Who does Eli look like?

All parents know that from the moment you find out you have a baby you wonder who they will look like. Will they have my nose, your eyes, and what color will their hair be.

Parents also know that you can rarely pinpoint who they resemble most even when the baby arrives. I know there are exceptions and some parents can tell immediately, but that is not the typical situation.

Eli is technically only a month old and he looks like a different person to me every other day. We all change as we age and that makes the guessing game all the more fun. Here are a few pictures of me and Aaron as babies. You all can put your guesses as to who our precious little Eli will look like.

Aaron...

soon after coming home from the hospital

Me...

at the hospital

soon after the hospital

a little while later...I have no clue how old I am here

Happy 26 Aaron!

My Amazing hubby turned 26 TODAY! His sister and brother-in-law were in town (more pictures and events to follow soon) and that made the day super special. However, tonight Aaron is traveling for work as well as tomorrow so we actually celebrated just the two/three of us at 6:30 this morning!

We started the day with blueberry muffins baking in the oven which makes any day great. However, while they were baking Aaron, myself and our precious boy Eli laid in bed just talking and playing. Eli smiled at his Daddy for the first time while in bed and it made Aaron's whole day! After Eli had eaten (wearing his "I love Daddy" bib) Aaron opened his presents... three bow ties, three dress shirts, Settler's of Catan expansion pack, and a Nike running thing. He loved everything which is sometimes unusual for Aaron as he is pretty particular.

After opening gifts Aaron and I got ready for work and went our separate ways. When Aaron left I started to work on his poster card from Eli and our two year old niece Landry and got Eli dressed in his Superman outfit. (Aaron loves comics and Aaron is Eli's Superman)

As I wrote out his Happy Birthday Haiku and colored in the white space I thought over the last four years we have shared together and of how lucky I am. We don't have a glamorous life, but we have a life filled with unconditional love, laughter, joy, peace, adventure and best of all each other.

To my sweet hubby. You have changed my life forever and I thank God for you every single day. Thank you for choosing to live your life with me. You are the best gift I have ever received. I love you!

Enough of the sappy stuff. (Even thought it is fun) For lunch we went to Tastebuds, our favorite pizza place in Wilmore and just enjoyed our remaining time with Jennifer and John. Like I said Aaron is now on the road traveling so we won't get to spend the evening celebrating but we had a special day regardless.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Family In Town

Aaron's sister Jen, Brother-in-law John, and our god daughter/niece Landry are in town this weekend visiting. It has been so fun spending time and laughing with them. Landry is precious with Eli and loves him so much.

We took Eli out in public for the first time for brunch at Solomon's Porch. Daddy carried him in the Baby Bjorn and he slept the entire time. Aaron is such a sweet daddy and takes perfect care of our baby.

Here are some photos from our day. We started by walking downtown, ate at Solomon's, walked back through campus and then finished our afternoon with our favorite...GiGi's cupcakes!

Flipped

If you are looking for a sweet, wholesome, and entertaining movie that takes you back to falling in love then Flipped is a movie for you. I got it from Red Box a few weeks ago when I was staying up all night with Eli. I had heard good things about it, but nobody I had ever talked to had actually seen it.

Long story short, it is a story of two children meeting and the progression of their relationship. It is shot from both the girl and the boy's perspective so you see both sides. It will certainly make you think of the person you love most and the process that led you to love.

It is a good clean movie and perfect for a date or even just something watch on a rainy, cold, or quiet day.

oh where is my hairbrush

On my way to my hair appointment...

Well I asked you all a couple posts ago what I should do with my hair. The votes came in and I decided to go with an A-line bob. It is shorter and less blunt than I thought it would be, but I think I like it. I look forward to playing with it and making it my own.

On my way home... a little lighter.

Aaron snapped a couple shots while I made dinner.

Tired Thursday

I have hundreds of sleeping pictures. This is just one I snapped last week. Don't worry...we don't let him sleep on his belly other than short naps during the day when we are around and we have stopped that in that last week as well.

I love...

Anything Harry Potter!

Snuggling with Eli on the couch.

Brownies and milk.

Listening to all of Eli's little sounds.

Welcoming Aaron home from work.

A clean house.

