Elianna enjoying the snowy hills of Vernon BC.

She kept tipping over, so Daddy had to pull us both.

Ellie watching Duma, Papa and Grandma's dog. Ellie starting saying "PUH" and growling everytime she saw a puppy.

First Christmas Photo

Merry Christmas Everyone, from the Balfours!

We'll keep posting when we get back from Vernon, BC on the 30th.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Now THAT is what I call BEDHEAD! (i didn't tease it. trust me)

Elianna and Regan, piano duet partners extraordinaire!

(Surprisingly, they both have their own soothers in their mouths in this photo, a rare happening. Usually they steal each other's. I guess the soother's always suckier in the other kid's mouth, or something.)

There's a REASON why we tied our christmas ornaments on a string this year! :)

I love the Christmas season. The twinkly lights, the family gatherings, the crinkly wrapping paper...

...but I HATE this HAT!!

Rub a dub dub, two cousins lovin' the tub!

Well folks, reality has finally sunk in. Today feels like negative 29 degrees with the windchill and for the first time ever, I think the weather just might keep me and Ellie inside. I guess we really did move to Manitoba after all. Darn.

Elianna's opinion of tomatoes.

Look Grandpa Rick and Grandma Sue - I'm walking!

As you can see, Mr.Christie really does make good cookies!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

(The best part of this day was playing in the box that grandma and grandpa Balfour sent Daddy's present in. That plus chewing on a party hat...who could ask for anything more?

Elianna has learned how to sit...

...almost!

Elianna 6 months

On Sunday we went to Sandilands for a 'hike' with my sister Karla, her husband Nathan, and their daughter Regan. Ellie was smiley for all of 15 minutes before she began to holler and we had to turn around. (We now know that she was in the first stages of a cold and wasn't in the mood to look at the pretty trees.)

Uncle Nathan is one of Ellie's most favorite people.

The day I discovered that Elianna fits perfectly in her diaper bag.

Elianna at 5 1/2 months old. She gets goofier by the day! She now says, "mamama", "nananana", "dadadada" and "ageeeeeeeeeee", and tries to grab or inhale anything that resembles food. She enjoys tearing part magazines and giggles everytime we make kissing sounds at her. Last week Grandma Susan and Grandpa Rick came to visit from Vernon, BC. We had a blast, aside from all four of us adults getting hit with a MAJOR flu bug that put us out of commission for two days. We miss you, Grandma and Grandpa!

The stunned look of someone who's just
had cereal for the very first time.

Hi Everyone! I'm at my folks' house right now and just thought I'd grab the opporunity to use a faster computer to update you all. Things here are going sweetly along - small-town life suits us just fine! Rob's not loving his job at the cheese factory (let's face it, lifting 50 pound blocks of cheese all day isn't a whole shwack of people's idea of a good time, not to mention the swollen fingers, sore back, aching legs and head-to-toe bruises that appear every morning), but we're still hoping and praying that God'll bring about another job in His good timing. Ellie's doing great, as always, and has us busy with a new past-time - trying to make her giggle. She just started a couple weeks ago, and we just can't get enough of it! Unfortunately what makes her laugh one time, doesn't necessarily make her laugh the next, so she keeps us guessing. I'm really truly enjoying my days, still getting together with lots of friends, making our apartment look more like home, and reading reading reading! I have a whole new library to devour now. Anyhow, I'd write more, but that would get truly boring. Here's a couple pics from my parents' collection of Ellie at 3.5 months old.

The Many Faces of Elianna (3 months)

Obstinance

Curiosity

Bashful

Intrigued

Amazed

Lovin' Life!!

Elianna at 12 weeks old

Ellie (2.5 months) and her only cousinRegan (5 months) "playing" together.

This picture is taken about two seconds before Regan decided to use Ellie's wrist as a teething ring. Ellie wasn't thrilled. :) Regan already has two teeth!
Ellie on her play mat...she's just started to show an interest in the wonderful world of toys.