The Eichelberger Family

Stationery card

2011-12-09T07:04:00.001-08:00

Snowflakes Ribbon Christmas Card

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Jacob William Eichelberger

2011-09-08T19:00:00.000-07:00

Jacob William Eichelberger was born on June 2, 2011 at 2:53 p.m., weighing 8 lbs 4.6 ounces. We are so happy to have this little guy with us! He is now 3 months old, but I wanted to go back and write down what I remember from his birth before I let any more time slip away.

This delivery was extremely different than my first experience with Matthew. I had some extra appointments near the end of my pregnancy due to high blood pressure. I was induced 3 days early with Matthew for this same problem. With Jacob, my blood pressure was high, but not quite high enough for my doctor to feel I needed to be sent to the hospital. We were going to hold out and make it to Tuesday so my doctor could deliver Jacob. Dr. Snow went ahead and stripped my membranes and then set an appointment for me that Thursday to follow up. Instead of showing up for my appointment, I showed up at the hospital. Wednesday night I started having contractions. I want to say they started around midnight. I couldn't sleep and I kept watchin
g the clock trying to time them. There were about seven minutes apart for a few hours and then about 5 minutes apart. I was pretty uncomfortable and decided I should finish packing my hospital bag. By the time morning rolled around, I was having some pretty strong contractions. My dad was going to be the one staying home with Matthew while were in the hospital, but I went ahead and sent him to work thinking I would just go to my scheduled appointment and see what progress baby and I had made. No more than 10 minutes after he left I was on the phone with my sister, Kim, asking if she could watch Matthew for the day. It seemed like the contractions were 3 minutes apart now and I was so uncomfortable. We dropped Matthew off and made our way over to the hospital. It took some time for them to call me back into a room but it was exciting news once they did. Turns out I was already 5 centimeters dilated and they were going to keep me there! However, it was a pretty busy day for them and no rooms were available yet so I had to wait around downstairs until one opened up. That was frustrating because I was ready for an epidural but had to wait until I was taken upstairs. By noon I was up in a room and preparing to receive the epidural. I was given the epidural and I felt some of the pain go away. The contractions still seemed so strong but I thought it would all be better in a few minutes. I also had horrible back pain. I was feeling really frustrated and kept asking for them to check my epidural. It was not working. After about an hour or so they finally came back in to check the epidural only to find out it had come out. I knew it wasn't working right, it wasn't even in! So, I told them I wanted to try again. Trying to sit up without moving through 8 or so strong contractions seemed impossible. I kept saying I couldn't do it, but all the nurses, the doctor, and Todd were so encouraging. The anesthesiologist was still trying to fix the problem when I felt that urge to push. There was so much pressure I told them all it was time. So, we gave up with the epidural and started pushing. Within 10 minutes Jacob was out and I was waiting to hear his little cry. It took several minutes for that little guy to cry. His chord was wrapped around his body (twice). I didn't get to hold him right away and I just remember being slightly out of it. Everything was just a blur. I was worried because he wasn't crying right away and they went to work suctioning him out since he had a bowel movement inside. They did let me hold him for just a minute once they cleaned him up but then they had to take him away for 2 or so hours to observe him and make sure all was well. It was hard not having Jacob with us for a few hours. Todd was able to go and see him and let me know that Jacob was doing just fine. I wasn't able to nurse Jacob right away though and we did have some trouble with breast feeding in the beginning. No cluster feeding going on with this little guy. It was pretty frustrating since I thought I'm not going to make milk if he's not trying to get any. Have you seen a picture of this boy lately though. He's definitely not starving:)
After a wonderful hospital stay (the nurses/staff were awesome) Jacob and I were about to be released that Saturday afternoon. I received the go ahead from my doctor and Jacob's paperwork was being put together. The nurse decided to check his bilirubin levels one more time. He was starting to look slightly yellow. Jacob's bilirubin level was too high and he had to stay an extra night in the hospital. I wasn't able to stay because we weren't able to reach our insurance company to find out if they would cover another night for me. Silly weekends. That's also why we couldn't just check out the lights and bring Jacob home with us. No one was at the hospital to take care of that for us. It was so hard leaving the hospital without Jacob. It was only for one night but I was very sad. We went home and I was able to put Matthew to bed. How I missed my Matthew. He was so happy to have mommy and daddy home again. The plan was to try to go several times that night back up to the hospital to feed Jacob but Todd and I never woke up early like we intended. We slept until 6:30, when I woke up crying because we just left our baby at the hospital and how I was a bad mom because I didn't go back up to see him. It was probably good that we got 6 straight hours of sleep that night but I felt so bad. We got dressed and headed over to the hospital. We were able to do his feeding and then went home while he went back under the lights for a few more hours. By lunch time Jacob's biliruben levels were down and we were able to take our sweet little boy home with us. We are so grateful to have our two miracle boys!

Baby Eichelberger

2010-10-22T18:08:00.000-07:00

Todd and I saw our newest little gummy bear on Monday and we were able to hear our baby's strong heartbeat (140). That might possibly be the best sound ever! We feel so blessed and are excited for our growing family. Here is a picture of Baby Eichelberger:

I'm sure the pictures will look like more as this baby grows:) I just love it though, so perfect!

We made the appointment a family event so we could take a picture with Dr. Loy. I wanted to bring Matthew in when he was a baby but I never did. So here we are with the wonderful doctor who is helping to bring these miracles into our lives.

