Everything in Between

Nap Attack

2012-01-30T18:08:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned Evan refuses to nap for me. Sometimes he will still nap for Todd and this is how he fell asleep the other day (after creating a trail of destruction in his room). Never ceases to amaze me how uncomfortable he looks when he sleeps. He refuses to sleep in his firetruck bed so we compromised and just put the mattress on the floor. He sleeps there sometimes but more often than not he is on on the floor. With no blankets. But he's sleeping so I'm not too concerned with it. I'm sure it's just a phase.

Another tidbit for today - we gave Erin some green beans tonight. Do you think she likes them?

Her facial expressions kill me.
Love this girl.

Erin is 6 Months

2012-01-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

This girl is getting so big! At her doctors appointment last week she weighed 16 pounds (50th percentile) and was 26-1/2" inches long (75th percentile).
She has one heck of a cold this week and I had to stay home with her a couple of days. She hasn't had a fever just a sad little cough and stuffy nose. It's weird to me to have a kid that acts sick, since Evan always acts like normal when he is sick. This poor little girl is so fussy and clingy.
She's on the mend though and hopefully will get rid of her nasty cough in the next few days.
We started her on a little rice cereal before she got sick and she wasn't too pleased with it. I suppose she'll catch on though.

We've started to potty train Evan and it's not going so well. He's eager but when he gets on the potty he just sits there. I guess we'll get it figured out some day :)
That's really about all I have to report right now, I'm just super busy trying to keep up with the craziness of raising these two babies.

And a Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T09:55:00.002-05:00

Random Notes

2011-12-31T16:09:00.000-05:00

I just have some random updates and things I'd like to remember so please excuse this post of randomness.
Erin is oh so close to rolling over. She can go from tummy to back but she hasn't figure out how to get her shoulder underneath her when trying to roll from back to tummy. She is very close though and I see it happening in the next few days.

She's still an awesome sleeper with about 3-4 naps a day and 12 hours per night. Her naps can be short sometimes, only 45 minutes to an hour but I don't mind so much.
We put her in the jumperoo today for the first time and she love's it! She also still loves the exersaucer.

I think we established that Evan's favorite toy for Christmas was his tractor from his Uncle Eric. Pure joy!

Evan has slept the past two nights in his big boy firetruck bed. We thought maybe it would help eliminate some of his bedtime issues. It really hasn't. The boy just does not want to go to bed. No matter what time, where, with who - it doesn't matter. He screams and fights it for as long as he can stay awake. He only gives in to sleep once he's exhausted himself. He is still having night terrors a couple nights a week, usually depending on how late he forces himself to stay awake. It's very frustrating but we are still hopeful he will get use to his bedtime routine and just ease into bedtime. REALLY hoping it's soon.

Merry Christmas to All!

2011-12-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

We had a great Christmas.
It was an early start because my brother had to work later in the day but it worked out. Evan and Erin had a lot of fun opening their gift. Surprisingly Erin was really into it!

Socks, nom nom nom.

She did really good ripping the wrapping paper.

I think everyone got everything they wanted, Evan got lots of Toy Story stuff, trucks and a giant train set!

I got what I really wanted, a necklace I've been stalking for quite a while. Todd got some points for this one!

Erin is 5 Months

2011-12-20T12:53:00.000-05:00

My little biscuit is growing fast! Here are a few recent pics.

'Tis the Season

2011-12-18T10:59:00.000-05:00

I am loving this Christmas season! Usually this time of year is very stressful and I'm always way too busy to notice all the wonderful Christmasy things going on around me. Well this year I took steps to make sure we all have a non-stressmas! I finished up all my shopping in the first week of December, so my usual procrastinating self wouldn't be worried about buying gifts the whole month of December!
It has been so amazing to see everything this holiday season through Evan's eyes. Last year he was still too little to understand certain things but this year he is really really into it.
He loved putting the lights up outside with daddy. He was a big helper.

He also loved trimming the tree, which took a couple of days but I mainly just let him do it by himself. Of course we strung the lights and put the ornaments up high but other than that it was all Evan.

We went and saw Santa which was a big thrill for Evan. We waited in line for about an hour and coached Evan a little on what to do when he saw the big man. I knew he'd clam up because he is so shy but to my surprise when we arrived in Santa's workshop he saw Santa and immediately blurted "choo choo". Then he went mute again but at least he told Santa what he wanted.
Riding the carousel at Bass Pro Shop.

A few days ago we went to a Christmas light show. It was pretty neat (although way overpriced) and Evan really liked all the colors and lights. Erin actually enjoyed it too.
Putting his name on the nice list.

Also at the light show he was able to write a letter to Santa. He really thought this was neat.

At his daycare they have been doing lots of Christmas activities as well. He was so proud of his gingerbread man.

Of course Erin has been enjoying all these things right along with Evan but she a wee bit little to have the real fun.

In line to see Santa.

Christmas is one week away and I am beyond excited. I love starting new traditions with my family and it makes me appreciate the season so much more.

Erin is 4 Months

2011-12-03T13:44:00.000-05:00

Erin is doing great!!!
At her 4 month appointment she weighed 14 pounds 2 ounces and was 25 inches long, both the 50th percentile. She is now in the 75th percentile for her head size, was the 90th percentile.
She and I are sharing a nice head cold right now but she is handling it pretty good. Last night she did wake up at about 3am and wanted a bottle, she hasn't done that in over a month. She is just like her big brother was at this age when it comes to sleeping. I'm still doing the dream feed at 10:30 to get her to sleep all night though. I was scared to drop it with Evan and I honestly can't remember how long I kept giving it to him. I would like to go to bed earlier some night but it really doesn't bother me, I actually enjoy the quiet peacefulness of it.

Anyway - I picked her up at daycare yesterday and she was in an exersaucer, so I busted out the one my sister in law gave me and she loves it.

But I think they heavy cheeks drag her head down after a while. (Couldn't you just eat them up!?)

That's all for now, I hear a certain toddler that refuses to nap calling my name. Ugh.

Oh My Goodness

2011-12-02T21:35:00.000-05:00

This week has been much better! I think Evan is settling in better with his bedtime routine and starting to have less tantrums. He is getting enough rest therefore isn't quite as cranky. Oh he still has his moments but it's a definite improvement.

And for some unknown reason it seems like he's has grown about 5 feet in the past few weeks. He just walked into a room yesterday and I was struck by how tall he looked. Tonight we were laying on the couch talking and he is getting so good at conversation. I get a lot of "I don't know's" when I ask him questions but more and more he is able to tell me about his day. And he tells me what he likes and what he doesn't.

He really likes The Lion King right now. He still asks to watch Toy Story 3 everyday but occasionally we get The Lion King thrown in there. Usually we oblige him because he will watch for about 15-20 minutes and then be ready to shut it off and play.

He also really like riding in "daddy's big truck". It's one of his favorite things. And of course Papaws tractor is still the best.

He no longer answers with an "uh huh" his new thing is "yeah". Still not the "yes mommy" we have been working on but it'll do. He's begun mimicking some expressions I make it and it is hilarious. I always say "oh hey thanks" when someone gets me something and hearing it out of his little mouth NEVER stops being funny. And his excited "oh my goodness" just delights me in every way.

I could go on and on about the things he says that make me laugh but for now I need to sleep. Erin has a cold and I have a feeling tonight may be a long one. I need to post about her 4 month stats soon. She is growing up so fast!

A Lot to be Thankful For

2011-11-26T21:24:00.000-05:00

I know my post yesterday was a little down but I have so much to be thankful for. As difficult as Evan is being right now he really does make up for it with his sweetness. It seems like I tell him he is adorable about 20 times a day for all the things he says and does. And he is so kind and sweet to Erin. It just melts my heart.
Today and yesterday we did a lot of coloring and painting to keep busy. I haven't had both kids at home by myself for consecutive days since maternity leave, so I knew Evan would get bored real quick if I didn't have him some stuff to go.
Lots of coloring.

And he got to paint for the first time (at home anyway). He painted this tractor for papaw.

And this cute little cow for mamaw. I love his little determined face and the concentration (see the tongue sticking out?)

And I am so thankful for Erin. My sweet sweet Erin. She is still the BEST baby.

She still rarely cries, although she has started to get a little fussy when I put her down for a nap. I think she is realizing she might miss something when she naps. I'd say at most she cries for about 2 minutes and then gives into her nap.
She still hates tummy time but she is getting a little better and will tolerate it a little longer.

I feel like Erin is getting a raw deal lately because we have to spend so much time and attention on Evan.

I wish I could get more one on one time with her, I love to snuggle her and smell her sweet baby head. She loves to be held and really loves to sit anywhere or do anything. Have I mentioned she is awesome? And when I put her in this little dress and tights on Thanksgiving I have to admit, I got all emotional. I just adore my little girl!

Terrible Two's and Terrors

2011-11-25T22:52:00.001-05:00

I will not sugar coat it. Two is pretty terrible right now. I use this blog more as a way to remember all the little bits of our lives that we may inevitably forget some day. I already look back on it when I can't remember when Evan hit his milestones and always find my answer.
Well at 2 years and 5 months Evan is a tantrum throwing toddler and he is driving his mama crazy. It's really nothing I can't handle during the day. I can take the tantrums that he throws over being told he can't wash his hands for 30 minutes, or drive the car home, the list goes on. What I can't handle are the tantrums he has when I wake him up in the morning or when I put him to bed at night. For two years and 4 months Evan was the BEST sleeper. Sleeping 12 hours a night and a problem free 3 hour nap per day. Well ever since the big pacifier take away that went out the window. He refuses to settle down for a nap or go to bed when he is told. Most of the time it's fits of screaming, flailing, screaming, moaning and did I mention screaming? And in the morning he is so tired from fighting sleep the night before that when I have to get him up to get him ready for daycare he is not having any of it. He fights every step of the way, diaper change, changing his clothes and all the way to the car seat. But hopefully we might have solved this little issue because a friend suggested we play a movie to distract him while I get him ready. I tried it Wednesday and it worked like a charm!(thanks Jennie!) We'll see if it works on Monday when I got back to work, fingers crossed.
So sleep issues are really prominent in our lives right now. Tantrums and fits don't really worry me though.
But the thing that concerns me the most is the night terrors.
Ever since Evan was about a year old he has had night terrors. For the longest time we didn't know what was wrong with him when he would wake up in the middle of the night screaming. It was as if he was in a zombie trance, still sleeping but screaming his head off and thrashing around in his crib. This happened about once a month so we did some research and consulted our pediatrician. The trigger for his night terrors is almost always lack of sleep. If he misses his nap or goes to bed really late we can almost always count on a 2am night terror. And they are so hard to watch. They can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. Most research I've done says to just stay with him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. They recommend you do not try and wake the child up. But on a few occasions (only after more than 30 minutes of screaming) we have taken Evan outside and usually that will wake him up and he snaps right out of it like nothing happened. Some nights nothing works and I just have to sit and listen to his horrible screams - I always feel so helpless and more often than not sit next to his crib and cry right along with him.
When he turned two we didn't see a night terror until we took his pacifier away. Without that to soothe him to sleep he has missed many naps and bedtimes. And in the past two weeks he has had one almost every night. I have no idea what to do. I've tried modifying his bedtime but no matter how early (or late) I put him down he is defiant and will not sleep until he has exhausted himself by screaming and crying.
All that said today has been an exception. He quietly went down for his nap and take his normal 3 hours and I had to wake him up. He was in a great mood when he woke up and we only had one small tantrum tonight - pretty good considering some nights he can have 4 or 5. And we just put him down for the night and no screaming yet. He did have us go through a 20 minute ordeal before he would go in his crib. I asked him why he didn't want to go night night, I asked if he was scared and he said yes. I said what are you scared of and he pointed to the window and said "outside". So I asked if he would feel safe if we covered the windows with blankets and that seemed to make him happy. I really hope we are turning a corner here and these sleep issues will be gone soon. It's so draining both physically and emotionally.

