35 Weeks!

This pregnancy has flown by...I was officially 35 weeks as of Friday! God has blessed me with a very normal pregnancy and so far I have only experienced the normal aches/pains, tiredness, and discomfort that is to be expected. Elijah keeps asking if he can take Baby Sister out of my belly now. He is very eager to be a big brother. We have decided, after a lot of prayer and conversation with my doctor, to have a repeat c-section, so we know that the baby will be born on May 5, just one short month away! We have a lot to do still to get ready, but my parents will be visiting next week for five days and will be a great help. I'm also looking forward to my baby girl shower that some friends from church will be throwing me next weekend. :)

As I mentioned, Elijah is very excited about becoming a big brother. He talks about Baby Sister a lot and asks plenty of questions. He thinks that we should name her "Babykins" and that she will like to sit on his lap when we ride in the car. :) It is always fun to hear his perspective on life and he keeps us laughing. Elijah is turning into quite the ham and will do almost anything if he gets a laugh out of someone. We enjoy seeing his personality grow and are getting anxious to meet Baby Sister! The next 4 weeks are going to fly by!

Here is a belly shot that so many people have been requesting. 35 weeks!

Elijah Turns 2!

Its March...not sure how that happened. Here is a brief look at our February:

We had Elijah's 2nd Birthday Party on February 1st. It was Sesame Street themed and to say that Elijah enjoyed his party would be an understatement. :)

The Birthday Boy!

Elijah's actual birthday is February 6th. That happened to be a Thursday so I made a dinner that he enjoys, Tim and I gave him some gifts from us, and we played a lot. We've had a 2 year old for almost a whole month now and it is amazing how grown up he seems. As Tim's mom put it once, Elijah doesn't talk in sentences any more, he talks in paragraphs. Oh how this is true! We can spend 15 minutes in the car and never hear a moment of silence! It is hilarious and sometimes puzzling to hear his unique thoughts and take on the world. He recently started asking "why?" And has taken a huge interest in dressing himself.

The pregnancy has been going well. I am about 30 weeks and have been getting an A+ at all of my check ups. Tim and I have been feeling very blessed lately with several opportunities to spend time with other families from church and feel like we are growing our circle of friends. Its such an encouragement to get to know families that have similar priorities to ours.

Elijah Loves to Sing!

I captured this adorable moment this morning! He loves to sing lots of songs but "The B-I-B-L-E" is one of his current favorites. I also think he looks so cute in his overalls!

Our Christmas and New Year Celebrations

What happens after over a week of holiday celebrations? We find our apartment a complete mess, even though we have only slept here 5 out of the last 12 days. We find ourselves exhausted and fighting colds. And we find ourselves generally worn out and ready for our normal schedule again. But, we also find ourselves full of thankfulness for all of the many, many ways that God has blessed us. We find 182 new pictures on our camera and a fun new memory to go with each. And we find ourselves basking in the love we feel from our family and our God. We had three great Christmas celebrations and a fun New Year's Eve. Here are the highlights:

Christmas #1: The (Tim) Choronzy Family Christmas

The night before we left for MI we had our Christmas at home. We ordered out Applebee's for dinner (which was delicious), had Christmas cookies for dessert, and then opened our presents. Elijah was so fun to watch this year since he talks in sentences now. His reactions to his gifts were priceless. :)

Looking in his stocking.

Happy to get Snoopy toothbrushes.

Elijah's main gift from us was fish, which we gave him when we got back from MI. So far, he has only named one fish- the all gold one is Caillou.

Our little Christmas tree. :)

Christmas #2: The Balcom Family Christmas

Next we traveled to MI and spent 4 days, including Christmas day, at my parent's house. We had fun doing some of our favorite things to do in Richland, like eating at TenTen our favorite Chinese buffet and shopping with my mom, Molli and Autumn. On Christmas Eve we met my friend Jess for lunch and then Staci and her family came to spend the night at my parent's. We had a very exciting Christmas morning with all the cousins together. That evening we went to my grandparent's house for dinner with my extended family, which is always a hoot.

Eli & Aunt MoMo

A big present!

Holding hands with my cousin. :)

Yaya's new train set - thanks Nana & Papa!

Christmas # 3: The Choronzy Family Christmas

The Saturday after Christmas we were back in WI for Christmas with Tim's family. Elijah got a lot of fun presents and then we put him to bed and stayed up till after 1:00am with the adults opening presents. It was as memorable as ever, but boy were we tired afterward!

