Baby Updates

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

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

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!

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

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

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!

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