He May Look Sweet and Innocent

2011-11-04T21:50:00.000-04:00

This boy is testing the very limits of my sanity. The tantrums have been in full force since we took his pacifier away. Is it related? I'm not sure, it doesn't seem like it should be since he only took his pacifier at naps and bedtime. It could be he doesn't rest as well now and he is more grouchy. I sure hope it's a phase. A very short one.
A typical tantrum from Evan can last anywhere from 15-30 minutes. No amount of reasoning will snap him out of it. He just has to cry it out until he decides he's done throwing a fit. His triggers seem to be anything we tell him he can't do. And also naptime and bedtime. Some nights bedtime is fine, he lays down and goes right to sleep. But others he cries and cries until he finally falls asleep, exhausted I'm sure. I try and tell myself he's two and a half and it won't be like this for long, it's so hard for me though. He screams and screams and there's no consoling him.
The worst is getting him ready in the morning. He is NOT a morning person. I try and wake him up at least 20 minutes before I have to get him dressed but he doesn't usually budge. I have to physically pick his limp body out of his crib and put him on the changing table. That's usually when he wakes up and a full on struggle ensues. Thrashing and kicking he does not want his diaper changed or to get dressed. Then I have the task of getting him into the carseat while he's stiff as a board and refusing to bend. All really fun at 6:30am with a 4 month old to think about as well. Thank goodness Erin is such a good baby or I would have gone crazy long ago.
Now don't get me wrong, the tantrums are a pretty small part of our day. He is still the sweet good natured boy he has always been but sometimes his crazy tantrum side decides to show up.

It's been a challenging couple of weeks. It's hard to know how long it will last. Most people with two year olds have told me to "get use to it". Sounds fun.

The Busy Season

2011-10-30T12:22:00.000-04:00

Seems like at the end of every October I sit down to blog and I can't believe how much stuff went on. So here is my super deluxe long post of all things October.
First, the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a lot of fun this year since Evan is tractor crazy and he was very excited about the tractor ride.

Of course once on he just stares in awe of the big tractors here and there. He was all about finding the perfect pumpkin.

Careful not to drop that cookie from Grandma though. We found an acceptable one and headed back in.

And honestly, it's all about the tractor ride anyway. Erin was pretty indifferent to the whole thing, she slept the entire time.

Next up Evan had his first official pony ride at a fall festival. I thought we might have a repeat of last years freak out but he did great - he even went off by himself at first but it made us all really nervous so Todd ended up walking alongside him.

We had a couple opportunities to put the kids in their costumes already and it isn't even Halloween yet. Here are a few pics of the cuteness, we went to trick or treating at a local shopping center and also at the zoo - both times Evan had so much fun, and Erin of course just looked adorable.
My little firefighter -

And my little kitten -

I have plenty more to blog but it looks like mommy is needed in several capacities so it'll have to wait!

Bye Bye Bubba

2011-10-25T22:20:00.000-04:00

Evan has taken a pacifier (he calls them Bubba's) since he was 2 days old. For the past year he has only taken one for naps and bedtime. I initially wanted to take it away from him when he was one. But one turned into 18 months, then two years and now he's almost 2-1/2. I didn't want it to start affecting his teeth so I bit the bullet and decided to go through with taking it away. I knew it was be really hard (not just for him) but since he has been napping at daycare for months without a paci I knew he could do it.
With a little advice from my friends I decided to tell Evan a story about the Pacifier Pirate. The pirate visits when kids are no longer babies and are now big boys. The pirate exchanges the big boys pacifier for new toys and the pacifiers go to little babies that need them.
Evan was very excited and eager to pack up his bubba's to wait for the pirate. His enthusiasm gave me hope that the transition would be an easy one. I was incorrect.
The day after I told Evan the story it was time to get ready for the pirates visit. He excitedly put his bubba's in the envelope for the pirate.

We took the envelope outside and then all we had to do was wait!

After a little time (and major distractions by mommy) we heard the doorbell ring. That was the sign he had been there. At this point Evan was soooo excited. He ran outside to find his envelope with the paci's gone and in it's place was a huge Little People car track and two more envelopes. Luckily the car track was a birthday gift I hadn't gotten out of the toy closet yet. I also got him, I mean the pirate got him a Buzz Lightyear and Rex toy from Toy Story which he is WAY into right now.

He played and played with his new toys and all the while I was dreading naptime. Although he seemed to understand what he was doing by sending the bubba's away with the pirate I knew he couldn't ful grasp it until naptime when I told them we didn't have them anymore. And sure enough as he was settling down for his nap he asked for them. I told him that he has new toys instead of the bubba's and I repeated the pirate story to him. Meltdown ensued. He wanted to see them and wanted them back. I just kept repeating to him that we no longer had them and what a big boy he was. Nothing I said mattered, all he knew was he had his paci's every day of his life and now they were gone. Eventually he feel asleep after about 45 minutes of crying. Poor guy, and it was awful to listen to. But I knew it was going to be a rough few days and it was in his best interest to do it now.
He woke up about an hour into his nap (unheard of! He usually naps at least 3 hours) and he was inconsolable. It took Todd about a half an hour to get him to calm down. And we needed to leave for the zoo for trick or treating in about an hour. We eventually convinced him to get in his costume and we all had a nice evening at the zoo (I'll blog about that later). But after the zoo we decided to get dinner and for the first time ever Evan was so bad we had to leave the restaurant as soon as we got our food. He was under the table throwing a tantrum and kicking and whining. It was pretty brutal. But we remained patient since we knew he'd been through a lot that day. Bedtime did not go smoothly either, we got home at about 10 and Evan was up until midnight, off and on he would beg for his pacifier. And I admit we were at the end of our rope with the day and we gave him a paci - only we cut the tip so it was "broke". He was not happy about that either and he launched it across the room. The next day he napped without issue, but bedtime he again cried and screamed for his bubba for about 45 minutes. Last night was night three and he cried for maybe 20 minutes and fell asleep.
Tonight we put him down and he talked in his crib for about 20 minutes before falling asleep and NO CRYING! He didn't ask for them or even mention them, yay! I'm hoping he has mostly forgotten all about them and we won't have any more sleep issues. Fingers crossed! It was by far one of the most challenging few days as a parent I have had to deal with.

Panama City Beach Slideshow

2011-10-22T15:26:00.000-04:00

I made this slideshow to put on a disk for my mom. She refuses to operate a computer so therefore she never gets to see any of my photos. So I'm posting it here too just for kicks.

The Beach

2011-10-09T16:13:00.000-04:00

We decided that on my last week of maternity leave we would take a last minute trip to Panama City Beach. We got a great deal on a condo so with less than a week of planning we were off.
To be honest I was extremely nervous about traveling with Erin being so small. Turns out she was a great traveller! Evan on the other hand didn't do quite as well with the car ride. He did alright, but we had a few "get me out of this damn car" tantrums. Luckily we were able to break up the drive and spend the night in Birmingham on the way down and the way back.
Evan did MUCH better with the ocean and the sand this time. Last year he would barely set foot in the sand, let alone play with it. He didn't mind at all this trip and he played and played.

One of his favorite pastimes was chasing seagulls.

Erin loved the beach too but what's not to like when you get your own beach chair, a cushy pillow and shade all day. Not to mention tons of grandma's oohing and awing over you all week.

We went to Gulf World one day just to try something different and Evan went crazy for it. They had dolphins, sharks, huge sea turtles and all kinds of other ocean life.
The dolphin show was pretty neat and he was mesmerized.

Erin was pretty indifferent.

We had so much fun just hanging out as a family. I'm super sad to be going back to work Tuesday but so happy we had the opportunity to take this trip.

This is one of my favorite pictures. I took it from our balcony, you can see teeny tiny Evan and Todd on the beach. Nothing like watching the way Todd is with Evan even when he doesn't think anyone is looking, I just love it.

Erin's Two Month Stats

2011-09-22T16:15:00.000-04:00

Erin is growing like a weed! She is already 11 pounds 7 ounces and 23 inches long. Both the 75th percentile. Everything looked great at her two month checkup except her head is a little flat in the back. The pediatrician recommended more tummy time. Thing is Erin HATES tummy time. Evan used to love it but Erin just screams the whole time. So the pediatrician said she has pretty good head control and to go ahead and see how she likes the Bumbo.
She actually really likes it.

Her tongue is out nearly the entire time though - not sure what that means.

And then the crazy eyes come out.

I just love this girls attitude. She's so laid back. If she fusses it's usually for a good reason and never lasts very long. She's such a good baby.

My time off work is coming to an end and I couldn't be more sad about it. I thought I would be looking forward to going back to work (since my job is 10 times easier than being a stay at home mom). But turns out, my job is also not nearly as rewarding as staying home with my babies. It will be so hard.

Cracking Me Up

2011-09-17T11:24:00.000-04:00

Evan is in rare form today. I just wanted to share these pictures.
He successful diapered Panda.

He was so proud of himself when he finished he actually posed for a picture. This is extremely rare!

Erin is 8 Weeks

2011-09-16T15:29:00.001-04:00

I'm a few days late on this post but things have been pretty busy around here. Erin is a smiley happy little girl lately and I am loving it. I really couldn't ask for a better baby. Of course her run of sleeping through the night ended and I am back getting up once a night. She does better if I make sure to give her a dream feed around 10:30, so I think sleeping consistently through the night isn't too far off.
Baby Power!

Evan is still doing just fine with her although he has taken to smacking Todd and I every once in a while when he doesn't get his way. I'm not a fan. We are working on it though and hopefully it is just a (very short) phase.
Summer is coming to an end so we are trying to get outside as much as possible. I hope we get a fall instead of it going straight into winter, fall is my absolute favorite season and I want to enjoy it!

Boys will be boys!

That's all for now. Only 3 more weeks until I go back to work. I don't know how I will handle missing my babies all day long!

Sleep Glorious Sleep

2011-09-11T15:40:00.000-04:00

Miss Erin has slept through the night the past 3 nights. I'm ecstatic. Of course, I realize this may be a fluke and may not last long but I have relished the last 3 nights of sleep. She will be 8 weeks old Tuesday. I don't really have her on a very strict schedule like I did with Evan. I've found that having a toddler in addition to a newborn this time puts a little wrench in scheduling. But it will come in time, I have about 4 weeks until I go back to work (sniff, sniff).
We also have a smiley girl. It's such a reward. Taking care of a newborn is pretty thankless for the first couple of months but getting that first smile makes it all worth it.

