Eight months old!

Height: 

Weight: 17 lbs 4 oz (1/2 lb gain) 

Diaper size: Still cloth diapers and a size 3 in disposables! 

Clothing size: she still fits in 6 months, but I went ahead and pulled out her 6-9, 6-12, and 9 month clothes so she would have more options hahaha.  

Nicknames: Miss E, Miss Priss, Baby girl, mama

Sleep: once upon a time I read that at 4 months, Evelyn would cut out her fourth nap. Well, at 8 months I think she's finally done it!! She takes short naps at 9 and 12 and a long nap at 2. She's usually asleep by 8:30 (8 on a perfect night) and wakes up a few times a night to nurse. I refuse to transfer her to a crib until she is sleeping through the night. I basically sleep through her nursing and I can't imagine getting out of bed to nurse. I wouldn't get any sleep!! 

Medical issues: STILL no teeth!! She chews on her hands and her teethers all the time, but nothing! 

This month Evelyn got a stomach bug for the THIRD TIME in five months. What the heck, kid??? One downside to cosleeping is vomit in your hair. Okay, I think that's just a downside to parenting. I was nursing Evelyn, then she was laying on my tummy and next thing I know she is throwing up all over me!! This happened two more times. I took four showers in a 24 hour period. Ugh. 

Diet: Evelyn is still mainly breastfed, and still loves her solids. She gets so mad if we eat in front of her and don't share. When we eat out I have to carefully consider what I order to make sure there is something Evelyn can eat. Luckily she loves tomatoes and I hate them, so she takes care of that for me! 

Milestones: the baby is officially crawling!! She started about a week ago. At first, you could tell it was taking so much brain power. She would move one hand, then the next. Then the left leg....then she would lift her right leg and freeze. It would take her a moment to figure out what to do next. It was so funny!! Now she's much more fluid and gaining speed, though if she really wants to go dash, she just scoots around! 

Evelyn said dada! She's said it a few times but we're still not sure she 100% knows what dada means. We DO know that she is now waving! She wakes up, sees me and starts waving! When you say hi, she waves! When she sees someone new, she waves! I feel like this makes her super advanced, my mom does not. Well, I decided my opinion matters more haha.  

She also learned how to crawl up stairs! She's only able to do it on carpeted stairs, but she definitely crawled up two stairs at Jovie's house and laughed the whole way up. 

Likes: Peek-a-boo, giving and getting kisses, being able to crawl, chewing on things, naps, cuddles, spoons, swinging, hiding under blankets, being tickled, BUBBLES, being SCARED - like jump out of your skin scared...she definitely didn't get that from me! 

Dislikes: being woken up before she's ready, being hungry, mommy not feeding her fast enough, mommy not getting ready for bed fast enough,the doctor, shots, mommy leaving the room, people eating in front of her, short naps, mommy tutoring 

Firsts: Evelyn was supposed to go to the zoo for the first time this month but that still hasn't happened. Sigh. Other than that, she has a pretty exciting month! Evelyn went to her first bunny petting zoo! She liked it until Jovie got upset, then she started crying. We only got three minutes with the bunnies but both girls were so distraught that we left early haha! She also got to meet the Easter bunny that day; she was fascinated by him! We had an Easter party at Sarah's house and made Easter crafts. Adorable! And Evelyn went to her first Easter egg hunt. It was during nap time and she hated it. Enough said. 

Of course, Evelyn celebrated her first Easter at compass Roanoke! It was held in a tent on the land where the building will be built this year! Such a neat experience. She had her first trip to the Fort Worth science and history museum, which was fun. We didn't get to dig for dinosaurs, so we definitely need to do that next time. We also went to steel city pops and Evelyn got her first taste of popsicle, yum! 

I tandem wore Jovie and Evelyn for the first time when both girls decided to meltdown at the same time! And we went to the Happy Lark for the first time. This was so fun! It's a neat little store and play place down by hulen mall. We got to meet the baby guy at an event, which was super exciting for me haha. We played at White's Chapel for the first time and went to new story times at the Roanoke and Watauga libraries! Holy crap we did a lot of new things this month!! 

Baby gear we love: Evelyn likes toys with mirrors and toys that make sounds. We still love our Tula and Beco. She is obsessed with keys and cries if I take mine away, so mom bought her a pair of her own keys. They're pretty realistic so it's slightly less traumatic to take away my keys as long as she has her replacement. She also likes her new toy that has compartments she can open and close. And she loves playing with calculators and computers and pretending to do work like a grown up. 

