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Ellie and Elmo

So, Eliana is now officially 1 year old. For her birthday, we went down to Roseburg, since Merrill's brother Jon got back from his mission in Puerto Rico. We didn't have much of a party, but we did make her a cake for the occasion. Can you guess what it looked like?ELMO!! We discovered that Eliana loves Elmo. So I had to make her a cake that looked like him. It was my first 2-layer, and I even colored the frosting right. It was hard to watch Eliana plow into it. She didn't even eat the cake, really... just licked her fingers a few times and then started to cry as she tried to get the cake off of her hands. It was really cute. I wish we had a video of it. Merrill tried filming Eliana with the cake, but when we got home, we found that we only had about 2 seconds of the video recorded. Such a bummer!

We want to throw Eliana a little party next month and invite some of her friends from church to come play and have cake. Hopefully I can pull off another Elmo cake and we can get some pics and video of her eating it.

Here's a video of Eliana opening the Elmo doll that Tiffany sent her a few days before her birthday. She was so happy to have it, she sat there hugging and kissing him for like 5 minutes.

Christmas 2010

We went down to Merrill's mom's house for Christmas. Ellie had a lot of fun with a little dancing Santa that she had. And I thought it would be great for her to be dressed up for her first Christmas.
Merrill's new shirt and tie--thanks Monica and Shelby! (I still need to get a pic of me wearing the awesome apron you guys gave me!)
Here are some funny clips of Eliana before, during, and after Christmas:

Devil in a Blue Dress

Well, she ain't a devil, but these pics of her in a blue dress are pretty darn cute. I realized I hadn't taken pictures of Eliana for a long time, so I picked out a dress I thought would look good, sat her down in the middle of the floor, and started shooting.

The Past Two Months

Where to begin? The last two months have been quite interesting, to say the least. We were planning on moving to Utah so Merrill could go to Weber State and for better job opportunities as we weren't finding any here in Portland. So, we sold all of our stuff and hoped that everything would be better in Utah. Then in the beginning of August, Merrill thought he would try one last shot at applying for apartment managing positions in Portland. That week, we got interviews and were offered 3 different positions. Thus, we decided we were staying in Portland. Now we've got a job that provides a rent credit of $750 and salary of $300/month. Merrill can keep going to school, and I can stay home with Eliana. This works out so much better for us, knowing that if we had gone to Utah, there was a slim chance of finding jobs, an apartment, and a way for Merrill to pay for school (out-of-state tuition; financial aid would not have covered everything). We know Heavenly Father answered our prayers. He really is mindful of what each of his children are going through and is looking our for us.

We love our new apartment! It's a 2 bd/1 ba. We were surprised at how big the apartments are, compared to what we've been living in the last 3 years. There is a grocery store right next door, and a park just south of us (Mt. Tabor). We're surrounded by a bunch of local restaurants and shops, some of which are pretty good.

We like our new ward, too. But it's really small, almost like a branch, because there is 77% inactivity. There's a lot of work to be done. Merrill and I gave talks our second week in the ward and the Bishop has already talked to us about past callings we've had. We're just anticipating the interviews to be this Sunday or next.

I haven't been able to post pictures for awhile, so here's some of Eliana. I'll get more up as they come.

My New Favorite Outfit:

New Dinner Fave

I found this recipe on the back of the pepperoni package that we buy. It's easy, simple, inexpensive, and Merrill and I LOVE it!

Hormel's Delicious Pepperoni Pull Apart Pizza

2 (7.5-ounce) tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
1 cup pizza sauce
1 (3.5-ounce) package HORMEL sliced mild pepperoni
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut refrigerated biscuits into fourths. Place biscuits onto lightly greased pizza sheet in a circular fashion to form a 10-inch circle. Top with pizza sauce, 1/2 of pepperoni, cheese and remaining pepperoni slices. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until biscuits are baked through and cheese is hot and bubbly. Serves 6-8.

So Sleepy

After going on a walk this afternoon, Eliana was sitting on my lap, and then fell asleep. I love the affects of sunshine on a hyper-active infant!

