Busy, busy, busy!

Eloise at Thanksgiving

Okay, before everyone has a freak attack, this is NOT Eric posting :) It's still me, but we are trying to post using his username so we can see if its easy to post pictures from our Picasa album. Unfortunately, when we created our blog and our Picasa page, we didn't think about the fact that we may want to use them simultaneously, so we each created our own. What.A.Mess! Really, its not that bad, just makes adding pictures take a little extra time! No worries!

Now for the goodies! I have a surprise for everyone.....we have been BUSY! Surprised? Well, you would think that with a Thanksgiving break, a personal day, two snowdays, AND a 1 hr late start over the last three weeks that I would have had time to post, BUT, not so much! Sorry ya'll! Anywho, since my last post (which was what? a year ago?) Eloise has turned 5 months old AND 6 months old, and is only a mere couple weeks away from turning 7 months old! My how time flies! At her last doctors appointment, she got a few more shots, but as usual she was a trooper! She did have a little cold that the doctor gave us some tasty amoxicillan and a grape flavored anti-histamine for. She weighed almost 14 lbs. (13 lbs and 15 oz. to be exact), she's stretched out in length a little, and her head circumference was in the 75th percentile. Dr. Burton was very pleased with how well she is doing. We love Dr. Burton :)

Eloise is in her phase 2 baby food and is doing fantastic with it! She loves her fruit and her orange veggies. I have to toot my own horn a bit, I have been making her veggies homemade since Thanksgiving! I have made green beans, peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes. I have some corn to mix in with the sweet potatoes once we get back in January and I have some squash to make for her too. Its really pretty easy and WAAAAY more convenient than buying ALL of her food at the store. Now the fruit, I leave up to Gerber. I can make it easy enough, but keeping it fresh is the tricky part, so I have decided to let that go for now.

We have made the trek back to Iowa for Thanksgiving break and are (as I type) making the trek again for our Christmas break! Thanksgiving was great! Eloise wore her little turkey-day bib, ate sweet potatoes, and snuggled with her grandparents, uncle and aunt, and great-grandparents. She even got to see Chad and Tash, Ryan and Sarah, Fox, Cripe and Alyssa, and all of Tash and Chad's friends at Chad's 30th B-day bash! Eloise is quite the party girl...she hung out with the girls and fell asleep :) She and Izzy really did well on the trip up and back. Of course they both get a little antsy every so often, but all in all, do a great job! Izzy lays by her little sissy and rests her chin on Eloise's carseat. Today, she helped Eloise clean off her hand that had a little food on it still from lunch ;)

We are super excited for Eloise to see and feel snow for the first time over break and we will be taking lots of pictures while we are home. Look for more pics soon after we get back in January. I can't promise anything, but I will try! :) Here are some pics of our last couple months...Enjoy!

6 months old

Eloise and Izzy


5 months old

Welcome Fall!!

Good morning everyone!  I know it has been awhile once again, but I promise, I am doing the best I can!!  Blog updates are not exactly at the top of the "to do" list! :)  However, I am at the end of my fall break and we have been taking pictures of both our girls like crazy lately!  Eric brought home a fancy camera from work and has been practicing his photographer skills on Izzy and Eloise.  The pictures have been turning out really great!  Before I post any pictures though, let me update you on our "happenings" of late! 

At the end of September, my mom and dad came down to visit for a long weekend and we had so much fun!  We had lots of good food (as always) and mom and dad got to spend some time with Eloise!  Dad even got to solo-sit for Eloise while Eric went for a run and Mom and I got pedicures!  He did a great job and he even got to experience one of Eloise's "firsts" - her laughing!!  Lets just say, she hasn't stopped laughing and smiling yet!  We are still working on her rolling over, which she also almost did during their visit, but hasn't gotten it QUITE yet...(at least, not that I have seen with my own two eyes)! She is sitting up with support and is getting stronger everyday. 

Eloise and Izzy are bonding more and more everyday.  This week, they even played ball together!  Eloise was laying on the floor and had her little hand on Izzy's ball.  Unlike when we are playing with her, Izzy sat and waited patiently for Eloise to let it go before she stole it back.  It was SO SWEET!!  Eloise loves to pet Iz and Iz loves to give Eloise kissies!  She kisses her head, face, feet, hands, ears....

