Baby Sign Language

I've started using a few signs with Evelyn in hopes that we can start to communicate more clearly with each other. We have a pretty good connection right now - I usually know what she wants/needs. She is SO expressive. :)

However, I know that as she grows it will give her a sense of independence to have a voice even when she cannot speak yet. I also want to avoid crying or screaming as a means to gain attention or desires. So, hopefully knowing a few signs will help her get the point across and avoid a few areas of frustration. From what I have read she can start to understand these signs now (6 months), but probably will not make them back at us until 7-10 months. Still, its much earlier than when she will be speaking.

I'm teaching her a few:
Food/Eat
Milk
More
All Done - I think she will catch this one quick. I find myself using it ALOT!
Sleepy
Change - for diaper changes

I will probably use more as time goes on, but for now these are the ones I have managed to remember and start incorporating into a daily routine. I just looked up YouTube videos to find out how to make these signs.

Our OK House

We bought a house here in Oklahom City, actually, we are in a northern suburb called, Edmond. We love our house. It was less than a year old when we bought it and so nice. There are still a few projects I have to do, but not too much.

Here are a few pics of inside and outside. Hopefully I can update them as we get truly settled in. Its nice to think we will be here long enough (5 years) to do that!

 Kitchen. I love, love, love my kitchen!

 Living room with E's swing in the corner

 Hallway, guest bath to the left, E's room to the right, study & guest room at the end of the hall. I'm hoping to "dress up" the hallway with pics or paint at some point.

 Guest bath

 Study, windows look out to the street/front yard

 Living room from other side of the room 

 E's nursery from the door 

 E's nursery from the other side

Her play area :) 

Solid Food

We started E on solid food this month. Our first pediatrician, in TX, suggested we start with avocado instead of rice cereal, and I really liked that idea. Also, it seems alot easier to prep avocado than rice cereal to me.

Our pediatrician now encouraged me to start now because "it takes a while for them to get the hang of it." She was showing SO much interest in everything everyone around her was putting into their mouths so I thought, lets just go with her natural inclination. I want her to enjoy meal time and encourage her natural curiosity (within safe boundaries, of course).

So we started with avocado. I set everything up not expecting her to eat much or any at all really. It was more for the experience. I know alot of babies really dont like it and honestly, just cant eat it the first time.

She was amazing! She loved the avocado and actually got some of it down, despite her natural sucking reflex causing her tongue to expel most of it. :) She opened her mouth for more when the spoon came to her mouth.

Wow! That's not too bad. :) 

I started with just avocado and breastmilk for the first week. Then added rice cereal to that. She liked both. I just used my baby food maker two nights ago and started feeding her sweet potato. She doesn't seem to enjoy that as much, so I might back off and try it again at some later date. The great thing is that its already made and stored in freezer friendly packs. I dont want meals to become a battle or traumatic at this early of an age, so for now, I'm cool with sticking to what she likes. We might try another type of cereal next week (barley, oatmeal, etc).

I love my baby food maker. I hope I get to use it. It was so easy to by one organic sweet potato, chop it up, and put it in the machine. It did almost all of it for me and SO much cheaper than buying organic baby food.

Report Card

I was thinking about going back to school today. It seems like everyone I know is getting ready for it, except Drew and me. This is the first year that has happened for me. Even though I have not been in school for the last 5 years I still thought about it every fall as co-eds prepared to return to campus and I prepared to welcome them with the gospel.

Sometimes I wish a still got a report card. I actually looked forward to my annual job reviews (maybe its the perfectionist in me?)...a little weird I know, but at least it was honest, clear feedback about a few things I could focus and improve over the next year.

Parenting is completely different. In case you didn't know there are no report cards in parenting...unless you count a visit from CPS, but that would be a complete fail in my book (not too funny either after hearing some of the stories from Drew's rotation on pediatric surgery this month).

I had tended to feel like I was doing a good job based on Evelyn's happiness, especially toward the end of the day. Did I stay on schedule? Did she get enough sleep? Enough stimulation or too much? Its not just hearing her cry or fuss that's hard on me its the feeling that I somehow messed up and caused her to be upset, because most of the time she is easy going, and usually its clear to me why she is upset.

