Eliana...You're 2 Years Old!!!

Wow. I can't believe my baby is 2 now! I've been rounding up her age recently in order to prepare myself for her birthday. You see, I tend to have a hard time accepting that she is growing up. I love every single stage she goes through, and I'm always afraid I'll miss the current stage once it's gone (I probably will, but that's okay). I thought I'd do a little (or long) update on what Eliana's been up to in the last year.

March 2013 - June 2013

- You started walking on May 4, 2013. You turned 14-months old the next day. Once you started you never looked back! 

- At your 1-year checkup you were approximately 28 inches and 20.5 lbs.
- When we first taught you to sign "please" you started out by doing it on the table. You did it like this every time you wanted more food. It was pretty adorable! You started doing it correctly about a month later.
- You've been participating in pretend play since you were 13-months old. You started by holding everything up to your ear like it was a phone.
- You said approximately 25 words when you were 14-months old.
- You've been able to tell us when you mess your diaper since you were around 13-months old, but we still haven't potty trained you. We let you sit on the potty when you want to, but we don't force anything. I figure it will be easier when you're really ready to do it.
- You first said the word, "again" as "gi" over and over and over and over...and it was pretty adorable.
- One time when you were about 15-months old, I was upset and crying about something. You were very concerned. You kept looking at me, making a sad face, and wiping my tears. Then you checked Daddy's cheek to make sure he wasn't crying, too.
- At your 15-month checkup you weighed almost 23 pounds and were 29 & 3/4 inches tall. They measured you at 31 inches at the doctor, but we knew that couldn't be right. We came home and measured you that night.
- You love to shop! Ever since you were about 15-months, you always answer, "yeah!" if we ask you if you want to go shopping.

July 2013 - October 2013
- You used the potty for the first time on 8-3-13.
- I've already written about our trip to the beach. Let's just say it was awesome!
- Your first phrase was "sit there." 8-7-13
- You started preschool on 8-8-13. That's a whole other post for a different day. Let's just say you love it! Mommy was so nervous, but it was so worth it!

- You can recognize hearts, stars, triangles, circles, and squares and say the words. This started when you were around 18-months.
- As of your 18-month checkup on 9-30-13, I stopped counting how many words you knew. You were at over 200. By then you were learning them so quickly I couldn't keep up. You weighed 24 lbs and were 31 inches tall.
- In October your preschool had their state assessment. You charmed the assessor so much that by the end of the day she was offering to babysit you.
- Around 18 or 19-months you started getting very independent about some things...particularly eating. Your favorite phrase was, "I do it, I do it, I do it." I'll think this video explains it best.

- About the same time I tried to give you oatmeal for breakfast instead of yogurt. Your response..."Try again, yogurt."
- You also started calling yourself "Anna" from around September to January. It cracked me up because this was your shorter way of saying "Eliana," but most people call you "Ellie." I'm not sure how you picked up on "Anna" instead of "Ellie."
- You also liked to scare people by saying, "SCARED!"
- You call "wagons" "dragons."
- When you want to hear something you say, "listen, listen" and then you put your hands on your ears.
- You loved to drive Mommy crazy doing what is shown in this next video. Thankfully, I think you have stopped this.

November 2013 - March 5, 2014
- Your first 5-word sentence was in November. It was, "Mommy read it to me."
- You also said, "This bracelet. This bracelet. Two bracelets."
- You used to tell Daddy "love you" when he would say it to you, but if I said it you would only say, "no." Now you tell me you love me, and it's fabulous! You also tell me that you missed me!
- You say, "look at me" and take your tiny hands and move my face.
- You had a card that said "to a special girl." We had been reading it one day, and later that day you told me that Daddy is a "special guy."
- When Daddy was getting Christmas decorations down from the attic you said, "Wow that's amazing!"and put your hands on your cheeks.

- You loved opening presents at Christmas. When you got your kitchen the first thing you did was put your real sippy cup into the refrigerator. Speaking of refrigerators, you can say the word, "refrigerator."
- We made a birthday cake for Jesus, and you thought that was awesome!
- One night out of nowhere you told me you wanted to "go to Grandma's house and make pancakes." I still have no idea where that came from. You've never eaten pancakes at Grandma's house.
- Your favorite word is "actually." You are a Clements.
- Your favorite phrase right now is, "No, I'm fine"...particularly when we ask you if we need to change your diaper.
- You said to Daddy, "Look at me. No, Mam." Then you tapped his nose.
- You still get the words "tomato" and "potato" mixed up. You created a combination of the two which comes out as, "topato."
- You say "coconuts" for "polka dots." I kind of hope that never changes.
- Your favorite breakfast food is yogurt. I'm pretty sure you could eat it all day every day. When you first started talking you called it "ewww" even though you loved it.
- Your animal sounds are still one of the cutest things ever. Horse and chicken are my favorite.

