Sitting, sitting.

Eliana loves, LOVES, loves to sit up all the time. She still needs support, but she's doing pretty good. She is all about watching everything that is going on around her. She also likes to play with toys, so we sit her up in her swing to let her play. Last night we had the seat reclining so she could nap in her swing. She was so determined to sit up, that she actually fell asleep sitting up... she didn't want to lean back at all!

Tagged

We've been tagged! The Guntzel Girls tagged us for this photo tag! The rules are simple:
1. Post the sixth picture from your sixth photo album
2.Hope you remember the details, then explain the picture
3. Tag five other people by leaving a "You've been tagged" comment on their blog. Ask them to look at the directions on your blog.

So, here's our 6th picture in our 6th album...


This is a picture of Franklin and I (obviously)... We took this in June of '07 when we were trying to get a picture of us for people to put on their fridges to remember us by for when we travel overseas. We never ended up sending out the pictures... maybe in January we'll send out one with Eliana included. We'll see....

My victims for this "tagged" deal are:
1. John and Charlotte (who have already been tagged, but with a different pic #... I just want to see more of their pictures.)
2. Lindsay
3. Elizabeth (who rarely posts, so this will give her an excuse to do so)
4. Renee
5. and Karen

St. Nicholas Day (Dec 6)

Ever since I was little, my family has celebrated St. Nicholas Day. Mom always has said that she learned about it when we lived in Belgium. According to her it was a way to separate the commercialism of the holiday season from the true celebration of Christmas. So, on Dec 5 evening we all put out wooden shoes and St. Nicholas comes and fills them with little gifts. Almost every year one of these gifts was a hand-made ornament from my mom about something that happened in our lives that year. (Interesting that Mom and St. Nick worked so closely together...) Anyway, this year we celebrated St. Nicholas Day with Eliana. Here's what we found Dec. 6 morning.

Eliana got two shoes full of gifts... a first as far as I know. In them were a rubber duck for bathtime, two rattles for her wrists, and a pacifier (which she still refuses to use). She also got a book of nursery rhymes. Her mommy, daddy, grandma Dorine, and grandpa Russ also got gifts, but they aren't as interesting as hers.

Happy Thanksgiving!

On the actual Thanksgiving Day we went to Aunt Doris' house to be with my Dad's side of the family. In the above picture are Susie, Matthew, Dad, Grandma, Eliana, me, and Franklin. Not in the picture, but at our celebration were Aunt Doris, Uncle Allen, Scott, and Morgan.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving we celebrated with Mom's family. In the picture below are Matthew, Susie, Mark, Kristen (with Aili growing inside, due Jan 11), Debbie, Mom, Me, Russ, Eliana, and Franklin.

Eliana's New Friends from Bemidji

We spent a weekend in Bemidji, and Eliana was loved by many people. Here are few of the people that Eliana connected with.


We stayed at the Martin's house and Roberta held Ellie as much as she could.

On both Saturday and Sunday Anna held Eliana for extended times.

Mr. Wold came through while Eliana was fussing in her car seat. He picked her up and sang to her and she fell asleep right away!

Ruth held a sleeping Eliana so long that her back hurt!

It's so good to have friends.

Eliana in Disguise!

Would you recognize this baby?

Pictures of Eliana

Our friend Laura took some pictures of Eliana a few weeks ago. Here are just a few of them. She captured a lot of cute pictures of her!

Look who's learned to smile

The greatest thing about the last couple of weeks has been that Eliana is smiling more. She also "talks" to us. It's so much fun! Last night we even got Eliana to smile for the camera.

Eliana meets her Great Grandma Helen

Eliana is Grandma Helen's fifth great grandchild.

Ellie visits Lincoln

Ellie says, "Lincoln, why are you crying?"
"Stop crying, Lincoln."

"That's it, now it's my turn to cry!"


"Better yet, let's both cry together!""Only if our mommies hold us should we be content."

An Autumn Stroll

We went for a walk through our neighborhood to enjoy the crisp Autumn weather and the sunshine. Franklin carried Eliana in a sling under his jacket.
Franklin had this view of Ellie throughout the walk.

We enjoyed looking at the changing color of the leaves on the trees and seeing how many leaves had fallen off the trees. We don't get to enjoy this part of Autumn everywhere in the world, so we are enjoying it while we are here.

She's 1 month old!

Here she is at one month old. It's unreal that a month has already passed! Sometimes I feel like it's gone so fast and I can't believe it's been a whole month. Then there are times when I think to myself, "It's only been a month? It seems like she's been a part of our lives forever!"

One thing that Franklin and I are enjoying is Ellie's smiles. We think we are starting to get smiles that are reactions to us. That is so much fun.

Grandpa Loren meets Eliana

My dad came up after his long trip to Texas to meet Eliana. He brought a stuffed animal (small, so it can fit in our suitcase) from Graceland, where he stopped on his way to Texas. Eliana was fascinated by Dad's stories. :) What a good grandpa.

