8 Months Old

Evelynn is 8 months old today.  What a silly little girl she is.  When she's not hungry or sleepy she is constantly smiling and exploring. Which, of course, is keeping us on our toes now that she has this crawling thing figured out. We took her to Toddler Time, a free gathering at the community center for kids birth-4 years put on by the city Parks and Recreation. We went on Thursday and, although she didn't seem to notice the other kids much, she certainly mastered crawling after watching a 9 month old there pretty much do laps around the room.  When she realized she could crawl out of the living room and down the hall Hubs and I exchanged worried looks and I frantically ran around putting plugs in all our wall outlets. I'm sensing baby gates in our future as I'm sure the cat food is getting more and more interesting.

We took Little Miss to the doctor today for shots and check up.  She got her polio vaccine and that was the only time she cried. She weighed in at 19lbs 4 oz.  That's less than last month if you're keeping track but she was weighed fully clothed last month and nekkid this month so nothing to worry about. According to the doc, this is the only one that counts anyway, last month was unofficial. That's the 76th percentile.  She was 28 inches long which is the 90th percentile.

The doctor was pleased with her crawling and pulling up and impressed by her walking holding my hands-a milestone she's not due to reach until she's 1 year old.  He said she looked very healthy and well adjusted and he even complimented us on how clean her ears were. I know you were wondering. No sign of any ear infections at all. 

She is about to cut her first top tooth. I say it could be any day now. Mike thinks it will be on Friday because that's when Grammy is coming to visit.

We talked about the foods Evelynn eats and the doctor commended us on the good nutrition she is receiving. We didn't tell him how much she likes ice cream... :) He did say she should start eating meats and veggies twice a day and cereal and fruit once a day. That's just an extra serving of veggies and meat each day from what she gets now. And she is still getting both breast milk and formula for most of her nutrients.  She'll continue having breast milk as long as I can provide at least a little bit and formula until she's 1 year.

She's not due to see the doctor again until May unless she gets sick. It kind of makes me sad. I love the piece of mind of seeing the Doc each month and getting her weighed on a scale her size (and one that I don't have to get on with her! There's a scary thought.)

As I type she's waking up from her nap. "Ooo Ooooo! Ooooo! Ooooo! Ahhh! " is coming from her bedroom. If I open the door I'm pretty sure I will find her standing up in bed and bouncing with a grin. 

Evie's Christmas/New Years Adventures and Milestones

Evie is nearly 8 months old now and time is going by way too fast for her Mommy and Daddy.  The past month has just been a whirlwind of travel, events and milestones.

On her 7 month birthday we took her to visit Santa Claus.  As you can see, she wasn't all that thrilled with him. But she didn't cry and I think she may have whispered her Christmas wishes to him while she tried to remove his beard.  She was much happier a little while later after a snack and much adoration down at the Mall Deli.

On Christmas Eve we traveled to Tulsa to visit Grammy. We made it there just as the rain was starting to freeze.  And a giant snow storm followed. Not only did we have a white Christmas, but Evie got to see her first snow as well.

Christmas Eve with Mommy and Daddy and her favorite Dolly.

 

Christmas Morning, playing with Dolly and showing off my two front teeth... it's all I wanted for Christmas. :)

 

Checking out this snow stuff with Mommy... Meh. Not sure what all the fuss is about.

 

Playing with my new toys.

After Christmas we came home for a few days. Evie got her second tooth just a few days before Christmas so we had a blissfully, teething free holiday. It was grand. She's growing like crazy and I spent much of the time we were home cleaning out her closet and sorting through the too small clothes.  The rest of my time was spent making hats.

 

My camera broke on Christmas day so I have been using our camcorder for stills... As you can see, the quality is not great. But Cozy Baby is going really well. I have yet to have a lull in orders so I can't complain. I really enjoy making the hats and it helps me feel like I'm doing something about our current situation.

Anyway, we spent New Years Eve at home with Evie. She must have known it was a special night because we couldn't get her to fall asleep until 11:55PM.  Then we cracked open a bottle of wine and watched the ball drop.  New Years Day we had our annual blackeyed peas and boardgames tradition with the Fosters. This year it was Scattergories and it fortunately it was uneventful.  No one passed out or did any risque charades this year! :) But as always we had a great time with our dear friends. Evie even behaved herself and joined in the fun, helping her God Father, Rick, as much as she could.

