Half Birthday!! 18 Months!!

I'm really terrible about updating this blog, huh? To be honest, I really don't even have any desire to update now.  My only real motivation is I know I'm going to want to look back at this one day to remember milestones and certain things she's doing now that will soon feel like it was forever ago.  Even though I am probably the 2034993 billionth parent to say this, but really, time...slow down.

Evie got her spica cast off at 15 months, after 5 weeks of pure shit.  We walked a lot, we read a lot, occasional cartoons, lots of bean bag sitting, lots of diaper changing and blow drying the cast STANK out, and lots of singing and puzzles and lap toys.  We survived, and thank God the orthopedist said it healed wonderfully and we shouldn't have any future issues.  April 2017 will mark one year, so we will take her back for an x-ray one more time to ensure everything is growing like it should.  :)

Okay...onto Ev turning 18 months.  She is SO FUN right now...and shy...and clingy...and needy...and FUN.  Her personality is really shining through.  Ev is silly, shy, smart, stubborn, independent, kind, loving, and pretty chill.  She loves to play outside, loves water, loves building blocks, and LOVES animals.  Speaking of animals, she knows every animal sound we've taught her. She can do dog, cat, bear, lion, mouse, owl, sheep, monkey, cow, horse, bird, whale, elephant, and others I can't think of right now. She also knows what a train and car "say".

She isn't into carbs right now.  I know, she isn't my kid. In fact, she hardly eats anything.  It could be that her 5th tooth is JUST breaking through, but I really think she's just being picky and stubborn.   Her favorite foods are hummus, cheese, peanut butter and anything sweet. Everleigh will really only eat strawberries, bananas, and oranges for fruits.  The only way she ever gets veggies is if it's hiding in something.

I can't even tell you how many words she can say now.  I would list them out, but I think it's probably close to 50 or more?  She is stringing two words together "more ___" ALL DAY EVERY DAY, "I see ___", "got it".  Depending on who you ask, she knows how to count to two.  She is understanding some colors, but not always right.  (For example, at the OB office this morning, I was signing into the front desk and said hi to the receptionist.  Without any prompting from me, Ev pointed to her shoes and said "shoe, pink" like a boss.  Her shoes this morning were in fact, pink.)

My favorite things she does right now is try to scare you "BOO!" and when she says "PLEASEEEEE".  What's that, Evie? You just said please nicely asking for a triple scoop sundae for breakfast? You got it, kid!

Her doc appointment isn't until Thursday and I'm very anxious to see how much she weighs and her height now.  They didn't get an accurate measurement after she got her cast off, so I really have no idea where she stands since her 12 month appointment.

The once never sleeping baby is now sleeping like a champ.  She is still going to bed around 7 (some much later summer nights) and waking up around 6/6:30.  Naps are ALLLL over the place.  There was one glorious week she was napping 3 hours a day and it was pure love.  Today, she napped a little more than an hour.  2 days before today, she napped 2 hours.  It's always a crap shoot, and I always pray to the nap gods to please let today be a good nap day.

In other news, Ryan started his PERMANENT job in Maryland about a month ago.  Our house was on the market for 3 months and we were having realtor communication problems, so we took our house off the market and will be relisting once I can get my life together.  Because we haven't been able to sell our house, Ryan has been waking up at 4am, leaving at 4:45am and not getting home until around 6:45 or 7.  It. sucks. bad.   I'm with Evie all day from wake to bedtime all by myself, and Ryan's days are obviously crazy long and he's spending almost 4 hours a day in the car.  We pray that when we relist the house, we get some bites and can finally get back to a somewhat normal lifestyle.

Enough talking...let me spam you with videos and pictures of my beautiful baby <3 p="">

 A rare day of daddy being home

 Sprinkle donut on her half birthday! 8/10

 Hugging a random girl at Chick Fil A.  She's the sweetest 

 Grandma Hibbard came for a visit :) 

14 Months and Life Updates

I know, I know. I shouldn't even keep this blog if I can't update regularly. I really do think about updating a lot, and then I either get distracted or get lazy or decide to go to bed or just don't feel inspired. I don't want to do the 12 and 13 month updates because I didn't write down milestones and I don't want to make them up. Hopefully Everleigh will forgive me.

Also, I used to think it was dumb when people wouldn't just say their kid was a year old. Trust me. There is a big difference between a 13 month old and a 23 month old. Big.

Anyway, last Monday Everleigh was in the bath tub and was too quick for me. She pulled up and slipped, doing a half slip and falling backwards. She cried for a while, and then wouldn't put any pressure on it after we got her calmed down. We called the doc on call, and he said chances of a break are very slim so just give pain meds. The next morning, she would walk on her left leg but would whine so I decided to take her into the doctors to see if it was a sprain or worse.

Fast forward through many appointments, one tired and in pain baby, and we're at St Mary's Hospital on 4/20 at 6am to have her go under anesthesia to get a spica cast put on. And duh, of course we chose the color hot pink.

It's been about a week and a half and holy moly are we ready for this monster cast to come off and get our happy walking gettingintoeverything toddler back. It's hard to hold her, hard to move her, she's antsy, and the worst of it is that the diaper changes are HARD, and she's leaked several times which makes her smell like a stale porti potty. My poor baby.

A few more milestone updates: she took her first steps a couple of days before her first birthday. By 13 months she was moving well from room to room. Before her bath tub incident, she was pretty much running and getting good about walking outside.

Her first two teeth FINALLY started coming in around 2/29. Here it is 5/1 now and they still aren't fully in.  Guess her teeth like to take their sweet time.

