Laughing with Students

This week a student asked if we were going to have a Bible and Art Club next year.  I touched my belly and said I wasn't sure since I'll be having a baby in the fall.  She and the others were totally shocked to find that I was pregnant.

"You didn't tell us!!!" came the quick surprised response of the girl.  I could tell in her voice that she was slightly offended that I hadn't shared my secret sooner, and yet she was completely excited at the same time.

"You didn't ask."  I meekly replied.

"YOU CAN'T ASK THAT!!!" came the quick reply of the girl.

"You're right.  You can't."  I chucked and smiled back.

"That is a personal question." her friend informed me as if I didn't know.

A student who had gone to get some water returned a few minutes later and three of the girls yelled that I was pregnant.  I don't know if he was more shocked that I was pregnant or that he had such an onslaught of loud voices nearly knocking him over as soon as he stepped into the room.

Eliana is 22 Months Old!!!

Eliana and I waved at the animals we saw at the Vintage Days last weekend.  We also got to see some former students and fellow teachers.  Yeah for unexpected meetings!

Words Eliana has said this month:
"Where's Harry?"  She is still wondering where Harry, Judy's husband, is even though we haven't seen him since Easter.  I think the sounds of the airplanes remind her of him.

"Later, Later!!!" This is because Rachel tells her, "See you later alligator."

"GramE."  Finally after months of not even trying, she said GramE, or her version of it, today!

Things Eliana has tried this month:
She has successfully tried to not nap on multiple days.  With the baby coming in the fall I'm really hoping she will still be napping.  Sometimes after she has played and whined for some time, I can go into her room and lay on the floor while telling her, "Mommy is laying down.  You need to lay down."  Most of the time this works, and once she is quiet for a few minutes, we are both asleep.

She has tried ignoring our directions like, "Come here." or "Pick up xyz." or "Put your feet down (off the table)."  It isn't that she doesn't hear us.  She looks at us and watches to see what our reaction will be to her disobedience.  So, she has gotten quite a few finger flicks and swats to the bottom for ignoring us.  She is then reminded that we love her, and we expect obedience.

Rachel, Ruli, Sarah, Bryce, Kyle, Eliana, and I went swimming for the first time this year.  Eliana forgot all of the fun she had last year and was unwilling to get in the water for quite some time.  I think it had to do with the water still being cool since it went from 60 degrees to the high 90s in a week.  Once she got in, she enjoyed herself thoroughly.

Eliana has successfully rerouted our return path from getting the mail to include seeing if her two wee friends are outside to play.  We met a few neighbors a few weeks back, and Eliana affectionately calls their names as we walk toward their apartments.

Other Eliana updates:
She eats breakfast and lunch pretty well on most days.  She tends to not be a big fan of dinner.  Breakfast is often oatmeal with occasional pancakes or waffles on special days.  Lunch is often sandwiches and fruit for her and leftovers for me.  I don't tend to try and give her leftovers unless she actually ate them the night before.  Even if she LOVED the meal for dinner, she isn't likely to even LIKE it for lunch the next day.  Complicated, but she is growing.

A rock climber, a ladybug, and a baby!!!

Eliana loves to climb up rocks (with Kyle's help) and then jump off them (again with Kyle's help).  It is one of her new favorite things.  If the rock is half the size of the one pictured, she can climb it on her own and enjoys finding a spot to sit and enjoy the view.

I'm so glad we took pictures of ladybugs when we did.  A tractor came the next day and trimmed all of the grass.  Maybe the ladybugs are still out there, but they sure were fun to find in grass that seemed like a jungle to Eliana.

 If you look really carefully, you can see that there is a baby bump!!!  Wahoo!  We are 16 weeks pregnant.  The baby is the size of an avacado, has toe nails growing this week, and is pumping 25 pints of blood through the heart.  Amazing!  I've been able to feel the baby move for a couple of weeks.  I wouldn't say I've felt a kick yet like I remember Eliana's kicks, but there is definitely movement!

A few ways we told people:
GramE was visiting when we found out we were pregnant back in January.  We tried to have Eliana hand her the test, but Eliana was unwilling to share this new object.  GramE had just woken up, but she was now wide awake and thrilled with the good news!

We told my family by having the announcement in Pop Pop's 81st birthday card.  I had said it was a secret and that he was the first to know on our side, so he just read the card and closed it.  I laughed and said he could read it to everyone now.:) These kind of announcements sometimes catch people off guard.  Trisha understood first what Pop Pop read and gave me a big hug!

We were still keeping our circle of in the know pretty small when he told Anita over the phone that the I was napping because the blueberry sized baby was tiring me out.  So Anita, a trusted friend, was added to the circle of prayerful friends in the know.

I gave Jeff, a former coworker, a math problem to solve.  15 + 25 = 40.  40 is October 3rd.  I told him I'd explain after Bible and Art Club.  After an the club, he wasn't too sure what I was talking about.  I explained that 15 was that day (April 11th), to think in weeks, and think about why 40 is so important to females.  Awe, then there was recognition in his eyes.

On Sunday I told Cathy and Donna while Kyle was putting Eliana in the nursery.  Kyle poked his head out of the nursery and with an astonished face said, "WHAT?!?!?!"  He really had them wondering for a second if I had told them before I told Kyle.

Easter

 Easter wouldn't be Easter without an attempt at a family photo.  Oh the joys of the one arm photo.  Oh the faces Eliana makes.  Enjoy!

 We enjoyed the afternoon with Judy, Harry, and their family.  Harry and Judy had prepared an amazing meal with the help of her sister.  After the family left, Eliana had a special Easter egg hunt!  Judy had filled the eggs with teddy grahams and animal crackers.  Eliana loved them, as is clearly portrayed by the bulging cheek in the picture below.  We taught Eliana how to open eggs earlier that week, so she thought it was important to open as many of the eggs as possible.  She didn't realize at first that these eggs would actually have something in them!

