4 Months with Evie-Lu

Evie Marelle fits perfectly into our little family.  In a lot of ways it feels like she is the child that truly made us a family.  I know that sounds odd since we had obviously had our sweet Boy for 2 years before she ever arrived.  However, something about being a unit of FOUR just makes you feel like a real true functioning family.  And I love it.  We are a hardcore Party of 4.  And now our littlest one is just about to turn 4 months old.  I am trying to hold onto every moment and soak up all it has to offer.  Time is passing me by and these precious days with our BABY girl are like water running through my fingers.  I want so much to box her up at this point and keep her my baby forever.  But then I see David running around, speaking in paragraphs, and I remind myself it is only going to get better with her.  All I can do is be intentional and present, committed to giving my little ones my best self and doing right by them.  This whole Mom thing is just the absolute best.

So Evie.....is just the fluffiest, happiest, most personable little baby ever.  She is social, as every girl should be, and never meets a stranger.  I will post her weight after our doctor appointment on Wednesday.  I am fairly sure she is going to be really fluffy.  My arms can tell you that for sure.  I have a feeling I am going to be one ripped Mama after toting this little bundle around.  I love her precious rolls and how cute she looks in her bloomers and dresses.  Oh and I cannot wait for bubble season.  She has the perfect build for a bubble!!  She has become one strong little girl.  She can roll from front to back without much effort and is able to fully lift her chest and legs in the air at the same time.  Like her brother, she loves to stand.  I can tell she is going to be one busy baby.  She already does crunches in her car seat and swaddle trying to sit up.  She doesn't like to be held like a little baby, but wants to face out and see the world.  She adores her brother and just giggles at him all day long.  Evie loves to sit in her bumbo seat and watch him play.  He tries to teach her colors and all about his trains.  It is very sweet.  So far she is still eating 6 ounces about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  She takes a short nap in the morning, a catnap around lunch, and then a very long nap in the afternoon.  We had to start swaddling her with 1 arm out to counteract her rolling abilities.  She is an extremely active baby and wakes herself up with her flailing arms.  She usually goes down between 7 and 8, gets a snack around 1030, and then sleeps until 630 or 7.  We discovered this past weekend that she does not love crowds or loud noises.  She is the type to get easily overstimulated I am guessing and fusses when overwhelmed with tons of people at once.  She is all girl, full of emotions, and is very clear about her needs.  I love how different she is from her brother and am guessing she is going to bring a lot of spice to our life.  So fun!!
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Who's My Pretty Baby?

We are LOVING this weather.  Well, when a day has decided it wants to be beautiful and warm.  Our days are often spent in the front yard playing golf or walking to the park with friends.  We also love Easter Egg Hunts.  David is really really into hunting for Easter Eggs.  We had one in the front yard yesterday when our church hunt was cancelled due to weather.  And then we spent morning with our precious playgroup hunting eggs with 11 other kiddos.  Our playgroup is SUCH a wonderful blessing to us.  We had a blast and are looking forward to yet another egg hunt this coming weekend.

The title of this post comes from our favorite song by Elizabeth Mitchell.  It is called Who's My Pretty Baby? and David LOVES for us to sing it over and over again.  It has the sweetest lyrics.  Go buy it on iTunes.

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Jolly Little Girl

GOT SEROTONIN?

 

Transition

This month has brought quite a few firsts for our little boy.  David has been sleeping in his converted crib for almost 6 months now.  He has already learned all the ins and outs of sleeping with a bed rail, so we decided to go ahead and make the move to a twin bed.  Luckily, my Mom had one we could borrow so we don't have to buy furniture for such a small room.  It actually has been really fun.  He absolutely loves and voluntarily sits in it throughout the day while he looks at his books.  Going down for the night has become a really sweet and special time because I can crawl into bed with him to sing and scratch his belly.  He loves for me to sing Amazing Grace and now our new favorite is Elizabeth Mitchell's Whose My Pretty Baby.  

We also took our first trip to the dentist.  I really was dreading this appointment for a number of reasons: 1) David's temperament makes new situations very difficult for him.  2) Pacifiers.  Enough said.  I really tried to build the dentist up quite a bit.  We bought the Berenstein Bears book about going to the dentist and have been reading it quite a bit around here.  We also talked about how it would be a special day for just him and Mommy.  I promised to take him to his favorite lunch place, Gilchrist, and also to get a small treat at the toy store.  He did really well.  I could tell he was insecure and needed me to sit right up next to him, but he never cried and was able to comply with all that was asked of him.  He got a Thomas the Train sticker, a Diego toothbrush, a bouncy ball, and was able to put his hand print on a ceiling tile documenting his first visit.  P.S. They have flat screen TVs on the CEILING so your little one can watch Toy Story while getting his teeth cleaned.  Fancy Schmancy.  His most constant obsession these days are fire trucks.  So, he got what he calls a "little baby fire cruck" as his post dentist appointment treat.  It actually turned out to be a fun day.

