How big is she?

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

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

A beautiful, big day

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

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

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...

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

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

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

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

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

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.