It's almost here!

Summer is coming, and it is so close! I have 8 more days of school until my title officially changes to FULL TIME MOMMY (at least for a few weeks)! Evan has been having a lot of firsts lately, and it has made me look forward to summer even more!

On June 5, we went to Sea Isle City, NJ for the day. We go every summer, and we were so excited about taking Evan there. Our two year wedding anniversary was on June 7, so we decided to do a day trip as our gift to each other. After Evan woke up, we loaded up and headed out. We stopped in Ocean City, NJ and walked along the boardwalk. It was soooooo hot! We ended up going into each of the arcades, jewelry stores and candy stores just to get into the air conditioning! Evan seemed to enjoy it, and he napped for awhile as we strolled the boardwalk. After OC, we headed down to Sea Isle. We drove to the beach house that Stan's Aunt Dawn and Uncle Bob rent for the summer, and I fed Evan while we waited for them to get there. We decided to take a stroll down and check out the beach while we waited. Evan got to put his feet in the sand for the first time. He was pretty indifferent. :) A gully had formed, so we put his tiny little feet in there. The water was pretty warm because it was shallow, and the tide was out, so there wasn't any new water filling it up. He happily stood there for awhile, and then we decided to take him out to the ocean water. It was really cold, and he screamed! He was not a fan AT ALL. If we even bent over with him in our arms he screamed because he thought we were putting him back in the water. Poor guy! After our visit with Dawn, Bob and Marie, we kept heading south to Cape May for dinner at The Lobster House (yum!). After that, we were on the road again. Evan slept the whole way home (since it was his bedtime). NJ loved Evan. We must have had about 10-12 people tell us what a good baby he was. Of course, I totally agree! He makes Stan and I look good! :) It was a great first trip to NJ for Ev, and a wonderful anniversary weekend for Stan and I.

While we're on the topic of water, I bought an inflatable pool for Evan today. Again, he wasn't a big fan of the cool water (Even though Stan filled it with warm water from the kitchen). He fussed a little bit, but he sat there for awhile. I felt like I was torturing him, so I eventually took him out.

He is teething, but he doesn't have any teeth yet. He is chewing on everything he can get into his mouth and drooling like crazy. Solids are going well. He still hates bananas even though I try every few days. He still loves his oatmeal, and he likes the rice cereal too. In addition to the sweet potatoes, we have done applesauce, pears, carrots and green beans. He's liked all of those so far, but his favorite is applesauce! He has continued to be an awesome sleeper. He usually sleeps from 6:30pm until 6:30am, and he is so happy all the time. I can't believe that he will be 6 months old this week! His 6 mo appointment is 6/25. I can't wait to see how big he is. He is wearing 9 mo clothes, but he can fit into the 12 mo one pieces (he wears 12 mo footie jammies).

Well, it is 10:15, so that means I'm late for bed! :) I'll post pictures soon!

5 months!

Evan is 5 months old today.  Just tonight, I put away all of his 6 month outfits and got out the 9 month clothes.  His pants were becoming high waters, and the onesies were about to burst at the snaps!  :)  I thought he was going through a growth spurt, but it's been going on for about 3 weeks now!  He is sleeping 6:30pm - 6:30am, and eating 7-8oz each feeding plus solids.  He has really grown, and it seems as though he looks different sometimes when I pick him up at daycare even from that morning! 

Oatmeal continues to be his favorite food.  We've tried sweet potatoes and bananas so far.  He eats a few bites reluctantly and then purses his lips so I can't get anymore of it in (we call this fortress lips).  I thought for sure he would like the bananas we tried...I mean, what kid doesn't like bananas?? BUT, he gagged and acted like I gave him pickle juice.  I even tried to put him in an outfit with a monkey on it, show him a monkey blanket while eating, and make monkey noises....no luck though.  Maybe he'll learn to like them??  I guess this weekend, we'll either try carrots or apples.  I hope this doesn't mean he's going to be a picky eater.  He can't only eat oatmeal his whole life! 

On Sunday, Stan umpired for the Special Olympics, and Evan and I went to watch.  It was a beautiful day, and Evan loves watching the games...seriously....he probably could have told you the score, and I, on the other hand, had no idea.  Here are some recent pictures to enjoy!

I love this boy!!

Working is really interfering with my blogging!  In the past month, Evan went to daycare, had his first cold :(, his first cereal :) and his first time watching Daddy play softball!  Evan got a stuffy nose the Thursday after Easter.  I think I called the doctor 3 times that weekend because he was starting daycare that Monday, and I was nervous about him being sick!  Even though it lasted about a week and a half, it didn't get any worse than a stuffy nose and a little bit of a cough.  Poor little guy.  Daycare is going well.  It was a little bit of an adjustment that first week for both of us.  After the first week, that Sunday night was rough.  He was up 4 or 5 times.  He didn't even do that as a newborn, so I was exhausted!  I decided that I couldn't have another night like that.  So that Monday, I decided to do the "pat and shush."  I knew he didn't need to eat, and I didn't want to start a pacifier habit.  When he cried, I waited 5 min, and then went in and patted his belly and shushed until he went back to sleep.  I did that three times that night.  The following night, he only woke up once and was back asleep before the 5 minutes was up.  It has been smooth sailing ever since.  We started putting him to bed earlier because he was just so tired.  He has been sleeping from 6:30 at night until I get him up for the day at 6:30am.  He's 4.5 months old, and he's only had 3 rough nights of sleep.  One was our first night until Mommy and Daddy realized he needed some white noise, one he was sick, and one was the wackadoo night, so we're very blessed!

Evan is loving daycare.  His provider's name is Kelly, and it is just her daughter and Evan.  Her daughter, Kayla, calls Evan HER baby.  :)  She was one in February.  Evan loves watching her run around.  He seems to love it there which makes me very happy!

Yesterday, we went to Daddy's softball game.  Evan was mesmerized by everyone moving around.  I think he paid more attention to the game than I did!  He saw Daddy get two really good hits.  Unfortunately, he also saw Daddy roll his ankle as he crossed home plate which led to him seeing Daddy sit around all day today with ice on his swollen, bruised ankle.  

We started rice cereal on the April 18, and he wasn't too sure at first.  The picture above is when he was getting ready to eat.  I thought it would be a lot messier than it is (but I'm glad it's not).  He started eating that well, so this weekend, we moved to oatmeal.  He didn't eat much yesterday, but tonight when I gave it to him, he LOVED it.  He ate all that I made, so I made a tiny bit more, and then he was still opening his mouth, so I made a little bit more.  It was so cute.  He just about hyperventilated if I wasn't fast enough with the spoon...haha  Overall, I'd say oatmeal was a hit. 

Last weekend, Mema (my mom) came to visit, and even though she just saw Evan at Easter, he had changed so much.  We enjoyed having her here, and Evan loved talking to her.  She also cleaned the whole house while she was here, which was so appreciated.  It's amazing how behind you get on things when you're working full time and have a baby!  

I have 7 1/2 weeks left of school (and I'm definitely counting down!!).  I can't wait until summer when I can be with him every day and we can start seeing our friends from Mommy group each week!  In the meantime,  I'm super busy at work and hoping that passes the time away from him quickly. 

I'll try and post again in the next week or two (we'll see how THAT goes) with more of Evan's adventures!  :)

Our Big Boy!!

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted, and the main thing that has happened has been that I've gone back to work.  I went back on March 29.  My mom was here to help with the transition, and she was so helpful!  She even cleaned the house and made dinner for us each night.  I told her that she made me look like a slacker!  :)  Evan loved his time with his Mema...so much so that he hardly napped.  By the time I got home from work, he was a little less enthusiastic about laying on the floor to play with Mommy.   

My first day back was ok.  I cried in the morning on my way.  When my class went to Media, I called to check on things, and that made it worse, so I didn't call the rest of the week.  That afternoon, I got a special delivery of chocolate covered strawberries from Stan and Evan to wish me a good day on my first day back.  That brought more waterworks, but it was so nice of Stan to do.  I went about 85mph home, and I RAN into the house to hug my little man.  Tuesday was the hardest day because I had grad school right after work.  I got home just in time to feed him and put him to bed (and that was only because we got out early).  That was a rough night for me, and poor Stan did the best he could to comfort me, but there wasn't much he could do.  Wednesday and Thursday were a little bit better, and I had Friday and this whole week off for Spring Break.  On the 12th, he starts daycare, and that will be another adjustment for us!

Evan has been quite busy being adorable lately....it's a full time job, and it is tiring.  He's been sleeping even better than normal (which was great to begin with).  Last night he slept from 8:15 - 5:15 (My cracking toes woke him up when I went to check on him this morning).  He has also been "talking," laughing and smiling all the time.  He is such a happy baby.  He's been sitting up more (with assistance) and LOVES his little blankets with the plush animal heads on them.  He has been sucking on his fists like crazy, but he will stop to smile at you!  He adores his daddy and will follow him around the room with his eyes.  If Daddy walks behind him, he tries to arch his back and roll his eyes up to still see him. 

He had his 4 month appointment today (even though he's not 4 months for another 12 days).  He weighed 14.4 lbs and was 25 3/4 inches long (90th percentile!).  He got his shots, and he did well with those.  He has been nursing at night AND eating another 7 ounces before bed...he's been SOOO hungry at night.  We got the go ahead to start solids once he turns 4 months, so we will be going to get some rice cereal to see if that helps.  He has also graduated from being swaddled to a sleep sack at night, and he scoots all over the crib. 

He has brought us so much joy, and he is growing so fast.  I can't believe that in another week or so, we will be bringing up the high chair and feeding him with a spoon!!!  We are absolutely LOVING everything he's doing. 

He had another trip to PA for Easter...pictures coming soon!!!

That's how he rolls!!

Evan has been rolling over since he was 5 weeks, but only a few people have seen it in person. It seems as though Evan has a bit of stage fright in front of people and usually only does it for Mommy or Daddy. Just so people don't think I'm making it up....here is the proof! :)

3 months...WHAT???

My sweet little one is going to be 3 months old tomorrow! I can't believe it. It felt like it was forever waiting for him to arrive, and now he's already 3 months old! He has been so much more alert this past month, and he loves to smile and laugh. He has started grabbing at his blankets, and he has been checking out his feet, so I know it's only a matter of time before he's grabbing those too.

Sleep is still going well. He has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old (7-8 hours). We started an earlier bedtime, so he goes to sleep at 8, I feed him at 10 (which he doesn't wake up for), and he gets up around 5:30 or 6. He eats and goes back to sleep until about 9. I will miss the going back to sleep once I go back to work!

We have had lots of fun this month going to baby yoga and to storytime at the library. We have also had to go into school a few times so I could work with my student for my grad school case study, and everyone there just loves him. He is usually wide eyed as I'm pushing him down the halls - so many bright things to see. My students also love seeing him because then they are the "big kids."

I am going back to work on the 29th, and I am really sad about it. I didn't think I would love staying at home as much as I do, but we have had so much fun with our mommy group and other activities! My mom will be here that first week to watch him, and then I have spring break, so he won't actually go to daycare until April 12, but it is still something I'm not looking forward to. At the end of February, Evan had his first photo shoot. Here are a few pictures from the shoot courtesy of Beth Techtmann. They are awesome! Enjoy!

Evan Laughing