Taylor's 2nd Birthday

After spending entirely too much time and money on Taylor's first birthday party (go big or go home, right?), I decided that this year was going to be less about everyone else and more about what she wanted. And right now, there are two things that Taylor absolutely loves: Mickey Mouse and playing outside. So when I found out that Disney on Ice would be in St. Louis the weekend of her birthday, I couldn't grab tickets fast enough. We invited my mom, sister, nieces, and nephew along for the ride and ended up making an entire day of it. And let me tell you, those two hours of nonstop entertainment made her happier than any party I could've ever thrown her. She was in heaven!

When the show began, she stared in complete disbelief at what was happening before her. Our seats were just five rows from the ice so I'm sure the music, lights, and constant movement were a lot for her to take in, but she sat completely still nearly the entire first half with her eyes glued on the characters.

When the tot wasn't glued to the action, she was busy snacking, of course. She made her way up and down the aisle helping herself to everyone's goodies but spent most of the time devouring Natalie's popcorn. This girl definitely lives life according to her stomach.

After the show, we made sure to stop at one of those over-priced kiosks and grab a stuffed Mickey Mouse for the birthday girl which she fell in love with instantly (and still sleeps with every night). Next, we were our way to the zoo only to find that literally everyone in a five county radius had also decided to go the zoo that day. So, we called a spade a spade and decided to head to the mall instead. The adults shopped, the kids ran wild at the play place, and we made approximately 15 trips to the bathroom. When it was time to head home, Taylor snuggled up in her car seat with Mickey and was out before we even hit the interstate.

The next day was Taylor's actual birthday which meant snuggles and cartoons in bed followed by birthday waffles! Tay's reaction when we lit the candles was absolutely priceless, but she quickly blew them out once she spotted the whipped cream. Before I could even remove the second candle, she was shoveling handfuls of it in her mouth!

Later that afternoon, we celebrated with a small get together at the park with close friends and family. While I had no intention of going to the same extremes I did last year, I couldn't bear the thought of her not having some sort of celebration on her actual birthday. So we hung a few decorations at one of the park pavilions, ordered some pizzas for lunch, and let the kids run wild at the playground for a few hours. She wasn't a huge fan of opening presents (and mostly just sat on the table eating her blue sucker while I opened everything), but her attitude quickly changed when she spotted two new pairs of play shoes and a Minnie Mouse outfit of her very own.

Overall, this girl had a wonderful 2nd birthday. Thank you to everyone for joining in the festivities, showering Taylor with gifts, and reminding us just how loved this little lady is. We are so very fortunate to call her ours! 

18 & 19 Week Update

Size: A tomato (which is fitting because I have eaten my weight in red sauce lately)

Gender: It's a BOY! Time to get rid of all of those totes full of beautiful hair bows and adorable girl clothes and start shopping!

Maternity Clothes: With the weather cooling off, it's strictly leggings and maternity pants from here on out. I still can't wrap my head around how big this belly is already!

Sleep: Sleep is sporadic these days, some nights it's great and others it's an all night struggle. I'm pretty sure it will be this way for the next 5 long months. Long story short, I just never get enough.

Best Moment of the Week(s): Our gender reveal was definitely the highlight of week 18, and cleaning out the nursery was a huge accomplishment this week. Clearing out the soon-to-be-nursery was an overwhelming task since it was basically just a catch all for everything in our house that didn't really belong in another room (think guest room/office/sewing room combined), but I'm so glad the space is finally empty so we can start focusing on decor!

Miss Anything: We tailgated with friends this weekend in honor of Mizzou's homecoming and watching everyone drink tasty beverages was definitely a bummer. I'm this close to buying a case of pumpkin beer and stashing it away until spring.

Movement: This little guy has become very active lately! It's still too early to feel movement from the outside, but I know that it won't be long because his kicks are getting stronger by the day.

Cravings: My sweet tooth is finally back in action. And just in time for Halloween candy...

Sickness: We all managed to survive our first round of sickness of the season, and I'm fairly certain it won't be our last. Other than my germ-induced illness, I've felt pretty good lately.

