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