Easter Weekend

Where do I begin! I haven't been regularly blogging for a while because I have been in crunch mode for school. I have TONS of finals coming up and recently had four tests falling between only days apart. Sucky, I know. And to make things even more hectic I got a new CNA job working at the Lutheran Home in town. I am working registry and making a great wage and it's only a block away. Because I am training I worked Tuesday through Thursday from 2pm-10pm last week and will work Monday-Thursday from 2pm-10pm this week. Which means that I am going to school from 9am-2pm and immediately going to work (at 2:45) until 10pm. On Tuesday-Thursday I do get to leave at 11 giving me a little more time with Evelyn and we had a blast this weekend for Easter.


We attended an early Easter egg hunt last weekend...(notice Evelyn's sweet rain boots).


On the day of the real Easter egg hunt, Easter morning, Evelyn decided to wake up and help herself to her Easter basket while everyone was sleep. There were candy and fake grass everywhere. After this fiasco she participated in her first ever real Easter egg hunt! She had a blast and scored it big. The whole day went perfectly and we all had a blast.

Ev in her Easter dress.


Bunny ears :)


And here is Evelyn during the few hours of sunshine we had this weekend. This was her first ever time seeing the ice cream man and she was thrilled!

Big Girl

Last night we decided to transitioned Evelyn's crib into a toddler bed. She was SO excited! She kept running into her room and throwing herself onto the bed. Here's a clip.


She looked like such a big girl laying there. I sat at the edge of her bed, read her a few books and kissed her goodnight. I explained that she was a big girl now so she had to sleep in her big girl bed. When I shut the door I knew it wouldn't be long before I heard some kind of activity inside. A few minutes later Ev came to the door. Without speaking I picked her up and placed her back in her bed. We repeated this about 15 times until I realized it was now a game. So I placed her back in bed, kissed her goodnight again and shut the door completely because she is still (thank God!) unable to turn door handles. She immediately began screaming, "Oh no! Mommy, pwease! Oh goodness!" and multiple other cries of help. This lasted for a good 20 minutes before I heard nothing. An hour later I checked on her and she was sleeping in her bed. One of her toy bins had been dumped out but other than that the room was in order. Overall it was definitely an easier night than I had planned on!

So I was curious to see how tonight would play out. We brushed teeth, watched a show and headed to bed for some reading. She leaped up on her bed and snuggled down into her blankets with her baby. We read a few Dr. Seuss books and I again explained how she was such a big girl. When I leaned in for a kiss she wrapped her arms around my neck and said, "Wuv you, Mommy. G'night." My heart melted. I told her, "Good night, sweetie" before shutting the door. Fifteen minutes later I had still heard nothing so I cracked open the door and there was my big girl sleeping soundly in her bed. I tucked her in, kissed her forehead and walked out thinking how proud I was of her but also how sad it is to see her grow up so fast. From day one she has been such a good, easy baby. Let's pray it continues into Junior High! Cross your fingers!!!

Reading some books.


So proud to be a big girl :)

Workin At The Carwash

This afternoon Ev and I had to run some errands. For the first time since the terrible two's have started I was proud of her behavior! We went to several stores where Evelyn calmly stood next to my side. She was still curious of the new environment, running her hands across everything on the racks and counters. But not once did she try to make a run for it. I have to say it was pretty nice going into a store for 15minutes and not breaking a sweat! Our last stop was the car wash. It was Evelyn's first time so I let her hop out of her carseat and ride shotgun. It was hysterical!! Although this video skips a few times the audio is to die for!


Due to all the running around we were running a little past schedule so we decided to go out for Chinese. Evelyn went through the buffet line with me for the first time. She helped me hold the plate and chose her own foods as she has gotten a little more selective these past few weeks. When I took her back to the table she sat there so nicely while I got my own food. She only yelled, "Mommmaaaayyyy!" a few times. During dinner a man from the next table got up and walked towards the restroom. Evelyn shouted, "He goin potty!" I said, "Yes, Evelyn, but that's something private and you shouldn't announce it....especially so loudly." A few minutes later the man emerged from the restroom to which Evelyn shouted, "He did it!!! Yaaaaayyy!" Another few minutes passed and his wife went to the restroom. Evelyn says to me, "Her turn. She go potty now." I said, "Yes, but remember...it's private. Shhh." When she came out Evelyn again cheered her on. They got a pretty big kick out of it.

When I went back for dessert I brought Evelyn bananas with a strawberry sauce on them. She told me, "Me no like nanas. Day for monkeys." And before we left she stopped by a table, held out her hand and said, "Fiver?" Which is apparently her way of requesting a high five. Everyone was pretty amused by her and I have to say I had a blast. She has such a personality and it is SO fun!

