Say cheeeese! Smile! Over here! E-V-I-E, SMILE!

I took 63 pictures Sat-Sun…let me see where to begin… We really weren’t busy, just enjoyed EB’s first Easter- A LOT!

SO, we FINALLY made it back to church for Easter (I guess we were ‘those’ people) and it was heaven-sent, I tell ya. Gosh, I loved it so much. I could have sat there all day singing and listening. It was WONDERFUL!! Just what we needed. Yes, I was that mother that paraded into the sanctuary with babe in tow. I have ALWAYS said I would never do that, BUT, we JUST got over the funk and I did NOT want to battle it again ($75 in 2 weeks for copays alone. Our checking account would like a break too). SO…in we marched with Evster. She was AWESOME. She just sat in her carrier and stared. I loved looking over and having my sweet little family all enjoying worship together—Life is good!

Our preacher did a monologue based on the life of Barabbas. AMAZING, is all I can think to say. Sure, it was different and quite a leap, but Jason and I were truly amazed. It was awesome. I loved this quote that was printed in our worship guide and couldn’t wait to put it on here to share with you;

“The Gospels do not explain the resurrection; the resurrection explains the Gospels. Belief in the resurrection is not an appendage to the Christian faith; it is the Christian faith.”– J.S. Whale

Isn’t that powerful?! I spent most yesterday dwelling on that. THEN, my adorable (I almost cried) little neighbor came over and in his sweet little voice said, “Mrs. Holly… He is not here, He has risen!!” MELT MY HEART, LUKE LIVINGSTON (isn’t that how it went, Marianne, I think so)!! So, what a beautiful Easter we had at our house.

WOW! My little family unit (minus Gus..he was waiting for his girlfriend to come out and play).

Little House on the Prairie?

I couldn't let Easter sneak by without a bonnet. Who can blame me?

Scared?

I love this baby girl...bonnet and all!

Of course, it was EB’s first Easter and we have to dabble (Jason and I are on the verge of being 12) in some Santa and Easter Bunny… Granted, her basket consisted of all things necessary in the life of a 4 month old: pacis, socks, lotion, soap, bibs and maybe some sunglasses and some teething rings.

How about my aunt made this basket for EB?! IMPRESSIVE! She'll use it and I'll treasure it forever.

Evie, did your bonnet cut off your circulation?

Stevie...Stevie Wonder?

Ok, more family Easter pics coming soon...

Jump..Jump..for my love!

Do you remember that song (The Pointer Sisters)? I LOVE it. I use to jump like a madman on my trampoline to that song…. memories…

Evie is growing so quickly. I feel like we’ve made MAJOR steps in one tiny month. From her hand/eye coordination, to strength, to expressions, to not sleeping…oh wait. Anyway, it’s quite miraculous to watch- AMAZING.

ANYWAY. So, she got a special gift yesterday and we tried it “on” for fun…SUCCESS! Really, how is my tiny baby already able to sit in a jumperoo? Don’t get me wrong, she was by no means jumping- more hanging there suspended from the doorframe, but supporting her little self, nonetheless. I was impressed, not that that takes much.

Thanks to Aunt KK and Uncle Bill we now have yet another toy under our roof (I should insert a picture of my living room, but I'm too embarrassed)!!

There's a story with the PURPLE socks, but try to focus on that smile and not the "grape"ness of her feet.

"Gus, please let me show you my tricks." She really was staring him down... although the angle on the next pic makes a liar out of me.

And...well, be rest assured he didn't move off of these steps. Most nights in our house go a little something like this.

And Lastly....

While it may appear that jumping wore her out...HARDLY THE CASE! We were blessed with a sleeper from the start. YET, she no longer sleeps. SO, this was taken at like 5:20 this morning when I FINALLY headed for the shower after being up since 2 a.m. SUPER!

