well with Eliana. She would even build things out of legos, just so Eliana could knock them over.

"Pardon me, I don't mean to be nosy. Do you have a blanket? My parents have me in short sleeves."

An Ode to Socks

2008-12-05T21:28:00.004-06:00

Package of socks, oh package of socks
You are far lovelier than anything I have ever seen
I love you all three and will always keep you close to my heart...
or feet, yeah my feet
That is if Mommy can pry them out of my sweet little hands!

Okay, so the story with the socks. Jason and I are moving. Yeah, I know. We just love the joys of moving every six months. Our landlord just bought a townhouse in the same town as the church, so we jumped at the chance to move a little closer. Back to the socks. So Eliana and I went on a trip to the good old Dollar General. A quick move calls for cheap tape. We are rolling around in the cart, when I come across this package of socks. I pick them up, they are her size, she does need socks. No, I don't think I will get them. Ummm...Eliana got the biggest sad face and actually started crying. Not a "mad" because you aren't getting them, but a "sad" that we would leave them behind. Weird. I gave her the socks. And she carried them around the store. Now, usually she would chew on said socks until the wrapper came off. Not these special socks. They just stayed safely in her little hand. We went by several toys, playing with them, but she didn't care to leave those behind. We get to the check out and I had to take them from her. She made a big pouty face until the lady scanned them and gave them back. She carried them to the car. Held them securely as I pulled her arm through her car seat strap. Carried them into the house and up the stairs for her nap. I take them from her to put her in bed and she cried again. Weird. When she gets up from her nap, she grabbed them and carried them around all day. ALL DAY. Everywhere she went, she carried those socks. Under chairs, standing up, everywhere! I don't think Jason really believed me until he got home and she is sitting there, in the middle of the kitchen, with the socks.

We get them from her at dinner, finally. I happen to pick them up to move them, she sees them and loses it again. Wow! Fast forward to today. She gets up from her nap. Takes the socks and held them through lunch. That is until I snuck them away. Crazy! Thus, the picture of the socks in one hand and her milk in the other. I thought about putting them in her stocking. That is, when I first bought them. I guess they would be the most exciting thing ever!

Why buy toys?

2008-12-04T16:09:00.005-06:00

All those Christmas gifts and my daughter laughs with joy over a coupon. I guess this is a good sign that unwrapping gifts this Christmas will be fun to watch. I am sure she will be just as excited to play with the wrapping paper.

Why buy toys?

2008-12-04T16:09:00.001-06:00

My Growin' Up Girl!

2008-12-03T14:59:00.003-06:00

I just love my little peanut! I guess she is not so little anymore. She amazes me each day with how smart she is. She loves to look out the window. She really loves to look out it at night when she can see her reflection looking back at her. I also found her one evening looking out the front window at the Christmas lights across the street.

A Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T18:25:00.004-06:00

We had such a blessed Thanksgiving. Even though we couldn't be with family, we had a wonderful time with special friends here in WV. A couple from our bible study group came over with their 4 kids, as well as a guy from our bible study group. He works for the government and had to work Thursday and Friday, and his wife and kids went to her parents, so he was able to spend Thanksgiving with us. God has truly blessed us with great friends.

Every year, my mom gives the grandkids a keepsake ornament from Hallmark on Thanksgiving. Eliana had the chance to open hers by herself this year. Okay, she would rather eat the paper and then the box and then the box inside the box.

Even though Eliana wasn't all smiles, we still captured a family photo.

"Yummy for my tummy!" Eliana loved the feast! It was well worth the wait.

Tonight, it was Christmas in historic Shepherdstown. The stores were serving "sips and sweets". There were put-pockets passing out candy. There was a large bonfire for smores and chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Christmas carolers and Santa. We went down for dinner. Eliana was stiff, but cozy in her coat. She also liked to people watch through the window.

I'm Dreaming of...

2008-11-25T12:20:00.002-06:00

a white Thanksgiving. Wait. What?

I think the only reason I got this exciting news coverage is because I just left Texas. Why else would anyone videotape snowflakes with such zeal. I learned from the best!

I Can See The World

2008-11-13T15:16:00.005-06:00

Eliana had her first ride in her forward-facing car seat today. Little did she know she was on her way to get her one year old shots. She was pretty excited. Although, my little girl likes to just soak it all in and not wear all that excitement on her sleeve. She just looked and looked out all the windows.

And 5 minutes before I pulled into the driveway...

Her 1 year appointment went great. She is always so happy at the doctors office and so still when the doctors look her over. She is still 50th percentile in weight. She only gained one pound in the past three months. She is 20.3 pounds. Just barely enough to be in that new car seat. And she used to be 95th percentile in height, but has dropped to the 50th percentile. She only grew 1 inch in the past 3 months, at 29 1/2 inches. Her shots went well. She did cry when we laid her down for those. Then again there were 3 nurses to administer them! She only cried for a few minutes and then gave a big smile when I handed her a goldfish.