Tractors

2011-09-11T15:32:00.000-04:00

I have a boy obsessed.
Evan loves tractors. Any size any shape.
He has never been much for tv. The most I could ever get him to watch was MAYBE 5 minutes of Dora the Explorer. Well I found some tractor videos on YouTube and he loves them! He will sit and watch them in complete awe. I love it!

So I knew when the annual Heritage Weekend Festival came around we would have to make a trip so he could see all the tractors.
He was in tractor heaven!

Of course he was never very far from daddy's side - some of the tractors were very loud and that really scared him.

The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day - then all of a sudden the skies opened up and we had a monsoon!

We took cover in a little craft booth and waited it out.
Good thing they had cute stuff.

As quickly as it began the rain stopped. We watched a neat demonstration of a chainsaw sculptor (?)

Very neat but we had more tractors and tanks to look at!

It was a fun day and we were so glad to get out and do something for Evan. I'm sure he had a blast.

Holy Shirts and Pants

2011-08-31T11:02:00.000-04:00

Once again I went to a kids consignment sale to get all the fall/winter clothes the kids will need.

I went waaaay overboard on Erin's clothes - they are all just so hard to resist with the cuteness and the prices make it so much harder.

But first, Evan's parade of long sleeve t's. I still think I need more since this is just about all he wears, so maybe I will go back and see what is left this weekend. (click on the pictures to enlarge).

Lots of khaki, again a staple.

And that's the extent of what I was able to find for Evan.
Erin's clothing selection was a totally different story. Having a girl gives you so many more options! This was the first time I have shopped at this sale for her and I was thrilled. My basket got so heavy at one point I could not lift it! Luckily when I sorted I was able to put back a few things that enabled me to carry the goods to the car.
I've mentioned before here I am a sucker for the shirt and pants sets that are sold together. They are usually the best deal.

Some more pants.

The cutesy dresses. The blue one in the front was my one splurge (at a whopping $6).

Shirts. Turns out owls are very popular right now.

And more onesies! So many that I even bought the same one twice and didn't realize it. (the green one with hearts). But they are different sizes so it is fine with me.

I bought a few sleepers for her and Evan but at this point Evan had decided he had had enough with my little photo session.

And then he wanted to take a nap on the clothes.

Dancing Machine

2011-08-27T09:48:00.000-04:00

My Girl

2011-08-23T15:15:00.000-04:00

I am loving my time off with this sweet girl. On the days I am taking Evan to daycare (twice a week for now) I just spend all day doting on her and getting to know her. She is truly sweet and is still a very laid back baby. Rarely cries and is sleeping well. Night before last she slept a whopping 7 hours! But last night she woke up twice to eat so it was possibly a fluke.
She's officially out of newborn sizes and I already boxed up a ton of clothes she has outgrown. I know I say this all the time but I can't believe how fast she is growing!

I love her crazy eyes. She looks so shocked and surprised sometimes it just makes me laugh.
She loves her swing right now, and also LOVES to be held. I don't mind so much, I mean - look at that sweet face :-)

Erin's One Month Stats

2011-08-19T14:16:00.001-04:00

At the pediatrician this morning Erin weighed 10 pounds 1 ounce and was 21-1/2" long - both 75th percentile. The doctor said everything looks really great and she is right on track. Yay!

Erin is 4 Weeks

2011-08-17T18:37:00.000-04:00

How is it possible that nearly a month has passed since I had her?
I take her in for her one month check up on Friday and I will post her stats then but I wanted to do a quick post about how we are doing.
Erin has a pretty good schedule right now. I could set a clock to her feedings. She eats about every 3 hours during the day with her last feeding at 9:30. She then sleeps until 2:30am, eats and goes right back to sleep. She wakes up at 6:30am everyday and that is when we start our day. I can't complain too much since she is only getting up once a night and has been for over a week now. We switched her to sensitive formula since she was spitting up quite a bit and seemed really uncomfortable after she ate. It has helped with the spitting up but not too much with the squirmy discomfort she seems to have after she eats.

Evan is still doing great with her. Any time he is near her he is happy. Always smiling and asking how she is doing. He must kiss her 20 times a day! He says he loves his sister and it just melts my heart.

Sometimes we do see a bit of jealousy though. Most of the time it is when he is really tired and doesn't have much patience for "mommy needs to feed the baby" or "mommy needs to change the baby".
He is adjusting though, as we all are to our new addition, new schedule and new adventures. He still doesn't understand he's a little too big for her toys though.

My Shy Boy

2011-08-16T15:33:00.000-04:00

Evan is shy. So so shy. Anytime he is around strange adults and even children he clings to my leg like he is scared to death. And to be honest it's not always a bad thing. If we are out in public or at a party I don't have to look far for my little guy because he won't leave my side.
Today we went to a playground/splashground. This is one of the situations I wish he was more comfortable playing with other kids. For over an hour we sat at a picnic table and he refused to move from my side. Eventually the very end of the splashground was empty and I saw my chance to get him into the water. And he loved it.

But anytime another kid would come down to the end he was back to me holding on to my pants leg.
He really enjoyed himself though and I just have to plan for plenty of time for him to adjust. It was really crowded today but schools start back tomorrow so we will be making more trips this summer until it closes. It is a great park - lots of stuff to do. But of course Evan chooses to pick up and inspect sticks.

This trip was also the first time I took both kids somewhere other than a grocery store or Target by myself. Erin did great and slept the whole time.

About 2 hours in Evan decided he could at least stand next to another kid, so I think he has made some progress. We'll see on our next trip!

What I Love About Sundays

2011-08-01T12:22:00.001-04:00

Sundays at our house are very laid back. (Until football season starts at least). It's so nice to be together all day as a family.

Even with the unbearable heat we are able to make it outside in the late afternoon for some outdoor activities. Evan has always just loved it outside and I think Erin is going to love it too. She just sleeps and sleeps basking in the warmness.

Evan however does the opposite. He never stops moving. Going from one activity to the next.

This boy is so happy around the water.
He also loves to "swing it".

I love watching him play and as he gets older it's so fun to see how he tries to figure things out and questions everything. Makes me want every day to be just like Sundays.

Erin's First Bath

2011-07-31T11:02:00.000-04:00

Erin was very relaxed for her first bath and didn't seem to mind a bit. Much better that the screamfest that was Evan's first bath.

I know I'm only going to jinx myself by writing this but Erin is such a good baby. She is so laid back and hardly ever fusses. She is eating well sometimes every 1-1/2 hours but she never really cries for food - she only tries to eat the daylights out of her hands, that's how I know she is hungry. She will squeak a few times at night to let me know it's time for her to eat. Which by the way she only woke up once last night at 2:30am - I'm sure it was a fluke, but I got 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Woo! At this point that's pretty nice.

I fall more and more in love as the days go by and I'm so happy to be home with my babies for the summer. I won't lie and say I wasn't nervous as hell to be home with both of them by myself, but I think we will do just fine. Evan has been doing really great with her - sometimes a little to interested, he wants to help dress her, feed her, hold her and whatever else we are doing. He is so sweet and even tells her he loves her and blesses her when she sneezes. Adorable.

Erin is One Week

2011-07-26T15:43:00.000-04:00

This week has been a blur. I think Erin has already changed so much from that first day. She is spending more time awake so I get to stare deeply into those beautiful eyes. I think they will probably be the same color as Evan's, blue. Not sure if she will keep her dark hair. Evan was born with hair as dark as her but it all fell out and ended up blonde.
She has the funniest facial expressions. Very serious that is for sure.

We took her to the pediatrician yesterday because we were concerned with her umbilical cord stump. It turned out to be fine and it actually fell off while we were at the doctor. And to save us a trip he went ahead and did her one week newborn asessment. She weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces, 75th percentile. He said everything else looks really great and he would see us again in a month.

Evan is doing really good with her. He is a very good helper and brings me anything I need. He's always asking "matter baby?" when she is crying. It's too cute.
It's been really great having Todd home this past week to do lots of fun stuff with Evan. I'm nervous for when I'm home alone with both kids but I'm sure it will be fine. I guess we'll see on Friday!

Some Hospital Pics

2011-07-26T12:21:00.000-04:00

We had a nice hospital stay, and I can honestly say I could have stayed another day.

Erin's Birth Story

2011-07-23T12:39:00.002-04:00

Monday July 18, 2011
I had my follow up doctors appointment at 1:00 Monday to go over my high blood pressure and to discuss a possible induction. I still felt completely fine and didn't think Erin was going to make her appearance on her own for a while. My blood pressure was normal and my protein came back ok. My doctor thought that it was a good idea to go ahead and induce since she really didn't see a benefit of keeping me pregnant any longer, since I technically had gestational hypertension. To my surprise she said she was scheduling me to be induced that night! Luckily the doctor who delivered Evan was on call the next day and I was happy to have someone I know and like there to deliver her. She wanted us to go home, get things ready and come back at midnight to have my baby! I was surprised, nervous but above all excited.
She first sent me to ultrasound to check on the baby. I told her she was moving a lot less in the last few days and that concerned me. I think she was just running out of room though. After a few quick measurements by the ultrasound tech she informed me that Erin was about 9 pounds. NINE POUNDS! She said that reading could be plus or minus a pound. I was really hoping for a minus on that one.
So after ultrasound Todd and I went to lunch so we could relax and talk about all the stuff we needed to do. In all actuality we were pretty prepared and the list wasn't that long. We had time to take Evan to my moms and get him settled which I was so grateful for. This entire pregnancy that has been the one thing I have worried most about.
After taking Evan to my moms we went home and both tried to get some sleep. I knew I would have a long night ahead of me. Of course I was unable to sleep, my brain would not turn off.
I was advised to start calling the hospital at 10pm to make sure they would have a bed available for me. My doctor said July has been super crazy for babies and that's why the midnight check in, to make sure I would get a bed. Well they were full at 10 and advised me to call back at midnight. At midnight they were still full. They told me they would call me back as soon as a bed opened up. So needless to say the next few hours I was very anxious.
Tuesday July 19, 2011
I tried to sleep and managed to get a couple hours before they called back at 5am to tell me at 5:30am my bed would be ready. We hopped in the car and were on our way. At about 5:35am we arrived and went to registration. I was taken to my L&D room right away. We got settled and we met our nurses for the delivery - Gretchen and Kirstin, who as it would turn out were so awesome!

