Common Language

This morning Evelyn decided to wake up at 6 instead of 7. I don't blame her, she was dirty, but she didn't go back to sleep. I decided I would bring her into our room and keep it low key for a while. I was feeding her when she farted and had a BIG smile on her face. Richard says "now she is speaking a language I can understand." We laughed so hard. I am glad that he has found some common ground with her even if it is over flatulence. :0P

On a side note:

Evelyn has been napping her crib for most of her naps since Sunday. She has only napped on me twice at the end of the day because she needed a short one and it was too close to bed time I did not want to mess her routine for bedtime. Wish us luck that it continues. It is nice having some time by myself.

Goodnight everyone.

Date Night...

Well technically it was date afternoon but you get the drift. Richard and I went on our first date in about 5-6 months. We went to the movies and saw "Jumper" which we enjoyed and then had lunch at a great sandwhich shop after. Thanks to Mark and Cheryl for watching Evelyn while we were gone and to Sara and Claire who helped entertain her. It was great spending some time together as a couple without the baby... however, nothing beats coming home to your baby and knowing that they missed you.

I hope that it won't be another 6 months before we get out again because I truly enjoy spending time with my husband. It is nice to associate yourself with another role for a while. I am "mommy" all week and today for a few hours I got to be "wife" again.

Spend some time with your loved one without the kids. Call upon a friend or family member to help watch the kids so that you can reconnect and be "husband and wife" and not "mom and dad" even if only for a few hours.

Whip It!

What does this picture bring to mind?



Evelyn wants to join the band Devo, maybe she can help with their comeback.

Best of Friends

Here is a great picture of Sandy and Evelyn together. Sandy has been great with Evelyn since she was born and now they are friends. Evelyn always "talks" to Sandy when she enters the room. This picture was taken a couple of nights ago when getting ready for bed. Sandy had to give Evelyn her goodnight kiss.






Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope that everyone had a great Valentine's day. We did. I got beautiful roses from Richard and we had a fantastic dinner with his mom at our house after Evelyn went down. It was one of the better meals I have had and we didn't even have to go out for it. We had chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh green beans, bread and of course wine. Brownies for dessert becuase you have to have dessert. It was a great dinner and was nice sharing with those we love. Hope everyone had a great valentine's day. Cherish each other.

Enjoy some valentine pictures of Evelyn. These were taken last weekend for her 6th month/Valentine's Day.

One of my alltime favorites.


Going after the chocolate box. My kind of girl.


Will you be my valentine?

Good Night!

One more...

I love you mom!

Caught

Have you ever been caught doing something that you knew was wrong but just couldn't help it anyways? That was me tonight. I got caught red-handed, with what doesn't matter, just the fact that I got caught is. I have been doing it a while now (nothing illegal or dangerous) but getting caught made me face a reality I was not yet ready to. Richard caught me and confronted me. Knowing Richard (as all of you do) he did it in a very delicate way and showed concern and love. I of course started off by laughing becuase I had been caught. Laughing turned into crying and then the confessions started coming. I feel cleaner now, but what it took to get there wasn't so good. I am now refocused and hopefully will not be going down that path again. Thank Richard. It sometimes takes someone from the outside to show/tell you what you already knew on the inside.



Now for some light-hearted pictures of Evelyn. Enjoy!



Evelyn's first taste of solid food. Hopefully she won't be picky like her mom.

Evelyn enjoying a beautiful day at the park.

6 Month Appointment

Well today we had Evelyn's 6 months appointment and that means shots. Yuck, I hate shots but I know that they are good for her.

She now weighs a whopping 13lbs 4 oz. and is 26 inches long. She is 10 percentile for weight at 75th for height. The doctor is not concerned about her weight because she is gaining and meeting all her milestones fine. We talked about starting solids and got the go ahead so tonight we gave her some rice cereal mixed with milk and she took right too it. We took pictures that I will post at a later time (we have to install software first). It is amazing how fast she is growing. The doctor said everything is perfect and she is doing great.

She is sitting by herself and just the other day pulled herself to stand on her toybox. It was amazing. Richard was able to see her do it which is great. He feels like he misses out sometimes since he is a work but he was able to see her do this the first time she did it. She is also leaping forward on the floor and out of arms. She wants to crawl just doesn't have it all quite figured out yet. Everyday she amazes me.

She got 3 of her 4 shots. They did not have one so we have to go back in when they get it. That really sucks because it is another day of her not feeling well. She was a tropper, which is good considering her grandpa would not be happy if she didn't suck it up. :0) She slept more but when she was awake she was happy. She took a two hour nap and went to bed at 6. Hopefully tonight goes well.

I will post pictures soon. Have a great night. Until next time....

Compromise

Compromise can be a wonderful thing if followed through. A few years ago I compromised with Richard that he bought me a manicure/pedicure set that I would do my own nails and not have them done anymore more. This compromise did not last. I have yet to use the kit and Richard still makes fun of me today. Who can resist a pedicure at a spa? I know that I can't. In hindsight it probably was not a realistic compromise knowing how much I liked pedicures becuase someone massages, cuts and paints to toes.

Fast forward to this past week. I have really been wanting a Digital SLR camera but I know they were expensive so I was not pushing. I teased that it would be my first purchase when I go back to work. We started talking about it more and more and then he started sending me information. Before you know it I was begging for one (not really begging but REALLY wanting one now). So we compromised. He said that I could get it if we rolled all our change and if I did not get anymore professional pictures done since the new camera would be more than enough to take GREAT pictures. I was all over it. I rolled all our change. It definetly adds up. I started looking around at prices to see what was out there.

Saturday morning came around and we had some errands to run; Richard suggested stopping by Best Buy (bad idea, that place is dangerous) while we were out. We got there and an hour or so later walked out with a new camera and a bunch of goodies for it. I got the camera of my dreams. I will not need another camera for MANY years if ever. I got the Canon Rebel xTi and so far I LOVE it.

I will post pictures as I learn how to take better pictures and load them on the computer. For know we have a few hundred shots of Evelyn that are spectacular. I can't wait to print them.

Here's a link to the camera:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=14256

Good Night to all.

Baby Nicknames

While I was putting Evelyn down tonight I started thinking about nicknames I had as a child and from who and what they meant. I was called "punkin", "Skeeter", and "princess". All of them had their special meaning with special people and to this day I am still called some of them.

How does one happen apon a nickname? We have one for Evelyn and it don't not come right away. I tried a few out before one stuck. I tried "booger", why I don't know, but Richard was not having that. I did "gorgeous" and "beautiful" for a while but they were not personal enough. Then one day out of nowhere I started calling her "love bug" and it has stuck. I love it. She is cute as a bug "lady bug" and we love her to death. So "love bug" it was and Richard even liked this one. So we have been calling her "love bug" for a few months now and it seems to fit her well, but what a process it was to get that special name.

Then, this past weekend we were shopping and what do we come across but a onesie that says of all things, "LOVE BUG". I just had to get it even though it was probably too much for one onesie, but how often do you find the something that is exactly what you secretly call your baby? It is the cuteset thing and I cannot wait for her to wear it. Once she does I will put pictures up so all can see.

Wii, I'm hooked

Those that have never played may not understand the attraction of Wii put out by Nintendo, but I am hooked and was from the first time I played my brothers. I got Richard one for Christmas (I secretly wanted one badly so it worked for me both of us) and we play it almost everynight after Evelyn goes to bed.

We usually do a Wii fitness test to see how old we are based on how well we perform on three sports tasks. I usually get tennis or bowling. Richard, however, usually gets boxing and he hates it because it is not as accurate as others. I totally defend him on this, although it is fun watching. After we finish our fitness we either play each other in tennis or play Mario Party 8 which is similiar to a board game but has a bunch of minigames you play also. For us lately this has been a way to relax, although we don't relax when someone steals 2 of our stars and makes us lose.

We have a couple of other games that we haven;t played yet but will when the others wear off a bit. For now it is a fun activity to do at the end of a long day.

Well the baby woke after a short nap in her crib (all of 11 minutes). Until next time...

Favorite Pictures of Evelyn

Here is a couple of lastest pictures of Evelyn. I hope you enjoy her cuteness as much as me.

Napping in Crib

Evelyn has been sleeping in her crib all night for about two months. She wakes a few times a night to sleep but goes right back down. Naps are a whole other ball game. Currently she only takes naps on me, which allows me to get nothing done. I want her to be able to sleep in her crib for naps and bed but it has been a hard transition.

Today I am starting to try to put her in her crib for naps. When I know she is tired, I lay her down and pray she goes to sleep. I laid her down about 3 minutes ago and she is fussing still. I am trying to be strong and not go and pick her up. I want her to be independent and I know that she is getting plenty of love from me and everyone else that she does not need to be held for naps.

Another reason to nap in her crib is becuase I am not going to always be watching her. My parents are watching her in a couple of months and I do not want them to hold her through her naps. Even though it is extremly hard to hear her cry, I know that in the long run it is what is best for her and for me.

Support by those around me helps a ton. I know that not everyone agrees with the method that we use but it is what we as parents have chosen becuase we feel it is best for us and her. I think as parents you do the best that you can for your kids and you are not going to make everyone happy so why not make yourselves happy.

Writing this blog while trying to get her to nap has helped keep my mind off her crying and she is starting to settle down and fall asleep I think. Pray that is the case.

Traveling with Evelyn

So Richard and I went to Las Vegas to pick up some furniture from my grandparents. From our house to Vegas is about a 10 hour drive without baby. With baby was 12. Not bad considering she is only 5 months old. I would not want to be strapped in that long faced backwards with nothing other than her mom to look at. Oh yeah, and we were towing a 6' x 12' U-Haul trailer with furniture it in.

We left at about 3 a.m hoping Evelyn would sleep a lot of it. She did for the first part of the trip and then she was done traveling.All in all, Evelyn was a trooper. She hardly cried (well maybe a couple hours total, spread out through the entire trip). We are so proud of her.

My sister in law suggested we take Evelyn's mattress to help keep her routine as it was familiar. It was the greatest suggestion ever. I highly recommend it if you can. We were able to put her down the same way we do every night just in a different room. She did great the first night just like we were at home. The second night she did not sleep. I think she was under the weather and knew something was going on. We were worried that when we got home that she would not want to sleep in her crib again but she took right to it again. She woke a few more times but went back to sleep shortly after.

All in all it was great trip. We got to see my parents and my grandmother. It was a fast turn-around but was worth it to see them. I don't know if I would make that trip more than a couple times a year if driving just because it is so long but at least we know she can do it and so can we.

Welcome Everyone

So I decided to start a blog as a way to interact with friends and family and so that they could know what is going on in ours lives, particularly Evelyn's. I am not sure how often I will update it but I am hoping daily or every other day. I just want this to be a place to see pictures and videos of Evelyn. I want it to also be a place that you can read about life events. We are all busy and sometimes it is hard to pick up a phone so this you can look at whenever is good for you.



Enjoy and if you have any suggestions please feel free to let me know.



Love,
Mandy