A Mixed Bag

2008-11-11T12:33:00.006-06:00

This past week has been filled with scary, exciting and painful things. Let's start with the scary. Friday morning, we heard Eliana talking through the monitor. It was only 7am, so we usually let her play a bit before we are ready to get her up. The next thing we know, she is crying. And it was a different kind of cry. I turned to Jason and said, "That cry sounds different." He agreed and went to go check on her. He opened the door and she was not in the crib! He looked and found her on the other side of the room, sitting there, holding the monitor and crying.

Wow! It happened! My kid fell out/climbed out of her crib! She didn't have a bruise, bump or mark on her anywhere. This past week, I have been playing with her on the floor and if I don't want her to go past me, I raise my legs up. The little dare devil just dives right over them! So, I am not surprised.

On to the exciting. We got family pictures taken on Friday with our little one year old. Here are a few.

We also got Eliana's new forward facing car seat. Unfortunately she is way to tall and long to consider keeping her rear facing. We are excited to try it out. I haven't yet, because, well on to the painful part.

Eliana is no longer a nursin' baby. She has moved completely to sippy cups! I had dropped the three feedings that corresponded with a meal first. That way, I got her up and she was able to eat breakfast, lunch or a snack with her sippy cup. The last one was the one right before bed. So, Sunday night, we put her to bed without nursing. And she did great. Went right to sleep. It was hard Saturday night when I was nursing to really soak it all in, because I wasn't sure if she would go to sleep the next night or not. But she did great and is doing great. So, needless to say my body is adjusting to that decision. I didn't get any sleep on Sunday night from the pain. Luckily Jason stayed home Monday morning to help out. And I am wearing cabbage leaves. Yes, cabbage leaves. I don't know if they are working or not. I do know that it is a very disgusting feeling and I smell like warm coleslaw. Today does feel better, but still a little painful. I am sure I will be back to normal soon. As for now, I am off to get more cabbage leaves!

Birthday Watch 2008 - Part 3

2008-11-03T20:11:00.003-06:00

Tonight we were able to spend her 1st birthday as a family. We had a few more gifts for her. Unfortunately she was extremely tired! She decided to talk through her afternoon nap. Check out that tired face!

And then it was cake time! Second time around for her and she didn't mind. She dove into it! Nothing like a lot of sugar right before bed.

Birthday Watch 2008 - Part 2

2008-11-03T18:53:00.010-06:00

We spent Eliana's birthday at the park. She loves the swing! She also liked the leaves... she liked eating them! I love my little birthday girl!

Birthday Watch 2008 - Part 1

2008-11-03T13:16:00.007-06:00

My baby turned one today! I still can't believe it. She is a number! No more no-year old. I guess she is just going to keep growing, so I better get used to it and not take any moment for granted.

The day started out with a daddy/daughter birthday breakfast date! And the location...

McDonalds! The first rite of passage... her first trip to McDonalds. I have been trying to hold off on that one, but we are really limited in the town we are in.

The second rite of passage. Her first McDonalds toy. The workers were so smitten with her and Jason had mentioned it was her birthday, so they gave her a toy. She played with that thing all morning.

Our Little Pumpkin is Turning 1!

2008-11-02T22:01:00.003-06:00

Eliana Grace had her first birthday party yesterday. Wow! I still can't believe it. However a huge milestone can't come and go without any mishaps. This will be our conversation when she is older.

Eliana: Mommy, why isn't there any video of everyone singing Happy Birthday or even me eating my cake?
Mommy: Well, we didn't check to see if the tape in the video camera had any space left on it.
Eliana: Mommy, why are all the pictures really grainy?
Mommy: Well, we didn't charge the re-chargeable batteries and tried to put regular batteries in the camera, but apparently the camera didn't like that, so we had to use our other camera which takes horrible pictures in not-lit-so-well situations.
Eliana: Mommy, why didn't you get pictures of me opening presents?
Mommy: Because I was helping you and daddy was trying to video tape after he put in a new tape.
Eliana: Oh.

Yep, it is true. The good thing is she turns one tomorrow, so we will do all of those things all over again. I am recharging the batteries as we speak. Other than that, it was a great day. I kept Eliana out all day Thursday as we shopped for everything. Way to be on top of things, don't you think? And then I baked 50 cakes on Friday and started decorating. Yep, 50 cakes! I had this great idea from a magazine. Let's just say at midnight, when I started to ice them, and I realized I had know idea how theirs could turn out cute and mine could turn out like a blob of orange icing, I had to improvise. I still think they turned out great and everyone seemed to like them.

