Conversation with Ellie

Eliana: "I don't really like boys."
Me: "No, why not?"
E: "Girls are more fun to play with."
M: "Oh. I bet one day you're really going to like boys."
E: "Maybe when I'm all grown up."
M: "When will you be all grown up?"
E: "When I'm five."

E: "But I love Luke. And when Luke gets bigger I'll have a friend that lives here!!! He'll be my friend and play on my playground and we'll play games, and read books, and do puzzles...and I'll always have a friend!!!"

"Luke, I am your Father"

can't tell you how many times i've heard that! :)

Cuteism

We have a park here in Virginia Beach called Mount Trashmore, aptly named as it was once a mound of trash, covered with soil and transformed into a park in the 1970s. It's really quite an ingenious use of an old landfill. Besides the nice walking path about a mile and a half long around the "mount" and water, there's a great playground and even a skate park. Anyway, Stu and I have taken Eliana there a few times for a picnic and some playground fun, and today after church she asked if we could go to "Trash Can Park".

Bath Time

Relections...

It's been such an amazing experience and blessing to watch Eliana grow, learn, mature. Even 3 and a half years later, I still sometimes just pause and stare at her, in awe of the fact that she came to be in me. So wanted, so loved...what a beautiful creation, precious and unique. I stand in awe of God's handiwork, and so thankful for his blessings. I feel like there's a piece of heaven in her face, and Luke's...when he stops eating for a moment to look up at me with those big bright eyes and give me a huge smile and coos. The other million things I could be getting done at that moment disappear and my heart melts. I'm surprised again at how in love I am with a little baby, who at this point simply eats, sleeps, and poops. I never realized how much a parent loves their child until I became one, and it gives me even deeper appreciation and understanding of God's love for His Son, and the anguish it caused Him to allow Jesus to suffer and die for us. It was certainly supernatural.

Lately I've been feeling like Eliana's really growing up. Besides getting taller and just looking less like a little girl and more like a kid, she's becoming more reasonable and responsible. She sits in time-out without complaint or tears because she knows she did something wrong. Tonight, she came down stairs to get her stuffed animals and put herself back to bed. When she obeys/follows direction the first time asked, I find myself surprised! She's only 3 1/2 and I know we have many more developmental milestones to witness, mixed with lots of frustrations, and I hope I'll continue to stand in awe and thankfulness of the miracle that is life.

Update

Luke had his two-month doctor appointment today. He's a healthy little guy, weighing in at 12 lbs 14 ounces and 23 inches tall. We're settling into a schedule of naps and eating, and I can even say we're sleeping through the night! Whohoo! It's been about the last five nights or so that Luke's slept between 6 and 7 hours. He's going to bed around 9:30, so I'm still getting up between 3 and 4am, but those extra couple of hours of sleep make a big difference! He's a such a good little boy.

The kids and I spent spring break in New Jersey with my mom visiting family. Luke was a really good traveler. We only stopped once each way! Luke got to meet his GiGi and Papa (my mom's folks) and two of my aunts and uncles and my cousin Alison. (Pictures to come.) Eliana took to calling GiGi and Papa just "G" and "Pop", which was really quite funny. Picture the girl yelling, "G! hey G!". It makes me chuckle.

Eliana's new favorite game has been finding words that rhyme. I'll ask her whether or not different pairs of words rhyme-she thinks it's great fun. Well, now she tries to talk in rhymes, which more often than not doesn't include real words: "I want to put cover-dovers on Luke." "Can I play with Playdoh-daydoh?" "What's for dinner-winner?" "Let's put on jammie-dammies." and so on...

A tutoring student's about to arrive, so that's all for now. I'm so bad about keeping updates coming, I wouldn't be surprised if I've lost my readers!

7 Weeks Old