All the laundry being finished, folded and put away.

Taking walks around the tiny town of Wilmore while Eli sleeps in his stroller.

Making dinner for Aaron.

Spending time with friends.

Giving Eli a bath.

Reading a good book.

Rocking Eli in his nursery while the sun shines through the window on us.

Family photos scattered around the house reminding me of how much we are loved.

Weight and Size

Just a few random thoughts I'm have this fine Saturday morning. I am sure this week was rough for several woman (and even men) as it is the Spring Break season and I don't really know many people who like wearing swimsuits even if they have what most people would deem a "perfect body". We all find things in ourselves that we just don't like, want to improve, or can't stand to even think about, much less look at.

As swimsuit season nears and the spring season arrives bringing new clothes and excitement, I find myself feeling happy about the changing weather, but dreading the idea of spring and summer clothes. I joke regularly that I should only buy workout clothes until I lose weight. I am beginning to think that isn't too bad of an idea. However, I wonder...do others think the same of me? I am going to guess no, because I don't think this way of others. We are always so critical of ourselves. Weight and pant size is just a number. Yes I want to look good in the eyes of my husband and even in the eyes of others, but the bottom line is I just want to be healthy for my family.

So...I will continue to walk on warm days, eat a more balanced diet, and indulge in a snickers bar here and there, but this spring I commit to at least trying to stop looking at a number on a scale or on my clothes and start focusing on a lifestyle. I have been and always will be curvy. I just don't see that changing so instead of looking at clothes online and feeling overwhelmed, I am going for a walk with my husband and son as soon as we get our morning errands and chores complete.

Here is my encouragement to all women and men if yor reading, focus on the parts of yourself that you like. When I focus on the bad, I just want to give up and that doesn't help me or those around me because I just end up with a bad attitude.

I leave you with this verse to focus on for the week. "The King is enthralled with your beauty. Honor him for He is your Lord." - Psalm 45:11

Isn't that what it is all about.

The Day Date

Sorry I am a little behind in life so I am trying to catch up...

Two weeks ago, Aaron and I went on a day date thanks to some of my beautiful small group girls. They took shifts watching Eli so Aaron and I could go to brunch at Main and Maple and to see the movie the Adjustment Bureau. Below are a few shots from our day.

I love this man very much. It was great to spend the day just reconnecting and chatting about our past, present and our future.

We got the begel (Bacon, Egg, Bagel) and the segel (Sausage, Egg, Bagel)

Our sweet Anna. One of the girls who watches and loves Eli for us.

Eli's First Road Trip

As you know we went to Indiana for my Great-grandma's viewing. It is about a 4 1/2 hour drive and Aaron and I were pretty nervous about what it would be like with a baby. Well Eli was perfect. He slept the entire 4.5 hours there, with the exception of me waking him to eat, but promptly went back to sleep after finishing his meal.

On the way home he slept halfway and then ate. The remaining 2.5 hours he was wide awake and happy as can be. These are a few shots that I got of him looking at his toys from Aunt Emily and looking out the window.

I love this little face.

Favorite Things- Shoedazzle.com

If you have talked to me in the last three months you have heard me talk about Shoedazzle.com! It is awesome! Kim Kardashian started this business and the way it works is that you go online and take a survey so they can customize a showroom for you. They base it on designers you like, shoes, outfits, and accessories that catch your eye, etc. So…it cost $39.95 for anything on the website. You can pick if you want something or not and if you choose to buy nothing that month you just hit “skip that month” by the 5^th and you aren’t charged anything. It arrives within a week and the packaging is adorable. Also, if you don’t like what you bought when it arrives or it doesn’t fit you can return it with no charge and they even include the return slip so it is super easy.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to see fun accessories and build up their professional shoes at pretty minimal cost. If you are interested please send me your email and I will send you an invitation. Seriously, you can’t go wrong with this site. I have gotten 2 pairs of shoes and a bag and really like everything I have received.

Haircut?

Ok…I need everyone’s vote. I have a hair appointment next week and I am not sure what I want to do. I have been saying for over a year I want an A-line bob, but I love bangs as well.