The day started great. Jason and I ran around finishing things up. Eliana didn't take her nap. Talked for almost 2 straight hours in her crib and fell asleep about 15 minutes before I needed to get her up and put her in her costume. Luckily she is a huge people person and I knew she wouldn't fuss or get too tired out of the excitement of everyone being there. All the little kids came dressed up for the party. It was great. We had a slide show of the past year, with special music that we had selected and I started to cry a couple of times.

Here are a few pics of her special day.

This was her cake. Since her party was a pumpkin patch theme, I made little pumpkins.

This was her party. I am so thankful we had a huge empty basement to fit tables and chairs.

I made little word finds for everyone with words from her first year.

Eliana dressed up as a ladybug for the party. I love this costume! And, she didn't seem to mind it.

She stared at her cake awhile and then lightly touched the icing. It wasn't until I cut into it did she take big chunks and stuff them in her mouth.

I love this picture. She is diving into cake at her first birthday party and in the background, the slide show has a picture of her on her first few days of life.

Her cake was pumpkin with chocolate chips. This is her plate halfway through. She ate almost the whole thing!

I just needed my wheels, see ya!

Faux Hawk

2008-10-28T08:42:00.003-05:00

Is it Halloween already? Is my daughter going to be a punk rocker? Nope, just morning bed head.

Check out the height on that thing! It took me several minutes of laughing this morning to compose myself for nursing. It is a perfect faux hawk from every angle! I guess I shouldn't be surprised, she was born with one.

A woman of noble character

2008-10-27T10:53:00.005-05:00

Jason's Grandma Ruby Smith passed away last Monday, at the age of 91. She had suffered from Alzheimer's the last bit of her life. We were able to fly back on Wednesday to be with family and attend the funeral services. These pictures were taken Memorial weekend and was the last time we saw her.

I have had the honor to know Grandma Ruby for the past nine years. I have heard many, many stories about this woman and when the Proverbs ask, "A wife of noble character who can find?", it speaks of Grandma Ruby. She was a Godly woman who took care of her family. She was a hard worker with a servant's heart. She has seen so many things and has experienced so many things. She put others before herself, she was gentle, faithful and strong. She will be missed.

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Proverbs 31

Milk Already?

2008-10-20T15:32:00.005-05:00

My little girl is growing up. Today was her first day to try milk for the first time. We have begun the weaning process. She hasn't been nursing much at all the past couple of weeks and is for the most part uninterested. She has always been a little lady that moves on to the next progressive step with ease, so I shouldn't be surprised. I didn't think I would get emotional, but it was hard not to. To see my little girl with her milk made me tear up. To think that soon, that part of our connection will be over, wow.

Here are a few pics of this experience. Of course she loved it!

Our little pumpkin!

2008-10-16T08:24:00.008-05:00

Our little pumpkin will be turning one in a few weeks! That is so hard to believe. She is going to have her first costume party with all of her friends. These fall pictures were taken in Harpers Ferry.

2 months to plan - over in 3 hours!

2008-10-08T12:50:00.004-05:00

I had the opportunity to plan Harvest Fest this year for our church and community. We held it at a local park. For those of you from Firewheel, it was similar to the Easter thing and for those of you at Hill Country it was similar to Summer Fest. We had free food, live music, bounce houses and carnival games. The kids loved it. Everything went great! Eliana got a tattoo. She wasn't a huge fan of the process. So her "princess" said "prince".

She also got an opportunity to bounce in the bounce house. She laughed so hard.

One day he will be in a dress!

2008-09-30T13:23:00.004-05:00

The cat has warmed up to Eliana. It took him about 11 months, but now we think he loves her. Or at least he tolerates her and realizes someday she will be bigger than him because she is growing at a faster rate than he is (yes, the cat walks taller than the baby). I must admit these are not the most exciting videos. Eliana had just been playing in the kitchen with a kick ball and the cat walked in. She got really excited and started chasing him, she chased him all around the kitchen and then back into the living room, before I got the camera. Both were probably a little bored of the game. But, I promised my mom more videos, so here goes. Also, before anyone gives me the bad mom award for 2008, we don't let Eliana go down the hall towards the stairs. She can climb the steps (crazy enough, she just did it one day like she had been doing it forever), but she can't get started on that bottom step because the floor is slippery. Yes, it is time to buy a gate.

We are now live!

2008-09-27T19:40:00.004-05:00

After a lot of sweat and tears, okay, neither of those really, but a lot of work and creativity, we have a new website! With the help of church plant media (building the site), Jason (adding all the content) and myself (handling the graphics) we created a great site, that is now live! We are excited to unveil our new site tomorrow to the church body. What an exciting process! All we need to do now is take staff and elders pictures and get those up. But for now, we would love for you to take a look at www.hpcc.com.

