Tiny Dancer {Five Months}

WOW! My little Snuggle Bear just keeps growing and growing!!

Evie is so much fun right now. Her sweet little personality is definitely coming out.

She continues to be a happy, happy girl, which just makes my heart so happy. She is so quick to smile and laugh. I pray she will always be this way!

One of my favorite parts of the day is first thing in the morning when she wakes up. I just love coming into her dark room to see her little head lifted up and bobbing around. As soon as I turn on the lamp and say "Good morning Sweet Girl.." she immediately grins and whips her head around to find me. There is nothing sweeter.

Next we head to the changing table for a fresh diaper. This is where she likes to do most of her babbling. :) She pulls those legs up, grabs hold of her toes and starts telling her piggy bank and stuffed animals up on the shelf across the room all about it. This is also where mom likes to get in about a week's worth of kisses. I could kiss those cheeks all day!

What a face to wake up to!

She found her toes a few weeks ago and now she thinks they're the best thing since sliced bread. I expect to catch her sucking on them any day now!

This is my absolute favorite. That face!!

I think this little baby doll will be keeping us on our toes and entertained for years to come. I can't wait. I love you Sweet Evie!!

Friday Morning Thoughts

1. The countdown is on to our very first road trip with Evie!! Please pray that we make it in one piece, with eardrums intact. I personally think she'll do great.

2. Last Friday I made a big batch of yummy, delicious chex mix. By Sunday I was licking the tupperware container clean. Throw in some chips and salsa, the random banana and a few gallons of water and all my major food groups are covered.

3. Well, it's official. We are planning a trip back to Hawaii this summer!! I am beyond excited and now have important things to attend to, like matching mother-daughter swimsuits. HA!

4. CHEESE UPDATE**. There is still no cheese in my life. Well, no cow's cheese. I have dallied with some goat varieties. The verdict so far is a happy baby and a slimmed down mama. I've lost 4 lbs and my thighs have never been so small.. and it's not for lack of trying on my part. By that I mean I now eat chocolate in any instance where I might have had cheese. So what do we learn? Cheese=thighs. Chocolate=probablyhaironmyheadsinceIhavemorethanIcouldpossiblyneed.

5. Were you aware that April is Earth Month??? Yeah, me neither.

6. I'm just going to put this out there.. what is up with people putting feathers in their hair? No offense if you've got a rooster tail woven into your locks- I have friends sporting the look- but I just don't get it. Maybe this is just a sign that I'm getting old and the young folk are annoying me. Great.

7. My baby has been mistaken for a boy child TWICE this week. Seriously.

8. Are you watching Bethenny Ever After? (I feel like I mention these Housewives shows a ridiculous amount on here. Let's not read too much into that, mkay?) Anyway, I totally recognized and know the CEO of Skinnygirl Margaritas! And by "know", I mean I once went to Vail with the family I used to nanny for and he and his wife and daughter were friends of theirs and we all stayed in the same "cabin" that's larger than my current home. And I may or may not have let his little girl roll down a few (indoor) steps when I overestimated her crawling abilities and how many hands I needed to carry my snack. I was happy to see them again a few years later and see first hand that she suffered no lasting damage from the incident. Whew.

9. My friend Cameron came to visit us last weekend, too! So fun. She immediately won Evie over by bringing her a "Realistic Bunny". My kid knows faux, and if it doesn't have real fur or play a kicky tune, then you can forget about it. Well played, Cam. Well played.

10. While Cameron was here, I showed her all the sights, like my favorite Mexican restaurant, the Aquarium and 6 or 7 square miles around our neighborhood while we drove around so Evie could nap. Exciting, I tell you! We also did some thrifting, and she snapped this picture of Evie Girl and I while we were out. Can't you see how excited she is by all the "antiques"?? Little chubbers. Overall, a good outing, though I did nearly karate chop an old lady when she started to grab Evie's hand and pat her on the head. It's not okay to touch strangers' children! Next time I see her, I'm going to pat her on the head and compliment her on the lovely shade of blue she got at the salon.

**I left out a milk & egg update because let's face it- cheese is where it's at. And I'm pretty certain I've never once craved an egg. Unless it was chocolate and filled with peanut butter.

WINNING!

Nope, not a Charlie Sheen fan, but I AM a winner!

I just found out I won the Petite Lemon giveaway over at ISLY!

I'm so excited to get this amazing growth chart for Evie's room!! Isn't it adorable!??

I LOVE it!

Happy Easter!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter!!

This little chick made ours a lot of fun.

I can't wait until next year when she's old enough to hunt eggs with her cousins!

Guess Who's 30

Happy Girl

Isn't she just a doll baby???

:)

Sorry... sometimes I can't get over her cuteness! And her sparkly little personality.
It is seriously the best thing in the world to hear her waking up in the morning, happy as a clam and squawking at the room in general.
I know her daddy loves the weekends when he's home to get her when she wakes up. And mommy loves it because she gets to sleep in a little!

My blue eyed babe. With the wild, wild hair.

Love you sweet girl!

Officially a SAHM

Yep, that's me!

A Stay At Home Mom!

Well...

I was..

... for about 26 hours or so the other day...

