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Easter 2009

Ellie's Already 2 1/2 Months Old!

Wow, how time seems to fly! We are amazed at how fast our little girl is growing and developing....she is so much fun! We made it through her 2 month appointment last week....shots and all. Eliana did great...a few tears, but she stopped crying before mom did.

Here are her latest stats:
Length: 23 inches
Weight: 11 pounds!
Likes:
*talking....dad and I swore she repeated "Go Ducks!" last night...it was hilarious!
*smiling at mom and dad most, but will show off her pearly gums to familiar faces once in a while
*playing with her "sheep friends" in her travel bed...hmm, someone else I know has a lot of sheep friends....baaaa! :)
*songs: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider....loves the hand motions that go with it, and mom loves her sweet coos of enjoyment, so we sing it alot. "Little, Little Lamby"...our friend Alex taught us that song, and so far, it's a keeper.
*game: "I'm gonna get your nose..." - silly, but she loves it.
*cuddles from mom, dad, and all the grandparents! She also gets lots of love from other family members and friends
*playing with her friend Addisen
*looking in the mirror...this is fun!
*going new places....she likes to take it all in

Dislikes:
*riding in her carseat....she screams as if being tortured! Sometimes she does all right, but the car has to be moving at all times...."Don't you dare stop!"
*bathtime - she's still a little tentative about this, but I think we'll be moving this to the "Likes" category soon
*playing in the swing...so far, no go, but we keep trying it!

Luckily, there is not much to put in the "Dislikes" category yet. Overall, she is a wonderful baby full of personality. She definitely has her moments of fussiness, but she's happy most of the time. She definitely brings more joy to our lives than we could have ever imagined....she is a true blessing from the Lord!

Update on Dylan and I:
*We went on our first date since having Eliana on Valentine's Day. Grammy and Grandpa Hoyer watched her for 5 hours while Dylan and I went to dinner and a movie. It was definitely weird to be without her, but she had a great time with the grandparents....and we had a great time as well!

*I go back to work in 2 and a half weeks....I'm definitely not looking forward to leaving my little girl everyday, but at least it's only a couple of months until summer break...it could be worse! We visited my classroom yesterday which was fun....the kids were very interested in Eliana and why I was gone for so long. It will be an interesting transition, but I think it will go smooth.

That's all for now...here are some new pics to enjoy!

Talking to Mommy

Hanging out with Daddy

Playing with her friend, Addisen


Happy Valentine's Day! ("Mom, why am I in this silly outfit?")


Ellie's first love...Daddy! ("Mamma, why am I still in this outfit?")

Mommy and an unhappy Eliana ("Mommy, you really should have taken that silly outfit off of me sooner!")

A visit with cousin, Jill

Eliana with Great Aunt Dawn Gail and cousins Belle and Bryant

Hanging out with Uncle Garrett

Gotta love those smiles!

Trinity and Eliana on her visit to Oregon

Marsha, Trinity and Eliana

Marissa and Eliana hanging out on Fondue Night

Fondue Fun at the Petersen's

Jenny and new daughter Amelie with Marissa and Eliana

JB, Marissa and Ellie

Eliana's First Photo Shoot

We were so excited to have Rachel Marshall over to our house a couple of weeks ago to take pics of our little one. She did such an awesome job! Her photos can be viewed at
www.leonagracephotography.blogspot.com. Enjoy!



Free Falling!


She captured her famous "thinking" look....

I don't know why, but I just love this one....


Just the three of us....

Daddy and daughter....

Our precious girl....

Happy Baby

I thought you would all enjoy pics of Eliana's first smiles....yes, these are real and just too cute!

Our First Month with Eliana

It's been quite an adjustment getting used to having a baby in the house, but we are overjoyed and so in love with our new daughter...God is so good! She has grown so much since we first brought her home from the hospital...I'm amazed! I sometimes wish I could stop time just for a moment....I know, she's barely a month old....but time flies, and before I know it she will be a year old.

Eliana has quite the personality already...she makes lots of funny noises and faces. I especially enjoy her frown...we call it her thinking look (see below in "More Pics"). In fact, she must have made this face all throughout her time in the womb as she already has a little wrinkle between her eyes! She has her happy, content moments and her fussy moments, but she is starting to adjust to this crazy world. She can hold her head up pretty well already and loves to look at things, especially faces. She is most content being upright on someone's shoulder or chest...and she will often fall asleep in this position. She has also smiled a few times at daddy and myself....I'm not sure if this is a true smile, but we like to think so. We can't wait to see what the next month brings!