For the Grandparents...

2008-09-19T10:30:00.003-05:00

and the daddy. Eliana has learned to stand up. And seems to do it at least once a day in her crib. Although, when we aren't looking, she is probably in there bustin' out some pretty sweet moves in front of her stuffed toys. Anyway, Jason still hasn't seen it! She was awake from her nap and I found her standing up. Layed her back down and before I knew it... up again. I got the camera and decided to shoot some video for daddy. She has also been covering her mouth to giggle. I would love to get that on video!

So Big!

2008-09-16T07:49:00.005-05:00

This past week, Eliana has learned to clap. She claps at everything. She claps when her movies start. She claps whenever you say "Yeah!". She loves to clap. She has also learned to push you away if she doesn't want you messing with her. What is that about? She reaches for people more and more and even crawled up under my legs while I was doing dishes and tugged at my pants. When I looked down, she reached her arms up. She has also pulled up to stand. I had her in her pack n play last week while I was on the computer and I look back and she was standing. She couldn't see me through the border while on her knees, so I guess she decided to pull up to get a better view. She hasn't done it for Jason yet, although has come close. She didn't want to take her nap, so I went to check on her and this is what I found...

Don't let the smile fool you. She has been sick this past week. A really bad runny nose, so it has been hard for her to lay down. So, her naps haven't been as smooth. She had been crying, so if you look close, you can see a face full of tears and snot.

And this was Eliana almost a year ago in that same bed. Boy does time fly!

Back In Time at Harper's Ferry

2008-09-11T16:48:00.006-05:00

Today we had the opportunity to see Harper's Ferry with Jason's family. No matter how many times we go there, I love it! We got to see more of it this time around. It is like you step back in time. As you step in each building it looks like it did then. Each, its own museum, preserved in time. The general store, the boarding house, the old tavern... It is amazing. Of course many beautiful places to take pictures. So many textures for backgrounds! Love it! I can't wait to take Eliana there in the Spring for pictures. Here are a few we got today.

Jason, Eliana, Great Grandma Hayes and Grandma Judy: Four generations

Eliana Grace and her PaPa Smith. She sure does love her PaPa and loves to reach for him.

Thank You Aunt Cindy!

2008-09-07T19:02:00.003-05:00

Eliana Grace would like to give a shout out to her Aunt Cindy for sending her this pretty dress. She was able to wear it today for Grandparents Day! Jason's mom, dad, grandma and uncle Joe are here this week and Eliana couldn't be more excited to see them, so much so that she felt like she didn't need a nap all day!

10 months old today!

2008-09-03T11:23:00.004-05:00

I love this picture. Just chillin' by the back door. She kept crossing her legs when she would look out. I love it!

Where did my little baby go?

2008-09-02T14:05:00.006-05:00

I have asked this question a million times already. It is so true that time goes so fast with a little one. I knew it would, but I had know idea that I would feel like time was slipping through my fingers. Eliana has went through so many changes so far that everyday she is doing something new. I love the little girl she is becoming, but miss my itty-bitty baby I brought home from the hospital almost 10 months ago.

After chasing the cat, she noticed the back window. She moved the blinds to take a look out.

Good Friends and a Little Rain

2008-08-30T19:47:00.014-05:00

This past week was awesome! Two of our best friends, Jason and Allison, from Dallas came to visit us, with little Charlotte of course. It was wonderful to see them again. And I loved seeing Charlotte and Eliana play together. Eliana doesn't get much play time with other babies, so this was a treat. The other one would smile as big as can be when they saw the other one. Allison and I were pregnant at the same time. Our little girls are a little over two months apart. But don't let that fool you. Eliana towers over little Charlotte. Both, blessed with parents of completely different heights. We picked them up in Baltimore and headed to the harbor for lunch.

We had to do a little shopping the next day and decided to let the girls share the cart. Charlotte had to sit on Eliana a bit, but neither seemed to mind. It looks kind of funny though to only see Eliana's legs.

Bath time has been fun for these too. This was the first time Eliana has shared a tub. Charlotte was sweet and bought Eliana her very own duck tub. It was so sweet to see the two of them.

Thursday night it was off to the races! A friend of ours, Eddie is a horse trainer there and was gracious enough to let us sit in his box. It is a good thing I am not a gambler. I tend to just pick a number, without seeing the horse. Not a good betting strategy. Not that I know anything about horses. We also went outside to get a closer look. Eliana loved to watch them, although got a little spooked when the horses crossed the finish line right in front of us.

