Happy Father's Day Daddy!!

Yesterday was Daddy's first Father's Day and we spent the day with the Kershaws in Peoria. We went swimming for a while and then hung out in the hotel together doing the usual complaining about high schoolers (the curse of having 3 high school teachers in the immediate family) :) It was nice to see everyone again so soon and we even lucked out with the car ride this time -- I lulled Evalee to sleep on both trips!

This weekend was a bit crazy beforehand. Thursday night was Travis's first night away from the baby. He was on special assignment with the Iowa National Guard in Minnesota. He had a really good job, but unfortunately got less sleep than he usually does with a two month old. Then Friday night was MY first night away from the baby, as it was my best friend's bachelorette party in Naperville. I was worried sick about leaving her because she has been refusing to take a bottle for the past week, but Grandma was getting her to eat a little as I was leaving so I maintained composure. I fought back tears for the first part of the drive away, but then I swallowed them and told myself to try to enjoy the break. So, I did the things I can't when she's around: I cranked up the radio really loud, opened the sun roof, and sang at the top of my lung for most of the drive. I had a lot of fun with my friends, but I was very happy to come home to my little girl on Saturday morning.

Then Saturday night we celebrated Father's Day by going out to dinner (Evalee was so good sitting on our laps at the table!) and did a bit of shopping. She has really started to love Baby Einstein music and books, so I decided to get some more music and one of their DVDs to try with her. I saw that they have a Baby Sign DVD as well, so I'm definitely going to be purchasing that when the time comes that we start signing!

Mommy's Favorite outfit

I dressed Evalee in this dress to go to the doctor because I thought it would be nice and cool for the car ride there, and I was a little sad to see how snugly it fit her. This was my excited purchase for her when I was pregnant, and I remember picking it in the store and thinking how impossible it was to imagine the baby inside me would one day wear this dress. I'm not sure how many more times I'm going to see her in it, so I took a couple dozen pictures of her in it just in case :).

2 month well baby visit

Today Evalee went to see Dr. Moen for her two month well baby visit. We found out she now weighs 11 1/2 pounds and is 23 inches long, which puts her exactly in the 50th percentile for both. She did really well during her check up -- she didn't like getting her head measured too much, but Dr. Moen said that just meant she was going to be able to take care of herself when she gets older :). He gave us advice on a lot of things I was wondering about, and I felt much better after talking with him about her reflux. He recommended that we start adding rice cereal in with her bottle at night to help with her spitting up and to help her sleep longer (which if of course fine by me). He thinks she will have grown out of it all in another 6 or 8 weeks and is confident it is not going to cause any real problems down the road.

After her check up, however, she was due for 4 immunizations. The poor little thing screamed like a champ each time she got poked, and I don't blame her. She was very happy when we stopped at Daddy's work a couple blocks away with lunch so he could cheer her up. She was the center of attention in the news room, like she always is when she visits, and this time I think she could have sat and smiled with Chris Minor all day long.

She was pretty cranky by the time we got home, so I gave her her first dose of Tylenol. About an hour later she finally fell asleep and she's been napping since. I hope when she wakes up she feels better!

Holding my own head up!

Yesterday we tried out cousin Alex's Bumbo seat! She seemed to really like it! It's crazy how much older they look sitting in it!

Card nights

We have attempted to resume our card playing nights with Grandma and Grandpa Adams, but it's a bit trickier with Evalee thrown into the mix now. We have feedings and crying fit interruptions now on top of the bathroom breaks, drink refills, and smoke breaks :). But it's still lots of fun, even if it's a bit slower paced :). It feels kind of funny to be the one playing cards now and not being the little kid wondering what all the fuss was about in the next room. Last weekend Evalee was pretty good while we played. She even gave Grandma some advice as to which move to back (although it didn't help Grandma and I out any, points-wise. I think Daddy cheats or something.)

Cute as a button

I have been organizing Evalee's plethora of clothing and adding to the madness by picking up older clothes at yard sales, and we found this cute little number mixed it with the wrong size! We almost didn't get to wear it at all!

