Graduated.

{I know I probably change the blog background way too often, but I get a little bored with it every now and then.}

On April 30th, Tyler and I (also Jess and Ricky) graduated from Southern Virginia University. The whole graduation ceremony was really well done and all the speakers were really good. The commencement speaker was Elder Nolan D. Archibald. 

Easter

Did everyone have a lovely Easter? We sure did and it was a lot of fun having Elanor for Easter. Holidays are so much more fun with kids!

 

 On Easter morning, I got up and hid the Easter eggs (we had to since we dyed them!). First Elanor looked through her Easter basket to see what the Easter Bunny brought. Most of it was from Gran, but we got her a cup and this food thing for when she starts eating solids in a month or so. We got her a cup because she is always wanting to drink out of our cups for some reason. She loved it!









                                                
               Good Morning!                                                                                        Looking at her gifts!

Colored Eggs

I love Easter. Dying eggs, baking, tasty food, family, and most importantly taking time to remember Christ.

We began our Easter festivities today with the dying of eggs. It was quite fun and Elanor seemed to enjoy it as well (she liked watching and grabbing!).

 Elanor and I with the 'Elanor' egg I made for her.

 A close-up--- I did this with water colors--

 It takes a lot of concentration.                                           Tyler made her a pink egg...

I am looking forward to going to church tomorrow. I always love church, but I love Easter Sunday's message.   Christ died for our us, so that we can, if we choose, have the capability to return to our Father in Heaven. Christ has given us that chance to repent. The most glorious thing about Easter is that Christ lives, because after death comes life! He was resurrected, and because of Him we will all be resurrected as well. I am so thankful for my (and everyone else's) Savior and for a Heavenly Father that loves me. Isn't Easter wonderful? We have so much to celebrate. Life! That is what we have and life after death because of him! Spring is the most wonderful time to celebrate this because all of those dead trees are coming to life with blossoms and leaves! Winter is over and the promise of summer is in the air--very symbolic of our own journey.

For your Easter Sunday, watch this beautiful video made by the LDS church: http://lds.org/pages/his-sacred-name-an-easter-declaration?lang=eng

Happy Easter everyone!

More pictures coming after Easter... Oh, here's another video of Elanor: http://www.youtube.com/user/elizasolveig She's just talking to herself :)

This little lady just rolled over!

Here is the video link to watch all the action: http://www.youtube.com/user/elizasolveig . Tyler did not want me to put this on because he said his voice sounded silly... It is the best video we have so far of her rolling though! Enjoy!

Four Months

Elanor turned four months old on April 10th (my brother, Ian's birthday!). I cannot believe that it has already been four months! Elanor is a lot of fun and we are loving parenthood. She had her doctor's appointment today and is a healthy little baby!

Her stats:
weight: 12lbs 14oz--50th %
height: 24 3/4 in.-- 75th%
head: 15 3/4in.--30th%

A little bit about this four month old:

Elanor is a very social baby. She talks all day to herself or to anyone who will listen. She also likes experimenting with her voice and makes some very high pitched noises. She laughs when I squeeze her legs or kiss her cheeks. It is a pretty funny little laugh. I have tried to record it, but have been unsuccessful thus far. Elanor loves to play on the ground and can roll onto her side, lift her head and chest up pretty high, grab and hold toys, when on her tummy she tries to crawl (she can't go anywhere yet cause she can't lift her upper body), and she can sit up by herself for a little bit (if she is in the right mood) and if on my lap can sit up really well. She has not yet rolled completely over, but has tried to do so unsuccessfully. Elanor is a pretty good sleeper and sleeps for about 12 hours each night, she does tend to wake up a few times but goes right back to sleep. She also loves being outside. If she is upset we go outside and she calms right down. She loves looking at everything outside and touching flowers, leaves and bark. We have a lot of fun on our outdoor adventures. She is a lovely baby and so much fun. We love Elanor.

The doctor gave me an article about feeding babies solids (we are not starting until she is 6 months) and it was very interesting and I felt that it made sense to me. Basically, feed the baby what you eat. It is an interesting article and you can read it here.

