Evelyn's First Cereal!

Happy Half Birthday!

 6 months. 6 months.  My baby girl is 6 MONTHS old.  I honestly cannot believe that so much time has already passed.  Before Evelyn was born, people would often tell me that time will fly by and my baby go from crawling to driving in the blink of an eye.  I’d politely nod my head and agree.  But silently, I’d tell myself that it was going to be to be different for us.  I was going to appreciate second and remember EVERYTHING so that time didn’t pass by so quickly.  Fast forward 6 months and…I’m wondering where the heck time went.   It feels like just yesterday that we were picking out baby gear, wondering which types of diapers to use, and washing and folding teeny, tiny baby clothes.  Now, Evelyn has out-grown all of those tiny outfits and she’s starting to get too big for some of our baby things (like her swing).  As for diapers, we don’t care what kind we use as long as they don’t leak!  Evie is starting solid foods and while I’m excited about all of the yummy messes this entails, it also makes me sad that she’s already at that point.  Don’t get me wrong – I want her to grow and learn and have new experiences, but with each passing day she becomes a little more independent of me and needs me a little bit less.  I’m trying to cherish this baby time – the snuggles, the gummy smiles and lullabies.  But no matter what I do, it just passes much too quickly.  As far as remembering everything goes – sometimes I think I left my brain at the hospital when we brought Evelyn home.  I can’t remember anything unless I write it down – and sometimes I forget where I wrote it down so that doesn’t help much either!  Luckily I can reference on of the hundreds of pictures we’ve taken when I want to remember Evie at a certain stage.  I look and think “oh wow.  I barely remember when Evelyn’s feet didn’t dangle off the edge of the baby swing.  She actually used to look tiny in the thing”.  Or “Look at that – Evie did have ankles and wrists at one point instead of rings of lovely baby fat.”  It’s hard to believe that Evelyn is the same baby we brought home from the hospital.  She’s no longer a little newborn that we can just sit and rock all the time.  She’s a busy, wiggly baby that is fascinated by the world around her. 

I can’t wait to show you more of our world baby girl! 

Happy Half Birthday!  

Mommy and Daddy love you Sweetheart!

I love my books

 

First time using a sippy cup!

I love my cereal! Yum!

Learning New Things

I often wonder what goes through Evelyn’s head these days.  She’s learning so much and changing right before our eyes.  Gone are the days when she would just lay on the ground and stare at the zoo animals hanging above her head on her play mat.  Now she’ll look at them, cock her head to the side as if to say “now how in the world did they get there?” and then promptly try to shove an entire stuffed zebra into her mouth.  Once I’ve extracted the now drool-covered zebra from her jaws, she’ll roll this way and that way, chewing on anything that gets in her way.   I have to assume the our ceiling is no longer fascinating to Evie because as soon as I lay her down on her back, she will immediately flip to her belly.  Once there, she’ll crane up on her hands, and offer a grin to anyone in the immediate vicinity.  I love that she smiles so much. Honestly, all you have to do is talk to her and she grin so hard I think her cheeks will pop.  She delights in people’s faces and has taken to examining them when she is being held.  I try to take advantage of a teaching opportunity and tell her “yes that is Mommy’s eye” as she jams a sticky finger into my eyeball. :) She's learning to sit up, but balancing is still proving to be a bit of a challenge.  But she's trying and she always seems thrilled when I sit her up with her toys, like she happy to see the world from a different perspective.  We have other milestones coming up, like eating solid food for the first time and sitting a high chair.  We are looking forward to each new day!

Everything and Nothing

 I’ve found it a little difficult to get back into the swing of things since having Evelyn.  This isn’t that surprising considering the completely whirlwind our life has undergone, but sometimes it gets a little out of hand.  I find myself getting annoyed that I have to do anything other than take care of my baby.  I know I need to get the oil changed in my car…but I have a baby.  Yes, the credit card bill needs to be paid and the dog needs a bath…but I have a baby.  I realize that the bedroom needs dusting and the kitchen floor needs to be mopped…but for goodness sake – I HAVE A BABY!  Having a baby isn’t an excuse to do nothing – but it’s a great excuse if you get nothing done!!  Evie is the center of my world now, she’s my everything.  I don’t want to do anything other than be with her most of the time.  I think my feelings about this stem from how much time I spend away from her each day.   During the week, I only have 4-5 hours of time with her before she goes to bed for the night.  I want to make the most of every moment.  I have to admit that Pat is a much saner person when it comes to our limited time with Evelyn during the week.  It’s not that he doesn’t want to be with her, but he realizes that it’s not necessarily quantity of time we spend with her, but the quality of that time.  I realize that too, but I also have a nagging voice in my head telling me that I need to spend as much time with Evelyn as I can so that she doesn’t grow up feeling like I’ve neglected her.  Maybe it’s become I’m a first time mom or maybe it’s because I work.  Or maybe I’m just that neurotic :)  Whatever the reason, I enjoy every moment with my sweet girl!  She growing and changing every single day.  Here are some pictures from the past week or so:

I'm learning how to sit up!

Sweet as can be :)

I like to play with Grandma Rita

Cheese!

Swimming with Pops was fun!

I got to see my G.G. Mitchell on her birthday!

Love my Uncle Adam, Uncle Dan and Uncle Matt!

My Kiki and Me

I'm growing some hair!

Hi!