Random is my middle name…

sun, toes, Sister Hazel, babeless night, shopping…and FEVER (what?!) It started to sound so luxurious didn’t it?! BUMMER! Our weekend was full of such randomness…

This blog could be like 6 separate posts... My brain is frazzled from today’s (I’m writing this Monday, let’s see if it gets posted) experiences at the peds office. Have you ever seen your baby catheterized (is this a word?) for a urine sample?! It has, clearly, scarred me for the time being and I'm not over it. Usually in situations like the aforementioned event I'm the cool, calm and levelheaded one... Um... NOT so much today when I was informed baby girl needed to give a urine sample and that was their means of obtaining one (I would have GLADLY rung that diaper out for a urine sample and don’t think I didn’t ask to). WHEW! To make a long, tearful story short we (and I do mean "we") survived! Evie Black is a super star! Evie went to bed Sunday night with a fever-out of nowhere, may I add- and woke up with a higher one. So, off we went back to the doc. I hope we're done with sick appts. Granted, we do have a 4 month appt next week. After the poor babe was just short of tortured (with the above, blood drawn like she was an adult and a flu test) she had a marathon nap and all was well. I’m amazed at a baby’s ability to have such a short term memory. I need that in many things, including my contractions from labor. STILL LINGERING…. not the contractions, but the memory.

Moving on, Saturday was SO beautiful. I got to keep my little neighbor Luke and, oddly, went inside with a sunburn. Sorry, Marianne, I really did take GREAT care of him and, let it be noted, I kept him clean (he was having his pic made and I made him PROMISE not to wrestle with Gus in the grass). I wish I had taken a picture of our “Easter Egg” hunt substituted with action figures. It was a big time! Luke is HILARIOUS and keeps us in stitches most of the time.

Moving on, we had been planning for months to go to Montgomery and see our sweet friends, the Parsons, and send EB to the grands this past weekend. Frank has been working so hard to plan a huge community event on Huntingdon’s campus and in an effort to bring in the dinero, he got Sister Hazel to come and perform. We were so pumped, but JJ’s dad got really sick last week and our plans slightly changed. HOWEVER, we loaded up last minute and decided to head down anyway and support Frank. We had a blast, but (I hate I have no pics) I realized that I’m such an old soul. I’ve always been told this, but I didn’t understand until it Saturday night. How about I enjoyed the covered band, “Chevy 6,” singing oldies more than Sister Hazel?!?! Yes, as a matter of fact I am 27. OH WELL! So, we had a great time, enjoyed the fellowship with Frank, but sure did miss our little Katie Ruth, Walker and JJ. Can’t wait to see them SOON!


It’s a past time in our house to sit and watch Evie. Sure, that may sound boring to some, but it’s a rite of passage after having baby. They are the most interesting, funny little beings. So, while she may not be unlike any other baby, she’s mine and I think she’s FABULOUS. WELL, I’ll be darn, she found her feet!! Sure, this is quite the hurdle for the babe b/c she has several barriers, but that belly didn’t hold her back for long. So, that entertained us forever because she felt special and that alone deserved my oooohing and ahhhhing.

Got 'em!

OH something else exciting happened(I hope Shireen doesn’t mind me blasting her name on my blog)… Shireen (click to read the story on her blog) and I went on an adventure a couple of months ago and she brought me the finished product Sunday night. I am SO excited. I think they turned out very cute. I’m SO sad we didn’t get a pic of all us that day, but here is EB’s plate. I think it is ADORABLE..and sad (she was so tiny then). Thanks Shireen! I’m so pumped! She did a sailboat theme for her little boy and it is SUPER adorable as well. **I can’t wait to talk about my neighbors in a later post. We have WAY too much fun and I love them.

Evie's footprints in action

The finish product. LOVE IT!

Just some fun pics of the babe:

Evie has started really smiling from the camera.. I can't help but snap away on that little face

This girl loves her daddy..can't blame her. No, that shirt would NOT stay down over that belly

Just go ahead and melt my heart, EB!

WOO HOO!! Life is FUN! You sure wouldn't know this little munchkin was a few hours away from a big ol' fever.

JB learns something new every day...

I’ve debated on posting this because I don’t want to “publicly” (for all 5 folks who read this) humiliate Jason, but humor is a good thing. I LOVE how innocent men can be.

Background info: Every day Evie gets a report card from daycare (I look forward to it daily. Poor child… I’ll be that mom that has it written in red on my calendar when she’s in school. I used to PRAY that my parents would forget that dreaded Friday afternoon every 9 weeks…. I mean, what was I gonna do? Trade in my bad grades over the weekend? I digress) . I’m not sure what’s so exciting about her having 3 wet diapers and knowing she ate all of her bottle (we know that’s a given), but its vital information for me at this stage in her life. SO-I’m such a rambler- here’s the story:

So, I get the said report card on the first day and immediately fall in love with that piece of paper. It marks her mood, when she ate and how much, when she napped and when she was changed and whether it was wet, dry or "bm." So, I was proudly showing it to JB and he said, "WHAT?! BM? What the heck is that? Bring More (meaning diapers)?"

