Evan's Busy Weekend - First Snow!

I had tons of cake orders this week so Evan spent the night Thursday and Friday night at Granny & Papa Jerry's house.  I stopped by there Friday after to work to check on him.  He has developed cradle cap this week so we are leaving the helmet off for a few days to treat his head.  With all his hair, it's hard to see it, but hopefully, it's now on the mend.

Evan helped Barbara and Jerry with their laundry.

 Evan was happy eating his dinner.

 Papa Jerry and Granny with Evan.

Evan had all eyes for his daddy when he came home Saturday.

And look what we came home to!  Snow!!

I had found a snow suit for Evan when he was just a few weeks old. I found it at a consignment sale last year. It was size 6 to 9 months, so I wasn't sure if it would still fit him or not.  It fit him perfect! And he looked so cute in it.

 Evan loved the snow!  I think we had about 4 inches of snow. He giggled the whole time he was outside. 

 I'm so glad it finally snowed so Evan could experience it.  He really loved it.

Evan's 1st Valentine's Day

Vince, Evan & I opened our Valentine's Day gifts last night.  We gave Evan a card and a little mini Mickey Beanie Baby.  He loved the card more than Mickey. We then posed him this morning with his Valentine shirt on.

Evan is our little heart breaker.  He always has lots of personality on his face.  Watch out girls!

Vince gave me tulips, a new bathroom sink faucet, and some home automation things for our house. I gave him a laser. We are very romantic. To top it all off, Evan spent that night at his grandparent's house while Vince & I had dinner at the Waffle House. We were all alone there, having the restaurant to ourselves. The service, food, and parking was great!

Evan at 11 Months Old

Wow has time flown!  I can't believe my baby is 11 months old.  He will be celebrating his first birthday next month.  Evan has been learning so many things this past month.  He has made some major milestones.  Here are some things my baby is up to this past month:

• He can pick up cereal and put it in his mouth
• He can pick up yogurt bites and eat it
• He can hold his sippy cup if he's leaning back (otherwise he doesn't like to tip it up to get anything out of it)
• He can hold his own book & turn the pages on his own (I think he reads it too)
• He babbles all the time about everything
• He gets so excited when mommy or daddy get home
• He can empty out the toys in his basket and toss the empty basket over his head
• He rolls to get to all his toys
• He is trying so hard to get up on his hands and knees but it only lasts about a second before he flattens out on his tummy
• He now likes to hold things in each hand and bang them together
• He can take off his shoes and socks in just a couple of seconds
• He goes number 1 and 2 in the potty quite often. 
• He gets very excited when Mickey Mouse Clubhouse comes on TV
• He still sleeps from 9pm to 7am every night
• His feeding schedule is about every 3 hours or so:
• Formula in bottle
• 2 T oatmeal cereal, Stage 2 fruit, yogurt bites, puffs, formula
• 2 T rice cereal, Stage 2 meat, yogurt bites, puffs, formula
• 2 T rice ceral, Stage 2 veggie, yogurt bites, puffs, formula
• Formula in bottle
• Evan really loves every food we've given him.  He eats anything (just like his daddy).
• He doesn't miss a beat & notices every noise, person, and toy around him.
• He is starting to fuss now when I leave the room, but is still a very happy baby
• He wears size 9 - 12 months
• He wears size 2 diaper and size 2 shoe
• He's over 16 pounds
• His hair grows at least 1/4" per week

 In the above picture, I had trimmed his bangs just 15 days earlier to above his eye brows so his helmet doesn't push them in his eyes.  They grow fast!  So in the below picture, we try to brush them to the side.

 Evan posing with his 11 hearts for his 11 month birthday!

 He has so many funny faces.

 (Outfit courtesy of Uncle Billy & Uncle Eddie so he can stay in style)

Happy 11 months to the happiest baby!  Let the birthday party planning begin!

Party Time

Evan was a busy baby this weekend (not to mention his busy mommy).  He had two birthday parties to attend.  And I had to make cakes, cake pops, and cupcakes for 6 different parties.  Not to mention, we had a wicked ice storm come in Friday night that changed pick up plans for several of the cake items.  So Saturday morning I had 2 orders picked up and we met another on the way to our first party.  And we took the cake, smash cake, and cake pops to the party that we attended.  Our buddy, Logan, turned 1 year old!  He is 5 weeks older than Evan.

His party had a great theme that included sensory time with all the babies.  Danielle, Logan's mom, had tubs full of fun things for babies to feel.  Evan liked the rice, cooked spaghetti, and cotton.  His favorite was the spaghetti.  He also scooted backward about a foot on the floor.  That's the first time he's moved backward!  And he had his first tiny bite of cake, ever.  (You would think he would have eaten cake before that in this house, but he had not.) 

Logan had a fun time eating his smash cake.  The other kids enjoyed the cake pops.  And we all enjoyed the grown up food & cake.  Evan was asleep 2 minutes after getting in the car to go home.