Things To Remember: Evelyn is the happiest and most cuddly baby. I love snuggling up to her and seeing her smile. I wish she would always love us as much as she does now. It's so hard to imagine her growing up, but she is getting so big so quickly! I love watching her grow and learn; you can literally see her brain working. I am so blessed by this baby. She is perfect and exactly what we needed. 

Monthly photo dump! 

Evelyn was making the best faces this day. 

Intrigued by the Easter bunny! 

This bow is life. 

Serious baby at work. 

Our early morning on Easter called for coffee. (Evelyn gets her own empty coffee cup when we're at church so she doesn't PANIC over her intense desire to drink whatever we are drinking) 

See above photo...Easter margaritas...Evelyn HAD to have one. Hahaha

Easter goodies! 

How many babies can you fit on one swing?? Me, Abigail, Evelyn and Kennedy! 

These were my pjs when I was a baby!! 

Best friends at the science museum! 

I so wish this was better quality. This was the first time she was excited to see the baby in the mirror! 

This is how photo shoots go now. Sitting still? Not happening! 

Matching at MOPS! 

Climbing on the play mats at Sarah's house! 

Playing at White's Chapel

It's rough being a baby. 

The bubble machine BLEW HER MIND. 

Evelyn is 100% Mike's child without a bow on. 

Seven months

Height: 27.5 in (1 inch gain)

Weight: 16 lbs. 14 oz (1 lb gain)

Diaper size: Still cloth diapers and a size 3 in disposables! 

Clothing size: Her black Gap leggings still fit and they're size 0-3, but she mostly wears 6 months clothing now. 

Nicknames: Miss E, Miss Priss, Baby girl, mama

Sleep: a typical day: Evelyn wakes up around 7 am. She takes a nap around 9 am for 30 minutes. She takes another nap around 12 for 30-45 minutes. She takes a long nap at 2 (usually 1.5-2 hours). She takes another short nap around 5:30-6. She goes to sleep for the night at about 8 pm and wakes up once or twice to nurse. 

Medical issues: STILL no teeth but her gums have been really swollen and bothering her lately. I feel so bad for her but still no teeth! I really thought they'd be here by now. 

Evelyn caught her first major, doctor confirmed illness. She had RSV and an ear infection. It was terrible! At first I thought her fever was just teething, but as the day went on, Evelyn was just laying next to me on the floor sadly while her fever got higher. The next day I got her into the dr and he got her some antibiotics. Evelyn HATED them. She had recently figured out how to blow bubbles so she spit all her medicine out by blowing spit bubbles. Gross. 

Diet: Evelyn is still mainly breastfed, but she loves her solids! She has tried avocado, zucchini, green beans, meatloaf, guacamole, cucumber, eggs, chicken, potatoes, beans, peas, and probably more...she loves ALL of it. But I think her absolute favorite would have to be avocado/guacamole. 

Milestones: Evelyn still isn't "crawling," but she is scooting like crazy. She's working very hard on moving her hands and feet at the same time. She basically hangs out in the plank position. She's getting better at pushing up on her knees, but she's still convinced her feet need to be involved in order to crawl. She also figured out how to go from sitting to crawling. She loves being on her tummy and going places!! 

Also, Evelyn said mama!!!! She definitely knows that I am mama. The other day mom had her outside while I was tutoring and Evelyn turned to look at the house and said MAMA!! (Although this should go in next month's blog, I'll go ahead and tell you that tonight she said dada! We are unsure if she knows that Mike is dada, though.) 

Likes: Peek-a-boo, giving and getting kisses, being able to crawl, chewing on things, naps, cuddles, spoons, swinging, hiding under blankets, being tickled, attention 

Dislikes: being woken up before she's ready, being hungry, mommy not feeding her fast enough, mommy not getting ready for bed fast enough,the doctor, shots, mommy leaving the room, people eating in front of her, short naps, mommy tutoring 

Firsts: Evelyn didn't really have many firsts this month. One big one, though, was that she got to meet Sarah! Sarah is basically the closest thing Evelyn has to an aunt lol. Sarah came and stayed with us for a weekend and it was delightful! Really other than that, nothing exciting happened this month?? 

