Holidays and what not!

This was my first Christmas in 30 years away from my mom and dad! Luckily I had 2 wonderful boys, some good friends, and an anticipated visit from my sister's family to keep me occupied! Kingston really didn't get the concept of what was going on but he still enjoyed himself. On Christmas morning we woke up to see what Santa had brought!A letter from Santa to Kingston recapping the year and all his big events!

Stockings full of good stuff!

And of course a ball pit for him to play in!

And a brand new bone for our favorite girl!

After we opened gifts our friends Phil and Elizabeth brought their little boy Riley over and we ate dinner, played games and took the boys for a ride around the neighborhood in Riley's new wagon! It was a great day!

On Friday my sister came down with her family for the weekend and it was great to see her and the boys. And of course Kingston had a blast with them! We went to the park and on Saturday when it was 70 degrees and the boys had so much fun!

Kingston's first time on a real swing!

While Corey looks like a pro!

My sister, Chase and Andrew being silly on the turtle!

Even Laney got in on the action!

On Sunday we went to OpryLand Hotel to take a look at the lights and ride the boat! Alfred and I took this opportunity to get a picture taken just like we did last year only this year with our new addition!

We had a great weekend and Kingston went back to West Virginia with my sister to stay there until Friday so Alfred and I are home alone and seem to do nothing but talk about Kingston! We miss our little buddy but it is nice to have some us time!

A Week in Rewind!

Just a quick look at our week through snapshots I just uploaded off the camera!

Enjoying my cake at the dinner theater with my work girls.

AnneMarie holding up one of our 5 bottles of wine at the table! Yes it was a great night!

Acting silly before the show started!

Kingston working on his skills!

Sitting in the tub like a big boy!

Showing off his pimp jean jacket from his Aunt Amanda!

Kingston crawling on JoJo's mom Natalina while JoJo plays with Kingston's ball!

And me eating steak for the first time in 6 years! Oh yea I'm a meat eater again!

As for the rest of the week Kingston got his picture taken with Santa and we are awaiting Christmas! Hope you enjoyed our week in review!

If These Walls Could Talk!

One year ago today with shaky hands the dotted line was signed, a 30 year commitment was made and we became homeowners! When Alfred called and reminded me of this little fact this morning I quickly thought back to the memories that have already been made here. This is where we moved in on Christmas day last year (thanks mom and dad),had our first party on New Year's Eve with very little furniture, where my water broke, where we brought Kingston home from the hospital, where Alfred proposed for real on my birthday in front of the kitchen sink, where we came home for the first time as a married couple, the house we learned to become parents in!! And even the small things like the nights we've stayed up just the 2 of us playing uno or scrabble or the wii, the mornings when we lay in bed laughing at the sounds Kingston's making across the hall, the visits from our friends! It's unbelievable how much fun, excitement, heartache, love and overall emotion can be felt in one year in one house. If these walls could talk I'm sure they'd have a crazy story to tell about the Ellers! I can't predict weather we will live her for the next 29 years of our mortgage but I do know that if we don't one day we will drive back here with our family and share the stories this house will be able to tell!

Yippee for 3 Day Weekends!

I decided to take today as a vacation day so that I could have a 3 day weekend and get some stuff done before Christmas.

Friday night I went to my friend Jennifer's to hang out with the girls, make cookies for the troops, play board games and catch up, it was so much fun. Saturday I hung out at the house all day with Kingston just playing and enjoying some just the 2 of us time. Sunday morning we all got up to go to church and imagine my surprise when I put Kingston in his crib to pick out his outfit and I turned around to this...

When did he learn how to do this and how did I miss it? Was this the first time? I yelled to show Alfred and he said he'd been trying to pull himself up on the couch the night before but hadn't succeeded! I'm going to have to ask at daycare to see if this is something he's been doing! They are usually really good about telling us anything new they see him do! But maybe they forgot this or maybe he had a little motivation to see what Laney was doing!

Guess it's time to lower the mattress! Although he still can't go from laying to sitting but I'm sure that will happen soon enough!

On Sunday we drove to Murfreesboro to see Bethlehem Marketplace. It was amazing! Besides the absolute wonderful job they do portraying the city the day after Christ was born we got to pet camels and donkeys and experience something that was truly unbelievable. Here are just a few pictures from our visit.

It was a great weekend but now we have to get back to the real world and since we are supposed to have ice storms I'm sure I'm back to my 3 hour commute in the morning! Be safe this week!

Let it Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow!

