Monday, September 30, 2013

Last Thursday's Food Truck

Josh and I have lived in El Paso for almost 4 years and had no idea there was a food truck night downtown.  I had gone to one of these with Ceri in Florida and loved it.  It only happens once a month and is tiny, but we needed to try it out.  We packed miss Evelyn up, in pjs since it is after bedtime, and headed downtown with our friends the Eccles.  It was small, nothing like the one I went to in Florida, but it was so a blast.  Evelyn loved the live band and playing with Angelina (Jason and Iris’s daughter).   


Thanks Sam for dancing with her and Angelina for always making her laugh :)

Evie-isms


1) She loves bath time and grins ear to ear when I turn the water on.  
2) She is very attached to mommy.  I’m scared to death to leave her with a sitter.  Not because I’m worried she will be in bad hands, but because I’m scared she will cry the entire time. 
3) She cries every night we put her to bed.  You would think that 2 months of doing this she would get used to it, but no. 
4) We go to a lot of play groups.  I have an AMAZING group of friends who all have small children.  To keep our sanity and to get out of the apartment we get together probably 4 times a week.  Evelyn loves her buddies. 
5) She eats a lot.  This girl probably eats more then I do.  I was worried about it at first and would limit how much she could eat, but id rather have a baby full and happy then hungry and miserable. 
6) She has learned she can get from a to b by rolling over and over.  She tried to roll right out of church last Sunday.  We sat by the door in 3rd hour, Evelyn noticed this and decided she was done and began rolling out of church. 
7) I put up the Halloween decorations and put Miss Evelyn in her pink skeleton pjs.  She looks so cute. 
8) She likes to watch me cook.  Most of her toys are my kitchen utinsels.  
9) Josh bought her a booster/ highchair that sits on one of the kitchen table chairs.  She looks like such a big girl.  I love eating with my little family.
10) Evelyn and I are heading to Utah for 3 months.  Im a little nervous about how she will sleep, but excited to spend the holiday season with family.  Josh will be in and out while he interviews for radiology residencies. 
11) She still loves Tinkerbell.  She laughs and claps at her favorite parts.
12) She has learned to clap. I love it!
13) She loves to Skype and Facetime with family.  I was worried that us living so far away she would not know her grandparents and cousins.  But if you watched her face when I turn the computer you would see she absolutely knows and loves them. 
14) She is the LIGHTEST sleeper in the world.  Any noise and she wakes up.  Luckily she falls back to sleep quickly, and without mommy holding her.  



Saturday, September 21, 2013

Grandma Janet Visits

We are so lucky that Grandma Janet (Josh's mom) came down this weekend to visit.  I have loved living in El Paso, but it is hard seeing family here and there and not all the time.  I am weird in that I would be more then happy to live on the same street as the relatives.  Lets just say I LOVE FAMILY.  Anyways, while Janet was here she gave Evelyn some good old grandma love, as you can see.  We don't want to see her go on Monday.





Happy Nappy with Grandma

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

6 Month Photos


I love to take pictures of Evelyn.  I want to capture every phase of life she goes through.  Lately she has been so fun.  Her little personality has come through so much.   I have a feeling we will have a wild woman on our hands soon.  Here are some of her 6 month photos.  
Our Princess



We love the many faces of Evelyn.  She is so animated.

Could die over those rolls.  So CUTE!




She will put anything in her mouth, including mud and grass.  Her face says it all.



We had to snap a quick photo of her yoga.  She does this probably 40 times a day.  If I ever leave or she wants to see something this is what she does.  Girl is going to have abs of steal. 

Love these two. 

Sunday, September 15, 2013

One Little Curl

Once there was a girl with one little curl right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrid.

