Ah Motherhood!

Elianna has been a little more snugly lately. When I get her up from a nap, she will wrap her little arms around my neck and bang pat on my back. As she is snuggled up against me, I like to stop and savor the moment knowing that someday she will not want to do this - not want anything to do with me. And so we stop wherever we are and breathe in deeply ... the smell of motherhood ... Gag! The moment is over and another dirty diaper must be changed.

CrAzY!

This past week has been a cRaZy week! It all began last Friday with the Girl's Overnighter. We took the girls to Color Me Mine. It was interesting to see their personalities come out as they painted their ceramics. The most popular choice was the cupcake box.

Here on the home front, our week consisted of Elianna getting a shot, Harley getting 3 shots, me going to the dentist, getting a haircut, decorating the youth building for our latest series (Wanted: God's Rebel), church, a JrH program and Harley going to the groomers. I also ran to Kohls super fast Tuesday night because I had $10 in Kohls cash that I didn't want to waste. Elianna will be looking cute for the 4th of July! Just you wait and see!

Elianna now has 4 teeth on the top and 2 on the bottom. We just have to wait for the last of the bottom 2 to come in and then hopefully we will have a couple of months until the next set come in. It has been rough on her!

She has become quite the mover lately - crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything. She loves to pull herself up and look in her toy basket. Our little girl is growing up so fast!

We have no big plans for the weekend but hope to take the "kids" to the park to play for awhile. It's getting nice out so that means more walks and more outdoor activities to take pictures of! Have a great weekend!

Things That Make Me Smile!

Watching Elianna crawl and play

Harley's cute little face when he wants to play

Elianna's big eyes

Elianna and Papi playing on the "big bed" before bathtime

Elianna's new tennis shoes

Elianna and Harley chillin' out on the kitchen floor together

Elianna trying to so hard to stand on her own

Harley's leg contortion

Have You Meet Jack?

One of the other pastors is doing a Bible Study series called "Love Out Loud." The study teaches putting your faith into action by loving those around you - including those you would not "normally" love. As an object lesson, my Chris dressed up as "Jack O'Brien" and wandered around the church property to see if anyone would reach out and love him even when he looked and smelled differently.

Not surprisingly, my Chris went all out when he dressed up as Jack. He wore his camoflauge pants, a shirt with holes in it, a wig, fake rotting teeth; had a backpack; and even went so far as to rub some of Harley's poop on his clothes to give off a bad smell. He was successful. In all areas.

I am happy to report that someone did put their faith into action - even though he smelled... bad.

Stuart Little Comes to Visit

The other night my Chris and I heard a rustling and when we went and investigated, look at what we found in the trash can.

It's so hard to write this post without shivering and quickly looking all around. The upside is now Elianna knows what to picture when I ask her "Elianna what does a mouse say?" "Squeak, squeak."

Elianna's First Easter

For Easter this year, we had a total of 10 people at our dinner table. We had an enjoyable time and ate great food (except for the Rosemary Rolls that I forgot to make).

Sadly, we were running around that morning trying to get everything ready for dinner and did not get a family picture taken. I had high hopes of putting us all in our Easter clothes and taking a picture, but reality pretty much says otherwise.

Apparently the dress tasted as good as it looked because Elianna had it in her mouth most of the morning. Nothing like a slobbery wet beautiful Easter dress.

7 Month Pictures

Well, That Made Me Laugh!

Gerber has a menu planner that you can design specifically for your child based on their activity level, age and whether they are drinking formula or not. I decided to see if I was feeding Elianna correctly. Apparently I am not. They have her eating a ton more food than what I am feeding her. She barely eats what I give her sometimes so I can't imagine trying to feed her more. I guess that's why she is so skinny (Note to self: eat less and you will be skinnier). Anyway, I digress.

When I typed in her information: birthdate, formula only, and the crawling stage - it gave me this message.

Harley & Me - 7 Months

Hello from Snuffleville. These big teeth got me and now I've got the snuffles and it is no fun!

Here is what I'm up to these days!

*I weigh 18 pounds and am 28 1/2 inches long (I grew 1 1/2 inches this last month!).

*I have moved up to a size 3 diaper.

These are some things I like:

*I love standing and pulling myself up onto things. It is especially fun to stand in my crib. Harley usually comes over and licks my fingers making me laugh so much!

*I like laughing and squealing and, sometimes, even screaming. I've found my voice! It can only get louder from here!

*I love my dog! Harley so enjoys licking me and I enjoy climbing all over him and pulling his hair. The other night in nursery I got a little mixed up and pulled a little boys hair. Oops!

These are some things I do NOT like:

*I do not like being confined. It scares me something fierce and I freak out! Papi says I must be claustrophobic like Mommy.

*I'm not real fond of others holding me if Mommy is around. She gets a little frustrated but I'm working on it and doing a little better. Well, except when I'm real tired and then I want Mommy and Mommy only and that's that.

I'm doing pretty good at crawling over to things and pulling myself up. Sometimes I even forget and I let go which usually results in my falling down. Gotta remember to hold on until I can stand solely by myself. Maybe by this time next month, I'll be able to report that I'm standing by myself and possibly taking a step or two.

Hair You Go

Elianna is finally getting some hair although it has all the signs of a mullet-in-the-making. Nonetheless we have some hair!