First Smile!!

First Smile!!

I believe the actual first smile date was October 8th...

first time caught on camera was October 13th! I love it!

7 weeks flown by!

My oh my...how can she be 7 weeks old already? I can't believe it! So...a little bit about our little miss Ev!

She's a screamer...oh my goodness can this child cry! I thought she had reflux, so I took her to the doctor, explained the symptoms & she agreed with me so we got a prescription of Zantac. It helped a little, but not completely. The pediatrician had also recommended that I cut out dairy, so after a week, I gave it a try. What a turn around! She turned into a relatively calm child. She still has her bouts, but it is no longer all day every day...music to my ears! She started cooing & smiling all at the same time which is SO rewarding! It's like she's saying, thanks mom for figuring that out!

The little things I love so much...

Whenever Andrew is near her, she is absolutely drawn to him! He loves to do back time & tummy time with her, and she turns toward him & is always reaching out and grabbing his shirt or hand or touching his face...it is so sweet!

If she wakes up, Andrew takes it upon himself to go in to her. He will sing her a song (usually the ABC's), and if that doesn't immediately calm her down, he will decide she wants to watch a movie, will run & grab my iPod & start Little Einsteins for her! He lays down on the floor & watches it.

When I hold her, she reaches her little arm out & wraps it around my shoulder. I love it!

Her smile is GORGEOUS!!

She's FINALLY in her own room! Such a big girl...and I get my space back. It feels so good & like we've crossed one of the many bridges for the next year!

She absolutely loves to be sung to (Itsy Bitsy Spider is her kid favorite) and listen to music. Laurie figured out that the song "Everything's gonna be alright" by Bob Marley is her favorite, so that song is constantly on repeat!

Now that she doesn't cry so much, I've gotten back into reading to Andrew which I had totally missed! She will sit on my lap and listen to the books.

I feel like life is finally gaining a ground of normalcy which it had been lacking for the last 4 weeks.

Evie is growing and changing every day & Andrew is LOVING preschool and his role as big brother. We've come a long way in 7 weeks. I've only got 5 more weeks before I go back to work, and am SO excited to have more time as she becomes easier & a little person!

Alphabet Fun!

Andrew LOVES working on his alphabet. It is so fun for me to see him recognize a letter -- he gets SO proud "Look MOM! I see an 'A'! Just like in my name!" Today we were playing one of his games -- a 'what comes after' game, and I asked him what comes after the letter 'L'. His answer....'minnow pee'! So cute!! :)

PRESCHOOL!

Today was Andrew's first day of preschool. How and when did my baby get so old!? He has been looking forward to going to school all summer long, so I was so excited for him that this day was finally here. He was thrilled that he would be going and we would be staying home (with that baby!) We went school shopping a few weeks ago & we have kept those clothes in the bag waiting for this day. Last night we got them out & he picked out his own outfit to wear (he was so excited). I told him I would make him a special first day of school breakfast to get his energy for the day -- his choice of pancakes, waffles, bacon, toast -- you name it. What did he choose? Peanut butter & Jelly. It made my morning easier! He slept in this morning a little bit & was SO happy when he woke up!

On his way to school we were talking about the friends he was going to make, and as an added bonus he was going to get to see Liam at recess! He told us he was going to introduce Liam to all his friends and the girls too because girls can go to school too. Hmm...who knew! LOL! He had a blast his first day! He got to paint his hand, read "There Was an Old Lady who Lived in a Shoe", sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider", got to have crackers & apple juice for a snack, and played on the playground at recess. I'm so happy for him that he loves this & gets to go to preschool. I just can't believe he's old enough! :) (by the way, I made it through with no tears!)

Posing with his backpack

Andrew & Daddy

Andrew & Mommy

Standing in front of his school with his 'school supplies' (the required box with a change of clothes inside)

Already playing with (and telling on) his new friends. I don't know how many times he told us goodbye while we were there. He was SO ready for us to leave! At least he was happy to see me and go home too though! :)

How'd we get her name?

We've had a lot of people ask us how we came up with the name Evelyn Jean....

The long story :)...

When looking at baby names, I loved the name Evie - pronounced with a short e (like Evian) rather than a long E (like Eve) . I found that Evie was actually short for Evelyn, which I thought was beautiful and perfect. The name Lynn has many ties in our families -- my mom's middle name is Lynn, as is mine, Mike's mom's, and my cousin Erica's. The name Jean is just as strong in my family -- my Grandma's, sister's, and aunt's, middle name is Jean, and it is my cousin's first name. While we were trying to come up with a name, I was torn between carrying on 'Lynn' or carrying on 'Jean' (having family meaning to a name is important to me). When I came across Evelyn and paired it with Jean, I thought it sounded so elegant & beautiful that it almost had to be!

Then, to top it off, I was working at the Dupage County Fair one day and a little girl who looked JUST LIKE Andrew came walking up -- I was staring at this girl because of the resembelence. She had the same eyes, button nose, killer smile, and hair color (though hers was longer). When her mom was calling her back her name was Evie -- it was TOTALLY a sign! :)

We hadn't fully decided this would be her name until we actually met her. There were a lot of other names on the list we liked just as well, but she was such an Evie that it just worked out. :)

Firsts

This week Evie had many firsts (of course!) We had our first doctor's appointment, and she was already back up to 7lbs 2oz (she was 6lbs 14oz on discharge day).

Then, she had her first nap in her swing....

......her first bath in the sink (she hardly cried at all!!) Andrew helped wash her hair and her arms...then he was done. :)

.....her first walk to the park

....and her first flowers (hand picked by Andrew!)

Evie also went to her first party! A 60th birthday party for her Grandpa Barrett. I forgot the camera, so I don't have any pictures. She slept the whole time in the Baby Bjorn, which worked out very well for everyone! :)

There has been a lot of adjusting this week, but in all everything is going well. Every day gets just a little bit easier. She seems to be a pretty easy baby, just has her days and nights mixed up a bit, but we're working on turning that around with some success. She is definitely not bothered by noise, prefers to be held than in a swing or bouncer, but is doing awesome at sleeping in her bed (the pack n play for now). She's not too dependant on pacifiers, and eats (on average) every 3 hours. I think it's been a little hard on Andrew (and me too) that we don't have 100% of our time to give to him, but we're all getting used to it. I think it's really going to help out a ton that he's starting preschool this week, so he'll have his own time to do his own thing which has nothing to do with us or the baby. On top of preschool, I'm going to be sending him to his babysitter 1 day per week -- he has friends there that he loves to play with, and I think that'll be good for him too. Plus, it will keep a little consistency in his schedule. I fully intend on having a 'date night' with him once Evie gets a little older, just so he can see he's still the apple of my eye! :)

Big Brother Andrew

Andrew has been so sweet with his new baby sister, that I have to share some stories so that I don't forget them!

It really was awesome to see him in the hospital after she was born...it had felt like forever since I'd seen him, and really it had only been a day! He ran into the room & hopped up on the bed & wanted to 'carry' her. He was so gentle holding her! He started trying to tickle her on her face and on her tummy, which was adorable! He introduced himself to her 'Hi Evie, I'm Andrew!'. She was absolutely mesmerized by him and wouldn't keep her eyes off him. After a minute or so I suggested he sing her a song, to which he promptly belted out the ABC's, followed by Baa Baa Black Sheep. It was so cute! The next morning when we were going to be on our way home, I called & talked to him and he asked if we were bringing 'that baby' home too. She's here to stay buddy!

Apparently when my mom & sister told him we had a baby girl, he started crying saying he wanted a baby brother. He still comes up to my belly & tells me there's a baby in it, and this one's going to be a brother. HAHA!!