8 months!

Evalana is doing so many new things. She’s not much of a baby anymore—at least not as much of a baby as I’d like her to be. I guess we’ll just have to get another one someday. This little girl will be 8 months old on Wednesday! She weighs what an average 12-month-old would, and I’m buying her 18-month sized clothes.
She started standing up at 5 months; crawling, sitting up from laying down, standing without holding onto anything for a few seconds, and walking while holding on with one hand at 7 ½ months, and last week her uncle Matt told her he started walking at 8 ½ months, so she’s going to see if she can beat that. She’s keeping us busy!
My favorite new thing is that she understands some of the things I say to her. She understands “milk,” “drink,” “potty,” “all done,” “Evalana,” “no,” and probably more that I haven’t realized yet. It’s helpful to be able to ask her if she wants milk and she can let me know, and it’s funny to see how excited she gets about wanting milk or water when I say the words.
Evalana’s still getting all of her nutrition from milk, but she enjoys exploring food and has been eating a little more recently. She still spends a lot of time finding out what happens when she drops her food, though. Her favorite food so far is apples; she would probably like to eat apple slices all day. Her favorite texture food is broccoli. She's so good at getting the food into her mouth now.
Last week my mom played pat-a-cake with Evalana. Since then she loves to grab our hands and make us clap and play pat-a-cake with her. Evalana enjoys playing with anything that’s something new for her to explore. She also likes looking out the window, petting her puppies, and hanging out with Daddy (sometimes she cries so much when Joshua’s working from home and can’t take her that he has to go hide from her downstairs). We love our sweet girl!

Evalana likes saying bye-bye to Daddy when he leaves for work in the mornings, but she especially likes watching him come home in the evening!

sledding!

Joshua had a super busy work week this week, which meant that Evalana and I didn't get to see much of him, but we're really enjoying being together today! Yesterday was Evalana's Great Grandma Winifred's funeral, so we got to see family.

A video of Evalana moving around this morning while playing with Daddy:


A video of Joshua taking Evalana sledding in the backyard:

curfew

Evalana has given me a 7pm curfew for now. There are a lot of things that happen after 7pm, but Evalana’s recently been going to sleep at 8:00 or 8:30. She won’t go to sleep without nursing (bottled milk doesn’t count as bedtime milk to her), and she’s actually stopped taking a bottle while I’ve left her during the day now, too (she’d rather be picky and hungry and hold out for the fresh source). I’m sure her bedtime routine will change eventually, but for now I enjoy spending time with my baby, even if it means missing out on concerts, wedding receptions, meetings, dinners, and whatever else people do after 7pm. I’ve always enjoyed going to bed early, though, so I guess this just gives me a good excuse or something.

crawling!

Joshua was so proud when he saw Evalana actually crawling today.

kitchen toys

Joshua's having a busy work week, and Evalana's having a busy week of exploration, and I haven't had much time to do any house cleaning stuff. I decided to set Evalana down in the kitchen for a minute so I could at least get the dishwasher loaded. While I did that, she opened a drawer of coupons, threw them onto the floor, and started eating them. I put together a bowl of kitchen items that I think will probably entertain her and hopefully aren't too dangerous, and she's been fascinated with them for the last 45 minutes! I guess I just need to keep being a little more creative with her playtime.

ears and frustrations

We went to our regular doctor today to get Evalana’s ears rechecked. She said they look good. They still have a little fluid in them, but she said that will go away, and Evalana doesn’t need any antibiotics or pain drops at this point. Oh, and she weighs 21 pounds (95th percentile). Although Evalana’s been acting like she feels better, she’s now started crying when she wants something. Sometimes we can understand what she wants and are able to give it to her, but sometimes we can’t (usually we can figure out what she wants but aren't able to carry her around at the moment, or she wants something that's not for babies). Evalana now seems to understand enough to know what she wants, but she just get frustrated that she can’t quite tell us or get there herself at this point. She’s beginning to get bored with the usual playtime, so I need to get a little more creative. Any ideas?

walmart

joshua took evalana to walmart yesterday while i got some cooking and cleaning done at home. this was evalana's first trip riding in the cart. evalana loves getting out and seeing the world.