Yep, welcome to my life…. I/we laugh, but deep down I’m so thankful that he’s so engaged and cares to read her report card everyday. He always asks to see it. LOVE THAT! Most dads entrust all that “business” to the mom and carry on about their day. Being meticulous to his core, wound tighter than an 8 day clock, having strong tendencies to live in/by excel and having everything in his closet showroom worthy has rendered itself sweet in being a daddy to EB.

Happy Friday!

BIG day = LONG post

What a big day for the little miss. Let’s start back a year ago today…. I remember on this very day a year ago calling my friend Jennifer and asking a MILLION questions about pregnancy symptoms. I suspected I was pregnant, but couldn’t quite face the music just yet. I was TERRIFIED (this is all laughable now, so don’t interpret it incorrectly) to break it to JB. Jennifer was a month ahead of me on the pregnancy track and so she got to field all of my questions- I’m not sure she caught on at first but then I ignored her call for a good three weeks and she caught on QUICKLY! She unknowingly confirmed my “fears” (it’s so hard to type that knowing what I know now) and so it began…….

TODAY is Evie’s 4 month birthday. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT A YEAR AGO I WOULD BE TYPING THIS!?! I’m so excited, yet sad all at the same time. There aren’t words to describe the joy she brings to us. As mentioned before, looking back on this time last year I just laugh. The Lord’s timing is simply amazing to me, His humor impeccable and mercies are definitely new EVERY morning. How refreshing…and so is this tiny life that I’ve been entrusted with. NO PRESSURE, FOLKS! I think I’ve established that we don’t struggle in the height and weight department, here’s a short list of where we are to date (these are more for my memory-feel free to skip):

• 
  
  I’ve been waiting for my MOST favorite noise on earth- the baby laugh. Well, it has made its presence known in our house. Now, she is by no means doing the contagious belly laugh, but it’s a laugh, darn-it, and it would warm the coldest of hearts, I tell ya.


• 
  
  We have not accomplished a FULL roll over, but we’re working hard at it. While I know this needs to happen soon, I’m just fine with her not rolling over YET. I love milestones, but they make me sad (is that weird? Can’t she stay my tiny baby forever?)


• 
  
  Unfortunately her 4 month appt. (with shots) got canceled due to her illness, so I’m not sure of her current “stats,” but at 2 months she was in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. Last week at her sick appointment, she weighed right under 16 lbs…. LOVE IT! Laugh if you want!


• 
  
  She is still on straight formula (8 oz every 5 hours during the day)- which will get tossed up a bit at her 4 mos. appt. Rice cereal? Perhaps.


• 
  
  Evie has great head control and in turn, sits up incredibly straight and can even sit by herself for just a little bit on my lap before diving to the side.


• 
  
  Even though her cold threw her off a bit, she is successfully still sleeping through the night. WHEW!


• 
  
  The girl LOVES a bath!!


• 
  
  She is very attentive and will smile her big ol’ gummy smile at ANYONE who gives her the SLIGHTEST attention.


• 
  
  Speaking of, she LOVES attention and pretty much demands it most of the time. She loves to be engaged right now and doesn’t like to be left alone…. makes for some interesting moments.


• 
  
  Her hands are into EVERYTHING that’s in reach. She will grab a cup, plate, earring, hair, toy, etc if she can get those fat fingers around it.


• 
  
  Her love for that paci grows EVERY day. If a paci can’t be found, her hands are her next choice.


• 
  
  We still battle spit-up every minute, but now it’s mixed with drool. GOSH! She is SUCH a drooler. We go through multiple bibs a day.
  
  **Still reading? It’s almost over*

• 
  
  Evie is a cat napper. She’ll rub her little eyes, settle in against your chest and is down for the count.


• 
  
  Lastly, she’ll hear my voice and break her neck finding me. Or, Jason will walk into a room and those dimples are ALL aglow. It makes me so proud. The love is all mutual at my house. HA!
  
  Ok, I think that’s all I’ll note at this time. I have “misplaced” my CD of her baby baby pics, so you’ll have to just see what I have right now. Here is her 4 month chair pic along with some of the others:

HAPPY 4 MONTH BIRTHDAY, EB! Look how big you are!


