Well, as you know, our Eliana is three! I think she continues to change each day and just surprises us with the things she knows and shows us. This whole being a mom thing is pretty amazing! Tiring, but amazing!
Let's see...Eliana is still holding strong at 27 pounds (11.3%). She eats so much more now though that it's hard for me to believe she isn't gaining more weight. She is so active now too though so I imagine she is just burning everything off. Her favorite lunch is peanut butter and jam or Nutella and she can now make her own sandwiches. Crazy! One day a couple of months ago she asked me if we could take the peanut butter with us to the apartment. Yes Eliana! Yes! She is around 37 1/4 inches now (53%). She is wearing 2T bottoms and 3T tops this summer.
Eliana is a good helper around the house and can make up her bed and put away her clothes. Lately she's wanted to "fold" her clothes after they have been folded. She also likes to put our shoes in a line if they are all together. She definitely has some of my organizing tendencies. She also loves her routine and when things change she can struggle. Drew is helping her work on her flexibility.
We have worked a lot on her anger issues while we've been here and things overall are going well. We definitely notice a trend towards more angry reactions when we've been traveling a lot. Lately she has started to show her independence and ability to reason even more in her reactions to instructions she doesn't like. If she isn't happy with something we say she will say, "Don't say that to me Mommy!" Yeah, we're working on that. Oh, and we still have done nighttime potty training. I really thought we'd do it while we were here but we've been so busy it just wasn't worth it.
Eliana is still an awesome sleeper and takes a 1.5 to 2 hour nap every day. She is usually in bed at night between 7:30 and 8:00 and gets up around 7:00. She often plays in her room at night for awhile before going to sleep and has to stay in her room in the mornings until 8:00. Her camera and phone are her favorite bedtime toys.
Eliana is starting to retain more and can sing a few songs the whole way through and is working on her first two memory verses. I really think it is all the child interaction that has helped motivate her. She has not wanted to speak or respond to us in Tajik while we've been here. I am hoping that will change quickly once we return and she wants to interact with other kids. She has started to take interest in reading letters and numbers and I look forward to working on this together more and more.
What a sweet, fun girl you are becoming Eliana! We are amazed and humbled to be your parents. Each day with you is such a gift! We look forward to this next year and are eager to see you grow and continue to change and become the person God has created you to be. We love you!!!
Let's see...Eliana is still holding strong at 27 pounds (11.3%). She eats so much more now though that it's hard for me to believe she isn't gaining more weight. She is so active now too though so I imagine she is just burning everything off. Her favorite lunch is peanut butter and jam or Nutella and she can now make her own sandwiches. Crazy! One day a couple of months ago she asked me if we could take the peanut butter with us to the apartment. Yes Eliana! Yes! She is around 37 1/4 inches now (53%). She is wearing 2T bottoms and 3T tops this summer.
Speaking of clothes, the girl loves some dresses and skirts. Many days she'll wear a dress with a skirt underneath it. She also loves her shoes and pretty much does not wear the same pair two days in a row. We've been buying clothes for the next couple of years and I found her a cute pair of shoes yesterday that is for later. In the store she asked me to take her to a mirror so she could put them on and look at them. Then when we got home she made Drew sit and watch while she pulled out each item we bought and told him about each one. I think I'll have a fun shopping partner as she grows up!
Eliana is surprising us with all the new things she can do physically these days. She loves to hop on one foot while holding on to something, hangs from all kinds of things, can walk across a balance beam without help and runs everywhere. Last year she was terrified of the water when we went swimming and this year at the pool at our condo she was a little fish. By the end of the week she was jumping off the edge by herself and going under the water with her eyes open. She will color and do some crafts a little bit more these days but it's still not her first choice of activities. The other day she sat for about 20 minutes and used watercolors to paint and that was a record. She has been doing a much better job writing and coloring in cards lately.
Eliana has one vivid imagination! She almost always has an imaginary friend with her and usually it's "baby" but since we got back from Disney, Mickey and the whole gang have pretty much been with us day and night. She will take you on adventures all over the place if you'll go with her. Her vocabulary and ability to express her thoughts is growing all the time. The other day I was tickling her and she blurted out, "Stop Mommy. I can't breath!" She continues to amaze us by her perceptiveness. She really just notices everything. Today Drew was telling me how to get to the park they went to last week and she says, "Daddy missed the turn before." What? Usually her memory about things is better than ours!
Eliana has LOVED being in the US and having so many friends to play with and things to do. She loves going to church and to "class" and easily makes new friends when we are out and about. She has had a blast with our families and loved hanging out with her big cousins, Noah and Luke. She is a total group learner and picks up new things from other, especially older, kids all the time. It was so cute watching her shoot people and learn about Star Wars from the boys. She just wants to be a part of a group. It's more fun that way!
We have worked a lot on her anger issues while we've been here and things overall are going well. We definitely notice a trend towards more angry reactions when we've been traveling a lot. Lately she has started to show her independence and ability to reason even more in her reactions to instructions she doesn't like. If she isn't happy with something we say she will say, "Don't say that to me Mommy!" Yeah, we're working on that. Oh, and we still have done nighttime potty training. I really thought we'd do it while we were here but we've been so busy it just wasn't worth it.
Eliana is still an awesome sleeper and takes a 1.5 to 2 hour nap every day. She is usually in bed at night between 7:30 and 8:00 and gets up around 7:00. She often plays in her room at night for awhile before going to sleep and has to stay in her room in the mornings until 8:00. Her camera and phone are her favorite bedtime toys.
Eliana is starting to retain more and can sing a few songs the whole way through and is working on her first two memory verses. I really think it is all the child interaction that has helped motivate her. She has not wanted to speak or respond to us in Tajik while we've been here. I am hoping that will change quickly once we return and she wants to interact with other kids. She has started to take interest in reading letters and numbers and I look forward to working on this together more and more.
What a sweet, fun girl you are becoming Eliana! We are amazed and humbled to be your parents. Each day with you is such a gift! We look forward to this next year and are eager to see you grow and continue to change and become the person God has created you to be. We love you!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment