5 Months (yesterday)

Eva's Baptism Brunch

Our family

Mom and Eva at the brunch

Okay, I really am terrible at this. Now that I am back at work, I kept telling myself, get Eva's five month blog done. but it is sooooo hard. Anyway, enough excuses. I want to have this so that I can remember and at least tell her all of her milestones and funny stories.

Eva was baptized this month on September 13th. The ceremony was wonderful and she even smiled before Dr. Wolfe got her. She then slept through the rest of the service. My mom made her gown from one of my old dresses when I was 10. It was white with off white lace. She is so talented to make this gown so gorgeous and do it with pieces of another dress. I am so thankful for her! After the ceremony we had our entire family and a couple of friends over for brunch. My mom, Grant's mom and Aunt Pam all made food to bring. They are lifesavers. There is absolutely no way I could have fed 50+ people myself. Just having that many people at my house in the midst of our monstrous floods of September was hard enough. Luckily the rain held off just long enough for us to have some tables set up outside for people as well. It was so wonderful having so many loving people to celebrate Eva's dedication to Christ. We feel so blessed.

The girls are wiped out after the brunch

Other than that, life is normal, work is normal and Eva is growing.

This month in review:

1. Really started "talking" lots!

2. Found your feet- you love to put them in your mouth even with socks on

3. Rolling like crazy- both ways belly to back and back to belly

4. Loving school- you are so content when I leave you and all smiles, or sleeping when I pick you up.

5. Loving baths- you get so relaxed in your ducky and you love it when I sing "Splish Splash", oh the newest thing is sucking on your rubber ducky's beak

6. You are mesmerized by football. It is not just Alabama football, any football. You even talk to the players (just like mommy)

In her game day dress I made

Family picture before the game

7. The exersaucer is your favorite toy- and you are almost ready to be put up to the next level (your in the 85-90% in height)

8. You are beginning to not like nursing in the evenings, I am not sure if it is because my milk doesn't come fast enough for you, or if your reflux is beginning to flair up again. (I'm calling the doc tomorrow to check)

9. You love your daddy, and boys in general. Any man you see, you get all flirty (we're scared already!)

10. Lucy is your friend- you pet her and let her lick your hand and watch everything she does because it makes you laugh.

We love you so much and wish we could freeze time because you are growing and changing too fast. I know one day you won't like me to hold you to fall asleep, and one day your daddy will embarrass you instead of make you laugh, but for now you are our sweet angel.

Love you!

4 months today!

My favorite time of day, doing my favorite thing, sucking my fingers!

Sittin on the couch, watchin tv.

My friend, Molly, giving me a kiss! I love kisses!

just chillin!

I'm a big girl now!

Today is Eva's 4 month birthday. I am amazed at how life is completely different and completely wonderful with her here. I started back to work this month, after turning 29! That has been the hardest adjustment for me. Eva adjusted just fine and loves, loves, loves her nursery. She is all smiles when I drop her off, and all smiles when I pick her up. She sleeps like a champ while she is there and is perfectly on her schedule. I, on the other hand, am miserable while I am away and still trying to pump at work so that I can atleast be giving her nurition since I can't be with her myself. While I do not have enough milk to leave three mommy bottles, I can still nurse her in the mornings, afternoons and evenings before bed and just leave two formula bottles for the day time.

At four months Eva is the most fun. She is happy nearly all the time. She has huge grins and has started to giggle occassionally. We got it on video, but unfortunately I have not figured out how to get the video to my computer yet. She has started to roll from her belly to her back easily and even wiggle a little bit to mimick a worm trying to crawl! I will post these funny picutres later.

Eva's day typically begins about 6 am, when I wake her up to eat. She will eat for about 45 minutes and then we change her for school. I truly do not know what I would do without Grant every morning. He makes sure her diaper bag is filled, gets out the premade bottles and even brings me something to eat while I am feeding. I get up at 5 to shower and be ready before I have to feed her. We leave for school about 7:10 or 7:15 and I got to drop her off. I get to school just before 8, which is fine this year because I have first period off, which is actually a horrible time to have off when my lunch is at 10 am! It is so tiring. I just pray I make it through the year. I pump after school right at 3 and then leave to pick her up. I get her by four and head home. She is usually very tired and will take about an hour nap or so by 4:30, then I feed her at 5:30. We then play, take a bath, which she loves!! Then we eat again. After this we are ready for bed. She is usually in the bed by 8:oo or 8:30 and sleeps all night. She has been doing this since mid July, but our bedtime is earlier now. We love it, except for the fact that I only get to spend a few hours a day with her. I love weekends!

We are at my parents' house this weekend for Labor Day and I know I will not want to go back to school on Tuesday. I am sure we will have fun pics to post next week.

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3 Months Old

I'm all girl!

Wow! Time has flown by. I cannot believe this amazing little girl has been in this world for three months. I am amazed every day that Eva is ours and by how much I love her. The past few weeks have been my favorite for sure. She is so much fun, sleeping anywhere from seven to nine hours a night and giggling at everyone. Two of her favorite things are stretching and looking in mirrors. She will inevitably smile at a mirror and has a ten minute stretching routine in the mornings. We swaddle her at night so her arms are down by her side and she loves it, but in the mornings when I unwrap her, they shoot up above her head and she just stretches from her tippy toes to her fingers forever! We have it on camera because it is such a signature move.

smiling and stretching

Eva loves her bath and bibs. She crams the bibs in her mouth and chews on them. She has started laughing some and that is our only real milestone. I don't know if we will ever push up or crawl though because she hates being on her belly to play. She would rather lay on her back and talk and play. I will probably cause her great delays in that area, but I can't do it if she cries!

On a totally different note, we found out Lucy, our other little girl, has hypothyroid. She began losing hair on her sides about four or five months ago and has always been a bit of a roly poly not to mention lazy. Well, we finally found a vet who figured it out and now she dropping pounds by the day and growing her hair back! Shortly after we found out about her thyroid she got a cyst on her tail! So, in addition to having to give her medicine every day for the rest of her life, we had to have that drained and it is not pretty! Grant was performing nursing duties on her every night so that she would not have to stay in the kitchen. We love her, but man, she has cost more than the child at this point!

All in all the last few months have been the most incredible experience of my life. I know it will get better, and harder too, but I am looking forward to raising Eva with Grant, and watching her grow into a beautiful, Godly little girl.

The hardest thing is going to be starting work next week, because I will have to leave her all day. Pray for me.