Dr. Loy is very optimistic about this pregnancy and I can now continue my appointments with my regular OB. I have my first appointment next Friday, so of course I will be super excited all week:)

Lizards

2010-05-19T18:42:00.000-07:00

Matthew loves to watch Lizards outside the sliding glass door. He understands when I say lizard and comes over to check it out. Love this boy!

Driven By A Blind Man

2010-04-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

As my friend was driving me to the airport she spotted the back of this van:

So I tend to be pretty gullible. Thinking aloud I said, "no, that's not possible, is it?" Yet part of me wondered. I feel so silly now, especially as I relayed the story to Todd. He reminded me that you have to pass the vision test when getting your license. Duh! I almost failed that myself last time! Anyway, it was just too funny because as we switched lanes and approached the side of the van, we saw that it was covered with a logo for blinds, shades, and various window treatments. I still crack up when I think about it. It just never crossed my mind when I saw the back of the van, yet it seems so obvious now that I know:) Good times!

Colorado

2010-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

Matthew and I were able to fly out to Colorado last Wednesday to see my best friend Dodie and her family. I was so very excited to see such great friends again. They've been stationed in Germany for the past 5 years and although they have made a couple trips to Florida, I've never traveled to see them. I enjoyed spending a whole week just catching up and also seeing how big Eric has gotten! It's crazy how quickly kids grow. He is so adorable and I can't wait to see him again (hopefully) to celebrate his 3rd birthday!

The week started out pretty rough as Matthew had yet another tooth coming in (his 4th!). He was running a fever the second day we were there and he threw up the next morning. My heart broke watching my sweet son feel so miserable. Luckily his fever went down with a little Motrin. There was one point where he was screaming for like 30 minutes and I just couldn't do anything to calm him. I tried holding him in every position and he just kept throwing himself around. I tried putting him down and also laying him back down (he had just woken up from a nap). Nothing worked and I felt so helpless. Dodie came in to see if she could help and I just broke down crying. She gave us both a big hug and I was so grateful for that! By that point Matthew started to calm down and he fell asleep as I rocked him for a few minutes. He was feeling much better the second half of the trip, just a little congested.

One of our little outings was to the zoo where we got to feed the giraffes! That was so neat, their tongues are crazy long! I do not have many pictures from the trip but this I do have a picture of:) All in all the trip was wonderful. Matthew loved following Eric around and Eric was so kind to share all of his toys with Matthew. Matthew was so smiley for Elmer, it was too cute. I loved, loved, loved seeing Dodie and spending a little time together. Next time we'll have to have a night out without the little ones!

The boys playing together

The Flight Home
Yes, the child screaming on and off the whole 3 1/2 hours of the flight was mine. Yes, it was his nap time but he does not know how to fall asleep if he is not in a crib or pack n play. It was a miracle that I actually got him to sleep when we first took off, but another little boy was crying for a few minutes and that woke Matthew up. So my exhausted Matthew was up for the whole flight. I tried to stay calm but was so very happy when we finally got off the plane. I felt so bad for everyone sitting around us. Luckily there were some very nice people who offered help. There was the couple who basically let Matthew walk all over them while we waited to board. He kept touching them and playing with there phones. They were so nice to him and showed him pictures of their grand kids. Then there was the lady with two older girls who folded up our stroller for us. She could tell I was struggling with it and remembered how tough it was traveling with her girls when they were younger. She says age 2 is the hardest...if so then I am in trouble. Guess I won't be traveling for a while...at least not without Todd that is:) Even if Matthew is screaming it's just not as hard or frustrating if you're not alone. At least that's how I feel. Next there was the lady and her sister or friend who sat behind us on the plane. Her son was the boy who woke Matthew up. They offered to hold Matthew for a few minutes as they could see I couldn't calm him down. He LOVED it! Such a flirt. He was smiling and and being so cute with them. They took him a couple times during the flight. Every now and then her sons would play peek a boo with Matthew, they were so fun! There was also the lady sitting next to me on the flight. She talked to Matthew a few times and mostly to me. She was just so kind and let me know that she was not bothered by us. I'm just so grateful for people who reach out to those in need. It really did make such a difference and helped me to stay calm. They were all so wonderful and were so willing to help. I want to be like that. I will always try to help a struggling mother when I see one. Having been there I know what a world of difference it makes. Even if the situation doesn't change, it's just nice knowing people care.

It's great to be home and I know Matthew feels the same way. He was so happy riding in the car on the way home from the airport and was loving playing with daddy. It was so cute watching him reconnect. Next time, whenever the traveling memories start to fade, we'll take a family trip!

Halloween Costume Ordered!

2009-10-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

Todd and I decided to order the Hulk costume for Matthew. We are excited and I hope it fits him. He's wearing 9-12 month outfits so we'll see when it gets here:) We chose it because Matthew is a pretty big dude and we joke about him having super strength. So excited for Matthew's first Halloween...especially since daddy is trying to get the evening off to enjoy it with us! Here's a picture of what it looks like:

Picture Perfect!

2009-09-24T10:45:00.000-07:00

I just love taking pictures of our cute, adorable Matthew! Here are a few fun ones from the past few weeks! He is such a joy to have and he's growing incredibly fast!

Blessings

2009-09-18T18:52:00.000-07:00

I'm overwhelmed with the many blessings I have been given. I'm especially grateful for my two boys:) I have the the sweetest, kindest, most loving husband there is...and now we have our long awaited, adorable little Matthew.

