Happy Halloween!

Well, SOMEONE was supposed to be a cowboy but alas, after a week of planning he realized he did not have the necessary attire 2 hours before dress-up time. Oh well, I guess he was a pretty convincing soccer player. And all that really mattered anyway was that we had our cute little indian with us! How darling is that little pow-wow from the Oakden Tribe?!

Although today is the real day of ghosts and ghouls, we've been partying like it ain't anyone's business since Thursday! Our weekend was jam packed. I'm proud of Ev for keeping up. She stayed out past her curfew a couple of times, but we decided friends are sometimes more important. I can't get enough of Evelyn and her little friend Eleanor together. {Her family def wins for best costume. Evidence.}

9 months

Do you ever go back and read posts from a year ago? I do. It's funny to see how not only life has changed, but the way how I blog about it has changed too. I was reading this post from about a year ago regarding the issue I had with divulging the name of my unborn child. Evelyn's name was rather sacred to me, especially since her name came to me in the most sacred of places a year before I even became pregnant. When I heard the name, I kept it quietly to myself with butterflies in my heart for the next hour until I was reunited with Jared and so giddily yet firmly told him that Evelyn would be our first daughter's name. Yes, yes, yes! That name embodied all I thought a woman should be - classy yet a powerhouse.

Evelyn, tomorrow you will be 9 months. Where did the time go? I can't believe I am already planning your first birthday party! {I know, I'm aggressive with these things. Patience hardly describes me. Let's just skip Thanksgiving and Christmas and jump to the REAL party in January}. I am so anxious to go to your appt in the afternoon and see how much your long leggies have grown since your 6 month check-up. Hooray!

Mostly with each passing day I am so grateful that I named you Evelyn. Oh, and that we tacked on your middle name Rae, too. Because without the Rae I couldn't call you Evy Rae - which would be sad. because I just love the two together. But mostly love the Evelyn part and how you are growing in to your name.

When I was little, my dad used to joke with me that as I got taller he was going to put bricks on my head to keep me my small little self. Evelyn, this is your warning! Don't make me pull the bricks out.

a wave and a fit

Trying to make a meal while your baby is asleep is like playing a game of "Operation" but much more intense. "Shoot, I need the largest pot to boil the chicken, but it's under the other 2 pots." Ever so quietly I slide the stack of 3 off the shelf, firmly grab the handle of the top two and lift, slide the large one out and carefully put the others back on the shelf. Opening up a nutrigrain wrapper? I head on back to our closet and rip that baby open.

Evelyn has been so incredibly loving toward us this week. Not by giving kisses or hugs, heavens no. She's not a cuddler. But I think she realized that we were soo tuckered out from sleeping training for 6 months {yes, 6 months!} that the past week she has given us 12 hours of sleep a night! 7pm-7am. Hallelujah! I hope it's here to stay. Here's what this big girl has been up to. 

She is so sweet in the first video. Second, eh, not so much. She definitely is capable of forming her own opinions on things. We've started signing with her this week in an attempt to limit this frustration on both ends. I feel kind of silly doing it for some reason.

leaves

Last year Jared and I were so far removed from color changing trees that we made our own. It's hard to find "fall" when you're living 20 blocks away from the beach. This year I have been so content watching the trees change colors and slowly shed themselves. It makes me so joyous that Ev and I have been collecting pretty leaves on our walks every day and bringing them home like a kindergartener. Here's what I've done with them.

You would have thought she woke up to Christmas morning when she got up. She has been captivated by them all day.

Last night when I was laying in bed I got some stomach twitches that kinda felt like baby kicks in my tummy. For a second I missed that feeling of life moving inside - the wonder, the excitement. But then I thought about how I'm really grateful I can sleep sprawled out on my front and don't have to find a restroom every 2.5 minutes. 

Vienna

I can't believe it is mid-October already. I definitely haven't eaten as many mellowcreme pumpkins as I should have by now for being so far in to the season.


Today was a good day. I felt super productive and organized. It's funny how now my idea of productive is as follows: Call insurance company, call again half hour later when they actually open, feed Ev solids, load laundry, vacuum, call mother-in-law, mall hunt for some solid knit tights for Ev, Target, fold laundry, pick Jared up from Metro, collect leaves from outside, read scriptures, make dinner, give baby bath and soak poopy clothes, put Ev to bed. Yeah, it takes 12 hours for me to do all that. And it's amazing how good I feel at night. The other week I posted on FB that I was a beast of a woman for carrying 5 bags of groceries up 3 flights of stairs with a 17 lb baby strapped to my front. I feel unsinkable at times like that too. Aaannnddd when Jared thanks me for all I do when he's the one working a job and going to school. 


