Advent Update: Week 1

We made it through our first week of advent! At the start of the week the tot didn't want much to do with any of it, preferring to play with babies rather than paying any attention to the calendar, but after she realized that it meant doing fun stuff and eating treats she was all about it!

Please disregard my child's wild hair and messy clothes in these photos. Girlfriend plays hard all day at daycare and a change of clothes isn't necessary for the 2 hours she spends at home before we throw her in the tub each night. This is real life folks - it's not always pretty. ;c )

The first day of advent called for one of Taylor's favorite activities - coloring Christmas pages for the grandparents. She went straight to work but soon was distracted by her other toys, so this activity ended up being a week long event. She would color for a few minutes each night and then wander off to do something else, so hopefully you get your pictures before Christmas!

Day 2's activity was to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" on TV; however, when I flipped to ABC at 7:00 PM I soon discovered that the TV guide Google led me to was incorrect. So, I did the next best thing, I hopped on Amazon and had the movie purchased and playing before the tot knew any different. When in doubt, throw money at the problem. ;c )

She is currently obsessed with all things 'Noopy so I knew this would be a hit. If you recall, we read the story last year so I was excited for her to see the animated version this year and clearly she was into it.

Day 3's activity was to read a new Christmas book since reading continues to be one of her favorite activities. It isn't uncommon for her to come home at night, strip off her coat and boots, and curl up in bed with a cup of juice and a few good books. I'm always on the hunt for something new, so I was pretty excited when I found a couple of cute Christmas stories at Marshall's on Black Friday. Spoiler alert: you'll likely see this activity reappear later in the month.

Since December 1 fell on a Tuesday this year, that meant that Day 4 was on Friday (hallelujah!) and Friday nights in our house always call for popcorn and a movie - advent is no exception! In keeping with the Christmas theme, I chose "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" for our Friday night flick. We made a girl's night out of it by painting our nails red and dancing around to Christmas music before we started the movie. Have I mentioned how much I love this age?

Day 5's activity was to visit Santa and have lunch with Daddy. Jake has been working a lot lately and Taylor has made it very clear that she misses her play time with him, so it was no surprise to see her jumping up and down when I told her that Daddy would be joining us for Saturday's activities. She instantly put on her boots and his hat and headed for the door. When I asked her where she was going, she responded, "I go to work like Daddy." Melt my heart, kid.

When we arrived at Bass Pro to see Santa, Taylor was so excited! She told us she was going to ask Santa for "presents" (how specific) and she couldn't wait to sit on his lap, but when it was our turn to actually go up and meet him she froze and refused to let go of Jake which resulted in another awkward family photo with Santa. Oh well, maybe next year.

The festivities continue as we roll into Week 2. Stay tuned for this week's recap!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

After a lovely Thanksgiving, a little Black Friday (and Saturday) shopping, and some much-needed family time, we decided to drag out the Christmas decorations and get to work filling our house with holiday cheer. Since the weather was cold and rainy, Jake decided to skip putting up Christmas lights this year and opted to help me put up our 9' tree in the living room instead. And thank the Lord, because I have no idea how my pregnant self would've done it without him. After assembling the big tree, we put Taylor's little tree in her room. I learned my lesson about putting ornaments on her tree last year, so we decided that lights and a star topper were enough and, of course, she loved it just the same. Sometimes simplicity really is best.

Later that evening after we put Taylor to bed, Jake and I hung the advent calendar. After all of our advent fun last year, I couldn't wait to do it again this year! I must admit that most of this year's activities aren't near as time consuming or strenuous as last year's, but I certainly don't want my lack of time or energy to hinder the tot's holiday experience. Tis the season for giving after all!

This year, we decided to hang the calendar on the far wall of our kitchen right next to Taylor's dry erase board, a place she is certain to visit every day. For those of you searching for a practical yet fun gift for your little ones, this easel is one of Taylor's favorite gifts ever. It has a dry erase board on one side, chalkboard on the other, and it also holds a paper roll which is perfect for crayon and marker drawings. It retails for like $15 at Ikea making it a cheap and useful toy that your little ones are sure to love!

We're already 4 days in to our advent fun, and I can't wait to share our first week's activities with you soon. I'd love to hear what traditions your families do and maybe add on to ours over the years to come. I plan on incorporating more activities geared toward the true meaning of Christmas as the tot gets older, but for now she's still too young to understand (or really care).

I should note that we also have an Elf on the Shelf, but Taylor could care less about him so he is perched on our fireplace and will likely remain there until Christmas is over. Hopefully, we'll start that tradition next year, but for now the advent calendar will have to do. Besides, we all know that I'll never remember to move that thing every night anyhow.

Happy holidays, everyone!

2015 Family Photos

...also known as our maternity shoot for Baby Boy Eldredge and Taylor's 2 year photos. We definitely got the most bang for our buck this year!

