Another month flies by...

It seems that I will be lucky to find the time to sit down and update about once a month. Last time I was sitting here it was August 5th and I had written about our car accident. This is what the car looked like:

On the one hand it could have been a lot worse and this doesn't look terrible, but it was very scary and I am glad we are done with it. Not thrilled to have two car payments now, but you do what you have to, right? So, after the accident and our friends, Jer and Michelle, were here we had a three day break and then it was wall to wall visits in August. Justin, Chris' best friend, was here for a week and then my brother, his best friend, and my niece and nephew all came in to town for the rest of my break. While it was WONDERFUL to see everyone, I was literally falling down tired by the time they left. I needed a vacation from my vacation!

In terms of Evelyn- she is 5 months old! August 12 was her 4 month check up. She did fairly well, although she cried at her doctor for the first time. I am sure she was very tired because she normally adores Dr. Bodenstein. I think the other thing working against him is that she is showing very strong preferences for the people she knows. Not to brag, but Mommy is currently her most preferred person with Daddy a close second. The other day Chris started laughing because Evie was cranky and sitting in his lap. I walked out of the family room and into the kitchen and she started to cry (not a real cry, but the annoyed and cranky cry). I walked back in the room and she perked right up. I give her another year before Daddy takes over being the favorite, though. Toddlers have always loved Chris and I know our girl will be no exception.

But, I digress. Her doctor appointment went very well. She still continues to be the flat average for her age group. :) 13 lbs. 5 oz. and 24 inches long when we went in. Not too thin, not too fat, and cute as can be!

She can sit up now for short periods of time, although she is still a little shaky. And she has flipped from her stomach to her back once (although it was so fast the sitter couldn't get to a camera fast enough!). This past weekend we watched her go from her tummy to her back for the first time and it was a surprise for all of us! Everyone cheered and she seemed to like that part quite a lot. Evelyn loves to talk and so we spend a lot of time laughing with her while she plays on the floor:

And we have also started "getting" the concept of eating solid foods as well as laughing at Mommy while she eats.

In addition to the wonderful world of eating we have all learned how to sleep without being swaddled in blankets! Well, Evie sleeps without being swaddled and Chris and I have learned what it is like for a baby to sleep for 11 hours a night on the weekends (on weekdays I end up waking her up around 6:45am because I have to get her dressed and dropped off to the sitter before work)! I was so worried that it was going to be hard for her to really settle in and sleep when I tried her unswaddled. That special swaddle blanket settled her right down and I kept worrying that it was a trigger for the night time. I was anticipating getting up at least three times that first night. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! The first night I laid her down with just her sleeper and covered her with blankets and she slept 12 hours! You could have knocked me over with a feather! This is the happy baby on that first morning:


The crazy look on her face is thanks to the camera flash. Notice the clutching of her pajamas? Also note the she is 180 degrees from how I put her down. This is quite normal for her now. The pajama clutching has been avoided through giving her a lightweight blanket when she first goes down to sleep. The constant flip-flop all over the crib is still going on. It's as if each day I will find her in a new surprise position. The only constant is the smile I get. I am still so thankful that Evelyn is so even tempered and good humored. I know it must have something to do with how much Chris and I delight in every moment with her and how much the two of us seem to laugh together, both before and after she was born. Still, she is always reminding us that beneath the cute exterior there lies a little hint of devilishness:

Although, here is a far sweeter take on that one:

Finally, this one where her face is cut off a little, but she is too cute with that smile:


And finally, I will leave you all with a video of her newest skill: putting the pacifier in her mouth without our help. Music is courtesy of The Beatles

Morning Smiles

Video Taken on the morning of July 29th with music courtesy of The Beatles. Evelyn is always happy in the morning and talks a little to me when I first come in. She has a little mirror that I sometimes leave in the crib for her to look in to.

New Bouncy Chair

Although Evie loves the little monkeys and lions that hang from the chair we also found she liked just bouncing in it. Before we got the camera out she was A LOT more animated, but this is still pretty standard as far as the "laughing" she does which is really more like screaming. Music is John Mayer...

July in Pictures

The beautiful quilt our friend, Michelle, made for Evelyn


Don't you wish you could sleep like this?