3 MONTHS




2 MONTHS

Almost done…PROMISE!

NOW, for the BIG day…. Evie is at her FIRST day of daycare TODAY! SO HELP ME….. We were BEYOND blessed (I’ll post on that later) to have my family each take a week and keep her during March. SO, today was the big day. I have been dreading it and dreading it. I had it ALL planned out that JB would drop her off and I would come swooping in at 4 and “rescue” her. WELL… I was informed last night that it would probably be best if I joined him this morning for my peace of mind…oh mercy…. he’s always so dang right! SO, off we went. Last night as I rocked her and bawled I just prayed for her sweet little self, her first big day and for her workers- remember, she can be a handful. I left there this morning (after correcting them and telling them she’s “Evie,” not “Erie” because it was marked on EVERYTHING! Laughter was good) with a great sense of peace that I’m very grateful for at this moment. However, 4 p.m. CANNOT come soon enough! Mark my words, this little daycare is going to end up being the biggest blessing to us..especially since I WAS NOT a fan at the very beginning. Well, I’m finally done and I know you’re relieved! If you’re still reading… wow, I feel loved!

Lamb? check! Paci? check! I'm ready, mom! Show me the way!



Evie's "first day of school" pic.
Did you notice that I NOW "smile" for the camera?! It must come with turning 4 months old!

***** My little baby love is having a GREAT day they said. They told me that she is the sweetest baby and so easy (it's only day 1). She is just sitting back, taking it all in and enjoying her day. She has done nothing but smile and laugh all day.
WHEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!*****

Big Ron....

Do you know my dad? If you do, then you know that he is HILARIOUSLY funny, down to earth, humble and quirky! I am a daddy’s girl (yet, I do love my mom because we are A LOT alike) and I think he is a wonderful human. Guess what? He has worked long and hard (so has my mom and she ain't leaving yet!) his whole life and today is his ETERNAL FRIDAY!!! As of 4 p.m. today we’ll be seeing nothing but his taillights as he flies out of Alabama Power’s parking deck for the FINAL time. He is going to be SO missed and he doesn’t even know it. He is the highlight of SO many people’s day and is their salt in this drab place, I can assure you. Anyway, HAPPY RETIREMENT DAD!! I love you and will miss you being 5 floors above me! P.S. He doesn’t read my blog..does he even know I have one? Hmm….

A little stroll back from lunch. GOSH, how I will miss these days! Yes, thanks for noticing, I WAS 7 months pregnant in this picture.

Obviously this wasn't a Halloween party, but my wedding. Big Ron is a dancer (behind the scenes) and all we used to do growing up was dance and sing..dance and sing..dance and sing.

Bring on the steak…maybe not

So, I got this email the other day and its title was “Is your baby ready for baby food?” Hmm, interesting title thought I would take a look. It proceeds to give a bulleted list of “hints to notice” whether your baby is ready or not…..

Time out…let me preface this… While I don’t like to be called dramatic, I LOVE to analyze an article like this and apply it to our lives. I mean, it could be about something that only lives in Africa and I could “create” related symptoms, but, remember, I’m not AT ALL dramatic. HA!

With that being said, I start scanning the bulleted points and my eyebrows start to raise- mixed emotions b/c I REALLY don’t want Evie Black to get big (I use the term loosely)- she has A LOT of these things going on. She was supposed to have her 4 month appt today and we were gonna discuss food, but her funk got in the way. One bullet that stuck out to me and made me laugh hysterically wonder was this:
 If your child has doubled her birth weight….

DOUBLED? Are you joking? Have you seen my happy, healthy, sweet Heavy Evie??? Um…we are a few pounds shy of tripling it. Thank you VERY much. I decided to do a little photo session, let’s see if the “doubling” is at ALL obvious:

Evie, please smile this once for the camera.... or I'll make you blurry (my photography skills are NOTHING short of breathtaking)!

Perhaps this face is deserved since I'm discussing your weight on a public site. Girl, I wouldn't trade anything for those thighs, wrists and belly!

"Really? I've had enough and if I flare my nostrils and bow up, maybe you'll give me the bath I'm waiting for."

So, what do you think? She's ready for a meat and three. THAT'S OUR GIRL!!