Baby gear we love: Evelyn likes toys with mirrors. She is FINALLY starting to like the baby in the mirror. She likes anything that rattles or makes noise. I checked out a Sakura bloom ring sling from the babywearing group this month and we looooved it. If I ever just have some money lying around, I would buy one. I have been using the Tula baby carrier a lot more now that she fits in it. Evelyn's favorite toys are not toys: boxes, bags, anything that crinkles, wipes, blankets, etc. 

Things To Remember: Evelyn has started giving kisses and hugs. She sucks your face off giving you kisses and she will truly wrap her arms around you for hugs. She is the sweetest baby and loves her cuddles. With that said, she's starting to be a more independent sleeper and wanting less cuddling at night. We've talked about moving her to the pack and play instead of cosleeping, so I am trying to soak up all the cuddles she will give me for now. I love nothing more than snuggling with my baby girl. 

Monthly Photo Dump! 

Evelyn slept in the crib once. She slept long enough for me to go blow my hair dry. Then... 

Bam! Wide awake as soon as I walked back in. 

Mike tried to pack Evelyn in his suitcase before he left for Washington. Evelyn was not impressed by this turn of events. 

Teaching math with her JoeMo

Poor sick baby didn't want to wear the mask at the dr's office. 

We tried to feed her peas but she only had eyes for my steak. Mom and dad panicked and made me stop feeding her steak lol. 

I'm not sure how/why but Sarah made Evelyn into a babushka. 

Evelyn LOVES Easter eggs! She loves dumping them out of the basket and trying to eat them. 

We went back to the aquarium with MamaD and joemo over spring break! 

This crazy nut job. I love her so much!! 

Half birthday!

Height: 26.5 in (1 inch gain) 

Weight: 15 lbs, 12 oz (no weight gain) 

Diaper size: She is in cloth diapers still, but has moved up to a size three in disposables! 

Clothing size: Evelyn wears 3-6 months and some six months. 3-6 fits really well, six months is a toss up. 

Nicknames: Miss E, Miss Priss, Baby girl

Sleep: I read that around four months, your baby will give up their fourth nap. Well, she turned six months old yesterday and she still hasn't given up her evening nap. And man can you tell if she hasn't had it! Whew! she loves her naps. 

Medical issues: Still no teeth, although she is really teething with a passion. Thank god for cold teethers and hylands teething tablets! Still doing the dairy free lifestyle. I tried cheese last Sunday and her poops got sooooo much worse so clearly she's not ready for that to be in my diet. 

On February 5th, we suspect Evelyn caught rotovirus. Out of nowhere around noon, Evelyn started throwing up. This continued for about 18 hours. It was ROUGH. I was so overwhelmed and puked on and it was gross. Luckily I was staying with my parents and they were a huge help. I probably would have just cried endlessly if I'd been on my own! 

Also this month, Evelyn got a blocked tear duct. Her eye has been pretty gross and goopy, but it appears to be on the mend! 

Diet: we made it six months of exclusively breastfeeding!! I am so proud of me!! I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to do it, but I love nursing Evelyn. It has been an amazing experience. 

Last night was Evelyn's half birthday, so we celebrated and let her have that first taste of avocado. I gave her two slices. She grabbed one, took it straight to her mouth and started chewing like she'd been eating solids her whole life. I expected her to mostly play with the food, but she honestly are 85% of it. I was impressed. 

Milestones: (it is so funny to read this from last month when she could confidently roll three times to this month...) we have a crawler!! I mean, it's not a perfect, up on all fours crawl, but she can crawl across the floor to get places with minimal frustration. It started out just a little scooting, then one day this week she was crawling all over mom's rug from one end to the other! 

Evelyn also learned how to sit up this month. She is not wobbly at all, which is impressive. It's like she waited till the last minute to sit up until she knew she could do it perfectly. (The first time she sat up was February 8th, daddy's birthday!)  

Likes: Peek-a-boo, giving and getting kisses, being able to crawl, chewing on things, naps, cuddles, spoons, swinging

Dislikes: being woken up before she's ready, being hungry, mommy not feeding her fast enough, mommy not getting ready for bed fast enough,the doctor, shots, mommy leaving the room, people eating in front of her 

Firsts: Evelyn had her first Valentine's Day! She got nothing because we don't celebrate it lol. But she went to her first Valentine's Day party and got a Charlie Brown book in the book exchange, so that was fun! 