A car mat from Uncle Andy.

Wow!

"This a big present!"

Elijah helping empty the box.

Thanks Uncle Nate & Laura!

New Year's Eve

I actually forgot my camera for New Year's Eve so, sorry, there are no pictures. But, Elijah has the best grandparents, uncles, and aunts because seven adults played hide and go seek with him for at least 45 minutes. He had a blast walking around Grandma and Grandpa's house with a little lantern finding everyone. After Elijah went to bed, the adults played the Logo game which we never actually finished because midnight came and then we were all too tired to keep playing. Later New Year's day we were back at Tim's parents' for a lobster and steak dinner.

Whew! I am exhausted just giving you the highlights of our incredibly blessed holiday celebration. Now, I'm going to go clean our apartment...

It's A....

We had our ultrasound appointment on Monday and the baby received an A++! Elijah thought it was neat to see the baby "on the TV" again and Tim enjoyed his first look at our little one. By the time we left the doctor's office Elijah was the talk of the nurses. He is so charming, he makes friends literally everywhere we go! :) And now what you really want to hear.

We are very excited to announce...

Elijah was right! He is having a baby sister! Tim and I are thrilled to be able to experience having both a son and a daughter. It's been very exciting around our house knowing that we can now call the baby "she" or "her" and thinking of all the little girl things we get to buy. :)


Here's a  few more pictures of our little charmer.

We are getting very excited about Christmas.

Elijah needs to have all of his friends to help him sleep. :)

Feeling Settled

These past few months have really flown by! We are enjoying settling into our life here in Wisconsin. Tim is enjoying his job and all the perks that come with it - like playing with knives, discussing survival techniques and weekend trips to the trailer to test gear. We are all enjoying getting involved in church and making friendships there. I have been helping in Elijah's nursery and attending women's Bible study once a week. Tim has been volunteering with the Jr. High youth group. And Elijah loves going to church so he can play with his friends. He talks about nursery a lot and sings the songs that he learns there.

Elijah has grown and changed so much since we have moved to WI. He has a lot of energy and loves to run around and sing songs. He is talking in 4 to 5 word sentences and blowing us away daily with how smart and observant he is. Elijah is also the funniest kid I've ever met. We are never short on laughter in this house.

Our biggest excitement recently is that we are expecting baby number two in May! Elijah is thrilled to be a big brother and convinced that he will have a baby sister. We find out the gender next week so we will know if he is right! The pregnancy has made it a bit more difficult to adjust to our move, but we are happy that we finally feel settled and at peace that we are where God wants us. He is doing some exciting things in our family!

Elijah and Grandma on Thanksgiving.

Watching a family favorite, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Our living room all decorated for Christmas.

Kitchen.

Dining room.

Our stocking are hung in the hallway with care. :)

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I want this blog to be a scrapbook of sorts that Tim, our children, and myself can look back on and remember what life was like. Life is changing so fast for us, I am particularly glad that I decided to take a day in early June to keep my camera with me all day and take pictures for a "day in the life" post. Only two months later our life is completely different! So, as late as this is, here is a day in the life of Elijah and myself while living at my parents.

Elijah woke up about 7:30am.

Breakfast was pancakes and bananas. Elijah's favorite meal is breakfast.

Next we got dressed. What a ham!

We went to the library.

Elijah wanted to do some reading in the teen room on their fancy chairs.

When we got home Elijah helped with his favorite chore, laundry.

He LOVES to turn on the dryer.

We played in the basement some before lunch.

At lunch Eli ate yogurt and practiced using a spoon.

Then he took a nap and I folded laundry and did some computer work.

Elijah woke up in a silly mood. :)

Next came snack time and my afternoon coffee...

Elijah watched Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while we ate. He LOVES that show and is always shouting, clapping, or dancing along.

Then we went outside. Elijah has to have ALL the basketballs out when we play.

We waited for Daddy to come home.

And he did!

We took a family walk in the neighborhood.

And Eli helped sweep the driveway while Mommy made dinner.

I think we had macaroni.

After dinner we played.

.

Elijah got ready for bed.

After Eli went to bed, Tim and I had a snack and watched a tv show together.

Because this was almost 2 months ago I don't remember a lot of the details from the day. It already seems like a long time ago that this was our life! I will have to do another "day in the life" post here in our new home.