We were off to DC on Friday. This was our first trip on a subway. The weather forecast said that there was a chance of rain all day. Since it wasn't raining when we got off the subway we decided to start our day walking to the monuments.

First stop, Abe Lincoln way on the other side. The walk started out pretty, although a little overcast. And then a light mist. Still not bad, we can handle this. And then a little harder. Still bearable. And finally a down pour. We got out the umbrellas, covered the strollers and walked rather quickly past everything cool to see on the way to Lincoln. And if you have ever been there, there are A LOT of steps to see him. So here are two couples, lifting strollers up these steps. And did I mention, that our friend Jason, just had back surgery! Side note, we found the handicap ramp on the way down. We make it inside and are completely soaked. The babies seemed dry, but Eliana's pants were soaked on her bottom where the water pooled up. We decided to take a break. We changed the babies, fed the babies and tried to mentally prepare for the walk back. This is a happy Eliana and a very soaked daddy!

On the way back to the museums, we were able to get some rain ponchos to cover ourselves and the strollers. Both babies fell asleep! We were getting soaked and the babies apparently comfy cozy. Perfect! Although we later found out that the rain found its way through the top of our stroller, so Eliana's head and back were now wet. The rain soon stopped and the rest of the day was dry and fun for all!

"I'm going to eat your face." "Oh yeah, well I'm going to pull that frilly little bow off your head."

No, really these girls are BFFs! We wanted to get a cute picture of them together, but the bench was way more exciting. And for being out ALL day with food coming when we could get it, no naps, and wet blankets, these girls did great. Smiles on their faces all day. That is until we got into the car to head home. That is when you re-think having your baby out until 9:30pm.

The Smith Family goes to the Fair

2008-08-22T19:35:00.007-05:00

The Jefferson County Fair was this week. Our church was handing out free sports bottles filled with water, along with free new testaments. There were countless people surprised by such a generous act, with no strings attached. Jason and I had the opportunity to hand bottles out tonight, with Eliana chillin' in her stroller. We also got to eat fair food. Gotta love fair food. Funnel cakes, yummy!

Eliana wasn't tall enough for any rides, even if we held her, so before handing out bottles, we took her to see the bunnies, chickens and roosters. It was like she was Snow White. The minute we walked over, the little bunny put its paws up to see Eliana.

Then it was off to see some cows. I actually expected her to be a little more excited to see all the animals. She was like "Yeah, whatever dad. I mean it's cool and all, but it's not a puppy. I like puppies."

"I have a dream. A dream for a brighter future for cows everywhere. Yes, some day... some day."

On the Move

2008-08-16T11:55:00.002-05:00

Eliana Grace is on the move. She has went from rolling all over the room, rather quickly, to an army crawl and now she is up on all fours. I even find her in her crib now on hands and knees. Yesterday, the cat came into the living room and walked by her. With his back to her, she got up on hands and knees and with a look of excitement and determination, she went after him. It takes her a while, so he had time to run away. I call this picture, "I must eat my mommy!"

And this one is just because she is so pretty! Even with food all over her face!

Lovin' The Camera

2008-08-11T12:59:00.006-05:00

Eliana loves the camera. Sometimes if I just want to get her attention, all I have to do is just pull out the camera and as soon as she sees it, she smiles and laughs. I couldn't decide which I liked best, so I am posting all of them. If you enlarge them, you can see two of her top teeth!

9 Months Old

2008-08-04T08:09:00.005-05:00

Eliana Grace turned nine months old yesterday! So hard to believe. Another tooth decided to make its way to join the other three on top. She gets up on her hands and knees all the time, but has only learned to make one movement forward, then it's on to an army crawl. She is our big girl and our delight! She loves music and loves to dance to it when you stand her up. She also said the word "cat". I know it was an accident that it popped out when and how it did, but it all happened when I was feeding her breakfast. Our cat loves to lay under the high chair, just where Eliana can see him and be distracted by him. She was chatting away in her baby talk, when all of a sudden, she, without skipping a beat, glance down plainly said "cat" and then continued with the baby talk. Never a dull moment!

Yesterday we also had an opportunity to have a bbq with several couples, at a park about a mile from our house. It is amazing how God has surrounded us with awesome people. There were 8 couples, 18 kids and 3 puppies! It was so much fun. This was the first time Jason and I have been to that park. We decided to go more often, Eliana laughed really hard on the swing.

Three New Teeth?

