A moment of silence

I have to say, we have a hilarious small group. The humor has a good range - witty, zany, bizarre, Biblical. If any of our small group happen to read this post, please feel free to comment with your favorite joke or moment. If you're not in our small group, please respond with something else that will make me laugh.

My favorite comment so far?

From Kate: "Let's have a moment of silence for Jack's middle name."

Purim Photos?

Here is the only picture I have from Purim this year. I know some wonderful photographers from our community took pictures at AY, and I would love to have copies of them.

Here are a few pictures from the last month:

Eric and Eliana in their black hats

Big yawns from Eliana as she shows off an outfit from her Aunt Brandi

Those cheeks are definitely filling out

Eric attempting to give Eliana her first bottle.

Here are a few pictures from the Blake and Simon Christmas weeks.

Eric leading the Blake family in Christmas carols - a first for the Blakes.

The girls.

Eliana under the Simon Christmas tree - our very own Christmas present.

A proud Aunt Brandi.

A mischievous but loving Uncle Ruble.

Eliana couldn't take her eyes off her Nana.

Eliana's Opa - the baby whisperer.

The whole family (minus Bono, Norman, and Frankie).

She's here! Eliana Joy arrived at 12:46 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11. The labor was long, but we did it. Praise the L-rd! Eric was an amazing coach, helping me through each contraction and encouraging me that we could do it. We also had great support from Cami, our doula, a fantastic nurse named Lisanne, and both grandmas. It was truly a group effort, and I couldn't have done it without them.

Here's a good Simon family photo, especially since we hadn't slept all night.

And this is our favorite picture so far of Eliana. Isn't she adorable?

We seem to be adjusting to life pretty well, especially considering these last few weeks have included Eric completely changing roles at work and packing for our move to my parents'. Never a dull moment.

I think my favorite part of adding Eliana to our family has been watching how much Eric loves her. It makes me love him even more. He's the greatest papa (accent on the second syllable) ever.

More Belly Photos

As one of the many gifts that my sisters-in-law keep giving me, we received a maternity photo shoot from Lauren. She did a great job, in our humble opinion, and you can see the whole collection here.

Intense Eric

Since there wasn't enough going on in our lives right now to keep him challenged, Eric has decided to get his master's degree from the American Institute of Holy Land Studies. He's actually in the middle of an intensive week of classes right now, covering 5 classes in 6 days. To enroll in the program, he had to submit a picture of himself. He selected a different photo to send the school, but this is my personal favorite. It's just called "Intense Eric" for now, although it seems deserving of something cooler, more along the lines of Blue Steel. Suggestions are welcome.