So, should I get bangs, an long A-Line bob or just trim my hair? Please see pictures below and let me know what you think. I don't have any of a short bob pics because I have never done it before, but i do have several bang shots. Maybe...I can do both, but I need everyone's help deciding.

Just a bob!

A long bob with bangs...a combo of both.

The bangs I had back in 2007 when I met Aaron.

Eli's Hernia Surgery

As you probably know, Eli had hernia surgery on Monday. He has had hernias for months due to his premature birth. Basically his little body was not supposed to be digesting food yet when he was born, so as they began to give him food his little intestines became larger than his little body was ready for. So, for months his intestine would sag into his scrotum. This obviously caused Eli discomfort and we were glad to finally have this fixed for him. The surgeon told us that not only Eli’s intestines, but also his appendix had sagged down into his scrotum. Awful.

So, he passed with flying colors. We couldn't feed him after 2 am but he hardly fussed at all. He was so calm and content. He came out of surgery and shook off the anesthesia really quick. What a champ. We are so glad to finally have him home and for him to be, at this point, more or less a normal newborn baby.

Something I didn’t expect was how good Eli looked when we took him in to the NICU pre-surgery. He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz, which was bigger than we expected. We were so happy he was gaining good weight. When he was lying in that NICU bed, he just looked so good. At home, we gradually, day by day, watch him grow. Seeing him in the NICU bed really put in to perspective how much he has grown these last five weeks. He looked so big, his skin looked so smooth and almost bright. He just looked like a sweet healthy baby.

Day of delivery compared to day of surgery. (December 2nd - March 14th)

Great Grandma Freeder

My Great-grandma passed away last Wednesday. Many people have sent their sympathies and I appreciate it so much, but you can’t be too sad when she lived such a great life. She was an incredible woman. Her actual name was Alfreda Mossburg (my mom is named for her, Alfreda Janelle Mossburg) and we all grew up calling her grandma Freda until my younger cousin Zayne started caller her Grandma Freeder. That is now what she will always be remember as for me.

She kept a journal for the first 50 years of her marriage. Not every day, but every Christmas she would sit down and write her thoughts of the year. She lived through both World Wars, the Great Depression and raised four amazing children.

My second cousin Joni pushed grandma to have the journals published. So a couple years ago Joni got it all together and now we all have a book by Grandma. It has all her journals, some other stories and lots of her poetry. I read through it last year and I am so glad I did. Grandma was such a feisty woman. She was full of spunk and zeal. At the end of the day what mattered most to her was family and caring for those around her. This world is a better place because of her 100 years.

She left 4 children, 11 grand kids, around 25 great-grand kids (I lost count), and one precious great-great grandson Eli. We did not get a five-generation picture but I will always know that he came from an amazing line of good, hardworking and loving people.

At the end of my life I hope that I can say I stood for the same things she did. We were not able to attend the funeral because Eli had hernia surgery at the same time here in Kentucky, but we did make it to the viewing. As I looked around the room on Sunday during her viewing I was overwhelmed by the happiness in the room. She loved to laugh and tell as well as hear good stories. She had lots of funny stories...making dandelion wine, smoking a single cigarette a day, watching two of her sons go to war and return home. The list goes on and on. I just hope at the end of my life people think of me as fondly and as happily as I do her. I wish to put a smile on the face of others, live loving others more than myself, serve my creator and be happily married to my husband for a lifetime.

These pictures are from Grandma's 97th birthday.

The Painting

This is my attempt to recreate the painting I saw at Hobby Lobby.

This is the original painting...

Initial Sketch

A work in progress...

The finished product.

Hanging in his room!

The Nursery is Finished!!!!

I completed the nursery today! Here are a handful of pictures to show you the completed work.

Prints I got at a consignment sale for $15.00.

I made the frame matting as well with dad and mom sayings.

Aaron and dad built this shelf. It is perfect for all his toys and books in the future. It is so special to have it in his room.

The dresser is mine from childhood and I repainted it. The glider is from my dad and we got the cushions recovered.

These are the things I made myself for the nursery! I worked really hard, saved lots of money and I am actually pretty happy with how it all turned out.

The painting I mimicked from Hobby Lobby.

These were plain wood letters that I covered with paper.

Happy sleeping to baby Eli in his nursery. There is so much love in this room.