Pacifiers.  I mean this boy has a mad love affair with his pacis.  It is my own fault because I am not one of those Moms who is bothered by the pacifier.  I love that he can soothe himself when needed and I really think it has helped him to love his down time in his bed.  A few months ago I could tell his front teeth were moving and just knew the dentist was going to say it was time to get up these precious little reminders of our boy's babyhood.  And he did.  He was very clear it was time for them to go. :(  I decided to try nap time without them to see what I was really up against.  After some discussion,  he said he wanted to box them up and have the mail man take his pacis to the dentist office.  So we collected them all, had a few last sucks, and then they were gone.  Pretty painless. Well, he was clearly confused.  We got in bed and he then asked for his pacis.  I gently reminded him of what Dr. Johnson said and that now we have a big boy bed, so it was time to sleep without pacis.  I told him they would be gone forever.  He said, Oh no!  I love my pacis.  So we talked it out a bit more and he seemed okay snuggled up in his bed with all his favorites: 2 blankets, 2 stuffed animals, Lightning McQueen flashlight, and 2 books.  It took him a good while to go down, but I was pleased that no tears were shed. He continues to mention them from time to time, but then remembers the mail man took them.  I guess we are just going to keep going down this road and see how it goes!

Baby Boy is growing up.  Sad.

P.S.S.  I got him that pink polo shirt as a means of easing me into the big boy clothing.  I really thought we would delay polo shirts for another year, but with a new baby around my clothing budget is spread pretty thin.  Old Navy polo shirts for 7 bucks each--could not turn it down.  So, this morning I pull out his new pink shirt.  He says, "No, Mommy.  That Evie's clothes."  I then tried to explain how boys wear pastels in the Spring and Summer.  He says, "No, Mommy.  I like red."

Our Girl

Guilt.  Does anyone else feel this insane need to ensure that your second child knows she is just as big of  a deal as her older brother?  Well, I do.  I refuse for this little girl to grow up and be able to pout over her dinky baby book or the lack of pictures documenting her life.  However, this takes serious commitment because as we all know--first time parents taken a RIDICULOUS amount of pictures.  No matter how intentional I am, there is no possible way for me to take the number of pictures I took of David the first 3 months of his life.  I mean did I do anything else besides snap pictures???  Is anyone else running into this problem?

On another note: I think Evie has abnormally high levels of serotonin.  Maybe she gets it from my Mom who is an extremely happy and cheerful person.  I hope so because my Mom is really easy to be around because her disposition is so pleasant.  I just have never seen a child that smiles continually throughout the day.  I probably have 10 or less pictures of David smiling before 3 months and I probably have 10 pictures of Evie NOT smiling over the last 2 months.  I am beginning to wonder if she is going to be trouble for us considering how outgoing she already is OR if she is just going to be the nicest person on the planet.  Let's pray for the latter.....Only time will tell!  :)

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3 Months With Evie

We are smitten with this girl.  She is full of personality and makes everyone feel like they are the funniest person on the planet.  She loves to be held, swaddled, and sung to.  She also still loves her pacifier.  As of now, she is sleeping 7 to 6 with a small dream feed type thing around 10 (1-2 ounces).  She usually takes this without ever really waking up.  She takes about an hour nap in the morning and then a long 3+ hour nap in the afternoon.  We just moved up to 6 ounces because Evie was barely able to make it past the 2 1/2 hour mark.  She now is able to go 3 hours between feedings and longer during the afternoon.

Evie is very happy and laid back, though she physically seems to have a lot of energy.  Poor thing often needs a pacifier or swaddle just to relax for a bit.  She absolutely adores David, her eyes are continually on him and it takes hardly anything for him to make her break into laughter.

We dedicated Evie to the Lord this past Sunday.  It was a really sweet day that I had been looking forward to for quite awhile.  She wore my baptismal gown and a bonnet that was in Grant's family--his Mom made it for his Sister and it is just beautiful.  My mom also knitted little booties for the special day and gave her a sweet bracelet to wear.  She also wore my childhood pearls that were given to me by my late grandmother.  I love having things passed down within a family.

Unfortunately, I got the throw up bug the Thursday before the big day and felt horrible well into Friday and kind of puny Saturday.  We somehow pulled off a family brunch at our house and kept it very simple.  Evie did great during the ceremony and slept right through her first time in the nursery at church.  It was really special to have so much family over to celebrate Evie's big day.  We are very blessed.

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