You Learn Something New Every Day

I am definitely a believer in the above statement, especially since I had Evans. Things here in Germany are going well. Evans and I are adjusting to each other and to not having any company in our house for the first time in a month. It is bittersweet for sure. I LOVED having extra sets of hands around to help out and to keep me company but I know it was time for us to get on a routine and settle into each other. We are doing well and Evans continues to be the best baby ever. He isn't much of a crier and is generally pretty happy. He played by himself on his playmat yesterday morning for over 40 minutes! Last night was his first night in his own crib and he slept 6 hours straight. I couldn't have asked for a better baby. Leaves me wondering if my next child will be the devil?? So back to the above statement.....this morning I sterilized all Evans' bottles and bottle parts by dipping them in a pot of hot hot water on the stove. Fast forward. Got Evans up from his nap and started to feed him. He was acting very weird after about 5 minutes and really wasn't eating his bottle. I didn't know what was wrong with him so I burped him. Still wouldn't eat. Gave him some gas drops, just in case, and he still wouldn't eat. Then I realized that not ONE DROP of formula had come out of the bottle. Turned bottle upside down........nothing. Apparently I sterilized in a little bit to warm of water because the nipple was glued shut! What a dummy! Nothing that my earring couldn't fix but poor baby was sucking for like 15 minutes and not getting a thing! So, note to self, my child eats like a hog, if it appears he is not eating at all, something is preventing him from eating. Lesson learned.

The picture above makes me smile. Evans loves getting a bath at night and he has the cutest towels. It is just hard to keep the camera around all the time if it is just me watching him. I had to bring him upstairs and prop him up on my bed for this one. He is also in love with the swing that my sister and brother in law gave him. I've gotten lots of emails sent thanks to this swing.Saturday we had people over to watch football and made the first big pot of chili for the year. It was delicious (thanks Deaner!) and Ole Miss beat Kentucky so overall it was a good day. And I got to enjoy some adult beverages! Evans and Deaner dressed for the UVA v. FSU game. While UVA didn't fair very well, they still looked really cute dressed alike!I know that this is one random post but I picked out the pictures that I wanted to share and now I realize that they don't really flow very well. We tried Evans new jogging stroller this past weekend and he LOVES it. He loves being outside in general, which frightens me with the approaching weather that I know is coming, but we have been trying to enjoy as much time outside as possible. Sunday we took him up into the vineyards for a wine event you can tell how much he enjoyed it.Please don't freak that he isn't supposed to be in the BOB yet because he is too small. We aren't jogging him in it and we have a head support insert that keeps him steady. Plus, this version of the BOB reclines pretty far back so he is fine. Much better for him on the cobblestones than the Snap 'N Go which pretty much rattles his brain.

And last but not least I had to post the picture that makes me laugh every time I see it. I took this after a bath while he was playing on our bed. He just looks so goofy.Nice tongue Evans! Anyways, I have been trying to be better about blogging but it is hard. It is hard trying to decide between a nap (where I know I will never fall asleep) and playing on the computer. Maybe the computer will start winning more. We are taking Evans to Brugges, Belgium this weekend, then onto Brussels and then onto Mons and will be back on Thursday. Since I'll be stuck in a hotel Tuesday thru Thursday, perhaps I will have more time to blog!! Happy Thursday everyone!

VICTORY

Swaddling is a modern day miracle. Seriously. I thought Evans was doing great sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night. Then I swaddled him. Last night he slept from 10:15pm to 5:15am. SEVEN FREAKING HOURS!!! Incredible. Then he slept two more hours after that. I can't say that I am feeling all that refreshed since I was awake at 2:30am wondering what was wrong with him and all but I FEEL so good about him sleeping that long. My aunt recommended the book The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems by Tracy Hogg (I know, unfortunate name!) and Melinda Blau and so I ordered it from Barnes and Noble. The book outlines a routine to get your baby into and we were roughly already following it. I have a feeling it is going to help us out a lot and I am excited to start trying to get into a routine now that our company is gone.

Yesterday was our first day home all day long and I think it went well. I was anxious that I wouldn't be able to keep Evans occupied all by myself but he is such an easy baby (knock on wood) and everything was fine. I have realized in the past week how much I miss being able to sleep in. I guess those days are gone.

Tonight my friend Julia and her husband Daniel and kids are coming to stay with us. I can't wait to see them. Julia and I went to middle school together and we were in each other's weddings. It will be great to have some friend time and catch up. I suppose I should go and lie down now since Evans is asleep and we have an outing this afternoon to Aunt Steph's house and then to Ikea to look for a picture frame to frame his birth announcement. Then it is dinner at the Brauhaus! Hoping for a good day today! Hope all is well with everyone else!! Happy Humpday!!

Today In My Life

Today was an interesting day in my life.

1. Evans and I had our first arguement this morning. He wanted to wake up. I wanted to sleep. He won. I'm sure we will play again tomorrow.

2. I ran over my cup of coffee, which I left on the ground while opening the garage door, while backing the car out.

3. After retrieving my coffee, which was clearly in a travel cup of steel seeing as it didn't break OR even spill (God was watching out for me), I was about to pull out of the driveway before glancing up and seeing the front door still wide open with the stroller in the doorframe. At least the baby was in the car!

4. I had to get a new I.D. card on base because my name wasn't on it correctly. My new picture makes my face look ENOURMOUS. Why couldn't I just keep my old picture when I was skinny and not 5 weeks post partum?

5. I held Evans in my lap for 3 hours while I got highlights in my hair. Thankfully he was an ANGEL, pretty much as always.

