Yum! Yum!

If you think Ellie looks rather pleased with herself here, it may be because she has joined the ranks of the eaters of "solid" food. While not in need of extra nutrition, she was still not even close to sleeping through the night, so we thought we would add some cereal to the mix to see if that would help. It hasn't been an instant fix, but Ellie did sleep 6 hours in a row last night. Wow! I haven't had that kind of sleep in ..... well, a very long time. I'm not used to getting into a deep sleep, so when I did wake up I felt like I had been drugged. It was great!

Feel free to check out Ellie's first meal:

She's Rollin'

It was an exciting day at the Weaver household yesterday. Eliana rolled for the first (and second, and third, and hundredth) time! It was her favorite toy of the moment, her ducky, that was the incentive. Take a look at how Ellie feels about the duck below:

Ellie's been trying to roll for about 2 weeks now. Yesterday, Joe was playing with her on the floor and, all of a sudden, she just popped over! She looked really surprised (Well, maybe it was our cheering that surprised her.), but then she immediately rolled over again. Now as soon as we put her down on her back, she rolls.

I was so happy that Ellie chose to hit this milestone on a Friday when Joe was not working, so we were both able to see it happen. I'm not sure why I feel like I have done something wonderful, but I do.

Take a few seconds to see this very impressive achievement for yourself:

Need a chuckle?

I dare you not to smile while listening:

Ellie laughing

To listen, click on the link and choose "Save" or "Save Target As". Once you save the file to your computer, click "Open."

She's Got Personality!

And loads of it!

-

With one exception, all these photos were taken this morning within about five minutes. I love it! Don't you just wonder what is going through her mind?

-

We've had a very busy week. Sorry I missed updating the blog on Monday. I've just been swamped. Here's the news:

-

On Monday Eliana had her 4 month pediatrician appointment. She is now 19 pounds, 5 ounces and 26 inches long. She is over the 1ooth percentile for both height and weight, but the doctor isn't concerned since they are about equal. In other words, she's proportionate. We are still not to start her on any solid foods yet, since she's growing just fine. ;-) We both had to endure another round of vaccines. We both did better than the first time. Ellie made it through the first shot without crying, but the second and third ones did her in. I managed all three! What a big girl I am now. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of one of the vaccines, and my doctor was out. That means we have to go next week for one more shot! UGH!

-

I had my 33rd birthday (Can that be right?) on Wednesday. The celebrations began last Saturday, actually. My brother, Jim, and Mel and the boys came and watched Ellie while Joe and I went out to Texas Road House on a gift certificate from them for Christmas. It felt so strange to be out without Eliana, but it was very nice.

-

Wednesday was a great day. My mom came up to watch Eliana during one of my online meetings. Then she went and picked up Applebees for lunch. Yum! Joe, Ellie and I celebrated the evening with a trip to Damon's for ribs and a stroll around the mall. You can tell that I work from home and don't get out much when I actually wanted to walk around the mall for fun. I used to avoid it like the plague!

-

Anyway, we are getting together with my side of the family to celebrate my birthday tomorrow after church and then Joe's family is coming down next Sunday to party. All in all, I've managed to squeeze about a month out this this birthday. Not bad! (I've been a bit scared to look at the scale, however. Did you count how many mega-meals I've had? Yikes!)

-

Well, I'd better get some work down while Ellie is still sleeping.

-

Love.

AWii Laugh

The Weavers spent yesterday afternoon at the home of our good friends, Michael and Kerry. We had a wonderful time of food, fellowship, and fun - the perfect combo!

I finally was able to try out the Wii Fit. The last time we were there and had it out, I was seriously pregnant and "exercised" wisdom and refrained. Nothing could keep me from it this time, however.

Picture this: I'm on the platform demonstrating my Hula-Hoop skills, trying to remain dignified, when, amid the guffaws behind me, one little unexpected voice rises to join the laughter. That's right! Eliana was laughing at her mother at four months old! I thought she'd be at least a year old before that started up! It was so cute. I'm sure she had no idea what she was laughing about, but she was really joining in the fun.

Thanks to Uncle Michael and Aunt Kerry for a wonderful time!

