7 months

Elliana is 7 months old and we can't believe how quickly the time has gone! Elli is eating, sleeping, and playing well!! She is one happy little girl.

Below is our monthly photo shoot....

Playing with Daddy!!

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Yesterday, Elli and I met Sara (my college roommate) and her handsome little boy, Henry. We met at Ikea in Cincy and the babies did pretty well shopping all day. Henry is exactly 4 months younger than Elli.

Some nice person took a picture of all 4 of us! Henry looks just like his Mom!!

Elli and her future boyfriend. Now, I know this looks like an odd couple now....Henry has more hair than Elli and Elli is bigger than him....but imagine 20 years from now....

Look at her hand on his leg...

Something got both of them excited

Elli being aggressive

We had a good day and I'm so glad I finally got to see Sara!

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This will probably be my only blog for the week! We are having a relaxing weekend! I will have plenty more to post next week. My parents are getting their "Elli fix" and spending labor day weekend with us. Dad sends me emails almost daily about how much he misses her. At his request, I think we will go to Hocking Hills on Saturday. We will then probably take Elli to the pool on Sunday for one last swim in the outdoor pool this summer.

And we're crawling....

We now have a little girl that is on the move!! These days Elli sports bright red knees from moving all around! She does really well getting to where she needs to go. Today, she went from one side of the room to the other without taking a break or falling! It has been fun to watch her learn how to crawl. Elli definitely likes us around her at all times and knows exactly where we go once we get up and leave her side!

Motivated to go get her toy....look at that sweet face :)

Elli did this on Saturday night for quite some time. We had no clue what she was doing, but she thought she was pretty funny and we thought it was cute :)

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We had a great weekend of relaxing, going to the mall, and seeing friends. Amber, Jeremy, and Kensley even stopped by on their way home from Cleveland on Saturday for a couple hours. We got lunch, laid the girls down for a nap, and then met one of Amber's college friends and her family at the mall.

Scott took Elli and I out on a date on Saturday night! Elli got to see yet another famous person, Eddie George, at the mall (Only 6...well almost 7 months and she's already seen 2 famous people). Elli didn't get many naps in on Saturday, so we cut our night short to get Elli dinner (mmm...squash) and off to bed...she had had enough!

Today we added lunch to Elli's schedule! She's doing well with her finger foods! She loves her fruit puffs and cheese puffs. She also really enjoys eating cheese....she is my daughter :) We worked on getting her to feed herself the puffs/cheese at dinner tonight. She was able to bring her fist to her mouth, but had no clue she was supposed to open her hand to get the food in her mouth. At least she is trying! We've introduced her to a sippy cup! Right now she thinks it is fun to chew on it; however, she actually took a drink from it yesterday and I think the water surprised her! She is growing and learning new things everyday!

We get to wake up to this smiley face everyday....How lucky are we??

Picture of our girls....love spending time with both of them!

Elli LOVES petting and watching Bella.

Watching Bella catch the ball

Up and moving....1st time crawling on the grass....

Oops....she fell on the way....

"Don't worry Mom....I'm ok"

Elli got a couple of wagon (well...this is actually Scott's lawn wagon, but it works for rides) rides throughout the neighborhood this weekend! She loves to be in the wagon and was the talk of many people as we walked by some garage sales!!

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We will be celebrating Elliana's 7 month birthday on Thursday....seriously....that sounds so old!! She is so sweet and is at such a fun age. She is laughing multiple times a day which we think is just the cutest thing ever!

We finally got Elli's 6 mo. pictures back. We didn't get tons of smiles, but got some pretty cute pictures. Elli has had her picture taken professionally 3 times since she's been born and I'm excited to finally get some pictures up around the house. We decided to finally decorate our formal living room....ok let's be honest...I decided and told Scott I was going to! He surprisingly said "Ok!!!!!!!" Hopefully here soon we will have that area done....thankfully my friend Kelli is going to help with the decorating since it isn't my favorite thing to do!!

New Videos

Three sweet videos of our little lady....

Indy

This weekend we were on the road once again; however, this trip was the last one for awhile. We will be spending the few months enjoying Columbus! We headed to IN on Friday night to Nana and Papa L.'s house. We were able to briefly see them and Vander and Dane. We then left to go down to Indy on Saturday around lunch time. We got to spend some time with my family. Elli stayed up way past her bedtime 3 nights in a row and definitely didn't get her full naps during the day like she normally does. As a result, we spent today with a runny nose, sneezing, coughing, and fussy girl that didn't want me to leave her side! However, she has also been chewing much more today....so this could be due to teething.

Posing for the camera with her heat rash from the night before! Still lookin' good Elliana!

Well....this time they are both smiling and looking at the camera; however, they are flapping their arms!