Catching Up on the Past 2 Months

Here are some pics that I've neglected to post.

Sitting with Daddy, first time on her own, propped up.

This is how she prefers to be put to bed-and she finds it comfortable.

A man with a sling-one of my favorite things!

Most recently...

When she discovered her tongue...

Her very first time rolling over (at 2 months!)

I wasn't sure what she wanted... so I tried it all at once.

Squeaks and Squawks

Playtime with Daddy

Merrill and I have decided that we've had enough of life in Portland. It was nice for the first few months, but after Eliana was born, we've had several things happen that are signs that Portland is not where we are supposed to be. First of all, we've had major trouble with finances-it's just too expensive for a student to support his family here. Then there's the job situation, where if you aren't in the medical or engineering fields, you're out of luck in landing something. Not to mention that Oregon has an incredibly high unemployment rate (thus you have people pumping your gas for you throughout the state). Portland State offers little help in career preparation for Merrill, and he hasn't really gotten any closer to graduating despite all the classes he's taken here so far. And, even though we thought we could survive on our own, we realize now that having family and friends nearby is very helpful.

So, life continued getting harder, and staying in Portland seemed increasingly like a pit of despair. In contemplating how to better our situation, we decided we should have stuck to our original plan from a year ago: move to Ogden, UT so Merrill can attend Weber State and I can find work. Looking back, when we visited Weber State, Merrill and I felt really good about Merrill going there. Now we are going to step back and try this moving thing one more time: we're moving to Ogden!

Right now we are applying for jobs to start in mid-August, after Merrill finishes summer term at PSU. If we land something, we'll move to Ogden ASAP. If not, we will be moving to Roseburg, OR to stay with Merrill's mom until we can find work in Ogden or winter semester starts at Weber State. Whichever happens first.

Moving to Ogden will really help us where living in Portland failed: there are more job opportunities in my field (English and Design), better education and career opportunities for Merrill, and family and friends nearby. Please keep us in your prayers, so that we may find work in Ogden and be able to move there soon!

Eliana's Photoshoot

The latest videos and pics, as promised:

Squares

Bedtime

Mobile

First Laugh

2 Months Later...

Merrill and I are so excited about this weekend! Merrill's mom is coming up to watch Eliana for us so we can go to the temple and go out! We've really needed it--we haven't experienced Portland as much as we've liked yet. And it's been a long time since we've been to the temple. So, I've really got to get pumpin' in preparation for this one day event (literally :)!

Thank you to all of you who gave us baby sleep tips. We tried the pacifier and swaddling, and that works great. But we haven't had any success with getting Eliana to sleep in her bassinet. When we lay her down in it, she only sleeps for about 5 min. before wriggling out of her swaddling and telling us she is awake. The only thing that keeps her asleep for at least an hour is sleeping in our bed with us. I wish we could have the bed to ourselves, but whatever helps Eliana sleep helps us sleep, so I'm not complaining. Besides, it's easier to just roll over and nurse Eliana back to sleep, letting me sleep as she nurses.

Eliana's 2 month immunizations were today. I was dreading the crying, so I took Merrill with me so I wouldn't have to suffer alone. She was good for the whole appointment--talking to the doctor, smiling and looking at everything through the big mirror on the wall--until the shots. And even then it only took like 5 min. for her to calm down. Not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Maybe it gets worse as they get older though, when they can actually see the thing that is stuck into them and they associate it with pain. Eliana is developing quickly, already babbling and telling us what she wants and starting to reach for things. She's also very active, wriggling and kicking. The only time she is still is when she sleeps. I can't believe the little personality she has!

Concerning pictures of Eliana: I had a bunch on my camera that I wanted to post, along with some cool videos, but was I was putting them onto the computer, the program suddenly quite on me and I lost all the pictures and videos. Gone forever. I am so sad! So I am currently trying to take more pictures and videos of Eliana so that you all can really meet this crazy little girl.

