Snow Day!

Eliana played in the snow for the first time today! I know, I know. Call me lazy, or call me whiney when it comes to snow, but we finally made it out there. We got 6 inches last weekend, 6 inches last night and they are calling for 24 inches this weekend. Man, I miss warm weather!

Eliana loved the snow. She went around on the snow board a few times and really liked that until she tipped over. Then the little princess wanted the snow brushed off of her hands. She quickly followed Jason's lead with making a snow man and had a fun time trying to find rocks for its face.

First off though, this is our rental house. Just so you can get an idea where we are living. We have a HUGE yard.

Christmas A Little Late

It sure has been busy around the Smith house. We moved into a new rental home right before Christmas. And then I headed to Missouri for a 3 week trip. Coming back, involved a lot of appointments for Eliana and finishing unpacking.

Here are a few Christmas pics! First we headed to my parents in Kearney, MO. It was a great time to see my family. And then we headed to Springfield, MO to see Jason's parents and then off to Houston, MO to see Jason's Grandma and more Aunts, Uncles and even more cousins. It was so great to be surrounded by so much family. Eliana didn't meet a stranger. She felt so comfortable.

Party + Pony = Super Fun Times!

I apologize in advance that these posts are going to be a little out of order, but I wanted to get these party pictures up.

An awesome couple at church, John and Kim Bittle, let us have Eliana's 2nd Birthday party at their house. They used to have a traveling petting zoo and pony rides business, but now just enjoy the animals at their house. The animals have been raised from birth and just roamed around with the kids. They had EVERYTHING! It was awesome. Plus they had a huge playscape within the fence. The kids would chase and pet and chase the animals. We had a BBQ with friends. It was a beautiful day for food, cake and families!

This is John and Kim's house. It was absolutely beautiful out there! And fun to see so many animals at one house.



Birthday cake time! Everyone is still talking about her little pumpkin cakes from last year, so I tried the recipe for cupcakes. They were pumpkin with chocolate chips and cream cheese icing.




This is Derek. He LOVES Eliana. He is a little boy from church. His mom says he talks about her all the time and is so stinkin' excited when he sees her.


Time to play! There was plenty of room to run around and be a kid! And to chase animals of course.





Eliana's first pony ride. She wasn't scared at all. She looks so small up there! She had the most excited smile when they put her up on the horse. That girl loves adventure!




One tired birthday girl. The fun lasted 3 hours! We loved it and are wondering how we will be able to top it next year!

Makenzie & Eliana

We have been blessed with a great friendship here with Katie and Nathan Madrid. Eliana is blessed with a great friendship with Makenzie. Both with the middle name of Grace. Her first BFF... okay, maybe a little forced because the adults spend so much time together. Makenzie just turned 3 and gives Eliana great hand-me-downs. They have so much fun together. I have experienced the first "close the bedroom door to keep the parents out". And this is what they apparently do...

Fall Time!

Fall is here. The leaves are changing and this area couldn't be more beautiful. After a photo shoot last weekend, Jason brought Eliana out for a few pics. Of course she loved the leaves.






In other Smith news, Eliana has her big Auditory Brainstem Response test this Friday. She goes into the pediatrician on Wednesday to see if her ears are clear of fluid. If they are, she has her test at the hospital in Fairfax, Virginia on Friday. That will be a hard day for her. Her test is at 12:30pm, and she can't eat or drink for 6 hours before. Try explaining to a 2 yr old that can't understand words why we can't give her anything. We are going to wake her up at 6am to give her a big breakfast and hopefully, she will take a morning nap before the trip. It will take us an hour to get there. We have to be there an hour ahead. She will be put under, so that will be hard. We are hoping that after this test she will be a candidate for hearing aids.

We can hear her babble, but I have never heard her voice. That was a realization I had today while talking to a friend. She was talking about her three year old that insisted she call her Cinderella. I was wondering what it would be like to have a conversation with Eliana. Hear her use words. And then there is the realization that we might not. So many things you don't think about, it makes my heart hurt.

Good news is she is picking up the sign language. She will come and ask (sign) for milk if she is thirsty. She was looking at a book the other day and I came in the room. She was signing ball. I was confused. She pointed to the picture and it was a picture of balls. I was so happy. I asked her what was on the next page and she signed cat. She also pointed to her picture and signed her name without any prompting. That one caught us off guard. The cool thing about that is that I thought that you spelled out someones name. You actually use the first letter of the name and pair it with a characteristic or attribute the person has, from the shoulders up. Eliana's is the letter e signed from the corner of the mouth up to the cheek. That is for laugh or smile, which she does all the time.

My Girl and My Man

Jason and Eliana and I went to a local battlefield. It was a lot of fun. Eliana loved climbing on the canons. She is a strong little thing. She climb all the way to the top in her little girl heels. Here is a view from the hill we were on. Absolutely breathtaking.