E,E, and Little E Stringfellow

Play date with Cousin Liana

We had cousin's Cassie and Liana over on Saturday for dinner. Liana and Elaina got to play together. Liana is 2 years older then Elaina so it was fun watching those two interact. You could tell Elaina thought that Liana was so cool because she could walk and talk and do all these really "big girl" things.

Elaina has recently started clapping - Cassie got a good shots of her doing that. There is something so cute about seeing a little baby clap.

Just a good shot of Elaina that Cassie took.....

And a not so good shot of Elaina.... ;)

Bath time gets a little more fun

Now that Elaina can sit up unassisted, bath time has become very fun for her and for us. She enjoys splashing and playing with her toys and we enjoy watching her. Here are a few shots of her latest bath time....

Flapping her gums like an old lady...

Elaina just picked this noise up - I'm sure every kid does it but for some reason it cracks me up. She looks like a little old lady smacking her toothless gums together. Hope you can see it - it's from my cell phone. That's the quickest way I can get her captured on video.

Valentines Day

Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day - we certainly enjoyed our day with Elaina. The day before, I let Elaina sign her daddy's card by putting her hand print on it with ink and then let her have fun with the cards and envelopes by letting her pat ink on them, and chew and slobber all over them. Here are a few shots of the fun.....

Elaina got a stuffed animal from her daddy that she loved - well she loved the tag of it anyway :) She chewed on it pretty well. We made pizza and beer (well, we bought the beer) for daddy for dinner - his favorite. Elaina wasn't much help in the kitchen.... :)

Also, on the day before Valentines Day, Elaina had a doctors appointment to get her second round of the flu shot. No fun, but she was a trooper. We did, however, get to see how much she weighed and she weighed in at 15 lbs, 10oz... 1 pound heavier then last month. So, she's growing good. Also, this week, she has cut a tooth (YEAH!) and finally figured out how to lift herself up on her knees onto all fours (sort of). She definately has her toosh off the floor and manages to scoot herself backwards :)

Elaina got a bouncy seat

Elaina has a bouncy seat that she loves to bounce in while at daycare. Whenever we hold her upright, she pushes off the floor/our lap to bounce herself. I had been telling Erik how much I wanted to get her one since he obviously loves to bounce. Well, our friends Tommy and Jodie let us borrow one of theirs and she LOVED it. So much so that we bought a second one to use in a different part of the house. She never get tired of bouncing. Here are some shots of her in it the first day.

Elaina had a play date

We had Evan, Marta, and Kate Crass over for dinner on Friday. Elaina slept through the entire dinner but woke up for the playing part - smart kid. Elaina and Kate spent time on the floor staring at each other and grabbing at each other - that's about all they really do at this age. But it was fun to watch. I'm sure they had fun too. Here are some shots. Enjoy!

The food gets messy

Elaina is 7 months old today. This past month she has starting sitting up with little to no assistance, started saying "da-da", and getting messier with her eating. We gave her a biter biscuit to chew on. Needless to say, she LOVED it and loved making a mess. Also, tonight, as Erik gave her her carrots she took a swat at the spoon and carrots went flying. Good news, Jax, loves carrots so he cleaned the floor for us :). Here are some pics of the messiness. Good times. Enjoy!

Pre-Biscuit

Post Biscuit

This is her after she took a swat at her spoon with carrots on it. Looks like the carrots won that battle. Orange is her color - really makes her blue eyes stand out :)

Elaina says "da-da"

It was a big day for Elaina (and Erik) today. Elaina picked up a new sound other then blowing raspberries and cooing. She picked up a syllable and the one she chose - yes, it was "da-da" She said it once this morning before Erik went to work. Then said it one other time an hour later. Then at 1:00pm this afternoon, she began saying it non-stop... I recorded her saying it on my cell phone and sent it to Erik. He was so excited to hear it. It is precious to hear and, of course, Erik loves it. Take a listen at a couple of videos I took of her.... Hopefully you can hear and see it okay - it's from my cell phone.

Elaina's First Jar Food

Elaina went for her 6 month check up and shots on 1/11/08 and she is happy and healthy. She weighed in at 14 lbs, 10 oz and 25 3/4 inches tall. She shot up this month in heigth putting her in the 44 percentile so she catching up there. She's still in the 22 percentile on weight. Her brain is still growing because she's in the 96 percentile in head circumference. She's all over the map with her percentages but it's okay with us as long as she is healthy.....

