Change Isn't All Bad

This morning was Eli's first day in his new classroom at daycare. There are three rooms with 1-2 year olds. I think each room has around 10-12 kids in it, and Eli will have two teachers now instead of three. There are already two other boys named Eli in this class which will probably be a bit confusing at first (we didn't know that when we picked this room)! The other two boys are a bit older so they will probably only be in the room for a few more months. Eli had half days in this class last week to help get him adjusted, but I was still really nervous about how he was going to do today.

 He sure was in a good mood when I went into his room to get him this morning!

Eli adjusts very well to new things. In the past few months we have switched him from sleeping in a sleep sack to sleeping with a blanket, from baby food to table food, and completely off his bottles to sippy cups. He took each change like a champ so I really shouldn't have been as worried about today as I was. I just didn't want him to be sad missing his other teachers. :( I got him all ready and we gathered up his supplies for his new room. I bought him a new bigger blanket for his cot that has Thomas the Train on it and is so cute and soft!

When we arrived at daycare and I opened the door to his new room, Eli immediately saw James, one of his friends, and walked straight over to greet him. The teachers were getting all the kids to sit in their chairs at the table for breakfast and Eli took a seat by James. He looked at me, smiled, waved bye, and never looked back. That is when the tears began to well up in my eyes. I knew he was going to be just fine. :)

After I left Eli, I went to his old room to visit with his teachers and take them a gift to show our appreciation for how well they have loved on Eli over the past year. I made these sweet gifts last night that had a cute rhyme and a picture of Eli. Behind these bookmarks in the bag were gift cards for Target. Who doesn't love a gift card to Target! The supplies I used were all left over from Eli's party which worked out great. :)

His teachers LOVED these and we all got tears in our eyes talking about our sweet Eli this morning. They are already asking if Baby #2 is going to be in their room when that time comes. :) 

Bye-Bye First Trimester

I am 13 weeks this week! For a medical mind, second trimester is a great place to get to because your risk of miscarriage is so much lower than in the first trimester. :) Of course I always find other things to worry about, but I continually try to trust God more and worry less.

The last two weeks have been very different this time around. Instead of the nausea and gagging disappearing, they have become a little worse. I really don't get sick much, but I have such a sensitive gag reflex to lots of smells and tastes. I really feel pretty good otherwise! I had Marc take this quick picture of me tonight after dinner. I wanted to compare it to week 13 with Eli so I added that one below. However, I think my current belly looks most like Week 19 with Eli!!!

I have my next OB appt. a week from this Friday. Then the appt. after that we should find out the sex of the baby and we can't wait!!!

Eli is ONE!

We had a fun weekend celebrating Eli's first birthday! It was busy from start to finish and Eli loved every minute of it. I spent most of Friday getting the house decorated and getting the food together. I had a baby shower to attend the afternoon of Eli's party so I knew if I wanted to go I had to have everything all situated ahead of time. I made this sign for Eli last week and thought it turned out cute. Marc helped hang it since he didn't like seeing his pregnant wife standing on her tiptoes on the dining room table attempting to hang it by herself. :)

Eli had been playing with these two blow-up monkeys I ordered for a few weeks and we had been practicing monkey sounds. I think he was really sad when I hung them up so high where he couldn't reach them anymore!

I put together all of Eli's monthly pictures on our bulletin board for everyone to see and it looked really cute. These pictures got really hard in the last couple of months because Eli just wanted to play with the sign! We will have to come up with a different idea for the next one. :)

We were so glad that the weather worked for us to have a cookout as planned, and the guys enjoyed some yards games like ladder ball and washers before dinner. We had lots of yummy food and some delicious cake from Rick's Bakery in Arkansas. I have felt a little nauseated today, and I think part of the issue is all the food I stuffed myself with this weekend (I am typing this as I just finished some leftover banana pudding. Ha!)! Here are some more pictures of our fun. (Eli had a big bruise on his head for all of these pictures. That is probably what his pictures for the next year are going to look like!)

Eli playing with his two granddads.

Eli's cakes

Give me some of that cake mom!

First taste...

Oh, my this is good!

Us with my family

Us with the grandparents

Jamie, Marc, and Eli

The Monkey Munch party favors

At dinner tonight Marc was talking about our weekend and what wonderful families we both have been blessed with. We are so thankful that you all were able to come and be a part of such a special occasion even though you live many miles away. :) There were many memories that we will cherish forever!

Ultrasound and Party Decorations

I had an ultrasound today called Early Screen which is something new they are doing to check for down syndrome and other trisomy disorders. Everything looked completely normal which is always great news to hear. It was so fun seeing the baby move around on the screen! He/she looks so much more like a person from the last time we took a peek. You could see all the facial features and the arms and legs. We got a few great profile pictures to share with our family this weekend. The technician still couldn't find that other baby in there making my belly get big so fast! I actually haven't gained but a pound or two but this belly is showing for sure. People ask me everywhere when I am due and I am only 12 1/2 weeks. Ha! I do love being pregnant though and look forward to the next few months with this belly (especially when the baby starts moving!). :)

I have been getting ready for Eli's party over the past week or two. I cleaned all last weekend only to find that after our new windows were installed this week I would need to re-clean everything because of all the dust. :) I plan on getting the food together on Friday along with the rest of the decorations. We are doing a monkey theme party with teal, yellow, and brown for the colors. My mom found these cute plates in a magazine and I had his invitaiton designed based on them. She also had a cake made at a local bakery in Arkansas that is going to match everything else!

It is going to be great fun having both of our families in town to celebrate with us along with some of our friends. Marc's family is coming from Illinois and Texas and mine are coming up from Arkansas. Eli is one very loved little boy. :) I will put up some pictures after the party. Have a great weekend!