Fourth of July Fireworks at the fairgrounds


Three months old and we start early with the patriotic clothing for July 4th


July 3rd at the Durham Bulls game with the Big Blue Monster


Hiding under the covers on her lounging chair


Little Miss Diva


Cutie Pie in the Fish Dress

Back To Work

It's been nearly a month, which I had not intended when I went back to work. Then again, once July 1 hit and I was back at school I shouldn't have been surprised that time would run away from me and it would be the first of August before I got the chance to sit down and write. It's been a busy time for me and for Evelyn.

In the last month both Evie and I have gotten used to our new schedules of getting up and going to work and Evie spending her days with Jeannie. She seems to have adapted well and I have to say that I think I have too. It's tiring to be back at school and teaching all day. The one thing I noticed was how much my throat would hurt at the end of the day! I had forgotten how much you talk as a teacher and how much I did not talk nearly as much when I was at home with Evelyn. We talk a great deal, the baby girl and I, but not nearly as much as I talk to 25 fifth graders.

In the last month Evelyn has had some adventures! We went in on July 17th for a hip ultrasound to make sure that her hips were fine (they were) and we also had a CT Scan of her head done because of the dip in her skull on the right side. We had the scan in order to go see a pediatric neurosurgeon in order to make sure that everything was fine and that her skull thing was just a small fluke that she will grow out of. So, this past Tuesday we took a little trip into Durham to Duke Children's Medical Center and met with a doctor there (who was really nice). He took a look at the scan and assured us what we already suspected- this is something that she will eventually grow out of and the little dip will eventually correct itself. Her brain looked good and the skull looked good on the scan and so we have nothing to worry about. Evelyn, ever the superstar was Miss Congeniality to just about everyone she met that day and was proclaimed to be such a good little baby.

In the last few weeks Evelyn has begun to show more personality. She is still the easy-going baby she was at birth, but has moment of complete annoyance. She will suddenly cry really hard and calm down as quickly as she started. Usually it has to do with being a little tired or frustrated. It's funny when it happens and hard not to laugh when she gets mad. She has also started to grasp our fingers and try to pull herself up into a sitting position. When she gets there with our help she always straightens herself and sits up so straight and looks around like she is so proud. Evie is also starting to "talk" more as well. When I am on the phone she will usually start to make noise and smile a lot. It's been fun watching her develop a little more personality- she likes to really take the world in and she loves when you sing to her.

We also have started her on some baby food- sweet potatoes and apple sauce. We tried some rice cereal early on and she wouldn't have anything to do with it, but the fruits and veggies she seems to like well enough. So now, once a day, we give her a little bit of "real" food. She isn't quite steady enough sitting up for us to go out and buy a high chair just yet, but she does okay in her little lounging chair. It's hard to believe how big she is already! When we went to Duke she was 13 pounds and 24 inches long! August 12 is her 4 month appointment and I am assuming she will still be around the same size. Even so, I am realizing that I have to sit down and go through her closet and dresser and pack away all of her newborn and 0-3 months clothing.

The only bit of bad news recently was that Chris and Evie were in a car accident on Friday, July 24th. They are both fine, but the Mercury is totaled. Chris was heading home from picking Evelyn up and was turning left into the gas station (at a light). He was hit by someone who was trying to beat the yellow light. Thankfully Chris and Evie are fine as are the people in the other car, but it was a scary experience for all of us. The other good thing was that Friday was my last day in school before I started my three week break. If we had to be without a car and down to just one this was the perfect time. We won't get any money for the Mercury, which is unfortunate, but at least everyone is fine. We bought a new car, with the help of my brother, in Michigan and he will drive it down to us in a week. So, this time next week we will be the owners of our first brand new car (a Dodge Caliber SXT). I wish it wasn't under these specific circumstances, but I am still excited.

That's about it for now. I will post pictures and maybe a video later today or tomorrow.

Some Holiday Fun

Happy July 4th weekend everyone! I'll write more later, but I wanted to post the best of the weekend:

Fireworks at the Fairgrounds (in which Evelyn fell asleep and then slept through the display)




Talking with Evie...well almost:

Where Did June Go?

Well it has been a while since I last wrote! We have gone to Evelyn's two month check up, I talked last time about the Komen Race and I have gone back to work over the last few days. Very busy around here now that Summer set in and I am gearing up for a new class full of kids! It's not hard to believe people when they tell you how fast time moves once you have a baby....they are right of course!

