What am I waiting for?

So this post actually should have gone up a couple of weeks ago but things have been so crazy that I did not have time to upload my pics until now.

My Mom had been requesting for the past few months that I take some pictures of my Nana, Aunt, Eleni, and herself. She wanted something "nice". A picture where everyone was looking at the camera, dressed nicely etc. Sounds easy right? Nope! Every time we made the trip down to San Diego it was a huge family gathering and everyone was running around cooking and caught up in the moment (neither bad things!). So a couple of weeks ago we had our annual early Christmas celebration at my Aunt's house. The plan was to get there early to get a few group shots together. Well, that afternoon traffic was bad and Eleni decided to take an extra long nap so we were running late. When we finally arrived the sun was just about going down which meant that it was too late for photos. We enjoyed our evening together and went to sleep. The next morning I woke up and had a conversation with myself that went something like this...

"ENOUGH, ALREADY! I am tired of waiting for the perfect outfit, the perfect moment to take a picture!"

I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures of everyone (PJs and Bedhead included). At first everyone groaned and resisted but I did not give in. I had a feeling that these would be pictures that I would love and cherish forever. Turns out they are. XOXO









My cousins, the only ones that got to change before I snapped a picture. :)

Merry Belated Christmas!

Things have been extremely busy over the last couple of weeks. We hosted Christmas at our house for my side of the family then woke up the next day packed and drove up north to Ari's family for a belated Christmas dinner. We had plans to stay with them until the middle of this week but Eleni caught her very first cold and cough which made us come home a couple of days early. This is the first chance I have had to post, so that is why this is a few days late. Hope you and your family had an amazing holiday! Hopefully I will have some time tomorrow to post some pictures from the past couple of weeks. I have lots to share. XOXO

Eleni is 8 Months Old!

Happy 8 month birthday baby girl!! We are having so much fun watching you learn and grow everyday. Eleni had a busy week this past week! Guess what?! She learned how to clap! She loves clapping, in fact she loves it so much she claps while she eats and while trying to nap in her crib. LOL. I was watching her on the video monitor while she was supposed to be napping, but no napping for her just clapping! She gets so excited when I start clapping with her! It is so much fun. :)

Eleni is not fully crawling yet but does crawl backwards which I find pretty funny. She will also scoot and pull herself forward in an army crawl. Eleni has also started to try and pull herself up on the side of her crib rail (I guess it is time to lower the mattress!).

I finished all of my Christmas shopping (HOORAY!) and can't wait to give Eleni her first Christmas presents! In the midst of all of the wet weather we were still able to snap a few pics for our Christmas card (Hold tight, they should be arriving within the next few days. Hopefully before Christmas, hehe.)

Here are some "out takes" from our Christmas card pics that I snapped last week. Also a couple of pictures of some of my favorite Holiday decorations. To see more of my favorites take a little trip over to my photo blog. :) XOXO




I swear Eleni is not naked in this next one, the hat is covering her diaper. ;)



Love this next one.





My favorite Christmas book when I was little. Hopefully Eleni will enjoy it too!

34 Weeks Old

Eleni's 8 month birthday is just days away and I can not believe it! I remember last year being pregnant and so excited trying to imagine what our little girl was going to be like. Well, now flash forward a year later and she is here and well on her way to being one year old. I can't believe how fast this past year has gone!

I will be posting updated pics of Eleni within the next few days. Depending on if the weather cooperates tomorrow we might head out with the tri-pod to try and snap a family Christmas photo. Stay tuned for pics, and since a blog post is never as fun without a picture here is a sneak peak of Eleni's Christmas stocking. I LOVE IT!!! :)

XOXO

33 Weeks Old

These last few weeks have been extra special with Eleni. I can't put my finger on exactly what it is but she has such a fun, cute personality now! She is such a happy girl 99% of the time, which makes me heart so very content! Eleni has really become one of my best pals and I can not imagine my life without her. :)

We were once again really busy this past week. Lots of fun activities! Eleni and I went to this very cool place called the Playroom. It is a super fun indoor playground for very young children. Everything was extremely clean (no shoes allowed!) and they had numerous fun things for Eleni to do! She had a blast, I don't think I have ever seen so much fascination/excitement on her face. I had a great time just watching her in action!

Here are some pics from this past week. XOXO

Ari and Eleni came with me to the park this past week to help me at a family photo session I had scheduled. Eleni loved looking at all of the leaves and was a fabulous assistant! ;)









This last one is from a cell phone so the quality is horrible but I had to get a pic of Eleni in the ball pit for the first time. She LOVED it!