But then I read this article (on whether parents are happier than childless people) and this one (how to raise a happy baby)

It made me think and was helpful to remember that
1. Babies just cry sometimes (especially to fight sleep)
2. I can't control anyone other than myself (and sometimes even that is too much)
3. I'm still learning as a parent and that means I will make mistakes (its the best way to learn)
4. God knows this about humans and still gives us children (?!?!?!)...so he also must make us all very resilient in those first months/years out of the womb.
5. I really love my daughter and even when I do mess up I can still communicate my love to her, and that is probably more important than adhering vehemently to the schedule or singing enough nursery rhymes in a day.

Catch Up

There are WAY too many things I have been meaning post on this blog. I think I'm going to have to let them go. I have more important things to do most days...you know, like feeding my child, changing her diaper, feeding my husband, feeding myself, (notice a trend?) and grabbing the occasional shower. :)

Its looking more and more likely that she will keep her beautiful blue eyes, thus increasing her father's conviction to buy several guns, and soon!

She is incredibly sweet natured, but also has a stubborn streak that she comes by quite honestly from both sides of the family. Over the last two weeks she has decided to stay up way past any decent bedtime, perhaps because she knows Mom wants company since Dad is working at night. Here she is all tucked in to our bed with me, just chilling. I'm slowly getting her bedtime to a more decent hour (the night i took this pic it was 2:30am!). Tonight she went down at 10pm, far more reasonable. I really shouldn't complain though, she sleeps through the night for a good 9-10 hours EVERY NIGHT! Hurray!

She grows like a weed! She has new rolls emerging on her little legs and arms on a daily basis. Two weeks ago she just had one on her thighs now they are too numerous to count, especially when she straightens her legs, which she is also doing more frequently... Oh my goodness, I'm going to blink and she will be graduating from high school I just know it! Wahhh! These are the thoughts that help me remember to treasure every second I get with her. I'm so glad I get to stay home with her.

I feel bad for Drew. He tries to soak up as much time with her as he can in his limited amounts of time at home. Between inhaling some food and sleeping there is not much time left for anything else before he has to head back to the hospital. I'll just need to be sure to take plenty more pictures and videos for him. So far we have been really fortunate in that he has been able to see all her new developments and tricks.

Holding Her Head Up!

Evie can hold her head up all on her own now. This means several things...
1. Its much harder to clean out her neck because we can no longer gently tilt her head back. She is strong enough to resist. :)
2. I can carry her in the wrap facing out in front of me. She loves getting to go for walks and the grocery store with me like this. I like it because I can carry her around hands free, get a few things done, and feel like I'm teaching her a little bit all at the same time.
3. She can sit in her special Bumbo chair all by herself now. I have a video, but I'm having a hard time uploading it. For now, here are some pics:

 This way she gets to sit with us when we eat at the table. This is our new dining room table. Our old one was a little small and counter height, which we figured would be difficult for her to sit at when she gets older. 

 I dont know if you can tell, but she is very curious about everything going on around her. She has some distinct pondering faces. :) 

Who? Are you talking about me?

She gets a little tired of sitting up after a few minutes, but at least the sides are soft enough for when she slumps over.

Sleeping Unswaddled

Evelyn has started to sleep unswaddled lately. Its so hot so I think she likes being free of extra covering. She is also becoming a strong wiggler in her sleep so she likes to be a little more free. I've been swaddling her with one arm free at night to slowly wean her off. And she is no longer wearing anything but a diaper at night too so she is a little cooler. :)

Fun with Family

We got to go visit Drew's family early in June. We went down to Texas to take pictures with his grandparents and whole extended family. Its something we have been talking about doing for several years now. I'm so glad we finally got around to it. We all dressed in Texas colors. :) Pictures from the photo shoot will come soon. I've seen a preview and they look amazing. Photos with multiple generations always seem so precious to me.
Evelyn has had several diaper blowouts and she is especially susceptible to them in the carseat, so we waited to put her in her patriotic dress until after we arrived. Here are a few shots of her being the center of attention with her aunts, uncle, and grandma.

 Aunt Lauren and Uncle Brian are incredibly entertaining to Evie. She loves giving them big smiles. I love this shot of her, totally enraptured with Brian. :) 

 Here she is getting some love from Honey

 Cuddling with Aunt Natalie and her cousin, Makena

Favorite Toy

Evie has a favorite toy. I wish I could remember who gave it to us. She lights up and smiles every time I show it to her. Its a little yellow and turquoise puppy with a crinkly tummy. I'm not sure what it is exactly she likes about it, but its so fun to see her preferences start to shine through. She has a fun personality!

First Bath

My mom came back into town last week and helped us catch up - on sleep, on cleaning, on how to take care of our daughter. Thank you Mommy! We needed it.

She gave Evelyn her first bath at home. We are supposed to keep her umbilical cord stump dry until it falls off on its own, so its was just a sponge bath for now.

 She loves the warm water and was alert and totally mesmerized the whole time. 

 Getting warm and dry in her bunny towel. 

Sharing

I'm realizing there is alot of "new normals" that we are transitioning into as parents. One of them, that I had not thought about is sharing.

I'm with Evelyn all day everyday, and I'm soooooo thankful for her. I'm in awe! I could just stare at her and cuddle all day. I think she is amazing. My world literally revolves around her now (side note: I think this is okay for these first weeks of adjustment, but do not plan to make my life all about my child in the future). And when I'm around other people I just assume they want to know about her, so I start to share.

She is what I talk about now. I hope this isn't annoying to those around me, but I forget that they might not really care that she went for a walk with me in her stroller, is starting to latch without help, or soothed herself to sleep last night after only 7 minutes of crying (felt like eternity to Momma!). But this is one of my new normals. I think she is incredible. I want to celebrate and cherish all her many achievements, mundane & extraordinary.

...you'll just have to excuse me if I don't think any of it is mundane ;)

First Easter

We took Evelyn up to see our family for Easter this past weekend. She did great! She slept the whole drive up and back, all the little trips in between, and through the church service. The drive back late Sunday night was difficult - lots of traffic and she was reaching the end of her time between feedings, but we got back safely and nursed as soon as we were home. :)

 Her Easter outfit. 

 With Granny and Grandpa after church. 

 All the cousins

 Evelyn liked being held by her Uncle Brian

 These two are going to be best friends! They are only 10 weeks apart. Kathleen and I are both going to be stay at home moms next year and only live 3 hours apart! Can you say play-date?

 Meeting Drew's dad, "Papa", for the first time.

Three generations of Kellys :) 

40 Weeks!!!

I made it to our due date!

We had a doctors appointment this morning. I had started to dilate (only 1 cm), but enough that she could sweep the membrane and hopefully get things moving a little more quickly.

She sent me and Drew home and advised that I go on a long walk this afternoon. With any luck labor would start in the next 72 hours...

well, it started, with a vengeance last night around 10pm. I've been up most of the night trying different positions to stay comfortable. I think we are going to get to meet this girl today!

Changing Area

Since we will probably move in May or June we decided early on to stay in our one bedroom apartment for these last few months. We figured a newborn doesn't need a whole lot of space.

I got rid of my desk and Drew built the dresser. Here is our changing area. I'm resisting the urge to decorate anymore because I dont want to have to pack up anymore than we absolutely have to. :)

I like how neat and tidy everything is now, at least compared to what we had before. I was able to fit almost all of Evelyn's baby items in the dresser. Everything is washed and ready to go!

Awesome Stroller

I think this is the piece of baby gear I have been most excited to use. We ordered it online for 40% off and Drew had Amazon Prime for a while so we got free shipping on it. I hope it holds up to all my expectations of how awesome it will be - I did alot of research on this thing.

Here is Drew putting it together. It is by far the easiest thing we (meaning Drew) have set up. It only took about 10mins. and was very straight forward. He is actually putting on an extra attachment so that the baby carrier portion of the car seat can sit on the stroller.

This stroller is light (16lbs), supposed to be durable enough to go over rough terrain, and should hold up for at least two kiddos. Besides being light my favorite feature is definitely how easy it is to fold up. It really does only take one hand...which I know will become a very useful feature in the near future when I am trying to hold Evelyn and get the stroller in the car at the same time.

It starts like this and then you pull the handle down in the seat.

And it collapses to this!:

Pretty nifty right?