A few weeks ago was Evie's two month appointment and it went fairly well. At that time she was a healthy 10 lbs. 15 oz. and 22 inches long. She is still comfortably in the 50th percentile for height and weight and her head size is also flat average. She had to get two shots and one immunization by mouth. We gave her the little syrup first and then came the trauma of shots. I don't know if I am some sort of cold mommy, but the baby getting shots doesn't bother me the way some of my friends said it bothered them. Don't get me wrong; I do not like that shots make her cry. I guess I look at it as a necessary evil and she is so little that she recovers pretty quickly once I can pick her up and love on her a little. Plus, I always have a bottle ready so she can eat immediately and that always calms her down. This time the first shot was okay- not too much crying. The second shot, though, was terrible. There was a full 10 second pause as she worked up to the scream and cry. In fact, by the time she started actually crying I had already picked her up and was heading to grab the bottle. She calmed right down.

While we were there the doctor checked her hips. Apparently they check hips a lot with babies who have been c-sectioned and many times recommend getting a hip ultra sound to make sure that the hips have popped into the joints nice and tight. So, on July 17th I will be taking Evelyn down to Wake Med to have her hip ultrasound. Chris and I also noticed that on the right side of her head her skull is different. It's still a little lopsided, but as she has grown we noticed there is almost like a ridge. It's hard to explain without sounding alarming. It's not huge, we weren't overly worried about it. It was simply one of those things where we thought it was odd that it didn't correct itself after a few months (taking into account her entire face was lopsided because of how she was stuck in me). So her doctor looked and sent us to get a head x-ray. He called back and said that everything looked normal, but one view on the x-ray was hard to read. He basically said: "DO NOT WORRY. Everything looks normal, but since I can't see the one view I would rather be safe than sorry. " As a result, we are now going to see a pediatric neurosurgeon at the end of the month. Not implying she needs surgery, but that he is a specialist and will be able to tell us what the deal is. So, on the same day as the hip ultrasound we also will have a head CT scan for Evie because that's what the peds neurosurgeon needs before he can see us. I will keep you updated, but I believe it will all be fine in the end and we aren't worrying about it here. Evie has been growing and hitting all of her developmental milestones right on time.

In other news, I went back to work for the first time in two and a half months. Teaching year round school means that the last day of June was the last day of school and my last day of maternity leave. On July 1st I dropped Evie off to Jeannie and went to work. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The worst part was that everyone asks you "How are you doing?" when you first see them because they know you just left your baby for the first time. They mean well, but the more people who ask the worse it is because you have a hard time forgetting! Thankfully we were pretty busy and there was only about 30 minutes when we all had breakfast as a staff that people constantly asked me. I didn't cry, although I had a few moments later in the day where I felt like it. But going in on Thursday was much easier and I felt like I was back in the swing of things. Then I hit the wall at 2pm and thought if I put my head down on my desk I could easily fall asleep! Not nearly as much energy as I had the day before. Still, I survived the day and I have today off. We have one more work day on Monday and then my new class of kids comes in on Tuesday. I'm excited to be back, but there is a huge part of me that wishes I could be a stay at home mom and we need my income to pay the bills.

So, Evelyn is doing fantastic with Jeannie. She sleeps a lot and comes home pretty happy. She's been sleeping through the night for nearly a month now, which is so nice since I started back to work. Chris and I noticed that, in general, she is a pretty happy and easy going baby. Of course she has her moments like most babies, but overall she is easy. My favorite time of day with her is in the early mornings because she is always so happy and full of smiles. We get up, eat, play for about 45 minutes to an hour and then she goes back to sleep for about an hour or two. I know I shouldn't wish her to be big too fast, but I can't wait until she is just a little older and she can sit up on her own...now that will be fun!

Midway through the Komen Race




Hanging out in the kitchen


Just Chillin' Out

Racing and Smiling

Tomorrow is Evelyn's two month appointment. On the one hand I am totally looking forward to it because I always get so many compliments about how beautiful she is, but this time that feeling is tempered by the knowledge that she'll be getting three shots this time around. I hate seeing her cry as hard as she does when they give her a shot, but three will probably send the poor girl over the edge! I've already packed her bag for tomorrow's outing and the infant Tylenol is in there so I can immediately administer some.

