Daddy's Little Saver

Evy got some money for Christmas so we decided to start a savings account for her. Scott is fiscally responsible and quite savvy at investing and finding ways to make our money work for us. He is excited to teach Evy how to manage money. I, on the other hand, plan to use the current economic crisis as a tool to teach Evy that investing in shoes and handbags is really the smarter choice. If I had bought shoes and handbags for the past 5 years instead of investing I would at least have something to show for it. See, mommy always knows best!

Popular

Miss Evy was the most popular guest at all of our Christmas gatherings. How, could she not be when she's such a little deer (see antlers above).


Lindsay and Anthony enjoying time with Evy.


Uncle Kraig gives Evy her most favorite gift....food!


Here, Evy gets her very first Christmas present. Doesn't she look excited?


"All this cheer is wearing me out."

Uncle Dave helping Evy open her present.

"Whew! Opening presents is a lot of work."

Evy's Big Adventure

On Thursday morning we headed to Chicago for a family adventure. The goal was to introduce Evy to some of our friends who live in Chicago and then head out to the 'Burbs to meet our new nephew/cousin Jacob. It was a weekend of firsts for Evy; first hotel stay, first meeting with Santa Claus, and first melt down in a hotel shuttle. Thursday night we had dinner with our friends Matt and Melissa who are expecting their first child in February. Friday morning Evy had her picture taken with Santa at Macy's and then we had lunch with our friends Zac and Elise. Then, it was off to the 'Burbs by 2:00 so we could beat rush hour traffic. We visted cousin Jacob and stayed overnight with Aunt Morgan and Uncle Caleb before heading home Saturday morning. I'm wishing I would have remembered to take more photos of the adventure, but we kind of had our hands full.

Piece of Junk!

This First Years bottle warmer about got thrown out the window on I-88 in route to Chicago on Thursday. The box says it will heat a bottle in 5 minutes when plugged in. What a mean joke to play on new parents. Screaming child, 75 MPH, frantic parents. Thankfully the DeKalb Oasis and hot water were minutes away.

This piece of junk didn't come anywhere near getting warm even after I left it plugged in for 45 minutes. Can anyone recommend a car warmer that actually works?

Gotcha!

Evy had a regularly scheduled doctor's appointment today. Our scheduling must have been a little messed up because we had an appointment on the books for 2 weeks from now which I assumed was her "shot" appointment. NOPE---today was her shot appointment. I wasn't prepared for that. The poor little pumpkin screamed like crazy. Good thing Scott's out of town. If he would have witnessed the shots he probably would have offered to buy her a pony on the spot and our backyard is just a couple of acres shy of being able to handle a horse.

As I anticipated the "hunger strike" issue was answered with "oh, infants go through stages" and I wasn't given any solution. They checked to see if she had an ear infection or cold symptoms but everything looks good. Thankfully Evy started eating more regularly last night so I'm hoping it was just a phase that will not come back!

Hunger Strike?

Ok, parents I need your advice. Evelyn was on a very regular feeding schedule nursing every three hours for a total of 20 minutes. You could almost set your watch by her regularity. On Thursday she started refusing some of her feedings and when she does eat she will only eat for 5 minutes and ends up crying, hard, when I offer her more. She will be fully latched on and start crying hard. If I take her off and talk to her she is in an excellent mood. She will be 7 weeks old on Tuesday. I would look for her to start reducing her eating time soon, but not this drastic of a reduction. She will eat for 5 minutes and may not be interested in eating for another 3 hours and then only eats another 5 minutes. She has a doctors appointment tomorrow morning. This is stressing me out! A friend suggested that she might have acid reflux and it sounds reasonable.

My Friend Veda

My friend Kathy and her daughter Veda who are in town from California came to meet Evelyn today. Aren't they cute? Look at Veda's fancy dress and boots. I guess we should expect that from an L.A. baby. Such a trendsetter.

Veda is 4 months old & Evy's 6 weeks.

It's a Boy!

My brother and sister-in-law welcomed Jacob Hudson this morning. He was born 6 weeks early so we had all hoped that he would come after Christmas, but we are thrilled with the early gift. To check out pictures visit my sister-in-law's blog.

Tennessee Tophat

Tennessee Tophat, Wisconsin Waterfall, Ape Drape, Mississippi Mudflap. It's business in the front and party in the back. Regardless of what you call it there is no denying that my child has a mullet.

Hey, at least she'll fit in at the State Fair and Adventureland.

6-Week Update

Evelyn is 6 weeks old today. Here is her report card:

Cuteness: A+

Daytime Naping: D

Night Time Sleeping: B

Weight Gain: A

Sucker!

Can anyone spare some change? This new parent was sucked into the money trap called "Flash Portraits." We had Evy's pictures taken last week and I'm heading to the mall soon to pick up the ridiculous quantity of pictures that we got sucked into buying. There went the Christmas budget! But, how can you not buy them all when she is just so darn cute?!?

Ear Muffs!

While I'm nursing Evy I often turn on the radio and sign along to the songs to keep us both entertained (ok, maybe Evy is not really entertained by this). Now that I'm singing these songs to a baby I realize how inappropriate they are and I'm guessing that my days of listening to pop music are limited. Otherwise, I'm going to have some serious explaining to do to a curious child. My eye Doctor told me he switched to listening to Christian radio after his daughter asked what 50 Cent meant by "I'll take you to the candy shop. I'll let you lick the lollipop." YIKES!