Pictures & Updates: 5-7 months

Several months have gone by since my last post. Time just flies when you're having fun!

It has been a lot of fun watching Evelyn change these past few months. Every day seems to bring a new accomplishment.

After we returned from Alaska, we introduced Evelyn to solid foods for the first time. We started out with rice cereal that was pretty soupy. She slurped it right down and the next time we made it a bit thicker. We've been slowly introducing other foods like avocado, pears, peaches and sweet potatoes. So far she seems to enjoy them all!

Also, shortly after returning from Alaska, Evelyn got her first tooth at 5 months! We didn't even realize she was teething at first, thinking that she was still getting back into her routine after being away from home. But one day there it was! It was followed shortly by the second, so now she has 2 bottom teeth. I think one of the top ones will be making an appearance soon.

Mealtime is messy!

Hanging out with dad at the dog park.

Playing with 2-year old Peter. Peter's mom watches Evelyn on Thursdays while I work.

Once Evelyn mastered rolling front to back and back to front, she began to put the two together to roll over and over and over. One day as I was working in the kitchen and she was playing in the living room, I happened to look over and saw her several feet away from where she'd been before! She soon became a very determined roller. If she saw something she wanted that was out of reach, she'd just roll on over to it! Now she's starting to get the crawling motions in there too. She'll reach and pull herself forward a little bit at a time, but sometimes she loses her balance and rolls over. So she kind of roll-crawls toward what she wants.


Her personality is really coming through. She's definitely a clown! She loves blowing razzberries, and is very often smiley and giggly. I think she'll have some of her dad's goofy sense of humor. She's also very determined and impatient - probably got that from me! When we started feeding her solid foods, she tries to grab the spoon - mostly just to chew on it - but if we try to take it back she'll howl!


Now we're getting ready for Christmas and looking forward to some time to spend together as a family!

Evelyn checks out the Christmas tree & tries to eat Santa's hat!

Snow!

Evelyn had her first experience with snow this past week when we went up to Alaska for Jeremy's brother's wedding. She got to spend the entire week playing with grandma and grandpa and met her uncles for the first time.

It was also her first time on a commercial flight. Jeremy and I were pretty stressed out over it. We were flying standby and worried about getting on the same flight together, and just worried how Evelyn would do with the pressure changes and all. Fortunately our fears were for naught. We were able to get good flights with seats together, and Evelyn slept or was cheerful pretty much the entire flight.

With Grammy Cathy. All bundled up and ready to see the snow!

Taking in the view with dad.









What is this stuff?

Catching Up

Well, my efforts at keeping the blog updated weekly were short-lived. Life just seems to get in the way sometimes.

I'll keep this post short on text and long on pictures, since I know that's what you all want anyway!

A rare photo with mom @ 4 months old.

Brrr! It's cold out! Time to get bundled up with a cozy hat from Grandma J.

Oh right, it's really not supposed to cover her eyes.

Mmmm. Yummy toes!

Such a cutie! 3 days shy of 5 months old.

Dogs & Babies

Some of you know that a couple of years before Evelyn was born Jeremy and I adopted a puppy. We'd always wanted a dog, but since we had mostly been living in apartments we decided that wasn't the best environment for the type of dog we wanted. So when we moved a year and a half ago to a triplex that had a fenced yard (and allowed pets), we decided to go for it. We adopted a 16-week old retriever/chow mix that we named Tatum. We figured that owning a dog would prepare us for parenthood, and while in some ways there are similarities, in many ways it is quite different (no one really looks down on you for leaving your dog at home alone during the day while you go run errands or catch a movie).

At any rate, when we learned that we were pregnant, we wondered how Tatum would adjust to being number 2 in the household hierarchy. After all, you hear horror stories of dogs who become territorial and aggressive after the arrival of a new baby. Fortunately Tatum seems to have adjusted fairly well to the change. Initially she was very curious about Evelyn, she'd come into the bedroom when I would be nursing Evelyn and lay down beside the chair. When Evelyn cried she'd come in to see what all the fuss was about. Now she seems to have accepted the fact that Evelyn is here to stay and is not a new toy to play with.

