evie

As most of you know, we found out on the 23rd that we are having a little girl! Her name will be Evangeline Finley DeBolt and we will call her Evie (ee-vee). The ultrasound was outstanding! The tech told us everything she was looking at and we had never had an ultrasound that detailed before. It was great to see Evie's arms, hands, fingers, toes, heart, ribs and more! When the tech told us she was 99% sure it was girl and even showed us how she knew Evie was a girl, I cried like a baby! Even Chad had to fight back tears.

Here are some pictures from the ultrasound. I did my best to describe each body part since these ultrasounds are a little tricky to decipher. In the below picture, she is is sucking her thumb which was adorable to see!

Thanks for looking! We are so excited to welcome Evie into our lives since she already has a place in our hearts! :)

cheer

box

SURPRISE!

Eli LOVED Santa! As soon as we got to the church, Eli ran up to Santa and practically climbed into his lap! I was STUNNED! I grabbed my camera and took these pics. Even after Eli left Santa's lap and played with some toys, Eli would still come over to Santa and show him what he was playing with! Santa even called him his little buddy the whole time. And in case you are skeptical.....I posted video below to prove that Eli and Santa are best buds! :)

horror

We may not go sit on Santa's lap this year because THIS is what happened last year.......poor Eli.

week

In a week we find out if this baby that is kicking around inside me more and more is a boy or a girl!!! Or maybe he/she won't cooperate and we will have to wait. But lets not think that way. :)

decorations

Decorating the Christmas tree....I thought it was something that Eli and I could do together. But two broken ornaments later, we decided to dance instead. :) Then I would take a break and decorate a little while Eli kept dancing (this kid could win a dance marathon for sure!). Here are some pics and the finished product. Something was amiss with my camera so forgive the blurriness.

holidays

I got this from my friend Susan....thought it would be fun. I would love to hear your answers as well. :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Mostly wrapping paper, though I am a TERRIBLE wrapper. It is embarrassing, really. I bet people will think my 2 year old wrapped the gifts this year.

2. Real tree or Artificial? REAL! It is a tradition that my family gets a tree together in the morning and spends the rest of the day together. Plus, who can beat the smell of a fresh cut tree? Chad however would love to have a fake one.....easy up, easy down, no mess. :)

3. When do you put up the tree? Differs, but I like to go as early as possible.....this year we got one the first weekend in December.

4. When do you take the tree down? Very soon after New Year's Day. By then the needles are falling off, the reservoir is dry and the ornaments virtually leap off the tree in an effort to be put away.

5. Do you like eggnog? I have never tried it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmm....I am not sure that I have a favorite. I get better gifts now than then. :)

7. Hardest person to buy for? My parents, for sure. What do you get the people that have everything?

8. Easiest person to buy for? My secret Santa because I get a list of things they want! :)

9. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but I have always wanted one. I always forget to ask for one until it is too late. My MIL has a Willow Tree one that I always admire.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. I still love getting mail, especially around Christmas.

11. Worst Christmas card you ever received? I love all of them. There was one year my Mom stepped out and went funny with her Christmas cards....there was a reindeer on the front with a cloud coming out of its rear end and inside the cloud read "ffftttt". Inside the card it read "Do you hear what I hear?". I LOVED IT! Some people were offended, but I thought it was genius!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As late as possible.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? In a white elephant, yes.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My Mom's Swedish Gems (also called Snowballs, Russian Tea Cakes, Noel Nut Balls, etc.) There are so many names for these things, but they are oh so good, especially with a cup of coffee! They are powdered sugar coated confectionery delights! Yummy!

16. Lights on the tree? Of course, lots!

17. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? We do every other year with each of our families so it depends.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Of course! Who can't????

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Rude sales people.

23. What theme or color are you using? Gold, maroon and purple berry.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? My parents always do seafood on Christmas day, so clams, clams and more clams!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Money to get a digital SLR camera.

26. Do you have a favorite ornament, what? My Mom gave me my ornaments from when I was a baby and on. I love those because they have meaning.

27. Gifts from Santa? Wrapped or Unwrapped? This is our first Christmas where Eli is aware that he will get gifts on Christmas day. So Chad and I haven't really talked the wrapping part out yet. We shall see!

Have a great holiday everyone!

exhausted

I never thought a day of staying in and getting things done around the house would be so exhausting. I had a list of things I needed to do:

-put lights on tree

-put ornaments on tree with Eli

-fold laundry

-vacuum foyer, family room and kitchen

-bake 5 dozen cookies

-work(data entry) for 2 hours

-empty dishwasher

Everything got done, but with a 2 year old, it was slower progress than I would have liked, but much more fun too. :) Eli playing in the sink and getting SOAKED while I baked + eating gooey cookies hot out of the oven = the below picture!