They got my iv started and checked my progress, I was still about 3cm dilated. Then at 6:30am they started the Pitocin. About 45 minutes later I started to feel contractions. Pretty painless though.
At 7:45am I got my epidural. It was a little different this time. They had me sitting up this time and I felt some pain when he was putting it in. As soon as the epidural was in my doctor came in and broke my water. I didn't feel anything and didn't even know it was done until she told me.
At this point all we had to do was wait for the medicine to work. They were going to check my progress again in two hours.
At 10am they checked me again and I was at 4cm. They said it would be another 2 hours before they checked again.
At about 10:45am my doctor came back in and hooked me up to a new monitor to read how strong the contractions were. She mentioned the baby was still at -2 (not dropped at all) and my nurses would be switching my position often to get my "fat baby" she called her, to drop.
At about noon the serious contractions began to kick in. I was feeling intense pressure and knew it couldn't be long. When they checked me at about 12:45 I was fully dilated but the baby still had not dropped. They decided to set me up and let gravity work on her, they said this was so I could do less pushing. (fine by me!) I was feeling a lot of painful contractions at this point, about every 2 minutes. I set up for about 45 minutes until the pain became too intense and I felt like I was ready to push.
My doctor arrived at 1:50pm and I began to push. And at 2:10pm my little beauty Erin Sophia was born.
As she was put on my chest I immediately noticed her color. She was really purple. And she wasn't crying. Her eyes were open and she appeared to be breathing so I asked "is she ok, should she be that color, why isn't she crying!" no one really said a whole lot they were just patting Erin clean and about 15 seconds later she began to cry. A wonderful sound!!! And she started to get a little pink so all was well. A pretty scary 30 seconds though. The nurses would tell me later that Erin had the cord wrapped around her neck. Yikes! I guess that would be something they wouldn't mention considering I would have freaked out.

We were all anxiously waiting for her to be weighed and she wasn't quite the bohemeth everyone was expected. 8 pounds 2 ounces.

And she was 20 inches long. And pure pure perfection if you ask me.

Welcome Erin Sophia

2011-07-19T19:18:00.000-04:00

Our beautiful daughter was born at 2:10pm today. She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 inches long. Birth story to follow when I have the time, for now we are over the moon for our little girl.

39 Weeks

2011-07-14T21:26:00.000-04:00

I'll be 39 weeks tomorrow. It's been an interesting couple of days. I went in to the doctor on Tuesday and my blood pressure was a little high. They had me do a 24 hour urine test and to go back in today to have my bp rechecked. My bp was normal today and the results of the urine test will be in tomorrow. She checked my dilation and I'm at 3cm and still 60% thinned out.
She discussed induction for next week since bp's can change so quickly. I'm nervous about induction but I will do what my doctor feels is best for baby and me. I have an appointment for Monday and we'll see what happens from there. That is unless Erin decides she wants to come on her own between now and then. It is a full moon tomorrow (2am tonight actually).

38 Weeks

2011-07-08T22:02:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday I was 1-1/2 cm dilated and 60% effaced. I'm eating spicy food and taking the stairs. I'm ready when she is!

37 Weeks

2011-07-01T20:05:00.000-04:00

And a full term baby. Always nice to get to this point.
We're in for a really hot 4th of July weekend this weekend so I plan on doing a lot of staying in. I need to do a few things to prepare for when she is here but we are mostly ready.
I went to the doctor on Tuesday and I am 1 cm dilated and 25% effaced. I was about the same with Evan at this point so I'm hoping I will have her about a week and a half early like him. Who knows though - I could very likely go up to my due date or even past it...I just hope not! I still feel the same - pretty decent, just so darn hot all the time. This summer has been unrelenting so far.
I have been trying to prepare Evan for his baby sisters arrival but I'm unsure if he really gets it yet. I do know that he LOVES babies! Every time we see one out he yells so loud "baby!" So that's a good sign I guess.

(Look at that mouth full of teeth!)

36 Weeks

2011-06-25T13:27:00.000-04:00

Feeling good with a little less than a month to go. 27 days until my due date. I am feeling the strain that is for sure - just a quick trip to Target with Evan this morning and I feel like I spent an entire day shopping. My poor feet, I think they are better than when we had temperatures in the nineties but the still swell so bad. I get about 5 minutes of normal feet in the mornings when I wake up.
I'm packing my bag for the hospital today. Kind of surreal. My bag will be a lot lighter this time since I know what is pretty much essential and non-essential to take. I finally found the cutest dress to take her home in this morning. I have been looking everywhere for something teeny enough and this little dress at Target was just what I wanted. I'm sure I'll post a pic at some point, but I lack the motivation right now.

Speaking of motivation, I have little or none for photography right now. I'm actually having Evan's 2 year pictures taken by someone else tomorrow. I'm sure eventually I will get back into it but for now I'm concentrating more on being a momtographer I guess.
I have also booked Kelly Beach to do Erin's newborn photos. I am so excited for this! She is so very talented.
Well that's about it for now, just felt like updating a little since I am getting closer.

Erin Sophia's Nursery

2011-06-16T14:07:00.000-04:00

It's done, it's done!
I love how it turned out. It's just what I imagined for a sweet little girl. And hopefully she won't mind the color when she gets older because this will be her room for a long time.

I adore her bedding. I think the little owls and birds are too cute.

My mom was sweet enough to buy me the quilt to match - and it's a twin so she can still have this bedding when she eventually moves to a toddler bed. You know, in 10 years.

I love all the little stuffed owls and plaques my mom got me too. (And thanks Kacy for the cutesy pink dress).

Can you spot the toddler in this one?

Mr. Helper.

I need to post pictures of Evan's "not so big boy" room since we moved the ole fire truck bed out and a new crib in. It has worked out like a dream. He took to the new crib fantastically.
So now all I have to do is pack a bag and wait for sweet Erin. It's such a relief to have the room ready.

Mommy and Evan Days

2011-06-16T10:26:00.001-04:00

My daycare had a death in the family so they are closed for the next two days. So it's me and Evan. I'm using this time to break him of the pacifier. I am fully aware this may not be an easy few days but it needs to be done.
Todd and I took him for his 2 year checkup yesterday. He weighs 28 pounds 11 ounces and is 34-1/2" long (75th percentile for both). He's right on track developmentally and other than getting his 4 canine teeth all at the SAME TIME he is doing just great!!!

I'm really looking forward to these fews days (aside from the paci withdrawal) and I'm hoping it will give me a taste of what this summer on maternity leave will be like. Well, minus the little bitty newborn.
So far today has been good - we've been playing and lounging and the only issue we had was him giving up the paci this morning when he got out of bed. Nothing a little bribery and a new toy can't handle. I think I'm going to give it to him on his nap today and bedtime tonight and the same tomorrow but Saturday we will have him say goodbye. Wish me luck!

Beating the Heat

2011-06-11T13:51:00.001-04:00

We have had a miserably hot beginning of June. If it continues on like this I hate to see July and August. It has been mid-90's for what seems like forever.
If we do go outside to play it either has to be early morning or in the evening after the sun goes down. Otherwise we bust out the water!
I bought this little pool last fall for the bargain price of $10 (75% off thankyouverymuch). Worth every penny. Evan loves it and it's perfect for his age because he is all about water.

Hey, I'm all wet and stuff!

And to tell the truth I may have snuck into the pool myself to cool my gigantic swollen feet a time or two :-)
Evan didn't mind sharing.

The Name

2011-06-11T13:42:00.000-04:00

We are naming our sweet girl Erin Sophia.
We didn't really set out to make her name and Evan's so similar. To be quite honest we've loved the name Erin for a long time, and even if this baby was a boy we most likely would have called him Aaron. It doesn't have any specific meaning to us, we just love the simplicity and how it sounds. I can't wait until she is here. I'm beyond excited to meet her.

Birthday Boy!

2011-06-11T13:37:00.000-04:00

I can't believe my little boy is two! The past two years have just flown by. He has grown so much just in the last few weeks. And he is learning so much, every day it seems he has a new word or sentence that he is saying.
My parents, Todd's mom, my brother and Todd and I all pitched in to get Evan a swing set for his birthday. He LOVES it! I was so grateful for family to be able to help us out and get him this, we know he (and baby girl) will get many years of fun from it.

Last weekend we had the big birthday party. We all had a great time and Evan loved seeing all the family and friends. He especially liked all his gifts. And cake of course.

The day was so fun but at the end of it we were all completely exhausted. It has been well into the 90's for the past few weeks and I am over it.

This weekend we are supposed to have temperatures closer to normal for the beginning of June and I am looking forward to it. Today is already a bit less humid and tomorrow should be nicer. To that I am very thankful because my mom is throwing me a family baby shower tomorrow and it is going to be outside.
Other than the heat I am still feeling good with this pregnancy. If my feet weren't swelling so bad I wouldn't mind one bit. Only 6 short weeks until baby girl makes her arrival (or sooner). I am busy getting things ready for her and slowly but surely everything is coming together. Today I am switching all the closets around so she will finally have a closet I can hang all her adorable clothes in. Hopefully we will be done with the nursery this time next week.
That's it for now. Hopefully I can post some pictures of the nursery soon.

Challenges

2011-05-21T20:53:00.000-04:00

So as you can see on the ticker to the right I have about 62 days left until our baby girl makes her arrival. We are no closer to getting Evan into his big boy bed and his new room. The last two nights I set the pack and play up in his current room to just get him to adapt to sleeping in the pack and play as opposed to his crib. That way when we put the p & p in his new room he would be ok with sleeping in there. Well the first night was ok, some crying but nothing too bad. He slept well until the next morning. But last night he refused to settle down and he learned how to climb out of it. So that idea went right out the window. I put him back in his crib and decided that is exactly where he will stay until he is ready to move to his new bed.
I just ordered a new crib online. I should get it in a couple of weeks. Not the end of the world to have both kids in cribs but also not how I envisioned it. I've just got to learn to let this one go for now. I'm stressing myself out way too much over it and in the end it's not that big of a deal.
Evan will get the new crib and he will sleep in his new room. And baby girl will still be moving into Evan's old room. So as soon as the new crib comes in we can start painting her room and getting things ready for her. More delays.
I'm happy I have a plan in place and at least it's one less thing I have to worry about right now. I'm also pretty sure that once Evan moves out the crib his naps will be a thing of the past. So all the more reason to keep him in the crib.
It's frustrating but I think it is the right decision for now.