Mom, I love these stacking cups! I joked that going to Cousin Kensley's house was like going to Disney World because of all the toys Kensley has, but it really was like going to Disney World!! We might need to make a run to Wal-Mart for some new toys....Elli has played with the same couple toys for...well....ever since she started playing :)

Haha....This picture looks like they were both in trouble.....they weren't....we were just trying to get a picture of them both smiling!

We also got to see Sarah while in Indy. We ended up going to Symphony on the Prairie where they were doing a tribute to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. I don't care what anyone says....Michael Jackson was a musical genius. Unfortunately, Travis couldn't go with us because he was working....booo!!

Elli enjoying the concert....

Starting to get tired....past her bedtime!

Her 1st concert....such a wild lady!

Getting ready to leave! Snuggling with Sarah!!

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We took the girls swimming the next day and then headed back to Marion to pick Bella up. We got a quick dinner with Scott's parents and then were on the road again to OH. Busy weekend! Elli did great and kept up with the busy schedule!

I'll have to try and post a video of Elli playing with the bubbles tomorrow. It is time for bed now!!

Little Swimmer

Wow....2 blog posts in a week! Where did I find the time? We took Elli swimming at the pool on Sunday and I thought I'd post a cute little video of our swimmer. Everytime she takes a bath she splashes like crazy in her little tub! Dale Hollow really got her used to water!!

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Bella eating some corn on the cob......yes, she is so much a part of our family!!

Dale Hollow

She'll thank me one day for this picture....

This past week we spent time on the water at Dale Hollow in Tennessee! We had a great week and hot weather! Elliana had a great time and was in a good mood all week long!

Elli went to her first movie this week....Romona and Beezus! We refrained from taking her to a movie because we though one of us would spend half the movie walking her around outside. We were completely wrong....she slept most of the movie and when she wasn't sleeping....she watched it! I couldn't be more pleased. She must have really like the movie because when we stepped outside she was all giggles (there is nothing better than her giggle)!!

We continue to learn more and more about her each day. This past week we learned that she loved riding on the wagon and loved swimming in the lake! She is really rocking back and forth and will occasionally find a way to get to what she wants. We are seeing progress with her attempt to crawl everyday....it won't be too long....YIKES!! These days it is difficult to talk on the phone, change the channel with the remote, etc. while holding her. She thinks everything is a toy for her to play with!

So.....here is what we did all week.....

Elli got to hang out with her cousins. (Sarah....this is the picture that I want you to try and fix. Elli had some major snot coming out her nose and I did my best to fix it....I think you would do a better job!)


Played with Nana and Papa



Played with new toys. We made a stop at Wal-Mart after the movie and Vander bough Elli her first Eeyore and Kayla bought her a Minnie Mouse. Elli also got a little puppy dog, Bernie, later in the week from Dane. How sweet of them to think of Elli! She has been playing with all her new toys!
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The lake was so warm and felt great! We spent most of the time in the water.


Vander jumping off the side of the boat

the 3 boys playing in the water....

Elli and I swimming in the water! Notice the life jacket! She did well when it was on, but you could tell she was SO uncomfortable. She couldn't move her head, but was a great sport to keep it on!

Nap time with Nana on the island

Swimming Papa! We have a little swimmer on our hands! Elli started splashing and kicking her feet in the water....it was lots of fun to watch her!!

Floating....Papa, Heath, Scott, Aunt Brenda, and Tashia

Heath and Christy
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We also did some tubing

Scott and Heath trying to push each other off. Scott was successful....Heath was not and ended up in the water 3-4 times.

So....that is me falling into the water....OUCH

Venna and I trying to hang on!!
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We played and watched lots of cornhole all week.

Heath and Dane

Scott was on the winning team 2 nights in a row!! Way to go Scottie!!

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We spent some time on the jet ski....

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Elliana spent most of her time with Nana while the sun was out.

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The wagon was a huge hit this week....especially with Elli! Aaron decided it'd be fun to ride it down the hill and boy was I glad he did....it was quite funny!!

Elli and Vander on the Wagon.
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Elli spent a lot of time with her cousin Vander this trip...

They played with his cars together

Vander fed her bottles, snuggled with her, rode the wagon with her, and played with her. He loves spending time with Elli! Different times throughout the week I'd see him sneak in and kiss her....so sweet!! I'd often hear "Is Elli coming out in the boat?" "Where is Elli?" "Is Elli playing?" "Is Elli still sleeping?" from him and Dane. I love that they love her so much! Just wish they lived closer!!
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I also had a babysitter at Dale Hollow. Kayla enjoyed spending time with her and Elli always loved it when she came to play with her or hold her. Elliana really enjoyed tugging on her hair!
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Unfortunately, we left Ohio with 2 wedding rings and only came back with one. Scott's wedding ring is probably at the bottom of Dale Hollow lake....boo....oh well....that's life!!

We are already looking forward to next year! Next year will be a lot less relaxing as we will be chasing around a mobile 18 month old! Thanks Nana and Papa for a great week!!