9 Months Old!

On Friday, Evan was 9 months old.  He is very smiley and interactive - he gets excited any time someone is paying attention to him.  Because he wants to be on the move, unless he is sleeping he is always moving: arms, legs, hands...something.  He is getting better about not flinging himself backward all the time, but is still in danger of it at times.   Crawling has not yet happened, and he doesn't seem very interested in exploring that mode of movement.  Instead, he is working on pulling himself up and has had limited success with help to do it, and he focuses on trying to figure out how to move standing up.

Evan is very enthusiastic about food.  Frequently, the only time of day when he starts to be upset is during mealtimes when he isn't getting the food that everyone else is eating.  He likes puffs, he likes rice rusks, but really he wants what everyone else is eating.  He has finally met a food that he doesn't like - potatoes.  Although he likes french fries (yes, we gave him some) when I gave him cooked unflavored potatoes he did not think that was really something he wanted to eat.  He is getting better at mushing up table foods in his mouth, so we are increasingly letting him sample some of what we are eating.  On the flip side of that, he is being increasing difficult about taking bottles and it is frequently a battle to get him to take more than 4 oz at a time.  He does the best in a quiet room when he is eating laying down and not being held, but that is not always possible or practical.

Evan finally has had a bath time in the big tub, and he has also had a bath with his sister.  Although we generally still give him a bath in the baby tub.  He really enjoys bath time and is very good at making big splashes.

This month Evan also got his third tooth, the top front left.  He really likes to bite things, including anything anyone gets near his mouth, so we are all remembering to keep fingers and other appendages away from his mouth.

Sleep has finally taken a turn for the better.  Evan and Madelyn are now generally sleeping in the same room and they both seem to like sleeping in the same room better.   Evan goes to sleep more quietly than he did when he was sleeping in our room and Madelyn complains less often of being lonely.  He is usually also eating only once a night now, which is definitely an improvement.

All in all it has been an exciting month and we are all glad it is summer, even if it brings the necessity of sunscreen and the nuisance of mosquitoes.

Evan's 8 Month Updates

While we were in New York, Evan turned 8 months old!  It hardly seems possible that he is already 8 months, but the calendar does not lie :)

Evan is sitting up much more reliably on his own now, although he is still very prone to throw himself backwards or sideways without any warning, so for now he still needs someone close by and something soft surrounding him.  He has also started scooting forward (just a little) while sitting in order to get to things that he wants.  He really likes anything that crinkles, like paper or toys with the crinkly plastic in them.  Sometimes when we give him something that just rattles but doesn't crinkle he looks at us as if he were saying "What is this? I want crinkles!"

He has continued to be a very social baby, although he prefers people in small groups and quieter settings.  He can get overwhelmed when there are a lot of people or it is very noisy.  He also continues to babble almost continuously when he is awake, although now he seems to be trying to form words.  He watches our mouths closely when we say things and sometimes tries to mimic the sounds that we make.  He did say his first word while we were visiting Mommom and Poppop in New York.  He clearly said "Poppop" and was delighted with the reaction that he got every time he said it.

We have now tried with some success to have Evan and Madelyn sleeping in the same room at night.  Evan is waking up less frequently and now going back to sleep once he eats.  He is also putting himself to sleep more easily and seems to enjoy being in the room with his sister while he is trying to go to sleep.  Sometimes Madelyn talks to him after we put them to bed and this seems to have the desired effect of helping him go to sleep instead of keeping him awake.  Time will tell if this has just been a few random good nights, or if the kids are actually heading in the direction of sharing a room.

It has crazy to see how fast Evan is changing and I am sure the next month will bring more changes as well.

Better Late Than Never - Evan's 6 (and 7) month updates

Justin and I finally got our laptop fixed (woo-hoo) so now it doesn't take me 20 minutes to open a web browser.  I am hoping that this will make me more likely to blog...we'll see :)

6 Month Stats:
Weight: 16 lbs 1 oz (25-50%)
Height: 27 inches (50-75%)
Head Circumference: 16.5 inches (10-25%)

Evan is already 7 months old!  His personality is really starting to show.  He is still very affectionate and loves attention, particularly from his big sister.  Although he loves his jumper and likes his bouncy seat, he would still prefer to be held above all else.

Evan's hand/eye coordination is getting much better.  He can consistently put things in his mouth, and even exchange things between hands.  He is also reaching for things, and people, much more consistently.  Although he still prefers to stand, Evan is starting to take an interest in the sitting position, and will sit independently for sometimes minutes at a time, but he is still very likely to fling himself forwards, backwards, or sideways, so he definitely needs someone very close by.

