Evelyn Goes Fishing

Memorial Day weekend was filled with many fun activities for our family.  Friday night we had a small bon fire at our house with Uncle Greg and our neighbor, Jenna.  We had hot dogs and roasted marshmallows for s'mores!  On Saturday we headed to Sardinia, OH for the annual Strecker (Grandma Field's side of the family) family get together.  Evelyn was able to meet some distant aunts and uncles as well as cousins.  Everyone loved her and couldn't believe what a good little baby she is!  On our way home from the get together, Chris, Evelyn, and I met my family at East Fork Lake for some fishing.  We had a chicken picnic dinner followed by some strawberry shortcake, yum!  It was a cool evening, but the fish were definitely biting!  Dad, Chris, Quinn, Jim, and Liliana all caught fish!  Liliana wasn't too sure about the fish after she caught them, but little Quinn sure loved the whole experience!  Below are some priceless shots from the evening.

 

 

Evelyn Visits Grandpa at Work

Evelyn and I had a really great day visiting my dad at his work downtown.  We started our lunch date by meeting my mom and dad at his office and introduced Evelyn to my dad's secretaries.  We then went to a deli shop and had some great double-decker club sandwiches.  Dad had to go to a meeting, but my mom and I had our dessert by visiting the Old Time candy store close to Fountain Square.  Here's to many more visits and lunch dates with Grandpa!

 

All ready for our lunch date with Grandpa!

 

 Tough day at the office!

Evelyn's New Room!

For the past 10 weeks Evelyn has slept soundly in a co-sleeper that my sister let us borrow before Evelyn was born.  This little bassinet is wonderful because it fit right next to my side of the bed.  One wall of the bassinet folded down so I was able to get Evelyn in and our of her bed in the middle of the night without me having to get up each time.  This little bed has been great for Evelyn, and for us, but lately we've noticed our little girl has become quite wiggly!  Although I lie her on her back or side for bed she manages to turn sideways and completes 180 degree turns in her sleep.  Chris and I decided that on the night of her 10th week we would make the switch to her new nursery and crib.

 Last nights and naps in her bassinet

 To help make the transition easier for everyone, we began lying Evelyn in her crib for naps.  At first, she would wake from her naps and cry, which is very unlike her, but after a few days, she realized where she was and woke up her normal smiling self.   On the evening of May 19th Chris and I started her normal bedtime routine by changing her, feeding her, reading her books, and saying her prayers, then put her in her crib for her first night in her nursery.  Evelyn did wonderful through the night; I however, was hypersensitive to every sound and wiggle that she made.  I think I checked her video monitor more throughout the night than I actually slept!  Each night has been better and better with Evelyn used to her surroundings and Chris and my room back to normal.....now if only we could get Carter used to me going down the hallway and in and out of Evelyn's room each night at 2:30am without him thinking it's morning and wanting out of his crate!  He's quite confused, but hopefully, like the rest of us, he will adjust as well!

 

 First bedtime in her crib!

 

 Other naps and nights in her crib.  As you can see, someone has found her thumb!!  Since Evelyn has been with us we have noticed a few occasions where her thumb is in her mouth.  We have tried to substitute it with a binkie, but we find that she spits the binkie out, and puts her thumb right back in her mouth.  I'm not sure how we will break this habit; I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there!

Evelyn's New Tricks

This month has been so exciting for little Evelyn.  She has developed a schedule for eating, naps, and bedtime and has adjusted to it very well.  She has been working on her neck strength by trying to hold her head up on her own more and more each day.  By holding her head up she realizes that she can look around and see so much more; her favorite things include ceiling lights, the ceiling fan, and any mirror.  Chris and I have enjoyed watching her learn so many new milestones!  She has warmed our hearts with her big, contagious smile, and made us proud with her big girl kicks as she plays on her play mat.  We hope she makes you smile as well as you watch the video of her playing below and the pictures of her big smile that we have caught in action!!

 

 

Happy Mother's Day!

This May was really special to me because I was able to celebrate my first Mother's Day with my little family.  Chris started the day off so nice by making me breakfast while Evelyn and I got ready for church.  Due to celebrating with my family around lunchtime, Chris, Evelyn, and I went to 10:00 mass at St. Thomas More.  As long as I can remember during the Mother's Day Mass the priest always asked the mothers to stand for a blessing.  It was so meaningful to me to be able to stand during church while holding Evelyn as Fr. Wagner blessed all of the mothers.  It's a tradition I'm looking forward to continuing.

After church we celebrated Mother's Day with my side of the family.  We grilled chicken and cheeseburgers at my parents' house with my grandma, aunts, uncle, and cousin followed by opening cards and gifts.  After lunch we drove to Chris's side to celebrate with his mom, dad, grandma, and Greg.  We enjoyed our afternoon watching a movie, eating dinner and opening gifts.

 

  

 

After our day with extended family we headed home to celebrate together with just the three of us.  Evelyn sat with me while I opened cards and gifts.  Chris found a really fun card where he could stamp Evelyn's hand print as her signature; it will definitely be a card that will be saved.  They definitely treated me so well with a gift card to Spafinder.com so I can get back into my yoga, a book about mothers and daughters, and a necklace to remind me that I am always in their hearts.

I loved celebrating this holiday with my family.  It means so much to me to be Evelyn's mom and gives me a deeper appreciation for my own mom and all that she has done for me over the years.     

We've Come So Far!

As Evelyn just celebrated her second month birthday it is hard to believe that this was Chris and I just about three months ago!  Our friend, Megan, is a wonderful photographer who helped us with our pregnancy announcement in the Fall of 2012.  As our due date approached she had a photo shoot with us to take some pregnancy pictures at the Krohn Conservatory.  We have a great time and were able to enjoy the Spring preview show with their flowers and landscaping.  Looking back at these photos we had no idea what the future held for us and that a little baby girl would change our lives in such a way as Evelyn has for us.  If you would like to contact Megan regarding her photography, please feel free to contact her Meg.Marie.Miller@gmail.com.