We had our first snow of the season yesterday and while I spent 3 hours in traffic trying to get home Alfred took Kingston and Laney outside to play.

Laney had a blast running around in the driveway and yard and then shaking the snow off!

A View from our front porch.

My men enjoying the weather! Alfred said Kingston was so excited he couldn't stand it!

And of course after being outside in the cold every baby needs to warm up by the fire!

And although this has nothing to do with snow! Today he had to wear Red to daycare and I thought this was so cute I had to throw it in! Of course the hat came off as he and I waited in traffic for 3 hours this morning on the way to work :)!

Christmas Time Anyone!

We finally had a chance to put up our tree last night, It was wonderful. We put on Christmas music made coffee and danced around putting up the decorations! It was so fun! I'm so excited to be starting these traditions with my family! It's great to be an Eller!

Nine Month Check-up

It's hard to believe that it's already time for Kingston's 9 month check-up! Where did the time go? Alfred took Kingston to his doctors appt. today and his stats are as follows:
17lbs. 9oz. - 12.4 percentile
27 in.- 19.9 percentile
He got a clean bill of health except he has a testicle that still hasn't dropped so they want us to take him to Vandy on January 28th to see a urologist and make sure all is well, I will keep you posted. Apparently worst case scenario he has a small procedure but let's hope it doesn't get to that. The word procedure always scares me.

In other Eller news Alfred was out of town last week with work so I was pretty much on my own. I gained more respect for single working moms. It was exhausting doing it all alone, not to mention lonely. I was again reminded how lucky I am to have Alfred and how helpful he is!

Saturday night we went to Opry Mills Hotel to look at the lights and out to eat with my Rockin' Mom's Group for a family outing and we had such a wonderful time. These ladies are great fun and are quickly becoming great friends!

Sunday we were both off work together for the first time since Thanksgiving so we just hung out, cleaned house and enjoyed the time off. I'm looking forward to putting up our Christmas decorations this week for the first time in the new house! Yippee! Have a great week!

Gobble Till You Wobble!!

This was our first Thanksgiving as the Ellers and our first Thanksgiving with Kingston. I was looking back at pictures from last November, I was 20 weeks pregnant with a little tiny baby bump still living in the apartment and just found out we were having a little boy! I was so thankful last year but so frightened. I knew 2008 would be a HUGE year of change and I was scared I wouldn't know what to do when all that change occurred. I'm thankful this year that God could see into the future and that he chose me to be Kingston's mom and Alfred to be his dad and that we as a family have been given an abundance of blessings. We have a wonderful family, amazing friends, jobs in a time of economic uncertainty, a roof over our head and a love for one another that is unbreakable. I am so thankful for all of that and so much more! I just thought I should take a moment to be thankful since sometimes I forget.

Now as for what we did this wonderful weekend. After I spent most of Thanksgiving day laying around the house sick with a stomach virus.(I'm the orange blob on the couch, and Kingston is sympathy sleeping in the swing.)

We packed our bags and headed to West Virginia to visit my family.

( No we didn't make him ride in there he just thought it was a cool place to hang out while daddy packed)

We had our Thanksgiving feast on Friday and there was so much food to eat!

(Turkey shaped bread courtesy of Publix :)

It was great to spend the weekend visiting even if I was sick and on there couch 1/2 the time! I hope you all had a great weekend too!

And now as promised a picture of 2 of the 4 teeth Kingston has been working so hard on!

Have a great week!

It's mama's world you just live in it!

Let me first tell you I won't be posting any pics this time although I have plenty of cute ones, my home computer has a virus that we have been trying to get rid of for a week now! I had so many things to say though that I couldn't wait any longer. First Kingston officially has 3 teeth and will probably have the fourth next week sometime. He also might have waited 7.5 months to say his first word but when we were at Opry Mills the other day and he looked at me desperate to get out of his stroller and said Mama it was worth the wait. Everyone said there was no way he would say Mama before Dada but I just knew he would! And according to an old wives tale if a baby says Mama first the next child will be a girl, but with 4 grandsons and no granddaughters in our family I'm a little sceptical.
In other Eller news we had our Christmas cards shot this week and they are amazing! My friend Sarah took them and they turned out so great we are having a hard time deciding which one to use. I guess you'll know which one we choose when you get it in your mailbox :)!
We also had a wonderful weekend when the Baker's decided to come down from Louisville, we love hanging out with this family. Mark and Annie have 3 kids under the age of 5, Abby (4), Eli (2) and Mary Ellen (1). So as you can imagine when they visit the house comes alive. I love these little guys and of course Kingston loves watching them play and enjoys stealing there toys. We went to the Grinch on ice which was so cold but so fun! Kingston's little cheeks were so wind burned but he seemed to enjoy it! We also went to Opry Mills to look at the lights which I can't do enough during the Holiday Season. It's also wonderful to spend time with Mark and Annie.
So as you can see we've been pretty busy lately! I wish I could show you all the pictures and hopefully our computer will be fixed before the next post. Have a great weekend!