(Sorry, folks. No photos to go along with this story. That would be serious blackmail material.)

At last!

Ellie almost 4 months

January 17, 2009

I had the most incredible experience this week. Friday night I gave Ellie her bath, got her in her pjs,sang her a song, and fed her a bedtime snack. I sat her up to burp her and then leaned back to snuggle a bit before putting her down to sleep. She immedately put her head against my shoulder and just melted into me. All of a sudden, for the first time, I really felt like a mother - not like I was pretending to be one. What an incredible feeling! It was such an intense wave of emotion that I instantly had tears pouring down my cheeks. There was no tension, no frantic "I've got to get the baby to sleep" thoughts...just a sense of total peace between us that we belong together. In fact, I'm welling up right now just remembering what it was like. In all my deepest dreams and longings for a child, I could never have imagined that it would be like this, and I am so grateful.

Recouping and Back to Work

Quality time for Ellie and Mommy!

Ellie is starting too feel better from her cold. She is still a little drippy, but I only had to bring the bulb out once today, and she is now able to use her pacifier again - relief! She did, however, manage to make me good and sick a few days after she came down with it. We both missed church on Sunday (the first time since she was born!). She was still running a temp. on and off, and neither of us was too chipper. I still have a really sore throat, but my cold is starting to fade.

I "headed" back to work today after my nice long break. It took me a couple hours to brush the cobwebs out of my brain, but I'm looking forward to starting on several new projects.

That's about it for now. Time to relax for the evening.

Happy New Year

2.5 minutes of squealing!

Happy New Year, everyone! Our's is getting off to a bit of a bumpy start. Ellie came down with a cold yesterday. This one is accompanied by her first fever. It was about 100.4 yesterday. After a rough night and a couple doses of Tylenol, it was down to 99.8 this morning - not too bad in Babyland, I'm told. I felt bad yesterday because Lisa and the girls came down for a visit, and Ellie was pretty whiny all day. By the time they left she started to feel warm to me and had a drippy nose. By 6 p.m., full blown cold. Hopefully, the next visit will be more fun.

Although Ellie greeted me with a smile this morning, she's definately not her normal chipper self. I promised her a day of comfy clothes and cuddles. Right now she's sitting in my lap knawing on my wrist.

I had to share the above video with you. It was taken about an hour after Ellie's first dose of Tylenol and she was feeling a bit better.

Enjoy!

Merry Daze

Ed may have the Santa hat, but Ellie certainly has the belly (and cheeks) like a bowl full of jelly!

Grammy and Papa help Ellie open her gifts.

Mommy and Daddy played the press corps with

cameras flashing and videos rolling!

In all my thirty.......years, I may have to chalk this Christmas up as my all-time favorite! Everything seemed SO MUCH brighter and merrier with Eliana along for the ride. In fact, we actually managed to squeeze three "Christmases" out of the year.

We started by celebrating Christmas Eve with my brother and his family, along with my mom and grandmother. We had a delish meal and then went to the church for the candlelight service. I was running around helping with the service, so mom had Ellie. I have to confess that during the message I watched Ellie more than I listened. I unintentionally sat across the church from her with a clear line of sight. I loved seeing her from a distance - not a vantage point I normally get.

-

Christmas Day started with with Egg Junk Casserole and Ellie opening up her gifts at our house. Can you believe that I actually had to wake her up?!?! Didn't she know it was Christmas morning??!?!?!? We had things to do and couldn't wait any longer! :-) Then we went to my mom's house and Joe, Mom and I opened our stockings. This was a fun remnant from when we all lived together, but, alas, the tradition's final year. Jim, Mel, Ed, Andy, and Linda (Mel's Mom), arrived around 9:00 a.m. and we had a wonderful time of of family fellowship and opening gifts. I am still amazed by how gentle the boys are with Ellie. They just love her (see picture number 1). The boys had opened their stockings and normally fly to the gifts, but Ed wanted to hold Ellie and seemed to be perfectly content doing so. Andy was ready for presents, and Jim eventually had to ask Eddie, "Are you ready to open your gifts yet?" Too funny!

-

We had our traditional steaks for brunch but added mom's perogi to them. YUM!

