Elliana's First Snow

Okay, I guess technically, it isn't the first time it has snowed for Elliana, but it is the first time she was old enough to play in it. So, we made the most of it and had a wonderful time. We worked together to make a sled trail, pulled Elliana around until we almost passed out, and built a snowman together.

It was a wonderful time. If you want to know more what it was like, take a look at the video. (Click here for the high quality version.)

Sundays...

My favorite day of the week. Sundays are the one day of the week when we put up boundaries and put relaxation and family first. Chores and errands can wait. Laundry can be folded another day. The dust can grow just a bit thicker. Everything else can wait.

Sundays are the days we wear jammies a bit too long, eat a bit more unhealthy and are definitely a lot more lazy. A few weeks ago, I snapped this picture of my family during a Bengals game. Elliana was snuggled up next to Daddy reading a book as Daddy relaxed and enjoyed the game. This is the perfect picture of happiness and love to me. Our Sunday...my perfect day. :)

Advantages of being a kid...

What do you get when you place a 10-month old baby girl on a 100+ lb Old English Sheep dog? Instant ENTERTAINMENT for everyone around, and one amazing ride for this little girl.

I'm thankful...

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded to take a step back from the busyness of everyday life, and reflect on the many wonderful things in my life that I am thankful for. This year we have been blessed abundantly, and there is no doubt that I am overwhelmed with gratitude for these many blessings. And so, without further ado...my list of gratitude begins (in no particular order, except that in which they first come to me.)

• the addition of Elliana into our lives! God blessed us with the perfect addition to our already happy family. A healthy, beautiful little girl entered our hearts and forever changed our lives. The joy that Elliana brings to T.J. and I each day is more than I ever imagined was possible.

• my incredible husband and best friend T.J., who is an incredible husband and father.

• our family
• the ability to work at home as a mom & wife.
• smiles...lots and lots of smiles.
• afternoons at the park
  
  
• play-dates and date nights
• first words, first steps, first laughs of our baby
• the fact that my daughter asks for "dad" all day long. :)
• Elliana prefers books over toys
• family vacations
• grandparents
• XM Kids Place Live...responsible for many dance parties
• our yard
• hand me down clothes and toys!
• friends
• days that we never get out of our pajamas
• that my husband strengths perfectly balance out my weaknesses
• nap-time
• our home
• watching my daughter carry a purse around the house
• giant baby hugs
• cuddling
• words of encouragement
• our church, always offers the right words of encouragement
• special treats
• the time to take a few moments to reflect on these many things and many more!

Big Helper

Last week, we had fun helping Daddy clean up the yard. Elliana was a hug help putting the leaves into the trash bag...putting one in at a time.
Never before, have I seen T.J. have this much fun doing yard work. Thanks Elliana!

Fall Fun

These photos were taken almost a month ago at our nephew, Marin's soccer game. We had so much fun cheering Marin and enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Elliana, as always, loved the playground and we loved watching her play!

Those First Wobbly Steps

Elliana is doing something new faster than I can keep up with her. She has been signing for finished, milk, and more. She started clapping, dancing to music, kissing, shaking (a toy) when asked, and signaling touchdown when the Bengals score. Oh, did I mention she started walking. Well if you doubted it, I have proof. Check out this video.

Claps, steps and Touchdown...Oh MY!

I know that I have said before that Elliana is truly amazing to us...but this week she has outdone herself. So...how do I begin to describe this week's accomplishments?!

On Sunday, Elliana quickly learned that during the football game that we got excited when a touchdown was scored. Within a few practices, Elliana began throwing both arms in the air when we called touchdown and is now officially a Bengals fan. At the doctor today, he was more than impressed to see Elliana strut her stuff and called in a nurse to witness Elliana's touchdown excitement.

On Monday, Elliana took her first four unassisted steps! She is practicing daily and seems to really enjoy the learning to walk process. As I write this, I am witnessing her stand up and walk toward her kitchen...all of her own! I think I may be chasing her in the very near future.

Tuesday...well, Elliana began clapping. Now, when we clap in excitement over an accomplishment she has made, she claps for herself, which I LOVE! I love encouraging a good self-esteem...even if she doesn't know it just yet. At storytime on Wednesday, Elliana even clapped along to the songs at the correct time. I was such a proud mama!

Wednesday, well...no major accomplishments (relatively speaking), but she continued to practice all skills above.

Today was Elliana's 9 month doctor appointment, and as I referenced above Dr. Brokaw was quite pleased with her development. Weighing in at 18.7 lbs (40%) and measuring in at 29.5" (95%), we have a very tall and lean little girl on our hands! Perhaps she is staying so thin because on numerous occassions throughout the day today, I saw her "dancing" to her music. Watching her shake her little butt is perhaps one of the cutest things I have ever seen!

Okay, I know...I am gushing. But, I really can't help myself. This week Elliana has surprised us again and reached more than one milestone. We are so incredibly blessed to have such an amazing daughter. Thank you Lord!

KY Wool Fest 2009

This past weekend, the Berndsen Family ventured to Falmouth, KY for the 2009 Wool Fest! It was a perfect fall day to explore the crafts, animals and country fun.

