Swim season

Yesterday was Paul's first day in the pool for the summer, as well as Evan's. Notice that I didn't mention my name? Two reasons: #1 - I was the photographer/videographer and #2 - I still think the water is too cold. I'll be in the water in a few more weeks.

Paul took Evan into the water and they both had a blast. I wasn't sure if the water would be too cold for Evan, but he didn't seem to mind it at all. He has seen the pool since the day we brought him home from the hospital and finally had his chance. Today he looked out the window and you could tell that he wanted to go in again.

Birthday shirt

As much as I know that Evan will not remember, nor really care, that much (if anything) about his first birthday...

I JUST CAN'T HELP MYSELF!

I was looking around on Etsy for birthday ideas when I came across this shirt. That's when I told myself that with the help of my mom, we could probably make one for less money. Yesterday I ventured to Hobby Lobby, one of my favorite stores, and purchase a plain white shirt ($3.99) and some fabric for a total of about $8. I have MORE than enough fabric for his shirt so I'm trying to think of how to use it...any ideas?

Here's what I've done thus far...

Videos

Now that I'm a "stay at home mom", I'm finally able to catch some footage and take pictures of my baby. Here are some images that I've been able to capture this week.

We were having fun playing with the spoon after breakfast.

He lost his bowl in our bathtub.

This photo is actually from a few weeks ago, but I find it hilarious.

The Benefits of Breastmilk

A friend of mine has her own blog about feeding your children nutritious foods called The Littlest Foodie. On her blog today she posted an article she same across with some well known facts about breastfeeding, as well as some new ones. Check it out!

http://www.littlestfoodie.com/2010/05/some-littler-known-facts-about-breast.html

What a start!

Let's start at the very beginning. (A very good place to start.)**

My last day of school (and in my district) was Friday. I'm so glad to be done...no more pumping four times a day! Working full time since he was 6 weeks old, I know that I have missed much of Evan's first year. I will never get that time back, but I know that he has been in the best hands that I could ever have wanted...my mom's. She has been such a huge help to Paul and I. Although there are things that I wasn't around to see happen the first time, I made it just in time to see one that I would have cried if I had missed. His first steps.

After coming home Friday afternoon, Evan was doing his usual walk around the coffee table. I outstretched my arms, gave him a huge smile, and said "come to Mama!"...he let go for a second, thought about it, and went for it. He took about 3 or 4 steps to me before plowing me over. It was an amazing feeling and as I think of the words to describe it, I can't. It just makes my eyes watery. I wish Paul had been there. We tried it again and this time my Mom and Dad videotaped it. (I don't have a copy of it yet, but I'm trying to get it. It's not such an easy thing to video tape on your own!)

The next day was Paul's 30th birthday. Unfortunately, he worked from 7:45-4:15, then had to go to his boss's house to drop off paperwork and didn't get home until 5:15. What a birthday!

Since Paul was working, I thought it would be nice if he came home to something "special".

While Paul was at work, Evan and I took a trip to get the keys to our new home. We then went to meet Aunt Emma and Uncle Jason at the Arizona Mills Mall to check out the new aquarium. Of course, babies have their own agenda. Evan wanted to be fussy instead and so I nursed him in the home furnishings section of Neiman Marcus Rack. We met Aunt Emma and Uncle Jason for lunch in the food court and went home afterwords. So much for the aquarium attempt. (We later heard from Emma that the line was ridiculously long to get it. Evan would have never lasted that long.)

While riding in the car, Evan decided that he wanted to start eating his toes.

That night, Paul and I went to one of our favorite restaurants downtown, Cibo, for some dinner. It was nice to have a date again and have some grown up time. With everything going on (buying a new home, finishing my online/Masters classes, packing, work), we definitely needed some alone time. Once we returned home, Paul was able to open his gifts.

Stemless wine glasses! Now we can put them in the dishwasher!

In the middle of the night, I started getting a queasy feeling as though I needed to vomit. At Evan's 5:00 waking, I had to have Paul come in because my stomach wasn't feeling well. If only I could take Pepto-Bismol while breastfeeding...it would have been a life saver. I had stomach problems all morning and finally did end up vomiting. Paul let me sleep most of the morning and then we went to his mom's house for a birthday celebration. Sadly, I lay around like a bum with the chills. I was not much fun to be around. I took my temperature in the evening and was running a mild fever.