Sometimes I get caught up in thinking that what I'm doing day to day isn't significant. And I find myself wondering if we'll ever get that house, when we'll have 5 kids already and if I'll make it back to London. To all that fretful wondering, Billy Joel says this: "Vienna waits for you." The house will be ours soon enough, filled with bustling children that will most likely drive me crazy and we'll be booking our European vacation in no time. All those things can wait. The trick is "to enjoy the journey now." 


So can I really count those things above as accomplishments? You betcha. And there are no two people I would rather spend my time with than my smiley two teeth girl and her dashing daddy. We make a great trio.

Fall.

It has arrived.

Favorite Evelyn Moments

She redeemed herself over the weekend. We're back to loving each other again. We mostly owe a big thank you to Jared for watching her for me many times Saturday and Sunday. And sorry about all the video postings. Sometimes it's better to watch life than read about it :) I'm in love with her face after she touches ice.

25 year storyboard

Yes Siree. I'm a quarter of a century today. As I thought about how I'm midway to 30 now, that creeped me out and made me feel really old. So I decided to think of myself as 25 years young and reflect on all that I've accomplished in my short life span thus far. It's quite remarkable actually. I'm not saying that I myself am remarkable, but that life is remarkable and time truly is a great gift. I am so humbled by the family I was raised in, the people I have met, the things I have learned, the places I have seen. This storyboard just illustrates the major chapters in my life, but it's in the nooks and crannies {all the stuff that "lives in my heart" you could say} where the good gems lie. Like playing Taco Bell in our backyard, family vacations, Dad making me special drink when I was sick, encouraging letters from a best friend, having a food fight in the parking lot in college, jogging in Hyde Park and having Jared come home late one night to open Ev's door and watch her sleep because he missed her. That's the good stuff.

Birthdays take on a whole new meaning now that I have actually given birth.

I am grateful for my parents today and for the life they gave me.

And to think my storyboard is just getting started! I hopefully have another 70 years left in me :)

Yay for 25 years!

the culprit.

Me and Ev's relationship is on the rocks right now. If you asked her, she would say that it's because I don't hold her enough, I make her take tylenol, and apparently the 3 collective hours I spend rocking her between 11pm and 5 am isn't cutting it. If you asked me, I would say it's because she's driving me insane. No matter how much love I give this girl, she puts on a whiny drama show. I'm worn out. Luckily she has an alibi in the case.  See those two shiny pearls sticking out of her gums?  That would be the culprit behind all this madness. They're barely there in the bottom photo, but boy are they real and coming in with a vengence. I'd say 70% of our days this week have been spent in tears and whining. No one warned me how bad this teething thing is. It makes you want to jump off a cliff. Oh, and crawling. Curse crawling! I hold her more now than I ever have before because she is constantly at my feet and I can't do a thing without her barking up my leg. Sheesh. Months 7 & 8 have been doozies. Thankfully we both find our happy place during bath time.

{oh, and I still VERY MUCH love her. we're just going through a rough patch.}

rainy day news

Is anyone else as ecstatic as we are that all these lovely people are coming back for one more season? So stoked! The Bluths have shaped us in so many ways. Some of our favorites are here, here, here, here, here and here.

Today was very very dreary. I heard on the news that 21 of the past 31 days have been rainy. Did we move to the northwest?! What's the deal. So naturally we did what any awesome family would do when cooped up inside and we ventured out to Costco. I was astounded that they already had the Christmas stuff up! I got giddy as I took Ev down the decoration aisle. You should have seen her - she was stroking the sparkly ornaments! I'm so excited for our first little family Christmas. Jared scoped out the kid toy scene. The little tikes these days have the most insane and expensive toys. Seeing that Evelyn is overjoyed when we hand her a plastic cup to play with, our kids will be getting Dollar Tree plastic dolls and figurines for the first couple of Christmases.

And what trip to Costco is complete without a little something sweet? We usually get the chocolate ice cream bar rolled in almonds, but with the weather being so cold we went for the warmest baked item - a churro. Costco should vend Hot Chocolate or Cider during the winter months. I bet it would be super delicioso.