Eleanor Rae Turns 2

Our little girl is 2!!! It feels like Eleanor has been with our little family forever, but at the same time I can't believe that she is already 2 years old now. Since we had a DISNEYLAND trip planned for the following month, we kept Eleanor's birthday pretty low-key and didn't throw a big party.

Her birthday fell on a Thursday, we decided to wait till Daddy was home on the weekend to celebrate, but I did try getting a little video of our birthday girl. She kept saying "no", but I did get a little out of her...

The night of her birthday we went to...McDonalds for dinner. That's how we keep it fancy here in Green River ;) It kills me to let Eleanor play on the little kids area there, but we knew she would be in heaven (and she was) so that was the big birthday dinner!

Saturday morning we gave Eleanor her gifts. 

 My sister sent this adorable book titled, "I'm a Big Sister." (A few days later the same book arrived from my brother and his family as well :) Thank you guys! Shows you what a perfect gift for her it was! haha) Eleanor loves books and we have added this one into our bedtime routine...

 Time to open more!

Happy girl! Her "cheese face" is something special these days :) My parents got her a little bike that she can scoot around on (small enough for in the house! a major plus since winter is coming). Sam and I got her this little Disney Princess Castle. She loved playing with the new toys!

That evening we had our friends Nick, Natalie and their kids, Easton and Harper over. I wanted to still do a cake for Eleanor so we had to have some company to share! They were sweet and got Eleanor a cute set of Frozen figurines (another thing she of course loved). We enjoyed a yummy dinner together then sang to the birthday girl.

Showing that she's 2!

Some facts about our girl:

• At 2 Eleanor is learning new words every day. I think she is slightly behind where I see some two year olds, but catching up quickly (just like how she was behind in walking). 
• She started a new phase where she loves to be held and carried. She'll trick you into it by saying, "Hug!" and throw her arms around you and then proceed to point to where she wants you to take her.
• Eleanor loves to be a helper. Whether it's for baking, setting the table, sweeping, taking out the trash...she finds her way to help and is so happy doing it!
• Eleanor loves her daddy and gets so excited every day when he comes home from work. When she hears the garage door she lets out a "Dad!" shout then runs to give him a big hug.
• She loves milk, cheese, cookies, ketchup (asks for it with EVERYTHING), chicken nuggets, eggs, and macaroni and cheese. (Nice diet, huh?)
• Loves nursery
• Sleeps for about 11 hours every night and takes one nap a day, typically 2 hours long
• Loves to watch Elmo and Micky and Minnie (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
• Enjoys puzzles and loves to name animals and make their sounds
• Gets SO excited whenever she sees a school bus :)

At Eleanor's 2 year check-up she was 30 inches (77%), 29 lbs (84%), and 19.2 inch head circumference (88%).

I always knew I wanted to be a mother, but had no idea how great of a role it truly is. I'm so glad Eleanor joined our family two years ago and I count her as a blessing every single day. Sam and I still talk about how much she has changed our lives but how we love that change and wouldn't give it up for anything! We love our growing Elle Rae.

Baby Boy Nielsen

Meet our man! Isn't he cute?

And in case there was any question as to whether the US tech got it right....

We are so thrilled to be having a little boy join our family and feel blessed to know our family will be growing. I can't believe he'll be here in just a few short months already. I feel like my pregnancy with Eleanor took fooorreeevverrr and this one seems to be going quickly, especially with the holidays coming up and travel plans to go along with them, I think the remaining time will fly by!

My pregnancy has been pretty similar to when I was pregnant with Eleanor, with a few slight differences. I started feeling sick right around 6 weeks like with Eleanor and my sickness was always the worst at night. That is always when I'd be most nauseous and throwing up. I would just have queasy moments during the day that wouldn't last too long as long as I kept food in me.
This pregnancy I was WAY more tired in the first trimester (many said it may have something to do with the fact I had to keep up with a toddler this time around!). I always had to nap during Elle's naps and my bedtime on most nights became the same as hers! Luckily by the 2nd trimester I started getting more energy back.
My feet have ached since the beginning, some days are worse than others (this happened with Eleanor) and just this week my hips have started to ache. This happened with Eleanor, but not till closer to the end. I remember being at an appointment with my doctor and explaining my hip pain and asking if there were anything I could do to relieve it. His response? "Go into labor." Gee, thanks doc...
One last difference is that I have had a few (3) episodes of intense cramping. I never felt cramps with Eleanor so these make me really nervous each time they happen. I haven't had spotting or any other bad signs with the cramping so everything is still fine. I just pray they never come back. They are PAINFUL!

Of course the first item of business after learning the gender was a trip to Gap to get his wardrobe started.

And here are the latest bump pics...
20 weeks (halfway!)

 25 weeks

No decision on names yet. Still working on that. People often ask if Eleanor has any idea of what is going on... nope! We try to let her know there is a baby in my belly but she will then point to her stomach (and once Sam's) and say there is a baby in there :) She got a really cute book called "I'm a Big Sister" from cousins for her birthday that we have added to our bedtime reading routine, but I don't think any of that is sinking in. She does LOVE babies right now and has become really into her baby doll lately. My guess is that she will be a loving older sister who may love the baby a little TOO much at first so we will have to teach her how to give the baby space and be gentle. We will see!

