Happy Birthday Eliana

Thank you, Lord, for one wonderful year with our sweet Eliana.

May each year see her grow to know and love the Lord Jesus.

May she turn to Him each day.

May she know Jesus - the Way, the Truth, the Life - for no one comes to the Father but by Him. May she bear the fruit of the Spirit with a glad heart - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.

Father, thank you for making her ours. Please also make her your own.

Amen.

Eliana 6-11 months

Eliana 6 months:7 months:8 months:

9 months:

11months: ( Apparently I never took any of her during her tenth month!)

Standing!

It is impossible for me to take clear photos of Eliana these days. She never keeps still! Frequently I've pulled the camera out to update her blog but have had zero success rate. Tonight, however, out of 43 shots I got one clear one! And it was the first shot I've taken of her standing on her own! She was fascinated enough with the flower to stand still for 5 seconds. She doesn't stand on her own much, so enjoy this rare display :)

It seems it's better taking videos these days, so you could see my girl on the go, but I'm unable to upload any of them. After my videos have uploaded it says 'error' and won't play them. Anyone else having this trouble? Any advice on how to rectify the problem? Hopefully I can figure it out soon because I have so many videos of Eliana that I know her Grandmas would love to see!

A bucket and a balloon

Eliana in a bucket:

Eliana and her 1st balloon:

11 Months

Eliana is almost 1 year old. We can't believe it. She is such a sweet little thing and still seems much younger to Nate and me. However, she is growing strong. There are a few things that we've been trying to teach her for a looong time it seems, that she finally got the hang of this month...

• she started clapping at the start of Aug
• she learned how to sign "more please" in the high chair (which is really the same as her clapping - she now uses that same sign any time she wants us to give her something or pick her up - it's so much nicer than whining!)
• she is eating many finger foods much better
• she is finally waving 'hello' and 'goodbye'

Each milestone is so exciting to us, but we are in no rush. Every day is so precious and we love watching her grow bit by bit. She has a sweet, bubbly personality. She loves to explore yet still loves long cuddles with her mamma. She is clingy in strange environments. She's great with familiar women but if a man enters the room she'll crawl to me as fast as her little legs and arms go and grab on tight to my neck! She loves playing with other children, and funnily enough, is always tackling them. At a sewing class last month, a lady observed Eliana playing with another child and laughed and said "The dainty one is the rough one!" I thought that was a good portrayal of Eliana.