As for outings, we went to the aquarium for the first time. Evelyn LOVED it. She was fascinated by the fish and enthralled by all the lights and movement. Evelyn went to her first math tournament and got ooed and aahed over. We went with Crystal and Carson to the Botanical Gardens, which was so fun. Then I got sick and Evelyn stayed with Joemo while I tried to recover. 

Evelyn sat in a high chair for the first time this month! She loves sitting up and seeing the world. She also got to swing for the first time! It was so fun for both of us. Evelyn fell asleep on her own for the first time in the swing. I sometimes wish she would sleep without me, but I was so heartbroken when she actually did it!! 

Baby gear we love: Evelyn still loves her fruit teethers! She also loves her Sophie the giraffe to chew on! We are still baby carrier obsessed. Evelyn is starting to be interested in toys. She likes piano things. At mom's house she has a little piano that she loves to hit. She also has a big piano bouncer at mom's house that is pretty much the best toy ever. She can stomp on piano keys, push on piano keys, look in the mirror, spin toys, and dance to music. She LOVES it! 

Things To Remember: I love her awkward cackle. She's starting to laugh more naturally, but her little baby cackle is so cute. I will miss it when it's gone! I also want to remember her extreme frustration with us eating. Anytime anyone sits down to eat, Evelyn starts crying because she can't eat. We have to spoon feed her air so she thinks she is included. Chewing on a spoon also distracts her for a little while. 

Also, I've typed this entire blog while Evelyn is asleep on my arm. She's about to get too heavy and sometimes she prefers to sleep next to me rather than on me. So I am enjoying this while it lasts! 

Monthly Photo Dump!

Her first glimpse of fish at the aquarium!

 

Her favorite thing to chew on, spoons!

 

Successful transfer from mommy to MamaD at the math tournament! 

Posing pretty at the botanical gardens! 

Sitting up like such a big girl! 

This is my favorite picture. She was SO upset that we were eating and she wasn't. 

First time in the swing! Success! 

Birthday dinner. Yum! 

The grown ups celebrated Evelyn's half birthday with strawberry cupcakes and Birthday Beer. 

Five beautiful months

Height: 


Weight: 15 lbs, 12 oz (2 lbs exactly!)

Diaper size: She still wears cloth diapers 90% of the day, but at night she wears a size two diaper. She's getting a little long for size 2, but size 3s are still too big for her! Luckily she hasn't leaked or anything in the size 2s so we are still okay. 

Clothing size: Well, she still fits in SOME 0-3, but most of her three month pants are too short and some of her three month onesies too. She's in three to six or six month pants mostly. 

Nicknames: Miss E, Miss Priss, Baby girl

Sleep: Well, she's no longer "sleeping through the night" (in my definition of 8-10 hours of glorious, uninterrupted sleep), but she is sleeping through the night in baby terms (5-6 hours of uninterrupted sleep). She sleeps from 8 or 9 till 3-4 am, then we wake up at 6:45 for the day. Usually when she wakes up to nurse, she quickly nurses and then falls right back asleep, thank goodness! 

Medical issues: Around Christmas, I decided to finally give in and truly go dairy free. While I had previously been limiting my dairy intake, Evelyn's green and mucusy poops just weren't getting better. The day after Christmas, I cut dairy out (except for sneaky dairy that I don't realize I'm getting in restaurant food) and for the most part it got a lot better. Today (January 21st), I did take Evelyn to the dr for blood in her poop. The dr said it was just a small tear, to keep up the dairy free lifestyle, and that I shouldn't panic. (TECHNICALLY the last two sentences should go in next month's blog since her five month birthday has already passed, but whatever. I'd probably forget by then...although it is totally terrifying to see blood in your baby's poop!) 

Last week (January 13th), Evelyn started running a fever ranging from 99-101. I was freaking out because Jovie had a virus and Kennedy had strep and I really didn't want my sweet girl to have either of those things! It wasn't until Friday the 15th that I realized she had a little tooth below the surface! It's still hanging out below the surface, not ready to poke through, but she is otherwise fine. 

Diet: Still completely breastfed, though we did go to a starting solids class. We are waiting until Evelyn is able to sit up on her own and has lost her tongue thrust to start solids. Then we will begin with baby led weaning. We plan on her first meal being avocado, I believe! 

