8 weeks old!

Wow! Today Elliana is 8 weeks old! It went so fast and at the same time feels like she's been here forever. I feel so blessed. She is such a good baby. It's hard to describe how good she is, but I'll try:) 

Elliana:

*Is such a happy baby. Some people don't believe me, but she really smiled when she was only 3 days old! It honestly wasn't a gas smile, it was her genuine, full smile and it was in response to us smiling and talking to her. Everyone who was around her when she was first born, saw it and witnessed that amazing and beautiful smile. Since then the smiles have only increased. It probably is my most favorite thing in the entire world, to just sit and talk and smile with her. And lately she is trying SO hard to talk back. She moves her tongue frantically and makes all kinds of sounds. It is the cutest thing. She makes so many sounds and coo's all the time. 

This was 4 days after she was born!

This was 5 days after:)

*Can usually just be wrapped up tight, given her binky and put in her bed and she can fall asleep on her own. 

*Lately has started sleeping from 8:30 pm -3:30 am! An amazing 7 hrs!

This was this morning when I went in to get her:) So happy all the time!

*Can stand really well. It's kind of crazy, but with only a little assistance from us, she can stand up. Her legs are extremely strong (which I knew from when she was in my belly and bruised my ribs from her strong legs).

*Since she was born has this little dramatic cough that she does when she is about to cry or just wants attention. It's hard to describe, it's this short cough almost like clearing your throat. It is hilarious. Sometimes I just laugh and it makes her more mad:)

*Absolutely loves her bath. It is her favorite time of the day. She has never cried during bath time. Just lays there and smiles so big. She's just like her mommy like that. I love taking a bath or shower, it's my favorite. 

*She also loves getting her diaper changed. As soon as she's dirty, she lets me know, she doesn't like to sit in a dirty diaper:) 

*LOVES her binky! Thank goodness, because when she was first born she would not take a binky. I brought several different kinds of binkie's to the hospital for her to try and we tried all of them and she would gag and cry and spit them out. I thought we were doomed! I tried almost everyday and it was always the same reaction. Then finally one day after we had moved to Utah (she was about 4 weeks) my sister Autumn told me that her girls only took "mam" binkies and that was the only kind that I had not tried yet. So I immediately went to the store and bought some, and as soon as I put it in her mouth she just started sucking away!! It was like Christmas, we could not believe it! And it is the funniest thing now. She sucks on that binky like her life depends on it sometimes. 

*Makes me love things about myself that I had never even thought twice about before. Features like her eyebrows, are definitely mine. Her unattached earlobes, because Zack has attached and I have unattached. Her chin is my chin, because Zack has a bum chin and I love it, but Elliana didn't get it. And just things like that. It's fun to see how her features are developing and to see who she looks like. 

*When we are sitting on the couch and I lay her a certain way so she can see this picture of Zack and I that hangs on the wall above the couch, she just lays there and smiles and stares. We love it! She honestly smiles so big and can stay there for like 20 minutes, just staring at our picture.

*Is the all time cutest stretcher in the world! Every time you pick her up or after she is done eating, she stretches so big and it is adorable. She arches so big and always puts her left hand up and rubs her eye and is so cute that I have to refrain from squeezing her:)

*If she gets fussy in the car the way to calm her down is to first make sure she has her binky and then give her my hand. She'll reach up with both arms and just grab whatever fingers she can and that's how we ride in the car. Although a lot of the time my arm falls asleep and kills afterwards, it is all worth it to just ride in the car holding my daughters hands:)

I could go on and on all about her. She is cuter and better than I could have ever imagined. She makes me so incredibly happy! Being a mom honestly is the most rewarding and fulfilling thing I have ever done.