29 Weeks, Third Trimester. And Happy Mothers Day!

2011-05-08T19:07:00.000-04:00

I'm in my third trimester now and feeling pretty good physically. Mentally I'm ok but feel I have 1,485 things to do before our baby girl is here. I know it will all happen in time (hopefully) but feeling overwhelmed has been hard for me to avoid.
Our first hurdle in getting things ready for her is to move Evan to his new room and get him sleeping in his big boy bed. A couple weeks ago we attempted this and were met with strong resistance. My plan was to sit with him no matter how long it took and assure him it was ok to sleep in his new bed. The first night it took about 2 hours to settle him down. He just didn't get that he should stay in his bed and go to sleep. So patiently I tried to explain it to him and eventually, I'm sure after just plain exhaustion, he drifted off to sleep. He woke up the next morning at 5am and he seemed scared and was calling for us. He was pretty upset so we put him in his crib so he could sleep the rest of the morning and he did. The next night it took about an hour and a half to get him to fall asleep in his new bed. Most of this time was spent by me sitting on an uncomfortable ottoman, not too pleasant at 7 months pregnant. But eventually he fell asleep only to wake up a few hours later very upset and scared. So again, to calm him down and get him to go back to sleep we put him in his crib.
At this point I decided we should wait a little while longer to move him to his new bed. I thought that would be the end of our ordeal but I was wrong. After having me by his side to soothe him to sleep for two nights Evan had that quickly adapted this routine. So on night 3 when I put him in his crib and told him goodnight he no longer would just quietly drift off to sleep as in the past. It was an unprecendented screaming session of over an hour. Torture. Pure torture. And I admit I most likely made it worse by going in every so often to assure him everything was ok and that I loved him. Nothing I did mattered and he just cried and cried for me to stay with him until he fell asleep. I had to do the tough thing and just let him cry it out. He did drift off finally but not without a fight.
The next night I stood strong and let him cry again, this time he cried for about half the time as the first night. Still such torture for a mother to listen to. I had to stay vigilant, I knew he was ok and safe and could NOT have him needing me to soothe him to sleep every night when I also have a newborn to take care of.
By the third night he only cried for about 5 minutes and went right to sleep. The fourth night, no crying at all - back to my normal sweet sleeping boy.
So now that that drama is over I feel like I am in the same place that I was a month ago. No closer to getting baby girl's room ready for her arrival, which could be less than 11 weeks away (75 days but who's counting).
And I'm no closer to taking Evan's pacifier away which we intend to do once he is sleeping consistently in his new room.
I realize that if neither of these things happen before she is here everything will be fine and we will make due. But that doesn't stop me from wanting them done and it's basically all I think about. That along with the other 1,483 things on my to do list.

Today is Mothers Day and it's been great so far. We had a nice family breakfast and then we did some shopping. I got the mobile for baby girl's room (and it's adorable!). We went to lunch at Chuy's and ate our weight in chips and salsa. So yummy! Now the house is quiet and everyone is napping. Except me of course. Sleeping...ugh sleeping, we are not getting along right now. How is it I can be so tired yet not be able to sleep? I don't get it. It really is some twisted joke.
Well that's about all I have time to share for now, a certain toddler needs some assistance getting out of his crib right now. And since I don't like posts without pictures here is one of Evan being Evan.

The Zoo

2011-05-01T19:18:00.001-04:00

Today had a chance of rain and overcast skies forecast all day. So I thought this would be perfect opportunity for a trip to the zoo. It turned out to be absolutely perfect. There were no crowds at any exhibit giving us prime viewing on all the animals. And the weather cooperated with no rain and cool breezes - so nice!

Evan seemed to enjoy the animals. Although he was way more into the ducks, geese and any other bird that was flying around than the actual exotic animals.
I have to say I was really impressed with the new polar bear habitat. Although I was disappointed there was only one polar bear and she was 26 years old.

She wasn't very exciting, she just meandered a lot and took a brief swim. Still a neat habitat though.

The seals were also very fun to watch.

All in all we had an excellent time and I am very glad we went, especially before it gets too hot or I get too pregnant. Here are a few more photos.

Easter Fun

2011-04-24T14:07:00.001-04:00

We had a lot of fun dying Easter eggs last night. This is the first year Evan has been old enough to participate.

He didn't like using the egg holder, so most of the time he would just throw them in the cup.

Steady hands.

Gotta style them up with stickers!

The finished products.

This morning Evan was very excited to see we had him some monster trucks in his Easter basket. Not to mention all the candy.

He also got a massive Easter basket from his Grandma. So cute!

We are going out to my moms in a little bit for an Easter egg hunt and I'm sure more candy madness.
I have my glucose test in the morning so I am trying hard to stay away from it all!

A great Easter so far and there's more to come. I'm hoping the severe storms headed are way hold off until the kids can all hunt for the Easter eggs.

Spring!

2011-04-10T14:45:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness we can finally go outside and enjoy some nice weather. I was so over the winter. Evan is a lot more active this year compared to last so we can really get out and explore. Everything is new and exciting to him and I love seeing that through his eyes.
He really loves to slide at the park.

And ride daddy's tractor.

He also loves to enjoy a nice cold one after all the hard work. (sippy of milk that is)

I am loving the amount of talking he is doing. He has a new favorite word or new sentence every day. He is so grown up. I can't believe he will be 2 in 7 weeks.

Such a big man.
Since his big boy room has been all set up I had every intention of having him sleep there. Turns out I have realized it will probably be a harder transition for me than it will be him. I'm really afraid naps will go out the window and I'm really not ready for that just yet. I want to try next weekend to get him to sleep in his new bed, we'll see if it actually happens. I've been saying "next weekend" for about a year about his silly pacifier that he still wants.

I'm 25 weeks pregnant now and feeling great. Having a few Braxton Hicks every day. I think my temperature tolerance has leveled out to be like a normal person. I am always always cold at work. But now it seems when people are complaining about the heat I agree with them so must mean I am feeling warmer. Today it's about 85 degrees outside and it feels like 105 to me. I am really dreading the next few months if I already think it's too hot in April.
That's about it for now, I know I'll be posting a lot more pictures now that we can get outside.

Evan's Big Boy Room

2011-03-30T19:00:00.000-04:00

We spent yesterday painting and setting up Evan's new big boy room. I say we but seriously, Todd did 100% of the work.

Unless you count Evan helping a little.

When it was all done I think it turned out really cute. The paint is drying on the letters of his name that will go one one of the walls, other than that this is it. Pretty simple.

Pretty much all Evan wants to do is jump on the bed.
He has no problem climbing in.

I think he likes it.

Now we will see how it goes when we ask him to sleep in it!
And just because I think she is cute - here is Lilly after her spa day at the groomers while we painted.

And also - a sneak peak of baby girl's room, we got her bedding on Monday. I love it!

Spring Sale

2011-03-10T20:21:00.000-05:00

I was one week away from finding out the gender when my favorite semi-annual consignment sale opened it's doors. I was a little disappointed when my doctor said it was best to wait until 19 weeks to get the ultrasound. It's probably for the best because I most likely would've bought way more clothes than we needed for baby girl.
So I concentrated my efforts on Evan's clothes. And I got some good stuff. But in my opinion the clothes just aren't as good at his age because an active toddler will wear stuff out!
The shirts. As always, far too many but as I see it for less than $3 each and as messy as little boys are I'm sure I'll get my money's worth.

And the shorts.

And today I visited another consignment sale that I usually don't find much at. But surprisingly I was able to get baby girl some pretty adorable stuff. Actually it's pretty hard to make something for a newborn that isn't adorable.

My favorites.

And I even got her some stuff for next summer.

All in all I think I did very well again this year.

It's a GIRL!!!

2011-03-06T12:05:00.000-05:00

We were beyond beyond beyond excited to find out we are having a girl. I had told myself so many times that this one would most likely be a boy I really was in shock when the ultrasound tech told us she was a girl. It's always an anxious moment but it seemed to take forever for her to announce it. But I guess with girls they want to get a good look and make sure they are correct.
I'm 20 weeks now - halfway there! I couldn't wait until this week but now I want the next 20 weeks to slow way down. We have so much to do to prepare for our little lady it seems overwhelming and I'm sure we won't be able to get it all done. I know the important things to get done and they are at the top of my list but there are a lot of things I want done for my own peace of mind. One being a ton of organization. Our storage room in the basement looks organized because everything is in totes but I know that in those totes are tons of stuff we need to get rid of to make more space. Since I won't be using all of Evan's baby clothes on this baby they will need to be put up until either I decide to sell them or if I happen to have another boy if we decide to have another. We need space! And I'm ready to tackle it.

I've only been shopping a couple of times since we found out the gender and I've been surprisingly strong when it comes to getting her clothes. I did buy her 4 newborn dresses as a start though. They were just too cute to pass up. I have a feeling I'll be saying that about a lot of things in the future.
I'm feeling great at week 20. I'm not as tired finally and the nausea has subsided, for the most part. Brushing my teeth in the morning still gets me every once in a while. With this pregnancy I have not given up caffeine. With Evan I was able to cut it out but this time has been so hard. I only have it two to three times a week and within the guidelines for pregnancy so I don't feel too guilty. I'm definitely showing now, and I have been for several weeks. It happened a lot sooner with this pregnancy but since it's my second I expected it. I've gained far less weight this time than last - I've gained 9 pounds so far.

Evan is still too little to understand our impending arrival. Hopefully by July he will grasp that he will be sharing us with a new tiny person. We plan to move him to his big boy bed in the next few months and I am extremely nervous about that. Hopefully he take the change well.
He is so much fun these days. So sweet and just hilarious. He will imitate anything we do - the funniest is his dance moves. He makes me laugh so hard, I love it.
He's still the greatest eater. Never met a vegetable or fruit he didn't like. He cleans his plate nearly every night (well, what doesn't end up on the floor for Lilly). He doesn't want us to feed him as much so it has been a messy few months. He will get the hang of it though - practice makes perfect!

He is going to make a great big brother to his little sister and I can't wait to see it. But seriously, time sloooooow down - I have much to do!

Monkey See

2011-02-20T11:11:00.000-05:00

At almost 21 months Evan is talking a lot more. He picks up on every word we say and tries to repeat it - I find it to be so funny and amazing at the same time. He's still not saying a whole lot of two word phrases but I'm not too worried. He did say "love lou" this morning after I asked him if he could say it. My heart just melts.
Not only does he mimic what we say but almost everything we do he tries to reenact. It may seem silly but just this morning when I was flipping through the newspaper I would sometimes lick my index finger to turn a page. I looked over at Evan and he was doing the same thing! Hysterical.
He is all about cleaning right now. It's hard to get any housework done since I have to share the vacuum/broom/swiffer with him.
He even wants to use a sweeper outside.

More than anything he tries to repeat what daddy does. It's makes me so over the moon so see how much this boy loves his daddy. Anything Todd tries to do Evan is right by his side helping. A little landscaping? No problem.

He has changed so much in the past month it's hard to imagine all the things he will be doing next month. The time has gone so fast and I can't believe he will be two in a few months. And shortly after that he will have a little brother or sister.
We will find out the gender of our new edition March 1st. I'm so excited to find out so we can start the fun stuff! Decorating the room, organizing and shopping! It's going to be a long 8 days!

Big Brother To Be

2011-01-08T13:14:00.000-05:00

Yep, Evan will be a big brother in July. We are beyond excited about the new edition to our family. I am 12 weeks pregnant and am officially due July 22. I've been feeling pretty good. The fatigue has been dragging me down slowly for about 8 weeks now, I can't wait to get some energy back! I've been sick a few times with this pregnancy which didn't happen at all with Evan. Other than that, it's been thankfully uneventful.

I can't help but wonder how Evan will be with a new baby. I expect some jealousy but I think he'll make an excellent big brother.
He just cracks me up lately. He's extremely silly and so full of energy.

If I could keep him away from our remotes that would be great, he's a sneaky one.