Over the last week or so Evie has actually remained consistent with going down for the night around 9pm and she typically wakes up around 4 or 4:30am. I have gotten her to the point where I can feed her and she usually goes back to sleep by 5am and then wakes up around 8 for good. I had a hard few days getting used to having more sleep all at once, though. It was like my brain and body rejected the notion of the world existing on more than 2 and a half hours of sleep at a time. ;) I am so glad she's settling into sleeping for longer, though! Now, if I could just get her to sleep around 9 and then stay asleep until around 5:30 that would be great once I start back up to work in July.

This weekend was a busy one. I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure on Saturday. I walked with my mom and her friend, Alice, and we brought Evelyn along dressed in her pink. It was an early morning getting up at 4:30am when Evie woke up and then my mom picked me up a little before 6 so we weren't late picking up Alice. We got to the RBC Center, hopped on a bus and were dropped off at Meredith College for the pre-racing activities. I've never walked before and I was bowled over by all the free stuff and the amount of people! I shouldn't really have been surprised by the people, but the free stuff...holy cow! I have three awesome recycled bags (pink of course) to add to my grocery reusables and those were filled with chachkies galore. Little pom poms, a cape, visors, hand fans, sunscreen towelettes, Gatorade, a foam boomerang...free food samples. I could go on, but it would be pointless. I love that it's all pink and I think some of the stuff will end up in the prize drawer at school. Besides the free stuff it was really great to see the support for curing breast cancer. Next year I am going to resolve to raise more money. Dianne and Bill each donated money on my fund raising page, which was awesome. I honestly didn't expect to get a lot because I registered for the walk so late. Still, any money is better than none. It turned out that there were roughly 22,000 people walking or running this year and a little over 1.7 million dollars in pledges! What I thought was great was that I started Evie out early and I plan on walking every year with her. Thank goodness my mom kept hounding me to register! :) So, each year the three of us will be out there walking and perhaps one day we won't have to walk because that elusive cure will be found.

So, although they call it a race we really didn't run at all. We walked and made good time considering we had a two month old and this was my first big walk since having her. It was a 5K walk and we made it in a little under two hours. Evelyn stayed asleep until the halfway point (literally we stopped at the clock and sign that said "half way"). I had to feed her and I promise, once I get the pictures from my mom, I will post the picture of Evie and me sitting on the curb having a bottle. Around the one mile to go mark I ended up having to carry Evelyn because she did not want to go back to sleep and it was starting to get too warm for her. So, I took a lightweight cloth diaper and draped it over her head to protect her from the sun and we walked the rest of the way with me carrying her. She didn't start to feel heavy until we were nearly to the finish line, but my arms were hurting by Sunday morning (as were my legs). Then, as we were crossing the finish line someone who must have been from the press took our picture. Nothing like a baby dressed in pink and being carried to get people's attention. I'm hoping it was someone from the Komen Foundation here in Raleigh so that if they post the picture I can get a copy. The neat thing about the race was that we walked all through the neighborhoods of Raleigh and the residents there REALLY get into it. People had fans, sprinklers, music, signs, and water tables set up. There was one house that had a much older lady (in her 80s) sitting on her porch with a younger women and a sign hanging out proclaiming how many years she has been clear of her cancer. It was really amazing and kept you pushing on. Walking was so much more interesting and fun as a result.

So, here are some pictures of the walk and from this past week in general:

This was the start/finish line. We were finishing the early start (where only women participate and it's a non-competitive walk/run)and the throngs of people are the competitive runners and walkers.


Sitting down for a rest at the finish


Leaving the race area for the shuttle bus we ran into Ms. Wuf who is NC State's Women's sports mascot. Our goal for July 4th is to get a picture of Evie with Wool E. Bull who is the mascot of the Durham Bulls baseball team (we're going to a game on July 3)


Finally, here is a video I posted to YouTube of me getting Evelyn to smile for us...if you're curious about the music it's a song called "The Ecstasy of Dancing Fleas" by Penguin Cafe Orchestra

Sleep...coming soon to a mom near you!

I know, I know! It's been 10 days since the last post and I am sorry. Thankfully the few family members who follow this little blog haven't gotten on my case yet. :) It's been busy around here or at least it feels like it's been busy. I don't know where the day goes sometimes!

