They're Here!!!!

If you want to see more pictures like this....

and I know you do....

...then email me at polleys527@gmail.com for the password and instructions for entering the site.

You will love them! I just know it!

ATTENTION!!

I haven't recieved the password to look at Eloise's photos yet....BUT Erica at COA Photography has put up a contest for some of the pictures she has taken, and Eloise is one of them!  People can go to her blog and vote for the "best" picture (they are all good) and the picture with the most votes will win some prizes.

Eloise is #10.  I am not saying you have to vote for her when you get there.  But, if you are going to vote...vote for her!  haha

Click here to go vote! Hurry it ends today at 5pm! (I didn't even find out about it till today........)

Six Months Already.....

It is finally Christmastime...and what Ted and I have been dreaming about for the past year or so....

Eloise's first Christmas!

We can't believe it is finally here.  Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and Eloise will have visions of sugar plums dancing in her head (well more like mashed apples and bananas--her new fave!)  while Santa (and his wife) put out all the goodys for good a good little bear cub and her parents.  :)  We can't wait!  Seriously...we can't. I have been so tempted to put out presents early and let Eloise look and drool (literally) over them.  But, Santa comes on Christmas Eve! 

Something that is so crazy to me is that it's not only Eloise's first Christmas, but also she is past her halfway mark toward her first birthday.  I know parents say this all the time, but the times FLYS by so, so FAST. 

Example:

Just two nights ago I was looking in the mirror and playing with my hair when it hit me that I hadn't gotten my hair cut or colored for six months.  SIX MONTHS.  The last time I got my hair cut was the day before I went into labor.  I immediately told Ted all about my hair and what was wrong with it, and the next morning I had an appt. at 11:35! (Such a sweetie!) So, now that my hair is all ready to go, with about 5 inches cut off, I am ready to move on to the next thing we haven't done in six months: go to the movies.  Renting movies is nice, but I miss going out to a movie, and I know Ted does too.  We should get on that while I am on Christmas break.

Sorry, back to the original topic of Eloise and how she is already 6.5 months old....I looked through some pics since her birth, and decided to have a little review of how our little baby has grown and changed.  It is amazing how different she is already...I can't imagine what next June will be like.   So sit back, relax, and scroll down to see Eloise Iden Polleys! :)

Oh my.  My Little Baby is no longer so little.  This last picture was taken this past weekend, when we went for about an 8 minute walk, because we decided it was too cold.  These next pictures were taken this past weekend too. She is such a blast to be around!

Oh, and that heart outift is from Eloise's Aunt Samantha for Valentine's Day....but, um, if she doesn't wear it now, she won't ever wear it..so, Happy Valentine's Day! haha.

Okay, so I think this post just needs a few more pictures and then it will be all set...

Kidding. 

My Fluff

I thought I would take a few minutes to tell you about my fluff. (E's diapers) Many people comment on them while we are out and about, and when I go to Mom's group, lots of other Mommas are curious about the cost, the fit, the washing, etc.

(Eloise in her 1st bumGenuis! ever)

My new favorite website that sells diapers is Kelly's Closet. Not only do they have every type of reusable diaper available, they have the history behind the companies, and lots of articles about which ones real mom's prefer at their blog The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. I have bought 8 diapers (various kinds) through the website, and I love that they have periodic specials where you can get $5 off and free shipping (that's the only time I buy, b/c cloth diapering can be expensive if you let it).

(Eloise in another bumGenius! It is so fun to match them with outfits!)

In Eloise's collection, we have:

5 bumGenius! Organic All-in-One One-Size Diapers - (snap closures)
12 bum Genius! 3.0 One-Size Pocket Diapers
6 Smartipants One-Size Pocket Diapers
1 Blueberry Deluxe One-Size Pocket Diaper - (snap closures)
1 Rumparooz G2 One-Size Diaper with Snaps

(bumGenius! organics w/ snaps...so bright! so pretty!)

So, altogether we have 25 diapers...which in my opinion is the perfect amount.

We have a lot of bumGenius! diapers because that is what I registered for at my baby showers. I bought Smartipants because a friend bought them and thought they were worth a try. And, last I bought a Blueberry and Rumparooz diaper because they have crazy cute patterns. But, they were a splurge, and those are the only patterned diapers Relly will probably ever have.

(Eloise in her Blueberry diaper)

Our favorite diaper, by far, is the bumGenius! Pocket Diaper. It is the most absorbent, has lots of room to double stuff for night time, and they seem to be the most comfortable on my little Sqeeze. Ted would say that the bumGenius! organics are his favorite, because they have snaps and they are trimmer around the booty area...but I prefer the pocket-style diaper because I think it pulls more moisture away from Eloise's baby-behind.

The Smartipants are good during the daytime, but they seem to leak at night. The leg holes are not tight enough...so maybe when she gets bigger they will fit better.

The Blueberry and Rumparooz work perfect just like the bumGenius! pocket's, I just can't afford more than two! haha!

This has been a long post, so stay tuned for washing...(really, it is way easier and less disgusting than you may think!)

First Bonfire!

Last night, when I got home from the Library, Ted remembered that we had signed up to attend a hayride/bonfire get-together that someone from church was having out at their house. Immediately, I got really excited, because this would be Cheesy's 1st bonfire! (I love 1st's)

We got her all bundled up, and then we bundled ourselves, and we drove out into the country. we arrived 35 min. late (because I was working) so the hay ride had already left. But, no worries, because we just hung out with those who stayed behind at the bonfire.