After changing our shoot date multiple times due to the weather and a softball tournament that my husband just had to play in, we landed on the perfect fall day to take family photos. The air was crisp but not too cold, the sun was shining, and the leaves were the most beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red. Our friend/photographer, the lovely Crystal Arellano, picked the perfect spot at a local park hidden in the south part of town that we had never been to before. The combination of the mature trees and aged buildings created the perfect backdrop for the beautiful images that Crystal was able to capture.

You'd never know it by looking at these photos, but this shoot lasted less than half an hour and the tot had a meltdown about 15 minutes in. Fruit snacks and Frozen tunes provided a temporary cure but overall our girl just wasn't having it, her typical feeling about every photo shoot thus far in her lifetime.

I love that we were able to snap a few belly pics to showcase the newest member of our family, even if he is still in development. I can't believe I'll be holding a 6 month old in our family photos this time next year!

And these photos of Taylor giving Jake and I smooches will forever melt my heart. She really is the sweetest little girl, until she isn't. ;c )

As always, I'm extremely happy with how these images turned out. They capture the very essence of our family, silly and playful yet full of love. I highly recommend Crystal for all of your photography  needs. She is wonderful to work with and has the patience of a saint. You can check out Crystal's portfolio here.

These images are property of Crystal Arellano Photography and our family. Please do not copy or distribute these images for personal use. If you are a friend or family member and would like copies, just ask and we will gladly send whatever you like. After all, we do have access to the nation's best printing company at our fingertips!

These Are The Days

Life is a constant whirlwind these days, with Monday through Friday filled with busy work schedules and our weekends filled with errands and what little play time we can squeeze in. Yet I can't help but think that these are the absolute best days of my life. Watching Taylor learn and grow with each passing day, feeling this new miracle tumble around inside of me, and falling more in love with my husband than I ever thought possible makes my heart overflow with happiness. I feel like I don't say it enough, but I am so very appreciative of this life and the abundance of blessings than God has given to our family.

I realize that the blog has been a bit of a snooze fest lately (aside from my weekly bump updates), but it's not for a lack of effort. There are so many posts that I'm longing to write and photos of Taylor that I want to upload and edit, but quite honestly we are just trying to soak up as much quality time together as possible before our house is consumed with dirty diapers, unwashed bottles, and the long, sleepless nights that a newborn is certain to bring. Don't get me wrong, I am anxiously counting down the days until this little one arrives, but I am also a little apprehensive as to how his arrival with affect Taylor and the overall dynamic that currently exists among our family of three.

Change is hard for everyone, but it is especially rough on toddlers. While our girl is pretty adaptable, I know that shifting our focus solely from her to her and a newborn is going to have its effects on her. So we have been making every effort to spend lots of one-on-one time with her and really focusing on her transition into a little lady. She is like a sponge these days, constantly repeating everything we say and trying to mimic every action we make. It's amazing what she is capable of picking up, so we always try to be mindful of what we do or say when she is around. Although last week I blurted out "Oh shit!" when I nearly dropped something and my little sidekick promptly repeated the phrase, multiple times.

Nevertheless, seeing all of her old baby items being pulled out of storage and hearing us talk about the new baby has already highlighted a few indications that there is more work to be done. She is quick to let us know that she is our baby and she doesn't plan on sharing anything with her little brother. Like I said, there's work to be done. But I know that as my due date draws closer and the tot gets a little older, she will eventually adapt to these new changes. Personally, I think she is going to be a great big sister, always loving and caring for her babies and asking to help me no matter what I'm doing. She's definitely growing into her independence, constantly telling me, "No, Moppy, I do it," then asking for help five seconds later. Such is life with a toddler though. Patience is key.

But aside from the temper tantrums and asking her to do everything at least 50 times, I love her strong-willed personality oh-so much. She is stubborn and headstrong and so much like me it's scary. One day last week she was in such a foul mood that when I asked her to put on her coat she completely lost her marbles. At the time I wanted to strangle her, but when I was recapping the story for Jake later that evening I couldn't help but laugh at her ridiculousness and empathize with her. Sometimes you're just having a bad day and the last thing you need is someone breathing down your neck about a stupid coat. I get it. A little time to cool off and a few hugs and smooches later and she's back on solid ground laughing and playing.

Parenting has proven to be a non-stop roller coaster, full of ups and downs and more unexpected turns than I could ever imagine, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. In fact, I can't wait to add our second wild child to the mix soon. Another baby means even less sleep and more tantrums to deal with, but it also means more hugs & smooches and double the amount of love that only a parent can feel. I question everything and overthink things way too often, but one thing is certain: even though they are crazy and chaotic, these are the days that I will look back on and remember the most. Even those fork marks etched in my dining room table.