Honestly, some days are hard. Matthew gets gassy, decides he doesn't need to take naps, just wants to be held all day, and will only fall asleep nursing. I start to get frustrated and then I remind myself that Matthew is pretty much helpless. He depends on us for everything right now. So even when I can't stop his cry (which breaks my heart to hear it!), I can hold him and comfort him. And just when I feel like my arms or back are about to give out, I think of how quickly Matthew is growing. One day he won't want to be held so much. So I'm enjoying it now. I'm trying to take in everything about him, his cute smirk, his beautiful blue eyes, his milky baby smell:) I'm extremely grateful to Heavenly Father for trusting us with this precious spirit. I'm excited to watch him grow and learn. I get so excited when he learns the littlest skills right now, it's so much fun. Like how he can hold on to things, how high he can lift his head while lying on his stomach, and how he's starting to laugh for us! Each day with Matthew is a truly a gift.

I was thinking back to how we celebrated our 5th anniversary this year and had to laugh. Matthew was born on June 4th, our anniversary is June 5th! My dad picked up Olive Garden for us and dropped it off at the hospital. Todd set up our table and we had a wonderful dinner. It was the best anniversary yet! What better way to celebrate than by getting to hold Matthew in our arms.

Anniversary dinner at the hospital

I'm grateful for the gospel in my life and for parents who taught me to love my Heavenly Father and Savior. I'm grateful for the little family Todd and I have created and am excited to watch it grow. I am grateful to be a mom and I'm grateful to be able to stay home with Matthew. His little smile just melts my heart and makes me forget all my troubles. He is still so new, so clean and pure. And I get to hold him in my arms each day! How very blessed I am!

Matthew at 3 months old

Swinging

2009-08-01T16:14:00.001-07:00

Matthew will be two months old on Tuesday! We cannot believe how quickly he is growing...and how big he's growing:) We were at my dad's house this morning and my nephew Rexford wanted to go out and swing. I think it was my dad who asked if Matthew wanted to swing. I wasn't sure about it because he's still so young but my dad grabbed a few towels to cushion the swing and fill in all the extra space. Matthew was in a pretty good mood and I think he is going to enjoy swinging as we do it more often and as he continues to grow!

Papa and Matthew

Rexford pushing Matthew

Fun Videos

2009-07-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

Here are two videos of our little Matthew! The first is a few days after coming home from the hospital and the second was taken this morning. He's gotten so chunky:)

4 days old

1 month - Smiles

Shared photo book from Alyson

2009-06-24T15:03:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Matthew's Here!

2009-06-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

Because Alyson's busy being a wonderful mother, this is the first ever Todd post. On Wednesday, Alyson was admitted to Winnie Palmer Hospital directly from Dr. Snow's office with high blood pressure (first time all pregnancy). I worked on Tuesday night and was going to work that night so I was sound asleep and didn't know a thing. Luckily, Alyson got a hold of Kim and asked her to wake me up and tell me to get to the hospital. At first we both thought that a few tests would be performed and if everything checked out that we would be able to go home. Not so. We learned that hypertension during pregnancy doesn't go away until it's baby time, so Dr. Snow wrote orders to induce. I called in to work and told them I wouldn't be there that night or on Friday for my last shift of the week.

That night (Wednesday) about 6 they began induction with a medicated shoe lace (best way I can think to describe it) called Cervidil. And that was the last decent night's rest we will ever have again -- that's including the start of contractions from midnight to 3. On Thursday morning around 7, Alyson started feeling contractions again and...her water broke. Sometime in the early afternoon we were taken down to labor and delivery. By this time, Alyson was having some pretty intense contractions, but the nurse recommended that she sit on the "birthing" (exercise) ball to use gravity to encourage the process. Alyson was a trooper and stayed on the ball for a couple hours until she finally asked, "Can I get an epidural now?" Yes. She could.

After the epidural was in, we were both able to relax. Of course Alyson was doing all of the work, but I was trying to be as helpful as possible and seeing her in that much pain was stressful. She actually fell asleep during her every 2 to 3 minute strong contractions and I have the picture to prove it. She said that she couldn't even feel them anymore. So things were on auto pilot, I ate some Chipotle while she slept :), and about 8 when the nurse checked her progress, she was at 9 cm and would soon be ready to push. The pushing commenced a little after 9:30 and because of the excellent coordination skills that Alyson possesses, we were looking at Matthew at 9:49. It was surreal but amazing, and at least for me it took until early Friday morning to really bond with him and realize the tremendous amount of love I have for him already. Two striving to be one have become three striving for the same in the Todd-n-Aly Eichelberger family. It's incredible! All thanks to the Father of us all and His Son.

Matthew's first time in his mother's arms.

Right after they dried him off, made sure he was doing well and warmed him up.

Grandma and Grandad Eichelberger for the first time with Matthew.

"Papa" Rich and Alyson's brother Caleb. The last visitors in the labor and delivery room.

The hat is awesome. But it hid his equally awesome head of hair. When he first crowned I looked up at Alyson and said, "...he's hairy."

Our 5 year-old niece Sahara (my brother Jon's daughter) saying hello to our little man.

A good shot with his eyes open. I know everybody thinks their own kids are cute, but come on!

My son. A responsibility that I don't take lightly.