2008-07-25T19:32:00.010-05:00

Ummm, yep. Eliana has 3 new teeth on the top. The crazy thing is one of them has been there about a week and we never knew it! It has been a while since we have put our fingers in her mouth. With her bottom two, she had a consistent fever, drooling and a runny nose, no fussiness. With her top, nothing. No symptoms. No fussiness, no drooling, no runny nose, no fever, nothing. We had no clue. I was feeding her this morning and thought, "Self, you need to check her gums. Why not." And I was surprised
to find visible ridges for her front two and then the one to the left, all the way out and completely visible! I couldn't believe it. Three teeth we knew nothing about. I heard that the top hurt a lot more when they come out, so I have been trying to prepare myself for it. My baby has five teeth, what? Where has the time gone? She is also eating three different things at dinner now, two veggies and one fruit. She eats puffs, drinks juice...soon she will be going off to college! She hasn't really been sitting up well, because she sees something across the way and would rather roll to it, but the past two days she has really been sitting up and catching herself to remain stable. She has also been getting up on her knees, so crawling isn't far off. But in the mean time, she gets most places scooting on her head, yes, I said head. She lays on her back, arches her head all the way back where she can see what is behind her, puts her bottom in the air and pushes with her feet. I will have to get that one on video. But for now, here are a few pics..

Jason decided to create a new hairstyle during bath time. Nothing like a good faux hawk. She seemed to like it.

I do exist! Mothers don't seem to make it into many pictures. At least this one doesn't. Most of the time, I am the one grabbing the camera. The poor thing won't even know I was around. Notice her hair still in the faux hawk formation. I don't think her hair got brushed after bath time. Or is that normal for her? Her hair has been known to do some crazy things.

Pat the Bible

2008-07-23T08:38:00.007-05:00

When we were at Hill Country Bible Church even the littlest baby was taught God's Word. They had a special song that they sang to them, called "Pat the Bible". Jason and I need to get the actual words to the song, but we have been incorporating our version into Eliana's nightly routine.

A while back, a book club that I was involved in read "Wrapped in Rain" by Charles Martin. I was inspired by the woman in this book. She was a strong, Godly woman. She was a servant in the home of a very mean man and she sacrificed so much to raise two young boys. Here is an excerpt:
"Miss Ella, why do you read to us? I don't understand half that stuff."
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a brass engineer's plumb. "See, the engineers take this, hang it from a string, and that point, that place on earth where it hangs, becomes the plumb from which everything else is built or measured. Without that point, that place, there's no order to nothing. It's just chaos. The plumb is the starting point, the beginning and the end, the..."
Mutt broke in. "The alpha and omega?"
Miss Ella smiled. "Yes, honey." We jumped back in bed and she patted her Bible. "I'm trying to build you boys up straight..." She paused, thinking for a minute. "With strong walls, square corners, and able to stand when the storms come. But I can't do it without a plumb line."
Later, one of the boys recall Miss Ella reading a chapter a day to them. He said, "By the time I reached high school, Miss Ella said that we'd read through the bible five times."

Some would say that Eliana is too young to understand the Bible right now. There are times, as an adult, I feel I don't. But Jason and I believe the bible is living and active. God created her and knew her, before we did. So, we feel it is important to introduce her to the God we know, now. We bought her her first bible for Easter. And that is the bible we use to read to her at night. Hopefully this is a routine we won't break to soon.

Finger Foods!

2008-07-19T12:43:00.005-05:00

Eliana has moved into the world of finger foods the past couple of weeks. We have started her on the new Gerber puffs. At first she didn't like the flavor, but now she gobbles them up! I read that usually when they start with the finger foods, the food is picked up with the thumb and index finger and then crammed into the mouth with the palm of their hand. And then they develop placing it in their mouth later. Eliana actually started out by placing it in her mouth with her fingers! I am so impressed with her! Each day we are more amazed by how much she is growing. She is the length of the changing pad!

She is getting so big!

2008-07-10T08:51:00.003-05:00

Everyday I look at Eliana and notice how big she is getting. She is an amazing girl that I am so honored to raise. I look at her and see in her so many great things. She smiles and laughs all the time, so I know that she will be a fun person. She has Jason's calm nature, so I know that she will be patient with people. She is so sweet and loving, so I know that her big, loving heart will touch so many lives. I love this little girl!

Here are a few pics from a church bbq. Notice the sippy cup! She is still learning. It is a little heavy for her, but boy does she love the juice!

Just Because...

2008-06-30T16:20:00.003-05:00

Catchin' Up

2008-06-28T10:37:00.009-05:00

Now that we have internet, it looks like I have some catchin' up to do, so here goes...

Jason's first Father's Day! What an exciting day. I have had the idea for his gift since I was pregnant and we found out we were having a girl. There are many special moments between a father and a daughter, but nothing compares to her wedding, where he gives her away and shares a dance with her. I didn't want that special moment to begin there, but on Father's Day. Each year, Jason and Eliana will share a dance, that is as long as she is home. I found a really cool scrapbook. It was more like a leather box. (A little more manly) It had two magnetic flaps that opened up to the photo pages inside. This year they danced to Stephen Curtis Chapman's, Cinderella. I placed the lyrics on one page and will place their picture on the other. Each year we will add to it, ending with that special dance on her wedding day. I wanted to make that dance so much more special to her. Here are a few pics of the book. The front quote says it all, "Though you grow before me, you're still my baby girl."