To add to my sickness, I also developed a clogged milk duct. On Tuesday, the affected area had become extremely reddened and hot. I called my doctor who prescribed me an antibiotic and I went and saw him today. In two weeks, I need to go back so that he can check to make sure it's cleared up. If the lump/clog is still there, I'll need an ultrasound to determine if it's an absess. If so, I may require surgery to remove it. (I'm hoping that it will be gone by then. My friend just had this done...I don't want to experience it as well.)

My mom has been kind enough to come over and help out with Evan while I fight off my sicknesses and we even were able to do some packing. I'm hoping that this just means the rest of my summer will be filled with fun!

And look!!! Only one more spot to fill...3.5 weeks until Evan turns one!

**First one to comment with the correct movie that this is from gets a prize!

Signed

We've signed for our new home!

We are hoping to close tomorrow or Monday at the latest. At least now I know which address to write on Evan's birthday invitations!

Eleven Months

I'm a day late and we're almost at the year mark! I've been diligently trying to arrange Evan's first birthday celebration, but I can't mail the invitations since I don't know where we will be living. But besides that, Evan is doing well!

He started clapping today! He has been able to hit two blocks together for a while, but is using his hands now.

When things don't go his way. He'll let you know. See...

Evan can also unstack his rings and put them back onto the center post. He is starting to figure out how to get the blocks into the holes that match on the top of his bucket.

Walking around the coffee table holding on with one hand and the remote/toy/sippy cup in the other is one of his favorite things to do.

Running around the house is another. Evan is now able to walk holding on to only one of our hands. He will take us to his favorite places in our house: the bathroom (to play in the sink with water), our closet (to see the boxes), our bathroom (to see the plunger), and the laundry room.

He is becoming more brave. Once he has gotten into a standing position, he will let go of what he was holding and stand for as long as he can.

Evan had a deep admiration for Layne when he's playing with his dog toys. Evan tries to take them from him.

Lately, our boy has not us to feed him with a spoon. (For a while, we had to use two. We'd put food on one, he'd feed himself, put food on the other and switch.) He would must rather feed himself bite sized portions. He loves eating organic greens puffs, cheese, bananas, and apples. In fact, this last Sunday we went to the grocery store and Evan just about threw himself out of the shopping cart when he saw the bananas.

We have added peaches, acorn squash, spinach, cheddar cheese, grapes, and strawberries, and just a little bit of juice. In addition, we are trying to get him to use a sippy cup but would rather chew it instead. He does much better drinking from a regular cup.

Evan has always been a rather quiet baby. He hasn't really babbled much, until now. He is always wanting something or trying to tell us what he wants. We are using some baby sign language and he's starting to do one of the signs. It's either hi/bye, milk, or all done. I can't quite tell because he twists his wrist while opening and closing his fist.

Evan is also now able to fall asleep with me not nursing him, but rocking him. Today, in fact, as I was putting him to bed he would stop nursing and rest on my shoulder. He even said no when I tried to nurse him on my right side. He did that about three times and only wanted the left side. After about an hour of nursing/not nursing/rocking, I called Paul in to try to get him to sleep. Paul came out less than 5 minutes later -- Evan was fast asleep in bed.

He now has three bottom teeth, two top teeth, and another top tooth on the way.

Paul taught Evan how to "high five". He also turns off the light switches when Paul tells him to.

Bath time is now splash time! We can't get him into the tub fast enough! He will also take us into the bathroom, turn around, want to be picked up, and play in the sink with water.

Earlier this month, Evan enjoyed having all his musical toys on at the same time and would keep turning them on.

His bassinet is still in our bedroom. My mom likes to put him in there and calls it his "safe place" because Layne tends to get excited when they play in our bedroom. He loves sitting in there!

The last time we tried to Ferberize Evan, it ended terribly. He would cry when we would go in to his room to change his diaper. Since then, my mom has also said that she has been putting Evan in his crib and playing quietly so that he can be feel safe in there. Over the past week or so, he has actually WANTED to go into his crib. He loves it.

Socks. Evan loves to take off his socks. More specifically -- sock. His right sock.

Notice how the sign keeps getting smaller?