Nana and Perk loved spending the day with Elliana and Elliana loved to spend the day with them!
Our baby girl loved every part of the country adventure. She pet goats, saw a sheep herding demonstration, ate lunch in a field and was smiles all day long! I can hardly believe that Elliana is already 9 months old and that we are so very blessed to have her as our daughter!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

On Tuesday night, Elliana attended her first baseball game thanks to our friend Ami. Given football season has already begun and is quite popular in our house...we couldn't help but laugh when Elliana seemed confused and indicated a homerun as a touchdown.

It was a perfect evening for the Berndsen family! And I know that we will have many more games in our future :)

As Marty Brennamen says...this one belonged to the Reds!

Fun at the Park

Last week, Elliana and I met Daddy for lunch during his lunch hour. We packed a picnic lunch and ventured to Sawyer Point to bask in the beautiful fall weather. We had so much fun looking at the river and seeing Daddy in the middle of the day. Perhaps our favorite moment though was when Elliana discovered the playground. A bit hesitant on the slide at first, after just two times, Elliana was pretty determined to go down all by herself. We were fortunate to capture her excitement as she went down the slide. And then...she stood up and tried to climb back up the slide. I can tell already that we will have one adventurous kid on our hands!

Family Fun at Kings Island

Yesterday, we enjoyed taking Elliana to her first ever trip to Kings Island. We arrived a little after 11 and Elliana was more than ready to explore all that the park had to offer. Her first ride was a small Thomas the train ride...where they required that Elliana sit in her own seat with her own seat belt. As you can tell from the image below, she wasn't too sure about the whole thing, but by the end of the ride, she was grinning ear to ear.

After the trains, we boarded Elliana's first Carousel ride. She LOVED IT!! As you can tell from the photo, I'm not sure who was smiling more. Elliana, or Daddy who loved holding onto his baby girl as she experienced all of the first thrills of the theme park.

We stayed at Kings Island for about 6 hours, and despite being there through nap time...Elliana refused to fall asleep. There was just far too much going on for her to be a part of. She didn't want to miss a thing. In between yawns and eye rubs, our little girl was all smiles...loving every minute of spending the day with her family.

Hilton Head Island Vacation

In looking through vacation photos, it was hard to decide which ones to share...which ones would best summorize our week long vacation with just the three of us. I believe that this photo best summorizes my thoughts and feelings. Throughout vacation, I was simply overcome with gratitude and happiness. I have the love of an incredible man, one who finishes my thoughts before I even know what I am worried about, one who loves be and builds me up day after day. We have an incredible daughter, one who took each change that she experienced and seemed to thrive more than the one before. Her eagerness and happiness for life is one that I hope T.J. and I will continue to learn from. I am so very blessed!

Elliana Struts Her Stuff

Elliana found the beach as a place to go for a steady, well, mostly steady stroll. She enjoys walking in the house, but in the sand, what is better than feeling the breeze, watching the wildlife, and listening to the waves crash, all with a friendly version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

It's New to Me

Elliana has taken vacation as an opportunity to try new things. First, before we even left, we found her sitting in the front seat of the car, facing forward, both very new places for her. I guess you could say she was ready.


When we arrived, we felt like something was missing, at least until we opened the suitcase. So that's where she went.



At the vacation house, stairs were a new challenge that were nothing of a challenge. We found her climbing steps with ease. Problem here, mommy and daddy aren't at ease with it.


Sand, gets everywhere, including in the mouth. Not all too tasty, but a hard lesson that needed to be learned.

No worries, though, even after choking on sand, she is still full of smiles. It seems Elliana is always up for a new adventure. We are exited by these new adventures, but Elliana, please just make sure mommy or daddy is around to save you from them.

Summer Sweetie

Sometimes...no words are needed :)

Always learning...

Almost two weeks ago, Elliana learned to stand and crawl and climb. Since then, she has been a woman on the move. Always exploring, investigating and playing. I couldn't help but snap a few photos of her trying to look outside and getting caught in the curtains, and when she saw me taking a photo...she crawled right up to me and and gave me the world's best smile!

Elliana & Adelyn

On Friday, we were blessed with a play date! Our house was crowded with the sound of laughter and fun as Debbie, Stefanie, Angela, Shelley, Adelyn & Asher came to play. Adelyn is only two months older than Elliana and it was so much fun to watch them interact and play with one another.

Although Elliana is younger, she is bigger than Adelyn and was intrigued by having another baby in the house. On more than one occassion, Elliana grabbed Adelyn's shirt as if she was a doll and pulled her close to her. Adelyn, having an older brother, didn't seem to mind at all and was just as intrigued with Elliana as she was with her.

It will be fun to watch these cousins grow and play together in years to come. I have a feeling that they will be good friends. :)

Feeding the Giraffes

Yesterday, Elliana and I went to the zoo with my mom. We had a great time watching the animals, talking, walking and perhaps my favorite was feeding the giraffes!

The past few times I have gone to the zoo, the feeding area has been packed, which always deterred me from wanting to participate. Yesterday, a few drizzles kept most people away from the zoo allowing Elliana & I to walk right up and feed the beautiful animals.