Saturday morning at home

Evalana enjoys making noise. She's discovering that some toys bang together to make loud noises and some toys (like her cloth books) don't bang.

Evalana took one crawl step twice this morning, but she still prefers inch-worming, rolling, and standing up to get where she wants to be. She's getting pretty good at pulling up and then using objects to get where she wants to be. She can now walk a little bit only holding on with one hand. She gets so frustrated when she knows what she wants and can't get to it now, though.

We're working on a name for the new dog. Currently thinking maybe Abner? I took him to the vet earlier this week and found out he has all sorts of joint problems--arthritis, hip problems, a shoulder injury... At least he has a good personality.

happy spring!

Happy first day of spring! Evalana slept much better last night--only woke up a few times, and she's hardly fussed today. Yea! Thank you for your prayers for her. Her nose, cough, and ears all seem to be feeling better today.
Joshua brought home some spring flowers today, which Evalana loved looking at.

ears and antibiotics

i took evalana for her first sick baby doctor appointment today. she's had a runny nose and cough for a week, but she's been extra fussy yesterday and this morning, so i thought we should go have someone check her out. Our doctor was full today, so we saw a different doctor who I hadn't met before. He was nice, but we didn't really agree with each other. He said her left ear is a little red, so he was going to prescribe some antibiotics. I told him that i'm really not comfortable with giving her antibiotics unless she needs them. I asked if he thought the infection would go away on its own. He said some do, but he didn't feel like the side effects of the antibiotics are that bad, so it's worth taking them. I had read that most ear infections go away without antibiotics, and I also really don't want Evalana to lose all of that good bacteria in her digestive system that we've worked on for seven months. I'm hoping she might be able to tolerate my eating more foods, whenever she gets healthy enough that I'm able to retest some of our problem foods. And it seems like most drugs have all sorts of ingredients that I'd rather not give her if I don't have to (dyes, preservatives, chemicals, foods she is sensitive to...). So finally the doctor just gave me a prescription for some pain relief ear drops. I went to CVS and found out the drops would cost $160. The pharmacy technician said there was a very similar drug that would be much cheaper, so she left a message with the doctor to see if he would prescribe that instead, but I never heard back from the pharmacy today. The pharmicist was very helpful and agreed with my decision about the antibiotics. He said it should be obvious if her ear gets worse since she's not all that upset at this point. I got some OTC homeopathic earache drops and headed home. She seems to be having a decent evening. Earlier she was laughing so hard at her doggies who were both laying right beside her that she feel over and just kept laughing. She's sleeping well now, so we'll see how tomorrow goes.

green

Happy St. Patrick's Day, and happy 21st birthday Uncle Matt!

we love weekends

Friday evening Grandma Moser (my mom), Aunt Michelle, Patrick, Uncle Alex, and Bridgett came over for Michelle and Patrick’s birthday dinner. It was great to see everyone. I am thankful for our family. Saturday we didn’t really have any plans, which was wonderful!
First we got to go visit Great Grandma Winifred and say bye to her and pray with her. It was really neat to see Winifred and Evalana together. Winifred was sleeping the whole time, but Evalana walked right up to her and talked to her, and Winifred’s breathing changed. It seemed that the beginning of life and the end of life had more in common with each other than Joshua and I did with either of them. So I think Winifred liked the visit from her great grandchild, and we were certainly thankful to have that visit with Winifred. I think it’s amazing to both welcome a new baby and to see someone so close to going Home. The other thing that amazes me is how much animals know. Winifred lives in a retirement home, and there’s a cat named Lala who lives on her floor. Lala came into sleep with Winifred since she’s close to passing on.
We then went to visit a dog I had found on petfinder.com. He’s supposedly a St. Bernard/Aussie mix. He has a huge head, freckles on his nose, and pink skin. He’s the same size as Samson. After finding out all we could about him (he came in as a stray, and his foster home was more of a kennel with lots of play area and friends than with a family, so we still had some unanswered questions), we decided to take him home. We’re very impressed with him so far. We haven’t left him home alone, so that’s one more thing to test out, but he’s doing great—fits in with Samson perfectly so far. Any name suggestions?
Evalana has another runny nose and cough that started on Friday, so she doesn’t feel very good, and Joshua and I haven’t been sleeping so well. After she was coughing and moaning and crying, Joshua spent a few hours holding her on his chest while he was on the couch, and Evalana got some good non-coughing sleep. I’m so thankful that my husband is such an amazing daddy. We are thankful for the healthy week we had last week as well as thankful that this is just another little sickness that she’ll get over soon.
Here’s a video of Evalana laughing so you can see her four teeth. Her top teeth aren’t fully in yet, but they make her look like such a big girl.

