Bye, Bye

Elianna just learned how to wave Bye Bye. She probably doesn't understand exactly what it means, but it is still so cute to see her try! Parents relish their kids and we all think they are "advanced," but Elianna REALLY is. I mean she sits, eats, crawls, waves bye bye--this is one totally interactive doll. Ok, ok, you're right. Every other 8 month old can do this too, but are they as cute when they do it? I've thrown being unbiased out the door when it comes to her. Just flexing my parental right.

Mom and Dauther

I'm usually on the other side of the camera, so Ellie and I don't have a lot of pictures together just as mother and daughter. Jen took this picture at her going away party.

Another Crazy Day in Africa

Where do I start? Maybe here, you know it is just another day in Africa when you have to push your little taxi out of the sand because he thought his car was a 4x4 truck. Here is the story: Jennifer, our friend, is leaving Africa to go home and possibly pursue a degree in Nursing. The girls decided it would be nice to do something for her during her last weekend here. She likes the beach so the guys babysat while the girls went to stretch their legs and enjoy a little "baby" freedom at a beach not far from our homes. On the way our taxi driver offered to take us back home when we were ready. That sounded like a good idea to us because it can be hard to find taxis at this particular beach. So we set a time and off we went to enjoy the sun and become bronzed beauties. Well, not me..I only have 2 colors: red and white. My body doesn't do tan. Anyway, 2 hours later the taxi called me to confirm we were ready and we told him we were on our way to the parking lot. While walking we noticed a taxi in the sand. Could this be OUR taxi? No way, he wouldn't try to be Evil Knievel in the sand on a hot day like today. Yup, sure enough there he was "waiting" for us. Gotta say, that is some curb service if we didn't have to push him out. So Jennifer, her sister, Reasa, and I all got behind his little car to push him out of the sand. Guess our manly muscles were not enough, but Reasa got a chance to drive it as he tried to push with us. That is a first in my book: a foreigner behind the wheel of a taxi. Finally a group of guys came with a bigger rig and pulled him out. Hopefully that Taxi driver learned some great lessons in "sand" driving....just don't do it (at least not in a car). We had fun and made some great memories. Just another crazy day in Africa.

Ellie on the Run

Maybe all kids are this way at this age, but Elianna is constantly moving--and the faster the better. Once she learned how to sit-up, that evening she learned how to crawl. Once she learned how to crawl, she learned how to RUN in her walker. This is kido has a need for speed. She might start off slow, but she can sure gain speed fast. I've included a video of our little Nascar driver. Just imagine her hitting you at full-speed in the leg while you were doing the dishes or folding laundry. I've learned how to get out of the way fast! It is pretty cute when she comes running to you and you are ready for it. Just make sure you are ready for her :).

Gabby Walks, Ellie Pulls

Gabriela is walking! We caught her on video taking several steps in a row (that's a first for her unassisted), but I think that Elianna was a little jealous because if you watch closely at the end of the video you will see Elianna pulling her down. It's tough being 6 months younger and always in the shadow of the physically more mature :), just kidding. Sorry about the video being on it's side. I couldn't figure out how to turn it around.

Best Friends Forever

Gabriela Grogg is 6 months older than Elianna and I can't explain how happy I am that Elianna will have a friend to grow-up with living overseas. Reasa (Gabby's mom) and I call them our "puppies" because they act like puppies when they play together. It is so cute. They will become best friends, FOR SURE. I've included a video of them playing together. Gabby is cleaning her with a wash cloth as any good mom would do! Reasa is in the background and this video was taken at our house in Elianna's room. Here is a big sigh of relief for the blessing of good friends, Ahhhhhhh.

Laughing Baby

You never know what will make a baby laugh. Sometimes it's the craziest things. For example, Elianna loves to be kissed on her nose. She thinks it is really funny and especially when her daddy makes funny noises leading up to the kiss. Gotta love the suspense. We decided to post this video to show you that she really is a happy baby. After seeing the veggie video, you might think we are really mean parents. Here is our laughing baby!

Ellie's Adventures in Eating

Hi Everyone,

We thought we'd give a try at posting a video of Ellie. Feeding her has been entertaining at times, more than we ever thought it would be. Too bad we don't have on video the first time she tried potatoes when she showed us some new skills in facial expressions, vocal expressions, and physical contortions. She made us laugh and at the same time realize that we were officially embarking on a new journey with her.

Here's a short clip of Ellie 'enjoying' some vegetables.

Hope you all get a kick out of this like we did!

Average Day

My Joys! Justin and Elianna on the 4th of July

Some people have asked me, "So what's an average day like for you? " To fully answer their question I would have to refer them to Elianna. My time is her time and I'm loving every minute of it. Motherhood has been an amazing, rewarding, and yet tiring God-given role. I get to take the role of servant and she gets to take the role of learner. She's our little disciple and who could better teach her the ropes than good 'ole mom...right? Don't comment on this one mom. To answer the question more fully about what my day is like I've included Elianna's schedule in the right-side column. During her wake times we usually read books, have pool parties (baby pool that is) with our friends and neighbor the Grogg's, or go for a walk. My current frustration is not having a car so we are pretty limited on where we can go. Some days my world feels very small, as any mother of small kids would probably yell "Amen," but better a small world with her than a large one with out her and Justin.

She's Standing

Justin has been telling me myths (or so I thought) about Elianna standing-up in bed. I didn't think she had learned to pull-up on things yet, but was I wrong! Look what I found today after her late afternoon nap! She is one smart cookie. Once she learned how to sit-up, it has been non-stop action ever since: sitting-up, crawling, pulling-up, standing-up. Now I just need to teach her how to pack boxes.

We Finally Have A Blog!

Hi friends and family, guess what? We finally have a blog. I know, I know it has taken us a while, but I'm not the best with technology so I'm learning baby step by baby step. I'm actually pretty excited about starting a blog because I think it will be a good form of therapy! You will get countless pages detailing all my frustrations of what it's like living overseas. What could possibly be more interesting? Ok-I know, you are here for Elianna, but Justin and I are people too. Well, I can't blame you for loving her. She is pretty cute.

We hope you enjoy our blog. I will do my best to keep it updated and full of photos of our family. Have patience while I figure this thing out. We will be moving Aug. 15th too, so I might be MIA for a while. We love you all.