Show-Off

This weekend we had the opportunity to show off Eva a lot. On Saturday afternoon Eva and I had lunch with Megan. It was great to see her, celebrate her birthday (a little late) and catch-up. I can't wait to be able to share a margarita with you Megan!
Then later that afternoon Nikki, Brad, Katie and Katie's friend Mariah stopped by in-between some of Katie and Mariah's soccer games. Eva was fast asleep in her swing during the visit. I guess the trip out to eat earlier in the day really wore her out!
Today we went to church and were able to make it through the entire sermon this time! Yeah! Here are some pictures of Eva all dressed up in her Sunday best:



Then later this afternoon Gilbert's friends from high school Juan and Claudia and their 3 sons stopped by. They are completely without power or water in the Valley because of Dolly - so they decided to take a little vacation and visit some family in Austin. Claudia is pregnant with her 4th - and it is a little girl that they will name Leah (one of my favorite girl names!). They brought Eva a present and from the looks of it, she really likes it!

This week my goal is to work on getting Eva a little more on a schedule. I really need to try to get her to nap about 3 times during the day and am learning that I am not a horrible mother if I put her in her swing or in her co-sleeper (even if she is not sleeping). Gilbert reminded me today that Eva is probably like me - and needs her alone time. So that is what I will attempt this week. Wish me luck!

2 Month Check-Up

On Tuesday Gilbert and I took Eva for her 2-month checkup. She now weighs 10 lbs 9 ozs and is 22.5 inches long. She is in the 50th percentile for both weight and length.

She also received her first round of immunizations. She got 3 shots and an oral medication. She screamed after the shots, but after a few minutes was calm enough to fall asleep. She was a little out of sorts all evening, but when she woke up for her 2:30AM feeding, she seemed to be back to her normal self.

I know there are a lot of different thoughts when it comes to immunizations. Some people go the traditional route, others look at a delayed schedule and then others make the choice not to immunize at all.

After speaking with our pediatrician, we have decided to go the traditional route with immunizations. She was able to point out flaws in some of the recent studies that link autism to immunizations and was also able to dispel the thought that your child should only be introduced to so many antigens at a time. Antigens are in the air we breathe (pollen) and the food we eat. A case of strep throat can expose a child to 25-50 antigens! Years ago when everyone was required to get the polio vaccine, there were over 150 antigens in that one vaccine!

The diseases that these vaccinations protect against can be deadly. And I love my daughter way too much to take any risks.

http://www.quackwatch.org/

Blessings

I consider myself a religious person, but not a vocally religious person. I have always been turned off by pushy vocal people (on any topic). I am willing to talk about my beliefs, but only if I feel comfortable and lead in the discussion. People have fought about religion for years - and since I am not an argumentative person, I prefer to not start a battle!
With that said, there are a few things I want to share.
I feel that God has been so good and faithful to me and to my family. There are so many times that I can look back and know that he was ordering things around me. He has blessed me with so much more than I deserve - a wonderful family, husband, daughter, job, home, etc. God has also provided for me financially time and time again. Gilbert sells cars on the side and it seems that whenever things are tight, he sells a car.
This past weekend was no exception to his faithfulness. The Murano broke down twice on our drive back. Gilbert was able to do a temporary fix to get us home - but we were both worried about breaking down on the side of the road in the heat of the day. We took the car to a mechanic friend of Gilbert yesterday and thankfully the repair was covered under the warranty plan that we purchased when we got the car. No cost to us!
When we arrived home on Sunday after a stressful drive back, we found our AC running, but our house was extremely hot. I called a handful of different AC repair places, but none were able to come out on Sunday night and they all charged a service fee of over $100 just to diagnose the problem. Fixing it would be extra!! I ended up scheduling an appointment with about the 5th shop I called for Monday morning. Turns out we have a Freon leak and the repairman was unable to locate the leak. So he just filled up our tank and only charged $90. So much better than hearing that we would have to replace the AC unit or have more costly repairs.
Now I know that people might think that everything that happened over the past few days was just luck - but I believe that God was watching over us. Many people only turn to God or acknowledge him with the big things - but he is there wanting to be a part of everything in our lives - big and small.
I know that my life has been blessed because of my mother and grandmother's faithfulness to God. I know that they pray daily for me and for my family - trusting God with everything. My goal is to be the same in order to pass blessings down to my children. My job is to teach my family about God and to continue to trust him completely.
Worry? Why worry when God is in your life and on your side!