Pretty much sums up our life :)

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

What Did I Do Today

I have never reposted something that I have read online, but this post was an exception.  What Anne Rust says summed up how I feel every night.  There are days where I look back and ask "What did I do today?"  It's hard going from managing my own schedule and being able to check off all the items on my to do list to rarely getting "anything" done, but I wouldn't change it for the world.  I love my little girl and if spending time with her means I have a sink of dishes, or laundry in the hamper then oh well.  Im just glad I've got a great guy who helps pick up the slack plus go to school full time.
New Mamas Get Nothing Done (and other untruths)

I often talk to new mamas with babies who “aren’t very good sleepers.” The latest mama has a happy 5-month-old girl who doesn’t nap more than 15 minutes at a time and is still waking up about every 3-4 hours at night. It’s exhausting.
I run through my usual suggestions. First, this can be a normal pattern for some babies at this age. It helps to know that. I recommend a good, comfy, hands-free baby carrier (a must) and a sleeping arrangement that helps her stay close (and safe) with baby at night. I tell her that she isn’t doing anything wrong—most likely there is no “solution” to this issue, it’s just who her baby is and what she needs right now.  This too shall pass, and all of that.
This mama looks at me blankly for a minute, and then, looking confused, says, “So do you just not get anything done then??”
Mamas, I want to tell you the truth. And here it is: You will not get anything done when you are home with a baby. And anyone who told you otherwise is not being very forthcoming (or perhaps they just have a lousy memory). You might get yourself fed. You might get yourself dressed (then again, you might not). You might take a walk (it makes baby happy). You might have a short phone conversation or start a load of laundry, neither of which you will finish. This is your new mom normal.
So what are you doing all day? Not much that can be measured, really. You’re simply responding appropriately and with patience (through fatigue), to smiles, to tears, to hunger cues, and to drowsiness, teaching your baby how to navigate this complex and (to a baby) highly emotional and raw world. You are keeping your baby clean, which on some days involves more costume changes (for both of you) than any non-mother can begin to fathom. You are teaching a tiny, helpless person all about the world—at least the important parts, like how we treat each other and what it means to be connected to a family. You are creating a foundation of love and trust between you and your baby, one that will help you set your parenting compass, inform your future interactions, and provide a basis for the way your child relates to the larger world.  You may be breastfeeding your baby—another time consuming task (though once established, it takes less time than bottle feeding) that reaches forward through time to heal and protect your child, and simultaneously reducesyour risk of disease. Oh, and you’re becoming a mother. It started the day your baby was conceived, and it continues beyond birth. Your baby is stretching and growing into this new body, and you are too.
But that’s about it, really. That’s your day.
Our culture doesn’t have a good way to measure what you are accomplishing. Your baby will grow and meet milestones: check. But to the untrained eye most of this work, at the end of the day, will look like nothing.
But we know better.
There is no greater task than the nothing you did yesterday, the nothing you are doing today, and the nothing you will do tomorrow. Caring for a baby is all about the immediate experience, yet the first two years are all about investment. It’s give, give, give, and give some more. These are hard-fought, rough-and-tumble years that can cut us down to our core and take us soaring high above the clouds, all in the space of 5 minutes. And yes, as you do the hardest work of your life, it will seem like you’re not getting anything done at all. Crazy, huh?
But here’s where it gets interesting: As much as you need and want a break now (and you should take one, more on that later), no mother has ever looked back on this time and thought, “I wish I had held my baby less.” You will not remember the dishes that didn’t get done, the vacuuming that you just couldn’t make happen, or the dirty clothes you wore more often than you’d like to admit. You will remember the first smile, the first belly laugh, the first words, the first steps. You will remember the way you looked at your baby, and the way your baby looked at you.
So the next time you find yourself wondering how another day is gone and nothing is done, stop. Hold your baby—feel the way that tiny body strains to contain this giant soul—complete, and full of potential all at the same time. Take a deep, slow breath. Close your eyes and measure your day not as tasks, but as feelings, as sounds, as colors. Exhaustion is part of it. And it’s true, you will get “nothing” done. But the hard parts will fade. The intense, burning love is what remains, and it is yours to keep forever.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Evie-isms

Evelyn is growing like a weed these days.  Each day I can see the little wheels in her head turn as she explores new things.  She has changed drastically in the last week and I'm happy to announce that we have a sitter on our hands!  Here are some things she has been dong lately. 