Evan started his voyage to eating solid foods after Madelyn's birthday party on March 30, and he was an instant fan.  We have not yet found anything he flat out refuses to eat, although green vegetables do take more coaxing.  He has had cereal, bananas, peaches, apples, pears, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, and prunes.  He is very enthusiastic any time he can have solid foods :)

first cereal

Faster Mommy!

Another first - after what has seemed like forever, one of Evan's bottom front teeth has finally broken through this week.  Maybe sleep filled nights are in his future?

On the sleeping front, things have not been going all that well still, although I am hoping that the current trend towards sleeping longer stretches is going to continue.  Evan is still up several times at night, and usually wants to eat although can sometimes be pacified back to sleep without being fed.

Evan pretty much constantly makes noise of some kind or another, and usually at a high volume.  When he is sleeping the house seems very quiet, which is saying something since there is still usually an awake 3 year old making noise.

Evan has brought a lot of joy to our lives (if not a lot of sleep) and we are looking forward to seeing what the next weeks and months hold for us!

Evan's Baby Dedication

Yesterday Justin and I dedicated Evan at church along with 3 other families and their babies.  We really appreciated having my parents and my aunt Linda there with us, but we also wanted to share the information from the dedication with all of our family who weren't able to be there in person.

Here are a few pictures from the dedication:

Pastor telling us how children are like arrows

Pastor praying a blessing on Evan

Pastor telling us the meanings of Evan's names

 Pastor Gerald began by comparing the children to arrows (and he gave us each an arrow at the end of the dedication). Some of his points were that our children, like arrows, go places that we can not go, they reach further than we well, and they go in the direction that we point them.  He then asked us all to make the following comittments:

• Do you profess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and that you purpose to glorify Him in your life? 
• Do you solemnly recommit yourselves to your mate and to nurture your relationship? 
• Do you solemnly promise before God and these witnesses that with God's help and guidance you will undertake to bring your little one to come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and serve him as Lord, making use of all the helps God has given you in the family and in the church? 

 Then he took each of the children and talked about them, the meaning of their names, and gave each of them a blessing.  For Evan, he also commented on his spiffy attire!

We received a certificate of dedication along with a card that has the meanings of Evan's name, along with the arrow.

Evan
Literal meaning: God is gracious
Suggested character quality or Godly characteristic: God's gift
Suggested Lifetime Verse: Isaiah 43:10  "You are my witnesses, says the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen in order that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He.  Before me no God was formed, nor shall there be after Me."

Mark
Literal meaning: Warlike One
Suggested character quality or Godly characteristic: Mighty Warrior
Suggested Lifetime Verse: Psalm 29:1 "Give to the Lord. O you sons of the mighty, give to the Lord glory and strength."

Afterward we had lunch and a surprise birthday party at my parent's house for my aunt Linda.  More of my extended family was able to make to celebrate in the afternoon.  Evan though it wasn't his birthday, Evan still managed to make himself the center of much attention :)

Evan with Aunt Eileen

Evan, Aunt Eileen, and Evan's Great Great Grandmother :)

Four Month Update

On February 5th Evan was 4 months old!

Our laptop is on the fritz so I can't currently get to my photos to upload and although I love my iPad, writing a blog post on it is more challenging so I am going to keep this short :)

Evan's stats:
Length: 25 1/2 inches (70th percentile)
Weight: 13 lbs 10oz (20th percentile)
Head Circumference: 16 inches (20th percentile)

Evan has become a very social baby, cooing and vocalizing most of his awake time, and smiling whenever he is interacted with,  He has continued to be a very happy baby and loves to watch his sister in whatever she is doing.  Evan is becoming more sturdy every day and if given his choice prefers to be standing with some stabilization.  He has also started rolling over so tummy time doesn't happen very often any more since he just rolls over :). So far he hasn't rolled from back to front, but it is probably on the horizon.  He really likes his bouncy seat, but is not all that interested in the playmat or swing which is a big contrast from Madelyn at this age.  He is also starting to show signs on teething and has some telltale white bumps below the surface of his gums.  Consequently he is putting everything he can get into his mouth, a tedtament to his improved hand/eye coordination.  He likes toys, particularly rattles and teething toys.  He frequently laughs when he is being interacted with...sometimes Madelyn asks why he is laughing at her sice she doesn't necessarily think it is a laughing situation.