Kids = FUN!

turd

The other day, I was coming out of the powder room when I saw it. On the carpet was this 'thing'. I call it a thing because I had no idea what it was.......but I had a guess. Here is the picture, you tell me what you think:

My guess was mouse turd. The worst thing you want to think. Our neighbors had an exterminator come to rid their house of mice less than a week ago, so maybe they flocked to our house to escape certain death. But then I thought, this so called turd is in the family room, which in a three story house is really on the second floor. Would they climb up here? I was not convinced so I thought I would investigate and do the undoable....I would try to pick it up and inspect the so called turd. (Ew, I know) So I got a paper towel and began to pick it up slowly with my thumb and index finger. It needed some pull because it was stuck to the carpet. So as I squeezed it to release it from the furry ground, I felt that it was hard. Would a fresh mouse turd be hard already? My investigation was not over. As I looked at it more closely, I realized what it truly was.











Eli does not chew his Flintstones vitamins, he sucks on them. Sometimes, if not monitored, when he gets bored of it, he spits it out. Well, apparently Bam Bam (or Pebbles, not sure which) did not make his/her way fully into Eli's belly. Investigation complete. But on the bright side, at least we don't have mice! :)

listen

Chad and I try to expose Elijah to all different kinds of music to stimulate his creativity. Chad has always had a really good ear for music and can spend hours on the computer downloading songs and listening to new music that isn't on the radio. There have been a few times where he had me listen to a song he liked and the next month it is the newest hit song on the radio. I also enjoy music. I love music with a strong violin (Damien Rice is my fave) that can just mesmerize me. Also, anything Enya can put me in a wonderful, thoughtful mood. So needless to day, we enjoy music.

So to our pleasant surprise, Eli also loves music too! If you are a reader of this blog, there are several blog posts of Eli stopping in the middle of the mall, grocery stores or just at home, dancing like crazy. He also was able to beatbox at a year old, learning from Daddy of course. So this past Thanksgiving, Eli was given a CD called Choo Choo Soul from his Aunt B and Uncle Chris. This CD was derived from filler programming after the Little Einsteins television show. Eli always loved watching it and so when we got the CD, I broke it out as soon as possible. The songs are about educational concepts (counting, ABC's, etc.) AND self esteem lessons. All of that with a little soul mixed in makes for great learning AND dancing! Of course in the car, Eli is strapped in so tightly that all he can really move is his head. So he has become very proficient in the head bob dance. :)

To take a listen, click here.

boarder

hives

Eli has an allergy. Ask me what it is and I will tell you that I have no idea. I just know he has one. It has something to do with dogs, but not all dogs. And it can happen with one dog one time and then the next time he spends time with that same dog, he is totally fine. This is the weirdest allergy and I feel terrible that I cannot pinpoint the actual culprit. Is it the oils from the dogs? The saliva? Who knows. All I know is that after today, I need to carry Children's Benadryl at all times.

I was visiting with a dear friend and they have a dog. The dog was all over Eli and Eli was actually loving it, giggling and everything. Then, he started to rub his eyes, his nose started to run, he got hives and then his eyes began to swell. So I took that as a sign we needed to leave, and fast! We went home, I gave him Children's Benadryl and I bathed him from head to toe. In an hour, most of the swelling and all of the hives were gone. But I did manage to get a picture of the carnage before it was healed:

My poor baby!!! You can see that his left eye is swollen. I hated seeing him like this and needless to say, he was not a happy camper. But it was nothing that could not be remedied and even after the medication was given, during the bath, eyes all swollen, he still was having fun and splashing Mommy as usual. :)

elf

Apparently our house has a little elf.
I leave dirty dishes in the sink for later and when later comes, they are clean.
I bought a shower curtain and somehow it mysteriously appears hanging nicely in our shower.
I open the dishwasher to unload it and the dishes are gone and put away already.
I leave the bed unmade to get Eli in the morning and it gets made mysteriously every day.
The trash is full one minute and the next, it is empty with a nice new trash bag inside.
I go into the house with the outside Christmas lights off, but when I leave later, they are twinkling away.
I leave a toy cluttered room to put Eli down for nap and when I come downstairs, the room is immaculate.
This little elf is extremely helpful and does these things without being asked, out of the goodness and love that is swelling in his heart.
This little elf means the world to me and I don't know that I appreciate him enough.
So this post is for you, little elf. I love you and I appreciate all that you do for me and for our son. I truly do not deserve you.

17

17 weeks

119 days

4 months and 1 week

However you say it, write it, type it, our baby is growing! :)

I can feel the baby moving now, though it is only little nudges that I have to concentrate on to feel as someone else usually has the majority of my attention. :)

I am out of the morning sickness phase and feeling fairly well, though still tired.

I am still craving salty, fatty foods, as indicated by my girth in this picture.

I see babies and yearn for one for myself....then I excitedly remember I am already having one! :)

Eli thinks he is going to have a sister. We shall see if that is true on the 23rd.

Eli is the light of our lives in such a strong and amazing way that it is difficult to imagine another light shining in our home....but we cannot wait for it to shine on us! :)