Hopefully someday we will see them in their native habitat, but until then...we are loving our trips to the zoo.

Is she old enough for this?

While I was working on the computer, I noticed that Elliana was unusually quiet, which normally means that she is investigating something new or getting into trouble of some kind. You can imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw my 7-month old standing up and exploring/rearranging our bookshelves. I just thought I would share the many adventures of our family.

Summer Fun

Well, one thing is for sure...the Berndsen Family is having fun this summer! With August now here, I am absolutely amazed at how quickly our summer has flown by! We have been busy with trips to the zoo, weekends away, family outings, days at the pool, afternoons at the park, camping, hiking, shopping, rollerblading...the list goes on and on. And, we still have so very much left to do this summer too!

This month we are gearing up for our first family vacation to the beach! We are so very excited and I can tell by the way Elliana laughs when we talk about it, that she is excited too.

Swinging good time

On Sunday we ventured to the park again for another 8-mile rollerblade adventure. Before gearing up to hit the trail, we enjoyed some time at the swings, where Daddy and Elliana enjoyed some quality time as Mommy photographed the fun. I am so very grateful that Elliana embraces new adventures and experiences as well as she does. I know that we have an amazing and beautiful daughter and I can hardly wait to watch her grow more and more each day.

Thank you Lord!

6 month photos!

It seems like just yesterday Elliana was having her newborn photos taken. 6 Months have passed since then and her personality is in full bloom. We hope you enjoy a few of Elliana's 6 month photos!

A Day with Mommo

Yesterday, Elliana and I spent the day with my grandma, otherwise known as Mommo. At 90 years old, Mommo has been such an incredible influence in my life. She still volunteers for the "old" people as often as she can, many of whom are younger than she is! I hope to be that active and intelligent when I am her age.

Elliana had a blast, as evident in the photo. Part of our day was spent introducing her to cats for the first time in her life. Upon seeing the cats, Elliana's face lit up and laughed out loud at the furry little creatures. Although the cats weren't too fond of Elliana, it didn't phase her at all.

Overall, it was a great day! Thanks for the hospitality and entertainment Mommo!

Happy, Healthy...and did I mention, Happy?

Last week was Elliana's 6 month check-up. While we waited for the doctor, Elliana entertained us with singing, laughing and showing off her vocal chords. The nurses and doctor were cracking up and couldn't get over how incredibly happy she was. As you can tell in the photos, she was truly loving it!!

Elliana's weight gain has slowed down since our last visit. At four months, Elliana weighed 15 lbs, which was the 72%. Two months laters, Elliana weights 16 lbs, which is the 50%. There is no need for alarm in the drop in percentile since she is far more active now than she used to be. The doctor said it is to be expected and as long as she is gaining, we are good! Elliana continues to grow lengthwise, now measuring 27" which puts her in the 89%!! Guess she will inherit our height!

Other than happiness and healthiness (two incredible blessings), we have nothing new to report! Until next time...we are truly LOVING our family.

Where's My Air

Elliana struggles with the concept that air doesn't ALWAYS flow through the air vents.

Busy Girl

To say that Elliana in on the move is now an understatement. She is keeping us busy!! As I type this, she is discovering doorstops and the fun noise they make when you pull at it quickly and let it go.

This past month has been a first of many more things for our little girl. First "scoots" across the floor, first foods, first fireworks and first overnight at a hotel. As is usual with Elliana, she took each new experience with a fantastic attitude and adapted quickly to changing environments.

Each new day brings many more first experiences for our baby girl and a new chapter of her life. It is truly amazing how much she has grown and changed in the 6 months since her arrival into our family. I know our lives will never be the same, and we wouldn't have it any other way!

My Wonderful Husband

So often, I allow myself to get wrapped up in talking about Elliana that I don't acknowledge my amazing husband. T.J. is truly an answered prayer and a dream come true. He is my best friend, a fabulous father and my number one encourager. Everyday he wakes up early to provide for our family and comes home with a smile. His love for Elliana and I are evident in everything he does and I praise God daily for creating such an amazing man and allowing him to be my husband.

I could easily go on and on, and I likely would if I didn't have a cute little muchkin semi-crawling around my feet. Until next time, Thank you T.J. for being you!

Elliana on the Move

We knew the time would come, but we weren't quite ready for Elliana to be on the move already. She is doing all but crawling these days, so we thought we would share a little clip of Elliana making her move.

Camping for the Berndsens

This past weekend we ventured on our first camping trip as a family! T.J., Elliana & I went with my sister Cathy, Jason and our cute niece Dinah and handsome nephew Marin. I know I sound like a broken record...but Elliana was AMAZING! She slept through the night despite all the noises that kept Mommy & Daddy awake all night. As you can tell in one of the photos below, she did get a bit tired on one of our hikes, but overall I think it is safe to say that we all had a blast.




Thanks for coming with us Cathy & Jason! We will have to do it again soon! Well...not too soon because I think I still have campfire smell on me, but I do like that smell....so maybe again soon :)