Sleigh Bells Ring

Over the last week, we have had three opportunities to see the big man in red himself, Santa. I knew that Drake would do great because he was pretty comfortable last year but imagined that it would not be smooth sailing with Evie. Santa made a cameo appearance at the school Holiday Review last Friday and when I walked up to him with Evie, she started shaking.

Give the Santa experience of the previous day, I was not expecting much in terms of Evie's corporation when it was time to sit on his lap at Breakfast with Santa. Drake was ready and had his list ready:

• A belt to keep his jeans up (he is very practical)
• A red lightsaber
• A kitchen
• Toy food for the kitchen

Drake sat right on his lap and then had a great conversation. Evie was already crying (from a girl that rarely cries) so we needed that obligatory Santa picture so here is the result...

Last night was our final Santa opportunity. Each year the basketball team hosts an event called Winter Wonderland. This is an opportunity for the players to interact with deserving children in the community creating crafts, eating dinner, and receiving gifts from Santa. We love attending this event and once again had the opportunity to visit Santa. Different setting, same result...

Once we got Evie away from Santa, she had a great time at both events. Drake was able to create some Christmas themed crafts, which he really enjoyed doing.

Three and a Half

My little buddy Drake turned three and a half years old on Monday, August 11th. He is such a funny little ball of energy. He can be a little shy when he is in a new environment but will warm up quickly. He especially loves to be around older kids and thinks that he is able to do anything that they can do. Drake is one of the sweetest boys that I have ever met and really loves his little sister.

Try as we might, we rarely have found a way to burn his energy resources. He attends gymnastics once a week and will continue to do that into the fall. He is very strong and has amazing body control for someone his age. It often scares me to death because he can scale rocks and will do a flip over any bar he is able to reach (he especially tried my nerves when doing this over concrete). We have been trying to swim a few times a week this summer and he has made huge strides. At the beginning of the summer he did not want to get his head wet. Now he is able to jump into the pool, blow bubbles, go under water, and do basic swimming motions. He still is dependent on his water wings, but we are really happy with what he was able to do this summer.

Drake is in the 3 year old room and his main teacher is a woman named Ms. Robbie. They do a great job of letting the kids learn through creative play in addition to circle time where they read, learn numbers, and letters. Drake has started to form friendships with some of his classmates. His best little buddy is a boy named Marcos and he also really likes Marcos' brother Elijah (who is in the 4 year old class). Drake constantly talks about Marcos and Elijah and based on what their parents have told us, the feelings are mutual. 

We are starting to see that Drake has an amazing memory (I think it is going to be even better than mine). He is able to tell us things that he saw or did months or even years ago. A couple months ago we were driving by the elementary school and he said, "That's where I saw Santa". He was exactly right, we went to breakfast with Santa there...in 2012! It is comments like that which is is constantly making and they always seem to surprise us. He also is a creature of habit and can direct us almost anywhere in town and does not like when we stray from his regular routes.

Drake still loves to go to zoos and has really enjoyed the children's museums that we have gone to lately. He has started to get into superheros (Superman, Batman, and Justice League) but Wild Kratts and Go Diego Go are still his top preference for TV shows. He also really loves books and would love for us to read him a dozen a night if we would let him...which could also be a stalling technique. This past week when we were visiting his older cousins, he started playing with Lego's and fell in love. He is not really able to follow the directions yet to make the design, but he likes watching us do it while he works on a side project.

10 Months

Evie turned 10 months on Saturday, August 2 and I have been very tardy in writing her monthly update. She continues to grow and change on a daily basis and it really is amazing to watch how she absorbs information.

Some of the highlights of Evie's development right now:

• She is completely mobile now with her crawling. When possible though, she does prefer to stand. She is able to walk when holding fingers and cruises around the furniture. She is now able to hold a standing position for 15 to 20 seconds without assistance but does need to push herself up with something to get into her standing position (started on July 22).
  
