6 months and some nights away from home

This past Monday Elli celebrated her 6 month birthday! She is growing so quickly and enjoys playing with anything that is put in front of her face! She is able to get up on all fours, but hasn't figured out how to move her arms and legs to crawl. I can't imagine how busy she'll be once she figures out how to move. Although we work on it everyday, I'm not so sure I'm ready for her to be mobile! There are tons of things we need to do to this house before she is on the go!

We took her 6 mo. photo shoot a day late since we were in IN on her actually 1/2 b-day. We took the pictures as soon as we got back from our 3 hour drive so it took a lot of work to get some smiles out!

And then I brought out the bear! Focus Elli....Focus on the camera....

Nope, only focusing on the bear....

So....I started doing raspberries, singing, making kissing noises, and brought out Sophie and I finally got a little smile!!

And then she decided to lay down. Ok....I get the hint....we're done!!

*****************************************************************
This past weekend Scott's parents came to help us fix the basement! They got lots done and our basement is finally on its way to being an area where we can relax! On Saturday, they took Elli home where she spent a couple nights with them so Scott and I could get some house work done. So....what did we do with our free time? Well....went on a hot date to Wal-Mart and the park, missed Elli, took the dogs on a walk, talked about Elli, cleaned, missed Elli, went to church, took Bella to get ice cream, and missed our little Elli. It was great to have time to get things done, but we certainly missed Elliana. I was so ready to get home to see her!!

Elliana continues to be a good traveler. She slept most of the way home to Columbus, but woke up after about 2 hours. She was a little fussy, so I had to reach in the back and give her a bottle. Ugh....Did she actually get any of the bottle? Who knows....I couldn't see, but it sure felt like she did. Did I almost dislocate my shoulder giving her the bottle? Yes, but I was watching the road the whole time :) We eventually had to stop at a rest stop for a couple minutes and then she was fine! Doing a 3 hour trip with a 6 mo. old isn't exactly easy!!

Elli saw tons of people while she was home....grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. She didn't get many naps, but overall seemed to do really well on little sleep!

Elliana meeting her Great-Grandma Lindvall for the 1st time. I was so happy they finally got to meet each other!!

Sweet picture

Maria and Elli

Tracey and Elli


Some special visitors....Kortnee was home from Florida! Her and Susan came to visit after a nap!

Kortnee even gave Elli a bottle (she wasn't so sure about it, but I made her). Luckily, Elli didn't spit up on her....she got lucky!!

Elli's Great- Grandma and Grandpa Zurcher came down for a quick visit! They were surprised at how big she had gotten!

**************************************************************

We are pretty busy this week getting ready for our big trip to Dale Hollow! It will be a HOT week, but we can't wait to get on the jet ski and boat. This year I'll actually be able to do things....last year I was about 14 weeks (I think) pregnant and obviously had some restrictions! We are looking forward to a relaxing (wait....can you say relaxing when you're going on vacation with a 6 mo. old) week!

****************************************************************

Happy 6 month birthday Elliana Marie. Your smiles brighten our day and your giggle melts our hearts. We're so blessed to have you!!

Miscellaneous Blog

Elli is growing so quickly. I can't believe we will be celebrating her 6 mo. birthday on Monday. Has it really been half a year already?? She is becoming a champ when it comes to eating. She'll now eat most anything we give her. She gets fruit in the morning and a veggie at night. Her favorites are pears and bananas! We've also been noticing an increase in appetite within the last couple of days. Tonight she ate sweet potatoes and 7 oz. of milk before bed!! Hopefully this means she will also sleep like a champ! She is still relatively difficult to feed as she gets very distracted with everything (i.e. looking outside, looking at the fabric on the high chair, and etc.).

Elli is with her new monkey from FL. Mom showed Elli this monkey at one store and she absolutely loved it, but it had a shirt on that we didn't like. So....we searched for another one of these monkeys at every store our last couple days of our trip. We couldn't leave FL without this monkey.

******************************************************

Since birth, Elli lost most of her hair and we've been wondering when it was going to grow back. The other day we noticed that it has slowly started to come in.

Picture of Elliana in the hospital with a head full of hair.

Finally starting to grow some hair again and its............Blonde!! Hopefully by her 1 year birthday we can start clipping some bows in her hair :)
***********************************************************

Snuggle time before bed. Rough day for Mommy as you can see! I had a migraine and Scott was in Dayton at an airshow! After getting sick 2 times and feeling like every little sound and light were going to make my head explode, I called in some help! Thanks Kelli for watching Elli....don't know what I would have done if you wouldn't have come over!!

***********************************************************

This weekend we went to the Brauchler reunion in Mansfield on Saturday and saw a lot of people we didn't know, but also saw some family that we haven't seen in quite some time!!

Keeping the girls entertained with the swing. Kensley loves it...............

And Elli is in much need of a nap!!

Amber and I with Cami, Grace, and some girl in purple that we didn't know.....we're related to her in some way!!

Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, Becky, and Randy

Having some fun with Auntie Amber....

Grace and I....she is getting so big!!

Grace and Scott. Grace spent most of her time climbing all over Scott....she's got tons of energy!!

Siesta Key, FL 2010

Well....we are back from Florida...boooooo!! Unfortunately, the week flew by too quickly...we were all ready to stay an extra week (well us kids....mom and dad are staying until Thursday... lucky). We flew out last Saturday and Elli was a champ on the airplane! She slept during take off and during the landing! During the trip she made friends with the woman behind us like she always does.

