The pictures say it all...

We've been busy the past couple weeks! Take a look at what we've been up to!

Hangin' on the patio with Gramps.

Daddy and his girl.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this cute outfit.

Birthday lunch with Grandpa Al. She was eying his beer...she is her father's daughter.

Her fists are her food of choice these days.

Bumbo!

Chattin' with Grammy.

More Bumbo!

What are you looking at?

Chatting with Grandma.

Eloise went to her first wedding a couple weekends ago. She had so much fun! She actually started a rave. ; )

Morning cuddles with Grandma.

Eloise meeting my Godmother, Maryke, for the first time. Love.

Eloise's first hibachi experience. She feel asleep in the middle of it.

Papa Allen made Eloise laugh!

Swinging on the front porch with Grandma.

Telling Uncle Mitch a thing or two about being a baby.

Hanging out with cousin Sandra.

They don't look related at all, do they? ; )

Daddy and Eloise having a date watching the Women's US Soccer team in the World Cup. USA! USA!

First time at the farmer's market. Eloise loved all the things to look at!

Happy Independence Day! We learned very quickly that Eloise was not a fan of the loud, screaming fireworks. (And Mommy was not a fan of trying to keep her asleep for the night.)

Not impressed. (But oh so cute in her stars and stripes!)

Ok, maybe a little impressed.

Happy Mommy with her happy baby.

Eloise loves to be outside.

Nice bib!

Eloise's cousin London came all the way from Atlanta to see her. Eloise LOVED watching him and playing with him. London got some good practice in for his baby sister who is arriving in September.

Grandma and Eloise watching London set off his fireworks.

London liked to take pictures of Eloise.

Story time with Grandma. London always wanted to hold and "pet" Eloise. She loved it.

Sweet cousins. : )

Lounging in their pjs with Grandma. The best kind of snuggling. 

Eloise rolled from her tummy to her back a couple weeks ago. I got it on camera, but needless to say, it was right after her bath, and I'm sure several years from now, she'll thank me for not making it public. She is jabbering like crazy. She has this new scream that she likes to talk in. Sometimes it's hard to know if she's just talking or if she's getting mad. : )

She is growing like a weed. Almost 14 pounds now! Crazy that she started out at less than half that when she came into this world.

Our little family is doing wonderfully. We continue to thank God for our beautiful, healthy baby girl, and for the awesome experiences we've had so far being parents. We wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thankful for the things I don't have to give up...

Well, the transition back to work over the past two weeks has been fairly easy. For me anyway. It's been nice for me to get out of the house on my own for a few hours. I love the people I work with, so it's been nice getting to have more adult conversations throughout the day.

Justin, on the other hand, hasn't had as smooth of a transition no thanks to Eloise not wanting to take a bottle. We thought we had prepared her enough for it, but Justin soon saw the wrath that is hungry-Eloise-what-on-Earth-are-you-trying-to-feed-me? After a few days of her pretty much crying her self to sleep, then waking up just to start it all over again, I researched and bought a fourth kind of bottle for her to try. She started out great with it, but still had her moments. Now on week three, we are hoping for smooth or even just smoother sailing. Justin has had a couple really great evenings with her and they have such a great time together. Eloise loves her Daddy.

These past couple weeks going back to work has really opened my eyes to realize how hard it must be for moms (and dads) to go back to work full time. With being on maternity leave for 12 weeks, I got into the habit and maybe not appreciating all the time I got to spend with Eloise. Now that I'm back to work, even just part time, I've realized how lucky I am to still get to enjoy so much of that.

I love that for the most part, Eloise will sleep 8-9 hours a night. (Hallelujah!) But I'm thankful that those nights that she wakes at 4:00am that I can tiredly go to her knowing I don't have to be to a job in 4 hours. I can enjoy that time with her even with sleep in my eyes.

I'm thankful that my husband will let me get a shower in before he leaves for work. And I'm thankful that on a couple mornings a week I get to cook us breakfast. I'm thankful that on most mornings I get to enjoy a cup (or two...) of coffee while I sit for a quite moment, waiting for Eloise to wake up.

I'm so utterly thankful to be able to sneak into the nursery while she is starting to stir, and just watch, in amazement this beautiful gift I have been given. Thank you God for these moments! Sometimes it's still hard to believe that she is mine. I'm so lucky to get to see that huge smile on her face when she realizes Mommy is there. I help her stretch and rub her back. It is her (and Mommy's) most favorite time of day.

