Eli's Birthday

It has been a busy few weeks so I have not gotten to blog in a while.
Eli is here! He was born on May, 9th at 1:16pm. I have to say that, once I got an epidural, labor and delivery was amazing! It was emotional, exciting, and had a beautiful result. I had a great doctor and nurse, who was named Amber as well. I am so thankful to those who helped with Eli, they did an incredible job.

Here is my first time to hold Eli. He was instantly loved!

Newborn Eli going to the nursery.

This is the first time Eli got his hair washed. He really enjoyed it!

Look at the peaceful look on his sweet little face.

First bath. He enjoyed this less than the hair washing.

Daddy and Eli

First Beyleryan family photo

Eli's bed in the hospital.

Time to go home! This is Eli's going home outfit-it was a lot too big.

Eli is a wonderful baby. He sleeps well at night which is more than we could ask for. He eats well and has a beautiful smile. We are head over heels in love with him. I can not describe how much I love him. Already I would do anything for him. Amazing!

Well, there you have it! Eli's first few days in photo form. I don't have time to write many details but the pictures are the most important part right?! :)

Ready or Not...

It is like a game of hide and seek. Eli is ready to come so we all better get that way. (Which we are) "Ready or not, here I come!"
The countdown is coming to an end. We are due to the hospital in 3 days and 4 hours. WOW! I have so many emotions right now it is hard to tell them apart them. I am excited, anxious, curious, and a tiny bit nervous. Just a bit. The closer we get the more confident I am that it will all be alright and a wonderful experience. My friend Emily said God is amazing to prepare us like that. I am even thinking I can do it without medication. Of course, I have not felt the pain just yet so I may very well change my mind. We have a "see how it goes" attititude about an epidural.
I went to my last doctor appointment yesterday. It was a strange feeling walking out of there without making my next appointment as I have done for the past 9 months. Today I got my weekly automated phone call from the doctors office that reminds me of appointments only this time it said Monday at 12 am. That is induction time!!
This appointment was a lengthy one. I had a TON of questions about the big day and Dr. Waterman was happy to answer them all. I am grateful for that. She predicted him to be a "medium to large" baby at 7-8 pounds. I have been thinking 6 pounds this whole time so we shall see. It is all guesses, I have not had sonogram since December when we found out he was a boy.
Last night I was laying in bed and could not get Eli to move. I really started worrying and doing everything I could to feel a kick. Eventually he did wiggle some but I was so worked up I could not go to sleep until after 3am. It is scarey because we are so close but something could still go wrong. Today he is super active so if he is not moving tonight I will know he is just sleeping. He is pretty good about sleeping at night right now. David says he kicks him when I am asleep but I don't feel it.
In a week the event that we have been planning for for 10 months will be over and we will be parents. I will not be pregnant anymore which is strange but perfectly ok since I will have my son in my arms. We are so ready to hold him and see who he takes after. Will he be bald or have hair? I am guessing bald since I did not have bad heartburn but it is all guesswork.
Future grandparents start arriving on Saturday afternoon and plan to stay a little over a week to help out and get their baby fix. Tomorrow I should completely relax but I will probably end up cleaning and trying to put finishing touches on everything. The next post should be full of his pictures and all about how things went. I wish I could read it now! :)

16 Days or less!

This is SUCH an incredible time for us. In 16 days or less David and I will be parents! It amazes me how right now my body completely fulfills every need he has. God is completely wonderful like that.
I love when he moves- which is good because he is very active. Sometimes when he is still I will run my hand down the side of my belly and he will kick it. I think, "Oh, he must really like that" because he responded but in all actuality he could hate it and wish I would stop. I will never know so I will pretend he likes it.
Last week I went to the doctor and he was head down and I was dialated 1 cm. The process has begun! I know it could still take weeks from here but I am glad for the 1. Maybe next week we will be a 2 or 3! :) Shelly told me a few things to help that process along which include walking A LOT, spicy foods, and ankle rubs. So I have been making more appearances at the YMCA and getting on the treadmill. My goal has been 2 miles a day and then a few miles on the bike. Wednesday I had enormous amounts of energy so I walked 4 miles and then did the bike. Thursday I was sore.. so I did nothing. I guess it is not really extra if it prohibits you from working out the next day. lesson learned. Our Y has this bike that has the most comfortable seat and armrests. I love getting on it! I don't understand why they aren't all this soft- you don't burn more calories because your butt is sore from the hard chair.
My belly is getting SO BIG! I am 37 weeks today so he is considered full term. I am so relieved to be at a point where I can go into labor and everything should be fine with him. If my dr had not changed my due date then I would be 38.5 weeks. I feel like that is probably more accurate. David and I were feeling him kick at 16 weeks and I found out at 3 weeks if she is right and that just seems a little early. I have never been a fan of the date change.

