8 Months

Evie is now 8 months old.  Wow!  Here is what she has been up to this month:



E did not want to have her picture taken today!  This is the best one I captured.  Doesn't she look sweet, though?



For size reference, here she is with a few of her favorite toys. 

 Eating:  Evie has had a pretty major shift this month in her eating habits.  She now eats 3 good solid meals every day.  She nurses about 5 times a day - the first morning feeding, bedtime feeding, and 3-5am feeding are good feedings.  She also snacks 2 other times during the day, but doesn't really nurse for long during those times- sometimes for less than 5 minutes.  She's eating plenty, though, as her weight is up to 18.5 pounds! 

Sleeping:  We were traveling from July 14-27, and it really messed up Evie's sleep schedule.  She started waking up twice at night all over again, but just in the past few days she is back to waking up only once, in the very early morning.  Her naps really regulated this month.  She now naps for 30 minutes to 1 hour twice a day, one hour after she wakes up in the morning, and then about 3 hours after the first nap.  Sometimes she also naps for about 30 minutes in the late afternoon between 3 and 4.  While this isn't a lot of daytime sleep, it's better than she'd been doing, and I am grateful!

Teeth:  Evie cut her two bottom teeth at the end of July.  It didn't seem to bother her much.  Hallelujah!

Play:  Evie continues to grow by leaps and bounds in this department.  She loves to crawl around the house, pulling up on everything in sight.  She is starting to cruise a little bit, but we are not pushing this!  She also likes to walk holding onto our hands, but again, we are not pushing it.  This child is determined to do all this as fast as she can, but I'm not quite ready for it!  I'm already missing a lot of the cuddle time we used to have since she is so much more interested in moving around than in hanging out with mama. 

Something really sweet that has started with Evie's increased mobility is a little game that Finlay plays with her.  As I've mentioned before, she really likes his toys, and he has picked up on that.  He will now walk up to her while she is playing on the floor, with a favorite toy in his mouth, and wait for her to make a move for it.  He then slowly backs away, keeping the toy just out of reach, creating a little game of chase.  You can tell he is soooo proud of himself for coming up with the game, and Evie LOVES it.  So precious.

Evie has also started waving.  She, of course, won't do it on demand or all the time, but she definitely waves hi and bye when she wants to.  It's so cute to see her little arm flapping up and down and the big smile on her face!  Evie is giving kisses now too.  Sometimes after being prompted and sometimes without warning, she will lean in and kiss you anywhere on the face - mouth, cheeks, nose, chin, whatever she can reach.  It is too too too sweet! 

One of Evie's favorite types of toys is "texture books," those that have all the different kinds of fur for animals, etc.  She has always loved to turn pages, but now she feels the pages of just about every book, whether it has textures or not. 

A new, less pleasant thing we have started with Evie is a little discipline.  Since she has been exploring, we have had to start using "no."  She doesn't really get it yet, but hopefully she will soon!  We always try to explain, like " I know Evie wants to play with her sleep sounds machine because it has fun buttons, but she can't yank out the power cord because that might hurt her.  No playing with the sleep machine.  It might hurt Evie."  Clearly I know that she doesn't understand all this yet, but I want us to be in the habit of giving her effective discipline so that once she does start to get it, we'll already be doing it the right way.  Evie has also started to throw temper tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants.  It is so hard to ignore her screaming and try to calmly explain to her what is happening and why she isn't getting what she wants, but again, I know starting these good practices early will pay off in the long run.

Sizes:  Evie is now wearing size 3 diapers and 6-9 month clothes.  I did expect her to thin out a bit more now that she is mobile, but she is still a little chunk!

That's it for the 8 month report.  Hope you enjoyed it!

On July 16th Nick's cousin Amy was married in The Woodlands. (I sadly don't have any wedding weekend pictures, but if I get any I'll post them later). We took the opportunity to enjoy some beachtime in Galveston afterwards with Grammy, Pops, and Aunt Manda.

 Evie's first-ever taste of the beach!  Of course we had to go down right away, before we were even in swimsuits!

 Trying to figure out the whole "wave" thing.

 Safely back in Daddy's arms

 The excitement was just too much - passed out in her Baby Bjorn at the dinner table.

 Hanging out with Dad at the Moody Gardens aquarium - her favorite thing about the whole trip!

 Fascinated by the sealife in the tunnel

 Watching a shark swim by above her.  She arched back like this for a long time, following different fish around.

 Up close and personal with Dad's favorite animal - penguins

 With Dad and Pops by the penguins

 Hanging out beneath the SportBrella

 "Focus Face"

After Galveston I met up with Katie, Lauren, and Leslie, 3 of my best college girlfriends for a weekend of fun in Austin.  We had so much fun I hardly took any pictures.  Boo!  Here's the only one I have, of Katie and me at Hula Hut.  Yummm!  Also, a big thanks to Edie and Grandad for coming to Austin to take care of Evie so I could enjoy time with my friends.

7 Months

I know, I know.  I'm late with another monthly post!  Evie turned 7 months old on July 3.  Here's what she's been up to this month.