I'm thankful for the time. The time I get to just let pass by. I'm not hurried to get out the door. I'm not hurried to get a diaper changed. I'm not hurried to get her bathed. God has taught me so much already. You can ask anyone close to me, and they would tell you I've always been one to go, go, go. Not enough time in the day. I thrived off being busy. Those days are gone (for the most part) and I'm happy, oh so happy, to just let life happen. I guess I'm blessed to have a baby who sleeps and naps well so that this go, go, go Mommy can get a lot of "going" done while baby sleeps.

So today, I'm thankful to have this morning to write these thoughts down. As I sip my second cup of coffee, I'm thankful that Daddy was able to cut his early morning workout short to put Eloise back to sleep while Mommy took a shower.

Oh so thankful. Oh so blessed.

Another month older...

Eloise is 3 months old today. Wow. What a ride. I love her to pieces. 

Just chillin'. Blowing bubbles.

Sleeping beauty.

Had to get a close up of her sweet hands.

Good morning sleepy face! My favorite time of the day.

Oh so many bubbles.

And more.

Daddy calls it her "bubbles soul patch".

Smiley face!

Bubble soul patch.

Rock-a-bye with Gramps.

Sweetness.

Daddy's girl.

Love.

Another m

Hi!

Sweet face.

Eloise finds a new voice

Eloise loves diaper changing time. I mean really, who wouldn't like a nice, warm, cloth wipe to clean you off? Followed by nice, warm air from the blow dryer to get good and dry (and prevent diaper rash!). And then to have a fresh and soft FuzziBunz cloth diaper put on. Here was our diaper changing and chat time from last night. It will make you smile, I promise.

Back to the grind...

I'm enjoying my last weekend before heading back to work on Monday. I thank God that He's guided and provided for Justin and I financially to be just going back part time. And I am also tremendously thankful for my supportive boss and co-workers who are allowing this opportunity.

Before starting a family I never thought I'd want to be a stay-at-home mom. I've always loved working and interacting with people. Paychecks are nice and really never thought financially Justin and I would be in a place to consider it. My feelings drastically changed after our struggle with our first pregnancy loss. Through the complete sadness of what had been taken away from us, God showed me how important family is and how quickly time goes by. He showed me that money isn't everything and that ultimately I needed to trust in Him to provide.

Over the past two years, Justin and I have worked very hard on our budgeting practices. In less than two years we have paid off 2 cars and student loans and are now growing our savings. It hasn't been easy, but being able to take 12 weeks off work and then to go back part time has made it all worth it. The time that I've been able to devote to my darling Eloise has meant more to me than I ever could have imagined. And to top it off, we won't need any daycare! Justin and I have worked out our schedules to just swap baby duties. And Eloise's great-gran will get to see and play with Eloise one morning a week. I couldn't feel more blessed!

I would highly encourage any parent-to-be out there to really consider your situation. 1) Mothers, if at all possible, take full advantage of 12 weeks of maternity leave. If you haven't been a mother yet, you will not believe the changes your baby will go through in that short amount of time. I will be completely honest and say, the first 6 or so weeks of being a (nursing) mom were completely overwhelming and I'll admit, I was pretty much set that one child was enough. I can't imagine if I would have had to go back to work full time after that 6 weeks! But with Eloise now 11 weeks old, I can look back on the past 5 weeks and even today and see how far we have come together (sleep helps both of us) and to be so thankful that I've been able watch it all happen.

2) If there is any possible way for mom or dad to go back part time (or not at all!), consider it! The moments (or days) that I or Justin get stressed or frustrated or exhausted (or all of the above) I have to remind us that this is only a short time in our life. Someday in the not so distant future, we'll think to ourselves, "Gosh, remember when Eloise liked to cuddle? Or be rocked to sleep? Or heaven forbid, remember when she wore those cute diapers?" Parenting is a sacrifice, don't get me wrong, but I like to think of it so much more as an opportunity. An opportunity to raise, support, and love this child like no other. Our lives are but a blink. Love and family are so worth investing in while we are here.

I'm proud to know that sure, maybe there's no room in the budget for something shiny, but I'll never look back on this time and wish I did it differently. We are so happy. Blessed, and happy.

Oh, and here's some new pictures of Eloise. I'm sure there'd be some upset followers (and Grandmas!) out there if I didn't include these. : )

Pajama time with Daddy.

Tired baby.

My little ducky.

Sweet little toes.

Bubbles are her new talent.

Playtime!

Hangin with Papa Allen.

Hanging around with Grandma.

Cuddles with Gran.

Sweet time with Great Gran and Great-Great Aunt Marti.