The only hiccup we have had is that Evan currently has a mild case of RSV, but he has not had breathing trouble and we are hoping he will be on the mend soon.  He definitely shows a dislike for the nasal saline when I squirt it up his nose :(

All in all it has been a lot of fun to see him grow and change these last few months!

2 Months Old!

On December 5th (which is admittedly not today) Evan hit the 2 months old mark!  It has felt like time is just flying by with him and it seems like each week he is hitting new milestones.  In the last month Evan has started smiling and cooing, begun to laugh, is able to identify a me by voice and maybe by sight, and has started to show interest in toys.  He can hold his head up for short periods of time, would really like to sit up on his own (but he really isn't that close to accomplishing it) and is getting better every day at getting his hands to his mouth, which is possibly his favorite thing to do other than eat.

Although sometimes getting Evan to sleep can be an issue,  he generally sleeps like a champion during the night and is rarely up more than once a night, and pretty much never more than twice.  Sometimes he does want to get up an hour or two before I want to, but overall I am feeling pretty lucky that he is such a good sleeper.

We had his 2 month check up last week and here are his stats:
Weight: 10 lbs, 15 oz (25th percentile)
Height: 23 1/4 inches (50th percnetile)
Head Circumference: 15 inches (25th percentile)

His percentiles are holding pretty steady from his post-hospital follow up appointment and he is a healthy happy baby!

The best laid plans...

We had a plan for Thanksgiving.  Since we were going to drive hours north to see my grandma and my aunt and uncle my mom came up with the idea that she and I would drive together earlier in the day on Wednesday and then my dad and Justin would follow when they were done with work.  That would allow us to get the kids settled in at a reasonable time and hopefully make the trip a little less painful for them.

We were going to leave from church after my mom had a rehearsal at 10 am.  However, during the rehearsal when Madelyn was playing in the sanctuary, she fell from some risers.  After trying to console her and her protests that her arm really hurt I decided that she needed to be seen.  I called Justin and he got her an appointment to see a pediatric orthopedic doctor at the same hospital that he is working at on this rotation.  Madelyn was a trooper and we were able to get her mind off of the pain by distracting her with shows that she likes while waiting for the appointment.  The x-rays showed that she did have a hairline fracture right above her elbow, which we learned is common in children her age when they try to break a fall with their arm.  Madelyn cried most of the time that we were there until one of the nurses brought her a container of toys and she was left alone for a while.  When she wasn't thinking about how much her arm hurt she was doing really well. 

After they got her in a cast we realized that there was no way we were going to be able to get her back in her shirt.  I would guess that we aren't the first parents to have this dilemma - they said "no problem" and brought us a hospital gown to bring her home in.  After a quick conference to decide if we were still going to make the trip we decided to go ahead.  I went back home to pick up my mom and Evan and we hit the road about 5:30 pm (only 6 and a half hours behind scheduled).  With Tylenol to help the pain and some distractions on the ipad for Madelyn we finally made it it Fosston a little before midnight.

On Thursday we visited my Grandma in the nursing home and then headed out to my aunt Judy's for a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner.  Friday we made it home.  Madelyn is adapting well to her cast and doing things one-handed.  She gets frustrated with some things, but overall she is pretty resilient

Madelyn sporting her cast

Aubrey performed an important function as lap dog

Evan and his great grandmother

Doing a 60 piece puzzle... seems a little ambitious

One Week Old!

Today Evan is a week old.  In some ways it's hard to believe it has only been a week, and in others it seems like we were just at the hospital.   We had our post-hospital check-up today and here are Evan's stats:

Weight: 7lbs 7 oz (25th percentile)

Height: 20.5 inches (75th percentile)

Head Circumference: 13.5 inches (25th percentile)

Evan has gained back his birth weight plus an ounce, so he is ahead of the game :)  This means that we don't have to bring him back to the doctor again until his 2 month check up unless something is concerning us.

When Madelyn was born, we started the tradition of taking pictures of her as she grew with a stuffed animal.  It has been fun to look back and see how much she grew and changed so we are continuing the tradition with Evan.

Evan is a sleepier baby than Madelyn was, so we have not had as many pictures of him awake.  However, here are a few highlights from the last week.

Visitors at the hospital:

Madelyn was both happy to meet Evan and happy to see that after the distressing morning, Mommy really was ok.

Mommom made it!

Matt with a contented Evan :)

My cousin Zoe

My cousin Nathan

A couple of pictures of Evan (notice the contentment during daylight hours...):

 

 Getting Ready to head home!

Home :)

First Bath: