Birthday Bliss...

I'm not one of those people who is too concerned about getting older. So I guess I don't mind sharing with everyone that I just turned 29. Surprisingly, the big 3-0 really doesn't scare me. I guess I can thank all my friends for that as a good majority of them have already hit that milestone - and they don't seem old! :)

So for my birthday this year, it was fortunate that Nick did not have to work that day. I was able to sleep in and when I finally got out of bed, Nick and Ellie had gone to my favorite bakery in town and gotten me a monstrous caramel roll. Yummmm... I got to spend the rest of the morning cuddling my "baby" and opening my gifts that my husband spoiled me with - a certificate for a massage (can't wait to use that!) and an ipod docking system for the kitchen. It will be perfect to use with my new Ipod Touch that Mom and Dad Marcus spoiled me with! I had a baby shower to attend that afternoon, but then that evening Nick and Ellie and our friend Moe, and I, went out for dinner. It was a very nice birthday.

I did not, however, manage to take a single photo on my birthday. So instead, please enjoy a cute selection of photos of Miss Eliana that were taken in the last couple weeks!
Ellie has inherited my old Ipod.







After a busy afternoon holiday shopping at the Mall.






Ellie sure enjoys her pickles!

Thanksgiving 2009

This year has been quite a blessing and we had a lot to celebrate this Thanksgiving! Nick has a great job and I am fortunate to be able to stay at home. We have a beautiful home and lots of friends. We have family who love us and whom we are very close to. We have health. And our newest blessing this year, is our daughter, Eliana. We are so very thankful for all of it!

Mom and Dad Marcus came to visit us for the holiday again this year. We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving meal with them, complete with LOTS of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, scalloped corn, sweet potato bisque, cranberry sauce, etc. And for dessert, my friend Pam and her family joined us and we enjoyed 6 different pies! Yum! Even Ellie got in on the Thanksgiving dinner, but I'm pretty sure her favorite part were the generous helpings of banana pudding that Grandma Bev kept feeding her!

We really enjoyed having Mom & Dad Marcus here this last week and we KNOW Ellie enjoyed their visit! She had an abundance of attention. And if she wasn't sure she had everyone's attention, she would look around the room like she was counting heads to make sure we were all there, and then shriek at the top of her lungs. :)

We thank you, Lord, for all the blessings you have bestowed upon us!

7 Months Old

I know I say this every month, but boy - this kid grows fast! Eliana is now 7 months old and has learned many things over the last month. She has begun experimenting with her voice, which although we think it's a delightful noise and usually brings a smile to our faces, I have to admit that hearing her talking away in her crib at 3am can be a bit frustrating! She's been doing lots of squealing, bababa's, gurgles, shrieks, tongue clicks, lip smacks, etc. But her giggles are truly the best!

Eliana has also learned how to sit quite well (unsupported) over the last month. It's been nice for me that I can now set her on the floor while I do a quick load of laundry, empty the dishwasher, pour a glass of water... However, there are the occasional times when she will lose her balance and topple over. And I'm sure, as most parents know, they never just tip over onto the floor. It doesn't seem to matter how far away they are from any piece of furniture, they will manage to hit it! So we have been preparing ourselves for seeing lots of bumps and bruises to come. For now, it looks like crawling is several months away, but we're looking forward to the day when she can get around a bit on her own!

Most notably this month, Ellie has sprouted two teeth! Our little stinker now has the grin of a toddler and she sure enjoys showing it off! With her new teeth, we have been trying some new finger foods with her. For the most part, she can pick things up quite well. But getting them from her hand to her mouth is still a challenge and she will often times give up and forget they are in her hand - until it comes time for clean-up and then she enjoys mashing the remaints of the food onto mommy's shirt!

We sure love this little girl and watching all the new things she is learning. And we're definitely looking forward to showing her accomplishments off to Grandma Bev and Grandpa Daryl when they arrive this week!

Eliana's 6 (and a half) month photos

There have been a couple requests for these photos to be put up on the Blog for all to enjoy, so here you go! They were taken October 30th at Sears Portrait. I had to scan the pictures in, so the quality and color are a little poor on the computer, but I thought the photos themselves turned out really well. Enjoy! PS: How on Earth the photographer got her to smile while she was on her belly, I still don't understand!

Halloween Visitors

We were blessed with a couple of visitors over the weekend: Amanda and Steve flew out for a long weekend to see their God-daughter on her first Halloween! (Well, I guess they were here to visit Nick and I, too.) After arriving on Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed a great weekend together. They got to see a bit of Great Falls, we took them to see the Sluicebox mountains (a Montana State Park), we took Ellie swimming, played some games, went out for dinner, helped me get Ellie's 6 month photos taken, Amanda and I had a girls night out with my friends (SUPER fun!), and Uncle Steve got to babysit his godchild that night! He did a great job and we know he will make a great dad when they are ready to give Ellie some cousins! (Hint hint, Steve!)

Steve and Amanda also gave Eliana a pretty awesome gift - her first Halloween costume! She was the most adorable Eeyore anyone has ever seen. She showed off her costume to the dental clinic and received LOTS of ooohs and aaaahs. She also got to wear her costume out on Friday night when she went trick-or-treating at the mall. They even ran into Pooh! A BIG thank-you to Amanda and Steve for picking such a wonderful costume and for spoiling Ellie with attention all weekend! We had a fantastic time with you guys and hope you will come back to visit us soon!