Pictures

I am amazed how every morning that I see Evan he seems bigger than when I saw in the middle of the night. When I get home from work, he seems to have grown too! But it's when I take a picture of him that I TRULY see how big he is getting. Just look...

he's becoming more like a boy and less like a baby.

Mother's Day

How could I have forgotten to post about Mother's Day!?

Saturday started off great! However, the evening wasn't so wonderful. I was excited to eat one of the mangoes that I purchased earlier that week, so I peeled it, added some cayenne pepper to it, and gobbled it up.

About an hour later, my ears started bothering me. Shortly after, my throat swelled up, was extremely scratchy, my nose was completely stuffed, and my eyes were red and watery. Every time my nose became more stuffed, it worsened my throat. I took some Tylenol and began the constant stream of chamomile tea. That night I slept sitting up and in the morning Paul let me sleep in while he watched Evan. My throat felt slightly better as only the right side was still swollen/scratchy and my nose was clear. By the end of the day, I felt as though nothing happened. I'm not sure if I've become allergic to mango recently. I've eaten it countless times before and I absolutely LOVE eating it. I do know that I don't want to eat more to see if it happens again!!

On Sunday, we went to have brunch at the Phoenix Country Club with Paul's family. We at a delicious array of food. I had Caesar salad, mixed berries, potato salad, cheese and crackers, biscuits and gravy, sausage, a raspberry blintz, hash browns, freshly made donuts, and pecan pie!!

Paul and Evan gave me Mother's Day cards and a gift certificate to Dolce!

After letting Evan take his afternoon nap, we headed down to my parents house for burgers and cake. I always love relaxing with my family. The card my parents gave me made me cry, which apparently was the purpose they had in mind. Thanks, Mom and Dad.

The card read:

My Daughter, a Beautiful New Mother

I watched you
as you held your child
so gently to your cheek,
I sensed the love
and pride you felt-
there was no need to speak.
Then you asked me
if I'd felt that way
as my arms had cradled you
When you were just a little girl-
and I answered, "I still do."

Just as I could never
have told you
how wonderful it is
being a mom,
no one could ever
have told me
how beautiful it is
seeing my own daughter
become a mother herself.

Good News

I've been waiting for a while now for everything to fall into place before sharing some good news.

First off, I've accepted a position teaching in the East Valley for the upcoming school year. I will be working with some former coworkers at Polytechnic Elementary School.

It is part of University Public Schools which is affiliated with ASU. All the grade levels (except for kinder) are multi-age classes. In addition, each grade level team teaches and everything is project based. An added perk is that I get tuition benefits from ASU. I'm very much looking forward to working there.

Secondly, Paul and I are oh-so-close to becoming Ahwatukee home owners. We'll find out tomorrow if it will be a certainty. Here's a photo or two just for wishing it comes true!

A little something to laugh about

After my serious post, I came across this in one of my weekly updates from a baby website.

Your baby can learn sign language!

Here's how to say:

• "Please change my diaper": Turn beet red and make straining expression, then smile.
• "I'd like something to eat, please": Cram fist in mouth and suck wildly.
• "I'm tired": Make a series of weeping gestures before closing eyes and lolling head backward.
• "Please pass me that thing up there that I can't reach": Point and grunt, then continue pointing and open mouth into screaming position.
• "No thank you. I think I've had enough": Throw food or object to floor with exaggerated grin.

Sometimes I don't want to listen to what "the books" and "experts" say. Sometimes I just want to hold Evan in my arms, watch him hold on to me, feel his body relax, see him drift into sleep, and hold him the entire time. I want to watch his eyes flutter while he dreams and see his little mouth suck although there's nothing in it. I think about what he might be imagining as he smiles in mid-sleep and it makes me smile. I hold his growing body close to mine because I know that in the future, he might not want to nurse anymore and he won't want me to hold him tight. So for now "experts", I don't want to listen to you and I won't.

Discoveries

#1. Evan has discovered his "parts". He also gets a kick out of it when he touches it.

#2. Evan loves cheese just as much as I do. Yesterday during dinner, I decided to give him a taste of cheddar cheese. By the end of eating, I think he managed to eat a 1" cube of cheese!!

Photography

My sister has recently begun her own photography business. She is an on-site, natural light photographer. Please visit her site and consider her for any upcoming photography needs.

Emma Youngdale Photography