1. So the reason I've had a blogging hiatus was because the past 2 weeks our family has been sick. E came down with strep for the 2nd time this month, and then a couple of days later was diagnosed with a double ear infection. Believe me, it's just as fun as it sounds. Then I came down with a horrible cold that gave me a 102 fever and knocked me on my butt. Jason even had to come home on Monday to take E for the afternoon so I could get some rest. He took her to Cabela's and she had a blast. She is still talking about the car today.



2. We went to Sea Life Aquarium with some friends on Wednesday. E had a blast. She loves loves loves fish and sea creatures. She ran from each exhibit yelling "look look fish" the whole time. It was so precious. The joy she has for aquariums is truly adorable.








3. Yesterday was E's half birthday. I can't believe she is 18 months! Yesterday, I was trying to get ready so we could leave the house, and she wanted to put on some necklaces of mine. She put on two that she wore all day long! She wore them to the store and to our class at Little Gym. I almost died from the cuteness of it all.



4. The Oscars are this Sunday. Yay! I think Ellen is hilarious so it will fun to watch her host. I haven't seen one movie that is nominated this year but I will still enjoy all the fashion and hoopla.

5. Zulily has had some really good deals lately. In one week, I bought some Saucony running shoes for me and Jason and some Pediped shoes for E. THEN, they had Toms shoes on sale so I bought myself a few pairs (plus E got some too) using some of my birthday money. I am so excited to get them all in the mail.
 Happy Friday!

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner today to talk about infertility. I've never written out my full story but I hope those who are going through the trenches of infertility can read this and have hope! I'll try to keep it short and sweet =)

First off though, I want to send all of those struggling a huge virtual hug. I know what you are going through. I know the months of longing for a child and seeing all your friends get pregnant, have the baby, and sometimes even watch them get pregnant again. And there you sit with your arms still empty. My heart hurts for you. Please feel free to send me a message if you just need someone to commiserate  with you.

Jason and I decided to start trying for a family in December 2009. I got off the pill and quickly became obsessive over charting. After a few months of having no cycle, I decided to see my OB to make sure everything was ok. She prescribed Clomid for 3 months to see if that would jump start my body and help me to conceive. Three months and three negative tests later, my OB referred me to reproductive specialist. We went to the RE doctor where I was diagnosed with PCOS, but we had a game plan, and I left hopeful. In August 2010, we had our first IUI and 2 weeks later found out we were pregnant! We were ecstatic and so thankful. The next 13 weeks went by fast, and the next thing I knew we were at our last 1st trimester appointment. Jason and I were excited to see our little one on the screen that day. I remember that day vividly - the tech pulled out the wand and begin taking measurements but was really quiet. She left the room and came back in with the doctor who told me they couldn't find a heart beat. He was gone  - just like that. I had a D&C and begin to grieve the little one we would never know this side of heaven.



We went back to my RE who told me that the miscarriage shouldn't have happened that late since he was genetically normal, and we had seen the heart beat 3 separate times. He wanted to run tests on me. Two months later, we found out that I had several clotting disorders that  possibly could have caused a clot in the placenta. The fix was extra folic acid, a baby aspirin and heparin every day in our next pregnancy. The next few months were filled with 2 failed IUIs and recovering still from our loss. In July 2011, our 4th IUI was a success and we were pregnant again! I felt like everything was under control with this one. I couldn't wait to meet our little one in just 9 short months.

But that was not the plan that happened. A week later we lost our 2nd baby. To say that I was depressed was an understatement. One miscarriage I could handle but now 2. Two. I was in the category of women that no one wanted to be. A statistic. My heart was heavy. We headed to NYC soon after, and I drowned my sorrows in good food and Starbucks coffee.




We decided to take a break that fall because I couldn't handle any more heart break. After Thanksgiving we decided to start trying again, and we had our 5th IUI in December. The day after Christmas we received the best news - we were pregnant! Those 9 months were the longest months of my life. To be honest, I was always so nervous something was going to happen. But GOD IS SO GOOD and in August 2012, we welcomed the most wonderful beautiful miracle into the world. Our little E. She is a living testament to God's faithfulness.






I hope you find encouragement in this story. That even in the despair that you're happy ending is coming. I always found it encouraging that throughout the Bible there are stories of women who were infertile (Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth) and yet God saw them and he heard them and He granted their requests. He hears your cries to become a mother. God is so faithful and He has not forgotten you. I'm praying for you even if I don't know your name.

How is it you are 17 months?! You are learning more and more each day and it is so amazing to watch you into the person that you will become.

Here is what you are doing:

-You can say church and Jesus. When we get in the car, you think we are going to church every time and say "church" followed up by "Jesus" although it sounds like gegus. You have a book (besides your storybook bible) that has Jesus in it and you ask for the book and look for baby Jesus. You also like to carry baby Jesus from the nativity set around with you. I pray you always have a yearning to look for him and find Him.

- You are obsessed with the slide! You ask for it when you wake up, when we get in the car, and during the day. You love the park and definitely the slide.

- You like to carry your chair that you got for Christmas into the kitchen and then grab your phone and plop yourself in the chair and pretend to talk on the phone. I have no idea why you think phone calls and chairs belong in the middle of the kitchen but it's hilarious.