- You still love bath time! I'm pretty sure you would stay in there all day.
- You can almost sing the whole Alphabet Song. You get different parts of it at different times. When you first started singing it you sang, "ABBB."
- You can point to the letter, "A" consistently. Sometimes you can get a few others.
- You can count to 10...when you want to.
- You love to sing! Some of your favorite songs are "The Apple Tree Song" (Five Little Apples), "Jesus Loves Me," and "The Alphabet Song."
- We've been dealing with tantrums for the last year. I'm really hoping that means we'll be done with them sooner rather than later.
- Naptime is much better than it was this time last year, but it is sometimes still a struggle.
- You sleep like a charm at night, though.
- You say "thanks" almost every time that someone hands you something or does something for you. You also say, "I'd love to" when we ask you if you'd like to do something.
- You recognize the routes we take to places we go frequently. You especially like looking for "tunnels" (overpasses) and "bump bumps" (speed bumps).
- You really like blonde boys. All of the boys from school that you talk about are blonde.
- Your teachers love you! They always talk about how sweet you are and how much you can talk! That may get you in trouble in the future, but for now it's super cute!
- You say "I gon know" for "I don't know."
- You love all things Mickey & Minnie, Sophia the First, and Doc McStuffins! You love to read books and point at pictures. However, you mostly love whatever Mommy is doing at the time.
- You love to dance! I have a couple of really cute dancing videos, but I can't post them on here because I'm not sure about the copyright laws regarding the music in the background. Ask me if you want to see them.
- I wrote about a couple of recent conversations we had here.
- I wrote about your first solo prayer here.
- You love to grab my cheeks and say, "smosh."
- Your first 8-word sentence..."I want to stand on the scale, right."
- You say, "what's gonna happen?" and "it's gonna happen" almost every time we watch something on tv.
- I had to catch a stink bug one day, and you started saying, "What was that stink bug doing?" You still say it.
- I'm not sure where you got it, but sometimes you say "This is serious" about random things.
- You call "balloons" "booballoons."
- You still adore it when we sing the "Itty Bitty Baby Girl" and the "Baby Girl" songs.
- You like to help me with household chores. I hope that sticks.

We love you so much, Eliana! You make me laugh every day, and I can only imagine how much fun we are going to have between now and your next birthday!

2 years ago today...

Two years ago today, I had no clue what the next day would bring. I had no idea how much my life was about to change for the better. I didn't know the love that I would feel, a love that cannot be put into words.

Two years ago today I didn't know what Eliana Grace would look like. I didn't know how beautiful her bright blue eyes would be. I didn't know how funny she would be. I didn't understand what it meant to fall in love at first sight.

Two years ago today I didn't know the pain of labor. I didn't know how long 17 minutes could take until I was waiting on Tanner to get home from work to take me to the hospital. I didn't know that I had a terrible case of scoliosis until I was getting an epidural administered. I didn't know the frustration of having a c-section.

Two years ago today I didn't have any concept of how much God loved me because I had not felt such an intense kind of love for my own child, yet. I hadn't seen my husband with his Baby Girl which caused me to fall even more in love with him.

Two years ago today I didn't know how interesting life was about to become...

First Beach Trip (Hilton Head Island)...7 months later (oops)!

I've been meaning to write about our trip to Hilton Head Island since we went last July. As it turns out, Kelly's Korner is doing a link-up today about favorite vacations! This was just the incentive I needed! My all-time favorite vacation has been a Royal Caribbean cruise since our honeymoon. We have now been on 3 cruises, and they never disappoint! However, this was the first vacation we've taken that Eliana has been old enough to really have fun and enjoy it! That alone made this one of my favorite vacations ever!

I have always loved the beach! I remember going to the beach as a little girl and thinking it was the coolest place in the world! I love almost everything about it (minus the things in the ocean that can hurt me)! That is why I couldn't wait to take Eliana to the beach. I wanted to take her the summer after she was born, but she was only about 3 months old, and her doctor really advised us that it wasn't worth it. I love her pediatrician, so I took his advice, and we waited a year. Eliana's first trip to the ocean was when she was 16 months old...and she LOVED it!

The first day we went to the beach she thought it was awesome! She loved playing in the water and the sand! The second day didn't go as well. As soon as we walked into the ocean a wave knocked her over, and that was it for the day! She still loved the sand, but needless to say we didn't play in the ocean that day. The rest of the week was great, and she was back to loving the water!