Eloise is also eating rice/oatmeal cereal three times a day now, and as she gets used to that, we'll start some other tasty things too!  Of course, we are still wearing quite a bit of our cereal, but we are eating more and more everyday!  I think she really likes it!  Come Thanksgiving, she'll be ready for some turkey!  j/k! :)  Other than eating, rolling over, and sitting up, she is talking up.a.storm!  I wonder where she gets that from.... wink wink! 

Other than that, Eric and I have been busy, but most of our busy-ness revolves around Eloise.  But, I have been busy with school and Eric has traveled a little bit.  He actually went to Bettendorf for a conference hosted by John Deere at the beginning of the month.  He was able to see his parents, my parents, and get over to Chad's house to hang with him, Tash, and Jackson.  He had a good trip, but he said that it was very strange to be a tourist in his hometown!  Eventhough I think we have been busy over the last month, I know that the next two months will be CRAZY with the holidays, Eloise's baptism, Kelli's graduation, and the everyday things that fill up our weeks! 

Well, enough of my chatter...here are some pics! 

Mom and Eloise - Sept. 2010

Dad and Eloise watching football - Sept 2010

Eloise and Izzy - Oct. 2010

Elosie 4 months - Oct. 2010

What.A.Face.

We went to the Pumpkin Patch!!  - Oct. 2010

We're Alive, I promise!!

I know, I know..its been awhile!  We have had A LOT going on around here, blogging definately took a backseat!  School is officially underway, in fact, I have been back for almost 3 weeks and I have had kiddos for almost 2 1/2 weeks!  It's crazy to think we are almost through August, of course, when you are running around all day, everyday without a whole lot "whew" time, time is bound to fly by.  Don't get me wrong, I am NOT complaining!  We have had a great start to the year.  Izzy (with the exception of this week) is on a 2 days/week doggy daycare visit, Eloise has mastered her routine at home and at day care (at least for now, knock on wood), and Eric and I have settled into our routine. 

A day in the life of our household starts at 5 a.m. with me pumping and Eric getting ready for his day.  Once I am done, I get ready, and he gets Izzy all set up.  That gets us til about 6 a.m. at which time we quietly sneak Eloise out of bed and into her car seat so we can drive to school.  Once we get there, I get a few things set up in my room while Eric changes Eloise's diaper and dresses her for the day.  Then at 7, I feed her while Eric does a few other things in my classroom to help me get ready for the day.  At about 7:30, he (or I, depending on the day) takes Eloise downstairs to daycare.  Then he goes off to work, I get my kiddos for the day.  At my 10:00 planning time, I go down to day care, steal Eloise away, and feed her again.  I may get lucky and have about 10 minutes to get anything done that I need to get ready for the rest of the day.  Once my kids have gone home, I have about 30 minutes to get my room back in order before I head down to pick up Eloise one last time from day care.  I feed her again, and then we hang out until Eric gets off work or I get done in my room.  Usually that gets us home around 6 p.m. (a mere 12 hours since we left the house that morning).  We try to sqeeze in dinner before Eloise eats again at 7, and if we're lucky, she goes to sleep shortly after her feeding and will sleep until we wake her up at 10 for one more feeding and BEDTIME!!! 

I know I am going to regret saying this but I can say (as of now) that she sleeps through the night.  We put her down about 10:30 and she will sleep usually until at least 6 and maybe even until we get to school at 6:30/6:45.  Now, I can't say that much about her furry sister who has decided that it is imperative to wake up around 1 a.m. to bark at the neighborhood.... :)  Even with that little blip at night, we feel so lucky.  We have a happy baby and a good dog who has welcomed the happy baby into her life, plus we have eachother!  Not to mention fabulous family and friends who have taken such great care of us over the last (almost 3)months!!!

Other than sleeping through the night, Eloise has started smiling all.the.time!  She loves to lay in her pack n' play and kick her animals on the mobile.  Shes started grabbing at her Mortimer Moose that hangs on her car seat too! She has some pretty cool toys and rattles that she has taken a liking to as well.  Oh yeah and I cant forget about the baths that she finally started liking a couple weeks ago!! Yay!! :) 

2 months old!

Eloise and her doggie

Happy in my rubber ducky tub!

All clean!

Tummy time

Happy Anniversary!!

So, as a tribute to my hubby and our 5 year anniversary, I thought I would find some pictures of us through the years.  We have had quite a journey, but it has all been worth it!  Happy Anniversary Eric!  I love you!