I got to thinking later, and it was probably good that we missed the hay ride because it was 45 minutes long and COLD!

Daddy, Mommy and Eloise hung out by the fire and chatted with friends. Then, when the wagons returned we had a huge cookout of hot dogs, s'mores, hot chocolate and hot cider. It was deliciously fall!

Soup and Hickeys (!)

Well, if the title of this blog doesn't catch your attention, I don't know what will!

Let me explain;

The Soup:

Last night Ted made a DELICIOUS potato soup for my mom (who is in town) and I. The recipe is from Mom Polleys, who got it from Mrs. Friske. For those of you that don't really understand why Mrs. Friske is important...let me have a little side-bar and fill you in.

Mrs. Friske is of Friske's Farm, south of Charlevoix. It is where Ted and I pick apples every year. It is where you cane get the most tasty Reuben sandwich and the best apple donuts you will ever taste. Basically, all of their food is fantastic and last night, we got to have Mrs. Friske's Potato Soup in our OWN HOME! mmmm...it was so good!

Her secret in her own words, "It's the buttermilk!" haha...so I am not going to tell you it is healthy...but we substituted turkey bacon for the bacon...that has to count for something right??

So, here is the recipe so you can have it in your own home:

Mrs. Friske's Homemade Potato Soup

3 T. butter

1 c. white onion, chopped

1 c. celery, sliced

10 strips bacon, cut into 1/2'' pieces (or turkey bacon)

8 Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 3/4'' chunks
4 cups water

2 c. buttermilk

3 T. flour

1/2 c. sour cream

s + p

1. Heat the butter in a large sauce pan on MH heat. Saute the onions and celery in butter, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add bacon and potatoes and the 4 cups of water. Boil until the potatoes are tender.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, whisk the buttermilk, flour and sour cream until smooth.

3. When potatoes are tender, scoop out 1/4 c. of the water from the saucepan and slowly drizzle into the butter cream mixture while whisking it the whole time. (This prevents lumps from forming). Then repeat this process with another 1/4 c. of potato water.

4. Next, slowly drizzle the buttermilk mixture into the large saucepan, stirring the potato soup the whole time. (Once again this prevents lumps from forming.)

5. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer soup until you are ready to eat! The longer you simmer, the yummier it gets!

Now...to the funny part of the post...the hickey! (kind of a funny word in itself)

The Hickey:

On Thursday, Eloise was hanging out on the couch (sitting up, of course...well propping up, to be honest) and I went over to pick her up because we were going to go to our bedroom, because it was time for her to eat.

In the 5 seconds that it takes to walk from the couch to our bed, Relly had latched onto my shoulder and gave it a few hard sucks. It tickled and I was laughing at her and she smiled back.

Well, when I was done feeding her, I went into the bathroom to finish getting ready for something, and behold! Her sucking was more than just a laughing matter. She has left her mark, literally. It was so funny that I had to have a picture of it. Ted said that he better watch out so he doesn't end up with a Relly-sized hickey!

I guess she might have been hungrier than I thought! :)

Have a good weekend!

Weekly Cheese #1

Mommy and Relly love to play games of all kinds! On days that we get to hang out we talk, giggle and play with some of Eloise's favorite toys. It's hard for Mommy to not kiss her every second of everyday!!

I'm Baaaaaaack!

Hi all! It has been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayy to long since we last posted. Most of you can see pics of Eloise at Facebook, and that is even hard for me to keep updated.

Where does all my time go??

It is pretty obvious that our little bundle, that we like to call "Relly", is helping me fill up most of my days. If I am not with Eloise, I am either at work at the library or subbing in a classroom.

Thanks to a friend I figured out that if I post my pics to Snapfish, then I can automatically post a link to Facebook and Blogger as well. This saves me valuable time, so I can get back to the living room floor and play with my Little One. Or do laundry, or change my spit-up-on shirt, or vacuum, or eat...haha.

I will post some more pics soon! I promise. I am also going to start telling you about Relly is up to. My goal is to post once a week. I know that is not very often for some bloggers, but that will be a HUGE accomplishment for me!





I'd like to share my Snapfish photos with you. Once you have checked out my photos you can order prints and upload your own photos to share.

Off We Go! (and an 8 week Birthday!)

To Chicago!!!

We are leaving tomorrow morning and returning on Thursday night. It is going to be an experience...for sure!

It is Eloise's first big trip, as well as for us as Mommy and Daddy.

We are actually going to Schaumburg, IL which is northwest of downtown Chicago and it is where Willow Creek is located. We have been to Willow Creek before for the SHIFT Conference which is for youth/youth group leadership. This time we are going to a conference called Reveal; it is for small groups (I believe). I am more going just for the fun of it because Willow Creek doesn't allow babies in their auditorium during conferences (they are ageists!...kidding). We were told there are TV's throughout the lobby for Eloise and I though.

I am just happy to do something a little out of the routine, and it will be good to see how Eloise travels. Since we have some other big trips coming up this fall.....FRANKENMUTH!!!, for example. :)

Also, another bonus to the trip: we get to go to Ikea. Ted and I have never been there..we are excited! We have absolutely no money to spend there, but excited all the same!

And, now...what you have all been waiting for...because I told you to check here for them!...pics of Eloise on her 8 week birthday! We took her down to Michigan Beach and let her experience the sand and wind for he first time. I think she loved it!! :)

We had so much fun!