• Evie is very independent. She enjoys playing with toys that she has in the living room and when she tires of those, she will just crawl down the hall into her room to play with different toys. She likes to have people around her but is also happy playing by herself when she needs to. Right now she is especially fond of playing near the fireplaces, more specifically, on the hearths. The brick hearths are about three inches off the ground and she just gets herself up there and sits, very proudly. 
• Evie is a great eater. She does a lot of self feeding as well as some purees. We have not really met a food item that she does not like yet but, just like her brother, she really enjoys yogurt. She has had beef, chicken, and pork along with pretty much every fruit and vegetable. She LOVES garden vegetable puffs and could easily eat the whole canister in one sitting if I would allow her to. 

  

  Do I have something on my face (blueberries)?

• Evie has gotten her third tooth! The top left tooth made its appearance through the gum line on July 29th. It has been very slow to come through but it is making its way. I would imagine that the right top will not be far behind. 
• As she has been since birth, Evie is infatuated with Drake. She always wants to play with  him, climb on him, watch him, laugh at him, and have everything to do with him. Drake really is a great sport and always wants to know where she is as well. He does not really like her playing with his toys, but then again, he also does not really want her playing with her toys either.
  
• Evie is starting to intimidate what she sees. If Drake is dancing, she will start dancing. If you bang on a table, she will bang on the table. 
• Sleeping is still an area that we continue to work on. Many nights she will sleep from 8:00 to 5:30 or 6:00 but there are also many nights when she wakes up in the middle of the night (just like Drake did). Also just like Drake, we slip her into bed with us and she immediately fall asleep...somehow taking up about half of the bed.
• Evie is generally one of the happiest babies that I have ever seen. We always thought that Drake was so laid back and easy, but Evie has trumped his ways. Now is the time that she is really starting to develop her personality and really is so much fun.
  
  
  
  
  

Yankee Doodle

The Fourth of July is a holiday that is always best spent with family, friends, and being outside. This year did not disappoint; plenty of outside, family, food, and fireworks. Drake had spent the week at his vacation lake home (David's parent's house), so Friday afternoon we went to join him. After a nice dinner, we drove to Seneca for fireworks.

After a late night of fireworks and moon bounce fun, we returned to the lake on Saturday for more cousin time. Drake spent a few hours floating around in the lake with his cousins and we got them out just in time for the neighborhood fireworks show to begin. This was my first experience with a neighborhood fireworks display and I must say, I was impressed.

 

No nap on Saturday made for an exhausted Drake by the time he got out of the water, which is why he refused to be in the cousin picture. He did perk up for the fireworks and enjoyed the show also. On the way home that night, Drake was having a full conversation with us one minute and the next, he was sound asleep. Kids are amazing...

Sunday was a day around the house. In the afternoon, Drake and I walked to the park so he could get out of the house and run around.

9 Months

Evie turned 9 months old on Wednesday, July 2 and continues to grow and change almost on a daily basis. This past month was very busy in terms of her motor development.

• On Sunday, June 8th Evie really started to move with her crawling. She had been going backwards and move forward a little prior to that, but that day something clicked and she started really moving
• On Saturday, June 14 Evie started to pull up on her own and stand. 
• She is able to go from belly to sitting and belly to pulling up and from standing up to sitting back down 
  
• In the last week, Evie has not been interested in us feeding her and only wants to self-feed. So she has been eating a lot of soft foods that she is able to pick up and eat herself. New foods this month are: prok, toast, crackers, pancakes, grapes, blueberries, cherrios, and yogurt (I'm sure there is more but this is what I can remmeber)
  
  
• Evie has been swimming a couple times now and somewhat enjoys the water. She pretty much just sits in her float with her serious face
• Evie has a great personality and is really happy about 98% of the time. She loves to talk and make noises with her tounge. She is starting to be a lot more playful, both with toys and with us.