On Sunday, we attended Jocelyn's first birthday party at Gymboree Play & Music.  I had never heard of this place, but it was lots of fun.  Evan loved sliding for the first time, and spinning around.  He also played monkeys jumping on the bed.  We enjoyed the cake (that I made) and Jocelyn enjoyed her smash cake very daintily with a fork.

Look who sat up several minutes by himself.

 He roared like a dragon often this weekend.

  He loved the parachute that went up and down.

I think Evan's favorite time at this party was the music time with the maracas and bells.  He loves all music. 

We've been giving Evan some food that he can hold and eat himself, and we have put some of his formula in a sippy cup.  He's doing great with the self feeding!  He's had a busy time learning & partying this past weekend!

New Job

This has been the first week at my new job.  I started on Monday at Kemet in Simpsonville, SC.  After almost 17 years at Milliken, my job was eliminated.  I found a similar job through a consulting company and was so grateful it did not require us moving to another city or state.  So far, I really like it and the team I'm working with.  I hope I'm learning quick enough for them.  I feel like everything has come together at just the right time during this transition.  I was able to stay at home with Evan for one month during his first Christmas.  It's been so great having some time off between positions. 

The drive has been a big change.  I now get to fight the Greenville traffic - and all during a week of non-stop rain. I'm hoping that will improve during better weather.  The good thing is that I'm just 4 miles from Vince's work.  So we may be able to see each other during the day sometime for lunch. 

Evan is getting back into his routine with Barbara & Jerry.  He's trying his best to keep them on their toes. Just wait until he starts crawling/walking!

Potty Time

We decided to start potty training with Evan about a week ago.  For the last 3 or 4 weeks, he will wet each time you open his diaper to change him.  Almost on command.  Since we started potty training one week ago, he has pooped 2 times in the potty (both times just yesterday) and has wet in the potty more than 20 times.  He is doing great!  I know it will be a while before he goes all the time and it will be a while before he wets his diaper, but I'm glad we're introducing it to him early.  As much as he hates wet diapers, I think he will be a fast learner.  He goes potty within 30 seconds of setting him on the seat.  I don't keep him on it very long. 

We sing songs and give him lots of praises each time he goes.  He just smiles big like he knows he did something great.

His RSV is all better now.  We did find out that he is allergic to Amoxicillin.  He got a bad rash on his cheeks, chin, and hand.  He was on the antibiotic to treat/prevent an ear infection.  His ear canals are small and more prone to infection than most babies, so we treat them aggressively.  We want to make sure his hearing is not impaired, which could affect his speech development later on. So far his hearing and speech are great!

Wish us luck as we are on this potty adventure!

10 Months Old

Somehow it seems like I just typed Evan's blog for his 9 month milestone.  I can't believe he's now 10 months already.  With Christmas vacation, everything seemed to just fly on by.  The season defninitely went by way faster than I wanted it to.  We celebrated New Years by chilling out at home.  Evan has been sick with RSV, after getting his first cold during the Christmas break.  And I've been nursing a runny nose for a few days as well, which is probably due to Evan's cold.  Vince has had a sore throat as well, so we just had a nice quiet evening at home.  In fact, Evan was out by 9:30pm, I feel asleep at 10:30pm and Vince watched the ball drop all alone.  Maybe next year we'll have some more energy to celebrate the new year. 

Evan is now 10 months old.  He seems to change a little bit every day.  He can reach toys and things on his swing and bouncy chair that used to not reach. 

• He weighed 16.5 pounds with clothes & his helmet on at the doctor last week. 
• He wears size 9 months clothes and size 2 diapers. 
• He eats stage 2 Gerber foods, which I mix with oatmeal or rice cereal. He eats oatmeal with fruit for his first solid food meal, meat with rice for his second meal, and veggie with rice cereal for his third meal.
• He drinks about 5 bottles a day of Similac formula (some of these are partial after eating food).
• He can roll all over the place & push up on his arms.
• He can reach out for toys while on his tummy or back.
• He prefers to sleep on his tummy now.
• He sleeps from about 9pm to 7am (as usual).
• He likes to move like a frog with his back legs when he's on his tummy, but isn't crawling yet.
• He will sit up to play with toys, but still has to be supported because he likes to lean back every few minutes.

 

He likes to bang toys or throw them.

He drops one toy to pick up the next, but doesn't like to hold two at a time.

He loves oatmeal and fruit the best, but will eat all foods.

He is starting to hold his own bottle more now & can hold a sippy cup if you help him tip it up.

He just started potty training this weekend and has gone 8 times in the potty so far just a few seconds after sitting him on it. He hates wet diapers so we're hoping this will be something he picks up quickly on. For the last 3 weeks, he will wet each time you open his diaper & touch him with a wet wipe.

He loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney Jr.

Evan is a joy to watch every day.  He is so fun to be around and smiles and laughs all the time. He is so cute.  His daddy and I are competing to see whose name he will say first. He can say both mama and dada, but hasn't said it directly to one of us yet.  He says lots of things, but his favorite sound is like that of a dinosaur roar or a motor boat. Happy 10 months Evan Vincent!