Grandma Rich on Friday in our "mother baby" room.

No "A-wee" adventure would be complete without Rexford (and a "turkey").

It's Almost Time!

2009-06-03T17:57:00.000-07:00

Quick update:
I'm at the hospital now. I went to my appointment at 10:30 this morning and since my blood pressure was high they sent me over to the hospital. I will explain more later but they are inducing me and I will be here until we have Matthew. I have to stop calling him little because they are estimating him to be 8 lbs 14 oz! I'll try to keep things updated but just wanted to share the excitement that Matthew will be here within the next couple of days!

New Used Car

2009-05-29T06:54:00.000-07:00

So Todd and I went down to Carmax last Thursday and traded in my 2004 Nissan Sentra for a 2004 Nissan Murano. We have always talked about wanting a bigger car but we weren't sure about having a car payment again. My car was payed off and the Nissan Murano was obviously going to be a little bit more money. Actually we didn't start seriously looking until last Wednesday night. My car had been hit the week before along with my sister's car during the middle of the night. We had them parked on the street and obviously some drunk driver rammed into them. Mine was in a lot better condition then my sister's car but instead of paying to fix it up, we just traded it in. There were a few other things that were wrong with the car so it just gave us the push we needed:) We love love love our new car and are having so much fun with it. I'm glad we have more room for Matthew and it can be comfortable for all of us. We've already got the carseat ready to go and we enjoy turning around to look in the backseat. It's just a really fun time for us and we couldn't be more excited!

Baby Shower

2009-05-29T06:07:00.000-07:00

My wonderful sisters had a baby shower for me on May 2. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed being in the company of such wonderful ladies! I'm not one to enjoy being in the spotlight so I don't really have any great pictures to share. I was never really looking at the camera but I'll share a few from the day that turned out okay.

I think the funniest moment of the day for me came from the game my sister Kimberly had prepared. Before the shower she asked Todd a few questions and at the shower she asked me the same questions. My job was to try to answer them the same as Todd. One of the questions was about how big my stomach was. Todd guessed 5o inches! I think I guessed 40 which was almost exactly right. Anyway, I went home after the shower and was like "50 inches Todd, really?" He told me that he was just guessing my size by comparing it to his size (38-40) and that I had to be bigger than him. It was pretty funny:)

I'm so grateful for all the generous gifts we received to help us prepare for little Matthew's arrival. I actually enjoyed getting 3 sets of diaper bags because we were able to trade them out for items we still needed/wanted. We are so very excited and are grateful for such wonderful friends/family! Thank you!

Front/Back Carrier

Johnson's Travel Pack

Bath Center

Cute Mittens/Sleepers

Me with Casey (one of my preschool friends!)

Baby Shower Cake

Fun at Lamaze

2009-05-29T05:38:00.000-07:00

Todd and I were able to take a 4 week Lamaze class through the hospital education program. We went every Thursday night during the month of April and we actually had a pretty good time. There were about 10 couples and sadly we do not have a picture of the group yet. Still trying to get that from whoever brought their camera the last night.

Basically we talked about the different stages of labor, practiced a few breathing techniques while having a focal point (mine was one of our 3D ultrasound pictures of Matthew), and watched a few birth stories. I feel like the class was helpful in some ways but I'll be honest and say that when the time comes to have Matthew, I'll probably forget half the things I learned! At least I'll have Todd there with me.

Speaking of Todd, this blog is lacking when it comes to pictures of him. So I can't pass up the opportunity to post a picture of Todd from Lamaze class. On the last night of class we had a little party, ate some yummy food, and then watched each of the guys try on this little beauty, hope you enjoy:

Full Term!

2009-05-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've reached 37 weeks which is considered a full term pregnancy! We are getting more and more excited each day. It has felt like such a long journey and soon we will be holding little Matthew in our arms! I visit with the doctor each week now and so far I'm 50% effaced and 0 cm dialated. I'm still carrying high and I figure I still have a few weeks to go. We'll see what happens I guess:) Here are all the belly pictures I've procrastinated adding. I am feeling pretty big now and starting to feel uncomfortable more often, especially at night. All in all, my pregnancy has been great and I'm still just so thankful to my Heavenly Father for this precious gift!

30 Weeks

35 Weeks

36 Weeks

37 Weeks!

Sneak Peek!

2009-04-08T17:19:00.001-07:00

I'm so happy Todd and I decided to have a 3D ultrasound! I've been wanting to but Todd wasn't really interested until about a week ago. Well I guess he's getting a little anxious to meet the little guy as well because he asked me if I was still interested:) Of course! So I made the appointment for Monday evening and we were so excited. The only problem was that Matthew really didn't want his picture taken! He was sleeping and had his face covered with his hands and his feet! We tried putting pressure on my stomach and he wouldn't budge so we had to reschedule our appointment. We went back earlier this afternoon and were able to get a few good pictures. The placenta was covering the left side of his face most of the time but it was still really neat to see him. It's amazing how you can get early baby pictures before your child is even born:) We also have a 15 minute video of the whole session but I'll just post a few of the pictures on here. We can't wait to meet Matthew in 8 1/2 weeks!

Third Trimester!

