Merry Christmas!!

I better get started on your Christmas post - before the New Year is here!! It is New Year's Eve as we speak and we're waiting for our guests to arrive, so I'll write about Christmas while we wait.

It was a great Christmas, we were blessed by all of our family! We had two Christmases before Christmas Day. We had a CRAZY weekend the weekend before Christmas. On Saturday we had the Higginbotham Christmas at Cousin Cindy's house. Then on Sunday we had the Regehr Christmas. So Friday night we headed to Iola and had our Brunch Christmas with them on Saturday morning. We got to hang out with all of that family and it was so much fun! You loved the dinosaur ball pop toy you got from Great Grandpa! After brunch we drove the 2 1/2 hours to Buhler, spent the night there, and then had our family Lunch Christmas after church. Where you got the cutest little doggie toy from Grandma-great and Granpa-Great. All of our families love seeing you again!
Then we went back to Ottawa for 2 1/2 days for school! Then it was back to Buhler for FOUR DAYS! :)

We started our Christmas vacation by going to Grandma and Grandpa-Great's house! You had to meet their bouncing snowman! It is tradition and all the kids love it! I remember being a kid (not as young as you) and pressing the button on the bouncing snowman! By the way, you LOVED him!!

Grandma-Great and Grandpa-Great loved spending some time with you!

Look at the two of you look at each other! That is true love there between a Grandma-Great and her Great-Granddaughter!! This picture makes me smile and my heart smile!

We started a new tradition.....maybe.....this year. The girls making cookies with Mimi! You had a blast making cookies.....eating cookie dough....banging a spoon on the table....tasting frosting.....putting sprinkles on the cookies....and of course tasting a sugar cookie! 

We really just had a wonderful, relaxing time at Buhler. In fact you only left the house twice the whole time we were there! On Saturday (Christmas Eve) your Uncle Andrew showed up. We had brunch with the entire family and then it was time to go downstairs and open presents!!!

You loved getting in to your stocking! It was like you had been doing it for years, you crawled right up to the pile of presents and stockings and started to dig in! 

Reading the Christmas Story from the advent Calendar! (We didn't actually make it through the entire story....the two of you would not sit still to listen!) 

You knew which pile was your gift pile!! :)  

You and Rebekkah both enjoyed her knew sleeping bag! :)  

Christmas Eve Evening we went to church at Hoffnungsau! Then we took our traditional photos in front of the Christmas Tree! 

Uncle Andrew and the Girls! 

Our Family! 

Christmas day we woke up and went to Church. We were going to take a photo of you after church - because you looked SO cute! But you had a different idea and had a nice little blow out in your dress before we could get a picture. We'll have to wear it again another time. After lunch we headed to Iola for our next Christmas.

We got to Skype Jessica, Joseph, Gabriel, and Natalia in Japan on Christmas day! It was so nice!  

We had Cheesy Potato soup that evening....and you LOVED it!! 

We opened present after dinner! You got these pretty butterfly wings from the Garcias! 

And this Awesome Kitty Cat hat from your Auntie M! 

All of the kids with Great Grandma 

Such a cute picture of you and Auntie M! Your shirt says: "Purrrfec like Auntie". Another gift from you Aunt Melisa! 

You learned how to saw Woof during our four days in Iola! You now recognize other dogs, and your dog toys and say "Woof" when you see them! Murphey followed you from person to person! He thought if Eliana gets to cuddle - so do I! :) 

Oh! We went to Russell Stovers! It was your first trip! You were pretty tired - but you seemed to enjoy it despite the tiredness!

We had a great time and we were all very blessed and spoiled while we were away for an entire week! But boy were we all excited to be home again. We then got to have five days at home, where we very rarely left! I enjoyed all my time with you! Your top teeth are starting to come in, so you weren't always in a pleasant mood! :) But I enjoyed every minute of it! You're really at a fun age where you actually play with us! You play peek-a-boo by hiding your face, even if it is sometimes your mouth and not your eyes! And you started to grab my hands and clap them, or cover my face with my  hands and pull them away! You are just beyond cute!

We go back to work/daycare on Tuesday! I am sad to go, but I know we have to. We will get Spring break together soon!!!

Love you Little Girl, and Merry 1st Christmas!

Mommy

Everything Eliana: 10 Months!

Well, my sweet little girl! You are 10 months old!! Two more months and it'll be your birthday! Just so hard to believe! :)

There is not a lot to write about this month. You are pretty much still the same as your nine month post. You're just more independent and you have more of a personality!! You are just SO much fun!

You are clapping so much! You have been blowing kisses for a while - but now you are REALLY blowing kisses! You make the noise (kinda of mmmmm) and quite the noise when you blow your kiss! It Is So Cute!

You have taken one step for me, one step for your daddy, and your mimi said that you took one step for her today! :)

Your eating schedule is still pretty much the same. You wake up at 6:00 and have a 6 oz bottle. You have breakfast at 8:30-9:00, your favorite is oatmeal and apples - so that's typically what you have. Then you have a bottle at Jodi's in the morning (but when you're at home with me you don't have a morning bottle). You have lunch at 11:45ish, you're eating basically everything we are. Then snack at 3:00, then dinner at 5:30-6, and then a bottle at 8:30-9:00 before bed.

