Just because she's beautiful... :)

These pictures are just for fun from one of our days together.  Nothing special, just my beautiful daughter!

A few weekends ago I was driving down the interstate heading to Indiana.  Eliana was in the backseat babbling and laughing at herself in the mirror.  It had been raining in Columbus when I started my drive but now the clouds were clearing and the sun was starting to shine, making the wet world glisten in the sunrise.  And I thought to myself "Could life be any more perfect?"
A little while ago David kindly pointed out to me that I am starting to get some wrinkles around my eyes (and I kindly pointed out to him the grey hair at his temples).  Although I am back to my prepregnancy weight, I am definitely not back to my prepregnancy body.  Most evenings my goal is to go to bed by 9:30pm.  I read books and magazines on raising babies.  I rarely wear makeup and most days I let my hair do what it wants to.  And I am closer to 30 years old than I am to 20.
I think a year ago, these facts would have made me very sad.  When did I become such a grown up?  But on that day, driving to Indy with Eliana in the back seat, I realized that this time in my life is truly beautiful and a blessing from God.  Eliana loves me because I am her mom.  She doesn't care about my little wrinkles or the fact that I don't have a bikini body anymore.  She thinks I'm wonderful because I blow raspberries on her belly and I take her for walks in the stroller and I give my body to feed her.  David doesn't care that I want to go to bed at 9:30 or that I don't have long silky smooth hair like you see in magazines.  He loves me because I'm a good listener and our hands fit perfectly together and I know where he his lost glasses are.  This is real life.  This is love.  This is MY life.  And I'm so very very happy.  God has blessed me abundantly, much more than I deserve, and I thank Him every day for that. 

Sick Baby

Eliana has had a bit of a rough month.  She started with a cold and runny nose which then led to a double ear infection.  :(  Poor thing!  So she was started on antibiotics.  She loved the "pink goo" so at least it was easy to give to her.  However, the antibiotics gave her awful diarrhea.  So these pictures are of when it was at the worst.  I had Eliana dressed in a jacket, diaper, leggings, and socks.  Notice what's missing?  That's right, no pants.  We needed quick access to those diaper changes so pants were just too cumbersome.  So then the diarrhea cause terrible diaper rash.  First I tried zinc oxide lotion which seemed to help but didn't resolve the problem.  Then I was told by several moms to try a homemade recipe of mixing equal parts Maalox with aquaphor lotion and using that as a diaper rash cream.  I was a little leery at first, but it came so highly recommended.  I was told the Maalox helps "cut the acid" from the diarrhea and is very soothing while the aquaphor provides a barrier to further damage.  So I mixed it up, tried it out, and was pleasantly surprised when it worked!  What a difference it made for her bottom.  Although I guess I can't say I know it was the only thing.  I was also giving Eliana probiotics in yogurt and tons of bananas to try to slow the diarrhea down.  Finally after 10 days we were done with the antibiotics and almost immediately her digestive system and bottom returned to normal.  Eliana was such a trooper through the whole thing.  Except for right when she first got the ear infections, she has always been in a good mood.  You would never guess that she was feeling poorly or that her bottom looked like a fire engine.  She still giggled and smiled and was her sweet sweet self.  I feel pretty lucky to be her mom. 

September in review

We have had a very busy month - lots of traveling, ear infections, birthdays ... So I haven't been posting pictures like I wanted to.  So be prepared for an Eliana Extravaganza these next few days as I try to catch up.  These pictures are from when Eliana and I went to Indianapolis and visited my grandma, aka G.G.  They had a great time playing with Ginger the doll seen in the top pictures.  I love how the first picture even though you can't see Eliana's face, you can totally tell she is beaming from ear to ear and so excited!  She also had a great time pulling up on the footrest.  She would try so hard and get frustrated when she couldn't get all the way up.  But G.G. always came to the rescue and helped her finish the task.  They had a wonderful time together!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Eliana started saying DaDa in full force a little while ago - just in time for David's 28th birthday on Tuesday.  I tried to get a video of it.  Right before this she was saying DaDa over and over.  I asked her who is sitting over there and pointed at David and she said "DaDa!"  But of course when I pulled out the camera to video tape her, she got a little shy.  But you can still hear her saying DaDa at the beginning of the video even if she didn't say it in answer to my question.  Happy Birthday David!  Eliana and I love you!

Hi Eddie Boy

Our new kitty

Hanging out in the window sill

Eddie was watching Eliana eat cereal.

Yummy toasty oats! Abby, if you are reading this, no we of course did not buy off brand Cheerios - we always support the General! ;)

Picture overview

I think she looks so cute hanging out in the bathroom in her pajamas while I get ready for work.

I love this!

Enjoying the swing - you can really see her teeth in this picture.

At the park.

Her new favorite thing is to stick her tongue out.  She does it all the time!

Another toothy photo

Purple face after eating blueberries.

We've had a lot of change in the past week or two!  David is back to his inpatient rotation with his residency.  That means back to long hours in the hospital, working the weekends and holidays, and lots of stress.  It is hard to share my husband with all those people in the hospital, but I just have to remind myself that he is needed there, and that God is working through him to heal the sick.  He did have this past Sunday off, so David's parents and brother Ray came to Columbus for a wonderful visit.  And they brought with them Eddie the Cat!  We are now the proud pet owners of a handsome black cat (I just realize I haven't taken any pictures of Eddie at our house.  Guess my camera lens only works on Eliana).  Eddie was David's cat from before we were married.  We had him for just a little bit after the wedding, but he was quite destructive and quickly wore out his welcome.  After about two weeks, I shipped him off to David's parents house.  Now with a baby, most of our good things have been put away anyway, so Eddie has come back to live with us.  So far so good.  He has adjusted well and not broken anything yet! 
Last week Eliana started daycare.  We got off to a rocky start with tears from both of us.  However, when I called to check on Eliana a few hours into the first day, I was told she was having a blast and laughing with her new baby friends.  Wednesday went much better without any tears.  She is one of the oldest kids in her class.  However she seems to be making friends with the other kiddos, especially a little boy named Jake who is one and half months younger than her.  I was told that she likes to pat the other babies' faces and tries to hold their hands.  What a social girl we have!  Eliana has been busy growing some teeth.  She now has six big ones!  It's amazing how fast they grow.  These pictures don't even do them justice, and they were just taken last week.  Chewing and drooling is our life right now.  She is constantly sticking her tongue out and feeling all the teeth.  Before, Eliana would always smile if a camera was pointed at her.  Now she just sticks out her tongue!  It's a funny stage, and she is constantly making me laugh.  She is waving a lot and clapping her hands.  And just the other day, she pulled herself up from sitting to standing, twice!  She is going to walk before she can crawl!
As for me, I have just been working like usual.  Things are going well with my job, and I am really enjoying having every other day off.  This week I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday due to the clinic being closed on Monday for Labor Day.  I'm not cut out to work two days in a row anymore!  I need my catch-up day in between.  I think I might be getting spoiled by this job!

8 months old!

I know this is the post you have been waiting for, for the past 4 days!  Eliana wasn't very cooperative this time, so our month pictures are slim.  She kept grabbing the card that said "8 months" so I just gave up and let her chew on it.  She has six, that's right, SIX teeth now, so she is chewing on everything.  By my own measurements, she is 18.5lbs and 28.5in long.  That puts her between the 75th-90th percentile for length and between the 50th-75th percentile for weight.  Of course, my bathroom scale isn't quite as accurate as the baby scale at the doctor's office...