Random stuff......

Okay, so I'm going to play a little catch up on this blog entry today. So this is all really random.

Elli is little miss flexible. She loves to play with and suck on her toes. She is so funny about her feet, she almost acts like they are a second set of hands for her. When her physical or occupational therapists are here trying to get her to sit up and play with a toy, it works for a few minutes and then she lifts up her feet and starts using her feet to push buttons on whatever cool toy they brought with them. It's really cute, but frustrating at the same time because it throws her balance off and she falls backwards. It's kind of slowing down her progress toward sitting. Silly girl!!!

Elli still struggles with any food that is too chunky- she'll get it to the back of her throat too quickly and choke, gag, and throw up. These little mess bags are awesome! You put the food inside and they suck on it. No pieces to choke on. This was her first go at watermelon. She really liked it.

This is Elli's blessing dress. Simple and sweet, I really love this dress!

Here is Bradley on the first day of school 2008/2009. Last year I didn't get Bradley's picture on the first day of school because school started the 21st of August, and I was still in anti-partum (SP?) trying not to have Elli so early. She came the next day. So Bradley's picture was taken after I came home from the hospital, the 5th day of school 2007/2008.

There is a little story behind this darling dress. I bought it as a shower gift for someone else, and just fell in love with it. (This was about 4 or 5 years ago) I went out and got a different shower gift and hung this dress in my closet. It became a physical representation of my hope. I was so excited when Elli could finally wear it. Sadly, she has outgrown it now. It is put away with all her other little treasures I've been collecting.

This picture above and the 2 below are of the pond in my parents back yard. Their back yard is something like a sanctuary for me. It is absolutely beautiful. My dad is a very talented gardener, and there is such peace there. This summer when we could finally take Elli out, we spent many evenings just sitting and talking. It is pretty close to the top of my list of favorite places to go to.

Elli isn't always a good eater, sometimes I just give up by giving her the bowl and spoon to play with. I know it makes a big mess, but she has fun and she even ends up getting some of the food in her mouth. Whatever works - right?!

This is true to Elli's reaction to most food (ice cream not included). This was her first taste of oatmeal cereal. Not too impressed with it. Now I put fruit with it and some cinnamon and sugar, and she likes it. I add spices to most of her food because I have learned that she likes flavor. We also add olive oil to her food, and carnation instant breakfast to her formula to give her a little more fat in her diet. It seems to be working, her weight gain last month was better than it has been for a long time. She weighs 13 + now. (She hasn't been weighed since the beginning of this month.) I'll give an update when she is weighed in November.

My brother's birthday

Bradley had a big birthday on Sunday! He turned 8 years old and will be baptized in November. We are so proud of him. He is such a good boy, and big brother. Elli absolutely adores him. If Bradley walks into the room when she is crying hard over something, she will stop instantly and smile at him. It is so much fun to watch them together. So far the age difference doesn't matter to either of them.

This is Bradley's favorite place. He and his cousins have built a fort in the sage brush by Grandma and Grandpa's house. I know he would be perfectly content to live there. They all play the western game together (something Bradley made up). They all have names for the game, Bradley's in Feather Hike. When we are down in Marysvale, the boys rarely come up to the house. They have so much fun roaming the acres of brush, fishing in the creek, and riding the dune buggy. He has been instructed numerous times on what to do when you spot a rattlesnake, believe me! That is my only worry down there. Other than that, I love that he loves his Grandma's house. In this picture Bradley is demonstrating his spear throwing skills.

This is the one and only picture I got of Bradley's birthday. My batteries died just after this photo. My sister-in-law took more, so I will post them when I get them from her. Anyone who knows Bradley, also knows that he has a bit of an obsession with crocodiles. I was so excited when I saw this cake on the Internet, it was perfect for him.

Elli and Bradley in their fall colors. Such sweet kids!

some perspective

I am sorry that it has taken me forever to get these pictures on here. I thought it would be fun to take some pictures with the same props as we had in the hospital to show just how much Elli has grown. She is now 27 1/4" long and weighs just over 13 lbs. She is getting so close to being able to sit up on her own. She just panics and arches her back once she realizes that she is sitting, but she is so much stronger. She jabbers like crazy, and she is a smart little cookie! She will use her feet to bring toys up close to her hands, and she also teases us with gagging noises just to get some attention. She will stop and smile at us as soon as we tell her to stop gagging herself. What a silly goose she is!

This first picture was taken when she was about 2 weeks old. I just measured the Clifford Dog for some perspective, he is 4" long and 2 3/4" tall. If he were laying across her tummy, it would go from her chin down to almost the bottom of her diaper.

Here she is now holding her little Clifford in her crib. This looks so much better!

This is a photo taken for Elli's one month birthday. Her eyes had been open for a couple of weeks at this point, but she is asleep in this picture. The 10 key is in honor of her dad who is an accountant. The candy bar was for perspective. A 100 Grand candy bar isn't very long, and it goes from shoulder to knee.

Elli now was a little more interested in holding the candy bar, but I managed one photo with it next to her. This too looks so nice. It's hard to believe that she really was just a little longer than a candy bar one year ago.

This is what we spent most of the time doing when I was trying to take her picture. She just wanted to eat some chocolate, and who can blame her?!! 100 Grand are one of my favorites too.

This is what we did when she wasn't trying to get the candy bar. Instead, she was trying her darndest to eat the camera.

Get a look at those eyelashes. Every girls dream!!!!!