You usually go to bed at around 9:00 pm. Lately you have not been sleeping very well at all at night. you have been up multiple times. And we typically have to snuggle sometime in the middle of the night. I sure wish we could figure out your sleeping and get you to sleep through the night again! But for now we will keep working through your rocky sleep! You get up at 6, sleep from 7-7:30 on the way to Garnett, take a nap from 12-3, sleep from 4-4:30 on the way home from Garnett, you have pretty much nixed the evening nap but you have been getting SUPER tired by 8 - and we push you to 8:30! :)

You are wearing size 12 month clothing mostly; at least if we buy new clothing it is 12 month. You do still have some 6 month clothing you're wearing, and really 9 month clothing fits you perfect right now, but I know you'll outgrow it soon - so I buy 12 month.

We are working on you keeping your bow on! I always say we are "training" you to keep it on! :)

You are standing on your own consistently now! I still just get so excited when you do it! You are still too hesitant to really walk! You have such control on going from standing to sitting you just do that all the time! But I'm sure you'll start walking someday! :)

Oh! You LOVE to drink from my glass. You have finally started to really get in to your sippy cup - but you still prefer my glass of water!

You really know your name now. You look whenever someone says Eliana. You have known your name for awhile - but I feel like you look EVERY TIME someone says your name now.

Oh, look at how pretty you are!!

You have one top tooth starting to come in! We can really see it - it's just starting to really bulge!

You say: Dada, mama, baba, and nana. You crawl around the house saying mama, mama, ma! chasing me all over the place!

You get SO excited when your daddy gets home in the evenings! You stop whatever you're doing and crawl really fast to get him!

You do GREAT at the basketball games. You pretty much sit and watch the games. We take a break during half time and I let you crawl around. You sit on my lap during games and you play with your toys. You really enjoy all the other parents sitting around too! :)

You have had many new foods - too many to name or count! Here you are having a cucumber and popcorn for the first time. You really eat pretty good. Jodi says you don't eat lunch very good for her - but you eat really good for me!

You also got your first kiss this month! :) You have so many boys fighting for you! ;)

I can't wait to celebrate Christmas with you Eliana Bonnie Marie! We are so blessed, and thank God often for giving you to us! We're the luckiest parents alive! I look forward to all the fun times ahead...though, I'm not going to lie that I wish time would slow down a little so I could enjoy your baby stage a little longer! :) But I am excited for all the fun things we get to do as you grow up! :)

I love you little girl!!

Love, Mommy

Clapping and Kisses

Tonight you were sitting in your high chair banging on it playing with stuff while we were doing things in the living room. We also had Biggest Loser on the t.v. When the "at home" winner was named and everyone was cheering on t.v. you stopped what you were doing and looked up. Then you started to clap and clap and clap. After a little bit you started to blow the t.v. kisses, not just with one hand, but with TWO! You also were putting noises to your kisses, like we do when we blow kisses! You just kept going and going. You were really getting into it! It was the most adorable moment ever! You are just too cute!!

And, because no post is complete without a picture, here is a picture to prove how cute you are! :)

Love you,

Mommy

First Christmas Gatherings

Well, it is FINALLY Christmas, well, almost! :) It does not feel at all like Christmas yet, because the weather has been so nice! It's just odd! Your daddy and I joke that it will probably snow on my birthday (in April) since the weather has been so nice into December! But we are finally getting close to Christmas. One amazing thing about Christmas coming, is Christmas break! We get a full 12 days together!!! :) I just can't wait! Granted, we spend 7 of those days with our family so I have to share you, but hopefully that will give me time to work on your scrapbook some more.

So, let's get on to the Christmas part of this post! You opened your very first present ever from Brayden, your boyfriend! We saw them on Friday after the GEC staff party. You and Brayden swapped gifts for each other! :) You weren't too sure about tearing in to your paper, but Brayden acted like a pro and he thought he'd help you too, once he realized you still hadn't opened yours!

You both are so cute! Just checking each other out! :)  

I had to share this next photo! I took so many great photos of the two of you at the GEC Staff Party, but this one makes me laugh so hard! You look all innocent, but in reality you had hit Brayden, stolen his pacifier, flapped your arms crazily and smaked him multiple times, etc. I mean you were just very excited and Brayden had finally had enough!! haha, I just love both of your expressions! I can see us all still getting together when the two of you are sixteen! Who knows, maybe you and Brayden will be best friends!

After our gift exchange with Brayden we went to Iola for family Christmas with the Higginbotham side. We had a Christmas brunch on Saturday at Cousin Cindy's house. Everyone was very excited to see you again.

You really got in to opening your presents at this Christmas! Look at you go!

Here you are showing off your dancing skills as you dance to the Hippo! Everyone loved your dance moves!

You loved your present from Great Grandpa Jimmie! The balls bounce on that little trampoline!

After our Christmas Brunch we headed to Buhler because we had Family Christmas with the Regehr family. So we went to Buhler then on Sunday after church we headed to Uncle Galen's for Christmas.We had a lovely time again.

You got this puppy that barks tunes from Grandma-Great and Grandpa-Great. You loved it!

But you weren't too sure about Abbie's head massager! ;)

We left Christmas at 4:00 and went straight to the Wal-Mart in Ottawa to shop with our Bible study for our adopt-a-family. Then we went to the church to wrap the gifts, and then it was home to bed!

We for sure had a crazy weekend! But definetly a wonderful weekend! You are such a great baby, despite all the crazy schedules you did amazing! You only got super-super tired twice! So that's good!! :) I can't wait for Christmas day to open more presents with you!!

Love you little girl,

Mommy