We're battling the great pacifier takeaway right now. It's not easy. Every weekend I tell myself today is the day to take it away but I always cave. Life is so much easier if we just give it to him. But I know it's time and hopefully it will take a few days and he will forget about it entirely. Here's hoping.
Well that's about all that's going on right now, except our couch has some series static issues.

2010 In Pictures

2011-01-03T16:20:00.001-05:00

2010 In Pictures from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

We had a great Christmas this year. Evan loved loved his cozy coupe. I got video of him running into the living room on Christmas morning, I think it's just too funny he runs right past his present.

Evan Christmas Morning from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

He did pretty good with unwrapping. His "whoa" to every gift cracked me up.

Evan unwrapping from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

After all the unwrapping we sat around and relaxed for a few hours.

Everyone played with their new toys, including daddy.

Later that afternoon we went to my moms and Evan had a big wagon of toys waiting for him. He loved everything.

We had such a great day and he behaved so good even with the crazy schedule and barely a nap.
And considering he was a sick little guy. He had a runny nose and a slight cough for a few days before but Christmas day we noticed a little gunk building up in his eyes. I took him to the doctor first thing on Monday and it turned out he had a double ear infection, a sinus infection and an eye infection! Poor little guy.
We've had him on antibiotics and eye drops for a few days and we are seeing a big improvement thank goodness. His poor little eyes tell it all in this pic.

But he was good, all long as he had his paci, juice, his bear and his car ; )

18 Months

2010-12-16T20:36:00.002-05:00

We took Evan for his 18 month checkup yesterday. All is well and normal with our little guy. He weighs 25 pounds 7 ounces and is 32" tall. Both 45th percentile.
He's growing like a weed, and amazes us everyday and the new things he is learning. He's a little mirror right now and does everything we do.
I was nervous about putting up the tree this year and decided to buy all new shatterproof ornaments. I knew he would be all over the tree and he loves to just launch things with no warning. We are working on that.
Mostly, he just takes off an ornament and then tries to put it back on. It's actually pretty cute.

As for the presents he leaves them alone for the most part, sometimes he'll pick one or two up and move them but no ripping of the wrapping paper yet. Hopefully he will be willing to rip them open on Christmas.

And lastly, tonight he decided to climb out of his crib for the first time ever. He was fine, just scared. Not half as scared as I was though. I'll be keeping an eye on his at bedtime now to make sure it doesn't happen again, hopefully it scared him enough this time.

Settle In

2010-10-25T21:34:00.001-04:00

It's going to be a long blog post.
We've had a busy couple of weeks and I've been neglecting the blog. Here's a quick catch up on all the happenings.

The weekend before last we went to the Pumpkin Festival at a local church. It was a lot of fun, they had activities for kids including pony rides! I thought for sure Evan would be cool with a quick pony ride as long as I could stand next to him so he didn't fall off. I waited for more than a half an hour to get about 1 minutes of happiness (thanks Paula for the pictures!).

Fun times!

As soon as the sweet little pony started moving Evan wanted to have nothing more to do with it. He grabbed for me and started freaking out. So, no pony ride. They were very nice and did give me a refund. Maybe next year.

Last week a local shopping center had their annual trick or treating. It just so happened I had received Evan's Halloween costume the day before. So I thought I'd try it on him and maybe we would go. Well the moment I put it on him I knew I had to take him out and show him off. How CUTE is this!?

My little sheriff.
He actually kept the hat on the whole time which I was completely shocked. I think he was so distracted he didn't even notice it was on his head.

We walked around a little while and he got so many compliments. I was eating it up!

Quite a few people told me it was by far the cutest costume of the event. I couldn't agree more! I am just a little biased though.

This past weekend we went out of town with my family to Kentucky Lake. We stayed in Grand Rivers at a little cabin.
It was so cute and had a fabulous view of the lake.

Our view.

It was a relaxing weekend and it was great to have my mom there to help with Evan.
We stayed at Lighthouse Landing and it had a nice marina where you could rent sailboats.

Now we did not rent a sailboat but I really would like to learn. The wind here was crazy! I'm not sure if it was just this particular weekend but we had 30 mph gusts all weekend.
Evan really wanted to run into the water. Considering the water and sand freaked him out in Florida I was kind of glad he outgrew that.

For my brother and my dad the weekend wasn't just a vacation. They fished in a bass tournament both days we were there.

And they won the whole thing! Out of 23 boats they caught the most in two days. Yay! And my brother also caught the biggest fish of the weekend 5 pounds 8 ounces!
Collecting the winnings. (Altogether the won almost $2000!)

It was a lot of fun and great to have the family together.
All my boys.

A busy couple of weeks but so so fun. I love the fall an all the events this time of year. It is my favorite season and look forward so much to October every year.

I will miss this view.

Pumpkin Time

2010-10-02T21:28:00.000-04:00

What started out as a beautiful, sunny fall day turned into a cold and rainy one. We made the best of it and braved the drizzle to take Evan to the pumpkin patch for the first time. I think he had fun despite the weather.

He loved the wagon ride and could not stop pointing at the other tractors.

Testing out a few pumpkins before he settled on one he liked.

Have to wave at the tractors!

He found one he liked and we headed back to get out of the cold.

He would have stayed out the for hours just running around but I was more worried about the fact that I forgot his hat and we were all getting wet from the rain. I think we will go back soon so he can explore some more.

Hurry Up Already

2010-09-28T19:47:00.000-04:00

I wish this molar would quit making my baby grumpy!

Helpy Helperton

2010-09-17T22:01:00.000-04:00

As with everything a 15 month old does it happened in the blink of an eye. I had just finished painting my toenails, screwed the cap on tightly and set the bottle down on the coffee table. I saw Evan go for it and in my mind I actually thought - what's the worst that could happen.

This. This is the worst thing that could happen.

In a flash he ran to the doorway and launched the bottle onto the tile. I will never forget the sound it made. Luckily we got most of it off the tile but we are left with this. We attempted to clean it with carpet cleaner then Hydrogen Peroxide. And I took this picture after we tried those. We will make a trip to Home Depot tomorrow and get some serious chemicals to try and lighten it up. I'm not getting my hopes up though.
After we tried cleaning it tonight Evan got in the spirit and tried to help us. I mean, how can anyone stay mad at this sweet adorable boy?

Cleaning Up from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Rough Day

2010-09-08T20:45:00.000-04:00

Evan had his 15 month checkup today. He weighs 23 pounds (50th percentile) and is 31 inches long (45th percentile).

He got two shots today and didn't even cry. That's not to say he was happy about them though.

I saw tonight that he is getting another super evil molar. He has been pretty cranky this week, and I suspect that is why.

Tonight he fell and busted his lip on his portable booster seat. He bled for what seemed like forever. Pretty much as soon as the bleeding stopped and I had him calmed down he ran towards the coffee table and did a face plant directly into it. The lump and bruise on his cheek showed up almost immediately. This can do a lot to damage a mothers sanity in the span of 5 minutes.

After his bath tonight he went to his crib and tried to climb in and cried out "nigh-nigh". I can't really blame him after the day he had.

Lately

2010-09-05T22:02:00.002-04:00

Evan is 15 months old.

Lately he likes to help me clean. Whether it be the Swiffer or just help me wipe down tables with a dust rag.

Lately he has an obsession with refrigerator magnets. We bought him a set of the alphabet today and he was already spent a lot of time putting them on, taking them off, putting them on.

Lately he eats every single green bean you give him. And he is friends with all vegetables for which I am grateful. His greatest love though, would be the mandarin orange. Good gracious he loves them, I think if we gave him an entire can he would gobble them all up. He is still learning to use a fork and he seems to get better every day.

Lately he wants to walk or run everywhere.

Lately he is in some pain because of a super evil molar that he is getting. I feel so bad and helpless when it bothers him. We do all we can with Orajel and Motrin. Poor little buddy.

Lately his vocabulary is expanding.

He now says "buh-bye" "la-la"(Lilly) "mama" "dad-dee" "nigh,nigh"(night night) and my personal favorite "shoosh" (shoes).

Lately he makes my heart just melt, he is truly the sweetest little guy I've ever met and is the absolute light of my life.

The Sale

2010-08-24T19:45:00.000-04:00

I once again loaded up on all of Evan's fall and winter clothes at the consignment sale last night. I'm really glad they only have this twice a year or else I would be in serious trouble. So much cuteness to be had!
I'm a sucker for a shirt and pant set - for $3! These are the best deals I think. I admit sometimes it's a bummer when you really like a shirt but the pants are not in the best shape or vice versa. But again, for $3-$4 you can't beat it!

I went crazy on the shirts as I always do but I can't resist!

I tried to go easy on the pants but in the end as I was sorting them I couldn't give any of them up.

I must say this little Old Navy jean jacket was quite the steal at $3. Never been worn!

And lastly of course some PJ's and sleepers.

All in all I'd say this sale was a success.

For the Love of Cheesy Poofs

2010-08-22T16:34:00.000-04:00

I was noticing today as I went through some photos of this past month how many of them had a sneaky little cheesy poof in them. Evan has an addiction to these Gerber Graduate Lil Crunchers - we call them cheesy poofs. They are the solution to any meltdown thus far.

He knows I have my little snack bag stash of them in my purse.

Poof.

If you rattle the can he comes running like a puppy to kibble. He will hold the can out until you open the lid for him so he can dig his little hands in them.
It really is cute but jeesh, I can't get a decent photo without those sneaky poofs in them!

Little Big Man

2010-08-17T20:21:00.000-04:00

Where exactly has the time gone?
This little dude is a bundle of energy and I love it. Yes, it can be exhausting but I just love this age right now. He's walking like a champ and he really never stops exploring.

The weather finally broke a little yesterday (now in the 90's instead of 100's) so we ventured outside for some photos. It had been a little while since I had tried to take any and boy oh buy has he gotten fast. I realize I will need a much faster lens if I'm going to keep up with him. He's a lot of fun though and I'm loving every minute of it.

Cancun

2010-08-09T20:53:00.000-04:00

We had a fabulous time in Cancun. The resort was great and we had excellent weather. Apparently it was hotter at home than it was in Mexico. Go figure.
This was our view from our spot by the pool - heavenly.

We didn't have a bad view from our balcony either.

For as much fun as we had I still missed Evan terribly. The first few days weren't as bad but as days 5 and 6 rolled around it was a lot harder. I called home a few times to check on him and of course he was ok but it almost made it worse. I was sad to leave the resort but also happy that I was going home to see my baby. Unfortunately our flight home was cancelled in Dallas so our reunion was delayed a day. Very very frustrating but what could we do.
When we finally made it home I wasn't sure what his reaction was going to be. It took him a couple of minutes but it was as if no time had passed and we were back to normal.
He seemed to change so much in one weeks time. He was saying "uh-oh" and "yea" which he hadn't said before.
One thing I notice right off was his hair. Had I just been too preoccupied to notice how out of control long it had become?

So after dinner tonight we took him for a haircut. He was so good and just sat and smiled. I hope all his future haircuts will be that easy!

Such a little boy.

