26 & 27 Week Update

With the holidays quickly approaching and my better half working 16 hour days, I feel pretty confident announcing that the bi-weekly updates are here to stay. Perhaps I'll go back to posting every week after things calm down in the new year, but with Jake traveling for work in January and lots of baby prep left to do it's pretty unlikely. I know I've said it before, but it feels like this pregnancy has flown by. I can't believe I'll be entering the third trimester next week and welcoming this baby into the world in less than 90 days!

Size: A cucumber. Baby boy is now 15" long and weighs approximately 2.2 pounds.

Gender: Boy

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes, and I've even added a few more basics to my wardrobe to get me through the next 3 months. It may not look it, but this belly is growing faster than I can keep up!

Sleep: Single parenting + 2 year molars + Taylor's cold that won't end has made for little sleep and a long couple of weeks. Thankfully, Tay has finished her antibiotic and seems to be feeling better which makes me hopeful that naps may actually happen this weekend. Fingers crossed!

Best Moment of the Week(s): Enjoying our advent activities and having lunch with Jake both days last weekend, which was completely unexpected. I'm not sure who enjoyed seeing him more - myself or the tot!

Miss Anything: Not really. I could always use more sleep but otherwise I'm feeling good. It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Movement: Our little guy is active all the time which makes me anxious to see how he'll be outside of the womb. I'm certain he has long, dangling limbs just like his dad!

Cravings: Cupcakes, cookies, chocolates - sweets of any kind, really. There is no shortage of treats this time of year, and I am taking full advantage. My glucose test is next week, so I try to throw a few salads and some veggies in whenever possible. Gotta have that balance!

Sickness: Taylor is finally recuperating from her 3 week illness just in time for Jake to come down with it. Luckily, I haven't had any symptoms other than a stuffy nose (which could totally be pregnancy-related). I'm knocking on all the wood and praying that I stay healthy until the end of rush. The last thing our family needs is for me to get sick.

Looking Forward To: The weekend! My parents, sister, and niece are coming to visit so that we can celebrate my mom and niece's birthdays. So excited to do some shopping, go out for a nice dinner, and spend some time with family. I'm also getting extremely nervous/excited for our baby boy's arrival. The reality of holding a newborn in my arms again is growing closer with each passing day, and it makes me so excited to meet our new bundle and finally see his sweet face. While a part of me doesn't want this pregnancy to end (since it will likely be my last), I cannot wait to add this little boy to our family!

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!