She's talking up a storm. Words she can say now: ball, baby, bye bye, duck, mama, dada, dog, stop, cup, uh oh, car, and I'm drawing a blank on the others. Oops.

Evie is giving kisses and doing animal sounds for snake, monkey, elephant, duck, and sheep. She's the most empathetic baby I've ever seen in my whole entire life, and if she knows she hurt you or she sees a baby crying, she will cry right along with them.

My beautiful baby LOVES to wave, and will do the beauty queen wave up and down every aisle we go on. She's friendly to everyone, and before her cast, her favorite thing to do was get into every cabinet possible. Animals and stuffed animals are all the loves of her life.

She's still taking two naps a day (short morning nap and 2 hour afternoon nap) and she sleeps from about 7-630 with no problems most nights. For a girl that hated sleep the first 6 months of her life, she's really got this thing down. She just can't sleep without her blue elephant lovey.

Food is hit or miss these days. Before, she would eat anything and everything you put in front of her. Now, her favorites are carbs and will really only eat fruits or veggies if it comes in a food pouch.

Here are a few pictures from the last few months:

How Motherhood has Changed Me

I'm feeling inspired, folks. With Everleigh being just a week away from turning one, I've been feeling all of the feels. Here are some ways motherhood has changed me:

1.  I will never ever have a more rewarding job. Whenever I go back to work, everything will pale in comparison to taking care of our baby everyday.
2.  Human bodies amaze me. My body MADE A HUMAN, survived extensive arm surgery and learned how to deal with 2 stainless steel plates and 12 screws all while still MAKING A HUMAN, fed this said human for an entire year, and I've lived to tell the tale.
3.  Poor cows. Every time I grab a gallon of milk out of the fridge, I now think how much it must suck to constantly be pumped, only for someone other than your baby to enjoy it. If reincarnation exists, please don't let me come back as a dairy cow. Please.
4.  Breastfeeding is not easy. I've pumped in a Boston train station next to a homeless man sipping on airplane bottles trying to catch a nip slip. I've pumped in the middle of an outside Charlottesville restaurant because I refused to go into a small hot bathroom to do it. Ryan carried a heavy backpack all over Boston just because I didn't know where the next place would be where I could sit and pump for 20 minutes.  I've carried lots of frozen milk on an airplane because every ounce counts, dammit. It is a labor of love and I would do it all over again for her.
5.  I thought I knew what tired was when I stayed up all night studying for an exam or writing a paper last minute. Tired 10 years ago was being hungover from hanging out and drinking until 3am and sleeping it off the next day. 22 year old Ainsilie, you do NOT know tired until you've had a newborn not sleeping at night for months on end.
6.  My mind constantly goes from wanting to cry my eyeballs out because she's almost one and ohmyGodhowdidthishappen to getting anxious to see all of the next chapters of her life. I loved the newborn snuggles, could relive her first smile, first roll over, first coos over and over again, but she gets so much more fun every single day! I'm ready for the walking and talking Ev who won't stop asking Why, How, Who, What, and Where. Actually, let me go back to those newborn snuggles and relive those hospital days a few more times.  Wait....
7.  I've loved Ryan for a long time now (so it seems). Watching him as a father is a whole new love. The way she looks at him when he walks in the door from work. The way he kisses her cheeks. The way he dresses her terribly every single time he's in charge of it. The way he provides so I can be home with her everyday, and the fact he never says shit when nothing has been done all day except keep her alive. Be still, my heart. And I thought I loved you then....
8.  The responsibility. All of the ways her life and our life could go wrong.  All of the ways her life could go right. The news terrifies me even more now. She's never allowed out of the house. I understand now why my mom always made me put a jacket on, always stayed up to make sure I made it home, always made sure I was up in high school to get there on time. A mothers love is never ending. Thanks, mom, for showing me how it's done.
9. There will be a last time she'll take a bottle. There will be a last time she goes to bed an 11 month old. There are times I think I take things too seriously. That I don't let life in outside of this little 18 pound miracle. I know there's life outside of our little family, but for now, I couldn't be happier living this simple life. There will always be another job, but there will never be another baby Evie. I don't want to miss a thing.
10.  Sacrifices. Oh, the sacrifices. No more eating out all of the time. No more cute clothes from Target at every single trip. No more big vacations, and no more doing what I want, when I want. Ryan doesn't get his energy drinks every day anymore, and Starbucks is now a rare treat. I cloth diaper to save money and actually use coupons at the grocery store now. We went from double income, free as can be to one income and me spending 2 months trying to figure out a good time to get a hair cut and go to the dentist without the baby. It's a change, and one that I wouldn't go back to for my life. She's our world, and motherhood has expanded my heart infinitely.

11 Months. WHO LET THIS HAPPEN?!

LOVES: dancing, clapping, waving, talking to strangers, making mouth noises with her hand, peek a big, SO BIG, singing, going on walks, bath time, baby class, reading, story time at the library, stuffed animals, eating anything and everything she can get her hands on, playing ball, copying a lot of things that we do, being tossed and thrown around like a crazy child, being naked, picking things up and putting them in bags/baskets, and beating up poor Zoe.

DOESN'T LOVE:  the car (manageable when we play something on my Kindle), getting dressed, and sleeping in.

I've been terrible about updating and just about every day I think I'm going to update my blog on my thoughts on being a mother, staying home with Evie, and life as a little family and I never feel inspired enough to do it. Maybe I need to drink more wine. :)