Pritz Wedding  - August 2004

Our wedding day July 9, 2005

First wedding anniversary - Charleston, S.C.  (July 2006)

@ a Lookouts Game - July 2007

Eloise's Birthday - June 5, 2010

Happy Fourth of July!!

Eloise on the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July everybody!!  We had a great fourth here in the Baker household. Saturday night we (Eric, Eloise, and I) headed downtown for dinner at Mellow Mushroom and fireworks.  It was such a beautiful night, it wasn't too hot, the humidity was just right, and not a cloud in the sky which was prime weather for fireworks!  Eloise was entranced by the big boomers, she just stared and stared AND stared at them as they were going off high in the sky (she did fall asleep before the finale though...)!  On Sunday we stuck around home for fireworks on TV and I must say, it was very enjoyable!  We watched the Macy's fireworks in New York and they were AMAZING!!!  We decided that we could definately spend the 4th in either New York or D.C. sometime. 

Izzy and Eloise at 1 month!

The holiday weekend was nice because Eloise's one month "birthday" was Monday, so Eric got to be home with us.  Not that we did anything special, but it was nice to have him home! I still can't believe that she is actually a month old already!  Yesterday we went to the doctor for her one month check-up and we had some good news!  She weighs 8 lbs. and 4 oz., which means she gained over a pound since we were at the doctor last, and she is 21 1/4 inches long.  Doc says that she is in the 50th percentile for height and head circumference, and in the 25th percentile for weight.  Who knew Eric and I would have a baby that was too skinny?! HA! :) 

Eloise with two of her great-grandparents

The weekend before the holiday weekend, we took a little jaunt up north to Joliet, IL for the "Long Family Reunion".  Grandma Baker's family was having a reunion and we were invited, so we decided it would be a great time to introduce Eloise to her great-grandma and great-grandpa Baker, Aunt Cathy and Uncle Steve.  We had a great time while we were there and got to meet some of Grandma's sisters and their families!  Plus we got our first big roadtrip out of the way with our little Eloise! 

Welcome Home Eloise!

Ok, so here it is 6:00 a.m., I have been up for an hour feeding little miss and am WIDE AWAKE!  So, I apologize in advance if this post isn't the easiest to read or doesn't make sense!  :)  I said in my last post that I would have to do a couple posts to get everyone caught up on where we were in life, so here is Part Deux!

Eloise was born on Saturday, June 5th, and on Monday, we got to go home! Let me tell you, WE. WERE. READY! I was soooo done sitting in the hospital bed like a sicky, not being able to go and do anything, besides the fact that I hadn't felt the summer sun on my face since Friday afternoon.  Those of you who know me well, know that I LOVE me some fresh air!  Just ask my husband, I am the air/heat nazi! :)  Anywho, Monday morning, a lovely nurse came wandering in our room with a checklist of things we needed to have done before we leave the hospital.  Luckily for us, I had already accomplished most of what was on our list :)  So, we got all cleaned up, got our stuff packed up, and prepared to wait for the hospital staff to get around to us.  Bless their hearts, they have just a few things going on at any given time around there, and Monday was BUSY!

Eloise had her first "professional photography" session, and let me tell you, they don't have the boring old hospital pics anymore!  The photographer had a little cart that she pushed around with a computer, printer, bassinet, etc. etc. She set up a little "nest" for Eloise to lay on/sit in for her pictures, and took probably 20 pictures of her!  Then we got to pick any of the poses and put together a picture package!  Pretty crazy huh? It was quite fun, and we learned that Eloise is quite the ham....once again, those of you who know me well, know this apple (so far) is not falling far from the tree :)

Once the photographer left, an audiologist came in to check her hearing (good to go) and her pediatrician came in to check her over (good to go). Once they left, WE were good to go, and headed out!  We got Eloise all packed up in her carseat, put her in the car, and made our long trek home to meet Eloise's big sister!  Let me tell you, Izzy was very happy to see us! Of course, she wasn't too sure about this little "thing" in the car seat, but she didn't pay much attention to her!

Once we got inside, we gave Eloise a little tour of her new home, fed her, and settled in for a relaxing day!  We are so happy to have her home!! :)  Even Izzy is starting to get used to her!

Ready to go home!!

AJ with his two neices!

Sleepin....

Welcome home Sweet Pea!

Welcome to the World!

Ok, ok, ok, SORRY for the delay!  I have been a bit busy over the last 3 weeks!! I will be posting a couple of different posts today or today and tomorrow to get everyone caught up on our new little life!! So, here's the start...

