Look Closely..

Walt and I have decided that when Eloise wakes up at 4 for her morning feeding, it could become our little ritual for her to come and lay in the bed with us for an hour before we get ready for work. I don't see any harm in this....she sleeps in her crib from 8:30-4:00...she can sleep with her momma and daddy for one hour. Look closely....what do you see in this picture?

Look at Miss Gracie being so protective of her sister

Oh there it is...it's Eloise!

She's sleeping so peacefully with her daddy...and look.at.those.cheeks!!

What have I gotten myself into? Two sleeping beauties :)

They love it!

Snug as a bug in a rug!

pouty little lips!

This makes for one happy baby before going to school! Here are momma and Eloise before both of us headed off to school on Friday! AND for those of you wondering..Eloise LOVES school...and momma LOVES being back too! We're happy all around.....

Can't you tell??!!

The Time Has Come...

Oh my goodness...how I am going to miss this sweet face! I start back at work tomorrow, and I might sound like a bad mother, but....I'm ready. Of course I am going to miss my sweet baby...but I am so ready to start teaching again. I've always known that I was fulfilling my calling in life...this is a wonderful feeling. Am I going to think about my lil' bit every single second? YES. Am I excited about diving right into the last several chapters of James and the Giant Peach and discussing the book with my kids? You bet. Is it ok that I am a mom that wants to work as well? I think it is. Does it make it easier for me knowing that in 7 weeks it is summer? Heck Yes. Eloise started school on Tuesday....she had a rough day. They said she screamed and cried all day long. Last night she didn't even want her dad...just me. Did I love this? Like you wouldn't believe. Today was much better. They even told me that I had a great baby....I already knew this, but it made me happy to know that she was happy at school. Is she still crying when daddy holds her? YEP. Am I still ok with this? YEP. Is she a momma's girl? Oh yes....she must take after her mother.
So....many prayers for me going back to school tomorrow...but I'm ready. Can't wait to see my kiddos, but I also know that I will be dying and ready for 4 to roll around so I can see my number one little munchkin.

The hardest thing.....

Now I knew that not being pregnant was going to be a challenge. After all...you can't eat what you want, you no longer have an excuse to dress like you just rolled out of bed, and you can't use that excuse..."Hey, I don't have to....I'm pregnant." It's not like I thought my weight was just going to fall off, I knew it wouldn't. The hardest thing about me being pregnant was gaining weight, (I hated standing on that scale) and now the hardest thing about me not being pregnant is losing it. I've never been the type of girl to go on the fad diets...I, personally, think it wouldn't work for me. The second I lost the amount of weight that I wanted, I would go back to eating what I wanted too. I've always believed in portion control and working out. The doctor cleared me last Wednesday to start working out again. This was an exciting day for me....but MAN, has it kicked my tush since then. I was told in June when I found out I was pregnant that I needed to quit running...ok...but then if you remember I was put on "partial" bedrest in January...I couldn't do anything. So basically, I've been "walking" since June. SUCKS to start working out again. My stomach isn't what it used to be...my body isn't as toned....oh goodness I could go on forever....

Let's just recap here...7 weeks ago I looked like this:

Oh dear Jesus that is awful. I never thought I would show you that picture. Now granted, I had a precious little miracle inside me....and she is everything I have ever wanted. BUT...that doesn't mean that I don't want to look like this again:

Take a moment to just LOOK at that stomach. It's not the greatest...but, it's better than that picture above, right? Before I was pregnant I could pretty much eat whatever and I worked out...even reading this post here you can tell that I worked out...but I also could eat or drink as I pleased. HA...now my meals consist of a small thing of cereal, or yogurt, a salad for lunch, and a salad with either fish or chicken for dinner. AND I workout every freaking day. If you are one of those people that just LOST all your weight magically after pregnancy then you are a freak of nature and I despise you. I'm just saying. So, for now..I will continue to get my butt kicked every day when I work out...and I will continue to let salad be my best friend...I WILL have lost all my weight by the time the new school year rolls around...hell, I might even be skinnier than what I was BEFORE I got pregnant...how's that for post pregnancy weight!

Easter

Easter Weekend...WHEW! Lots of traveling, lots of suitcases, lots of family members...but LOTS of memories and totally worth it!
Before we talk about Easter... I went to the doctor on Wednesday and I was "officially" cleared. This was an exciting day for me, as I can now FINALLY workout!
Eloise wanted to help me get into my workout routine!
Here she is in her gear:

Time for the stretching....

Momma and Eloise are ready for our first workout together!

We left on Thursday night to go home to celebrate the Easter weekend. I hate leaving Houston at 5. Instead of it taking us 4 and a half hours to get home, it ends up taking us around 6 to 6 and a half hours due to traffic. Eloise was great. We had a couple of crying fits...but I didn't blame her...I hated being cooped up in that car for that long as well.