A few days after New Years it was time to pack up the whole house again and hit the road. We went to Little Rock this time for 2 more Christmases and a visit with some wonderful friends.

By her 3rd Christmas she'd finally gotten the hang of this tearing paper thing.

 

Modeling yet another hat for me.

 

Hanging out with Aunt Shelley and her friend Jon

We were busy bees in Little Rock. We spent Thursday shopping with my Nana, Aunt and cousins. We shopped 'till we dropped and had to spend Friday getting back on Schedule. But Mike and I were able to meet up with friends for dinner that night. I think that makes 5 date nights in nearly 8 months.  Saturday we met up with my dad and had Christmas, lunch and then went to the car show.  Our friends from Kansas City built an awesome car that was being shown.

'69 Dodge Charger built by Jason Rock of Rock's Rod and Customs

We were really excited to see the Charger in person after hearing about it for so many months. It's won awards all over the country and is one of the top 5 cars this year.  Mike spent Thursday helping set up the display. While the boys enjoyed the car show the girls went up to the hotel room to hang out for a little while and eventually do some shopping. Later that night we said good-bye to our friends and went over to Dad's to relax and watch movies.  And on Sunday we were on the go again. 

Dad picked us up around Noon Sunday and we went to visit my Grandmother in Texarkana. Then we stopped to visit with my Aunt and Uncle and Dad's cousins. It was really great to see them all again and introduce Evie to Dad's cousins.  We had dinner with Aunt Jean and Uncle Buddy but then had to head back.  Evie was just wonderful the whole time even though she spent over 4 hours in the car that day.

Sadly on Monday it was time to pack up and drive home.  We called the Rock's and even though they'd left much earlier than we had, we managed to catch up with them in Fayetteville, and we all stopped for lunch together. Evie slept almost the whole way home but when we got here she was so glad to be back.

Over our trip we had a rollercoaster of a time with Mike's job situation. We found out he did not get the job we were really holding out hope for. But the very next day two different recruiters called and one of them had set up an interview.  Fingers crossed! This one would mean we wouldn't have to move! So after we got home he had much preparing to do and I had much to do around the house.

We got the tree down yesterday out of pure necessity. See, Evie had been perfecting this whole crawling thing over our trip and when we got home she really started to boogie.

 

Are we in for it, or WHAT?!

She must have just been itching to get home so she could concentrate on growing up too fast.  This child has always liked to be on her feet and has been able to pull up for months now IF you put her in a seated position near something she could get her hands around. We preemptively lowered her crib mattress a few weeks ago just to be safe. And it's a good thing we did!  The day before we left she discovered that by getting up on all 4s she could sort of fall on to her bottom and sit up by herself. We knew this would not be good for us. If she could get herself in a seated position she can pull herself up.  So the day I knew was coming finally came yesterday.  When I went in after her morning nap I found her like this: 

She was so proud of herself. 

Of course she would start pulling up on the end of the bed, not where I placed the rail cover.  Wiley little thing!  We got home Monday evening.  It's now Wednesday morning. Since we've been home she has perfected crawling, sitting, pulling up on her own and has started cruising!  Can she please just slow down a little bit?!  Now you know why we had to get the tree down ASAP.  And we're frantically trying to remember where we put those cabinet locks we pulled off when we moved in to our house 2.5 years ago. And where, oh WHERE did I put those outlet covers?  And if anyone needs an idea for a Valentine's present, baby gates would be fantastic.  

 

Can you believe this was less than 8 months ago? 

 

Owl hat Pattern

I created this pattern myself and have never written it down so hopefully this will make sense.  I'm providing it Free of charge, sort of as a Christmas present to you! :) Please use this only for personal use as hat sales are currently my family's only source of income. If you are interested in purchasing a hat you can leave a comment here with your e-mail, contact me through Cozy Baby on Facebook or visit my Etsy Store.