And here are a few pictures from their first dance on Father's Day 2008.

WE HAVE INTERNET!

2008-06-27T20:26:00.004-05:00

Four weeks, two office visits (not a nice receptionist), about 20 phone calls, 4 service visits, 2 canceled service visits, 2 modems, and a new router later, we have internet! I never knew how much I depended on it, but being at home all day, I felt it was my connection to the outside world.

Jason and I took a walk downtown to eat dinner tonight. Here are a couple of pics so you can kind of see the town we are in.

This is our house, at least for the next year. We love the neighborhood.

This is on the walk to downtown. It is such a nice environment. Everyone out and about.

This is Eliana in a pub. The burgers are really good and really cheap!

Grandma and Grandpa Maples' House

2008-06-22T09:45:00.007-05:00

AKA longest post ever!

First I want to apologize for the late posts. We still don't have internet at our house, so I have to take what I can get. I am in Jason's office. Hopefully we will get internet soon. We also don't have phone or tv yet. Oh, the drama!

Anyway, I want to finish the pictures from our two week detour from Texas to West Virginia. After visiting my college friends, Eliana and I headed north to Kansas City, Missouri. Christa drove me, and although I was with her for four days, I feel like we had the best time talking on the 2-1/2 hour drive to my parents. Strapping the kids down does make a difference I guess. Eliana and I missed Jason dearly, but we had a great time with my family. I did put Jason on speaker phone a few times and Eliana would just smile. She had a lot of firsts away from her daddy. She walked in a walker. She had no problem with that one. She was all over the place. She sat up by herself, she sat in a swing, and played in a baby pool. Again, she did great sleeping even though it was a new place and another different crib. I was so proud of her. We kept her from some of her naps though, and the cranky face emerged. The girl has got to have her naps. Maybe she gets that from me. Mommy LOVES naps. Here are some pics from her adventure...

Eliana loved spending time with her Grandma Melissa

Grandpa Tommy sharing his words of wisdom with Eliana

Aunt Penny and Aunt Pam reluctantly posing for a picture

Hannah, a girl that mom babysits, and cousin Joy enjoying Eliana

Eliana and Hannah's sister, Alyssa catchin' some rays

"I think this rope looks really tasty. I must try to eat it."

"A stuffed toy that moves. Maybe I can pull its hair. That is if this box I am sitting in would stop moving."

"I love this swing Mommy."

Cousin Joy doing a great job at entertaining Eliana before her t-ball game

Eliana was a hit with all of Joy's teammates. I almost didn't have to use sunscreen with all of the kids blocking the sun wherever we went.

"If you get in my way, I must try to run you over."

"Yeah, we are almost home! I can't wait to see daddy!"
Eliana did great on the flight home. Although it was interesting getting through the airport by myself. FYI if you have a stroller travel system. All of it has to go through the x-ray machine. So, take the carseat with baby out first. Put the stroller through and then take the baby out of the carseat and put it through. Didn't know that, quite interesting doing all of that while holding the baby. We sat in front of two men on the plane and I heard them comment on a baby being in front of them. I thought, "I'll show you!" She slept the whole way. As soon as we took off and woke up right when we were getting ready to land.

We flew into Baltimore, so we went to the Cheesecake Factory at the harbor. It was so much fun and so beautiful. Eliana was excited to see her daddy! And so was I!

Good Times with College Friends

2008-06-20T09:41:00.003-05:00

After visiting Jason's parents, Eliana and I headed about 30 miles north to Bolivar, Missouri. Jason and I went to Southwest Baptist University there. I was able to stay 3 nights with my best friend from college and roommate of several years, Christa. She has 2 boys, so she enjoyed having a little girl around. Nathan, her husband also attended SBU, so we had a great time. And of course, he understands how funny Christa's mind works and had to endure the two of us. He thinks I rub off on her when I am around. Who, me? I love spending time with them, because I just laugh and laugh really, really hard. My friend Drew from college also lives there, so I was able to spend time with him, too. And one night another friend, Jon, came to have dinner with us. It was so fun to see all of them. It almost felt like old times. It was a little strange when Christa and I took the kids to the campus and walked around the union. It was like I could look across the union and see an image of myself back then and at the same time walking the same path with my baby. So many memories. One day we even had to duck and cover from a possible tornado. We went next door to a business and went in their basement. Nothing like nursing a baby in a dark, unfinished basement, in the middle of a storm! Eliana did great on the trip. Didn't skip a beat. She seemed to feel comfortable wherever we went.