Play time

Evalee has really started enjoying playing with more of her toys lately. She can hold on her rattle all by herself now, and when she gets a good grip she can shake away for a long time. Today she even grabbed a hold of it on her own for the first time! She also still really loves her Baby Einstein book. We look at it 4 or 5 times a day every day, and 98% of the time it relaxes her so much she fills her diaper, which makes us laugh every time (sorry for that one, future Evalee). She has also been chewing on a teething ring, eating her Kermit doll, and making faces at her Grover doll.

This week she has also been cooing and talking a lot, especially with Dad when he gets home from work. We've been so spoiled because he has been working day shifts since last Thursday, so we have been able to enjoy his company every night this week! Eva loves to lay on his legs and tell him about her day. I think Daddy likes to listen to it too, if I had to guess.

Happy birthday Alex!!

After Grandma and Grandad Kershaw's visit, we turned around and made our first trip to Virden the next weekend for cousin Alex's 1st birthday party. It was bug themed, since Alex is Aunt Molly's little buggy. It was a beautiful day, although a bit hot. The drive to Aunt Molly and Uncle Adam's went smoothly! I sat in the back with Evalee and we looked at books and talked until we stopped to grab a quick lunch (for all three of us). Luckily, since Aunt Molly and Uncle Adam moved, their house is barely over 2 hours from ours so the drive goes pretty quickly with a stop in the middle.

The party was so much fun -- there were so many people there to love on our favorite little one year old. Evalee got to meet more family she hadn't met yet -- Great Grandma Kershaw and Aunt Sandy, plus she got to see family she hadn't seen in a while again like Aunt Angie and Aunt Ashley and Uncle Trevor. She also got to meet most of the Hawkins family, which was long awaited. Eva was so good for the party -- she let people pass her around, sat with Grandma and Grandad Kershaw for a couple of hours, and even let Grandma give her a bath (although that was slightly protested by our little girl). After she finally tuckered out for the night, we got to catch up with all of Aunt Molly and Uncle Adam's friends that we hadn't seen in a long time! It was so much fun and a much needed break from it all for both of us.

Then on Sunday we got up early so we could make the drive out to Virden to visit First Baptist Church. Grandma was definitely anxious to show Eva off to the crowd, even though Eva wasn't in the happiest of moods through the service. She got to meet Gerry and Della, Mike and Janis, and all the other special people at church. Then we went back to Grandma and Grandad's for a yummy lunch and hung out there for the afternoon before getting in the car and heading back home.

Uncle Adam left a few things of Alex's at Grandma and Grandad's, and we left a couple baby items we were going to borrow at their house, so we stopped by there on the way back. I was feeling pretty good about the drive, as she was pretty good all the way to Aunt Molly and Uncle Adam's house. We stopped and cooled off inside and Eva ate a little bit. But once we hit the road again, she was not ready to go back in the car. She cried and cried, which turned into wailing and wailing, which turned into choking on her own wailing allllll the way home. We stopped and had dinner in the McDonalds parking lot and took her out of her seat for a bit, which calmed her down for the time being. But as soon as those straps were tightened again, she was back to the same ol' song and dance. In a desperate attempt to appease her, I gave her a bottle when we were about 45 minutes from home. That turned out to be a very huge mistake, as she threw up about 2.5 ounches back at us -- all over her and her car seat, which made her even more upset. Needless to say after we got home (and got a bath) she was ready to be cuddled and to fall asleep.

I'm a little discouraged by her hatred for the car, as I enjoy taking her places and seeing people. I hope once she can turn around and face forward she will enjoy it a lot more. I just can't stand to hear her cry so hard for so long -- it breaks my heart mentally and well, from a nursing mother's standpoint, it hurts physically as well.

We don't have tons of pictures because our camera battery died on us, but luckily Aunt Angie and Ashley got a few for us!