I've been trying to get more pictures to meet the demand of everyone who reads this blog and checks my status on Facebook, but Eliana moves so much, I can never get a good one--unless she is asleep, of course. So, here is something better for your enjoyment:

Eliana loves getting her diaper changed because it is also play time. Merrill discovered that she loves you to blow air on her face, and this is what we see each time.


This is for kicks and giggles--the poop-ing face.



So, Merrill and I have decided that we would like to get at least a little more sleep at night. How have you moms managed that? How can we get Eliana to sleep without her having to cry it out? We want to avoid that completely. I don't want Eliana to fear sleep. She's already starting to fight sleep, especially in the evenings. How do you help an infant that fights against your coaxing them to sleep? And when do you start setting up a sleep schedule for naps during the day? What's worked for you guys?

My Other Half

The other night, I had the hardest time getting Eliana to sleep. She fights sleep in the evenings. I tried playing, changing the diaper, burping, bouncing, swaddling, swaying, walking--even nursing--but nothing worked. Then Merrill came home. As soon as the door opened, Eliana got quiet, looking for Papa as she heard his voice. He picked her up and laid her on the bed. He turned on some music and started singing and playing with her. Shortly after, she fell asleep. Watching Papa play with Eliana made me so happy--and thankful--that I have a partner to help me raise our children. I'm also glad to have a husband whose goal is to become financially free so that he can be home with his family during the day. That will be nice for me and for the kids--to have their papa be there for them anytime.

Waking Up...

It's in the Photograph

Here is the newest addition to our family: Eliana Jean Tew.

This one's for Tiffany. Thanks for the cute onesie--it fits her kissy face!

And a big thank you to Monica, Shelby, and the boys for coming up to help us!

Week 40 Part 2

The ultrasound went well (other than squishing the baby into my guts and my ribs, making me feel nauseous). Eliana will probably be a petite baby, if she comes anytime soon. Apparently, she has long legs, which she must have gotten from Merrill. Also, because my blood pressure was a tad high, they did a blood test. And it was negative for pre-eclampsia. So far so good. the only thing that would make everything much better would be if Eliana were to have already made her debut. I can't stand this waiting! I want the worst (and most painful) part to be over and have a little baby girl to hold.

Week 40

So, Eliana's almost here! Hopefully! I just got back from seeing the doctor today: I'm 1.5 cm and 70% effaced. Finally some progress! And contractions are still not painful-just my belly tightening every once in a while. I go in for an ultrasound tomorrow to check Eliana's growth. My blood pressure was a teensy bit high at this appointment, so they want to make sure things are okay. I sure hope they are! Keep us in your prayers!

Week 39

I had my appointment yesterday with Dr. Johnson. Nothing has really changed-except for my weight. He has no worries that the baby is going to be too big, because I still measure kind of small. Although I've had a few painless contractions here and there, nothing has happened to me for me to be even close to delivery. I'm getting really anxious for Eliana to come already. There's really nothing I can do except wait it out, but who ever loved the waiting game? At the rate Ellie's taking, she'll probably be a March baby. And if she is late, at least I don't have to worry about having too big of a belly ;)

Cool Site

So, our friends Stacie and Jon Fitzgerald had their baby girl last Saturday: Kensington Grace. Everything is going well with them; they are just trying to catch up on sleep. Jon showed me this website, and I think it is pretty funny. Have you ever heard a lullaby rendition of Metallica? Check it out: Rockabye Baby.

Week 37

Here's the belly at week 37. Can you believe it? Slowly stretching out...

I found a doctor (finally!!). Not the one everyone recommended, but a doctor nonetheless. Dr. Johnson. He was one of 2 that would take me so late. I see him on Friday for the first time. Hope he's a good doctor. And hopefully everything is still good with Eliana. I can't wait to see her! But I think I can wait for everything that comes with being a new parent!

By the way, for those who have had children, what did contractions feel like for you? I don't think I've had any yet, not even the Braxton Hicks ones... I just feel Eliana squirming around all the time.