Tyler and I are doing great, but the future is a little foggy for us right now. We have graduation on the April 30th and then we are unsure. Tyler has applied to so many jobs. He wants to go to grad school in fisheries or wildlife sciences, but it is pretty difficult to get in and much different than most programs. For one, a professor has to accept you into the program before you can even apply to the school. Which means, there has to be a spot available, the professor has to have enough funding to take on a student, and you somehow have to get to know professors so they will accept you. It has been difficult and we may have been a bit naive to assume we would get into a school on the West Coast. We are now looking at the West in general and Utah might be an option as there are two schools there with programs and it is a fairly central location for the other schools (if he needs to go there for interviews), also Utah has the lowest unemployment in the nation. We still have no idea where we will be going, but preferably a little closer to home.

 We will let you all know our plans as soon as we find out (which will hopefully be soon...)!

Lovely sun, fixed computers and a cute baby

First things first, my computer (that fell off the couch last semester, which resulted in a destroyed drive) is now fixed! I finally bought a new hard drive and David Taylor (one of our home teachers) kindly fixed it for us. So now I can upload pictures (Tyler's computer could not), which means I can blog much more often. I am so excited!!! It is almost like getting a new computer!

We have been having some lovely sun here the past few days (except today). Tyler, Elanor and I went on a hike the other day on the Appalachian Trail. The hike started out great, but Elanor cried for a good portion of it. Her nap was not as long as it should have been and she might not have been quite ready to go in the backpack as her head was bobbing a lot. Next hike, we will take her in the front pack.

Spring has come.

Musings

Lately, I have been really trying to think of something to write about. I want to write something clever and intelligent and get several lovely comments.That is really quite vain of me... However, I have been quite busy with Elanor and really don't have anything to write. I used to spend so much more time writing stories, but since college I have found my life a busy blur. After having Elanor and graduating, I have had quite a bit more time on my hands--if Elanor cooperates. [The trip to Oregon was a lot of fun, but a little difficult for Elanor coming back to Virginia (with the 3 hour difference and she caught a cold). So lately, she has been a little fussy and difficult to get to sleep---but I have done my reading (Babywise and many online articles) and we are starting fresh tomorrow and will wake up, eat, have wake time and nap time all at the right times.] Alright back on topic--where was I? Writing. Yes, I would love to write something lovely and pretty or interesting and entertaining. As I said before, I used to enjoy writing stories. I had and probably still do a terrible habit of never finishing any of them. When I was 8 or 9, I came up with this great story (I thought it was at least) about a rather spoiled and rude princess whose parents wanted her to get married. A prince offered and  presented her with a beautiful crown. Once she put it on, the crown made her look like how she acted--ugly. Eventually, with the help of the prince she repents of her ways, becomes kind and loving and marries the prince and they live happily ever after. Unfortunately, I only wrote maybe half of it. My other writing weakness is writing too much--as I have already done. The point is, I am going to try and write again and hopefully it will be decent...

If you would like to read something worth reading, my sister was recently published in the Deseret News, (click here) for reviewing the kids TV show Wishbone. It is really quite exciting that she is published--even for something as simple as reviewing a show.

I know this is really getting long----but--- I would like to apologize for my past terribly written posts. I would usually just describe the pictures and mutter something about being too busy. I really was too busy (2-3 jobs, school, and usually in a play or ballet) and uploading pictures takes way too long, so I sacrificed my writing. I apologize and hopefully my posts will be better written, more worth your time, insightful and someday I would love to write something clever (like my sister or brother Erik).

Here's to a better blogging future!

Un Bebe Classique

To put it frankly, I like a well dressed baby. I also like it when babies look and dress like babies. If there is one thing that bothers me it is a baby dressed like a teenager or adult. Baby clothes are so cute, so why dress them in clothes they will wear for the rest of their life? I love smocking, peter pan collars, light colors (but also purple), and cotton tights.

Give me this:

Isn't this outfit adorable! It was actually mine and has survived these 22 years.

Don't you just want to squeeze those cheeks?!?!

A baby is so cuddly and kissable (especially Elanor!), so why not dress them in clothes to match?

On another note, Elanor and I have been having a grand old time in Oregon. We had Elanor's baby shower today hosted by Caitlin and Mallory (thank you!). It was wonderful to see so many good friends, eat tasty food, open up some really great gifts, and Elanor decided to be well behaved, which was the icing on the cake. All in all, a wonderful afternoon!

At the shower, we played a game to guess who said what quote about childhood. I loved this one and will end with this:

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

~Albert Einstein