Here is a cute pic of Ev leaving to run errands.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Evey Bug

We're back from our first ever blogger vacation! And to celebrate, I plan to recap Evelyn's 2nd birthday.

Dear Evelyn,

These past two years have been quite a rollercoaster! But I've enjoyed the ride. You are growing and developing so quickly that I feel like just yesterday I was bringing you home from the hospital.

Your vocabulary is outstanding and very advanced! You can say 5-6 word sentences, alhtough not always gramatically correct. Some I have heard recently are, "You lay 'gether, pwease?" (meaning you lay with me/we lay together) and "Ess-cues-uh-me...you butt showing", which you politely explained to a stranger bearing plumber crack at a birthday party last night! You are also great at saying big words like "'quarium" (aquarium), stegasaurus and interesting. You LOVE asking questions...and usually answer them yourself..."Mommy go potty.....noooo! Ehninn go potty...yeeesss!" You love to count everything in your own format of "2, 4, 8, 9, tipteen". You received a Tag reader from Grandma Jill for Christmas and love to read alone in your crib at night. These books have helped you to be able to identify most of your colors and almost all shapes. You are great at playing alone and sometimes I think you have more fun this way! You love babies, making us food in your 'wave, coloring and your new favorite is playing with Legos. You are very observant-always identifying the current weather status, what other people are wearing and things we see when walking around. You enjoy going under bridges in the car declaring, "Made it!" when we reach the other side. You are still a fan of Dora dn Kai-Lan but have currently taken a liking to Beauty and the Beast, Chuggington, Bolt and Cars. The other day I was drinking tea and you asked, "Me drink dat tea?" After I gave you a drink you pointed to your tea party set explaing, "Dat tea, too." You then informed me that, "Beast drink tea, too." Yes, Beauty and the Beast DO drink tea, too! You have joined a tumbling class at the Y and are a HUGE fan! You love doing 'saults and running but especially love the trampoline and social aspect of it all. We celebrated your birthday differently this year with a small, intimate family party consisting of Yaya, Pa, Uncle Gawette, Grnadma Jilly B, Pa, Uncle Chris, Aunt Jen and Kaden. We also went on 2 trips for your birthday-to Key Lime Cove and the Shedd Acquarium. You had a great time at both! Because you love anything to do with the outdoors and water you are more than ready for Spring to be here and I look forward to sharing these times with you.

Happy Birthday, Bug. Love you with all my heart,

Mommy

Evelyn, fresh out of the hospital


3months


6months


9months


12months


18months


2 years old!

Better With Age

Due to a stuffy nose and cough Evelyn struggled to go to bed tonight. Between her symptoms and list of demands (ie lemonade, coloring books and Bullseye), bedtime didn't seem to be in sight tonight. After rattling off several fictitious excuses she finally gave in and settled down. Only minutes later she was insisting she be freed because of a stomach ache. I finally went in and offered to either rock or lay on the floor together (because she is sick and she is almost not a baby and...I just wanted to, ok!). We snuggled up on her ladybug pillow pet and I began to rub her back. She sweetly threw an arm around my neck and pulled me in to whisper, "Wuv you, Mommy." She started rubbing my head and cheek with a smile. She loves to show us that she cares and make us smile. It is just another determining factor proving that Evelyn has almost completely transitioned into a big, huge, independent, conversational, inquisitive BIG GIRL! She is going potty regularly, washing her hands, drinking out of a big girl cup at dinner and constantly making us laugh with the millions of questions she has. I have to say I'm pretty darn proud! It's an awesome feeling when I try and teach her something that she's totally into, like new songs, dance moves or just a neat game. I have to say, this parenting thing is alright.

Tumb-uhh-ween

Evelyn has jumped full swing into her Tumbling class. She loves the rush of the gym atmosphere, the other toddlers, all the free space and of course the awesome equipment they have. She is always asking to go, "Tumb-uhh-ween?" I'm positive we're going to keep up with this so we went ahead and bought some official tumbling gear...
(Ignore the frown due to the unwanted picture being taken)

This day, Evelyn was mistaken for royalty when another girl came in saying, "Look, mom! A princess!"

The class usually goes something like this-running back and forth on a white line, doing random walks/jumpes (ie frog hop, crab walk), then an obstacle course consisting of a somersault, jumping into or over something, crawling in or under something, the balance beam and doing a back bend on this sweet pillow thing they have. Then they do different jumps on the trampoline, sometimes jump off onto a target and then have 10 minutes of free time. It's awesome! Even the parents have a blast on the trampolines.