Eating: She is doing much better about eating 3 meals a day, although she is not the biggest fan of lunch.  She tried Yo-Baby yogurt this month, and loves it!  She now gets yogurt or yogurt and fruit for breakfast, a veggie and cereal for lunch, and a meat and fruit or veggie for dinner.  So far, the only meat she's tried is turkey.  I continue to make a lot of her food, but she does get jarred food as well.  This has been a good balance for us, and I hope to keep it up!  She still nurses the same - 4am, 7-8am, 12pm, 4pm, and 7pm before bed.  I know that she will give up that 4am feeding when she's ready so I am trying to wait patiently for it to happen!

Sleeping:  Evie sleeps from 7pm-7 or 8am, waking once to eat.  Naps are still a struggle, although she is napping more on schedule than she was.  She sleeps for about 30 minutes about 1 hour after she wakes up in the morning, and then again for 30 minutes either right before or right after her noon nursing.  Sometimes she goes down again in the late afternoon, but that is very inconsistent.

Milestones: 

Evie started crawling on June 28th!  Now she is all over the place!  As soon as she could crawl, she was wanting to pull up on everything too.  Now she is working on pulling up and/or balancing with just one hand holding on and taking steps holding my hands.  This child is determined to be as mobile as possible as quickly as possible!  Our babyproofing efforts have kicked into high gear, and our days are now much more entertaining.  The only problem so far is that she seems to prefer Finlay's toys to her own.  If she sees one she motors across the room as fast as she can to get it!  Poor Finlay is a good sport about it, and of course I don't let her play with them.  So far she is just as happy with my quick substitutions - thank goodness!

In that same vein, we dropped Evie's crib mattress on June 29th, and now she is always standing up in her crib when I go in to get her in the morning or after naps.  This makes it easier on my back to get her out! 

Since Evie is now mobile, I have ordered a big stationary playyard for her.  I can move it from room to room, but it is big enough for her to really move and play in, and it is sturdy enough that she can pull up on it.  I have just set it up, and I am excited to *hopefully* get more housework done during the day utilizing this new tool.

Evie still babbles lots!  The only word she seems to say intentionally is mama.  Sweet, right?  Well, kind of.  She only uses it when she is really sad.  Like when she wakes up from sleeping and is upset, she will yell out "Maaama!" for me to come get her.  Or when she falls down or bangs into something while cruising around, "Maaama!"  So I guess this means I am associated with comfort - great!  But it also means I only hear her say my name when she is sad - not so great.

No teeth yet!  I can feel the bottom ones pushing up through her gums, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by it like she was a few months ago.

Back to eating, she is able to self-feed a little bit.  She can definitely get her spoon to her mouth with 100% success.  I have also been breaking up Puffs for her during mealtime, and about 25% of the time those make it into her mouth.  She has a great pincer grasp, and if I left them whole she'd do better, but the choking risk freaks me out.

Evie and I took My Smart Hands baby signing classes in June.  Her instructor said that babies usually can't start making signs themselves until 9 or 10 months so of course Evie is not doing that yet, but she does seem to understand a few of my signs, and gets happy when I guess correctly about what she wants.  For example, if she is getting ready to nurse, I will make the sign for milk, and her face will light up in a big smile.  Also, when she is done eating a solids meal, she is OVER IT.  If she starts to fuss then, and I make the sign for "all done" she will immediately stop fussing and smile at me!  We are mainly working on food and drink signs right now, like eat, more, drink, water, milk, yogurt, cereal, vegetables, fruit, meat, and finished.  I feel like these are the most important for her to be able to communicate.  Once she starts to recognize and/or use more of these we'll start working on other like "change me," playing signs, etc.

This month Evie moved up to size 3 diapers, and is fitting into her 6-9 month clothes very well. 

That's it for the 7 month report!

Summer Fun!

 Evie and Dad having fun in her baby pool

 Fun with pool toys

Lounging in front of the new landscaping

 

 Just chillin' on the blanket with her bff, Finlay

 Oooh, that sunshine feels nice!  (No worries - it was after 6pm so no sunburn risk here).

About to crawl away!  Evie is now crawling up a storm.  We are having fun babyproofing the house!

Texas Trip

This one's not from Texas, but doesn't Evie look cute?! 

 With Aunt Manda and Aunt Andrea at Manda's shower.

 Meeting Uncle Drew

 With Great Grandma

 Great Aunt Shelli and cousin Liana

 Helping Aunt Manda open gifts

 All the girls

 Just hanging out

 More fun pooltime with Edie

 Fun in the pool with Mom and Aunt Lauren

 Cuddle time with Uncle Mark

We had a great time in Texas, and can't wait to go back next month!

Evie's First Pooltime!

All ready!

 Not sure about these sunglasses, Dad.

 Hey!  Those are mine!  Give 'em back!

 About to take her first dip.

 Hmmm, not sure what to think.

 Whoa!  This is one big bathtub!

Evie had a great time on her first pool visit!  It looks like we have a little fish on our hands.

6 Month Pics

Finally!  Here are a few pictures of Evie at 6 months.  The vibrant background is provided by a quilt that Evie's Aunt Lauren made for her.  Isn't it precious?!  And it looks just perfect in her room.