-

One of the highlights of the day for me was a bath. Don't laugh - it's true. Surely all you mothers out there can remember the longing for a relaxing bath during the early days of parenthood. Well on top of that normal feeling, I miss my mom's tub. She has a HUGE whirlpool bath I used to use daily. I miss it so. Anyway, I had a wonderful hour of soaking. Bliss!

The next day Joe's parent's came down to our house and spent the day with us. It was so fun to have a relaxing time with them and watch them open Ellie's gifts with her. We had a delicious meal with a little bit (or a whole lot) of everything in it, and played some games. They got us a great Bible trivia DVD game that allows players to put in different ability levels and all play together. We gave it a try and, fittingly, the patriarch of the family won. It will be perfect to play when Ellie gets older. It took me back to when my family used to play Bible Trivia...I wonder where the old game is now. I haven't seen it in years.

-

Saturday we recovered from all the partying, and then went to Weaver's in

Akron on Sunday after church. Joe's sister, Lisa, and her family and his grandparents came and we had another wonderful time together. Those people really know how to celebrate! Ellie was so tired that she slept 7.5 hours that night without making a peep! It's a record! It gave me a bit of hope that I will, one day, get a full night's sleep again.

-

Well, I hear noises from the nursery, so I'd better wrap up the holiday recap. Thanks for putting up with all the details. This entry is definitely intended for posterity.

-

Bye, all!

Merry Christmas!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

A Little Christmas Cheer Starring: Nephews Eddie and Andy, brother Jim, mother Helene, and daughter Eliana

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

What a Year!

A gift from my husband this week

Today, Joe and I celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. This was certainly a year like no other, and we have so much to celebrate. God has turned our lives upside down and taught us a lot about our relationships with each other and with Him. He has also, of course, given us a beautiful daughter - the desire of my heart - and allowed me to stay home with her. I would never have dreamed just one year ago that my life would be what it is today.

If you're struggling with something today, take shelter in God. Don't deny what you're going through, but go to Him in honesty, even if that honesty demands you simply cry before him (a woman's perspective, to be sure). When God moves on your behalf, He can move quickly after taking years to prepare the way. Ps 90:4 For a thousand years in Your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

So, what are we doing to celebrate this eventful year? Red Lobster! YUM! Mom is coming to watch Eliana, and Joe and I are going to sit down to our first quite meal alone together since she was born. I can hardly wait! Start the 5 hour countdown......NOW!

The Big Move

The cheeks are mine; everything else is Daddy's!

Well, it's official: Eliana is now sleeping in her crib. I'm going to return the bassinet to my friend who let me borrow it, so there will be no going back. It seems to be working out pretty well, although I must admit, I didn't like it at first (or at least the thought of it). It is allowing me to get a little more sleep, though. While Ellie is still waking up a couple times a night to eat, at least I'm sleeping better in between feeds. When she was right next to me, I'd wake with each and every little movement or sound. Now I only wake up when she is actually crying. Little by little...



Don't you just love the photo of the proud papa and his little girl? Joe picked out the outfit that Ellie is wearing. She wore it to church today and recieved so many compliments. I wanted to make sure I got a picture of the two of them with her wearing it. Too cute!



Weight loss update: I've lost 4 of my 20-pound mini-goal. I'm really happy with that, and don't want to loose any more in a one-week period. It wouldn't be good for me. I'm looking forward to an exercise video I just ordered. It's for new mothers and I'll use Ellie as my weights! How fun does that sound? I'm ready to get moving again.



As I was typing, Ellie reached up to touch my face. How can such a little person make me feel so good?



Night all!

Arms and Hands

Today, Little Bug learned that she has arms and hands (at least when she's lying flat on her back). This is the first time I've ever seen her reach out and grab something she wanted--too fun! Grammy, do you recognize the play mat? Ellie loves it! It is great while I'm working. She just kicks and grabs and laughs.

She is definitely is having a great time, don't you think?

Weight Loss

20 pounds by March 2o

Ohio Women's Retreat

This is my first goal. Very doable.

Just over a pound a week

Ask me about my progress.

Keep me accountable.