Three Months - Hand Foot Mouth

No, Eva doesn't have Hand Foot Mouth disease....she has discovered she has them all and is figuring out how to use them together, so fun to watch!

It amazes me how much she has changed in three months (I'm sure I'll say this every month) but it really is crazy how fast they develop and change and learn something new. Now that she can control her arms and legs a bit more, it's hilarious to watch how she uses them and tries to figure them out. Sometimes she'll see her hands and just stare at them. Yes Eva, those are yours! She loves to suck on her fingers. Not sure if she'll end up a thumb or finger sucker or if she is teething, but I don't see them disconnecting from her mouth anytime soon. They must really taste yummy.

We've also been spending a lot of time playing on the floor. I'll take her feet and tickle her chin and she has just started to GIGGLE! It's the most adorable sound I've ever heard. I cannot wait to hear a full out giggle, I have a feeling I'll be hooked and my daily goal will be to make her giggle as much as possible. She also really likes her feet and opens her mouth to suck on her toes when we play this little game. Apparently her toes taste yummy too.

Here are pics from her favorite times of the day...Play Time! She is so interactive and curious, so playtime is getting more and more fun!

Stay tuned for A LOT more updates in the coming months. We are very close to rolling over, full out giggling, starting oatmeal and all the fun little surprises along the way! Before we know it, she'll be walking! Eeek!

Sweet Dreams

Every time I would talk to a mom or dad about Eva and her sleeping habits, I’d always hear “Don’t worry, it’ll get better”. I hated hearing that. In our eyes, it was never going to get better and we’d be getting up two or three times a night forever! And then we'd hear those those moms and dads who would respond by telling us how their perfect angel baby slept through the night the first night home from the hospital…I hated you (and secretly still do) and am pretty sure you were lying.

However, I must say…you were RIGHT! It DOES get better!

I went back to work this week and Tuesday, Eva spent her first day with our friend Toni, who is watching Eva for a few weeks until she starts daycare. That night, she slept EIGHT hours!! EIGHT HOURS! I know for some, this isn't a big deal, but for us, this is UNBELIEVABLE! She went to bed at 9:30pm as she always does and I woke up at 2:30am, since that is when she normally wakes up. Eva wasn’t fussing, so I decided I’d pump cause she’d surely be up by the time I was done. And she wasn’t, so I went back to bed, thinking I’d be woken up at any moment. Then I woke up again at 4:30am and she was still sleeping! I jumped out of bed and went to her nursery to make sure she was breathing..and of course she was. She was sound asleep! I crawled back into bed with a huge smile on my face and wasn’t awoken for another hour. Sweet dreams!

When I dropped Eva off at Toni’s the next morning, I told her keep doing whatever it was she was doing; this thing called "sleep" is great! Sure enough, Wednesday night she slept for six and a half hours and this time I never woke up to check on her. I haven’t slept for that long of a period since before she was born! 

Apparently all the stimualation Eva is getting over at Toni’s is tiring her out! And hopefully her bedtime routine is really starting to settle in so this becomes constant.Although I'm sure Miss Eva was just giving us a taste of sleep and will soon enough, show us how fast she can take it away. Good thing her morning smiles make me forget how tired I am.

Hi Ho..Hi Ho..

...Back to work I go...

I've been dreading this day since the day she was born, but knew it was inevitable. I always knew I wasn't the stay-at-home type, however I loved my time at home with Miss Eva. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Sure it was hard at first and there were plenty of tears, but we got into a routine and had some really great times just hanging out and getting to know each other. Being at home is the hardest job I've ever had but also the most rewarding. I wish I could be home part-time with her, but it's just not doable for us right now. Maybe someday!

I tried to prepare myself for this, but how can you? J always tried to explain to me how hard it was to go back to work and then come home and change gears. You are mentally exhausted from working all day and would love to come home and relax, but Eva needs you and you also want to spend as much time and energy you have left in the day, on her. After Day One, I totally got what he meant. This is exhausting!

Being back at work does feel good. I really enjoy my job and my coworkers, which really helps, and having adult interaction again is great! Though I'm definitely distracted and constantly find myself daydreaming and trying to envision what Eva is up to throughout the day. Thankfully my mom and girlfriend are watching Eva until she starts daycare at the end of November, so they don't mind when I call and text to check in...multiple times a day. And of course the highlight of my day is when I go pick her up and she smiles when she sees me. Melts. My. Heart.

