Picture Extravaganza!

It has been over a week since any picture updates of Eliana. The first picture was her 1 month birthday picture. Things have been going great around here. Eliana is sleeping really good at night, having some good wake time during the day, and is pretty content all the time. We have made a few more trips outside of the house to the mall, to church, and to small group. Also, Eliana went to her first birthday party, Maggie McKay's 1st birthday, yesterday and we all had a great time. I promise more pictures to come this week.

More pictures of our sweet baby girl!

Full-Size Family Photos

Our family photos came back from the photographer. We are so excited to be able to share these with everyone. Here a just a few of them, more to come soon.

Busy Week

The past week has been extremely busy! As we finished up Thanksgiving, we prepared for a week of many firsts. It seems like every week is a week of firsts right now. We took Eliana to church for the first time, to our small group for the first time, and she got her first full head to toe bath in her new tub (I had to go with the pink tub, it was just so cute). This has also been my first full week back at work, so Patty has had to adjust to being at home with Eliana alone during the day. All in all it has been a good week for the Smith family.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Eliana's first Thanksgiving is here and we are so thankful for her. She is excited to get to meet three of her cousins, who are visiting from Houston, TX. Also, we got a little post turkey nap in together. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Family Photos

It has been a few days, but they have been busy days. We had family photos taken on Friday of last week and we got the online proofs today. We are so excited about them, they turned out great. If you would like to see them, go to:

http://www.photostockplus.com/home.php?event=149112&rq_name=Patty Smith&rq_email=jasonandpatty@juno.com&album_password=family

We will get the disk with the pictures on it later this week and will post some of them here for all to enjoy. I pulled a few thumbnails for you to look at for now.

Tummy Time

Eliana is starting to try out spending some tummy time. Before she was born we went out and bought this great tummy time mat, as you can tell she likes it. Although, personally I think she likes spending tummy time on daddy's chest. Who needs a tummy time mat when you have dad!

Sweet Feet and Face

Patty and I are doing great. Patty is such a great mom and is starting to hit her stride. We have been so blessed by everyone who has rallied around us this past couple weeks. If you have noticed, I think Eliana likes getting her picture taken. We were playing around with the camera today and these were some fun shots. She is growing and healthy (at least that is what her diapers are indicating). She is still sleeping pretty good (that means that we are, too). She is starting to make more little noises that just melt your heart. Can you tell that I am smitten by my little girl?

The Many Faces of Eliana

Taking a Stroll

Tonight was our first time to take a stroll around the neighborhood together as a family. The weather was perfect (a nice 70 degrees). We actually got a chance to talk to some of our neighbors who we hadn't had a chance to chat with before Eliana (b.e.). She is a real conversation starter. Also, here is another bath time picture (she loves getting her head full of hair washed!).

Showing Off My Girl

Today was my first day back in public since Eliana was born. I don't know if I have ever had so many people congratulate me in my life. I even got a round of applause as I mentioned the birth of our daughter. Being the proud dad that I am, I had picture in hand to show off my girl. So here she is in her first portrait (taken at the hospital when she was 1 day old).

One Week Old

Eliana is one week old! It has been a great week together as a family. We are learning more and more about each other every day. Today, Patty caught the remnants of a blowout and spent some wake time reading Eliana a book. We are so thankful for each moment that we have together.

Working on Wake Time

Because our little angel has decided that 2:00 am is the best time to stay awake, we are working on developing some good wake time habits during the day. Between Baby Einstien in her playard and Pattycake on daddy's lap, we were successful keeping our little one awake a little bit more today. Only time will tell if she gets her daytime and nighttime figured out. Either way, she is amazing. Every day I become more thankful for the gift that God has given us. We are so privileged to get to share her with everyone else.

Day 4 - Family Life

I guess that it is appropriate that by Day 4 that I would be late on sending out my blog, Eliana is actually in her 5th day as of 10 am. So, I will recap a little from Day 4 in retrospect. Today, we recreated our arrival at home with some picture of our little one in her coming home dress (we were stuck in Dallas traffic on Monday, so we got home right in time to feed her). Also, I got a chance to give Eliana her first full bath (I even washed her hair!!!), which was a beautiful and scary experience. Finally, last night (for the second night in a row) Eliana decided to be a night owl after the 2:00 am feeding. The great thing is that it gave me a chance to read to her a second book called, "God Gave Us You." I cried like a baby remembering the grace that God has shown us through Eliana. So, for being late in recording, it was a pretty great day!

Sleeping!!!

Eliana, up to this point, seems to enjoy her sleep like her daddy. In between feedings, even sometimes during feedings, she sleeps very sound and for at least two hours at a time. This has made our lives very pleasant, we can get a good two hours of sleep as she is sleeping during the night and for naps during the day. It is a different schedule than we are used to, but we are making the adjustment pretty smoothly. Here is our little sleepy angel!

Day 3 - Home Sweet Home

Eliana discovered today that home has some benefits over hospital life (i.e. soft comfortable stuff to lay on). It has been a wild ride since Saturday morning, but we are all glad to be at home. I think we are all trying to figure each other out and how this whole thing works (Notice what her onesie says, "Instructions Not Included"). All in all I think that we are making a speedy adjustment to one another and our new family (except the cat, he doesn't know what is going on but he doesn't like it). It truly is Home Sweet Home for the Smith family.

Coming Home

We're home. We finally arrived home at around 5:00 pm tonight. WOW, who would have know how much more real that it was that we have a new member to the family than when we pulled out of that parking spot at the hospital. We are settling in and figuring out all the things that we didn't know we needed. Here are a couple of pictures of our little princess (don't you like the dress) on her way home.

Day 2..............The Blessing Continues!

Our little Eliana is a delight! She is ahead of schedule in eating, pooping, and getting on an overall sleep schedule. Around here they have begun to call her "The Clock." Every 3 hours she is ready to eat and let's you know it. Other than that, she is so peaceful and sleeps like a........baby! She is almost two full days old now and we can't imagine life without her. We get to go home today and introduce our cat, Sonny, to his new boss!!!