We made a quick stop at a restaurant for lunch before we flew out! The baby bjorn proved to be a necessity and something Elli loved to ride in while walking around the airport! She is such a people watcher!
Awake during the plane ride!! Notice no headband....she pulled it off!!

Picture of all of us! 1st family photo with the babies!!

The 3 of us on the beach! Elli was so tired at this point and it was actually very hard to get her to smile!



At dinner, a man started playing the guitar and singing. Elli was MESMERIZED by this and didn't take her eyes off of him!! She then ended up falling asleep at the dinner table and dad rushed over and scooped her up to see if she'd fall asleep on his shoulder like she used to do.

We ate at the Broken Egg before we left to head to the airport. We saw Dick Vitale there and got a picture of him! The girls don't seem so excited that they got to meet their first celebrity. Notice the wet spot on Jeremy's shoulder....that is from Elli! His shoulder was inches from her face and next thing we knew her mouth was on his shoulder.
*******************************************************
Photo shoot of the girls together.....
Shirts say " Had fun with Nana and Papa at Longboat Key, FL"

I LOVE this picture. Look at the look Elli is giving Kensley! Wow drama queen!!


Bath time for the babies!! The last night the girls took a bath together.


Dressed alike again! Mom and I took the girls on a walk while we were waiting for the food. For most of the week, the girls were pretty much on the same sleeping schedule. This was great during the day; however, this also meant they were both grouchy around dinner time before bed :) Dinners were interesting and Elli learned from her cousin that licking the bottom of cold glasses is amazing!!


Playing together....

Trying to get both girls to smile and look at the camera= impossible!!

Picture with the grandparents!
*********************************************

Elli went swimming for the first time on this trip. She enjoyed the pool and the beach, but didn't enjoy how bright it was every time she was outside. Dad and occasionally Mom spent their days in the condo. while the girls napped. Dad even volunteered to watch BOTH girls the 2nd day we were there so we could all go outlet mall shopping. I think he regretted this soon after we left as both girls woke up at the same time, needed diaper changes at the same time, wanted to eat at the same time, and wanted all his attention :)

Playing in the water while there was still shade in the pool area.

Playing with Daddy!!

Elli taking "swim lessons" from Daddy. This swim shirt was a necessity for the majority of the week!! On Tuesday, Elli got sunscreen in her eye (we think from rubbing her eye) and it was HORRIBLE! Everyone felt so bad for her. She had a hard time opening her eyes and ended up just keeping them closed for quite some time. Her eyes were all red and constantly watering....she was miserable and so were we watching her. The rest of the week, we kept her out of the sun with a sun shirt and hat on. We only put small amounts of sunscreen on the rest of her body.

***************************************************

We had a really good Mexican dinner at cousin Carol's house. Kensley decided to crawl all around on the floor.

Elli decided to take a nap (once again during dinner) and then wake up and play with her grandpa.

***************************************

Enjoying her toes in the sand.

Bathing Beauty!

She had fun playing with Auntie Amber this week...look at that big smile on her face!!

"It's so bright out here!!"

We took off her swim hat and put on her PU hat....it fits her a little bit better and doesn't get in her eyes as much!!
********************************************

July 4th! We went out to dinner, got ice cream, and then went down to the beach (well mom stayed up in the condo so the girls could sleep) to watch many firework displays on the beach.

At dinner on the 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July!! What a cutie!! One lady this week asked us how much we'd be willing to sell Elli for....obviously she's priceless to us!!

Playing in the tent earlier in the day.
**********************************************************
1st time swimming for Elliana. Kensley is an old veteran when it comes to the pool.

I had to post this picture. Look at the pouty lip! It was probably time for a nap!!

*********************************************************

Elli was pooped by the last day! She didn't sleep as much as she normally does while we were at home! She was a little fussy on the plane ride home, but overall was such a trooper. She came home with an ear infection and fever....her nose has turned into a faucet. Naps were good yesterday, but we got little to no sleep last night. Elli wouldn't sleep in her crib and needed to be upright! Hoping for a better night tonight!!

She fell asleep at breakfast/lunch before driving to the airport. This little gal is still able to fall asleep in public; however, the more aware she gets the harder it is for her to do this.

*************************************************************

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT! Today is Scott's birthday, but we were able to celebrate while on vacation! We stretched out his birthday for most of the week by giving him presents on different days and getting him a cake on Thursday night! Our b-day plans have been cancelled due to Elli being sick. I'm pretty sure our celebration tonight will include dinner (if Elli will let me put her down to cook) and some much needed sleep :)

Happy birthday Daddy!! Probably the best birthday present. I'd take her, wouldn't you??
************************************************

We had a great week! Our condo was 2 stories, had 2 living rooms, 3 bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and a great view of the ocean. We learned 2 cute things about Elli during this trip. #1 when she gets excited she starts flapping her left arm across her body and then starts flapping both arms together. #2 She HAS to feel/rub her hand against something while taking her bottle. With me, it is always my hair that she runs her hands through. With other people, it is their shirt or face :) Thanks Mom and Dad!!

********************************************************

I took this video before we left. It is by far the best video I have taken of her. In this video, Elli is watching Bella catch the ball. She LOVES her Bella....last night at like 4am she giggled when she saw Bella jump off the bed and shake her head!

Her laugh on this video is irresistible...Of course I might just be bias, but doesn't this little giggle brighten your day??