We stayed in a 2-bedroom condo that was about 2 blocks from the beach. There were so many great things about this condo. We loved having 2 bedrooms so we didn't have to worry about waking Eliana up if we wanted to stay up later. The condo had a pool as well as a membership to the gym across the street. The gym had an indoor pool which would have been great if we had bad weather (we didn't)! It also came with 2 adult bicycles and beach toys! We ended up having to rent a bike because we needed a baby seat for Eliana, but there are plenty of places to rent bikes from on the island. Hilton Head is very bike-friendly. There are bike paths everywhere! I also loved where on the island the condo was located. We were in South Forest Beach, which seemed to be close to everything! We loved going to the beach in the mornings and the pool in the afternoon!

We ate at so many good restaurants! I don't have a picture of all of them, but I can tell you a little bit about each one. We ate at Frosty Frog, Sea Shack, Marley's Island Grille, and Skull Creek Boathouse. All of these were fabulous! Frosty Frog is known for being a daiquiri bar, but their food is great, too! They have a little bit of everything, and our service was great! Sea Shack is apparently one of the most popular places to eat on the island, but you definitely wouldn't know it by looking at it. My advice...get there early!!! The line forms outside because the inside is very small! Marley's Island Grille has a tropical feel to it, and since I love everything about the Caribbean, it was right up my alley. Skull Creek Boathouse is a great place, especially if you have kids! This one is also super popular so be prepared to wait. The best part is that they have lots of fun things to do outside to keep you (and the kids) occupied.

It was a fabulous vacation, and I'm really hoping we get to do it again this year!!! Comment below and tell me about your favorite vacation spot!!

Mickey Mouse cookies!

While shopping the other day, Eliana and I spotted some Mickey Mouse sugar cookie dough on sale because Valentine's Day was over. I decided to buy a box because I thought it would be an easy way for her to help me in the kitchen. I'm usually a "make-it-from-scratch" girl, but these pre-sliced cookies had Mickey on them! Ellie immediately called them "Mickey Markers"...a sign that she's watched the Mickey Mouse Road Rally episode a few too many times. Anyway, check out the pictures of our fun!

We don't always wear gloves to cook, but Tanner is getting over the flu.

I held the pan while she placed the cookies on it.

I'm not really sure why, but she told me we had to be quiet while we looked at the cookies. 

We decided to watch Mickey while eating our Mickey cookies.

So...what about you? What's your favorite kind of cookie? Feel free to leave a recipe if you want!

Infertility - Link-up with Kelly's Korner

This week's Show Us Your Life with Kelly's Korner is about infertility. As many of my readers know, we tried for almost 2 years before we got pregnant with Eliana. I know that many people try for much longer than that, but to us it felt like an eternity. Anyway, I am going to repost the entry that I wrote when we announced that I was pregnant. It talks a little about what we went through, and our emotions at that time. Now, Eliana will be 2 in a couple of weeks! Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me (you can do that through the contact form on the right side of the page) if you want to chat about it. 

Note: The post below was originally posted in 2011. This is not a current post. 

Wow. I’m not even sure where to start on this blog. I have a feeling this will be long…so bear with me.

Let me begin this by saying that God is good. Even when we in our finite minds don’t understand Him, He is good. He knows best. His timing is best. He loves us more than we can ever comprehend. This is some of what I have learned in the journey that I am about to describe. I pray that God will continue to use this experience to mold me into the person He wants me to be, as well as to allow me to use this to help others who are in the same situation.

In October 2009, Tanner and I decided that we would love to have a child. Since then, I have realized how silly we were in thinking we had control over this, but at the time, we decided that we were ready. Needless to say, it didn’t happen right away. The problem was obviously with me. I will spare the readers of this blog from specific details, but you are more than welcome to talk to me about it if you are interested. I will be happy to discuss it especially if you are experiencing similar issues.

During this time, we chose not to say anything to anyone. At first, this was mainly because my husband hates it when people announce that they are “trying to conceive.” You will have to ask him about his reasoning behind this, but needless to say, we kept this all to ourselves. The first few months were sad, but not terrible. I thought that surely it would happen the next month, and I continued thinking that for a while. 6 months later, I started getting worried. During this time, my best friend had a baby, and this only increased my maternal desires. Eventually I stopped wanting to tell people because I didn't want to get the "pity look." If you have ever been in a similar situation, you know what I'm talking about.

After about 8 months, my doctor decided to try a few medications. Some of the medicine (Clomid) is not safe to take for an extended amount of time. It may cause cancer, but at the same time, the percentage is almost equal for people who never have kids. If you are reading this, and you ever decide to take Clomid, let me warn you. You may or may not feel terrible. It really messed with my emotions, but other than that it was ok. Anyway, I took Clomid for 4 months, with no pregnancy. At the end of 4 months, my doctor was not comfortable keeping me on it, so he switched to a different medicine (Metformin). The odd thing about this medicine is that it is mainly used for diabetes. It is also used for polycystic ovarian syndrome, but I had not been diagnosed with that. I took Metformin for 5 months.