• Evie absolutly loves Drake and everything that he does. If she is crying, he will make her laugh. She searches him out in a room and will not take her eyes off him. She always wants to be close to him and this weekend we dropped him off at his grandparents house and the whole way home she cried. She is just not used to being the only person in the backseat and missed her buddy!
• Evie's sleep gets better everyday. This week has been amazing with her sleeping until anywhere from 5:15-6:45. It is so nice to have a night of uninterrupted sleep again!

Her nine month doctor's appointment is next Wednesday, so we will have the growth stats then. I think she is continuing to grow at a steady pace, and it has picked up some since introducing foods at 6 months. She is still in 9 month clothes, although I think it could be time to move into 12 months soon.

8 Months

Evie turned eight months old last Monday, June 2. She continues to grow and change right before our very eyes. I was out of town this past weekend for four days and when I returned home, it was amazing to see her growth in that short amount of time.

At eight months, Evie is:

- Starting to say Mama (she started this on Mother's Day, May 11). It is in no way directed toward me, but it is nice to hear!

- Trying to crawl. She has moving backwards down and will get on all fours and rock back and forth, just can't seem to get one leg in front of the other.

- Rolling over in both directions and can go from sitting to her belly and back to sitting. She is even trying to stand unassisted, but is unsuccessful!

- Trying to pull up on toys and using our hands. She has successfully pulled up once or twice but I think forgets she needs to hold on, so she topples backwards.

- Attended her first wedding weekend at the beginning of May when we took a family drive to Delaware. While she did not attend the wedding, she was able to participate in the rehearsal dinner festivities. She was also able to go for her first walk along the beach.

 

 - Becoming a nationwide (at least Southeast/Mid-Atlantic) traveler. With our trip to Delaware, she was able to add Virginia and Delaware to her states and a couple weeks after that trip, I took Drake and Evie to New Orleans. Evie has now spent time in South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and Louisiana. She has also ridden through Maryland, Alabama, and Mississippi.

- During her first trip to New Orleans, Evie was able to meet a lot of her family. Gigi, Steve, Anne Yvette, and Rick came to dinner the first night we were there. On Saturday, we met Katie, Michael, and Meredith at City Park for a game of miniature golf and then they came for a crawfish dinner. Sunday Granny and Aunt Ginny the Grape (Drake's name) came for brunch and in the evening, we went to see Lindsay, the other Drake (as Drake calls him), Bennett, Kellen Clair, and Genevieve. a very busy but fun weekend.

 - Trying to join her brother in eating us out of house and home. She is a great eater and generally will eat anything that we present to her. In the last month, we have added puffs and yogurt melts to the purees that she is eating. She also reaches for anything that we are eating and drinking.

- Teething! Evie now has her two bottom teeth that have come in.

- Weighs 17 pounds

Evie's Baptism



I have been a bit tardy in posting on Evie's baptism, which happened on Easter Sunday. We were so fortunate that our whole family was able to join us for this event and celebration. Following the baptism, we went back to our house for brunch and an Easter Egg Hunt. The weather was beautiful that day, so we were able to spend a lot of time outside and I think that everyone had a great time. Because we are scattered all over, it is so hard to get everyone together. but we love when it is able to happen.

Evie was great during the service, she actually fell asleep during the sermon and only woke to water pouring over her head for the third time.

Godparents Uncle Rusty and Aunt Genevieve

Spring 2014 Demo Day

Last night Drake had his Spring 2014 gymnastics demo day at Electric City Gymnastics in Anderson. We started gymnastics in August in the parent/tot program and then in January he moved to the 3-5 year old class where. It is amazing to watch how much he has developed over the past nine months. He went from a toddler that needed help with all aspects to a little boy doing flips over the bar.

Drake has learned to forward roll and last night was successful at performing a backwards roll (with help) for the first time. His strength has continued to increase, especially in his upper body and hopefully he will maintain his baby flexibility (unlike his mother who has no flexibility what-so-ever).

 

Electric City Gymnastics is a great gym because they have a designated pre-school area. Drake is especially fond of the bars and loves to jump from as far away as possible and catch himself swinging on the bar. If they did not make him rotate through stations, he could do this all day long. He is also very fond of the rings and tumbling trampoline.  

