Baptism

This past Sunday was Evan's baptism into the Catholic church. We spent the day by going to mass, staying after for the (very long) baptism, and then having a celebration at our house. Evan's godparents are my sister, Emma, and brother-in-law, Jason. My parents were kind enough to have a taco cart service come and make "street" tacos for everyone. They were delicious! Here are some photos from Sunday.

Mara really enjoyed the air vents.
Scratching Paul's nose...
Evan wore the same baptismal gown that Paul (and all his siblings, along with our niece and nephew) wore.
I just think this one is funny.
St. Andrew's
After an hour long mass, and 30 minutes into the baptism, Evan was letting us know he was over it,
Trying to unbutton the gown so the Deacon could put holy oil on his chest.
The big moment!!
My sister, Emma, lighting Evan's candle.
All done!!

Evan laughs

Evan laughed today! He usually smiles silently, but today he laughed! Evan was admiring his friend, the ceiling fan, and smiling away. Then he started giggling with each smile. He did this about 3 or 4 times. My mom even witnessed it so I'm not imagining it. Wish I caught it on video!

Happy birthday to me!

Twenty-eight years ago, I was born on this day around 12:30 pm. I've heard my delivery story many times in my life and it never gets old.

My mom went into labor in the early morning. But since my sister's labor took so long, she thought it would be the same for me. So she decided to take her time, shower, get ready. I even think she said she cleaned the house. When she got to the hospital, the doctor said I'd be born by noon. My mom started to cry because she thought he was lying. *My sister's labor lasted more than 24 hours, I believe.* But, the doctor was pretty close; I was born just after noon. My dad always used to tell me that he was about to have his lunch and was unable to eat it because I was being born. Sorry, Dad.


For the first birthday in my life, I have woken up knowing that I have everything I've ever wanted. I have a job, a safe home, my family is healthy, I'm healthy. I have family and friends that love and care about me. I'm married to the man of my dreams and my handsome husband gave me a kiss and wished me a happy birthday this morning.


I've been blessed with a child and my beautiful baby boy woke up smiling next to me. And since his birth, I "slept in" until 7:30. My birthday couldn't get better; my LIFE couldn't get any better right now.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

**A year ago today Paul told me he was ready to start a family. A month later I was pregnant. I wonder what he'll get me this year!

Out-takes

Two months

Evan turned two months old today! It's hard to believe that just a few shorts weeks ago I was sitting on the couch all day nursing and getting up all night...nursing. Now at least I get a couple hours of rest...sometimes.


Evan is now definitely eating more during the day than at night. Sometimes he'll wake at night, Paul will change him, I'll go to feed him, and he'll fall asleep the second it gets in his mouth. During the day, however, he's eating 3.5-4.5 ounces at a time. Sometimes I feel like I'm not able to pump enough to keep up. But "thankfully", I get up to pump during the night.


He's also so much fun to play with! Paul and Evan have this game where they like to stick their tongues out at each other. Evan is also in love with our ceiling fans. He'll stare and smile at them all the time. Paul get's Evan to fall asleep by walking around the living room in circles while Evan stares at the fan. But if you take him away...beware!! Silly boy! Evan has also been falling asleep without anything in his mouth. Even me! In fact, at times he'll pull himself off, and it hurts. He won't take a pacifier unless Paul or my mom sneak it in after a feeding.



We have our two month well-check on Thursday. I'm definitely NOT looking forward to the vaccinations. I'll post his measurements then. For now, enjoy some photos of my little man!





**UPDATE** Evan now weighs 12 pounds and is 23 inches long. He also received two shots and an oral vaccine. I thought he was more upset that we took away his food than he was about the shots. That was until he got the second shot. He was NOT happy. When we got home, he was still quite fussy and Paul went to change his diaper before I nursed him. I heard a loud cry/shriek that was new for Evan. Paul came back with a screaming baby. He said when he went to put him down on the changing pad Evan wouldn't let go of his shirt. :( Poor little boy. It even took him a few minutes to calm down enough to latch on to me. I'm sorry, Evan! Shots suck.

How life changes...

As you grow up with your friends, the conversations change. First they start off about who likes who and who broke up with who. As you get older, you start noticing relationships that become more serious. Then you start talking about possibly getting married. Once one friend gets engaged, you wonder when it will be your turn. One by one, all the couples become engaged. Now you talk about wedding plans and preparations. After that's over, you begin to THINK about having children. Like before, one by one, everyone starts having babies. Paul and I have now reached that point. We are surrounded by people we know getting pregnant...