1) She has started to play with toys in the bathtub, but her favorite bath time activity is to take a rag and suck all the water out of it.  
2) She is attached to my hip.  She is fine playing on the floor as long as she is within her 5 foot radius.  3) She loves to play infront of our closet mirror.  I dont know if she realizes it is her, but she sure does laugh at herself.  
4) She loves other kids.  I wish I could adopt a 3 year old.  She finds them hilarious and will just start laughing.  
5) Her stomach is very ticklish and she giggles if you rub your head on it.  
6) Some days she likes to be thrown in the air other not so much...Safety girl maybe?
7) We have dropped 1 breastfeeding at the end of the day for a bottle instead :) She gets so excited and flails her arms when she sees it coming!
8) She is very happy to get out of the crib in the morning and have cuddles with me in bed. 
9) She has a short fuse and frequently yells at her toys.
10) She loves to go swimming.  She has learned to kick her feet and splash the water. I dont know what we are going to do in the winter.  We usually go swimming everyday. 
11) The first Tinkerbell is her favorite movie.  I dont let her watch it often, but when I need 20-30 minutes it is a lifesaver.  She only likes this particular one.  She doesnt like any other Disney shows or any of the other Tinkerbell movies.  
12) She is sleeping through the night...YEAH!  She will wake up once, but she quickly cries it out for about a minute then goes to bed.  
13) She is a very social girl and loves to talk the only problem with this is she likes to talk in the middle of Sacrament Meeting.  I think it is darling, but I dont know how the rest of the ward feels. 
14) She raises her arms up now when she wants to be held. I was so excited she started to do this that I would intentionally put her on the floor so she would do it... I know mother of the year award!
15) She has moved to 2 naps a day instead of three.
16) She hates to be in the grocery cart!  She screamed at Walmart when I put her in it.  People were asking me if she was ok...so embarrassing / and funny.  
17) She gives hugs and kisses...kinda.  She likes to kiss/suck on your jaw bone!  We call them kisses.
18) She loves to play with her dad.  
19) She has learned that mom and dads toys are way more fun to play with.

I love my little shadow!

Evelyn is all decked out in her cougar swag (thanks Grandma and Grandpa Almquist).  Too bad the game didnt turn out the way we wanted it to, but it was still fun relaxing at the Speirs home with great friends.  

Do we like carrots?  I think so!  

Evelyn has learned to take her diaper off.  
Mother of the year award in the above picture.  I was trying to get ready for church and my little shadow wouldn't let me.  The answer to this dilemma is letting her watch Tinkerbell naked on our bed.  

6 Month Well Visit

6 Month Stats: 
Weight : 18 pounds 8 ounces 90th percentile (exactly double her birth weight)
Height : 27 1/4 inches 90th percentile


This picture was taken before Dr. Coleman and the shots.  I should have taken an after picture it would have been a much better representation of the visit!  She hated the shots and Dr. Coleman (wasnt mom).  Poor girl can hit a pitch when she cries that I swear could burst an eardrum! I hate seeing her cry so hard, breaks my heart.

Sewing for Little Miss Evelyn


Anyone who has met my mom knows that she is a fantastic seamstress.  She has such raw talent and patience and it shows in her amazing creations.  She made my wedding dress for goodness sake!  I wanted to make Evelyn a dress so I channeled my inner Jill and started sewing.  I love how the dress turned out!  Although I don't think it is anywhere near my moms quality, it's a start.  I can't wait to start the next one.  

Thursday, September 5, 2013

6 Months

Today Evelyn is 6 months old.  I cant believe we have a 6 month old.  She brings more joy to our family then we could ever have imagined.  She is the cutest baby I have ever seen and I cant help but smile all day long.  We love you Evelyn happy 6 month birthday!

newborn





1 month



2 months



3 months




4  months 



5 months



6 months