This picture is 36 weeks. (or 37.5 depending on which date you go by)

Before I was pregnant I would look at pictures and think- she is sticking her belly out to make it look bigger. I realize now that your back just does that.
May is special for more reasons than just Eli. David graduates law school in 22 days! I am so proud of him. I was filled with pride when I pre-registered Eli for the hospital and on his birth certificate form it asked what David's highest degree was and I was able to check doctorate! We have his graduation attire ready to go. It is very fancy! This is no blue itchy gown and cardboard hat. His gown has velvet stripes on it and the hat looks like a little mushroom. He also wears a satin V thing that has his school colors on it. He will be so handsome- I know I will be crying when they call his name. Hopefully Eli will not- Daddy's graduation will probably be his first outing.
It is somewhat stressful having these 2 lifechanging events less than a week apart but it also has its perks. David's Dad and Mom are flying in and since they are close together they will get to witness both. (Well... not witness the birth, but be in the hospital when it happens. ;) My Mom is driving in and staying a little while and more of the family is coming in for graduation and to see our new baby. David should be on Cloud 9!

Eli's Nursery

It is finally done! Eli's nursery is complete and ready for him to come home to.

Even before I got pregnant I was planning for him. I picked out little girl and little boy bedding long ago and thought I would just order the one I wanted when I found out. Just before ordering a blue and brown bedding set by Lambs and Ivy that David and I loved, I decided that I wanted more colors in his room than just those two. SOO I scrapped it and started over.

I never wanted a theme really (oddly enough) or a nursery where I just ordered one of the entire set and I was done. I wanted my baby boy's room to be unique and be able to grow with him. I do not want to be doing his room again in a couple of years.

One day the idea for his room just came to me. I would do Eli's room in Vintage Toys! This theme is NOT common. I could not even find a picture online of a person who had done it before so everything had to come completely from me. That is lots of pressure! After hours and hours of looking for toys online I picked a few and pieced other things together- Here is the result!

The entrance to Eli's room!

His bed- the monkey was a gift from his Aunt Moose.
Eli's Daddy hung the picture very securely so it is not going anywhere- no worries.
Eli's Mommy made sure it was hung perfectly center. :)

The bedding was pretty difficult because it is from 3 different stores. I ordered the bumper and curtain from JC Penny, the crib sheet from Target, and I found the skirt at Pottery Barn (On clearance for $8 regular- much more than that) It all came together but just took a while to find all of the perfect pieces.

I had originally wanted to frame pages from old books as the wall art but could not find a book that I liked enough so Keelie told me about art.com- a wonderful website with tons of great pictures. The two I picked ended up being prints of covers of old children's books.

Above the changing table is a mirror (thank you Jennifer!) where he can watch himself when he gets changed or stands up in his crib (opposite wall to the mirror)
Hanging on the door is a picture that Melissa painted for Eli. She did such a wonderful job!

This is the shelf by his bed. The Lilliput Robot is one of my favorite tin toys I ordered of his. The picture beside the robot was actually the front of the box that I had framed.

Here are some old books Mom found at an estate sale for me years ago. I also have some Little Golden books that were mine when I was a child. Gumby and Pokey David's Mom found at Cracker Barrel and loved them. (Cracker Barrel is a great place to find great stuff!)

I have a few books here of his but believe me when I tell you that this is NOT all! He has many more books in his closet but I didn 't want to clutter up the decorative shelf with them.
On the bottom is a basket with his toys in it. This little man has several toys but they are just perfect. My teacher friends picked some great ones that encourage him to use his imagination and don't have a specific way to play with them. I LOVE that!

The corner has vintage blocks and a scooter Mom found at Cracker Barrel.

Mom found this gently used glider before Christmas. It was light wood colored and had ugly material on it but we redid it and could not be happier with the results.
(I will try to post a before picture of the glider.)

There will be lots of rocking done in this chair. :)

A little closeup of some of Eli's toys!

So, there it is. Eli's nursery finally done!

Baby Shower with Norman Friends!

My life in August, when I became pregnant, and now is so different in ways I could never have foreseen. I had some major events that rocked my world but also revealed to me that I have quite a few WONDERFUL friends! One of my best friends, Mary, hosted a baby shower for me here in Moore and it was wonderful to see how many people came and cared even though I had not seen them since I stopped teaching. I loved visiting with everyone and was touched by their generosity. Thank you all for coming!