Tanner and I left for a vacation in Jamaica on June 22, 2011. I have to admit looking back on it, that I felt a little different while I was there. However, I had been disappointed several times before, and I tried not to even allow myself to think that being pregnant may be a possibility. We came home on June 29, 2011, and I was still feeling a little off. I did not want to take a test until I was absolutely sure that if I was pregnant it would come back positive.

We had plans to go to the lake on the 4th of July, and I knew I wanted to know by then so I wouldn’t ride the jet ski or the intertube if I really was pregnant. We decided that I would take a test that morning. I woke up before Tanner and decided I would go ahead and get it over with. I took the test, and it turned positive immediately!!! I woke Tanner to tell him, but we had to keep our excitement quiet because my mom was in town and staying at our house. We already knew that we didn’t want to tell anyone until I had my first doctor’s appointment, so somehow we managed to keep quiet.

I have never been so happy, amazed, in awe of God, etc. in all of my life. God did this. God knew that for some reason the timing was right now. God is developing the baby that I am carrying. He is using this trial in mine and my husband’s lives for His glory.

I wanted to write this for several reasons. The first being to give glory to God for the work that He has done in me. I have never been a patient person, and though I still cannot claim to be one, I have learned some patience over the last 2 years. He knew best. I also understand now more than ever how much He is in control, and I am not. The second reason is that I want people going through the same situation to know that they are not alone. I know how it feels. I even know what it feels like to find out that someone else around you is pregnant, and believe me I do not want to rub that in your face. I want to encourage you by saying, don’t give up and trust in God’s goodness and perfect timing. I know you have probably heard that God’s timing is best a thousand times, and it may even be one of your least favorite phrases at the moment. However, it is true. Even when we don’t understand and we are in pain, it is still true.

So with that, I leave you with a picture of my baby who is due to make his/her entrance into this crazy world on March 6, 2012.

A Toddler's Prayer

I had to share about Eliana's random prayer the other day. We had been busy painting a Valentine's Day painting which involved painting her hands and her feet. After we finished that painting, I let her paint on some paper. I was busy throwing away some paint-covered paper towels, and I heard her say, "Dear God," with her little hands clasped. I immediately stopped what I was doing to see how this was going to play out. She bowed her head, kept her hands clasped, and said..."Dear God, paint on my hands." Philippians 4:6 states, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (ESV). She hates to feel like her hands are messy (a trait that her OCD Mommy may have caused), so maybe she really was concerned about it, or maybe she clasped her hands together and it made her think about praying. I don't know. What I do know is that it made this Mommy cry. It was the first time that she randomly started praying on her own. She had asked us to pray with her before, but she had never done it by herself. God, I pray that you continue to help us lead this sweet little one to You so that when she is older she will not depart from You (Proverbs 22:6).

  

Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash...A Giveaway!

Update: Congratulations, Katie Henderson and Lindsey McCurry! You are the winners of the Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash Giveaway!

I'm back with another review and another giveaway! Purex Insiders allowed me to try and review Dial Vitamin Boost Body Wash. They also sent me 2 coupons to give away for a free bottle and a coupon for the men's body wash. I haven't had a chance to get the men's body wash yet, but when I do, I'll try to get Tanner's opinion and update this post.

I love trying new "girly" products, so I was quite excited to try this body wash! The scent that I received was kiwi. I have to admit that I don't usually race to buy every kiwi-scented product that I see on the shelves at the store. However, I really do like the smell of this body wash! If I closed my eyes I could pretend I was back in the Caribbean for a minute. Something about it just seems tropical. Meanwhile, I had 6 inches of snow outside my window a few days ago.

Dial advertises that this body wash is lotion infused, has a moisturizing complex, and helps draw in vitamins and moisture to your skin. Typically when I read something like this about a product I think, "yeah right." All products advertise what you want to hear about them, so I really wasn't confident that this body wash was going to be super helpful in moisturizing and providing me with super soft skin. However, I was quite pleased with this body wash. I really struggle with dry skin during the winter months, and this product seemed to help with that. I won't tell you that it was perfect, but I will say that I could tell a difference.

Would you like to win a free bottle of this body wash? There are several ways to enter the giveaway. Just log-in to the giveaway window below, and choose your entry methods. The giveaway ends Thursday, February 20, 2014 at 11:59 pm. You can earn extra entries each day by tweeting or sharing about the giveaway on Facebook.

Be sure you check to make sure your entries are counted. It will say in the upper right corner of the giveaway window how many entries you have earned.

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*The Dial brand provided me with a sample of Dial Vitamin Boost body wash in exchange for a product review. However, all the opinions expressed here are my own.