Kyle, Judy, Peanut, and Eliana

Eliana wasn't too sure about Peanut at first, but she got brave enough to pet her.  She even stopped flinching when Peanut came by.  Peanut just wanted to smother her in kisses.

Outdoor Fun in the Sun

What is more fun than wandering through the tall grass with a tennis ball?  I'm not sure what pleases Eliana more, but I know she loves to go through these tall grasses in search of ladybugs.  She is learning to throw a tennis ball.  We're encouraging her to associate balls with throwing, and throwing with outside only.  Last week she was so excited about her new found talent of throwing that she tossed a few toys overhead and didn't understand why Kyle wasn't too happy with her.  Luckily, we have space near us for her to toss a ball and play, play, play!

 Look at the glee on Timothy's face as he is hoisted up into the air by his dad.  Awe, it is the little things that are such great blessings.

Yeah for a visit from Travis, Allison, and Callen (pictured).  Callen loved that we brought a couple of balls to play with.  It was great to see them!

Callen and Eliana are just about the same size and height.  I'm sure that he'll grow taller than her one of these days.

Yeah for a picnic play time with friends!  Thanks again Allison for setting up the gathering.

Thankful

I am thankful for Bible Study Fellowship (BSF).  I've been going for nearly 5 years, and boy has my walk with the Lord grown in that time.  I find the study to be convicting some days and comforting others.  My teaching leader doesn't sugar coat, and I walk away with many things to think about.  Eliana loves her class and willingly leaves me to go play and see her teacher.  I know she is learning things in her class, and that is a blessing.  Next year's study is on Genesis.  I actually took the first few weeks of this study several years ago during my first year of teaching.  I was drowning with the new responsibilities and had to let it go then.  I'm looking forward to picking it back up this fall.  There is an intro class in two Mondays for those in my area.  Feel free to contact me if you're interested in checking it out.  It has truly been a blessing. You can find a class near you here.

Blue!!!

Eliana is 21 months!!!

 After a recent Bible and Art Club meeting, I saw a friend's daughter painting using q-tips.  I realized that Eliana too might be ready to paint.  Low and behold we have a new hobby.  Eliana's favorite color us "boo" aka blue.  I had some left over watercolor paper (thus the green boxes) from a demonstration, and she didn't mind them at all.

 I made some chocolate babka for my mom's birthday!  The split in the bread on the left side of the picture is chocolate bubbling out.  Yum!  My friend Sara had made it last fall, and she graciously shared the link with me.  The bread is tasty and a labor of love as it takes about 3 hours to make if you include all of the rising and baking time.

 Eliana enjoyed wearing my mom's St. Patrick's birthday hat. She was willing to share with me, but I wasn't too interested in having my head be as glitter covered as hers.  She really enjoyed family during our trip, including playing with Thomas and the buckles on the high chair, Trisha and her new puppy (which she now makes kissing noises to other animals thanks to Trisha), and sitting in my mom's lap so I could eat.  I'd love to say that Eliana was delightful while she and I drove (Kyle had seminary homework, which kept him in Fresno), but that wouldn't be the full truth.  She cried between 2/3 and 3/4 on and off during the drive there.  We made it about 1/2 an hour before she decided she was done being in the car and wanted "O-U-T".  We drove home, in a rain/sprinkle/hail storm on the way back.  But, I timed it so that we went during her nap time.  She slept while I listened to The Magician's Nephew by C. S. Lewis.  I'd take rain and a napping baby (not so much of the hail) over a clear day with a crying child any day.

 Eliana has recently taken to caring for her dolls and stuffed animals.  You'll find them snapped into her high chair, getting their noses wiped when Eliana gets her's, being fed when she eats, and just about anything else she does.

I'm so amazed at how much she has grown!  She can now finger door handles, and likes to knock (not just hit) on doors.

 Awe peanut butter bread, you are one of Eliana's favorite snacks!  She goes in and out of phases when she'll eat well.  She didn't want to eat spaghetti when Alyssa visited last Thursday, but she gladly ate a hot dog after the Walk for Life event on Saturday (Right to Life).  She initially didn't want to eat her dinner tonight and loudly told me so, yet when she wasn't given other options she eventually tried it and ate most of it.

 You can normally tell on Sunday mornings who dressed Eliana by whether or not she has a dress and matching bow (thus Kyle) or something warm for the weather (that would be the over practical me).  Trying to get pictures of Eliana is a bit harder now.  She loves to see the picture on the camera, and so she often moves before the picture is taken.

If you look really closely, you'll see her hair really is growing.  The black bag highlights this growth.

Other things Eliana is up to:
*She is helping to set the table.  I bring the forks, napkins, etc. to the table, and she puts one for each person.
*Kyle and I were told by several people yesterday at church and our small group that Eliana is a big helper and kind to others.  Those complements are music to my ears!
*Eliana's nose has been running for 7 weeks.  Sigh.  I love spring, but I don't love allergies.  Thankfully, she seems to be doing better the last few days.  I hope her ears don't hurt in the middle of the night like mine do on occasion.
*I can't believe she'll be two in a little less than three months.  Where does the time go?
*We love to go on walks to get the mail and explore.  Today's observation was that numbers and letters are on license plates.  She wanted to know which plates had the number 6 on them since that was the first number she pointed to.
*Eliana has told us several times over the last month when she needs to use the toilet.  Although we aren't in full force potty training yet, she has gone four times for us when she told us she had to go.  
*We love our little girl!