I should start by saying that on Friday, June 4th, all day I was feeling "funny".  I can't really explain it, I wasn't in pain, but I just felt different.  Friday night I was starting to have some contractions that were stronger than what I was used to having, but I went to bed as usual anyway! All night I kept dreaming about going into labor and about 2:30 I woke up thinking my water broke! Mind you, since the false alarm a couple weeks prior to this, I refused to go to the hospital for contractions, so I was WAITING for my water to break, and I swore this was it!! I woke up, rushed to the bathroom, sweetly screamed to my husband that he needed to get up, and then started picking up the house...

While I was picking up and making the bed, Eric was getting last minute things in the car.  I called my mom and dad, gave Izzy kisses and put her in her kennel, and headed on our way to the hospital.  When we got there, we were put in this little room so they could monitor my contractions, check my blood pressure, and all of that fun stuff.  Turns out my water didn't break at the house, they think it was part of my mucus plug, but...they determined I was in early labor, SO they admitted me!

By the time I got to my hospital room, my contractions were coming fairly frequently and consistently and were painful.  We got into our room around 6 in the morning and the doctor said he would be in between 7 and 8 to break my water.  So from 6-8, I got my IV put in, wandered to and from the bathroom, ate a couple popsicles and ice chips, and breathed through my contractions!  Once the doctor came in and broke my water, it was time for me to get my epidural.  My new best friend, the epidural man, came shortly after my water broke and took all the pain away.... :) Once that was taken care of, Eric and I just hung out!  We couldn't really sleep because we were so excited, we just talked, watched TV, and enjoyed each others company.  Our nurse or doctor would come in around every hour or two to check my cervix which was progressing quickly. Around 3 in the afternoon I was 9.5 cm dilated, completely effaced and then I stopped...I stayed at 9.5 cm dilated for another hour and a half! 

At that point the doctor thought that she was too big to fit and that was why my body was not dilating more so he was starting to prepare us for a potential c-section.  Our fabulous nurse, Laura, knew that we really didn't want to have a c-section, so she came in and started having me push with my contractions with the hopes that pushing would open my cervix up to 10 cm.  It worked!!!  After that point, I just remember pushing alot!  I know that the doctor was still very hesitant because Eloise was coming out sideways, he didn't want to risk her health, but her heart rate was awesome throughout most of the delivery!  Once I had pushed enough for her head to get out a little, the doctor used a vacuum to pull her out the rest of the way. They did have to suction her when she came out b/c there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, but then we heard her cry....

7 lbs. 10 oz., 20.75 in. long, born at 6:09 p.m.

And then we were three...

Welcome to the world Miss Eloise Genevieve Baker!!

Friday Fun

As I sit here waiting impatiently for Eloise to arrive, I wanted to remind all of you of one certain someone who is enjoying every minute of the peace and quiet: our little Isabel! In honor of our furry baby and the apple of our eyes, I thought I would post a picture of Izzy and her daddy from a walk that we took last weekend in downtown Chattanooga. As some of you know, Izzy is not the easiest dog to take pictures of (she's a bit of a diva) so this picture is extra special! Enjoy :)

Finished Nursery

39 Weeks and Counting

Hello All!!!  I know its been a couple weeks, we forgot to take pictures last week and I forgot to make a post!  Last week was my last week of school, YAY!!  I managed to make it through the entire school year, eventhough many of my co-workers were sure Eloise would make her appearance before school was out for summer! :)  I can't say I blame them, I thought she would have come too!  This may be TMI for some of you, so if is stop reading now:

I lost my mucus plug or as AJ would prefer I call it "blueberry pancakes" last Friday (May 21st).  I started feeling contractions the next day and we even timed them, but they didn't do anything to help my cervix along, so FALSE ALARM!

Ok, TMI is over, resume reading now :) 
Since that weekend, I have continued having contractions, but nothing terribly painful or consistent, so I'm just hanging in there for now!  Last Monday at our 38 week appointment, our doctor said I was 2 cm dialated and almost completed effaced.  Today at our appointment, I was about the same amount effaced and 2 and a half cm dialated.  Still making progress, but no big news yet!  We have our (hopefully) last appointment with our doctor next Monday, June 7th which is the day after Eloise's due date.  If our little girl hasn't made her appearance by then, we should be able to set an induction date at that time.

Check back in the next day or so for a video of Eloise's FINISHED nursery.

39 weeks!!!

