Three New Teeth?

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

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!

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!

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...

Catchin' Up

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!

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

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

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

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...

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

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...