Raising Forerunners

Love this.

Making Cookies

One of my bucket list items for maternity leave was to make cookies with Evelyn (and be ok with the mess!).  We decided to do it on a Saturday morning so we'd have Daddy's help with Lillian.    Ugh, I hate me in these pictures...I'm giving myself 8 weeks to enjoy eating whatever I want (since I couldn't with gestational diabetes during pregnancy) and not follow a regular exercise routine.  I'm starting to get the itch for healthy, though, which is good!  :-) 

Cutest little helper!

I found that measuring the dry ingredients into the batter bowl and letting her scoop them into the mixer worked best!

Look, Mommy!

They were some good cookies - and a fun time with my biggest girl!

Tummy Time

Lillian actually doesn't hate tummy time (Evelyn did - she screamed any time we would put her on her tummy!).  There's something about this age where they are so unstable, yet trying to push their big 'ol heads up!

Hi guys!

Big sister is such a help!

Time for a nap!

Some days it's easier to just rest your head on the pillow...

This is what Evelyn usually does - which Lillian finds entertaining, so that's helpful!

Love this picture...

Getting Ready for School

We've been getting Evelyn ready to start "school" in a few weeks.  It's a Mother's Day Out program at a church nearby where she will go for two days a week.  It's not so much a preschool as a social experience for her.  We're excited to get her playing with several kids her age, and to give Amber some one-on-one time with Lillian (aka, a break from two kids!).  They have a designated nap/rest time each day, so Evelyn needed a nap mat.  We wanted to introduce her to it here at home so the idea of napping on it wasn't completely new to her when she got to school. 

Not quite sure how to use it...

Is it a blanket?

Yep - a blanket!

She has since figured it out and did pretty well sleeping on it during her nap time.  She roamed around her room a few days, so hopefully with some peer pressure from the other kids in her class, she'll learn to stay on it! :-)

Evelyn's Dentist Appointment

Evelyn had a dentist appointment this morning.  I almost forgot about it...the first of probably many things that I will almost forget about because my kids suck out my brains.  :-)  She had a good report and did great!

She looks so tiny in the chair!

And because every good dentist appointment ends in a sugar overdose - I took her to the donut shop for breakfast after her appointment!

Chocolate with sprinkles

Mmmmm - chocolate milk!

Cheeeese!

(look at those clean teeth!)

Hooks Game

We got together with some of my colleagues tonight at the Hooks game.  It was SUPER hot and humid, but there was a beautiful sunset!

Evelyn enjoyed watching the game.  She sat like this watching for quite a while!  She also gave Daddy a workout running around to all of the kids attractions!

A New Fun Pool

We found a new pool (with much better hours) in the area that Evelyn loves.  It's a little bit further of a drive for us, but it's worth it.  There's lots of shade, so we can bring Lillian easily and take turns playing with Evelyn in the pool.  They have a tandem slide that we can go down with her, along with another slide that she can navigate herself.  There's also tons of squirty toys and fountains that she loves playing with. 

The best part is it is open year round...so we're looking forward to the next few months when all the Texans think it's too cold to swim in 70 degrees and we can enjoy it with fewer people!

Daddy's Little Helper

It's never too early to get them started on chores, right?  Evelyn always watches Dan mow the lawn out the window, so I let her outside this morning to help out!

Happy One Month Birthday!

 It's hard to believe that you are already one month old, baby girl!  You are such an easy baby for the most part.  You rarely fuss, and when you do, it's usually because you are bored or hungry.  You are a very good eater and you have been eating around every 2-3 hours around the clock right now.  You will sometimes stretch that to 4 hours overnight.  Your favorite things are eating, sleeping, and pooping.  Boy, can you poop, girl!  For most of this month, you pooped after every feeding.  There are several times that you have gone through two or more diapers in a 5 minute span of time (those cost money, kid!).  Fortunately that has slowed a little as we approached your one month birthday!  You don't mind tummy time too much, unless we leave you there for too long.  Usually you will stay down there for anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes.  You are lifting your head briefly while you are down there, especially if your big sister is around to entertain you.  Speaking of your big sister, she loves you so much.  She is always concerned when you cry out - she will look at us and say, "oh no!  baby's crying" - or get your pluggie for you.  She likes to hold you and "pet" you and she thinks you are soft ("so soft" she says when she touches you).  She's learning to be more gentle when she tickles you.  Toward the end of this month, she has started to give you kisses when you leave the room and tell you, "I love you, Lillian."  It melts Mommy's heart every time!  Fortunately there hasn't been too much behavioral regression for her as you came along.  She cries more than usual to get our attention, and has started taking off her clothes when she takes a nap, but otherwise has handled the transition pretty well!  These last few days you have really started to focus on faces, rather than looking through/past people.  You also smile randomly, usually while you are nursing or right after you nurse.  You seem to have a sixth sense that alerts you to when Mommy walks in the room because you can be completely content, then I walk in the room and you cry out.  Daddy calls me the milk lady - I'm your current favorite.  You lost your umbilical cord this month.  We were at McDonalds saying goodbye to Evelyn's friend, Isaiah.  Mommy was a little emotional that you lost it there!  Let's be honest, though, Mommy is a little emotional at a lot of things these days.  You are such a content baby, and you stay pretty chill most of the time.  We love you so much and love watching you grow!  Happy one month birthday, sweet Lillian!

Lillian's One Month Check-up

One month already...jeez!  Here are Lillian's one-month stats (we had a new nurse, and I think she messed up the head circumference because I know her clothes have been tighter over her head!):

Weight: 10 pounds, 15 ounces (up 15 ounces from 2 weeks) - 92nd percentile

Height: 21.75 inches (up .25 inches from 2 weeks) - 84th percentile

Head Circumference: 37 cm (down .75 cm from 2 weeks) - 71st percentile