And here’s a video of Evalana telling Daddy about her day when he got home from work. She loves her daddy and fusses whenever he leaves her.

new doggie

We got a new dog, and so far he seems great! He hasn't tried to touch our food or a baby toy, and the only time he barked was when my mom came to the front door. He does have a good bark when he barked, though. Here's his information that was on petfinder:

My name is Austin and I look like I have St.Bernard and Aussie in my blood. I weigh just 70 pounds and need another 10-15 added to my thin body. The vet says I am probably around 4 years young. I was dumped out in the lonely streets to fend for myself and was lucky enough to have a compassionate family care for me until I arrived at Furry Kids. I absolutely love other dogs! I was around cats while with this family and they said I was great. I am a very happy-go-lucky type furry kid who just wants everyone to be happy like me! I'm crate trained and my temporary family said I never had a accident while with them. I would be such a great companion to most any family. I can however jump a 4'fence. I will need a taller fence or a very active family to take me for walks & to the dog park. I'm happiest when I'm with people. I kind of have a smile on my face. I have been neutered, teeth cleaned, vaccinated, heart worm tested negative, micro chipped and my $125 adoption fee also includes a 2 week trial to help ensure everyone's happiness.

thank yous

i'm horrible about sending mail! i still have evalana's birth announcements sitting here. i was going to write thank you notes to people who had given evalana a gift and just send them out at the same time, but i put it off, and then i lost my list of thank yous that i needed to write, and i've now given up on finding it. i'm very sorry. i'll try to collect some addresses and send out what i can soon. To everyone, we really appreciate your gifts and prayers you've given! I hope Evalana will learn to be much better at this than I am.

God's child

A couple years ago I heard a Family Life Today broadcast about a family whose baby girl almost died, and they made a comment that stuck with me--that their baby was God's child, and God had given her to them to parent, but she was still God's. Only God knows how long He's giving our baby to us for, but I'll be thankful for every moment that He's entrusted us to parent this sweet girl. I was especially aware of the fragility of Evalana's life when we first knew of her and she was the size of a poppyseed. As far as we know, Evalana is a healthy little girl, and we dream about all that she'll do in her lifetime. We love every moment with her and try our best to make each of these moments for God, but we know that we don't deserve any of the good things in our lives, especially the blessing of our Evalana. After my Grief and Loss class at KU last year, I went home each evening amazed that people do live through the day. This week at MOPS we heard from a mom who lost her baby to a burn in the kitchen when she was a year old. Last month Cora, who was 11 months old, died of cancer. Another Westside family just lost their baby two months into their pregnancy. The cousin of one of our lifegroup members had twins who were born at 26 weeks, and one of the girls died. I also have a friend whose daughter was diagnosed with cancer last summer, and she is now doing great! God has been glorified through the struggles all of these Christian families. I pray that we honor God through our everyday living and during any difficulties we have to go through. Well, the cutie is waking up and playing with my ear and hair.

more family

This past Saturday we visited Joshua's grandparents in Columbus, Kansas. We got an early start and stuck evalana in her carseat before she woke up in the morning. We took the 2-hour drive home during her afternoon nap, and she did pretty well, just cried for about 20 minutes. I'm so glad we got to go visit them. We had a great time together. Evalana loved all the toys there, especially the windchimes, and the attention she got.
On Sunday we went to church. In the evening we went to Aunt Mimi's birthday dinner at North's. Evalana enjoyed looking around the restaurant and eating with everyone, especially when Grandma Lauerman helped Evalana drink water.