Going back to work, a visit from Grandma and Grandad

Life has been pretty crazy around the Kershaw house for the last two weeks. I went back to work, leaving Daddy home alone with the baby for the first significant chunk of time all morning. Then Grandma Ruth came at lunch time to relieve Daddy for enough time to shower and eat before heading off to work. My prep period is during the lunch hour and the longest chunk of the day, so I decided to come home during lunch to feed her and cut down on the pumped milk demand. We all survived all seven days, though some were better than others. It was nice to get a little practice run in before the school year starts in full swing in the fall. Finding a place to pump was tricky at first (the first day I pumped in my good friend Becky's , the PE teacher, bathroom in her office, which is more like a closet with a toilet. It was standing room only and about 150 degrees, so I found a new place for the rest of the week haha. I'm not the cheeriest person when I don't' get enough sleep, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well I functioned on about 5 hours of sleep each night. It eventually caught up with my by the weekend, though, and I was getting pretty tired and crabby by Friday night.

Fortunately, we had a special treat to perk up the slump of the week: Grandma and Grandad came up to visit. They came up on Friday night and Eva was already asleep when they got here, but they still got to love on a sleeping baby. Then Saturday morning Travis and I went and got massages because they were having a half off weekend (and how can you not go when you get an hour massage for $30?), so Grandma and Grandad got to babysit for the morning. We took advantage of being out and about and baby-less by shopping for cousin Alex's birthday present, getting Daddy a MUCH needed new phone, and grabbing some lunch to bring back home. Then Saturday afternoon we hung around the house (Mommy got a nap in! Woo!) and then we had good dinner on the grill (steaks and grilled potatoes! My favorite!). Then it was a heated game of Scrabble with our new deluxe board (yard sale find for $2!)and I got last place both times, as usual :).

Other than that, Eva's colic seems to be getting better. We have found some VERY specific ways she likes to be held and bounced, and so we get through it each day. Still looking forward to that day when she outgrows it though... :)

They melt your heart...

In the last two weeks, Evalee has really started to give Mommy and Daddy big smiles. She loves to lay on her changing pad, especially first thing in the morning. I never want the first hour of the day to end because it's always full of smiles and kisses. It's so amazing to see her change and grow over the course of such a short amount of time. We are trying to really drink it all in (hence, the lack of posting on my part for the last two weeks. That and Eva really hates the sound of keys tapping, making typing tricky. Even as I type now she's frowning.)

Swimming like a duck

On Memorial Day weekend, we took Evalee to Aunt Billie's annual pool opening party. Grandma and Grandad Kershaw visited for the weekend and got her a tiny little suit, so we decided to give the water a try. Everyone at the party was pretty shocked we were taking her in, but the sun was down and the pool was pretty warm and empty so we thought it was a great time to try. She didn't like it at first, but quickly gpt used to it. She stayed in for over a half hour! We are excited to bring her back over the summer. As Daddy says, it's never too early to learn! :)

I'm a Future Girl Scout

Grandma came and babysat Evalee last week while I went back to work. Daddy tried to dress her in her Girl Scouts onesie, but she had already peed on it before Grandma could get there! He did manage to get some pretty cute pictures first, though!

Look Ma, I can read!

I was SO excited to see Evalee take a liking to books! Travis's friend Pam, who used to work at WQAD before she moved to Pennsylvania, sent us a book that her daughter loved when she was a baby. So, we read it to Eva and she absolutely loved it. The plot is, well, non-existent, but those pictures really make her smile. I have probably logged a good 2 or 3 hours of holding the book and watching her stare at the pictures, so I have taken to making up a storyline to the book myself. It's much more interesting, but probably not a conventional one you might find in a baby's book.

I hope this trend continues, because if it's books she loves I definitely have a few up my sleeve (and so does Grandma!)

Ready for her dancin' shoes

Mommy's friend Sylvia from work got Eva this adorable ballerina outfit (although it is affectionately referred to as the "Puerto Rican party dress"). Is it a sign of a hobby to come? Or just really freakin' adorable?