I made it through the week without shedding a tear but picking her up Friday afternoon was the best! I knew it meant I got to spend ALL weekend with her ... before we start all over again on Monday...
The weekends definitely mean even more to me now than ever. Looking forward to soaking up as much Eva time as I can!

PJ Day

Eva and I have been really busy lately. Lots of errands to run, people to visit and too much time spent out and about. It usually comes crashing down and Eva gets crabby..and so does Mom! So every week, we take one day and stay in our jammies and don't leave the house. PJ Day! These are my favorite. It's just me and Eva and we get to spend all day playing, napping and mom gets a few loads of laundry done.

Most of you know that Eva has quite the hair-do. She was born with a full head of hair and I don't think she's lost any of it. We brush it down every night after her bath and by the time it dries, it's sticking up on end. So we've given up and love how crazy it can get sometimes.
Here's some great bed-head hair-do pictures from our PJ Day last week...

                                                        It definitely has a mind of it's own!

                                                                         Mohawk!

                                                                 Love this face!!

And I finally got a video of a very busy Miss Eva. Once she's able to move around, we'll have to watch out!!

Here's to our favorite day of the week..PJ Day!!

Twins?

I found a picture of myself in the baptismal gown that Eva wore and thought we looked a lot alike. I had to share since we've heard so many people tell us how much she looks like Daddy. Finally she looks like Mommy too! (or at least I think so!)

And for fun, another comparison picture...
We LOVE Eva's chubby cheeks and one of her nicknames is Droopy Dog, from that old cartoon we grew up with. Check it out!

Two Months: Roaring!

I cannot believe it's been TWO MONTHS since Eva was born. Now I understand what all you moms always told me...time FLIES!

She is changing so much every day. It's amazing how much different she is in just two months. She is so alert and melts our heart with her smiles. She also has mastered her voice. It was just a month ago, that I posted  Hear Me Roar! when we first heard her voice. And now she screams and giggles and has the cutest little roar! Here's a sneak peek:

 We also have discovered some of Miss Eva's favorite things:
- Bath Time! Her first two baths at home didn't go well but as soon as her umbilical cord fell off and she could have real baths (not sponge baths), she realized how great they were! Especially when I scrub her head and tell her this is how they do it at the salon. (why not start her early!)
- The ceiling fan in her nursery. Yes...the ceiling fan. For some reason, when she looks up at it, she always smiles. Somehow it just amazes her. Every time we're in her room, she is mesmerized. Thanks Daddy for putting that fan in!
- When we change her diaper and/or clothes. This can be combined with the ceiling fan as she is usually staring at it and smiling, but this is also when most of her chit-chatting happens. I personally think she just loves being pampered and tended too. She sure loves our undivided attention!
- DADDY. She is definitely Daddy's little girl (and Jason is screwed!). When J gets home from work, he goes right to her and her face lights up and she has a huge smile on her face. What a great thing to come home to! If we are sitting and chatting and I'm holding her, she will always turn her head and stare at Daddy, she is just mesmerized by him! He's also the magic trick to get her to fall asleep when she's fussy. Something about being on Daddy's chest knocks her out cold.

God's Child

Last Sunday, we had Miss Eva baptized! She was baptized at the same church we were married at four years ago, and also the same church I grew up in. We planned the baptism pretty quickly, mostly to make sure family could make it before they would be out of town for an extended time, and also to ensure she'd fit into her gown!
Eva wore the same gown that I wore when I was baptized as well as the same one my mother wore. Since it was so sentimental and important for us to have her wear the gown, we were just worried if we waited any longer...she may not fit into it! :)
The bonnet was made from a hankie and will be used at her wedding. I wore the bonnet when I was baptized and carried at it my wedding. I love that we have this family tradition to hand down to Eva's daughter one day.

My mother also embroidered all our names, birth-dates and baptism dates on the bottom of the slip. The next name to be added will be Eva's daughter!

Here the generational picture of all who's worn this gown:

We were so happy that all of our families were able to make it and celebrate this very special day with us. We chose William and Sherry Cochrane (Jason's cousin and wife) to be the godparents as they are also listed as Eva's legal guardian's if anything were to happen to us. They have a beautiful daughter, Camilla, who is 9 months older than Eva. We can't wait for these cousin's to grow up together!

She was an angel throughout the service and baptism; she slept the whole time! It was such a wonderful experience to welcome Eva into God's family and truly thank God for our little miracle.