Valley Trip

On Thursday morning we began our drive to the Valley to visit Gilbert's family. It usually takes 4.5 hours to get there - and now with Eva it takes 6! She was a very good traveler although being in the car messed up her sleeping schedule at night. But I think we are now back on track!

A few pictures from the trip...

Her "going home" outfit from the hospital. It finally fits!

She is starting to grab and hold things other than our fingers!

Proud Grandparents Part Deux

Proud Grandparents

Enough said.

Little Red Wagon

On Tuesday Mom and I took the girls for a walk. Sophie was just too cute in her little red wagon!

Eva-Renee Meets her Namesake

Eva is named after my Dad's Mother Renee (Meme). Meme came to Sophia's birthday party with my Aunt Michele (who was in town visiting from Washington). I was so happy that they could come and celebrate Sophie's birthday and meet Eva. It was really great to see Meme hold Eva. I am so glad they met eachother!

Happy Birthday Sophia Grace

On Sunday we celebrated Sophie turning 2. It was a Pooh party and was a ton of fun. Here are some of my favorite pics from the party.

The fantastic cake that my sister made and decorated. She is super talented!

Telling Mimi "I think so"

Bouncing Outside

She loved taking the paper to throw it away

Modeling the shoes we got her

Band in a Box - I promise that Amy told me to get this for her!!

Testing out the rocking chair from Meme.

Rocking her baby

Playing with Aunt Michele

Cory is the best at party accessories!

Lindy and her husband Danny and son Seth came over after the party to meet Eva. Wish I was able to stay longer:(

Cousin Lovin'

Sophie was so excited to see Baby Eva. She was so gentle with her and just wanted to touch her, hug her and kiss her. She was also very good about making sure that Eva always had her binky! I can't wait to see them together in August!

Up, Up and Away

Eva did wonderfully on the trip to Indiana on the plane. She was alert for most of the trip, but not fussy. I was so relieved that it went smoothly!

The flight went much better than her first time in the pool. She was just not having it! We'll have to try again....

New 'Do

I decided I needed a change. So what better than to get a haircut? I also got my hair colored - ever trying to get my hair back to its natural shade....

Gilbert discovered something new that Eva likes. Airplane!

And here is my happy morning baby!

Stress, Stress, Stress

Thank goodness Gilbert and I leave on Saturday for vacation. This week has been super stressful!
For starters, the person that was covering for me during my maternity leave did not have a clue how to do my job and has really messed some things up. Now I have to take everything back and fix it - on top of additional duties. Plus I discovered a fraudulent loan this week - not good. It has been really tough to get things done this week because Gilbert did not have a day off and his day off last week was July 4th. So I haven't been able to have a single work day in the past 2 weeks to just focus on work and not Eva. Too much to do and never enough time!! I am going to start my nanny search when we get back from vacation!
On top of this, I noticed something with Ricco this morning (I will spare you the details) and I have to take him to the vet tomorrow. So the day before vacation I have to take a 7-week old baby and a crazy cocker spaniel to the vet to spend money that I don't want to spend!!
And if I didn't need anything else, Humana drafted my account for $400 more than what they should have this month and when I call they tell me that their mainframe is down and I will have to call back. They are hoping it will be fixed in a few hours. What??? I need to get to the bottom of this NOW! I am sure I will need that $400 for the vet tomorrow!
Ugg. Can anything else happen?

Bigfoot Sighting!

Not really. But we did finally capture Eva's smile on film.

This was just too cute not to post