32 Weeks, First Thanksgiving

Sorry this post is one day late, things have been busy here at the Tsekouras house. Last weekend we were in San Diego visiting with my extended family and celebrating my cousin Aeris's birthday. We had such a fun time! I was even able to have a mini photo shoot with my cousins. To check out some of my favorite pictures from the day you can click here.

Eleni had a wonderful first Thanksgiving. We decided to have two turkeys this year a smoked one as well as a regular oven roasted one. Both were amazingly yummy, it was a definite success! Yesterday we decided we were too excited to wait to decorate for the holidays so we put up all of our Christmas decorations and our Christmas tree. The house is looking so festive and we are loving it! Eleni is mesmerized with all of the sparkly ornaments on the tree. It is so much fun to watch her take everything in and get excited when she sees all of the new and interesting action happening around her. Eleni is still trying with everything in her tiny body to crawl. She can scoot and will get up on all fours and rock back and forth like she is ready to take off but then just rolls over. I am both excited and scared for her to start crawling, I know it will be so much fun but at the same time exhausting! We have a busy few weeks coming up so I am sure that there will be lots of fun blog updates. Stay tuned...

Here are some pics from our trip down to San Diego as well as Eleni's first Thanksgiving. XOXO

Our trip to SD...

Aeris, the birthday girl!!



Some of the cute details from her b-day.





My wonderful Nana.





Eleni's first Thanksgiving...







Ari and his prized Turkeys.





New tradition, the tripod picture. :)

31 Weeks Old

It has been a busy week, we have been on the go what seems to be non stop. There are a ton of fun things coming up, one of them being Thanksgiving. We will be having it at our house this year, we are very excited! We are in Orange County today and tomorrow we will be in San Diego to visit with my extended family. Eleni is doing great and changing so much every day! I love this age, she is right at the cusp of so many awesome milestones. Can't wait to see what the next couple of months bring!

I snapped these pictures this morning at my parents' house. Happy Friday!! XOXO



My first baby (who is in desperate need of a bath, Wednesday I promise!).

Happy 7 Month Birthday Baby Girl!!

Today Eleni is 7 months old, I can't believe we are on the other side of the half a year mark! Time is flying by and I am enjoying every second I get to spend with her. Love you baby girl! XOXO

Oh, and no that is not my hairy arm and chin in the picture. ;)

30 Weeks Old

I still can not get used to this time change it is sucking the life out of me, I feel sleepy all of the time! Anyhow on to more important things...

Eleni is doing great, still moving all over the place. She does not stay still. Her favorite things currently are the TV remote and my cell phone. She is a woman obsessed! ;) She is trying with all her might to crawl! If I put my cell phone across from her out of her reach she scoots and scoots and moves her legs but does not go anywhere. Then she gets very upset that she can't move and just rolls over. It is pretty amusing to watch. Eleni's second tooth has popped through. Her little toothy (is that a word?) smile melts my heart.

We went out today to the park and walked around, the weather was perfect! It put Mommy in a great mood, Eleni seemed to enjoy herself as well. Here are some pictures from this past week and today at the park. Happy Friday!! XOXO



This next one cracks me up! :)



Meet Eleni's super soft poodle friend. She loves it, she gets so excited when I bring it out to play with.



This next picture I am posting because I love these PJs and never want to forget them. Second reason, because you can see both of her bottom teeth!



Park pictures...

29 Weeks Old

Eleni is cutting her second tooth as I type this very blog post. Poor baby has been really cranky the last couple of days. :( Besides the teething Eleni is doing great she is constantly on the go or at least trying to be. She rolls and bounces non stop, I sometimes get worried and wonder if so much movement is ok. I know it sounds silly but it looks exhausting! I am not a fan of the time change. Eleni now thinks that 6:00am means it is time to wake up and play! No thank you!! Oh well, coffee has been my best friend the past few days and I am pretty sure she will be for the next 15 years or so. ;)

Even though Eleni has been cranky the last few days she still manages to take a great picture. Here are a few favorites that I snapped this past week. Happy Friday!!!! XOXO







Yep, that is Eleni's first tooth that has popped through on the bottom!!!

Happy Almost Halloween!!!

Today is the day before Halloween and Eleni's 28 week birthday. Eleni has such a little personality now, she is laughing all of the time and it seems she might be learning how to manipulate Mommy. ;) I have started to detect her "fake cry", it is actually quite funny to hear. She loves to sit up and is still sleeping on a routine schedule. Big news to report this week--Eleni's first tooth has popped through and the second is on the way!!! She has actually dealt with the teething pretty well so far, only very minimal fussiness. Other than that not much else to report. Hope everyone is having a great Friday and has a VERY fun and happy Halloween!!

Oh and are you ready for a cuteness overload???!!! Get ready to see the CUTEST bumblebee EVVVVEEERRRR!!!! :)