Baby Steps...

Elina took her first steps (Yes...plural!!!) in front of both sets of grandparents (and Jason and me) on Baby Dedication Sunday (I'll post pictures of her dedication soon). It was really a sweet time! I've talked before about how surreal it is when she does something new...I'm always left thinking "did that just happen?!". That's exactly what happened when she took 4-5 steps that day. She had only taken one step on two different occations before that. I was trying on some new clothes that Nana brought for her, and she just took off towards her hippo walker. We had 3 cameras laying around and were any of them on!?!? Nope! Arg!!!

I'm sad to say that I still don't have really great footage of Elina's newest trick, but here are a couple of really cute videos that show what she does most of the time...
(btw we don't make it a habit of letting Elina walk around with a pen, but it's funny what you'll do to get a baby to do something even if it's going to be a no no later on)

Standing Alone...

Elina has been able to stand alone for a while now, but lately she has been standing really well for an extended period of time. She has also started standing up on her own without holding on to anything or pulling up on something.

New Milestones...

Everything seems to be happening so fast these days, I can't seem to keep up. I am glad however that I have captured most of Elina's firsts on video (and if it wasn't her first, it was her second attempt).

This is actually the very first time Elina just went for it and took off walking with her walker!

On this particular day, Elina was playing with Daddy and was holding his hand while standing up. He let go and she just stood there for the longest time! We were so excited we couldn't hardly breathe! I was just sick that I didn't have my camera, but after many many seconds of standing I decided to make a run for it and of course she got distracted and sat down. Jason stood her back up and this is what happened!!! (she was really wobbly since she stood for so long the first time, her legs got really shakey, so she didn't stand nearly as long as the first time.) I was also on the phone at the time and totally stopped talking to catch this moment! Sorry Steph!)

One day recently while we were getting ready for services on a Wed. night, Jason came to me and asked if I wanted to see Ellie climb the stairs in the sanctuary. I didn't realize that he thought this was new to her. I guess I forgot to tell him that some older ladies were letting her do the same thing a few weeks prior. Poor guy! He was so excited and I burst his bubble. Either way it was really sweet to see him so pumped about getting to see his daughter achieve this new milestone!

While it's not uncommon to see children playing on the steps in a church, this is one of the first times our daughter has done it. And I can't help but imagine the first time she'll cry out to the Lord (not that it has to be this alter or any alter) desiring forgiveness and salvation! We are praying for that day, the day Elina finds herself at the foot of the cross and her Savior reaches out and saves her...Wow...what a day that will be! Praise the Lord!

Rolling Over!...

Already!?!? On her 14 week birthday, Ellie decided to try something new...she actually rolled over. Jason and I were just sitting in the living room, Ellie was on the floor playing, and I noticed she was trying to roll over. Now that part wasn't new...she "tried" the week before, but this time seemed different! I just had a feeling she was going to make it all the way...I grabbed my camera...started filming...and 2 minutes later...she did it! (the video is too long to upload though) After just one day of mastering the art, she rolls over nearly everytime she's on her back these days! I uploaded serveral videos because I couldn't pick just one...the hard part was getting the camera to focus before she rolled...she's so fast. It's so fun to see her doing so many new things! I have to say that she is the most Graceful Roller I've ever seen!

New this week...We've caught her, in her crib, 180 degrees from the position we laid her down in! She's also discover she can eat her toes!

Toe Touches...

Ellie has really started grabbing her toes lately...especially her right foot...as I've been amazed at her changes and constant grabbing of toes, I remembered that we had a sonogram picture of our sweet unborn baby doing a toe touch. I remember being amazed then at how delicate and dainty she was...she!...that was also the same day we discovered she was a she! What a fun memory...and even more fun to see her doing the same things in real life!

Milestones...

She's Growing Up So Fast!

We've had two new milestones in the last couple of days...

We've discovered that Elina has a favorite toy. She enjoys laying on her play mat (thank you Adaline for letting us borrow your play mat!) and looking up at Mr. Bugsy who is cheerfully hanging above her. The Milestone...she has learned to swat at her friend to make him move! At first I thought that it was unintentional, but then I realized that she really was trying to reach her toy! Hope you enjoy this video that I took this past Sunday...

An even bigger milestone...She Rolled Over!!! I placed her on her tummy, went into the kitchen for literally a second and turned around to find my little angel on her back! I grabbed the camera and called Jason all at once. I know that I don't sound excited on the video while I was talking to Jason...it was a mix between being excited that she did something so great, and the fact that I missed her first roll by a millisecond, and even greater...she's growing up soooo fast! She's such a joy in our lives...Thank you God for our great blessings!