Here is pic of me and my friends. From left to right, Drew, Me, Jon, Christa and Nathan.

Grandma and Papa's House

2008-06-20T08:53:00.008-05:00

We started off our two week adventure in Springfield, Missouri. We went to visit Jason's parents. Jason was able to stay there a few days, before heading back to Wylie to attend his last service and pick up the UHaul and cat. Here are a few pics at grandma and papa's house.

Sitting in papa's chair! As you know Eliana loves to watch tv, throw in papa's chair and she was in heaven!

Lovin' on Great-Grandma Bettye.

Aunt Jerri and Eliana enjoying the outside.

All the babies love Uncle Joe!

Eliana just loves her Great-Grandma Bettye!

Jason, Eliana and Great-Grandma Ruby

I love this picture of Eliana and Great-Grandma Ruby!

Eliana fell in love with her Grandma Judy! They even went on a walk together. She loved spending time with them and misses them!

Eliana and Papa Bruce. She loved to have papa carry her around and walk with her. And of course she loved to look at the ceiling fans and lights along the way.

We had a great time at Bruce and Judy's. Eliana felt right at home. She really liked sitting on the back porch. We can't wait to visit again soon!

Just a Lazy Rainy Day...

2008-05-27T12:35:00.002-05:00

If you live in the North Dallas area, you know that right now a flood is pouring forth from heaven. The baby is cozy and asleep in her crib and I am curled up on the bed with a good book and a purring kitty. Umm... not quite. Instead, I needed to get my eyes checked today before we moved, because right now I am wearing two of the same eye, just to make a pair. The appointment is right when the baby normally eats, so Eliana is going to have to feed herself. There is a threatening cloud overhead, so I won't take in the diaper bag, the less to get wet on the way out, the better. She did a good job feeding herself, except for the bottle falling between her and the car seat and leaking all over her backside. The appointment is at the Wal-Mart vision center, and I could here the rain pounding on the roof. Great! Well, I decide to walk around Wal-Mart to see if it will let up, but wait, Wal-Mart has a McDonalds. Those golden arches have never shined so bright! I get some food, rain still hasn't let up. Walk around a bit, but Eliana is wet from the bottle and has a wet diaper. And I had left the diaper bag in the car. I decide I am going to have to make a run for it. As fast as that is, with a car seat and flip flops. Getting ready to buy an umbrella when low and behold, there is one in my purse! How did that happen? You never have an umbrella in your purse! And here is the picture, Eliana's car seat in the cart. Blanket tucked around baby. Umbrella over car seat in cart. Mommy, a target for rain drops. I take off down the aisle. Wait, were is the car? Two rows over! Ahhhh! Okay, run, run, run, umbrella flying away from baby, baby getting hit in the face with rain, mommy soaked. Now, you always thought it was hard getting into a car and closing up an umbrella at the same time. Try it with a car seat. Baby in car, mommy takes cart to cart drop off next to car, good citizen mommy, mommy runs back to car, trys to get in back with baby. I am in Jason's car, so I have to work the straps. She is in. And I climb over the seat into the front to avoid anymore rain. We get home, garage is full, so I have to run her in, blanket flies away from her face and she gets hit with more rain. What an adventure!

And another thought, these are things I never thought I would do:
1. Testing peas to see if they are hot. I don't like peas and they get on my lips every time I check them.
2. Eat a burger that has had baby feet on it. Yeah, she kept sticking her toes in my burger. This on the adventure told above.
3. Run in the rain without an umbrella, instead protecting my baby with it.

Our Water Baby

2008-05-23T16:14:00.005-05:00

Eliana had her first experience at the pool today. We wanted to get the chance to try out our neighborhood pool one last time before the move. Not to mention the weather was nice, Jason was home, and someone was scheduled to come look at the house. The water was still a little chilly even for me, so I wasn't sure how she would take it. She was a little indifferent with her legs in, but let out a little whimper if we submersed her even more. All in all, she showed no expression either way. Not a big show of excitement and not a big "this is the worse thing that could happen to me" scream. And because of this, the video isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but hey, grandmas and grandpas like to see this stuff.

And a few pics of our beach babe...

Just Want to Bottle it Up!

2008-05-17T19:18:00.004-05:00

I just love Eliana's laugh! It usually brings me to tears every time she laughs. Not sad tears and not even tears of joy, but "my belly hurts from laughin'" tears! I laugh so hard my mouth hurts from smiling so much! I was able to capture a little bit of her laughter to share with you. Please pay no attention to the crazy man, that's just Daddy!