So over the last 10 days I have gone to the doctor for my six week check up. My incision is healing perfectly and I got a clean bill of health. I was really hopeful that Evelyn would have slept through the whole appointment, but no such luck. We woke up that morning and she went down for a morning nap around 8:30 and I was stuck waking her up at 9:30 in order to feed her a little before we got into the car. By the time I got to the doctor she was well worked up. I had her almost asleep when they asked me to provide a urine sample...I thought I was home free until I had to flush the toilet and that sent the poor little one right over the edge. So, during my actual exam the nurse held the baby while the doctor checked on me. I guess I shouldn't feel bad (but I do) because the doctors and nurses are in the business of women and babies.

This past weekend Chris, my mom and I had a wedding to attend at Ocean Isle, NC for a good friend of the family. It was Evelyn's first big outing and she did fantastic! We drove down to Ocean Isle on Saturday morning and Evie slept the entire way. Once we had checked into the hotel she woke up and ate some. By the time we all had to change and get to the beach for the wedding she was sleeping in her car seat again. Just as the wedding started she woke up, but Chris and I were ready with a bottle. For almost the rest of the afternoon/evening she slept as we walked around with her in our arms. And then, the icing on the cake, she slept for 8 WHOLE HOURS that night! On the one hand I was really excited about that, but on the other hand I was really bummed because I slept terrible that night. We drove back home on Sunday and she did great all day and in the car. Sunday night she woke up every 3 hours again. *sigh*

The good news is that last night (Monday night) she went to bed at 9:30pm and slept solidly until 4:30am! She was awake for an hour and slept for another three! I could get used to this sleep thing. Today was a little off, though. She didn't take many naps and it was hard to get her to stay asleep for her afternoon nap (which is usually the longest at 2-3 hours). She eventually did and I am hoping that she will still sleep for at least 7 hours tonight. I put her down around 9:15, turned off the nightlight on my way out (a new idea for helping her sleep longer at night) and I am planning on going to bed myself after I finish this post. Keep your fingers crossed for us! I would love to be able to go to her 2 month appointment next week and be able to tell her pediatrician that she is sleeping through the night. ;)

Here are some pictures for you all!

A little tummy time


I'm not so sure about you taking these pictures


Fun time with Daddy


Pretty Little Girl

First Real Bath

This week was a trying one. Napping has been off in a weird way, night time sleep still hasn't gotten back to those lovely 4.5 hour stretches, and I caught a nice big cold. Thankfully I feel better than I did earlier in the week, although I have a wonderful cough and lots of congestion. I wouldn't care, but I feel bad that every time I cough I seem to startle poor Evie!

The great thing about this week was that Evelyn's cord stump finally came off. I was beginning to think that all the doctors were wrong and this thing would be with her forever. I was even getting jealous of all the other moms out there whose children's cords came off in less than two weeks! It took Evelyn's 6 whole weeks and that was with us using rubbing alcohol to swab it a couple times a day! But, it's gone now and that meant that we could finally give our little one a real bath. So, after trying to keep her awake until 9:30 (which didn't work at all) I gave up and had Chris bust out the folding baby tub. We set it up on the pack-n-play:

We thought about just bathing her in the kitchen, but with it being hot down here and the A/C running the kitchen just happens to be one of the colder rooms in the house. So, to the dining room we went. The folding tub was a source of much debate in the household- whether or not it was a good idea or the thought that maybe we should have gotten the more traditional baby tub. This one worked perfectly, I am happy to report. So, tub was at the ready, supplies were all handy and all we needed was to get the baby ready. Chris grabbed the camera and I slowly dipped Evie into the water:


Now, it could have been that she was so tired before the bath or it could be that she loved it. Evelyn was super calm and seemed to really enjoy the bath. I'm not surprised really; warm water makes me happy too.



Chris had to put down the camera to help me wash the rest of her back and head, but I grabbed it again to capture Evie and Daddy getting cuddled up and dried off:

It didn't take Evie long to fall asleep after that lovely and warm bath. Here's to hoping she stays asleep for more than three hours! Goodnight!

Burping and Urping

I had no intention of going six days in between posting here, but it seems time runs away with you when you have a little baby! We are still trying to get this sleeping thing down and the past week is a battle on and off. I had a great three or four nights where Evelyn was sleeping 4 to 4 and a half hours when I first put her down for the night, but then it all went awry. We're back to 3 hours or less for now. Last night was the first night in a week where Evie went down about 9:45pm and slept until 1:15am (which is better than she had been doing). She went down again around 1:45am and woke up at 4:30am and the went down again at 5:00am and slept until nearly 8! It meant more getting up for me, but more rest in the long run. She also slept great today as far as naps go. Fingers crossed for me tomorrow.

