One Month!

We have made it through our first month as new parents! We have fallen in love with Elijah more and more each day. I am amazed at how this sweet little boy grew inside of me for nine months and is now here with us. I am even further amazed at how much I can love another person who I have just met.

Eli has been doing really well. He eats about every three hours, has some time awake, and then sleeps. I have nothing to compare it to, but I couldn't ask for much more. Eli loves to sleep, go on walks or ride in the car, nap with daddy, and take baths. We've ventured out a few times, and we always get comments as to how much hair he has. We haven't quite mastered how to best style his hair and sometimes it looks a bit disheveled.

In addition to Eli's beautiful hair, we love his "stretchy" face when he is trying to wake up, seeing him smile in his sleep, and snuggling with him right before he falls asleep. I can't wait to see what the next few months bring as Eli grows and learns new things everyday. I have no doubt that we will continue to fall in love with him more and more!

Eli has been learning new things everyday, but so have Chris and I. Here are a few things I have learned in the past month:

• I have no trouble sleeping when I am tired enough.
• It is amazing the amount of energy that God provides just when I think I have nothing left.
• Although being up in the middle of the night is really hard sometimes, it is all worth it when I see Eli's sweet face.
• It is incredibly important to change diapers quickly.
• Poop can project across a room.
• Chris is an amazing father and husband. He is so encouraging to me and loves his son so much. I love watching them together.

Chris and I are so thankful that God chose to bless us with this sweet little boy. I feel so honored that he chose us to help Eli grow into the man God intended him to be. It's quite daunting thinking of how much influence we will have on his life; however, it makes me want to be the best possible mom to him.

We pray each night for Eli. We pray that God will provide Chris and I with the wisdom and patience needed to raise a little boy, especially one that seeks to know Jesus. We pray that Eli will one day choose to know Jesus and seek to be more like him. We look forward to the time we have with Eli and can't wait to see what month two will bring!

10 Weeks to Go!!

In real-world timing, we only have 10 more weeks to go until we get to meet our new baby boy!  In pregnancy timing, things are starting to feel like they are moving incredibly slow.  I think we've built up so much anticipation that these last few weeks are going to seem much longer than they really are.  But, things will happen as they will happen and he will be here soon enough!  Now, we can feel him shift around at will within me which, regardless of how many times he moves still has an amazing, and very weird feeling to it -- the fact that we are growing another human is something we can't describe with words.  As for us, we are just enjoying feeling him when we can and praying that all continues to go well and he enters this world as a very healthy baby boy.  Here I am at 30 weeks - only 10 more to go!

At home, we are starting to seriously "nest," if you will.  Last weekend was spent doing some major cleaning of closets, the guest room, and the attic.  Although, most of the newly found space in our attic was re-filled with stuff from our closets within minutes.  It's pretty amazing how much stuff we've accumulated.  But, by the end of the weekend we have finally gotten a room together that will serve as a "nursery," as well as a guest bedroom.  We were able to keep the guest bed in the room (which you can't see below) as a place for people to sleep when they visit.  We almost did away with the bed, but now are glad that we decided to keep it.  Things are coming together..............

It's Getting Closer!

Well, we are still a few months out, but it is starting to become a reality that we will be bringing home a baby sometime soon.  For a while, we would think "We're pregnant!"  Now, we are starting to think about all of the things we are going to need in order to take care of a new baby.  Yes, we will get many of these things over time from different occasions (family, showers, etc.), but of course there are a few things we've decided to knock out early.  First, a new camera was in order -- that was our first big purchase, so now we're ready to become photographers -- now, if we can only learn how to use all of the features and settings that come on it.  Also, we just purchased our crib!  Chris did his share of research and we settled on this one after recommendations from other friends who have the same one.  It's great -- and I had to buy a sheet to cover up the mattress.

Also, here are a few other pictures that we've taken lately.  We recently went to a wedding for two of our good friends......

Also, I feel like my belly is getting HUGE!  And......I know it's only going to get larger.  This is how I looked going to my final presentation for graduate school last week.  I felt the need to wear my business suit -- and then I learned that the coat wouldn't quite button anymore......I wore it anyway.  

26 weeks along.......

Happy Easter!

24 weeks!  We had our last Doctor's appointment last Friday and all is well!  We got to hear our baby's heartbeat again during the appointment.  Apparently he did not like us listening because he gave a good kick right as we were hearing him.  Things are starting to move quicker now, and we are starting to buy new baby clothes and other things. We've also started reorganizing the guest room and our new crib will arrive this week!  

We spent today celebrating Easter Sunday.  Our Easter service was great and we had a delicious lunch with my parents.  The weather is great and we can't wait to spend these days with our new family member.

Getting Ready for Baby...Halfway There.

Chris and I are getting more and more excited the closer it gets to our new addition's arrival. Expecting a boy is something new for my side of the family, so we aren't terribly sure what to expect. We are a little over halfway through the pregnancy...21 weeks. I have a belly that seems to be growing bigger everyday!

Chris is getting excited too, especially as we start to acquire little boy clothes.

This journey will definitely be an adventure for us as we learn how to be parents raising a Godly son. We will learn from the many wonderful families that surround us, especially our own!