Milestones: Oh, so many! She now very intently watches people as they move around the room. If you go too far, she will fling her body around to be able to still see you. If you're holding her while this happens, hold on tight because she WILL flip out of your arms! She can put basically anything in her mouth and does this every chance she gets. She is learning to not hate the baby in the mirror, which is a BIG deal, because before she HATED that baby and would make terrible faces are her. She definitely is getting really good at letting us know how she feels - you can tell when she is impatient or cranky or tired!! But, she's also started that beautiful baby cackle to let us know when she is happy and excited. She has become a really confident roller! She can even combine up to three rolls in an attempt to get places! 

Likes: Peek-a-boo, giving and getting kisses (FINALLY!), snuggles with mommy and daddy, playing on the play mat, rolling around, tummy time, her banana teether, her bunny

Dislikes: being woken up before she's ready, being hungry, mommy not feeding her fast enough, mommy not getting ready for bed fast enough, car rides at night, waking up and not seeing mommy's face RIGHT AWAY

Firsts: of course the two biggest are that Evelyn had her first Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years! It was so nice celebrating with our sweet baby. She was awake most of Thanksgiving but she slept most of Christmas, so we opened her presents for her. Of course she got the most presents of anyone. Stinker. The Sunday after thanksgiving, Evelyn went to Sunday school for the first time. I was so nervous but she did great! It helps that we go to the best church ever and have the best nursery staff ever. 

Evelyn went to her first Christmas parade (it was kind of meh) and she met Santa for the first time! She spent her first day with daddy without mommy around. They went shopping and had so much fun! We went to the Kimball museum for the first time and played in the kids museum. She also napped while we looked at the art, which is how I feel about art too. 

We took a road trip down to camp so Evelyn got to meet Hairspray and Keane and Yogi! And last weekend, Evelyn had her baby dedication at church. Afterward we had friends and family over to celebrate and eat lunch. It was so fun; our friends and family are such a blessing. 

Baby gear we love: OMG we are obsessed with Evelyn's banana toothbrush. She chews on it ALL the time. We also really like the grape vibrating teether. I couldn't make it through the day without the Beco. Ain't nancy got us a Tula so now we have lots of options for babywearing!! Now that Evelyn is older and more active, she really likes her play mat! 

Things To Remember: she makes this little demon sound that is so funny. I love the way she smiles at me when she wakes up (on her own terms). Actually, the way she lights up when she sees Mike and me at any time of the day. Although sometimes I wish I could put her down and eat in peace, I love how much she needs me and wants to be in my arms. I love having her so close to me all the time and I know a day will come when she doesn't want me to be around 24/7. That will be a terribly sad day! 

Monthly Photo Dump!

This vibrating teether is basically the best thing that ever happened to Evelyn. 

We had dinner with the Reed's and made Evelyn and Kennedy do a photoshoot hahaha

Mike kept Evelyn by himself on Christmas Eve since he had the day off. 

Evelyn loves her Uncle Scott! 

She also loves her Joe Mo! 

I can't wait for the days when it is easy to find matching pjs for all three of us! 

Christmas proved to be too much for baby girl. Naptime in the beco saved the day! 

One day I walked into the playroom after putting Jovie down for a nap and found Evelyn sleeping like this haha! 

This is how meal times go when Evelyn is awake, She leans back in the beco and watches my every move.

Practicing her froggy sitting!

Checking out the mobile Uncle Scott bought her for Christmas.

Chillin with MamaD!

Sup Ma?

Peace, dude. 

Evelyn, in case you're ever wondering, you spend so much time with MamaD. She just doesn't always make the photos. 

Squishy baby watching football with daddy. 

iPad games with MamaD

Starfish baby! 

Playdate at Miss Sarah's house! 

Evelyn's first time in the piano stepper at Sarah's house.

Big thanks to Sarah for hooking us up with all the toys her girls don't use anymore...even though Evelyn still sometimes prefers her toes!

My little chunk!

Even though she was running a fever, Evelyn still had time to play on her play mat! 

Evelyn is OBSESSED with lamps. I was trying to nurse her but she got so distracted by the lamp that she gave me a hickey on my arm. 

Chilly weather calls for a reindeer outfit, obviously! 

The full view. AMAZING. 

Baby dedication at church