So, over the holiday weekend I had the pleasure of catching a cold. I think yesterday was the worst day- the one where you aren't just thinking: "Gee, I think I'm getting a cold" and instead you KNOW you have a cold. I felt crappy, but Chris was home with me, which was nice. We went out to JC Penny so I could buy underwear (on sale!) and grabbed lunch, kicked around Target for a bit too. We stopped at my mom's because she had asked Chris to put some hooks on her balcony for hanging plants. While he did that I fed Evie and burped her too. We stuck around for a little while longer so MeMe could play and visit with Evie. Just before we were getting ready to leave Evelyn urped a bit on MeMe. We all laughed because it was a bit of a surprise, but I had no idea it would lead to a much bigger urp later on! We got home and Evelyn was awake and after about two hours was seeming like she was hungry again. I made a small 2 ounce bottle just in case she wasn't that hungry. I fed an ounce and burped her and then started to feed her again. She was really fussy so I tried burping her again. That's when the urping revisited us. I knew as soon as I heard it that she had spit up a decent amount. But then there were two more vomity burps and it was all over Evie, me, the couch, and some on the floor! So, Chris took care of the couch and floor while I took Evie upstairs. Poor girl- as soon as I started up the stairs with her she let out the most pitiful little cry! 20 minutes later everyone was clean again and Evelyn was in pjs for the night.

Maybe all that throwing up made her tired or maybe we're getting on a schedule. Either way the sleeping was great today and she was eating really well too! Here are some pictures from the last week or so:

Silly Old Bear...


Chillin' at the Farmer's Market


Looking cuter than cute in her new outfit thanks to Aunt Pam. The onsie says: "I'll always be Daddy's little girl."


Worried little sleeper

Back in the saddle...

Wow! It doesn't seem possible that Evelyn is getting bigger, but she is! I know it's hard to see it through just pictures (or maybe it's not) but just holding this baby shows me how much she is growing..she's heavy! I handed her over to Chris tonight just because my arms started hurting. Well, and she was fussing up a storm and I figured a new face would be good. ;)

So over the past few days we have been retraining Evie to sleep better. By "we" I really mean me. Chris is helpful, make no mistake, but I am the one that is with her more during the day and all night long. Evie had it good when everyone was holding her all the time and I think she just got used to it. So, her in her mind I think she figured that I would continue to hold her while she slept no matter what time it was. Oh how mistaken she was! We spent the last few days retraining Evie to sleep once I put her down in her crib. It took a few days of her really resisting sleep and being cranky, but last night and today proves to me that I think we're back in the saddle again with good sleeping. I put her to bed at 9:45 last night and she slept straight on until 2:15! I got up, fed her and put her back down at 3:00 and she slept until 5:30am. Fed her again and put her back down and she slept until 8 this morning! She woke up a few times, but I left her in the crib and she went back to sleep each time without me going in to her room. Hooray!

So today we were back to normal with the wake up, cuddle for 30 minutes, eat and then sleep. No real fighting the falling asleep part like she has been doing for the past four days! So, here are a few pictures from yesterday's sleep fight and today's pleasant day:

Evelyn finally gives in to falling asleep:


Evie and Bachman today....best friends:

The String Bean

When Evelyn was first born I thought how tiny she looked. Then I caught sight of her stretching herself out and I realized for a little 6 lb. baby she was actually kind of long. I started calling her "string bean" because she was so skinny. I still call her that, especially when I have her swaddled because she tends to look like a bean or a pea pod. It happens to be one of the cuter looks she has, if you ask me. So, way back when I registered for things at Babies R Us I saw this great swaddler. I chose it because I thought Chris would think it was funny to be able to swaddle our little one to look like a little bean (much like that first picture of what a fetus looks like around the time most of us find out we're pregnant). My brother's sister-in-law (who is awesome) sent us the swaddler, but because Evie was so tiny we couldn't use it. Instead we just use regular blankets for swaddling. Well, now that Evelyn is nearly 9 lbs. we can finally use the swaddler!