No Bottle, No Mama

2010-07-27T20:25:00.000-04:00

It had gotten to the point that anytime Evan would even see a bottle he would throw a massive fit. I guess since we had it down to one bottle a day, the night time bottle, he was associating the bottle with bedtime. So tonight I made sure he had a big dinner and put him to bed right after his bath. No bottle. So far, so good - he went down without a peep. But I'm not counting my chickens yet, he's only been asleep for an hour. So here's hoping we are done with bottles. I wanted to have him off of them by the time he was 14 months and he is just shy of that.

And one more thing. Getting this boy to say "mama" is just impossible. Sometimes he will say it out of the blue but I'm not sure he's even talking about me. He "dada's" it up all day long when he sees his dad or even a picture of him. No fair I say!

No Mama from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Inhaling

2010-07-25T10:55:00.000-04:00

Evan inhales his food. I think it is just too funny. Every time he takes a bite it's pretty dramatic.

Inhaling from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Not A Lot

2010-07-22T20:06:00.000-04:00

Not much going on lately. It's still ridiculously hot this summer. There is a heat advisory for tomorrow, it's going to be 100-105 with the heat index. It's miserable to be outside for more than a few minutes. So we've been staying indoors most of the time.

I've been mentally preparing to leave Evan with his Grandma and Grandpa for a week while Todd and I go on a much needed vacation. We booked the trip over 6 months ago, it's an adults only trip with some friends to Cancun. I'm super SUPER excited. But not excited to be away from my baby for 7 whole days. Todd asked that I not cry the entire time we are there but quite honestly I don't know how I will react. I do know one thing, when I drop him off before I leave I will be a mess. I know he will be fine but I swear he changes daily and I'm afraid I will miss something! But again, it is a much needed vacation for just the two of us. No schedules to worry about, no need to pack 300 things before we can walk out the door, no diapers, no work, ahhhhhh... I think it will be ok.

It makes me worry though that this week has started the dreaded separation anxiety. Evan has never cared before when I left him at daycare. Well everyday I have dropped him off this week he has wailed when I left. The first couple of times, I won't lie, I kind of loved it. It made me feel good that he wanted to be with me and didn't want to see me go. But now, it just makes my heart ache. I would love to stay home with him but that just can't happen right now. Hopefully this will be a short phase and he will go back to ignoring me completely when I drop him off.

We'll just have to see what happens. That's all for now, and because I just can't blog without a picture...

Picnic at the Park

2010-07-10T21:14:00.000-04:00

Todd has to work every Saturday and I really hate it. But it also gives me an opportunity to have some Mommy and Evan time. Today it was so nice out I decided we could go to a local park and have a picnic. It was fun and great exercise. I knew going in the picnic would be short lived, since he is always go, go, go!

But he sat and ate his little ravioli quietly and happily for about 10 minutes.

And then it was time to run away! He is walking great on flat surfaces but the rough terrain proved to be a bit of a challenge for the little guy.

Evan at the Park from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

After the chase-a-thon, I loaded him back in the stroller and we went for a nice walk. Evan really liked watching the ducks and geese. I actually think it was his first time seeing them - poor sheltered child.

Trying It Out

2010-07-01T20:02:00.000-04:00

We tried a little self feeding tonight.
I read a survey the other night about what age a child started to self feed and the majority said 12-13 months. I was surprised actually. I didn't think Evan was really ready since he seems to want to launch most of his food across the room lately.
So we tried it out tonight.

We were outside and he was wearing something pretty stain ridden anyway so why not!

He did really well to my surprise! He seems to grasp the concept after just one try. And the look on his face was priceless, soooo proud of himself.

Then he thought, let's just cut to the chase!

Wrong way! Let's try again.

Better.
It seriously was too cute watching him. Just another reason everyday of him growing and learning is amazing.

Messy boy!

How I Roll

2010-06-26T14:40:00.001-04:00

Right now Evan is so into anything with wheels. It's hard to pry him off his favorite thing right now his Buzz Lightyear ride on toy.

He's seriously crazy for it.
He's also crazy for this little 4-wheeler my big brother got him. Unfortunately he's a little too small to play with it yet since it is motorized. We hook it up every once in a while though and let him have a spin (under close close supervision).

He also loves to watch his dad mow the grass. He will stand at the window almost the whole time and wave and says dada.

When he isn't on Buzz Lightyear or watching dad out the window he is getting to be quite the handful. This week he continues to be a big ole grouch. And he hasn't been sleeping well at night. A couple nights he has woken up screaming and nothing we can do will calm him down. After tons of Orajel and Motrin I was very concerned and took him into the doctor. Looks like it is just two new teeth that are causing the issues. They finally poked through so hopefully there won't be anymore sleepless nights for a while.

We are also trying to wean him off bottles. It seems to be going ok, he still gets a morning bottle and nighttime bottle. During the day we have been giving him milk in a sippy cup. He seems indifferent to it most of the time. It's a constant effort to make sure he is getting enough to drink. We are working on it though.

This summer has been so hot and it's only June. We haven't been able to get out an do a lot. We sit on the patio in the evening and Evan loves it. He has always loved it outside and I wish the temperatures were a little more mild so we could go out more.

That's about it for right now.
Except for this, I peeked in while he was napping today and saw this;

Don't know that the bumper was intended to be a pillow but he makes it work I guess.

Who's the Boss?

2010-06-16T19:52:00.001-04:00

Apparently whatever has taken over my sweet baby boy this week is. It's like a switch was flipped and now I am dealing with this guy.

And this guy.
His minor meltdowns over toys taken away or stairs not allowed to be climbed are preparing me for what I have in store with my little toddler. It's exhausting. And I'm not about to give in just because he goes completely limp and screams his head off just because I won't give him the scissors he wants. It's hard work and now more than ever I need to practice my patience.
Don't get me wrong he still has his sweet snugly moments but then this guy shows up.

Can't I just have this happy sweet guy all the time?

One Year Stats

2010-06-09T19:51:00.000-04:00

Evan had his one year check up today and he is 22 pounds (20th percentile) and 29 inches long (50th percentile).
He actually lost weight since last week but I think it was because he had strep throat and he wasn't eating as much.
He's still a little wobbly but he is walking much better - up to 6 or 7 steps at a time. He is so proud of himself every time he walks it's so cute.
As I was running his bath water tonight Evan was standing next to the tub, as he often does. I was about ready to strip him down and put him in. As I turned my head to shut off the water he dove head first into the water. I thought he was hurt and I quickly picked him up out of the water. He was smiling and laughing. So lesson learned, always have a hand on him next to the tub. I also learned he has a very hard head.
Little stinker.

More Birthday Fun

2010-06-06T17:39:00.000-04:00

Evan's birthday party was a lot of fun.
I flipped out for the cake. I just loved it. I was amazed how the lady that made it just took some images from a napkin and created all the animals on the sides. So adorable!

She even made Evan a little one for him to tear into. (And in case you're wondering, the cake was delicious!)
The birthday boy was in a pretty good mood. Of course he decided to skip his afternoon nap, but he seems to do well with all the hoopla.

He didn't seem to get too freaked out with everyone staring at him and singing happy birthday. I think he kind of enjoyed the attention.

He dug right into his cake (a real pro now).

A little help from daddy.

Messy boy.

He was of course spoiled with all the great gifts everyone got him. It was too funny to see his face as each one was taken away so he could open the next one.

After it was all over we let him go wild with his new truck. The boy loves trucks what can I say.

Birthday Boy

2010-06-03T22:04:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy. I hope you had a good day.

I think you liked your presents.
Especially your truck - you didn't want to put it down!

But when it was time for cake you were ready to go.

Yummy!

It didn't take you long to make a mess.

I hope you liked it. I'm pretty sure you did.

Evan is 1

2010-06-03T21:53:00.001-04:00

Here are a few of Evan's 1 year pictures I took yesterday.

One

2010-06-02T21:22:00.000-04:00

My sweet baby boy. My amazing little man. Tomorrow he will turn one. A toddler. I'm crying as I write this. So silly. Probably has something to with the thousands of pictures I just went through for this post. Going through them all I realized how amazingly blessed we have been this past year.

A year ago today I was excited and nervous about meeting our little guy. I had no idea how much I would love him. Not until they handed him to me. The happiest moment of my life. I can honestly say that because not only was I happy he was born healthy and perfect but I was soooo happy labor was over.

The first few weeks were tough. But as we got to know our sweet Evan (and he got to know us) it has been bliss ever since. Now, I'm not delusional - we have had bumps in the road but we are learning to be the best parents we can possibly be. We question every decision we make and just pray it is the right one. It's hard work. But it is so worth it.

As I put Evan to bed tonight he said "night night" for the first time. It's surprises me how excited I get at these little milestones. I think I was more excited for "night night" than I was when he took his first steps. And when he sees Todd now he says "dada". So precious. I'm still holding out for "mama". I'm pretty sure I'll do a backflip to first time he says it to me.

We are having a small celebration tomorrow just the three of us. We'll have cake he can smear all over his face and a couple little gifts from me and his dada. We are having family and friends over on Saturday to celebrate as well. I'm looking forward to all the excitement (and picture extravaganza).

I'm still floored by how fast a year can go. It really does not seem that long ago that we brought him home from the hospital. He's changed so much. I swear he looks different every day. And of course, I have proof!

A few hours old.

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten months

Eleven Months

And last but not least,
Twelve Months

Walking!

2010-05-31T15:42:00.000-04:00

Finally got some footage of a few steps from little man. It's been hard to get video, I have to hide my camera now so he doesn't notice it. Otherwise he falls onto the floor into a fit because he knows he can't have it. That's the only thing he reacts that way to - hope it passes!
Anyway - here is my little walker.

Evan Walking from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-31T13:06:00.000-04:00

We had a fun filled Memorial Day weekend.
We visited Grandma Sherry at Huber's.

She was working hard sorting strawberries.

We got a flat and they were fantastic!

Evan was memorized by all the deliciousness in front of him.

After that we went to my families annual Memorial Day Party.
It was a lot of fun but soooo hot! The water table my mom got the kids was a big hit.

All Evan seemed to want to do was drink the water though.

Today is Monday and I got to sleep in till 10am!!! It was amazing. Todd is off today and he got up with Evan. I am so appreciative of the much needed rest.

The Simplest Thing

2010-05-24T00:53:00.000-04:00

It happened today. The moment I realized my sweet little baby is getting older. He is about two weeks away from being a toddler. It was a simple little thing. He was just pushing a little truck across the carpet. Like he has so many times. But this time was different. He made the noise. The brrrrrrrmmmmm noise. It seemed so silly that this would make me emotional but it did.

Truck from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

In other news, he took his first steps yesterday. It was just 3 or 4, and he hasn't done it since. I hope to get a few on video soon.
He also says mama and dada. I'm beginning to think he knows what dada means. Todd was mowing the grass and Evan kept seeing him out the window and he would yell dadadadadada over and over. Too cute.

Panama City Beach

2010-05-16T19:34:00.001-04:00

Our trip to Florida was great. As I mentioned in the post before Evan was afraid of the sand but we made the best of it.
Our condo was awesome. We had everything we needed and the view was spectacular.