2009-03-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a week into my third trimester and I'm feeling so excited! I have 11 weeks left and it seems so close now. I'm still mostly excited but every now and then a little nervousness kicks in. Sometimes I'm a little nervous about the actual birth process, wondering if my baby will be healthy and well, and wondering if I'll be a good mom. I think about this precious spirit that has come from our Heavenly Father and I pray that I will be able to teach him and help guide him to live a righteous life. I want Matthew to know we love our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ with all our hearts. I love that he will have great examples in his grandparents, aunts/uncles, and his cousins.

It's been fun feeling Matthew move around and even more fun watching him. I remember the first time Todd and I saw my stomach move we just looked up at each other and laughed. It was such a fun time together and we still enjoy watching our little guy roll around:) I still haven't had any pain from Matthew moving around and I usually feel pretty good. I'm enjoying watching my stomach grow each week and I wonder what I'll look like by June! I feel big now and I still have 2 1/2 months left.

Here's a little story about my growing stomach:

The other night I was sitting on the couch with my nephew Rexford (he's 2 1/2) watching "Caillou" and he was leaning against my side. Then he sighed and moved to rest over my legs. I asked him if my big belly was in the way and he said, "Aly, can you move your belly?" We both started laughing, it was pretty funny. I just kind of shook my belly and said, "No, I can't move my belly, baby Matthew is in there." Then I told Rexford that Matthew would be here in a couple more months. Rexford said, "Yes, in the hospital." It's fun to see how much he knows about the situation. Whenever we play together and he runs into me or knocks my stomach he says, "Oh, sorry Aly, I didn't mean to hurt your Matthew." I think it's so cute and I hope I'll still have some Rexford playtime when Matthew is born. I'm hoping Kim and I will still hang out a lot:)

28 Weeks

29 Weeks

Pregnancy pictures!

2009-03-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

I never posted my ultrasound pictures from January (which I still haven't scanned to the computer!) but I do have a few pregnant pictures I can post! I haven't been great at snapping a picture every week but here's what I have so far!

19 Weeks

20 Weeks (Forgot to close the closet door!)

23 Weeks

26 Weeks

26 Weeks Front View

Baby Updates

2009-01-08T06:02:00.001-08:00

So I am pretty sure I am feeling Matthew move around a little bit now. I first felt it last Friday after a long day at Disney. I was exhausted so I laid down on my dad's couch to rest. It was then that I felt a few little kicks (very light). I was really excited but also not sure that I was really feeling the baby. Since last week I have felt that same feeling several more times so I'm pretty sure it is our little Matthew. I'm over 18 1/2 weeks now so it's about time I start to feel him move, right?! It's a fun feeling and I'm really excited that I will be able to feel him move more and more as time passes. I also have a nice little baby bump that seems to have doubled in size since last week. I will definitely take a picture so I can post it for you guys to see. I will have more exciting baby news next Wednesday after I have my ultrasound. I'm sure I'll have some new pictures of Matthew to post!

Visiting Utah

2009-01-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Todd and I were able to go on a wonderful week long vacation last month! We love being out in Utah and had originally purchased the tickets so that we could go snowboarding. Shortly after purchasing the tickets we found out that I was pregnant so we decided snowboarding might not be the safest activity. We were still able to visit with family/friends and just enjoy some time alone together.

Here's a little summary of our visit. It probably won't be as detailed as it would have been if I had written it right after we returned. Upon arriving in Salt Lake our first stop was Crown Burgers. We love this burger restaurant and made sure to stop there a few more times before our trip was over:) Our first night in Utah was especially neat because we were able to watch our nieces perform in their school choir. We loved seeing Brad, Ali, and the girls and wish we could see them more often! Then we were able to spend a few nights with Mark and Jen (Todd's brother and his wife). We loved meeting their beautiful daughter (our newest niece!) Mary and watching her smile while sticking out her tongue. We were also able to get in some much needed Bang! playtime (one of our favorite activities to do together). It's pretty much one of sweetest games ever!

Avie (7) in her cute red dress

Sydney (10) Front row on the left

Todd with adorable Mary

Mary loves sticking out her tongue

We continued to visit Mark and Jen even though we spent the last part of our vacation staying in a hotel in Salt Lake. We really wanted to make the most of this vacation as it will probably be the last one we take for a while. One thing we did together was visit Temple Square. It was so beautiful with the lights and Christmas decorations. Despite how cold I was, it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We stopped in the Assembly Hall to hear a children's choir perform and they were incredible. I love the sound of children singing!

We were able to spend a little bit of time with Seth, one of Todd's best friends. Our plan was to go ice skating at an outdoor rink in South Jordan but Todd and I were struggling. I think if we had stayed longer we would have gotten better but I really didn't want to fall so I wasn't really trying. After about 5 minutes of being on the ice, Seth showed up and we decided to go bowling instead. It was a great game and I wish I would have snapped a few pictures. Todd loves to take goofy shots like rolling the ball between his legs. I'm just glad Seth and Todd could spend even just that small amount of time together.

The day before we had to leave we spent some time with the Garlicks. This family is so amazing and we love them dearly. I'm so grateful that I've been able to get to know them since being married to Todd. He really does have some wonderful friends! We were able to hang out for a little while and have lunch together before we left to go sledding with TJ and Krystal! This is another activity Todd and I really enjoy so being with friends made it even better! We also had some fun throwing a few snowballs at each other.

TJ about to go off the jump

Krystal

I almost forgot...Todd and I made a snowman together. I promised my nephew Rexford that I would make a snowman and take some pictures for him. We had fun trying to put our little snowman together because the snow wasn't cooperating! Luckily we were able to build him a few feet tall and just used some sticks from the park to decorate him. We took a few pictures and then went back to the hotel to make some yummy hot chocolate.