Today started out at 70 degrees, but by later this afternoon it dropped to 60 and was rather chilly. Evelyn was wearing a basic pink onsie and I was trying to get her to take a nap. I figured I'd try out this new swaddler. Not only does it make her look EXACTLY like a little string bean it rocks and kept her nice and cozy. If you have Facebook then you may have already seen this picture. If not, then take a look at our little String Bean; or as Chris quipped: Our little Swing Bean:

The Doctor's Appointment

So today Evie and I got up at 6:30am. I say "we" and really mean that SHE got up and then WOULD NOT go back to sleep. I should have known today was going to be long. By the time I did get her to take a small nap I couldn't really go back to bed because I needed to shower and make sure I had a chance to actually dry my hair. So, napping is what Evie did and getting clean is what I did. We ventured out and met up with Chris for lunch before heading to Evelyn's one month appointment. When we got to the office it turned out that they didn't have our appointment in the computer, which was very puzzling. I had the card and I know I put in the date right. Even though they were fully booked they still saw Evelyn and I was very thankful. I guess they have had issues with their computers and when they originally made our appointment I do remember the woman saying something about making sure the computer took the appointment.

At any rate, we did see a doctor (although not our doctor) and here is the very short report:

As of one month old out little Bee weighs 8 lbs. 14 1/2 oz! She is 21 inches long and for height and weight she is in the 50th percentile. Much like when she was in the womb she continues to be the perfect average of what a baby should be! The doctor said she was perfect and very healthy and was happy with how she's growing up so far. Evelyn also had her Hepatitis shot today (the first one was in the hospital and in the nursery so I wasn't there to witness it). There was the brief second after the needle was plunged followed by the worst 3 seconds of silent scream, then followed by the worst crying I have ever heard from my little daughter! I hated hearing it, but I know that I am in for another few years of this type of thing and I gave her lots of kisses to try and make it up to her. After stopping by to see MeMe (my mom) we eventually made it home.

Here's a great picture from this morning when Evelyn was super active and I pulled out her little floor exercise mat...notice she has a new bestest friend in the whole world watching over her:

One Whole Month

So, as of yesterday (May 12) our little Eviebee is one month old! Hard to believe it's already been four weeks she has been in our lives and the center of the universe. Evelyn's doctor appointment is on Friday and I am dying from the curiosity. I can't wait to see how much she actually grew from that first appointment when she was barely a week old to now.

Today was the last day that family was in town. Bill (Grandpa), Granny (Great Grandma L), and Doris (cousin) have all been in Raleigh since this past Saturday and it's been very nice. The last time we saw Granny was for our wedding and I think Evelyn has enjoyed the attention as much as Granny enjoyed giving it! I'm sure that the next few days Evie will be completely baffled as to why no one is holding her all day long now that her Granny is on her way back to Arkansas. Everyone seemed reluctant to say goodbye tonight knowing that it will be a while until we see each other again, but I know that the "out-of-towners" are ready to sleep in their own beds and get back to their routines. I know I will be a little lonely, but it will be nice to be able to set up a routine with Evelyn again. All her adoring public meant that she got spoiled and forgot what it was like to eat at certain times and nap at particular hours of the day. Wish me luck on re-establishing the days with her!

In other news, next week we will have our first play date. Evelyn will be the only girl and the youngest, but it will be good to leave the house. I have several friends from my school who had babies this year and who are out for the school year to be with their sons. Thankfully they included me in the most recent round of getting together e-mails. So, on Tuesday, Evelyn and I are venturing out to Lindsay's house to hang out for a couple hours with friends. In the mean time I am spending the rest of the week and as much as I can this weekend resting up and taking as many naps as possible since I haven't really had one since the family started arriving. I have a new appreciation for anyone who goes back to work and takes care of a baby full time at this young age! I am tired constantly and I can't imagine having to function and teach a classroom of 5th graders! Thank goodness for maternity leave and vacation days!

Here's today's picture of Evelyn:

A few photos

Nothing much to post today. The whole Lockhart Clan came over for some Mother's Day grilling. My mom came down too and we made it a nice little reunion. The steak was great, the company was nice, and I am now realizing that Evelyn is going to be the most spoiled little one in the world! Not in a bad way, mind you, but she is well loved! So, here are a few pictures of the Lockharts with the newest apple of their eyes:

Evie and Grandpa


Evie and Aunt Patti


Evie and Granny (Great-Grandma)