Bout time!

Okay, this post is long overdue. But in my defense, there has been a lot going on! I'm trying to get moved out of my house in Orem. I've moved in with my friends Colleen and Najee temporarily. Hopefully this will allow me to be able to save up the necessary amount of money to get moved up to Bountiful once school is out. Between working, spending time with Ben and driving up to spend time with Elaina, I've just been too tired to post. Besides, I wanted to share some pictures, and this way I get to post LOTS of them!!! Anyway, we had a wonderful Easter. Ben was sick, so I didn't take him up to see Elaina. I celebrated Easter with her on Saturday and then came home in time to color eggs with Ben and spent Easter day with him. It was very nice.

Elaina has been doing great! She is such a happy girl! She's just full of smiles, and I even get small giggles from her if I tickle her just right! We've started letting her sit up in a high chair for a little bit each day. She likes to lean to the right, so she gets a toy or something soft by her side to help her sit up straight. Friday was the first day, and she only lasted about 1/2 hour before she started to cry and wanted out. The nurses put her back to bed and she fell asleep in minutes. Sitting up is really hard work! Saturday she lasted an hour, but she only made it 45 minutes both Sunday and today. I don't have any pictures of her in the chair yet, they always put her in when I'm not there, but hopefully I'll be able to get a picture some time this week. I took Ben with me on Sunday and it was a great visit. We put Nemo on and they watched it together. Elaina smiled and "talked" (or rather grunted!) through the whole movie. It really is her favorite, she gets so excited at certain parts, she'll kick her legs and then extend them out straight and reach for the tv. It was fun to see both of my kids interacting together. They love each other so much! I had Elaina on my lap and Ben reached over to give her a hug. As he was hugging her, she leaned in and gave him a big wet baby kiss right on the cheek! I think it made his afternoon! Then, as we were getting ready to leave, I put her back in her crib. She rolled to her side, grabbed one of the bars on the crib railing and rolled herself onto her tummy. She just looked at me, like "and what do I do now?", so I rolled her onto her back, and she immediately rolled towards us again. Ben decided that meant that she didn't want us to leave, and I'd have to agree. It's SO hard to leave her! I'm still excited at the prospect of bringing her home soon. She's doing well, and hopefully it will continue!

Well, it's getting late, and my computer takes forever to upload photos, so I will leave you with these! This is what we've been up to!

My pretty little Easter girl!

Sitting with assistance! She looks so pink in this one... :)

Pulling her sock off. They can't put her pulse ox on that foot because she'll pull it off. She actually managed to get her toes in her mouth while I was holding her on Sunday. She seemed very proud of herself when she did it too!

This is my sweet Aunt Janet. She's my Dad's oldest sister. Elaina and I were thrilled that she came to visit!

She's got the "touch". She had Elaina asleep within a few minutes. Elaina just loved being rocked by her!

How sweet, Elaina is just holding onto Janet's hand. It was a wonderful visit!
(Thanks for bringing her Marney! I should have taken some pictures with you too!)

The aides were running behind schedule this day! I got there and she was still in her nightgown with her crazy hair! Too cute!

Such a happy girl! She's reaching for my camera strap. If I'm not careful she grabs it and tries to steal my camera so that she can eat it. :)

Mom and Elaina, having some snuggle time! I love the dress she's wearing with the ladybug. I bought one for her when she first had her g-tube, and I swear this dress runs small, because after it was washed, it didn't fit her. So I rebought it in a size 3T, thinking it would fit for awhile, and it still seems to be a little on the snug side to me. Hmmmm, maybe she's just bigger than I think she is!

Loves with big brother. So sweet!

So Ben loves to hold his sister. He hates that I always take my turn first (what can I say, I miss her too much to hand her over when I first get there! I need to get my kisses in first!) Anyway, I finally gave him his turn and after holding her for about 10 minutes, he said, "Mom, Elaina feels good in my arms! I like how she feels!" He is going to love having her at home!!!

This is my favorite picture of them all! I LOVE her smile! She is so happy to be in Ben's arms! It just melts my heart!

Well, thanks for checking in on us! We're still trucking along and someday soon I'll be able to post more often, because we'll all be under the same roof!
Hugs,
Hollie, Ben and Elaina