Holy CRAP!

So, last week we went to the doctor's office for our weekly visit, she checks me out and tells me that my cervix is thinning out a little, but not much.  So I'm thinking this will be about all she will tell us for the next couple weeks, welp, I was WRONG!!  Yesterday afternoon, Eric and I are hanging out in the office, prepped for a usual visit: heartrate, check! tummy measurement, check! blood pressure, check! internal exam, check! Wait....what did you say? 80% effaced?  1 cm dialated?  Come again?? 

Oh yes, friends, we went from "eh, thinning out a little" to 80%!!!  Needless to say, we are now in "crazy mode" in our house!  At school, I did every assessment possible today and my goal is to get all of my report cards done tomorrow, so "just in case" little Eloise decides to make her entrance in the next couple days, I will have everything done for my kiddos! 

Check out my pick of my 37th week, there may not be many more!! :)

We're on the home stretch!

One more doctor appointment down, and only 3 or 4 more to go!  Time flies when you're having fun, or maybe just when you're busy... :)  The last two weeks have been eventful to say the least!  At school, I have been starting to prep for the end of the year which is only 9 days away!!  I waddled through the Atlanta Zoo on Friday with my 2nd grade kiddos, and have been enjoying our extra house guest for the last week!  Izzy has gotten to hang out with her boyfriend extra long since Coon and Sarah have been trying to dry out their house in Nashville!  They have been working so hard over the last week and a half getting all the wet stuff out of their house so they can put it back together again once its all dry!  While they do that, we get to hang with Wrigs! 

On the baby front, Eric is working on his "Eloise Alert System" so everyone can get updates on her arrival once I go into labor.  I got my "Strep B" test done and my second (and last) round of HIV testing done today which both went well!  The HIV test was a blood test, that might I say, I was VERY brave about!  I suppose I will get those results back next week for my next appointment.  Yes, we have officially entered the weekly appointment zone!!  I'm not dialating yet, which is just fine with me!  I'm hoping little Eloise just holds out until I get done with the school year, after that, she can come when she pleases!  We got our seat protectors today so we can put her car seat in our cars and get those checked out in the next week and we are deciding on our pediatrician as I type!  The last thing we need for the nursery is our glider which has been ordered and is on its way!  Everything is coming together nicely and we are getting excited to meet our little girl! 

Stay tuned for weekly updates from now on after each doctor appointment!  

6 Weeks and counting....

Well, we just got back from our 34 week check-up with the doctor and all looks good!  Eloise was stretching out and getting comfy from what the doctor could feel and had a strong heartbeat around 150 -  I think it is all this african dancing we have been doing at school this week!  I guess she likes to dance like me, lets hope she has better rhythm than me! :)  Anywho, at our last appointment I actually LOST a pound, woot woot, and at this appointment I only gained one, so over the last month I have gained nothing!  I know its not a bad thing to gain weight, but after the 7 pound jump a couple months ago, this was a welcome change :)  Eric did say that my belly had gotten bigger from Thursday to Sunday while he was in Munich though! 

Since my last update, we have had LOTS going on!  I went home for spring break and my girls from home and my mom threw me a baby shower which was awesome!  We had a big crowd show up and had lots of fun!  Any shower that has flip-flops as the party favor is a great shower (especially if you know me and my flip flop obsession)!  Eloise even got two pairs of flips for the summer!!  It was a great ending to a very relaxing week that I had at home with Izzy, my mom, and my dad.  We even got to hang out with AJ for the first weekend I was there! :) 

Once I got back to Chattanooga after my shower, we only had a few days before my mom came down here and Coon, Sarah  and Wrigley came down from Nashville for ANOTHER baby shower on the 17th!  My friends Trinace and Erica from Chattanooga and Sarah threw me a shower for all of my Chattanooga peeps!  It was another GREAT shower that was so much fun!  The two weekends with friends and family were awesome, and reminded me how truely lucky I am in my life to be surrounded by such fabulous people! 

The same day as my Chattanooga shower, Eric was supposed to head out to Munich, Germany for a week and half, BUT thanks to the big cloud of ash from the Iceland volcano, his flight was postponed until Thursday!  So, he headed out early Thursday morning and arrived safely last night!  Izzy and I were glad to have him back, eventhough we stayed busy while he was gone.  WE headed up to Nashville to visit Sarah and Coon for the weekend and even got to see Pritz on Sunday for lunch who was in Nashville for the Country Music Half-Marathon.