- Lots of new words. You just repeat, repeat, repeat! New words: chair, baby, sock, star, heart (art), soap (oap), church, Jesus, Blake (bake), hand, oh no!, trunk (cuck), elbow, pasta (pila), foot, honk honk, spider,

- You love pouring yourself coffee or tea and drinking from the cups. You love to take your coffee or tea pot and a cup and go sit in your chair or in the floor in the living room and pour yourself cup after cup.

- You love having tea parties with me.

- When we ask you to say I love you, you will blow kisses and then say "I lee". Sweetest thing ever.

- When we sing Wheels on the Bus, you will sing "Wawawa" for the babies with this really raspy voice and will say shh for the moms and the I lee for the daddys.

- You are really into us kissing your booboos. You can barely tap or brush a part of your body, and you come running to use to kiss it and make it better.

- You love to taking things to the trash and throwing them away. You love helping me put clothes away and putting clothes in the dryer. You are our big helper, and you get the biggest grin when we tell you that you are such a big help.

- You  love to wash your hands and pretend to do it in your play kitchen as well. You will also say soap when I tell you its time to wash your hands.

- You can tell me the sounds of a duck, chicken, frog, bird, and truck

- You know where your elbow is now

- You have discovered that there is a "slide" in your bathtub and so you spend a lot of your time trying to go down it. All 4 inches of it. Lol.

- You can put one of your legs through your pants by yourself but you can't get both in just yet. You try to put your shirts on this way too. You put the hole for your head through your feet. So so funny.

- You have been saying water for a couple of months now but for some reason you call it "lo". I have no idea why.

- You want to hold my hand while I'm driving a lot. You say "hand" and so I will reach my hand back there to hold your hand. My arm falls asleep while doing it but it's definitely worth it!

- If we ask for a hug, you will drop everything and come give us one. You are really good at the hugs. You even wrap your arms around our necks and squeeze. I love it!

- You still love reading books, dancing and music.

- You have a 4th tooth!!

- You love playing with your baby doll. You kiss her and carry her around with you.

- You like to call Blake (your cousin) on your pretend phone and you also love to FaceTime him too.

- Can throw a ball pretty well and say throw

- You have been saying water for a couple of months now, but for some reason you call it "lo". We have no idea why.


- Favorite toys: baby doll, phone, kitchen, and bike

- Favorite foods: pasta, chili, chicken, avocados

- You absolutely love music and dancing. Most of our day is filled with it. You like me to hold you in my arms and we dance around the room. Favorite songs: Better in Stereo, Steal your Heart from Austin and Ally, Let's go Fly a Kite

- Oh boy are your tantrums getting dramatic. Lots of screaming and thrashing. Looking forward to age 2! Hehe.

- You are around 26 pounds and are 31 1/4 inch tall.

We love you to the moon and back sweet girl!

I'm joining Darci, Natasha, April and Christina for Five On Friday!

1. We went to swimming lessons this week! Last week we had to miss because Elyanah was sick. We had to bundle up to get there because it was so cold but Elyanah had a blast in the water.

2. We had snow yesterday!!!! I was so excited! Now it didn't cover all of the grass but this girl will take what she can get! Jason and I took Elyanah outside when Jason got home from work for a bit, and she had so much fun. And after about a minute of being outside, I regretted not buying Elyanah some boots for the winter. I will definitely have to remedy that for next year.






3. I used some of my Christmas money to buy myself a Boba carrier. I can't wait to use it with Elyanah, and I'm sure I have a few years before she outgrows it.

4. I ordered a dress from Leah at Everyday Love from her shop Simply Made with Love. I got the purple one and I can't wait to get it. It's going in Elyanah's easter basket.


5. The Olympics are on and I plan on watching as much as possible. Although I did find it weird that they had events last night and are having the opening ceremony broadcasted tonight. I have lots of fun activities planned for Elyanah during the Olympics. Painting, learning about circles, and making a ski slope. I know she is only 17 months but I think it will be fun.



Have a great weekend everyone! Stay warm!

1. I watched Sean and Catherine's wedding on Sunday night. I thought it was totally cute. Although the pre-show with the boudoir photos and the lingerie shopping was soooooo awkward, and I wanted to hide behind a pillow. Don't get me wrong - I think it's awesome that they saved themselves for marriage but I didn't need to see a camera in the honeymoon suite with the maids making the bed. O.M.G. BUT Papa Jay totally stole the show. He did such a wonderful job at officiating. Don't you agree?

2. We've been cooped up in the house all week. E has been sick and after the scariest moment of my life, I was fine with a low key week. I'm not going to lie we have been hanging out in our pajamas for several days. I am happy to report she is on antibiotics and is slowly starting to feel better.

3. My essential oils that I bought came on Thursday. I am so excited to start using them. I put some in a diffuser last night, and they smelled heavenly.


4. I finished The Book Thief last weekend, and I can't say enough good things about it. So so good.

5. I made these cupcakes today for a friend of mine. One was just plain vanilla with vanilla buttercream and the other was chocolate banana with chocolate banana frosting. On the plus side: they were dairy and egg free! I had one of the chocolate ones. They were delicious!


6. Tonight I am working on two projects that I found on Pinterest. The first one is learning about God's love with little hearts and then finding them around the house each day. I think this will be fun to do this year and the years to come.

The second one is writing something I love about E and putting it on her door. I will take a picture at the end when we get to Valentine's Day. I bought hearts from Hobby Lobby today so I'm excited to get started.
 Hope you are having a good weekend!