Our trip to Utah was wonderful and every now and then thoughts would come to mind that we could still be living there. I would entertain those thoughts for a few seconds and then remind myself of how freezing I was and how much I love living close to my family in Florida. Todd and I love Utah but we are okay with just visiting for now. There are several reasons we moved back to Florida and we know we made the right decision for us. There will be plenty more Utah trips in our future and who knows, maybe Todd will be able to go to medical school there in a few years.

Girls Night Out

2008-12-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

Okay, so first let me start out by saying how much I love having my best friend home for a few months! Dodie has been living in Germany for about 3 years and I have missed her so much! It's wonderful being able to spend some time with her again. We went out tonight just the two of us to catch up. We had dinner and then bought a few baby outfits at Carter's which was really fun! Then we went to watch Twilight. Dodie has read the series and has now seen the movie twice. I absolutely loved the movie! Now I'm going to get the books so I can catch up!

It's A Boy!

2008-11-30T12:34:00.001-08:00

Todd was able to come with me to my ultrasound last Wednesday. I was 12 weeks 3 days but the measurements put me up to 13 weeks 2 days. Even though it's still really early, we were told that we are having a boy! We are both so excited! It was so much fun to see the growth of the baby, it's amazing how fast they grow! He was really active and even did a little turn around flip for us. He also relaxed for a second putting both hands behind his head. I am so grateful to have had so many ultrasounds so far, it's been very exciting. I've had 3 ultrasounds and have heard the heartbeat during those and also one extra time. I love getting to see and hear our little baby and know that everything is going well. I actually look forward to every doctor appointment I have:) We are just so grateful for this wonderful blessing and opportunity that has been given to us. We have two trimesters left but I know the time will go quickly.

Todd and I have been talking about baby names for quite some time now. We had a girl name picked out already but we were struggling with boy names. Since all five grand kids on Todd's side are girls, I guess I was thinking it would probably be a girl. Anyway, we've looked at names and have received many ideas from our families. I was thinking about each of the names on Thanksgiving night but my thoughts kept returning to a name that Todd and I have talked about for quite some time...Matthew. Todd and I both like the name, I've just been hesitant because I wasn't sure how I liked Matthew Todd together. I looked up the meaning of Matthew in our name book and found out it means "gift of God." I instantly decided that this is going to be the name of our sweet baby boy. We have such a strong testimony of prayer and know that Heavenly Father does hear and answer our prayers. We feel like this baby is a miracle and is most certainly a gift from God. We look forward to meeting Matthew Todd Eichelberger next June!

Our baby boy with his hands in front of his mouth

Baby Eichelberger

2008-10-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

Our families and some of our friends know that we have been trying to have a baby for a few years. It's been a long, tough journey and we are so grateful for the little one growing inside me! Todd and I have grown closer to each other and to our Heavenly Father during this time and we have learned so much during this period of waiting. We are very thankful for the many prayers that have been offered in our behalf and also for all of your support!

We found out that I was pregnant about a month ago...it was a Friday and Todd was at school. I wasn't planning on doing a test but I was going through some things in our closet and found a pregnancy test. I decided to go ahead and try it. I prayed before I took the test, I did pray that I would be pregnant but I also prayed for strength if I was not. I am ashamed of my lack of faith, I was sure I wasn't pregnant. I was just trying to save myself from the heartache. When I saw two lines appear in the window I was so happy. I think I laughed, cried, and prayed! It was wonderful.

Of course I was so excited to let Todd in on the news so I ran off to the store and bought a baby book called, "Daddy Loves Me." I put it in a baby gift bag and left it on the table along with the pregnancy test. It was a good thing I had the pregnancy test on the table because when Todd first came home from school he thought the gift bag was just something for my sister's baby shower:) When he realized what was on the table and that the gift was for him, he was so happy! Todd has been so wonderful through this whole process and he was just as excited as I was.

We wanted to wait until our first ultrasound to tell our families and friends so we could make sure the baby was healthy and everything was going well but keeping this news a secret was just way too hard! We ending up spilling the news about 2 weeks after finding out ourselves. I had to tell some of my family members over the phone but for most of them we held up a baby boy outfit and a baby girl outfit and asked which one they thought we would be using. I thought it was cute and everyone caught on very quickly. Kim and Rexford bought us our first baby gift the next day: baby blocks!

We also told a few of our friends early and today we are telling everyone! We are having a baby! My first ultrasound was today and we found out that I am 8 wks 1 day along. The baby is 1.69 cm and has a healthy heartbeat! The heartbeat was absolutely amazing to see/hear and it just makes everything so real. It was just so reassuring. My due date is June 7. We are so excited that our baby will be coming to earth at the beginning of the summer. Todd won't be busy with school and we will have so much time to spend together as a family!

We are just very excited for this wonderful blessing. Baby Eichelberger is a miracle and we thank Heavenly Father everyday for the gift to be parents to this special spirit. Here are the pictures from the ultrasound today...the first one is when they measured the baby and the second is the heartbeat! Enjoy! We are so excited for this new journey!

I have a hard time seeing what's in these pictures but the baby's head is on the right. You can see little arms and legs forming too...very neat!

Here's the heartbeat that we were so excited to hear!

