Birthday Invite



Make a Smilebox greeting

Our Little Angel

This past Wednesday, a few teenagers hosted a "Costume Carnival". Kids from several different nationalities came. It was so neat to see all the outfits and the smiles on the kids faces. The parents set-up booths and the kids literally bounced from booth to booth. Reasa and I did one together called the Treat Trott-like a Cake Walk. Unfortunately Justin wasn't able to come to all of it, but he was able to be there for the food (what guy misses food, right?). It was definitely a "don't miss" event for the family. It was also a good time for me to learn the children's names and meet some new parents too.

Elianna went as an angel and I made her some wings out of cardboard and wrapping paper (the halo is wrapping paper as well). It actually stayed on her the whole night, which was really surprising. My goal was simple: first, get it on her/ second, take some pictures. These are a couple pictures of our Little Angel and her friends.

Jon (as Jon), Reasa (Princess), Gabby (Indian), and Kolby (Train Conductor)


Our little Angel hanging out with her Jedi friend, David:


Taking a rest on the floor before the big event:

First Songs

Elianna LOVES music. When I play the guitar, bongo drum, or flute she is right beside me trying to do the same actions. She blows air in flute and loves to pound on the drum. The guitar is a little more off limits because she can do a lot more damage fast, but we still let her feel the strings. She has also learned to do the actions to a few songs. Here are some of her favorites. This is the first recored video clip we have of her doing the motions to the songs. Please excuse my voice and focus more on her cute little signs. She claps to "If Your Happy and You Know It" and she has also learned to make a little light with her finger in the song "This Little Light of Mine" (although that is not as obvious to see). Hope you get some laughs.

Rainy Day

Today started off well. My friend, Blair, and I had play date plans at the zoo and the weather looked great. Looked forward to it all day long. THEN, while hanging out at the zoo we got rained on. Not just a light sprinkle either, it was raining hard! We laughed about it and counted our blessing on the way home that an elderly man helped us find a taxi. It wasn't until I got home and saw my laundry laying on the wet, dirty floor outside (they were drying) that frustration boiled inside me. There are just some modern convinces that I took for granted while living in the states and a dryer is one of them. Writing all this to say....Give your dryer a hug today. Here are some photos of Elianna and my rainy day mess.

First Step

On October 22nd, Justin saw Elianna take her first step by herself! I was out with a friend and Justin was watching her. This is how the story goes: She had a book that she was playing with and was giving to Justin. She was standing by the couch and he took the book from her. He knew she would want it back so he handed it to her just far enough away that she would have to take a step to get it. The rest is history. She took her first step and got the book. Since that time she has taken several more "one" steps. Maybe someday soon she will be walking around by herself. Until that time she is getting lots of practice on her push toys that some friends of ours have allowed us to borrow.

Hair Cont...

Here are a few more of my favorites.

Hair, Hair, Hair

Hi, we are back!! It has been forever since I have posted, but I hope to remedy that soon. This posting isn't very revolutionary concerning our family or daughter, BUT it is a major part of our lives. This major truth is HAIR, HAIR, HAIR. Elianna has a ton of it. Some days I dream of waking up and finding that she somehow became bald during the night, but at the same time I really enjoy fixing it and trying to tame the monster. The lady who cleans our house informed me that parents here cut their children's hair short until 2 years of age. Now I know why. Some days I think about joining in on this cultural norm, but then I can never muster up the courage to do it. It just makes Elianna, Elianna. Here are a few memorial hair pictures.