Yarns:  Bernat Satin Solids- Mocha; Bernat Softee Baby- Whtie; Plymouth Yarn Baby Bunny- Sage; Naturally Merino wool Blend- Rose

Needles: US size 10, US size 3,  size D crochet hook

Tapestry Needle

Stitches: Stockingette, Seed, Single Crochet, Chain

Abbreviations: K= Knit, P=Purl, K2tog= Knit 2 together, P2tog= Purl 2 together

Hat :

Using size 10 needles and Bernat Satin Solids- Mocha, cast on 72 stitches using long tail cast on.  Leave long enough tail to stitch up seam.

Row 1: K

Row 2: K

Row 3: P

Rows 4-27: Continue stockingette stitch evenly

Row 28: *K10, K2tog repeat from*

Row 29: *P2tog, P9 repeat from *

Row 30: *K8, K2tog repeat from *

Continue decreasing in the above manner reducing the number of stitches between the 2tog with each row until you have 3 stitches remaining.  Cut yarn and thread through loops.

Place right sides together and use small crochet hook to stitch up the seam with slip stitches.  This ensures a strong covered seam with even stitches.

Ears:  (make 2)

Using size 3 needles and Bernat Satin Solids- Mocha cast on 12 stitches using long tail cast on. Leave enough tail to sew ears to hat.

Row 1: seed stitch (K1, P1) evenly

Row 2: seed stitch evenly

Row 3: K1, K2tog, seed stitch 6, k2tog, k1

row 4: P10

row 5: k1, k2tog, seed stitch 4, k2tog, k1

row 6: p8

row 7: k1, k2tog, seed stitch 2, k2tog, k1

row 8: p 6

row 9: k1, k2tog, k2tog, k1

row 10: k1, k2tog, k1

row 11: k1, k2tog

row 12: k2tog

cut thread and pull through remaining loop. Weave in end.

Wings:  (make 2)

Using size 10 needles and Plymouth Yarn Baby Bunny- Sage cast on 24 stitches using long tail cast on. Leave tail long enough to sew wings to hat.

Row 1: K evenly

Row 2: P evenly

Row 3: K1, K2tog, K18, K2tog, K1

Row 3: P 22

Row 4: K1, k2tog, k until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, k1

row 5: p 20

row 6: k1, k2tog, k until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, k1

row 7: p18

row 8: k1, k2tog, k until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, k1

row 9: p16

row 10: k1, k2tog, k until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, k1

row 11: p 14

row 12: k1, k2tog, k until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, k1

row 13: p12

row 14: k1, k2tog, k until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, k1

row 15: p 10

row 16: k1, k2tog, k until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, k1

row 17: p 8

row 18: k1, k2tog, k until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, k1

row 19: p 6

row 20: K1, k2tog, k2tog, k1

row 21: k1, k2tog, k1

row 22: k1, k2tog

row 23; k2tog

Cut yarn and pull through remaining loop. Weave in end.

Earflaps: make 2

Follow directions for Wings up through Row 20

Row 21: p even

Row 22: k1, k2tog, k1

row 23: p even

row 24: k1 k2tog

row 25: p even

row 26: k2tog

Cut yarn and pull through remaining loop. Make sure to cut it about 6 inches long to use to make ties.

Eyes Make 2

Using small crochet hook and Plymouth Yarn Baby Bunny- sage

Chain 2

6 SC in second chain from the hook do not join rounds

row 2: 2 SC in each stitch (12 stitches)

row 3: 2 SC in each stitch (24 stitches)

row 4: 2 SC in each stitch (48 stitches)

Join with slip stitch and cut yarn leaving tail long enough to stitch eye to hat.

Using small crochet hook and Bernat Softee Baby - White

Chain 2

6 SC in second chain from the hook do not join rounds

row 2: 2 SC in each stitch (12 stitches)

row 3: 2 SC in each stitch (24 stitches)

Using small crochet hook and Bernat Satin solids- Mocha

make slip knot remove from hook and hold on wrong side of the white circle you just created.

Insert hook through holes created between rows 2 and 3 of white circle and pick up slip knot, draw through.

Insert hook in center of white circle and draw up a loop.

Slip stitch into slip knot.

