Happy Thanksgiving (and 22 weeks!)

Happy Thanksgiving

from our little family

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,

let us be thankful,

and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

for our God is a consuming fire

-Hebrews 12:28

Looking back at Elijah's

first 3 Thanksgivings with such gratitude,

and looking forward to the next one

with a bigger E and a little sister.

2008

2009

2010

Closets make me smile

One of the many things I am thankful for this year...

our closets.

They make me smile.

Closet #1:

After playing outside today

we came in and I told Elijah to take his shoes off.

Later, when I went to put clothes away

I found this:

He had put his shoes away in our closet

right next to his daddy's.

Closet #2:

Since Elijah's birth

his closet has pretty much always looked like this:

Absolutely FULL of clothes.

This is in huge part thanks to

1. Family (who loves to shop)

2. Friends (who give us hand-me-downs) &

3. Friends of friends

(who have twin boys and my generous friend shares the goodies!)

It's impossible to look into these closets

and not smile.

Mmm... Good Pancake Mommy

Today Adam's office is having their annual Thanksgiving party.

Everyone brings a dish and Adam decided to bring

Oreo cupcakes (the ones I made for Elijah's birthday).

No problem.

I love baking and the recipe is super easy.

So yesterday while E napped, I baked.

I heard him wake up and a few minutes later he walks in the office

holding a cupcake.

"Mmmm. Good." he says.

How on earth did he get a cupcake?

They were on a cooling rack on the counter,

not close to the edge.

I go to the kitchen and see this:

Evidently, he walked in the kitchen,

saw the cupcakes,

and went and got his stool from him room.

I couldn't do anything but laugh.

"Good pancake Mommy"

21 Weeks

We're filled with gratitude here in the Teston house this week.

21 weeks along (more than halfway there!);

the realization that we're having a girl is starting to sink in;

one week until Thanksgiving;

and ONE month from yesterday Adam will graduate college!

Baby girl news: nothing new :) We're closer to deciding on a name!

We've narrowed it down to two,

now Adam just gets to decide which one.

Elijah: Oh boy.

This child keeps me on my toes everyday

with the new things that he says and does.

Today, he was doing something he shouldn't

and I told him he had until "three" to stop...

I say "one", and he says:

"two, three, four, five, six".

He counted to SIX!

I was so proud I completely forgot what it was I was counting for.

His talking has become non-stop

and everyday I enjoy seeing where our conversations may lead.

A favorite is to talk through Toy Story 3

scene by scene.

Every since he got the movie for his birthday it's all he wants to watch.

This is no surprise.

He's obsessed with all things Buzz Lightyear.

We don't let him watch movies during the week though.

Evidently, the next best thing in Elijah's eyes

is to talk about the movie

and reenact the scenes as best we can with his figurines.

Let me tell you just how much fun this is.

A couple other things I have to note about him,

solely because they make me smile and I don't want to forget.

-He hates the stringy things on bananas.

From what I hear he gets this from his father.

Whenever I get him a banana he inspects it for strings.

-Pop tarts cannot be broken in any way when he sits down for breakfast.

He does not understand that although Mommy and Daddy

can fix just about any toy or book

with tape or glue,

the same is not true for pop tarts.

-Paper towels must be perfectly rectangular.

Should there be any additional towel of the previous or next

paper towel, it must be removed before he will use

or eat any food off of it.

Love him.

Adam took E to his first UCF football game last weekend:

Licking his jello.

He would not just eat it.

Lastly,

today E and I had the pleasure

of babysitting our new friend Emery

for a few hours.

It was so fun!

She is the sweetest, snuggliest little m&m ever.

20 Weeks with BIG NEWS!

To the world,

You may be just another girl.

But to me,

Baby, you are the world

So we went this morning for our

very anticipated 20 week ultrasound.

They checked baby #2 out and everything looked great!

Sonographer said she wished all baby hearts looked as good as ours.

That was, of course, the best news we could hear.

Healthy baby.

Then she asked if we wanted to know the gender.

Oh yes we do!