Drake's coach this session was Krisha, who he LOVED. She did an amazing job working with a group of kids in a wide age range but also with a really wide skill level. She somehow managed to keep all of the kids on task and engaged. 

We know that, with his size, Drake will never be a gymnast. As one of the youngest in his class, he is already towering over almost everyone. But, it has been a great experience for him to work on his flexibility, strength, body control, and listening to directions. He {usually} loves going to the gym and we are looking forward to starting his summer session in a few weeks.

7 Months

Evie turned 7 months old on Friday, May 2 and as I said with Drake and with every passing month, it is amazing how fast time moves forward. So, some of the things Evie is now doing:

- Sitting up on her own for long lengths of time. We have to place her in the sitting position, but she can sit forever and prefers that position over laying down now

- You are starting to move backwards although you have not realized that this could be a way to reach an intended destination. You are starting to get your belly and hips off the ground also, so I would imagine that crawling will be in your future very soon.

- You love being outside and luck for us, it has been beautiful weather lately so we are able to spend all weekend outside. You are content just sitting on a blanket and playing with a few toys.

- You went on the swing for the first time on Saturday, May 3 and loved it, especially when your best buddy, Drake, was pushing you

- You are a great eater and have now had: sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, peas, avocado, carrots, peaches, apple, banana, and strawberries. You will pretty much eat anything we present you with, although you prefer if we would not give you the green stuff.

 

- You still love Drake so much and think that he is the funniest guy around. You will pretty much laugh at anything that he says and will let him roll you over and give you fierce (but loving) hugs).

We always knew that we had a good baby in Drake, but we have a great baby in Evie. She does not fuss, rarely cries, and just loves to smile and laugh. We have cut out her middle of the night feeding and she normally wakes up around 1:00 but after a diaper change, goes right back to sleep.

This week starts a few trips that we have planned so we will see if Evie is a road warrior like her brother. We leave for Delaware for a wedding on Wednesday and then I am planning to take a solo trip with Drake and Evie to New Orleans for Memorial Day.

 

6 Month Stats

Sitting by herself in the grocery cart for the first time on April 26

I am very tardy in posting Evie's 6 month growth stats...

From April 7, 2014:

Length: 25.5 inches (38th Percentile)
Weight: 15 pounds, 4 ounces (33rd Percentile)
Head: 42.3 cm (44th Percentile)

6 Months

Evie turned 6 month old yesterday, April 2 and I was able to get home from a trip to New York in time to spend a few hours playing with her. As with each passng month, she continues to grow and change almost by the hour.

- She is now sitting on her own (when put into a seated position). She started this on Saturday, March 29 and was able to sit for about 30 seconds. When I got home on Tuesday, April 1, she was able to sit on her own for minutes at a time.

- She can roll over from front to back and back to front

- She continues to talk all the time

- She does a great job picking up and holding things and can take her pacifier in and out of her mouth

- This last month she added a third state to those visited so she has now been to: South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina

- She loves her brother and wants to have eyes on him as much as possible

It looks like Evie is telling Drake a secret

Now that we have reached the 6 month benchmark, we are about to embark on the solid food adventure. We are opting out of cereal this go around and the world of fruits and vegetables is about to open wide for Evie.

5 Months

Evie turned 5 months old yesterday, March 2, 2014. In the the last month, she has continued to grow and change almost on a daily basis. Some notables:

- You rolled over for the first time from front to back and back to front on February 14th
- You are now babbling and talking quite a bit
- You have started laughing, especially when I tickle your tummy or when you see Drake
- You smile at Drake anytime you see him and when you hear his voice, you look around for him
- You are very alert and bright eyed
- You are now sleeping from about 8:30-5:00, although you sometimes like to add a 3:00 feeding in there to keep me on my toes
- You are friendly with everyone that you see and will allow pretty much anyone to hold you and you especially love your teacher, GeMel
- It looks like your bottom two teeth are trying to come through the gums (faint outlines are visible)