Glimpse Into Our Life (August 2017)

We started the month with our 14th wedding anniversary.  My parents watched the kids for us and we went uptown and ate dinner at a taco place and dessert at The Melting Pot and then we stayed the night at this beautiful B&B called the Duke Mansion.  It was a wonderful night away.  We actually had conversation at dinner that was quiet and informative.  I love our typical dinners of screaming to each other over the constant singing, giggling, arguing, you-name-it, but it was nice to be able to enjoy each others company without all that.  😁

We went to the zoo with a couple friends and got to see lots of animals, play in the splash pad, and just have fun being with one another.  They were as good as gold and I was very excited about how easy they were and it made me not so scared to go there by myself with all three of them.  

This is just one of the many things Evelyn has gotten into and either spilled or broken.  She is a stinker.  And that look!  Like, "what?  Is there a problem here?"

Evie loves to take the paper towels out and stack them.  I will be honest, there were days early in my motherhood years this would have driven me crazy because OCD over here.  However, with baby number 3 I have finally learned how to let some things go.  There are still many moments where I get a little tight inside over some things that are still hard to let go of, but I am getting better.  Its a process.

Sally drew her first person!  Ha!  It is so funny how their drawings will develop.

The girls love to play with their magnatiles.  They can get pretty creative with them.  They love to make castles for all their princesses.

Of course, Ava was very proud of her toilet she made.  😂

Evie enjoys pushing Ava on the little tricycle.  They love anytime outside.  

Ava has been working hard on her handwriting and drawing.  She has been using art hub for kids to learn how to draw.  She also drew a picture of me and I have teeth ( a new addition to her people). 

Ava got to help at church putting bags together for school teachers and then a few days later we all went and helped deliver them to the kids.  

We have had fun this month just being home and doing simple things like reading books, playing with play-doh, dot markers, magna tiles,  and legos.  Sometimes it is the simple things that are the most fun.  

We went to the Sno Ball Cabin last weekend and enjoyed a snow cone.  Ava and Sally both wanted Pink Lemonade, I got Margarita, and Curtis got peach.  We all just shared with Evelyn.  

It has been a simple, but full month here at our home.  So thankful I get to be home with my girls and just enjoy them.

Evelyn 18 months

You are 18 months!  WHAT?!?!?!  I have so enjoyed you.  You are a very funny baby.  Full of joy, spunk, curiosity, playfulness, and silliness.  I love having you here with us.  You always make me smile.  You are just so silly and playful.  You love to make us all laugh and you are very good at it.  We all get giggling at you.  For instance, these pictures.  

You will just do anything for a laugh. Also, the other day, you walked around with your horsey stuffed in the back of your shirt for about an hour.  

You are such a goofball!

I wish I had pictures of you when I tell you it is time to change your diaper.  You run to where the diapers are and lay yourself down.  It is so cute and it is surprising how obedient you are to that request.  You must not like sitting in a soaking wet pee diaper or running around with poo clinging to your patootie.    

You also usually comply when I say it is time for nite nite.  You will make your way to the gate at the stairs.  It is refreshing, to say the least.  

You enjoy playing with your sisters.  You do well with them (most of the time).  Sometimes you like to knock over their lego towers and magnatile castles they make.  They do not think that is funny.  In fact, you did that the other day and I over heard Sally tell you she wasn't your best friend anymore.  😂😂

I love it when I catch you sleeping.  You are so sweet and peaceful.  
I also really love your sleepy face like in this next picture.  

You like to get a hold of our phones now and you like to play games.  We kept an old phone just for you kiddos to play some games on.  You thought you were big stuff the first time we let you do this.  

You have also gotten in the habit of saying "cheese"when I have my camera out and I am taking your picture.  It is pretty cute and you are quite the ham.  

You like to make silly faces.  This is one of my favorites and it made it even better that your face was smeared with Mac & Cheese.  

You really are so sweet and so much fun and bring so much joy.  Even though you are extremely busy (By far my most busiest and disastrous child) you are a lot of fun.  I feel like I have gotten to enjoy your toddlerhood a little bit more than I got to enjoy either of your sisters.  I am so thankful for every little bit of you and your precious personality.

Can't wait to see all the smiles you bring to other's lives and I pray you will be a shining, radiant life lived for God's glory!!! 

xoxoxo

Mommy 

18 Month Stats:

~21 pounds (my little petite peanut)

~You like to eat.  You love fruit (especially grapes and bananas), mac and cheese, breads, breakfast bars,  veggie chips, pretzels, goldfish, cheese, noodles, rice, tomato, broccoli, green beans.

