We Did It!

For the past few weeks I have been wanting to go back to church, but just had no idea how to do it. I was worried about how she would be (would she sleep or scream) and the biggest concern would be how we would get out of the house on time. I don't know what it is, but if you add a baby to the mix, you have to double your prep time!

Overall things went really well. We got to church with time to spare and were able to make it through about half of the sermon before they called us because she was hungry. I thought that was pretty good for our first time!

And the best part was dressing her in a Sunday dress!

Baby Wearing

While pregnant I did a lot of reading and decided that I was all for baby wearing. So for my birthday Gilbert purchased me a very nice (and very pricey) baby sling. Problem is, Eva is just too little for it. I am sure it will be great when she gets a little bigger, but so far it has gotten zero usage.

I then decided to get a different type of sling - one that was a little more structured. This sling works well when you are grocery shopping or vacuuming (as Gilbert demonstrated a few weeks ago), but doesn't really work well for sitting and typing:)

So I am now on my third sling - and it is wonderful. It is called a Moby Wrap and is basically a huge piece of fabric that you wrap around yourself and the baby. It works for preemies - so I knew it wouldn't be too big for Eva! So far I have used it around the house when doing housework and have also used it while I work. I have found that sometimes putting Eva in it is the only way I can guarantee that she will take a nap - it really has a calming effect on her.

Last night we needed to go to both Wal-Mart and Target - so we decided to divide and conquer. I didn't know how I would manage her and a cart full of groceries by myself, so I put on my Moby Wrap. It worked like a charm!

Babies just love being close - and mine is no exception. Note her hand placement in the picture. She is so silly - even when sleeping!

How Does He Do It?

I love being home with Eva every day, but one thing that is frustrating for me is her naptime schedule. I know that they say that babies can't be on a schedule this early, but since I am so scheduled - I thought I would at least attempt it.

Well, it isn't working the way I thought. Some days Eva will take naps, other days she won't. Sometimes they last 5 minutes, other times an hour and a half - tops. I never thought it would take me a week to do laundry or that I wouldn't be able to stay on top of the mail - but it has happened. (Go ahead and say "I told you so")

The exceptions are on the days that Gilbert is home. Right now they are both napping - and have been doing so for the past 2 hours. This happens ALL THE TIME!

Maybe the key is that Gilbert naps with her, whereas I try to do a million things while she naps.

They are just too cute together. Here are a few pictures of their naps this week.

Naptime

There is nothing sweeter than your baby falling asleep on you.

I had just fed Eva and was burping her, but she had other plans.

Saturday in the Park

On Saturday evening I needed to get out of the house, so I suggested that we go to Southpark Meadows to listen to some music. There was a pretty big crowd - tons of kids enjoying cooling off in the water!

The music was very hippy - but Eva loved it. She was awake the entire time and once we left she fell asleep. It was a great way to end the week.

The Many Faces of Eva

One Month Old

I can't believe that Eva is already a month old. Time has flown by!


Today Eva did 2 new things. First of all she grabbed at my hair when I put her in her carseat and she hung on to it for a few seconds. She has been grabbing my finger when I feed her - so this was the first time that she grabbed at something else. Then later this afternoon she rolled from her back to her side. I was impressed! She is also getting better with her head control - although there are times where I think she is going to knock me out with her head rolls!

We are taking bets on her eye color - blue or brown?

Mister Mom

Today was Gilbert's day off work and I was looking forward to getting some things done around the house. Wouldn't you know that Eva had other plans?? She decided to not take an official nap today. The most she slept at one time was an hour. Most were just 10-15 minute naps - enough time to start a project, but not enough to finish! We are hoping this means that she will sleep a lot tonight!!

She seems to like noise and motion. So Gilbert wore the sling while vacuuming. She fell asleep but woke up as soon as Gilbert tried to take her out of the sling and put her in bed.

Gilbert and Ricco are worn out from their day. Glad they are at least resting....

Father's Day

Just a few cute pics from our relaxing Father's Day.

Finishing Touches

Mom helped with the finishing touches on the nursery while she was here. It is finally done!

Happy Birthday Katie!

On Saturday Mom, Eva and I went to Katie's birthday party. She is now 9 years old. How quickly time flies!

Date Night

On Friday night Mom offered (insisted) that Gilbert and I go out to dinner. We decided to go to Gilbert's favorite restaurant - the Brazilian Steakhouse.

My little Longhorn

The lactation consultant said that I should have any liquor, but I haven't had anything to drink in 10 months and decided that one drink wouldn't hurt!!

The red card signifies that I don't want them to bring me any meat. Whenever it is turned to green, meat is brought out.

Round 1 for Gilbert

The sides. Gilbert refuses to eat anything from the salad bar or any of the sides. He is all about the meat!

Thanks Mom for letting us enjoy a night out (although all we could talk/think about was the baby!!)

Hey Jealousy....

The dogs have done really well with Eva. Roxie is a bit much at times - she loves to lick Eva's feet (go figure!!). I also think she really is after the pacifier.

The other day I had Eva in the chair and when I took her out, Roxie took her place!

Family Affair

Seems like feeding time has become a family affair....

3 Weeks Old

Gilbert was off on Monday so it was nice to get to spend 2 days in a row together. Gilbert was able to see how much Eva has changed - as her daytime personality is different than her nighttime personality! Yesterday and last night was very challenging in the feeding department, so today Eva received a bottle after I breastfed her. Mom gave her the bottle because I couldn't do it (baby steps), but she didn't seem phased by it. Plus it took her only 5 minutes to down the bottle, whereas it was taking me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour with the SNS system. This plan seems more sustainable and my only hope is that she doesn't end up preferring the bottle over me...

Me & My Baby

Stretching

Family Jewels

Over the past 30+ years my Dad has purchased some amazing gems for my Mom. My sister and I have already divided them up - although there are a few pieces that we haven't agreed upon:)

My Mom's favorite stone is her birthstone - an emerald. Amy also likes emeralds, so when we negotiated our gem inheritance, Amy got the emeralds.

Eva's birthstone is also an emerald.

When Dad was here, I told him about a ring that I have that belonged to my Great Great Aunt Helen. It is a beautiful antique ring and I was looking to replace the crystal stone with a real gem. It just so happened that my Dad had 2 loose emeralds with him and offered one to me to put in the ring.

Now I have a beautiful ring to pass along to my daughter along with a little history. Thanks Dad!