A Few More Pictures

2008-10-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures I had on my camera. Kim and Austin were finally released from the hospital today and got home around 5:30 this evening. Rexford was so happy to see his mommy, daddy, and baby brother!

Papa and Austin

Welcome Home Austin

Rexford: "It's my baby brother!"

New Nephew!

2008-10-15T05:51:00.001-07:00

Little baby Austin came to earth on Tuesday (10/14) weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz! We were all so very excited to meet him! It's been an interesting past few days for Rexford but he's been handling everything so well! Kim and Brian had to be at the hospital at 4:30 Tuesday morning so I went over to their house to stay with Rexford. Rexford woke up at 5:00 am and it took me 45 minutes to get him back to sleep! He was crying for mommy and daddy so I took him to Kim's bed for a little while. He kept asking questions like, "Where the sun?", "Where Uncle Todd, Aly?", and "Where the water at the hospital?" Finally I tried his crib again and told him I loved him. He said, "I love you too, Aly" and went right to bed. He has really missed his mommy and daddy and each time we were on our way to visit the hospital he would say in the cutest voice, "I can't wait to see my mommy and daddy." He has really missed them and at one point he said the hospital is were mommy lives. It was so sad, it is interesting to see his thought process in all of this. This is the third day being at home without mommy and daddy (although Brian has done the nighttime routine with Rexford each night) and Rexford is so excited that they are coming home today. He keeps picking up these little cards that mommy wrote him and pretends like he's reading them. He says, "Rexford, I love you so much. Bye Bye. Mommy." It is really cute to watch and almost made me cry! Rexford loves his mommy and daddy so much and is missing them tons! I am so grateful I could help watch him along with Papa.
I am on Kim's computer while Rexford is napping so I don't have many pictures uploaded yet. Here are the few I started uploading yesterday morning before we went back to the hospital. Hope you enjoy and I'll have some more later.

Trying to keep Rexford entertained at the hospital for an hour while mommy was in labor. We should have called before we went up there! Buying some Cheetos took up a little bit of time:)

Austin Ursic

Kim and Rexford holding Austin

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-09-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my mom's birthday but my sister and I visited her on Saturday to celebrate. Kim picked mom up and they went to the Kanga Room with Rexford. It was a special morning for Rexford to spend with Grandma. When they were all done playing, I met them at McDonald's for lunch. After that we went back to my grandma's house for ice cream and cupcakes! Mom opened her cards and also her present which was from all 5 of us kids. It was fun and I enjoyed spending some time with my mom! I didn't take many pictures but here are a couple.

Mom blowing out her candle

Rexford loves icing!

Lunch With Dad!

2008-09-22T09:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel a little left out living way over here on Turkey Lake! It's really only about 30 minutes from both our families but considering that both my married sisters live less than a minute from my dad's house, I'm pretty far away:) Recently I've had 3 family members come spend time at my apartment so it's been super fun for me. Today I had another special treat! My dad's office is only about 8 minutes from my apartment so he came over to pick me up and off we went to have lunch together. We went to Chic-fil-A and I enjoyed spending the time with him. I am so grateful to have such a wonderful dad and I hope he knows how much I love him! Here are a few pictures I found of us together.

Alyson's Diploma Has Arrived!

2008-09-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Most of you are probably tired of hearing that I have graduated. After all, it is 1 1/2 year old news right?! Well, my online class finally counted toward the August 14 graduation date at BYU and two days ago I received my Diploma in the mail! I had already opened the envelope and had it ready to show Todd as soon as I got back up to the apartment. I felt so proud, it was an awesome feeling. I definitely couldn't pass up a picture! Now I am seriously done with college. Yay!

Prayers for Rashad

2008-09-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

Life can hurt sometimes. Tragedies take place and they are far beyond our understanding. Today I attended a funeral that left a nine year old boy without his mother. Before Todd and I moved out to Utah three years ago, I worked at the Dover Shores Community Center as a recreational counselor. I was a first grade counselor in the after school program and one of the children under my care was Rashad. Rashad had so much energy and was full of life. The boy I saw today was hurt and in pain. It breaks my heart to think of the situation. I am grateful for the faith of Rashad's family and that he has loving aunts and a grandma to support him and take care of him. I pray for Rashad's family as they have lost a daughter, sister, mother, and friend. I pray often for Rashad specifically, that he will have strength and courage in life. That he will find happiness and that he will lead a good life. I can't imagine what he is going through right now. I wish I were still a part of his life, that I could do something for him. So I pray for Rashad, not knowing what else to do. So these next few days and weeks as Rashad moves forward with his family, extra prayers and thoughts are welcome. He is a precious boy, a child of our Heavenly Father, and I pray he will know how special and loved he is.

Rashad and I at morning S.P.A.R.K.

Mary Ray Eichelberger

2008-08-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

I have to post about the birth of our beautiful niece! She is now almost two months old and we look forward to the day we get to meet little Mary (hopefully around Christmas!). We need to get copies of some of the pictures Mom and Dad took while they were out in Utah but I did find a couple that were saved on our computer. This is just a week or two after Mary was born. We love you Mark and Jen! Give Mary a kiss for us!

2 Years Old!

2008-08-25T12:57:00.000-07:00

My sister reminded me today of how long it has been since I last posted. I don't even have an excuse since I have pictures of several events that I need to put up here. So look for new posts these next few days as I catch myself up!

