18 weeks!

I am 18 weeks pregnant with baby #2! :) 

I finally started feeling some hello taps, and I cannot wait for that to pick up!  David has also been able to feel it the past two nights, which is so special for him.  

-I haven't really had any cravings (and I never had them with Eli either!) 

-Weight gain is minimal (3-4 pounds I think..but I know it will quickly pick up soon!) 

-Morning sickness only happens when I wait too long to eat breakfast (with Eli I was having it every day until 23 weeks!)

-We find out on September 5th what we are having.

-I can NOT to find out and will be over the moon with either a boy or a girl!

..that's all the questions people ask right?  Well, I guess no one REALLY asks about weight ;)

Sieze the day.

There's a whole world out there for us to explore today sweet boy.

But..can we stay just like this for a little while longer?

Life as of late

Started a small group of just a handful of babies + mommies to get together once a week! So excited for these littles to grow together.  This is jus a few of the cuties! 

Bathing has become a little harder because all he wants to do is STAND!

Facetime with Daddy at work..Eli's favorite!  He will grab his phone and say, "dada, dada?"

First time with playdoh! He loved it! My OCD self could only let him play with one color at a time..

Naked water play outside!

..and then he pooped..

 THIS is what happens when I don't blowdry or straighten my hair! Kinda diggin it.

His favorite thing to do in the house..the stairs! Never gets tired of going up.

The dreaded "T" word..

When Eli was just a few days old, an earthquake shook Virginia up --and at a few weeks old there was a hurricane that left us without power for days.  I had thought we were okay in the natural disaster area, and I was completely fine not encountering any more.  Yesterday, I guess it was decided that we had waited long enough and we were due for another. 

It really wasn't that bad, but when David called to say the gym had taken everyone into a small room and maybe I should do the same with our zoo, I got nervous!  Tornados make me squeamish!   Woke Eli up from his nap and he & the two dogs & I go into our bathroom, which is really the only room we have without windows on the first floor. 

What a crazy storm is was!  But thankfully there was no tornado.   The power had even gone out for about 20 minutes..which was not so much fun..but thankfully the iPhone has a "flashlight" app which is perfect for such situations.

Eli was in heaven, as you can see by the picture.  He learned that if he pulls that little thing down that it makes a fun noise..so he did that when he wasn't pulling the toilet paper off the handle. 

Believe it or not, Sadie is behind Eli in the corner..she had the least fun out of everyone-- especially because she had to be so close to Emma. 

Standing..!!

Eli seemed to reach every milestone well before he was supposed to - until it came to standing on his own & walking!  He has been doing both with support for a while (and let me tell you how FAST he could walk with his toy!) but whenever he caught himself standing by himself, he'd quickly grab on to something or sit down.  We knew it would only be a matter of time but we were super eager for him to reach this milestone..and we're super proud to announce that he's currently working on mastering both! Give it a few weeks and he will be walking all over..and then running.. and then remind me that I was so eager for him to do this!

Learning "no" the hard way.

While I am sure it is mainly his age, I have to laugh a little when I consider that I may have a child JUST like myself.  When I was a kid if I wanted to do something- it was done.  I am already seeing Eli's strong-willed nature.  And he is in love with our TV.  Specifically, making it rock back and forth.  I only have to direct his attention elsewhere 109348x a day.  Today he was particularly interested in it and we had our first 'timeout' -- David was home and snapped this picture and it makes me laugh! 

Eli's Cake Smash

How did we get here?  I swear yesterday I was holding a brand new baby in the hospital trying to stay awake so I could catch his every second of life.  He got the hiccups shortly after birth and they were the sweetest..he had been having them 3 times a day in my belly for weeks.

Looking back at pictures of the first few minutes, hours, days, weeks, and then months– is hard for a Momma.  You want your babies to go and experience the world, but each time they accomplish something new it’s very bittersweet.  I know in the blink of an eye I will be looking back at pictures over the years, which seems impossible to accept right now.

I will say that planning his birthday party and cake smash were fun.  Even if I wasn’t excited that at the end I would have a one year old TODDLER.  Although, he will always be my baby.

As I was trying to get Eli to sit still so I could get a few pictures of him before he tore into his cake with his cute little banner I made– he thought the purpose was to crawl away as fast as he could.  After about 10 minutes I saw the twizzlers left over from his party and presented him with his first ever.  Clearly he was excited to get it!

And then I thought I could take it away really quick because I didn’t really want him eating it anyways..  and my big idea was to hold it above the camera and he’d smile and be his cute little self.. Wrong!

I will treasure that picture forEVER. love love love.

Now..on to the best part..the cake smash!!

Eli Party { Part 1

Eli's party was a lot of fun to plan!  I wanted to keep things fairly simple and have one central station that I decorated.  I knew we would be spending a lot of time outside with the water activities we planned, so I didn't want to go all out on the inside decor.  

I hired a fellow photographer to come and capture the day for us, so I really didn't take many pictures at all..just snapped a few with my iPhone! 

Celebrating FOUR Years!

Four years ago today, two became one.  David has been there every step of the way. He is such a great provider, husband, father, and person and I couldn't imagine having anyone else in my bed every night.

When we met that first day-- I knew there was something different about him.  I wouldn't say it was love at first sight but I'm pretty sure I knew I was looking at my future husband.  Three months later we got married in a very unconventional way and if I could go back I would only change the guest list not the way it happened.  

I couldn't imagine anyone else putting up with me, or him ;) Marriage isn't always easy, but it's 100% worth it..especially when you have someone this cute beside you.