*slip stitch into next space between rows 2 and 3

Insert hook in center of white circle and draw up a loop, slip stitch

Repeat from * You should have 12 loops total

Slip stitch in first slip knot when you have gone all the way around.  Cut yarn and pull through.  Then Pull back to wrong side to secure final stitch.

Using tail from white circle, pull up a small loop through the brown layer to create the twinkle.  Insert hook back through brown and white layers to pull up another loop. Slip stitch. Pull yarn through and then back to wrong side to secure.

Center white/brown circle with right side up on right side of sage circle. Use white tail to slip stitch between outer stitches of white circle and space between rows 3 and 4 of sage circle (24 stitches)

Join with slip stitch and pull yarn through to wrong side of sage circle to secure.

Assembly:

Fold hat in half with seam on the side.  Center earflap.  Use cast on tail to slip stitch earflap to bottom row of hat on the inside. Weave in ends. Repeat on other side making sure to align earflaps.

Place wing atop ear flap with right sides facing. Using cast on tail attach bottom of wing with slip stitches to bottom of hat. Fold wing up and slip stitch to right side of hat. Repeat for second wing.

Center eyes on front of hat.  Using cast on tail from sage circle slip stitch to hat.

Using cast on tail and tapestry needle sew ears to top.

Nose:

Using size 3 needles and Rose Merino wool, pick up 4 stitches in center of hat.

Row 1: K

row 2: P

Row 3: K1, k2tog, K1

Row 4: K1, k2tog,

Row 5: K2 tog

Pull Yarn through remaining loop and weave in ends.

Ties:

Cut a piece of sage yarn approximately 12 inches long. Thread half way through last loop of ear flap so you have 3 pieces of yarn to work with.  Braid yarn. Tie off at end leaving strings no longer than 6 inches. Repeat for second side.

Evelynn's 6 month portraits!

Bishop's Studio does an AMAZING job. Call 800-842-1155 to book a session with them.  I'm so thrilled to share these beautiful pictures with you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evie Laughs

Evie has the sweetest little laugh. Just hearing it can brighten your day. We were fortunate enough to capture it on video so now we can have a smile whenever we need one, even if Evelynn is not in such a laughing mood! :)

6 Months

Modeling her Thanksgiving dress

Evelynn is 6 months old yesterday. Time is moving impossibly fast. I'm so in love with this little girl and I can't wait to see what she'll do next. And in the same breath, I'm so sad that her time as a wee one is so short. In another 6 months she'll be walking, talking and getting into trouble. It's just the blink of an eye it seems.

She's learning so much every day. Nothing gets past this kid. Her eyes and hands are taking it all in. Along those lines, she may be part goat.  We have to make sure to keep all paper as far away from her as humanly possible.

She's had several milestones lately. She can get those toes to her mouth now and loves to gnaw on them, especially her left big toe. She can stay in a seated position for long periods of time, but she can't get there on her own yet. However, if you put her in a seated position, say, in her crib within reach of the lowest side rail, she can grab it and pull herself up to her favorite position- standing. Ack! Standing on her own! But fortunately she can't get into that position without our help. So, we're not lowering the mattress just yet. She still doesn't roll over. Not that she can't. Stubborn little girl just won't!  She still HATES being on her tummy and gets so mad about the situation, rather than rolling over, she just slams her face into the floor or mattress or whatever she's laying on. From her back she easily rolls to her sides but sticks her foot out to stop her from rolling over and ending up in the dreaded tummy time.  We say she'll skip crawling and go straight to running since she likes being on her feet so much. But she really wants to crawl. She's certainly trying to master climbing on Mommy and Daddy. It's like vertical crawling.

Evelynn has been trying all kinds of "solid" foods. So far she LOVES bananas. Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Squash, Pears, and Apples are all pretty good. Peaches.... eh... she'll eat them but she's not really a big fan. And she does NOT like peas.  The most surprising thing she eats is Green Beans. I won't come near them. I once tried to turn my parents in for child abuse for attempting to make me eat them. The kid doesn't love them but she will eat them. I'm sort of wondering if someone else has my real child. She wasn't liking her rice cereal very well so I stopped giving it to her for a few weeks and restarted again this week. Things went over much better. Of course, the first night I mixed a substantial portion of bananas into it so that probably helped.