August Things

Here's a recap of our August based on my iphone photos:

Eleanor's little buddy, Easton, turned two and he had a cute baseball-themed birthday party. It was hilarious watching Eleanor eat her cupcake - which she decided to do sans hands. 

 

 The county fair comes to Rock Springs in August and it is a huge deal out here. We got lucky and Sam has a nice coworker who gave us free tickets for one night! Eleanor enjoyed the petting zoo and after a few seconds of hesitation on the carousel, LOVED that. She wanted to go on it again as soon as we were off.

Big smiles with Dad on the ferris wheel...

Here I am at 14 weeks, with my bump of a little boy...

 One day Eleanor was given stickers at the grocery store (PS can I add that everywhere we go, strangers are always giving this girl candy?!?) When I opened up the card door to get her out she was so excited to proudly show me what she had done with the stickers. It gave me a good laugh.

We went down to Utah for a weekend and my mom was in town, which was lovely! She made this adorable tutu for Eleanor. Saturday morning we strolled around the Provo Farmer's Market and devoured these delish crepes. They were amazing!

We spent the afternoon and evening with Sam's family and extended family members celebrating the wonderful "G" (Sam's grandma) for her 80th birthday. Although Sam and I have always lived away from family since we've been married, we are grateful that at least we've never been too far from G! She always welcomes us to her home with a place to stay and yummy food to eat. Eleanor has learned to love G and her house as well. Just a few weekends ago we were there and when we pulled into the driveway, Eleanor pointed towards the house and immediately started shouting, "G! G! G!" It was so cute.

 My little baking helper loves licking the kitchenaid attachment and always successfully gets food all over her face. I don't think she minds :)

 My YW presidency and I made it one year together in our callings! To celebrate I had all the ladies over for a brunch one Saturday morning. Of course with Chef Sammy at work in the kitchen, the food was delicious. I am grateful for these women and the chance I've had to get to know them and work with them.

 One of Eleanor's most favorite things to do this summer was color outside with her sidewalk chalk. One day Sam traced Eleanor's body on one of our porch steps, Eleanor then insisted that Sam lay on the next step and she trace him. The sight gave me a good laugh...

 Another weekend was spent down in Utah to celebrate our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe 5 years have passed. Sam had a nice surprise lined up and took me out to The Melting Pot. Neither of us had eaten there before so it was a fun experience. The food was yummy and we both agreed our favorite course was the dessert! It was great to have a special night out with my man!

 

The following day we went to the Hogle Zoo and had a great time. We rode the train, looked at all the animals and Eleanor even got to ride her favorite animal, a giraffe, on the carousel!

This random picture still makes me smile when I see it. Eleanor still loves to be a big helper and finds her own way to help. I was washing dishes after lunch one day when I turned around to see two place-mats sticking up in the drawer. Without me noticing, Eleanor had cleared them from the kitchen table and put them in the right drawer, I guess she just couldn't figure out how to make them fit! :)

Heyman Homecoming - Party Time

My parents and Taylor's homecoming talks were over a week after they came home, so we had a week to fill with fun while everyone was still in town. We celebrated Independence Day together, went to the Lifetime Fitness pool a few times (that place is amazing), went out for donuts, played at home, spent a day at the lake, attended the Gilbert temple, held two parties for the returned missionaries and much more. It was a crazy but fun week! Here's some of the photos I got from it, mostly all from my phone...

The day after the missionaries returned home was the 4th of July. We swam and had a yummy BBQ. Elle was in heaven spending so much time outside and being with her cousins.

Sam and I announced that WE'RE EXPECTING!!! Baby #2 is officially on it's way.

One day Sammy took his family's boat out for the Heyman clan. It requires a lot of work so we were all grateful he wanted to do it. We took turns of who was on the boat and who stayed on the beach area. We brought along the paddle boards and had a lot of food, so it was a great time. I think both kids and adults had a lot of fun.

One morning my mom treated us all to donuts at a donut shop where you get to pick your icing and toppings - and they have a ton of options! It was yummy.

 

 

 

The Saturday before the homecoming was my parent's 35th wedding anniversary! We celebrated as a family by doing a session at the Gilbert temple together. This was the first time our whole family was able to go to the temple together. It also was my first time in the Gilbert temple, which is STUNNING. It may be my favorite now. I couldn't get over the beauty of it all! It was a special morning. We finished it off with lunch at Cafe Rio :)

That evening we had an open house for those who traveled from out of town to see my mom, dad and Taylor. My parents had a lot of former missionaries (and some missionary parents) who came to see them so that was really neat. The following Sunday after the talks we had all family and friends over. For both events we setup an soft-serve ice cream bar. My parents rented an ice-cream machine and we didn't leave any topping options out (as you will see in the pic). It was so yummy and a success!

 My sister was especially happy to learn I was pregnant because it meant her little girl would have a cousin close in age!

My BFF, Maegan, happened to be in town that week. I was sooo our visits to AZ lined up and we were able to see each other.

We spent the week staying with Maddie and Lindsay who were in a home less than a mile from my parent's. Eleanor loved getting to spend time with her beloved cousin, Stella. These two are too cute together and really do love each other!

I am so grateful for our families and grateful for the time we were able to spend with them this summer. I also can't express how happy I am that my parents are finally home from their mission! Some say the 3 years flew by, but I just smile and nod my head when they say that :)