Hanna comes to visit!

Hanna drove up from the cities to come and meet Eliana. We had a great time visiting. Hanna and I went for a walk, and the Franklin, Hanna, and I played the longest Phase 10 game ever because Eliana wanted to make sure she got some attention every few minutes. Thanks for coming Hanna!

Eliana's first "normal" bath.

Once we got permission from the doctor to give Eliana a normal bath, we thought we'd give it a try. She hasn't been too thrilled with sponge baths, so we weren't optimistic about how a normal bath would go. We were surprised that there were no tears or screaming. She actually seemed to really enjoy it. If we'd have let her sit in the warm water all day, I think she'd have been thrilled.

Eliana's Two Weeks Old!

Yesterday we had Eliana's two week check up. (Even though she was actually two weeks and one day old...) Her jaundice is no longer a concern, her belly button is healed, and she is very healthy. She weighed in at 10 lbs 8 oz! She also grew 1/2 inch so she is now 21 1/2 inches long. The doctor is impressed with her development (she can already roll from her back to her belly and vice versa).
Yay for a healthy baby!

Look what we've found in the laundry.

This is how a new mommy makes only one trip from the laundry room to the bedroom.

Observations of a New Daddy by a New Mommy

You know you have a new daddy in front of you if he is:

1. A tad bit over-protective. For instance within the first 15 min of having the baby at home as he gazes at his baby he says, "If any dog ever even barks at my daughter, I will drain its blood." (Just a note for you dog lovers, we have since walked past a few barking dogs with our daughter, and they all still have all of their blood.)

2. A tad bit unsure of himself. For instance when the baby is absolutely inconsolable and mommy has done everything a mommy can do, daddy stands to hold the baby vertical and rock back and forth. The new daddy says as the baby whimpers, "I am not very good at this." Yet within 2 minutes of that statement the new daddy's baby is sleeping soundly. (And the mommy is happily relaxing on the bed thinking she has the best husband in the world.)

3. Extremely in love with his daughter. You know a new daddy is in love with his daughter when every time he comes home and sees, holds, or thinks of his daughter he glows as he says, "She is so beautiful!" (The wife then glows because occasionally the new daddy follows this comment with the loving comment, "I knew I would have a beautiful daughter because I have a beautiful wife.")

What a good new daddy!

Cleaning?!

You can ask my mom, my husband, or any of my college roommates...cleaning is not my thing. I only clean if someone is coming over or the situation is desperate. Today, however, I dusted and vacuumed our room AND I washed our sheets for no other reason than to make sure Eliana was well taken care of (with the bonus of knowing Franklin will be super impressed). I feel like I have graduated to a new level of either adulthood or mommyhood. :) We'll see if this cleaning thing lasts of if it's just the short lived excitement of having a new little one.

Auntie Debbie and Eliana

Debbie also came over from Duluth to visit Eliana.

Eliana meets Uncle Mark and Auntie Kristen

Mark and Kristen came for a visit from Duluth. We are looking forward to the arrival of their little one who is expected in January.

Lessons Learned by a Mother of 10 Days

#1. No matter how good your night of sleep was the night before, DO NOT skip your afternoon nap because you are not guaranteed that same good night of sleep again.

#2. Brush your teeth at the first chance you get... don't think you'll have time after breakfast... if you even get breakfast!

#3. If you feel like super mom in the morning and have the energy to do chores while your little one is sleeping, do them quickly because the energy probably won't remain through the afternoon.

#4. Wait until after a feeding to change the diaper.

#5. Don't dress your baby in "going out" clothes until she has been thoroughly burped.

Slowly, but surely, I am sure I'll get this mothering thing down. :)

What new parents find endlessly fascinating

Time with daddy

Jaundice and an infection

We left the hospital on Friday after Eliana was born with instructions to go to see our doctor early the following week because she had a bit of jaundice. It turns out it was a very good thing that we went to the doctor because Eliana's umbilicus (belly button) had become infected. I thought it was falling off early, but I didn't realize it was infected. Anyway, we were able to get some medicine that has helped clear up the infection. Eliana's jaundice level was "low intermediate", but now two days later, her numbers have gone down significantly. If we keep putting her in the sun and keeping her hydrated, they don't expect any problems. We'll just go back to the doctor for our normal 2 week check up.
Another benefit of going to the doctor is being able to find out Eliana's weight. She was born at 8 lbs 15 oz. In the first week, they expect the weight to drop. Eliana, however, was up to 9 lb 10 oz by Tuesday. Today, Thursday, she was at 10 lbs! I really think it is an answer to prayer because I was nervous about how nursing would go and prayed that God would provide. He has provided abundantly!
We are so blessed to have Eliana!

Eliana's first trip out.

Perhaps the most beautiful girl in the world.



















Our first family photo together... just seconds after Eliana's entrance into the world.

How Beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.