She was looking between the legs

and Adam said,

"Uh, I don't see any boy parts."

Sonographer replied with,

"Nope, it looks like a girl."

I didn't believe her.

You better make sure it more than looks like a girl.

So after checking all the other organs and sizes she went back.

Yup.

Definitely a girl.

Wow. Really? We're having a girl?

We were shocked (and immensely overjoyed).

Everyone called it except us.

The Testons are always boys

(with the exception of Heather - you gave us hope!)

But, ta-da, a girl.

I can't explain the feeling.

A little girl after our little boy.

Elijah gets the sister he wants!

So now it's time to think pink!

No name picked out (we only had a boy one ready).

Here are some pictures we got of HER today.

(It's going to take a while to get used to this!)

Enjoy!

Foot

 Feet

 Baby :)

It's a GIRL! 

Go pink :)

PS. Be aware - blog name will soon be changing!

Birthday Party Pics

Birthday Boy in his birthday shirt!

It was cold so I didn't get too many pics.

Part of the birthday photo banners

He loves his friends :)

She's not too sure about this little boy hanging on her though!

Trying to get Aiden to come play.

Nice, huh?

Typical boy...

"Blowing" out his candles

(it was very windy and they wouldn't stay lit. He didn't notice.)

Kids love cupcakes! 

Evidently, the only way my kid knows how to eat a cupcake.

Desi

Aiden

Mmmm... juice box and Oreo cupcake!

Love this kid!

(We missed you Karlie! Hope you're having a blast in Japan!!!)

Happy Birthday Little One

Happy Birthday

Elijah Bradford Teston

You bring your Daddy and I so much joy every day.

We are beyond blessed to be your parents.

The past two years have been the best we've ever had.

You are growing into the most precious little boy

and we are looking forward to seeing

the life that God has planned for you.

Thank you for being so perfectly you

and making me smile each day.

We love you more than words can describe.

19 Weeks & Birthday Party Preparations

19 weeks along today!

145 days to go.

1 week until we know the gender.

The last couple days the baby has really started moving.

Up until then I'd feel it occasionally,

but never consistent.

Now, it is all the time!

I love it.

The movements are strong enough to be felt

by Adam, however the baby

ALWAYS stops moving as soon as he enters the room.

Even if he's not trying to feel.

Just walks into the room and baby calms down.

Lets hope he has the effect when baby arrives.

Other than the wonderful kicks, wiggles and moves

no other news in baby #2 world.

Next week's post will hopefully reveal if E

will have a brother or sister!

As for Elijah...

Ah.

My sweet boy

will be TWO this weekend.

It's so emotional

but much different than last year.

His first birthday was so bittersweet.

I was happy he was growing and maturing

but it seemed to soon.

He changed so much that first year.

From being a newborn baby who can only

eat, sleep and poop,

to becoming a person.

So much change in 12 months.

This year is emotional but only in a happy way.

Yes, he's growing physically,

but it's the individuality that is so wonderful.

This year he became not just a person,

but became Elijah.

It is such a blessing to watch.

So this time, as I look back at the past year,

I'm filled with nothing but gratitude,

admiration and excitement.

It has been the best year of my life

and I'm looking forward to seeing what his next year of life brings.

This past week has been FILLED with lots of birthday

party preparation.

I guess since I'm home this year

I thought I should take time to make things myself.

I must say I shocked myself.

I made him a birthday banner,

photo garland,

and a birthday t-shirt.

Although they are all covered with imperfections,

I am really happy with how they all turned out

and am excited to have them included

in the birthday celebration!

I will most definitely be posting lots of pics after the party!

Off to finish some last minute items:

mom gets in tonight,

busy day of shopping, visiting friends and cupcake baking tomorrow,

and party on Saturday!

Enjoy some pics of E playing outside:

Watching the Boone Homecoming Parade

Playing on the train at the Mt Dora craft fair

Mmm.. Nana treated him to a cupcake.

He only ate the icing :)

"One, Two, Three, Six"

He heard a lawn mower

and thought if he brought his slide over to the fence

he could see our neighbor Bob over it.