:)

Here's the deal. When I was pregnant with Evie, I knew I didn't want to go back to work full time. Thankfully I didn't have to and after maternity leave I was able to go back part time. Make that two days a week and one from home. Total score. Totally blessed. Fast forward to Thursday afternoon, when we had a mandatory meeting and I had a feeling something was up. Basically our department was being completely downsized. They barely scraped by from getting the complete ax. That was my last day. I wasn't expecting to hear that, but neither was I totally shocked or devastated. I think I just had peace about our situation and where I should be- whether that was staying home full time with Evie or finding another part time position. But I did really like my job.. and my bosses.. and the flexibility. They are/were very family friendly and I know I had a good thing going. Not everyone is so lucky.

So yesterday, hubby and I were out to a late lunch and discussing what I should do. Neither of us wanted me to simply find another part time job just for the sake of a job. But at the same time, if I can be contributing financially in some way, I am more than happy to do so. I do, after all, still have some school loans to pay off. Ugh. And as much as I love being at home with my girl and always pictured myself as a stay at home mom, I must say it has been good for my sanity to get out of the house those two days a week. And, you know, talk to people who are able to sit up on their own and don't spit up on a regular basis.

Not long after getting home from lunch, my former boss texts me to see if I have time to talk. Okay... sure. Well, long story short, the one gal that they were financially able to keep on was fired on Friday morning. Seriously. For something totally unrelated and slightly unethical. I don't want to get into any specifics, but needless to say we were all shocked. She didn't do anything illegal or too morally wrong.. just not something she should do in our particular field. And she got caught. In her (slight) defense, I don't believe her intent was malicious.

ANYWAY...

So they offered me my job back. Just as it was. I took about 20 minutes to think about it and talk it over with hubby before calling her back to accept. I thought about asking for more money, but since funding was the reason everyone was laid off in the first place, I didn't think it would go over too well. :)

So after an oh-so-brief hiatus, it's back to the grind next week for me!

Friday Morning Thoughts

1. Yesterday at work I caught a whiff of something or other and it totally reminded me of my Grandma's homemade tortillas. And now I need some in my life. Like STAT. I may just be forced to dust off the ol' rolling pin..

2. I don't know what the weather's been like in your neck of the woods, but around here it's been gorgeous! Only the spring/summer-like temps are being completely RUINED* by the flippin high-seas winds rolling across the plains. I.have.had.enough.

3. My husband is turning Dirty Thirty in a matter of days. I haven't decided how I feel about this yet. Only that I'm still over-the-moon elated that he is and forever will be older than me. Cradle Robber. :)

4. I finally ordered our new rug from PB! I'm so excited to start re-doing our front living room and make it into a usable space for our family. Plus- projects!! The only annoying part is that it won't ship until mid-May. Ugh. But with gift cards and merchandise credits, I only paid $25 for it, so I can't complain!

5. Swimsuit season is weaseling it's way in again.. so my question is, can I still wear a bikini now that I'm a mom?? If you ask the Real Housewives of XX, you'll get a resounding YES with a side of two sizes too small. I'm still on the fence, but if my vanity in the tan line department is any indicator, I'm sure I'll be busting out a two piece once again. But I'm sure I'll need a new one (or three), so there's a little shopping light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel somewhere in there. Because we all know there is NOTHING more fun than swimsuit shopping.

6. Is Easter late this year, or what? I'm still trying to figure out what we're going to do... Don't worry- Evie already has her Easter outfit- but what else do I need to be working on? Do we hide eggs?? Rent a bunny and baby chick for pictures?? Put fake grass all over the house? Make hubby dress up in a giant rabbit costume and chase the kids around, ala Steel Magnolias?? Please fill me in.

7. Since Evie's "learned" to roll from her tummy to her back, a few times we have come in to find her on her back (she's a tummy sleeper) when she wakes up from a nap. She usually has a bewildered look on her face, like what the heck is going on? Last night when I got up for her 1:30 am feeding, I found her on her back, with her head at the foot of the crib! Now that's some rolling and tumbling. Who knows how long she had been like that. So now my problem becomes teaching her how to roll back onto her tummy. You know, so I don't get "summoned" multiple times a night by a chubby little baby wondering why she's awake and can see her toes.

8. Happy Moving Day to my dad and stepmom!! We can't wait to come visit and see the new digs!

That's it. So long and fairwell and have a great weekend!

*I totally contemplated writing RUINT, just to ruffle your feathers.

Evie's Dedication

Could our kid get any cuter?

On Sunday night, we dedicated Evie to the Lord in a special service at our church. What a gift it is to become a parent and have the responsibility of raising a little person! It's not something we take lightly...

Our church is huge, so they hold a special dedication service every so often where all of the recently born and new members' kids are dedicated all at once. Lots and lots of adorable babies everywhere!

Three generations.

I really wish I had taken the time to write down what the pastor was teaching on.. I know it was 5 things that we parents were committing to do/teach/impart to our children. I'm trying so hard to remember.. I know one was to have no false idols, to commit to taking your child to church (not simply teaching the Word of God at home) and one was to teach them about tithing. He also spoke about how we as parents are to be our child's protector.

What really struck a chord with me and what I have often struggled with, is simply committing Evie to Jesus. Placing her in His hands. I know this is what I need to do, and I want to do it daily, but saying the words out loud as I'm praying over her brings me to tears every time. I just love her so much. Even when I was pregnant, and still worried about miscarrying again, I struggled with turning it all over to Him.

My precious Evie Girl

This scripture has been my prayer since finding out I was carrying Evie. I need to remember it more often:

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.

1 Samuel 1:27-28

The thing is, I know she's not really mine. I've only been blessed enough to be her mother. She is His child, just as I am. Every good and perfect gift is from above and if she is not all that is good and perfect in life, then I don't know what is!