Brother Sister

David around 8 weeks

Evie at 6 weeks

Some people have told us Evie reminds them so much of David. In my eyes, she looks like a completely different baby with a few similarities--though there are times she reminds me of him. I looked back at David's pictures to see how similar they really are at this stage. Weirdly enough, I think Evie looks SO much like David when she is crying--I guess it's because her eyes are closed and though you cannot tell in this picture--their eyes are very different when open. So far, she seems to be darker complected than him--but you just never know for sure because babies change so much over the first 6 months. I am excited to see how Evie will grow and change. She is the sweetest baby and makes my job as Mama extremely manageable. We are coming up on the 7 week mark and I can hardly believe it. I feel like she has been here all along, but then I also don't feel like I really know anything about her outside of her sleeping, eating, and pooping patterns, ha! So far, she is VERY smiley and I am loving seeing her little face light up throughout the day. Today is my birthday and I can think of nothing more I could want--the gift of staying home with these little babies is such a privilege and I hope to never take it for granted.

One Month with Evie

This past week has been really wonderful. I feel like I am turning the corner and starting to get a good groove with all the new demands that have come with having two children. I no longer dread trying to leave the house and that feeling of overstimulation has slowly subsided. We have been so blessed by this baby girl's temperament. She is so very content and mellow baby. I have been blown away at her ability to self soothe--she never requires any help to fall asleep (except a swaddle) unless she has a gas bubble she needs to get up. She loves to sleep and has slowly started clustering her naps into two big chunks. I am not setting a schedule just yet, still trying to get to know her and enjoy our time together while David is down in the afternoon. Evie is just like her brother in that she is very strong--she rolled over yesterday by accident and does great with tummy time. The most fun thing so far has been the many many smiles she has been showing us. She is much more expressive than David was and I am excited to see her little personality come out. David is really enjoying her and despite some two year old meltdowns, is still doing well.

A Few More Pics

(2 new posts below)

Christmas Part 2

Christmas Eve lunch was spent at my parent's house and was followed by the candlelight service and dinner at my Grandfather's home. We had so much fun as we always do with all of David's "people." He is pretty much the center of the world on both sides of our family and always looks forward to seeing his many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Afterwards, we went home and spent the rest of the night enjoying our time just the four of us. We read the Christmas story from David's children's bible, put out milk and cookies for Santa, and spent the remainder of the night getting his gifts set out for Christmas morning. Santa brought David a kitchen and some fun knick knacks in his stocking. Evie got her nursery :) and also technically received the kitchen as well, though David is not aware of that right now. If you don't already know, Grant is a HUGE cook and was extremely excited to be able to share this hobby with David. After David played with his gifts for a bit, we headed to Grant's parent's house for brunch and more gifts for David. Then spent the afternoon at Grant's grandparent's house enjoying extended family and even more gifts for David :). If this child wasn't already equipped with every musical instrument on the planet---he definitely is now. He got a microphone, electronic drumsticks, a piano, small drum set, recorder, and an accordian. Now add these to our ever growing collection which consists of: two harmonicas, a flute, saxophone, cymbals, the triangle, 4 maracas, 2 drums, a few noisemakers, bells, keyboard, and who knows what else. I should start hosting Kindermusik classes at our home to make extra money :). Lets just hope his musical interest does not wane in the next few weeks because I have no idea what we would do with so many instruments. He really is a well rounded kid and enjoys lots of things like cars, trucks, bikes, airplanes, football, baseball, etc---but his musical interest is really quite extreme. After opening a box of Auburn football players, he did not understand why the band members were not included. In his little mind, they come hand in hand. Anyways--we had a great time enjoying the blessing of family and celebrating the gift of Christ. Evie has been a really really content baby and that made it even easier to soak up Christmas so soon after her birth. Other than some weight issues, she has done SO well these first four weeks. She has started waking during the night more which is good for her weight gain considering she used to sleep 7 hours at a time and was probably too young to be doing so. I have loved having a newborn in my arms day after day---you forget what special experience it is. It is all I can do to put her down during David's nap so I can get some chores done. I really am trying to enjoy this time even though it is a bit chaotic and get to know her even though it feels like there isn't all that much to know right now outside of feeding and sleep. I feel like I should record a few things to remember from her first days: She rarely cries--only if she has gas pains or is hungry. She does not like to be hot. She is really different from David--sleeps well on her back and does not need a pacifier unless she is hungry. We have seen quite a few unintentional smiles and it is so cute to get a glimpse of what she will look like as she gets older. As of now, we cannot tell who she looks like. She is still quite dark for our gene pool, but has my mouth, chin, hands, and feet. We have no idea whose eyes she has and I love how big they are. We are used to squinty eyes in our family. Lastly, she loves to be held, ride in the car, and sleep on her Daddy's chest. God is good.

(new post below)

Christmas Part 1

We had a WONDERFUL first Christmas as a family of four. First, we spent the weekend before Christmas at my Uncle Pete and Aunt Cindy's farm in Shorter, AL. David absolutely loved seeing his second cousins (if that is even what they are) since he is always the only cousin in our immediate family gatherings. I cannot believe how old he looks in some of these pictures with my cousin's little ones. It was a really sweet time with family and sort of a 'coming out' party for Evie. Though it was freezing cold, the boys shot skeet and rode around the land while the girls stayed warm inside with the kids. It was a great start for our Christmas celebration! Thank you Cindy for always being so hospitable and so fun to be around.

Funny Boy

Two things I want to remember:

David was obviously traumatized by how long I was pregnant. Every single day since Evie was born he has said--Big belly gone?? Many times he will want to be carried or will want me to read him a book and he always is quick to ask me if my big belly is gone. He was so excited the other day about this revelation, he was going around the house beating on his drum singing--big belly gone, big belly gone, big belly gone.

Apparently, he loved his time visiting with us in the hospital and it has nothing to do with his great love for us or Evie. No--it has to do with food. Every time he is told we are out of milk or bananas or some other choice desire of his--he responds with the words--Gift Shop. It took me a few times to understand what he was trying to communicate--but now I get it. He loved getting snacks in the hospital Gift Shop. So much so, that he is talking about the Gift Shop nearly a month later. Hilarious!

Christmas pictures coming soon!

Merry Christmas!!

May the celebration of Christ's birth be a joyful reminder of God's great love for us!!

The Estess Family

Grant, Liz, David, & Evie