18 Months

Wow!  Has it really been 18 months since Eliana was born?  Crazy!  When she was born I couldn't imagine making it this far but here we are.  We have a full-blown toddler on our hands and our lives and hearts are full!

Eliana loves that bunny she is holding.  It is definitely her most treasured possession.  We don't take it out of the apartment but when we're here the bunny is always close by.  Eliana's also recently taken to sucking on her fingers a lot during the day- something she used to only do when getting ready to sleep.  I'm not sure why she's doing it but trying to make her stop just upsets her so I'm trying to not make a big deal out of it and hope it's just a phase.

Eliana is at 21 pounds (8%) and 31 inches (30%).  It's so much easier to weigh and measure her now that she can stand up on her own!  I'm still amazed that I have a small baby.  Believe me, I wasn't small so this is not something I expected!  Her eating is still up and down and sometimes I wonder how she survives on so little food but she is doing fine.  She is a major scavenger and if anyone has any food out at any time she is all over it.  I think she would snack all day if we let her.  Once again, I just try to not to worry and trust that she will get what she needs if I offer her food.

Eliana is really affectionate when she wants to be.  She loves kissing her animals and dolls right now and will kiss us when it's her idea.  She also loves blowing strangers kisses and making kissy faces at them.  I'm pretty sure she does it because they make such a big deal out of it and she's so into people.  She also will give kisses to other little children.  Eliana often will push Drew and me together to make us kiss each other when he is leaving for work.  She is also very much into taking care of us and her dolls right now.  She'll comb and brush our hair, put lotion on us, give her babies baths and put them down for naps and has even pretended to adjust me like the chiropractor does.  I've been amazed by her imagination and how perceptive she is.  She is very aware of what is going on around her and will even know when we are ending a conversation on the phone, both in English and Tajik, and will say bye-bye.  I think it's pretty cool.

Eliana's vocabulary and comprehension has really picked up the past few months.  She can understand most small tasks and likes to help me a lot.  She helps me put up laundry, gets her shoes and jacket, helps put away dishes and other things.  Her words (not perfectly intonated but we know what she is saying) now include:  bye-bye, thank-you, shoes, socks, ball, no, all-done, down, cheese, amen, belka, mama (said in a Cookie Monster voice to indicate her desire for food), mommy, daddy, papa and mo and "It's hot".  Her first Tajik word is "Assa" which is short for "Assalom" which is how you say hello here.  She says it all the time and doesn't really say hello.  That should be interesting when we go to the US!  She can imitate us some now too which is pretty cool.

Since Drew's parents came we've noticed a big difference in her recognition of them and a few days ago she even went and got the Ipod and started saying "Papa" over and over again and pressing on the screen so we could call them.  It was really cute.  Oh yeah, the other day she also sat with Drew and was reading him a book, inserting laughter when apparently things were funny.  She then did it for our families over Skype.

Just like most 18-month olds Eliana is busy all the time.  She loves dancing and twirling but fortunately is out of her "walk in circles all day long" phase.  She has a tendency to fall quite often and land smack on her forehead, making me have to explain over and over again why she has another bruise on her face.  I hope she ends up being more graceful than I am!  Our Tajik friends love that she dances like them by waving her hands in the air and I think it's really cute too.  She is also starting to try kicking her legs up some one at a time and it is really adorable.  She also still really doesn't play by herself much and most of the time follows me around looking for something to do wherever I am.  She'll sit and play with her toys if someone sits with her.  She loves the people!

We are up to six teeth now- four on top and two on bottom.  I'm ready for some more to come in so we can continue to expand her food options.  It will be nice when I don't have to cook all the apples and carrots.  Eliana is also really into looking at pictures right now and will sit in my lap watching the screensaver for 5-10 minutes.  She likes seeing her friends and points them out when she sees them.  She likes to watch little Sesame Street videos on YouTube and lately we've watched a few Christmas cartoons.  She'll watch for 15 minutes or so before getting bored.  It's usually just a break for me.

Despite her protest in this picture she is definitely a mama's girl right now and sometimes really doesn't want anything to do with her daddy.  We are working on that but I am enjoying her affection and like her holding my hand and snuggling with me.  It's really sweet.

Eliana is still taking two naps a day but I think I'm at the point where I'm going to start a morning rest time and then try to extend the afternoon nap.  This has been the hardest decision for me to make with naps so far.  Everything else has just come naturally but I feel like this is a bit harder.  She loves her sleep though and does great.  I am thankful!  It's been a good ride!

Sweet Eliana, what a blessing you are to us!  I am amazed each day by God's goodness to us in allowing us to be your parents.  I just want to soak every moment in and not forget and enjoy you to the fullest.  You enrich our lives each day and we are so grateful!  We love you baby girl!