6. We had a semi fussy afternoon but I managed not to lose my mind.

7. I bumped into a stroller and said "excuse me".

All and all, not so bad for my first day alone! Evans has now applied for his American birth certificate, passport and social security card. As of now, he is solely a German citizen. Got to get that fixed!! Almost time for bed! I'm exhausted!

Baby Update

So I am still alive but sometimes I wonder by how much! Things in Germany are going well but I am about to be put to the true test. Deaner's mother and aunt have been here for the past week and they are leaving on Sunday. It is the last of my guests until November and I am slightly anxious about it. I know I can do this alone but it is going to be a lot more exhausting. Right now Evans is sleeping from 10:30-2:30am, feed, 2:30-5:30am, feed, and then up at 7:30am and not wanting to go back to sleep. I've been the one feeding him but Deaner's mom has been taking over at 7:30 and allowing me to sleep for several extra hours. I am really really going to miss those hours!! And his mom and aunt! I really hope I am not lonely once the company clears out and that Christmas time comes quickly. As much as we love Germany it is times like these when I miss my family being around. I want to be able to show off my baby while he is still so little! He won't be little for long since he is already over 10 pounds!! His pediatrician appointment went well and all is good. Next time we go we have to start vaccinations and I am dreading that! But for now, I thought I would share some more pictures since everyone is visiting Heidelberg and I have the day to myself.

Evans has really started to love bathtime and I try to bathe him everyday. The first bathtime was not as successful......Now he could sit in his whale tub forever!We have taken a few field trips down to the winestand trying to enjoy the last bit of nice weather that Germany has been offering. This is Evans and his Gannie (Deaner's mom).We have eaten dinner at all our favorite places. Seriously, we just drag this baby around with us everywhere and he is SO good. Never cries (knock on wood) and is generally pretty happy.And there is certainly no mistaking who this boy's father is! Have you ever seen a baby look more like his dad??Anyways, it is time for me to close my eyes for an hour before everyone gets home and we have to get ready for dinner. Hopefully I can be better about posting next week but who knows!! I never know what the day is going to hold for me now!

Whew!

The cutest baby in the world just wanted to say hi and let everyone know that he is doing fine and that all is well. Mama is just a little bit busy at the moment and finding time to write on my blog is not as easy as I thought it would be. My father in law is currently visiting and then my mother in law will be arriving on Saturday and staying thru next week. Then we are completely on our own again! YIKES!! Evans is pretty much perfect. He is sleeping great at night so I can't complain about exhaustion (yet). I mean, I'm certainly not 100% but I figure that things could be a lot worse. He isn't breastfeeding (and no, this is not due to mom's extreme desire to drink again!) so I think that is helping a lot with the sleeping. He only cries when he needs his diaper changed and or is hungry (which seems to be often). Deaner and I drag him around with us everywhere and he is always good when we are out. Knock on wood.

Anyways, things are going really pretty good here. There are lots of things that people don't tell you about having a baby. I'm just trying to work through all of them one day at a time. I hope that y'all will try and stick with me even if I can't post everyday. I'll try and be better next week when my mother in law is here and I have two extra sets of hands for baby holding! Hope everything is going well with everyone!

Already Gone?

So my parents left this morning. Deaner managed to keep me busy all morning and some of the afternoon but I am so sad that they are gone that sometimes it takes my breath away. I really can't blog about it because it is almost time for bed and I don't really want to have a nervous breakdown before getting what precious sleep Evans will allow me tonight. My parents kept him in their room the whole time they were here so that I could get as much rest as possibly and try to recover from the c-section, which was MUCH harder than I ever anticipated. Tonight Deaner and I are back on duty and I am pretty nervous about it. I'm tired anyways and I haven't even been getting up with a baby like my parents were. I didn't think it would be hard to keep up with blogging but until we are on some sort of schedule or routine, I think it might be hard for me. I am going to try though. Deaner is off work the rest of the week with the exception of maybe working a half day this week and I'm just trying to enjoy time with my new family while I have it. I still have lots to share and tell and I feel like I am falling farther and farther behind. I promise to try though. I'm going to attach a few more pictures from Evans' photo session. Hope y'all enjoy!

Baby Evans' Photo Shoot

Yesterday was a great day. Most days around here have been pretty great lately (minus the c-section recovery issues) since I finally have my baby here. I'm no longer pregnant (still fat though) and while I still can't roll over in bed in under 4 minutes (see c-section recovery issues) I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Evans have been a dream baby and I'm just trying to enjoy him as much as I can while he is being so easy. It doesn't hurt that he has been sleeping with my parents the past several nights allowing me to catch up on sleep and recover from surgery. I never in a million years would have thought that I would have had to have a c-section but things happen and honestly I was nervous but I would have been nervous to start pushing too. It's just scary! If I learned one thing thru the whole labor and delivery process it is that women who give birth without drugs are PSYCHO. I guess if you can do it more power to ya but holy hell contractions hurt and I really thought I would die from the pain. The anesthesiologist arrived to give me my epidural and said "Now I have to go over the complications that could arise from this medication......severe headaches, acute back pain, blindness, and possibly death". Ok, well maybe he didn't say those last few things but even if he had I would have allowed him to jam that needle into my spine. I welcomed it! Total and utter relief!! Epidural = high recommended!

Anyways, back to yesterday. Evans' had his newborn photo shoot that Steph and Jon gave him as one of the MANY gifts they spoiled Evans with. We could have asked for him to be in a better mood and he did everything perfectly. I am SO thrilled with how they turned out and think that our photographer, Jessica Ceason, was the BEST! I love ALL the pictures she took and I have been looking at them all day long. I'm just going to post as many as I can right now before the bambino needs to be fed!Big yawn, not a scream!Ok, I have to admit that as much as I am totally in love with these pictures, I am sick of uploading them for right now. I will post more on Monday!!