Broccoli Buddies

The other night, I roasted some broccoli for our veggie at dinner.  It was delicious, and Eliana really seemed to enjoy it.  She also seemed to enjoy being broccoli buddies with Daddy:

Eliana's Seventh Month

Besides meeting an Academy Award winner and making her debut on a Hollywood gossip blog, Eliana has been up to quite a bit this month!

Since we aren't visiting our pediatrician for some time, I decided to get a free weight check at Babyology, a fantastic local store.  Besides running into our beloved Angela Garvin (also known as the best birthing instructor known to mankind), the staff at Babyology were super nice and encouraging.  Eliana clocked in at 15 pounds and 10 ounces, which keeps her at roughly the 25th percentile for weight.  I'm guessing she is between 26.5 and 27 inches; it's really hard to measure her length at home!  I'm pretty sure she's still in about the 75th percentile for height, just like last month.  She can still wear six-month clothing, but she is busting out a few pieces from her nine-month collection as well.  Sometimes I look at her and think her torso is incredibly long, but other times I think her legs are what make her longer...either way, she still has some tiny little shoulders!

One of the biggest changes to her daily routine is the introduction of solids.  We are still doing baby-led weaning, but we also do some purees as well.  She's had broccoli, green beans, squash, pears, apples, apple sauce, taco meat, and many other things!  Her favorite purees are a pear and spinach combination and straight mangoes.  For bigger foods, she cannot get enough fried apples; she also likes chicken, but she tries pretty much everything that's put in front of her (and some of what's not put in front of her).  We went to Chipotle a few weeks ago, and we couldn't get the food in her fast enough.  She didn't swallow a lot of it, but she sure enjoyed the taste!  We are letting her try the Gerber Puffs to help her develop her pincher grasp as well; she seems to be a fan of the sweet potato flavored ones.

Our little girl is now a confident litter sister, even though she remains 'top heavy' and continues to wear bulkier cloth diapers.  She still doesn't show much interest in crawling, but when she is laying on your chest, she will army crawl up you like no one's business.  She finally figured out that she can get her toys across the room if she rolls onto her belly, but she won't do it unless she's alone.  She figures if someone else is there, they can get up and get it for her.  What can we say...she is a diva.

Oh yes, is she ever a diva.  If she wants something, she really wants it and will pitch a fit if you tell her 'no' and take it away.  Heaven help us, we are already at that point...

Isaac usually gives her a bath at night and she.just.loves.it.  He puts her down most nights as well, and I think she really looks forward to Daddy-Daughter time.  We usually eat dinner between 5:30 and 6:00, and bath time is anywhere between 6:00 and 7:00.  After she has her pajamas on, we walk around the house and say good night to all the rooms and any people that are there; we then read a story from The Jesus Storybook Bible, turn on her lullabies, turn off the lights, and pray.  Bedtime is between 7:00 and 8:00, depending on the day.  We are trying to be better about putting her in her crib when she is still awake, but sometimes it's hard to let go of her.

Her sleeping has improved so much.  She still gets up to eat- usually twice a night- but isn't waking up throughout the night screaming her head off and refusing to settle down.  We have heard her cry out randomly, but she's been wonderful about putting herself back to sleep for the most part.  She is starting to sleep on her stomach some, and a few times, she's managed to cram herself into one of the corners of her crib and can't figure out how to un-cram herself.  Her napping is improving as well; we are working toward two one-hour or ninety-minute naps (I gave up on two hour naps long ago).  It's a two steps forward, one step back process, but it's progress!  And that picture is of her napping at Monday Brunch club a few weeks ago....I don't ever really get the opportunity to take pictures of her sleeping, so Tiffany snapped this one for us! 

She is quite the little chatterbox and she is laughing a lot more now.  She continues to combine different syllables and displays this talent during bath time quite frequently.  Whenever she starts to get super fussy, I start kissing her neck and belly and she just starts to giggle.  There has also been a few times where she laughed at herself; apparently she thinks herself quite the comedian.  Her 'stranger danger' and separation anxiety seem to come and go.  Some days, if anyone besides me or Isaac even looks at her- even if she knows the person- she will absolutely flip out.  Other days, she's flirting up a storm with a complete stranger at Starbucks.  Even when he told her he had been happily married for over forty-two years, she kept on flirting with him.  She is definitely very social right now and absolutely loves to be around other babies- especially babies close in age to her. 

I mentioned it before, but she also got her first tooth this month!  We still haven't been able to capture it in a good photo, but we've seen it a few times!  It appears that her second tooth is starting to come in as well and is giving her a little more trouble than her first tooth did.  I can't wait to get a picture of her tooth-y smile!

Other things to note: she continues to be very tactile; she loves to scratch things with different textures- wall, fabrics, faces (ha).  She's also been blowing bubbles and raspberries like a crazy woman.  We've had several outings this month: the zoo (twice, actually), Waterfront Park, the library, brunch on Mondays, afternoon walks, visiting new friends, and various shopping and errands.  She was also dedicated at our church.

And now, for some of our favorite pictures this month:

She looks just like Grammie in this photo...

Does this scarf make my head look big?

First time in a swing...she's still a little small for it!

