One day he will be in a dress!

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!

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...

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!

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

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!

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!

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?

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.