~You are not big on meat or peanut butter

~You wear size 4 or 5 diapers

~You are wearing mostly 18-24 month clothing, but you also fit in some 12 month stuff

~You love your horsey fuzzy

~You still sit rear facing in your carseat

~You take 1 (sometimes 2) naps a day

~You go to bed at 8:15 (ish) and sleep until about 8 am

~You are starting to enjoy being read to

Evelyn is 17 months old!!!

Evelyn Olivia 17 Months

7/1/17

Evelyn, you are so wonderful in every way.  You are so sweet, cuddly, silly and cute.  I have been so blessed to have you and to know you.  You bring a lot of joy to me and your daddy, as well as, your sisters and everyone else who knows you.  You are a happy baby unless you are tired or "HANGRY".   

Just this morning, I was reading a blog I wrote on your sister, Ava when she was like 19 months old and I wanted to get across to everyone how busy she was, but in all honesty, she didn't or even still can hold a candle to your level of busyness and curiosity.  
For instance, the other day you were getting the drawer under the oven out and used that as your stepping stool to get on top of the oven.  You crawled up onto the kitchen table chairs to get on top of the kitchen table and were trying to touch the lighting above the table.  Add a few more inches and you will be hanging off of it.  You like to climb up on the couch and try to stand on the back of it.  Thankfully, you haven't mastered climbing yet so it takes you a while to get up on stuff.  Sometimes, you try and try and then give up and move on to something else.  But it is only a matter of time when you will be able to get up on the kitchen chairs and couch with little to no effort at all.  😂

You love hanging with your sisters.  You follow them around a lot.  You get lots and lots of giggles from them and find such pleasure out of making them laugh.  Class clown may be in your future.  You love to put on sun glasses or hats and come in the room we are all in and say "DADA!!!!"   On the flip side, I will find you playing alone, too.  Sometimes you will sneak off to the playroom and I will catch you playing with the bracelets or brushing your hair at the vanity.  You also like to pull books out and look at them or play with the tea cart.  

You still enjoy bouncing in your bouncy chair.  I promise we won't have you bouncing in that when you are a teenager.  But, as long as you are willing and enjoy and aren't falling out of it, it is nice to have around so I can get things done and not be constantly ushering you out of the kitchen cabinets, pantry, bathroom, what have you.  

You are starting to enjoy pool time.  You HATED it at first.  But you are now warming up to it.  🙏 I am grateful for our neighborhood pool and how child friendly it is.  You have two big sisters that are waterbugs, so while you play in the very shallow part and the fountains I can stick with you and still have eyes on the other two and feel pretty confident that they will be ok.  

You love to eat.  You love cheese, bread, yogurt, fruit, turkey dogs, fish, and sometimes chicken.  You are not a fan of peanut butter and most meats and veggies.    Your favorite food is Mac&Cheese.  You will stuff your face with that.  You love pretty much any fruit, especially grapes, blueberries and pineapple.  You tolerate your milk.  
  
You sleep well.  Most days you at least take a 2-3 hour nap, and if you aren't sleeping all that time, you quietly hum and talk to your stuffed animals.  There are some days you get cranky around 10 (depending on how early you get up) and you will take like an hour nap before lunch.  You go to bed around 8:30-9:00 and I usually get you at 8 am.  I hardly ever have to get up with you.  I actually can't remember the last time you woke up in the middle of the night and one of us needed to take care of you. I thank you for that!  

I have no idea how much you weigh, but you are wearing mostly 18 or 18-24 month clothing.  Size 4 diapers still fit rather well on you.  

I actually called your doctor today because I forgot to schedule your 18 month visit for next month and the lady on the phone informed me that I never brought you in for your 15 month well visit.  You are such a 3rd child!!!!  In fact, you eat food off of the floor,  you get squeezed, pushed and pulled to death by your sisters, you are on much less of a schedule than the other two were at your age, you got into potting soil with fertilizer and I didn't freak out, I don't dress you most days (there have been several days lately where we haven't gone anywhere and you are either still in your pj's from the night before or just in a diaper when daddy comes home from work.  You fit right in with your sisters...I  have given up dressing them unless we are going somewhere, because they take off their clothes constantly now, so what's the point!?!? They don't even want to wear pj's anymore!!!!)  

You do ok being handed over to other people.  You will pretty much go to anyone, but you are very excited when we come and get you from church nursery.  I love to be the one to pick you up because you see me and start squealing and it is just the cutest thing.  

There is so much to love about you.  You are a great baby (or toddler)....
It is sad to think my baby days are behind me.  You are a joy.  I know God will use you in His Kingdom to bring others to Him by your radiant joy and love for others.  

We love you, Evelyn Olivia.