great grandma winifred

Evalana's great grandma Winifred (my stepmom's mom) is nearing the end of her life here. She's had Parkinson's and dimentia for awhile, and she is a Christian, so I have no doubt that she'll be much happier in Heaven. Please pray for her and the rest of the family. Winifred is a wonderful, smart, and kind woman who I am thankful to have known. Diseases such as Parkinson's and dimentia are difficult reminders that the Earth is just a short-term place for us to live and that our actual home with with God in Heaven. Please pray that this time at the end of Winifred's earthly life would be used to bring people to want to know God and trust in Christ. Thank you.

hi babababa tha

Well she is getting closer to crawling now—she gets on her hands and knees and rocks and picks up a hand or foot but hasn’t coordinated it all to move her forward yet. Yesterday she had another vaccination appointment, as she has the first week of every month since she was two months old, but now we get to skip April and not take her back until she’s nine months old. She now has four teeth in. Right now she’s not teething or sick, which I think hasn’t happened in the last 48 days. It’s a nice break, but, unfortunately I think I ate something wrong because her tummy’s been bothering her this week, although nothing too bad. She enjoys talking a lot. Her favorite sounds to make are “hi” “mama” “dada” “baba” and “tha.” The EC has been going great; we catch the majority of her pees and poop in her potty, but most people experience more misses as their baby works on other new skills such as crawling, walking, or eating solids, so we expect that. We’re enjoying some warm weather, and Evalana loves going for walks. We’ve had the windows open in the living room the past couple days, and she likes to look out the window and feel the breeze. We enjoy every moment with our cutie.

i would like to have what i want now please

Evalana's created her own sign. Swinging her arm means "I would like to have what I want now, please." In this video she's using it for more carrots. Although Samson gets a lot of food, Evalana's enjoying her food, too.

busy weekend

Evalana is now 7 months old! She had a busy weekend, too. We packed in lots of fun with good family and friends. On Saturday we celebrated her friend Lilly's first birthday (picture on the right). Then Papa, Gigi, Aunt Kristen, her cousin Noah, and Noah's dog Katie came over. Noah and Evalana didn't play together much, but they had a good time. Here's a picture of the two of them together. Sunday morning we got to go to church. Evalana hasn't gone to childcare there for a couple of weeks (since they don't have it there anymore), but when we walked in, she looked around like "Oh yeah, this is where I used to work. I kind of like it here. Why did I get fired again? We should come here more often." After church we made a quick stop by Children's Place outlet at the Great Mall since people had told me they have cheap t-shirts that would fit. Evalana doesn't have many shirts that fit over her head right now. And we did find several shirts for $3 each that should fit her well, and we also got a white long-sleeved t-shirt that should help her to get some use out of the summer clothes she has. Some people gave us 12-month-size summer clothes before she was born, thinking that Evalana would be around 20 pounds in August rather than in February. Oh well. I like our chubby cutie. We spent Sunday afternoon hanging out a little more with Joshua's family, and then Sunday evening we went to Uncle Alex's birthday dinner. It was Evalana's first trip to a Japanese steakhouse. Evalana got upset in the bathroom because she did a great job pottying in the toilet, but they didn't have a changing table to set her on while i put her pants back on, and holding her while trying to put her clothes back together wasn't working well, but Nana came to the rescue. Evalana once again showed how much she likes her Uncle Alex when she got in his face and tried to eat his nose; it's kind of funny. She had some milk and then was in a good mood for her food. We got a highchair to keep in the car for when we go places, and it works great!

Evalana's finally over her cough (yea!), although her other top tooth is ready to come in maybe tomorrow and is causing her to be uncomfortable now. Last week she started grinding her bottom teeth against her top tooth. She's doing it at the very beginning of the video below. Hopefully that trick will go away when the newness of the tooth wears off. Sometimes she plays with the hair on the side of her head when she is trying to relax. Her hair is getting so much longer. She's also "talking" so much, and we look forward to her actually using words in sign language or English someday. We have such a good time with our sweet girl.