Elaina this past week got her first taste of baby food. She started off with squash and at first I think she liked it but the second time she got it, she was not as into it. So, we've moved on to Sweet Potatoes - that was much better. As you can see from the pictures, the baby food thing is much messier. That's going to be hard for me to get used to. I must embrace it. Looking forward to introducing more and more foods to her. It's fun.... Enjoy these shots of her....

Elaina has also started sitting up very well - especially with the help of the Boppy pillow around her. It's weird to be able to leave her unattended with the Boppy pillow supporting her while she is sitting up. She looks like such a big girl.

Elaina Claire is 6 months old!!!

SIX MONTHS! Wow! With this milestone, Erik and I are in complete shock that six months has come and gone - and so fast too.... Elaina continues to amaze us and keep us on our toes wondering what she will do next. This past month she has starting sitting up by herself very well - almost completely unassisted. She also has taken to laughing (and not just the casual giggle). She's started that belly laugh that will melt your heart and the thing she loves to laugh at the most is the silly dog, Jax. We got it on camera and it is so sweet. The more she laughs, the more jazzed up Jax gets, and the more hyped up he gets, the more she laughs... It's a circle that keeps Erik and I in stitches...

She goes to the doctor in 1 week for her 6 month check up so we'll see how much she weighs then. Last time she was at the doctor, when she went for her stomach bug, she weighed 13 lbs, 8 oz so we'll see how much bigger she is. I have put several outfits on her lately that have been at least an inch shorter then before so she's definitely getting taller if anything.

Here are a couple of shots of Elaina... Enjoy!!!

Elaina's first Christmas

Well, we made it through (or should I say Elaina made it through) her first Christmas and we enjoyed every minute of it. Elaina enjoyed it all too but she was exhausted by the day's end on Christmas. Poor thing, there was too much excitement and people for her to sleep like she's used to. She's a good napper and doesn't do well when she can't get her full nap. Below are some shots of her and as you can see, she looks so sleepy in some of them :(.... Besides that, she got tons of great presents from friends and family. She got many new toys that she will enjoy over the coming months.

Elaina on Christmas morning with some of her many toys that she got... She is starting to sit up so well now with very little assistance.

Another shot of her on Christmas morning in her "My First Christmas" outfit

This is Elaina at the end of the day on Christmas with her blanket that her Mamaw Sandy made for her. Look who looks so sleepy - poor thing!

Elaina in a Christmas cap and mittens that her Aunt Melanie gave her - so cute. Thanks Melanie!

Elaina and her daddy on Christmas Eve.

Elaina and her cousin Celia on Christmas Eve

Elaina and her cousins (on Erin's side) - Alexandra, Sadie, Celia, and Quentin

Elaina's week of firsts.....

We've not posted in a while - holidays are keeping us busy. We are ready for Christmas and can't wait to spend it with Elaina for the first time. As you can see from this picture, she is ready for Christmas with her Santa hat..... or, is that her mom's Santa hat??

Elaina has had an exciting couple of weeks - full of first that weren't so fun but worth mentioning. Within a week, she got her first bad cold complete with a 102 degree fever. Then, she was in her first car accident with her Granny - praise the Lord no one was hurt. Elaina was unphased by the whole thing but needless to say Granny and her parents were a bit un-nerved the ordeal. The car took a beating but thanks to God, no one was seriously hurt. Then two days after that, Elaina caught her first virus (stomach bug). She came through with flying colors but she shared it with Erik and I who were down and out with it a little more then she was. She's already sharing!! What a good girl... well, maybe not :)

Elaina and her Daddy spending some time on their tummies.....

Elaina puts her first ornament on the tree

My mom (Elaina's Granny) gets her grandchildren a Christmas ornament each year for Christmas. Last year, she bought her ornaments a year early and bought an extra ornamanet in hopes that Erik and I would have a baby soon. She had no idea we were even thinking of getting pregnant so when we announced we were, Granny broke down and cried because she said she had bought an extra Christmas ornament that year hoping that I would have a baby soon. So, I thought it would be appropriate to have Elaina help me put that ornament on our Christmas tree this year. Daddy snapped a few shots of the big event.