On July 11th we celebrated Rexford's 2nd birthday! He is growing so fast and is so much fun to be around. One of my favorite things about Rexford right now is how sometimes he'll ask to say prayers. I was taking him to Kanga Room one day and even though we were already half way there Rexford wanted to say a prayer. So driving down Goldenrod we said a quick prayer asking to have fun and to bless mommy that she would meet us there safely. It might seem silly but I loved that moment with Rexford!

Birthday Boy!

Blowing out his Candle

(Kim's awesome cake!)

Siesta Key

2008-07-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Every year Todd's family goes to Siesta Key for the 4th of July. They stay for a week and anyone in the family able to come down is welcome. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy time together this past week. Dad brought the sail boat which was actually really fun. Todd and I enjoyed throwing the football around before going for a swim in the ocean. The firework show was incredible and the whole atmosphere just made me so grateful for all the blessings in my life. I am so grateful to live in America and have the freedoms we enjoy. I'm grateful to those who fought for those freedoms and for those who continue to fight for them. I love our families more than anything and I am grateful for my life with Todd. He is the most amazing friend and husband and we look forward to all that lies ahead of us. Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful week, we love spending time with you!

View from Siesta Royale

Playing Dress up!

2008-07-05T17:23:00.000-07:00

Brad, Ali, Sydney, Avie and Rowan are staying with Mom and Dad E. while in town. There are lots of fun things for the girls to play with including clothes for dressing up. It was so cute and we couldn't resist snapping a few pictures.

I had to join in the fun even though very few things fit me! (Sorry it's so blurry)

Fun at Disney!

2008-07-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

Last week we were able to spend a wonderful day at Disney with Todd's family! It was so much fun to be with everyone, especially with our nieces since we don't get to see them very often. Brad and Ali live in Ephraim, UT and were able to bring their family down to Florida for two weeks. Here are some of the pictures we took while spending the day at Magic Kingdom.

Mom, Sydney, Ali, Rowan, and Avie

Tommy and I are in the back

Brad, Rowan, and Ali

Riding with Brooke and Tommy

Of course Todd has to be goofy:)

Sydney with Grandma

Sydney

Sweet Avie

Tommy, Mom, and Dad

Todd and I on the magic carpet ride!

Memorial Day

2008-06-10T06:16:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures and a video that I found on my camera from Memorial Day! These pictues are of Rexford (my nephew) before we went over to Shannon's pool.

Rexford loves playing in the balls

Running under my legs

Rexford loves to drive around in his car

He loves when Papa pushes him in his swing

This is the bike that all of us learned to ride...Rexford will be next!

Happy Anniversary....and Birthday!

2008-06-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

On Thursday Todd and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary! It was so wonderful to spend the day together at the beach. We drove over to Ormond beach and found a small parking lot in between some neighborhoods. It was absolutely amazing, we were on a private part of the beach so barely anyone was around. Sadly, this is the only picture I took:

Todd going out to catch some waves

We spent a few hours on the beach and then headed over to Zeno's Boardwalk Sweet Shop in Daytona to purchase some Saltwater Taffy. It's sort of like a family tradition, my family always goes there when we go to Daytona Beach. After returning home we cleaned up and went out to eat at Carrabba's. Todd has been wanting to go there for the longest time. I didn't really care for the food (I'm so picky!!!) but it was still a wonderful evening. After dinner, Todd surprised me with a room in Country Inns and Suites...the same hotel we stayed in the night of our wedding. It was a perfect day!

We also recently celebrated my 24th birthday!

(The date is off just a tad!)

It has been such a fun week and I have loved getting to spend so much time with Todd. Now we can look forward to our trip to Siesta Key next month with Todd's family!

Spending time with Rexford

2008-05-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

I finished my job a couple of weeks ago (about the same time I finished my last BYU class). It was a temporary position that lasted for about three months. Although I realize I will have to start job hunting again soon, it has been so much fun hanging out with my sister Kim and my nephew Rexford! We do lots of fun things together: park day, Sea World, Aquatica, Universal, and just hanging out at home or Papa's house. Visit the link below to my sister's blog where you can see some vidoes of us having some fun!

Todd and I are also excited to have lots of time to spend together! He works so hard and is going to have a school free summer this year. I am so grateful for all he does and am glad he can slow down for a little while.

http://www.bkursic.blogspot.com/ ">Link

I'm done!

2008-04-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

Last April (2007) I walked at graduation and it was the greatest feeling ever! My parents came out to Utah to see me and my in-laws were even there (Mark was graduating too). The only problem was that I still needed to complete my two online classes which should have been done that summer. Well last summer flew by and Todd and I ended up moving back to Florida in August. My classes were far from complete but I wasn't worried since the deadline for them was in January 2008. January came and I was able to finish my Finance class. I extended my English class and competing with the new deadline I finally finished my class today!!! I took my final this morning and I feel so relieved. I'm just glad it is all over and once BYU processes everything I will finally have my Bachelor's Degree! I owe a huge thanks to my family and husband who kept encouraging me! I hope this teaches me a lesson to never procrastinate again...we'll see how that goes:)

Well, here it goes...

2008-04-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I love looking through everyone's blogs and decided it's about time to create one of my own. It's such a fun and easy way to see how people are doing! I don't feel like my life is super exciting or interesting but hopefully I'll keep up with this and allow you to see into the life of Todd and Alyson Eichelberger!