Last week, Evelyn successfully made it across the 12 foot balance beam on her own (only falling off 2 or 3 times). Her teachers were very impressed, claiming they rarely see a child her age make it so far. Overall, I think she has great form and I definitely think this may be her thing. Go, Evey Girl!! Mommy's proud :)

Our Month In Pictures

Princess Evelyn all ready for tumbling

She is her Mother's Daughter

Relaxing :)

Found you!!

And here is a new pic of Salvy

Evelyn's Chris Farley impression

Now That's What I Call A Weekend

Where should we start?

I finished this school week strongly getting 3 A's and 1 B on the four tests I took in 7 days. I was ready to celebrate! But my body had other plans... Jared and I ended up having a 24hour stomach virus.

If you remember my post from last week, I mentioned Evelyn's rising and falling fever that lasted all of last week causing her to miss daycare Monday-Wednesday. It was then followed by a barky, wet cough. She seemed fine through the weekend while Jared and I were ill until Saturday night when her cuddly/cranky mood came back.

She slept through the night fine but remained sluggish all day Sunday. I thought all was well until last night when our weekend sickness took a severe turn for the worse.

After hearing Evelyn whining I took her out of her crib she cried, "Bewwy. Hurts." before throwing up all over me. Since my hair and basically my entire torso were drenched in throw up, Evelyn and I took a quick shower. She was silly and giggling int he tub but began to whine again once we go out. Thankfully we were in the bathroom and she made it to the toilet. The remainder of our night was spent sleeping for an hour or two in various places that were clean. Getting cold wash cloths for Evelyn, glasses of Pedialyte, clean clothes, poopy diapers. I did several loads of laundry throughout the night because at one point we only had one pillowcase and one blanket clean-both of which Evelyn was using. She ended up getting sick 10 times throughout the night and finally slept from 2am-5am.

After a visit to the Doctor we were told Evelyn has a bacterial infection that our Doctor explained would cure itself in a day or two as long as she was well hydrated. After another dose of Pedialyte and almost a whole 6" Subway sub (by request) she is FINALLY sound asleep in a clean, warm bed. (In clean pajamas with a clean body which hasn't happened for 24hours!) I have one load of blankets left to fold and we are all clean and back to normal. In just enough time for me to get a quick nap, too. Thank goodness for no school today!!

Genes

Tonight while making dinner Evelyn and I sat on the kitchen floor playing with her ABC magnets. I noticed she was sitting in the EXACT same stance as me- half way cheerleader sit with the right leg pointing out and the left leg straight forward. It was pretty funny once I realized!

Other things I've noticed Evelyn inherited from me...

-Bags under her eyes when she's sick
-Walking loudly on her heels...what some would call stomping
-Tapping her foot while standing, for no particular reason
-Great rhythm


and we're waiting to find out if she has the Cumpata thumb. I tried to check the other night but I guess I'll just have to wait until she can give us the thumbs up on her own! I'll keep ya posted ;)

Mendota Disaster Part II

Last month, a bar downtown started on fire but fortunately only suffered internal damage.

This weekend, a 10 car train derailed only feet from our house. Jared even got to witness the entire thing! We've made several video updates throughout the weekend but are less than thrilled that our front yard has turned into a tourist site. There were people out there only seconds after it happened! I couldn't believe it. Cars were pulled over, people were in the street with cameras and camcorders. All the surrounding roads had to be blocked off, but of course, the intersection directly in front of our house is open, excluding the entrance to our one way street which is blocked on both ends meaning we physically have to remove barricades to leave our home. Not fun. Another un-fun part of this madness was that the men worked a straight 24hours after the wreck happened. Needless to say, the night was basically sleepless with sounds of, "Boom...scraaaaaapeeee....eeeen, eeeen, eeeen". (That last sound was a tractor reversing if anyone was confused). And still, 2 days later there are still people pulling over, trudging through our yard and basically acting completely obnoxious while TONS of semi's, tractors and police clean up the wreckage. I only wish Riley could have been here. He would have been PUMPED!!! Here is a clip...



More un-fun weekend news....Evelyn, who has not been sick ALL year has contracted some kind of strange illness. She has had an on-again, off-again 102.6 degree fever since Friday afternoon. She'll be fine one minute, on fire the next, whiny and cuddly then completely independent. Repeat 230498 times, and that was our weekend! Oh, with no sleep thanks to the train wreck of a yard we now have (pun intended!) Thankfully she has remained cool since after nap today but is still going to miss her Valentine's Day party tomorrow to be safe. :( We have our own little party planned so we'll hopefully make up for it!