We had 2 beach chairs and an umbrella everyday with the beach service that came with the condo. Thank goodness for that since the pools were so freezing that we spent the majority of the time at the beach.
Evan got a lot of use out of the chairs since he didn't want to sit or stand in the sand.

We were able to get him to stand a little in it towards the end of the week.

The week went way to fast but it was just what we needed.
And I went through my pictures when we got home and realized I had far too many favorites to post them all, so I made a 3 minute slideshow instead. Enjoy!

Panama City Beach from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Evan is 11 Months

2010-05-15T16:36:00.000-04:00

I'm a about a week late in posting this but I wanted to get Evan's 11 month pictures at the beach. It did not go as planned. Evan hated the sand. He was terrified to sit in it. He warmed up slightly toward the end of the week but I still wasn't able to get him to sit down without a horrified look on his face.
I got these our first morning there - he was very hesitant to smile or relax.

Daddy can always get a smile from him though.

So sweet.

This was the face he made when we sat him in the sand. And he just made this please help me cry. It was just sad.

More pictures from the trip to come - as soon as I sort through the 500 I took.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

2010-05-08T18:33:00.000-04:00

We went to a Louisville Bats game last night. My mother in law got us the tickets from her work and they were so great.

We had our own little suite and it was perfect for us since Evan is mobile now and he can't sit still for more than 2 minutes.

Evan seemed to have a great time - he loved it when everyone cheered, he got the biggest grin on his face.

Such a fun night and a great way for us to start our vacation. I can't wait to see my little baby on the beach - stay tuned for pictures!

My Two Front Teeth

2010-05-07T23:55:00.000-04:00

Can you see???

The Oaks

2010-05-01T08:58:00.002-04:00

We went to the Kentucky Oaks yesterday. It was my first time at either Oaks or Derby. And living near Louisville that is just unheard of.

We went went some friends and had great seats. Todd was very serious with the wagering.

I just sat back and watched the people. And it was the greatest people watching! Such a diverse group of people.

It was beyond crowded. I heard the crowd was 116,000 strong, the largest Oaks crowd ever. It felt every bit of over 100,000. It took about a half an hour just to walk through the paddock, weaving through all the people. I've never seen Churchill Downs so packed.
Despite the crowd we had a great time. We only cashed one ticket but we were happy with that.
I snapped this picture as we were walking past the Jockeys quarters.

Kent Desormeaux

Today is Derby day and the forecast is calling for rain, rain, rain. I guarantee there will not be as many people at the track today.

10 Seconds

2010-04-27T20:14:00.000-04:00

The mood of a nearly 11 month old can change so dramatically in about 10 seconds.
I love you Mom.

What's that noise? (See I still have a couple of curls)

What in Mommy's hand?

Gimme!!!!

What do you mean NO!!!???

And literally 2 seconds later...

And this last one is blurry because he darted off so quickly. Off to the next fun thing to do or cool thing to play with. Have a mentioned he NEVER stops moving? Well, unless he is sleeping.

The Haircut

2010-04-25T19:39:00.002-04:00

5 weeks shy of his 1st birthday it had to be done. Yes, his curls were adorable and I will miss them if they don't grow back but I just couldn't wait to get it cut. The back was really uneven and what I call "scraggly".
Anyway - this haircut took all of 3 minutes. It took longer to turn on Finding Nemo and fast forward past the previews.

He did so well, except of course he kept whipping his head around to see me, then the movie, then Todd, then the movie, then the stylist... you get the picture.
He loved the little racecar that he got to sit in.

And the end result was exactly what I wanted, not too much cut off the top and evened out in the back.
All done!

And for his trouble he got a balloon and a sucker.

He also got one of his top front teeth today! What a big day for my little guy.

Splish Splash

2010-04-22T20:23:00.001-04:00

I can't say why I was nervous about moving Evan to the big tub. I guess I was afraid he would be scared and cry. The only time he has ever cried during a bath was his first one.

Of course when I put him in the big tub he didn't miss a beat. He just splashed around and was very excited about his new frog squirt toys. One of these days I guess he will be afraid of something or someone but for now he is fearless. Maybe it's because his mommy is afraid of everything he knows I do enough worrying for everybody.

We lost some sleep recently due to what the pediatrician said was a sore throat. For about 3 nights Evan was waking up SCREAMING. I'm talking inconsolable blood curdling screaming. It was horrible. I wasn't sure what to do, he didn't have a fever or any signs of sickness. I tried Tylenol and Orajel but nothing worked. He wouldn't even calm when I went to him and picked him up. He would eventually just fall back asleep only to wake up a few hours later. We took him in to the doctor and everything looked fine except a red throat. So we gave him Motrin that night and he's been fine ever since. It's so hard to watch. I just wish he could tell me what was wrong or what hurt him.
We did get a bit of good news at the doctor, the fluid in Evans ears is gone. It had been there for two months and we had an appointment in May to check and see if he might need tubes. So we are in the clear there for now. Yay!
He still just has his two bottom teeth. I think he is working on the top 2 but I have been saying that for a month. They are just taking their time coming in.
That's about all that is going on right now. We have a vacation coming up and I'm excited for Evan to see the ocean and play at the beach, almost as excited as I am about myself seeing the ocean and the beach! It will be our first trip since having a baby. I'm sure it will be an entirely different experience.

Love this face - he looks like daddy!

Just A Swingin'

2010-04-14T20:25:00.000-04:00

Someone really loves to swing!

I could've watched him swing all day - he was just too cute. When he wasn't laughing he was just yelling as loud as possible.

Swinging from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:09:00.002-04:00

We had a pretty low key Easter. I am unfortunately sick and had to stay home but Evan and Todd went to lunch with his family.
When they got home we gave Evan his Easter basket.

He's still too little for candy but he played with it for a bit and tried to eat the wrappers.

That's pretty much how we spent the day.

Evan is 10 Months

2010-04-02T20:04:00.002-04:00

Ten months means upgrading the carseat

And upgrading the food.

And soon enough upgrading how he gets around.

Shopping from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

Boy Oh Boy

2010-03-28T10:07:00.001-04:00

This little man is into everything. Now that he's crawling (and getting quite fast) he just darts around and doesn't seem to stop. I love watching him, he is so proud of himself.

I will say he is much more cautious now. He seems to be more careful around walls and corners - I guess he bumped his head enough to get the picture. He can sit down from a stand and isn't stuck standing anymore.

He needs a haircut in my opinion. Mention this to anyone else in my family and they will tell you I am wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
I'll try and wait a little bit longer but I can almost promise I won't make it until he is a year.

Still loves his jumperoo.
Mid-jump.

He has a little shopping cart that he has been pushing around and walking behind. He's getting pretty good at it. He's also getting faster and faster at cruising around the coffee table and the couches. Such a little man, I can't believe he could be walking soon.
He'll be 10 months next week. Where has this year gone?

Comfy?

2010-03-26T17:31:00.000-04:00

This is how Evan sleeps. Butt in the air.

It really never stops being funny no matter how many times I see it.

We Have Crawling

2010-03-23T20:16:00.001-04:00

Evan finally decided to stop creeping and start crawling yesterday. Look at him go!

Evan Crawling from Kelly Marsh on Vimeo.

What I Love

2010-03-12T21:01:00.003-05:00

His sweetness.

His hilarious expressions.

His curiosity.

His curls.

His toothy grin.

His ability to make me smile and laugh no matter what else is going on in my life.

9 Months and Perfectly Average

2010-03-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

We went for Evan's 9 month check-up today and the pediatrician makes it a point to always say Evan is perfectly average. He is 20 pounds and 28-1/2" long - 50th percentile.

His development looks good and nothing much to report. He does have a little fluid in his ears that the doctor wants to check out again in a month to make sure it goes away - I'm not going to worry until I have to.

Big Boy

2010-02-27T10:17:00.004-05:00

I walked into his room yesterday morning to find this -

I was surprised! I shouldn't have been since he has been trying to pull up on everything and most of the time succeeding. I don't know how long he had been standing there since he hasn't quite figured out how to sit back down.

I just can't get over how big he is getting and how fast it is going by. I know every post I make I say this but it's so true. Seems like literally a month ago he couldn't even sit up and now we are dealing with crawling and sometime soon walking.
I love his personality right now. He is so sweet. He smiles constantly and just has the best laid back attitude. I just adore everything about him.

This past week was the spring consignment sale I have been going to since I found out I was pregnant. This year was quite a success. I got him pretty much everything he will need for this spring & summer and managed to keep it under $100. Score! Here is my loot starting with the shirts.

And the mountain of shorts. I went overboard but I can't refuse anything that is $1.00. True story.

And his pj's, love the little shorts!

You can click on the pictures for a closer look.

Little Mover

2010-02-20T13:11:00.001-05:00

Evan is getting around pretty good. He still just scoots around on his belly but he is surprisingly fast. He's so curious about everything that he shouldn't play with, of course. He goes straight for any kind of wires or electronic device. One day I will do an experiment and line up bunch of toys and add one non-toy and I guarantee he will go for the non-toy. The boy just knows what he is not supposed to have. But we've baby proofed the room he plays in as best we could. I would consider removing all furniture just to keep him from bumping his head but that would be a bit extreme.

This is one of his favorite places to play. Not exactly as intended but he enjoys it :-)

He learned to pull up into a stand this week. Mainly it's just been on a storage ottoman we have because it's just the right height. He has no idea what to do once he is up though and usually just free falls into my arms. I don't know what he would do if I weren't sitting next to him. I'm trying to teach him to fall back onto his bottom but he's not quite getting it yet.
He can also pull onto the baby gate and laugh endlessly at Lilly on the other side.

Nothing makes this baby happier than Lilly. It's ridiculous really.

And lastly, he now has two teeth. The second one came in last weekend with very little fuss. He was actually at my moms overnight when it came through and he slept all night. I think he may be getting another one soon because he has been very fussy and clingy today and biting on EVERYTHING in site (including me). And the drool, it is never ending.
He is getting so much more active so it is increasingly difficult to get good pictures. I was able to snap this one today and you can kind of see that second little tooth poking out there.

And that's Evan in a nutshell right now. Keeping us busy as usual and growing and learning so fast. Crazy crazy to think he is coming up on 9 months. And even crazier to think he will be a year old in less than 4 months.

Here We Go

2010-02-09T11:25:00.006-05:00

I'm talking about that bruise on his forehead. His first of I'm sure many in his lifetime. A simple bump into the wall as he was scooting around. I know I should learn to get used to it but I don't think I ever will.

Evan turned 8 months old last week. We started him on puffs and he's doing pretty good with them, he gets one in his mouth occasionally.

He's still creeping around not quite crawling yet. This is currently one of his favorite toys. That's right - an old lint roller. I don't know why I bother buying him anything.

Another one of his favorites is Todd's work cell phone. He really loves it.

Today we are snowed in. Well sort of, I could get out if I really had to but we have about 6 inches of snow and it's still coming down. I think we'll just stay in and stay warm today.

The Tooth

2010-02-03T20:46:00.004-05:00

Got some shots of the little sucker finally.