First time in the front of the shopping cart...Mommy forgot the cute shopping cart cover...

Adorable little shoes...

Feelin' at home in the library.

Simeon thinks he's big stuff since he was a whole month old in this picture...

Just call her Usher...she likes to prop up her foot in her highchair.

 

Hands down, best.photo.ever.

Seven months today!

 

See more photos from her seventh month here.

Celebrating Easter

So here we are, almost a month after Easter, and I'm finally writing about Easter.  The day before Easter, our neighborhood hosts an annual parade.  We live really close to the parade route, so we just walked on over:

 

Looking at Daddy as we were leaving...

 

Watching the parade...

On the way home, we ran into Winnie the Pooh (also known as our friend Helen) on a rooftop...

We have community group on Saturday afternoons, and one of our hosts had planned an Easter Egg hunt and prepared eggs to dye.

First Easter Egg hunt!

Most of our community group...

Dying eggs...

He has risen!

Eliana woke up fairly early on Easter morning, so she helped me make Resurrection Rolls as we read the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. 

Not only are these rolls tasty, but they are fun to make and are an excellent tool for teaching.  They are super easy to make; you just need crescent rolls, marshmallows, melted butter, cinnamon and sugar.  Dip the marshmallow in the melted butter and then the cinnamon and sugar mixture; this represents how Jesus's body was prepared for burial.  Wrap the crescent roll around the marshmallow and seal the edges; this represents how Jesus was buried in the tomb.  Bake the rolls according to the directions on the crescent rolls package, and then break open the 'tomb':

 

The marshmallow is not there- just as Jesus wasn't in the tomb because He has risen!  Older children can most certainly help with the preparation of the rolls.  This year, Eliana simply sat and watched with Daddy as I read and prepared.  I am definitely foreseeing this as a new Easter tradition for our family!

 

After breakfast, we showed Eliana her very first Easter basket:

 

No candy, just books, socks, and bows!

Her basket liner, which will be used for many years to come!

 

After breakfast and exploring her basket, we went to Sojourn and worshipped the Risen King with other believers.  Eliana thought the bulletin looked mighty tasty:

 

 



I took some photos of her in her dress with her basket as well as some in her 'Hangin' with my Peeps' outfit:

Her weekly picture, which I shared before.

I swear to you, I did not pose her this way!  She did it herself...

 

 

Close up of the bow I made to match her outfit.



Close up of her outfit (too adorable, I know).

 

You can see more pictures for our Easter and Spring celebrations here.

Eliana's Dedication

Today our church is dedicating sixty children across four campuses.  Actually, they call it 'Parent-Child Dedication' because as we dedicate our child to the Lord, we also dedicate ourselves as the parents of her because we recognize our God-given responsibility as parents.  Our church also underscores the importance of the church being involved in this special dedication service; as parents, we truly understand the need for the Body to commit to loving our child as well and to seek to encourage her in the faith.  Our church requires parents to attend a 'First Steps' class before child dedication; we discussed temptations in parenting (such as the need to have a 'smart kid' or a 'spiritual kid'), the importance of praying for our children, and intentional parenting.  It was such a great class- I wish all parents and parents-to-be could take part in something similar!

I've always loved dedication services at Sojourn.  Each child is presented to the congregation and the parents are asked to commit to bring up their child for the glory of God, pointing her to the Gospel:

Parents, will you commit to trust God's promises made to you and your children in His Word?  Will you commit to seek God and seek gospel change in the way you live and parent your children?  Will you commit to discipline your children and show them grace?  Will you commit to teach God's Word to them and live out the Gospel in your home?  Will you commit to pray for them and teach them to pray?  Will you commit to partner with this church community, seek their help and accountability, and lead your children to do the same?

Parents then answer:

With God's help, we will. 

And then the church community is asked to commit to all help the parents in this endeavor:

Will you commit to pray for these children- that they will grow to love Jesus and trust in Him?  Will you commit to teach them the gospel through both your words and your example?  Will you commit to partner with these parents- holding them accountable and confronting their sin?  Will you commit to pray for them and encourage them as they face the trials of parenting? 

They answer:

With joy and thanksgiving, as Christ's church, with God's help, we promise to love, encourage, and support you as you follow Christ and train your children in the faith.

Since becoming a mother, my understanding of community has changed a great deal.  While I definitely had great community with other believers prior to Eliana's birth, I never felt the extreme and desperate need for community as I do now.  Something about having a newborn makes you realize how utterly in need of others you are throughout this life...

We are so very thankful for the community the Lord has provided us.  Though we are far away from our family, we never find ourselves wanting for encouragement, hope, joy, humor, or support because of the sweet body of Christ.

Here are some pictures from this morning (we took several others with some of Eliana's friends, but those images are on our friends' cameras; hopefully we will get copies of them soon).

Her pretty outfit, complete with Mary Jane shoes (with a little heel)...

 

The special booklet with pages of cute babies!

Eliana's page...

 

Eliana on stage with blue lighting...

Flirting with Asher...

Flirting with Sam (who is still working on sitting up but doing so great- he isn't even six months old yet)...

 

Our little family (that's Asher's adorable picture in the background)

We look freakishly tall in this picture.

Eliana showing off her shoes outside!