This week is another busy one since we had a doctors appointment today, Thursday is my african dance performace, and on Friday, Coon, Sarah, and Wrigs are coming down for a bike race that Coon is doing on Saturday morning!  Should be a great week and we are starting our countdown to Eloise!  Stay tuned for pictures of her FINISHED nursery and other happenings arounf our house!!  Ta-ta for now!!!  :)  I hope everyone has a great week! 

34 weeks!

30 Week Check-up

Good evening everyone!  I hope everyone has had a good couple of weeks - I know we have!  Since my last update, we haven't done much with Eloise's nursery, BUT I had a surprise baby shower from some of my friends from my old school, my parents and AJ came to visit for AJ's spring break, I have had 2 doctor appointments, and Eric has been busy at work!
At the shower, Eloise got her first L.L. Bean backpack with her name embroidered on it (SO CUTE), she got a couple of new board books, lots of cute clothes, a tummy time mat (Eric's pick on the registry), and lots of other great stuff!  Then Grandma Claire came to visit, and Eloise now has half a closet full of clothes, a night light, and three new wall hangings!  Two of the wall hangings came from Eloise's bumper that my mom cut up and framed b/c we didn't want to use her bumper in her crib, but we liked the words on it, SO we got the best of both worlds!  Anywho, once we get those hung up the nursery will really look great!  Izzy got lots of attention with her Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle AJ, so she's been depressed since they left :(  I hope they enjoyed their visit as much as we enjoyed having them! 

At our 28 week appointment, I had to get a glucose test which is where you drink this organge drink that has LOTS of glucose in it (kinda tastes like flat orange pop) and then I have to wait an hour, then they take some blood.  It's supposed to check for Gestational Diabetes, and good news - at my appointment yesterday, the doc told me that I was normal!  YAY for me, I can still eat sweets!  Oh yeah, AND we went to childbirth class the night of my 28 week appointment.  It was a good class, and the other "students" in the class kept Eric and I entertained for the 4 hours we were there! :)  Then Eric went to "Daddy Bootcamp" on Saturday morning for a couple of hours and learned all sorts of good stuff (see Eric for details)! 

Other than that, we have just been hanging out, trying to relax as much as possible while we can, and getting stuff done around the house.  Pretty uneventful really, but good!  Check out the latest picture of my ever-growing gut and have a great evening! 

See what you think...

Good evening everyone!  After a loooooong week of hanging out at home, Eric is finally back in Chattanooga (he might stay awhile this time)!  He has been jet setting all over the country for the last 3 weeks with only short trips home for the weekend, so its nice to have him back!  He headed up to the northeast first, then headed out to Denver, CO, and ended his whirlwind tripping in Miami, FL!  Whew!  All I did was hold down the homefront here in good ol' Chattanooga.  During his short stint home, we did manage to finally purchase our video camera that Eric has been staking out for months!  Figured with the baby coming in just a couple short months, we probably should get some practice video-ing!  SO, here is our first attempt!  It is a sneak-peek of Eloise's new room!  Keep in mind that we are not done yet, we still have lots to add, so we will keep everyone up-to-date!  Enjoy, and please...keep the criticisms to a minimum....we are amateurs!! ;)

Project Baby - Progressing

Another big week has come and gone in the Baker household! Last week we had our monthly doctors visit, so we got to hear little Eloise's heartbeat again, beating strong at about 150 beats/minute! As always, after our doctors visit, I have Eric take my belly picture so everyone can keep track of my ever-growing belly! As we start going to the doctor more often, you will see more belly pics, as we will update with a picture after each appointment. Next month I have to get my glucose test... :( Little nervous about that, mostly because of the blood taking extravaganza that it is, and I am hoping everything comes back normal. If it doesn't, I have to go back and get a 3 hour glucose test at which they take my blood every hour :( NO THANK YOU!!! This first test is only an hour long, and I only have to get my blood taken twice I think (I hope thats it). Anywho, along with our doctors appointment on Thursday, we finished painting Eloise's room and Eric put up (and I painted) the chair rail we planned for - we LOVE it!! Now we just have to clean the carpet and move in the furniture! Furniture comes this weekend, so we'll be busy putting it together and then ya'll will get to see more pictures!

24 weeks

Paining done, chair-rail and valance up!