On Friday we went over to my grandparents house so they could finally meet their great granddaughter. Unfortunately, they didn't want me to take their pictures because they were just lounging around for the day. I think they knew I would post it on my blog for the world to see.
Here is sweet little Eloise on the way there....so excited to meet her Super Nana and Super Poppy:

We stayed over at their house for about 5 hours. While we were there Gambi showed up for the Easter weekend and Aunt Poco as well. As always, it was great to get to catch up and spend time with our family.
Eloise loves her family...and momma does too...they always hold her and take care of her!!

Daddy and Eloise taking a little cat nap on the floor!

On our way home from Super Nana and Super Poppy's house Eloise decided it would be time to have a blow out....I decided to capture her "poop" face right in the act.

Saturday was a crazy day! Walt and I got up early and ran at the state park. Man did it feel great, but I really felt it on Sunday morning! We had several Easter egg hunts...and it was time for Eloise to meet several more of her family members.
Here is Eloise at our first hunt:

Eloise finally got to meet Lou! Lou just held on to Eloise and never let her go! Eloise never cried once in Lou's arms....think she might need to move in to my house!

Once we got home from that Easter party Eloise was so tired....she had to rest up before the next party, the church Easter egg hunt that is always held at Walt's house.

Aunt Ashley tried to wake Eloise up for the Easter egg hunt, but she was way too comfortable, so Eloise decided to stay asleep!

Lalee is like the "child" whisperer...every child always wants to be around her! She's amazing! Her she is leading the devotional with the kids before the hunt.

Time to find the eggs!

Eloise loves her Lalee! After the hunt, it was time for her to eat!

Saturday night was spent over at Summer and Neil's house. They have a beautiful home on gorgeous property. The boys went skeet shooting, while the girls played bocce. Lou and I decided to let Summer and Ashley win...we didn't want to hurt their feelings. After our activities, we toured their beautiful land, and then watched a perfect sunset.

Summer talking with Preston, Ashley and Lou

Walt and Neil engaged in serious conversation

Tucker's hanging out with the big kids now!

Me and my main squeeze

Easter Sunday was perfect. Uncle Preston was so sweet and fed little Eloise while I struggled to get ready!

Of course Eloise wasn't done eating by the time we got to church, so she decided to let out a huge scream the second we walked in there. Walt whisked her away so quickly...we went out into the foyer where she finished her bottle and then we spent the rest of the service in the cry room...she didn't cry, she slept...but we didn't want to cause another seen. After church was spent eating a wonderful meal prepared by Lalee with family. What a great day and how thankful we always are that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
Here I am with my little Easter bunny:

Little Eloise had a beautiful dress (given to her by Lalee and Pops) and she was the sweetest thing on Easter Sunday

Easter Family pic 2010

Lalee and Pops with their first grandbaby!

Pops during his "grandfatherly" duties!

Grandma came over for lunch and she was able to meet her great granddaughter for the first time. Eloise loved sitting in her arms.

We left Daingerfield around 3:00 and made our way back to Houston around 7:45. Now Eloise and I are trying to get the house cleaned up and trying to get ready for her first day at daycare tomorrow. I start back on Thursday, but Walt and I figured we needed to get into the "routine" before the actual day. We didn't want to be running around like chickens with our heads cut off come Thursday. We are going to drop her off and normal time tomorrow, and then I will pick her up after half of the day...I am starting to half a little anxiety about it. Yes, I am so ready to be back and work and be with my co-workers and see my kids...I just wish that I could put Eloise in my pocket and take her with me! I know this week is going to be bittersweet....hopefully come Thursday, I will be ok with Eloise at daycare! I'll keep you posted!

Announcing....

Announcing....

Front

Inside

We sent out our birth announcements on Monday...I was so happy with the way they turned out!

Yesterday Eloise and I went for her 6 week check up....she had to get her first round of shots...let's just say that both of us cried. I tried really hard not to shed any tears, but when you hear a cry that you have never heard before, and you know your baby is in pain, it is pretty darn hard! What made it worse was that I was holding her hands and she was just looking up at me crying with tears coming out of her eyes. We had a rough day after that. She was very sore, and she only wanted to be held all afternoon. I was totally fine with doing that.
Eloise has been doing great in the sleep department. We are now getting put down to go to dream land around 10-10:30 and she sleeps until 2-2:30. She then gets put back down around 2:30-3 and sleeps until 6:30-7:30. Of course, this routine will be slightly changed when she starts daycare next week as Walt leaves the house at 6:30 and he will be taking her to school. Hard to believe that I have less than a week left with my baby. It's been a great experience, and to know that I have 6 weeks left until summer makes it much easier for me to go back to school.
Here are Eloise's 6 week stats from yesterday:
Height: 21.3 inches Percentile: 50%
Weight: 9 pounds 9 ounces Percentile: 25-50%
Head Circumference: 14.9 Percentile: 25%
She's growing bigger every day! Here she is after she finished crying at the doctor's...poor baby...she cried herself straight to sleep.