Mary, my wonderful hostess, and Me

I love these girls!

Eli is moving!

Melissa painted this for Mr. Eli. She is so talented!

Thank you Jennifer for the Elephant!

Kelly and Kinley. Somehow Kinley's Momma did not get into any of the pictures. I think she was behind the camera most of the time.

Mrs. Winfrey and baby Hudson. I am so glad y'all came!

My favorite Wilsons, Bridget and Denise!

Tara, Megan and Lianne

Tara and Megan are expecting in June!

Denise, Kelly, and Carole

:)

The cake Mary's Sister-In-Law had made based on my baby book.
It was SO CUTE and yummy!

My pregnancy so far!

After being married 2 1/2 years David and I had decided it was time to start a family. We were super excited and ready for it to happen after the 1st month. Well that did not work out. After the 2nd month there was another negative test and I started getting discouraged. (I had a plan and wanted to stick to it) A few days after the negative test I decided to take another one and this is what I saw.

There was a solid pink line and the faintist hint of another line. I always heard that if there is ANY line, even a light one, then that is +. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me so I rushed to show David and see what he saw. (Not at all the way I had planned to tell him we were pregnant) We were in agreeance that there were 2 lines but did not want to get too excited. I took a picture of it and messaged it to my friend Mary to get her opinion. She was all excited and suggested that we buy a digital test and take it in the morning.

Here are the results!

It says PREGNANT!!!

We were SOO excited to be starting a family. I think David ordered baby furniture 2 days later.

He is going to make such a wonderful Daddy!

Future Parents

I wanted to tell my Mom in person so when we went to Paris to see Brian and Bailee's baby Cohen we broke the news. David set up to take a picture and just before he snapped the shot he said that I was pregnant. I think her expression shows shocked and excited. Clay did not hear David and Shelly already knew (I had to tell someone!)
We also told my Dad and David's parents during this trip but don't have pictures of that. :(

Since I am starting this blog so late in my pregnancy you get to see all of the month's pictures at once!

Month 1 August

Month 2 September

Month 3 October

Month 4 Early December

Month 5 Late December

Month 6 January

Month 7 February

I have a maternity photo session next week for Month 8!

My pregnancy has been pretty good. I only had slight morning sickness and heartburn in the beginning. I did have to go to the ER in October and again in December for chest pain but the doctor finally resolved that problem (which was NOT heartburn) and I was as good as new + I got to see a extra glimpse of our baby during a sonogram of my kidneys. I have had 2 kidney stones which were pretty painful but, thankfully, are gone now.

Since before we were married David and I have had our baby's name picked out. If it was a girl then she would be named Abby Grace. Grace is after my Mom. If it was a boy then he would be named Eli David. David is after David of course and also my Dad, David Mark, and his Dad, Charles David.

In December we found out that we were having a little BOY! Eli David Beyleryan should be here on or before May 9th! The 9th is my induction date. We have to get him here before David's graduation or risk having him DURING graduation.

David was hoping for a little boy and was THRILLED when we were told that is what we are having. I wanted a boy too but would have been happy, of course, with either. We are both hoping baby #2 is a little girl. (it will be a few years hopefully!)

I started feeling Eli kick when he was just 16 weeks along. David could feel him a couple of days after me and he has not stopped kicking since. Eli is a very active little baby and I love it! We are so in love with him and already can not get enough. 8 more weeks until we get to see his face, count his toes, and give him tons of kisses!

What's Happening with The Beyleryans?

I decided to keep a blog of all of the new and exciting things that happen with David and I since we are so far away from our family and many of our friends.

We moved to Oklahoma 2.5 years ago for David to go to law school at OCU Law. He graduates in just 9 weeks! WOW! Time has gone by so quickly.

David's 1st day of Law School

Our original plan was to head on back to Texas after graduation but plans change. We fell so in love with the people and the area around here that we decided to stay for at least 5 more years. This works out for the better in many ways.

Through David's law school we had the opportunity to take a chance of a lifetime trip to China for an entire month. We spent much of the trip in Tianjin where David attended classes and then we did some sightseeing in Beijing. That is a trip that was eye opening and rich in history AND one that I am so glad we went on but never want to do again. 1 time is just right.

David and I in Tianjin. We are about to go to a Welcome Banquet complete with all of the traditional foods of China.

In Beijing about to go on a tour.

Chinese acrobat show! This was so fanastic (and air conditioned!)

This trip has so many details and wonderful pictures that it really deserves its own blog posting. Maybe I will get to that later.

It was just AFTER we returned from the trip to China that our lives really began to change!

We are expecting a sweet baby boy in May!