1. Tracey and Jason
2. Pam and Mario
3. Jenni and Josh
4. My cousin, DJ, and his girlfriend, Sam
5. Tiffany and Chris
6. Ashley and Rob
7. Kristen and Brian
8. Danielle and Bryan
9. My cousin, Joel, and his wife
10. Nikki and Charlie
11. Sheens and Jon
12. Chris and Heather

That's all I can think of now, but I'm sure there's more. CONGRATS TO YOU ALL! WELCOME TO THE CLUB!

SUCCESS!

After five days...Evan pooped this morning! Boy was it nasty! Surprisingly, it wasn't as loud as I thought it would be. I was feeding Evan this morning when he started being very gassy. Then, it came out. I woke up Paul because I knew that his assistance would be required...and I was right. As we opened his diaper to get him cleaned up, more started coming out! Four diapers later, Evan was clean and Mommy and Daddy were happy and relieved!

8 weeks

I feel like I just posted for Evan's seventh week and yet another week has gone by. The biggest news this week is that Evan has discovered his hands and puts them in his mouth to suck. It's not a full suck, but more of a nibbling act when he fishing for food or comfort. He also hasn't pooped since Monday. From what I've read, it's common for babies at this age to go days without a bowel movement. What I've also read is that I better be prepared for when he does go again! I'll make sure the bath and new clothes are ready!

I've also had my moments this week. Yesterday I called my mom during my lunch to see how Evan was doing. Before she could say "Hello", I could hear Evan crying in the background. My mom said he was having a hard time sleeping that morning. After getting off the phone, I started to cry. There I was pumping alone in my classroom, eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and crying because I wanted to go home and sooth my baby....and I couldn't. I was ready to quit my job at that moment. I don't usuly have time to think about how much I miss Evan during the day because I'm always going at work. But when I pump, I have a picture of his little face staring at me. I miss him dearly during those times. Coming home to see his face and having Paul get home are the best parts of my day!

7 weeks

Evan turned seven weeks old on Thursday. We've had quite an eventful week.
Take one...

Take two...


Monday was my first day back to work and it's been (to say the least) difficult. I'm no longer able to play with, nurse, and hold my sweet boy all day and every day. After work is over, I pump and pack up my things so that I can leave at 3:30. Mornings have become more difficult as well. Evan likes to wake at 5:00-ish to nurse and I have my alarm set at 5:30, so there's no real point in going back to sleep. Paul (and I) have come to realize that he can't sleep in until his alarm goes off either. Once I'm in the shower, he's on baby duty so that I can get ready until my mom comes. It's actually very helpful that Paul's up, but I wish that he could sleep more too. At work, I now need to somehow get more accomplished while I'm there a shorter amount of time. I don't want to go in early or stay late because all I want to do is be at home. My breaks are now spent pumping instead of prepping. I have had a lot of parents offer to help out making copies and grading, so I'll definitely need to take advantage of them.

Evan keep growing as he should. We have his two month appointment coming up next week. He's spending more of his alert/awake time on his tummy to help strengthen his neck muscles. Sometimes he likes it, sometimes he doesn't.




He outgrew newborn sized diapers a few weeks ago, so we're into size 1's now. I looked through his closet today to see what outfits he still hasn't worn so that he can at least wear them once before they're too small.

This weekend marked a great moment for Evan too. He fell asleep in the car seat without any crying or a pacifier in his mouth! Hooray! We've been reading The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. One of the things she says to do is to pull out the pacifier/nipple out of their mouths before they are completely asleep so when they wake up, they can still fall back asleep without it. We're still working on it, but I think it's making a difference! (Or it could be that he did it these two times and it will never happen again!)

for fun

Then...


and now...

Who's who?

I've been wondering if Evan looks like I did when I was a baby. You decide for yourself!

Six weeks

Evan turned 6 weeks old this past Thursday. It's amazing how he's changed in such a short amount of time. He definitely more awake during the day and very alert during those times. He will stare and stare, just taking everything in around him. He's already making choices about what toys he prefers. For example: there are two toys hanging down from the bouncer.


When he looks at the monkey, Evan has a very serious face and somewhat of a furrowed brow. But when he looks at the lion, he smiles and "coos".

I've noticed that Evan's features are becoming more defined as well. No more puffy, round face...now it looks slim, except for those adorable chubby cheeks.

We still make an attempt to put him in his swing to see if he likes it. Sometimes he does and the rest of the time he wails "get me out!".

We've also started putting Evan to nap in his crib. He's been in it several times while awake and really enjoys looking around and watching the mobile.