Other than that, I had a half-day of school on Friday because of parent-teacher conferences, and then we had Monday off for President's Day, then TODAY we had another snow day, so I have been away from work for 4 1/2 days!! Eric left for Cinncinati on Monday morning for World of Asphalt (I think) - sounds fun eh? Anywho, he'll get back into town Friday! While he's away, Izzy and I have been bonding: you know, running, going on walks, hitting up the local doggie treat store, taking naps, the usual! It's been very relaxing around here the last two days.

In other news, Jeff and Pheadra (Eric works with Jeff) had their baby Raelynn Marie Richmond, yesterday afternoon. Eloise already has built in buddies in Chattanooga! Brooks Price (Sarah's son) got baptised on Sunday, and we got a beautiful picture in the mail of Olivia and Ben Carter from their mommy Janelle today! Eloise has been a mover and a shaker lately, we can see her moving around and kicking and have been enjoying every minute of it. Her sister Izzy doesn't enjoy being kicked, but she's not really sure what is kicking her!

Hope you all enjoy the pictures, and be thinking about me March 11 while I am getting all of the blood drained out of me :( I'm sure you'll hear me screaming from wherever you are as I am a big wuss ;)

It's A Girl!

Last Thursday we headed over to our doctor's office for our anxiously awaited 20 week ultrasound appointment! Let me just say that I am SOOO over the 3:30 appointment that lasts until 5:00 with only about 20 minutes in the ultrasound room and about 7 minutes in the doctors office...ANYWHO, I digress...

We had decided ahead of time that we definately wanted to find out the sex of the baby, a) because I am WAY too much of a planner to not know these types of things... b) because it is almost impossible to find any "neutural" clothing around these days, and c) because we just couldn't take the wait any longer! SO, we wander into the ultrasound room, wait for the technician to check all of the organs, amniotic fluid levels, ect. ect., and then she tells us that we're going to have a GIRL!! Yay!! She shows us her, "up the skirt" pic as Eric described it, proving her gender, shows us her face (looked a little creepy...) her feet, and then her hand...which actually waved at us! Yes, she is already a ham for the camera, just like her mom! :)
Hi Everybody!!

I went to school on Friday and my sweet friends Erica and Trinace, aka "Auntie Erica" and "Auntie Trinace" had bought me the prettiest hot pink roses! They were also excited being as they had "known" it was a girl from the get-go, along with my mom and dad. Poor AJ lost his hope that he was going to have a nephew that was going to play hawkeye football...That's ok, I told him that Eric already needed his help fending off the upcoming boyfriends she would have!

It's been a busy weekend since we found out about Baby Eloise or "Elle" (like the letter L). We went to both Babies R Us AND Target on Saturday to start our baby registries, we took all of the "stuff" I organized and discarded from her nursery to Goodwill today, and got all of the stuff from the closets up into the attic! Whew...

Anyway, here is a pic of me at 20 weeks (starting to get bigger) and the ultrasound pictures of Eloise! Just a little FYI: I am running again! :) HOT DOG!

Happy New Year!

Good morning and a happy new year to all! It is officially 2010, a year that will be very big for our little family! What does the new year bring for us you ask? Well, for starters, my "little brother" will no-longer be a teenager in March :( my, how time flies! In April, Eric will be venturing to Munich, Germany for a week or so thanks to Roadtec, Inc. Also in April, our first born, Isabel, and her boyfriend Wrigley will be turning the big FOUR years old! May will bring a close to my 5th year of teaching! Whew :) June will bring the birth of our second born, first non-furry baby! In July, Eric and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary! In September, our friend Coon will participate in his first (probably of many) IronMan races in Madison, WI; GO COON!

As we bring 2009 and another decade to a close, we started to think of what a busy decade it has been! I graduated from high school in 2001, Eric and I both graduated from Iowa State in 2004/2005, we got hitched in July of 2005, moved across the country to Chattanooga, TN, we have both started our careers, Eric in Marketing at Roadtec Inc.; and I in teaching in downtown Chattanooga. I started and graduated with my Masters Degree as a Reading Specialist, we bought our first house, started our mini-family with Izzy in 2006, and are starting to prepare for Baby Baker as a close to the year. WHEW! :) Seems like such a short time, but so much has gone on! I know that we couldn't have possibly done all of it without the support from our family and friends, so thank you, all of you who have been such a big part in our lives over the past decade! It has been a fun ride and we look forward to what 2010 and the upcoming years will bring for us!

Oh dear, I almost forgot! Our Cyclones WON their bowl game last night!!! HOT DOG!