Playful Weekend

We didn't do a whole lot this weekend but somehow we managed to stay busy. Alfred had to work both Saturday and Sunday so Kingston and I got to spend tons of quality time together!

On Saturday I babysat our friend Phil and Elizabeth's little boy Riley.

This is really the first time Riley and Kingston have been able to play together. Before Kingston was too little to get the concept of playing with another baby! It's amazing how quickly they are growing up. And I was reminded more of that when Riley came over with his parents for dinner on Sunday night wearing a hat and looking like a big boy!

Kingston had a cold all weekend! He took longer naps, had a chapped nose and somehow still managed to be so adorable! He never falls asleep in his swing which is how I know he wasn't feeling the greatest!

But you would never know it 15 minutes later when he woke up rejuvenated and ready to play!

We had a great weekend staying close to home! I didn't want it to end especially when I came out of the bathroom to leave for work this morning and Alfred and Kingston were playing on the bed and I saw this face!! I know he was trying to make it hard for mama to go to work!

Have a happy and safe week!!

We are all officially Ellers!

Wow what a busy few weeks! First I'm officially an Eller!! Alfred and I got married on October 25Th at Union Station. It was a better than perfect day! And by that I mean I couldn't have ask for more! I don't know if it was because I am so in love with him or because so many of our friends and family came from all over to celebrate and celebrate we did but I'm pretty sure it was a little of both! I don't have any pics of Alfred and I at the wedding yet, I was too busy dancing and having a ball but I'll have some in a few weeks when my fabulous photographer (thanks for the referral Sarah these guys were amazing) gets them ready and I'll post some then! Kingston however wore the cutest little tux as you can tell from my banner pic (of course he isn't wearing his jacket in that pic). All in all it was a wonderful day and I thank all of you who came and celebrated with us and I look forward to all of you being in our lives for many anniversaries!

Also this past week was Halloween I might be a little late but I want you to see my little baby Superman!

Actually the city was very safe that night with not one, not two, not three but 4 Supermen!

All my nephews were also Supermen! It was so much fun to get to spend time with my sister and my family for Halloween it has been years since we've been able to do that!

There is so much more I could tell you, like Kingston got his first wagon, met his great grandmother, went to the Pumpkin House with my family. I could tell you about my wonderful honeymoon but you know how much I hate to play catch up so I'll give you the Kingston basics, he has 2 teeth and they are so cute! He can scoot anywhere he wants to go and should probably be crawling anytime now! He's a HUGE fan of mac and cheese and bread, loves those carbs just like his mommy! And he's still as happy as can be! Life just keeps getting better!

I think I can...

Today was a very exciting day! We got our first book from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library "The Little Engine that Could". (If you are a parent check into this) I was so excited when we came home and the book had arrived. First because it was something new for Kingston and I to read and also because it came addressed to Kingston Eller in care of Rachel Eller!! How exciting is that!!!! I know it isn't official yet but it will be in 4 days!! WooHoo! We had a wonderful time reading the book. Well I had a wonderful time reading it and Kingston had a wonderful time watching Laney while sitting on my lap. Oh well he will eventually understand!

And speaking of I think I can, I think I can I think I can!!

I knew I could, I knew I could I knew I could!

It's official folks we have a sitter!! Have a great week!

Fall Has Arrived!

The fall weather has arrived and it is wonderful!! Kingston and I went with Rosanna and Dawson today to Gentry's Pumpkin Farm and it was a blast! We went on a hay ride (well minus the hay of course since apparently they don't put hay on a hayride anymore but that's a different story entirely :), attempted a corn maze and got terribly lost, went on a Nature hike and of course Kingston picked a pumpkin! It was such a beautiful day to do such a wonderful fall event and it gave plenty of time for photo ops!

As for Alfred and I this time next week and yes almost this time exactly we will be husband and wife! We got our marriage license this week and I was like a giddy child I am so excited to take his last name and really make our family official! Of course we had to get pictures of us signing the big marriage book!

With that I say have a great week! And I'm sure I'll update once more as Miss Adams!