Looking Forward To: Our 20 week ultrasound next week. I can't wait to see our little guy on the big screen! Debating taking Taylor to the appointment so she can see the baby and maybe understand a little more about what's really going on. Any thoughts/suggestions on that topic?

And last week's photo because I just couldn't get my life together enough to get it posted until now. We all battled a 24 hour stomach bug and I had an intense week at work which left me too exhausted at night to barely cook dinner let alone blog. Life gave me a swift kick in the ass last week, so I'm really glad to see it go. Ah, motherhood.

Gender Reveal

Time to start shopping for grays and blues, because Baby Eldredge is a BOY! That's right, we'll be leveling out the playing fields in the Eldredge household come March. Jake is over the moon excited (even though Taylor is as tomboy as they come), and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole thing. I was absolutely certain that this little babe was another girl, but I was also certain that Taylor was going to be a boy so apparently I'm 0-2.

Regardless of our predictions, we just hope our little guy is happy and healthy. We can't wait to see him up close at our 20 week ultrasound at the end of this month. Until then, we'll be teaching Taylor how to say "brother" rather than "seester" and getting to work on the nursery!

We hope you enjoyed the reveal as much as we did! There were definitely a lot of emotions (and wagers) swirling around the room. A special thanks to Jake's mom for being the sole keeper of the baby's gender and putting together the sweetest (yet deceptive) package for us to open. And a big thank you to my mom and dad for hosting a little get together at their house so that we could all be together for the big reveal. This baby is already so loved, and we can't wait to welcome him into our amazing family in just 5 short months!

17 Week Update

Size: A turnip

Gender: Our gender reveal package is sitting on the kitchen island and taunts me every time I walk by it. Talk about torture - the anticipation is killing me! Thankfully, the wait is almost over, because we'll be unwrapping that bad boy in less than 48 hours!

Maternity Clothes: I finally got around to digging my tote of maternity clothes out of storage, and I forgot how much stuff I actually purchased last time! And I took full advantage of my built in babysitters at the mall this weekend and snuck off to H&M where I bought a few tops and a pair of maternity skinny jeans. The process of putting on maternity skinny jeans is quite interesting, but once they're on they're actually pretty comfortable! I'm looking forward to wearing something other than leggings on the weekends!

Sleep: Jake bought me a Snoogle for my birthday and sleep has been mostly better ever since. Some nights I get tangled up in the thing and end up throwing it on the floor, but other nights I sleep like a dream on it. I still have to get up for potty breaks at least 3 times a night but I find myself falling back to sleep much quicker when I have something to snuggle up to. And can we talk about these crazy pregnancy dreams? It's like every single person from my childhood has made a guest appearance lately in a cave or space ship or somewhere equally random.

Best Moment This Week: Celebrating birthdays - I turned 31 and big sister turned 2! We had such a great weekend, and I can't wait to share details with you soon!

Miss Anything: I feel like "sleep" is going to be the answer from here on out. I also really miss turkey sandwiches. And pumpkin beer. And the majority of my wardrobe.

Movement: I felt the first flutters of movement this past weekend - and on Taylor's birthday to boot! The three of us were laying in bed watching cartoons when out of nowhere I felt a burst of flutters in my belly. I was over the moon happy and Jake was slightly jealous. Don't worry honey, those giant kicks and elbow jabs will be here before we know it!

Cravings: Just everything, all the time. Last night's snack consisted of leftover cookies from Taylor's daycare party and a giant dill pickle, and I'm pretty sure I'll need to hook myself up to an IV of OJ before the end of this pregnancy. I just can't get enough!

Sickness: Occasional heartburn but that's nothing new. Feeling pretty good in this department!

Looking Forward To: Finding out the gender this weekend. We were excited with Taylor, but we are literally busting at the seams, dying to know with baby no. 2! Also looking forward to some pumpkin patching with the tot and her cousins this weekend. I absolutely love watching them in action, and I can't wait until there's a 6th to add to the mix soon!