I am the luckiest mommy on the planet sleep wise. Evelynn is very predictable. She wakes up around 7:30 each morning and is up for 2 hours then takes a nap for somewhere between 45 minutes and 2 hours. Wakes up for the next 2 hours and back to sleep for an afternoon nap. Usually she's up for 2 hours after that and takes a short evening nap before going to bed for real between 8 and 9. And then she's done. She sleeps all night. If she wakes up, generally she puts herself back to sleep. No crying. I don't have to get up and go in there for a cuddle. She makes a little coughish sound plays with her toy for a few minutes and right back to sleep. It's been this way for a few months now. Bliss! Of course, on the rare occasions that she is off her schedule it really wipes me out.

My sweet little girl goes through phases of her favorite sounds to make.  Recently it was that high pitched squealy sound baby children make in restaurants. Thankfully that one passed quickly and her Daddy and I never reacted. We didn't want to teach her early on that that sound got to us. Now her favorite sound is "pffffttt" complete with spittle. It's very cute. And she's learned to give raspberries. She does them on my arms all the time but it's most fun when we can get her to do it on her Daddy's belly. That cracks all of us up. Well, not so much her daddy. But the girls think it's hilarious.

Happy Birthday to my sweet smiley girl. I love you more each day.

Getting ready for her first Christmas trying on her new Santa Hat I made her.

Saving, Saving. Saving. er, sort of.

The Hubs has been laid off for over a month now. Severance runs out right around Thanksgiving so we're doing all we can to try to save a little cash. Fortunately we have a great family that has helped out a LOT with Evelynn even before the lay off. I have never bought even 1 package of baby wipes and probably only 2 or 3 packs of diapers in the nearly 6 months we've had this beautiful baby.

Here are a few things we've done to try and save where we can. 

1.  Entertainment.  Our entertainment budget consists of the cable bill right now.  We've stopped eating out and seeing movies. It really wasn't that hard since with no family near by and thus no babysitters we hadn't been going out all that much anyway.  But we are holding on to the cable for now.  It also includes phone and internet. With both of us at home we pretty much consider that a need.

2.  Groceries.  Meal  planning has really helped us get the grocery budget under control.  We now spend $100 or less a week on food.  That's HUGE for us.  Before Evelynn was born we were probably spending double that at least with all the eating out we did.  The only problem is that food that is better for you costs more and goes bad faster.  We used to go to the store several times a week and just pick up a few things here and there.  Now we go once a week and have the whole week's menu planned ahead of time.  We've also quit going to the nice grocery store 1 mile from the house and instead trek clear across town to buy groceries at the dreaded Walmart.  Yes,  I hate shopping at Walmart but when their price is half of what the closer store charges it more than makes up for the added gas. However,  it really has been a challenge to   create healthy meals on cheap ingredients.  I've been trying to make meals that will be sure to provide leftovers and things that I can use twice, like the rosemary grilled chicken we had yesterday.  I'll use the leftovers to make our own pizza tonight.  The fact is though,  canned veggies, pasta and rice are cheap.  I can see why there is such a great obecity problem, esspecially among lower income families.

3.  Gas.  I mentioned that a moment ago. With neither of us working,  there are days we just don't go anywhere.  Considering Hubs used to have a 30 mile commute each way,  just being laid off has slashed our gas expense.

4. Misc.  We stopped spending everywhere we could.  I switched from salon shampoo to Panteen, Bath and Body to Dove.  Neither of us have bought clothes or music or dvds.  I made Evelynn's winter hats instead of buying them.

We still have the mortgage of course and the car payment, gas, electricity, water, trash,  insurance and student  loan.  But we are fortunate not to have a dime of credit card debit. So you'd think we'd be saving tons with all this right?  Not so much.  We had to go on COBRA coverage when the health insurance termed.  Even with the government subsidy,  one month of coverage is more than the rent on my first 3 apartments! 

I am so SO glad the house passed the reform bill (no thanks to the Kansas representatives with the exception of Dennis Moore).  I only hope the Senate can pass their version quickly so we can start to see some change.  If you'd like to see how your representative voted,  along with how much money s/he received from the health insurance companies and what percentage of their constituents are uninsured,  click here.