It took a while for Evelyn to really notice Tatum's existence. Once she turned 3 months old and her vision was more developed she started tracking familiar people. If Jeremy was holding her and I walked by she'd follow me with wide, unblinking eyes wherever I went. Pretty soon she would do that whenever the dog came in the room.

Now, at 4 months old (today to be exact!) Evelyn has connected the eyes with the hands. When she sees or hears Jeremy or I, she not only looks, if we're close enough she'll reach. And, she did the same thing with Tatum too. One day we were sitting on the floor holding her and Tatum walked up, and Evelyn reached out and touched her! Now whenever Tatum comes in the room Evelyn is just captivated by her, watching her every move and reaching out to touch as soon as she comes close enough.

I got this little video clip, unfortunately the lights were turned down since it was bedtime, but you can still see her enthusiasm in discovering the dog!

Pictures!

When Evelyn was born we signed up for a PEPS (Program for Early Parent Support) group. We meet weekly for 7 weeks with other couples who have babies born around the same time. Last week we took pictures of all the babies. Since the group we go to meets in the evening, we usually have a very small window of time when the babies are happy. Here Evelyn looks like she's getting a little tired, and every time she saw the camera she'd stick her fingers in her mouth and smile around them.









In this picture she's on her tummy for an activity presentation by Nurturing Pathways (I have a blog post planned on that topic). It was very informative and showed us ways we can encourage our baby's development both mentally and physically.














New Friend
Last Friday Evelyn made a new friend, Clara. She was born 2 days after Evelyn. The two girls hit it off right away as they smiled and grabbed at each other.

Play Time

Enjoying some playtime with dad.

















Tummy Time is getting much more enjoyable now that I can lift my head up!

Is She a Good Baby?

I've been amazed at how much attention a baby draws. Wherever I go there's no end to people coming up to us and saying, "ohhhh, she's so pretty!" "What a doll!" "You're so lucky!" "how old is she?" and on and on. Maybe I shouldn't be too surprised by this. After all, I always noticed people with babies, but aside from a glance and a smile, didn't impose on them. And, being one who does not like to be the center of attention from strangers, it makes me a little uncomfortable. But I try to just handle it with a simple smile and "thank you" as I'm pushing my shopping cart through the grocery store, trying to remember everything on my list and get done as quickly as possible while Evelyn is still sleeping or happily entertained.

One question that I've always thought kind of strange is, "Is she a good baby?" What do people mean by this? Bad, to me implies that one has the capacity to determine the difference between right and wrong and make choices that reflect that knowledge. Do babies have the capacity to be bad? I mean sure she can be cranky and fussy when she's tired, hungry or needs her diaper changed, but that doesn't make her bad. Does it? Hardly! And although we (Jeremy and I) may react in a way that implies she's being manipulative when she wails for what seems like hours, in reality she's really just doing the only thing she knows how to do.

I suppose the time when babies learn the difference between good and bad comes at the time they learn what the word "no" means. I suppose it will be a few more months yet before we need to start saying "no" to Evelyn. So until then, my answer to anyone who wants to know whether she is a good baby is, "Of Course!"

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Evelyn started rolling over a few days ago. I'm not sure that she fully realizes what she's done as she always looks a little amazed when she ends up on her back. And she usually only does it once and then can't figure out how to do it again.

I managed to get it on video after multiple failed attempts.

The Blog Bandwagon

I'm finally doing it. Starting a blog. After years of reading friends' blogs and people asking "when are you going to start a blog?" I've given in. Now I'm committed to updating this blog on a regular basis with interesting stories and tidbits that people might find interesting enough to read.

"Why now?" you may ask. The main reason would be that with a new baby it seems that this is the easiest way to keep everyone (friends and relatives) updated on Evelyn's rapidly-changing development. Plus, we've always kind of thought about starting a blog, and having a baby seemed to provide the perfect opportunity.

So, for all of you who pestered us about a blog (you know who you are) this post is dedicated to you.

Happy Reading!