Two Months Old and the Center of Attention

Evelyn is just the sweetest baby.  She would spend all day sleeping on your chest if you would let her.  In fact, the first two months of her life, she was sleeping on me more than anywhere else.  I perfected letting her sleep on top of me at night while at the same time ensuring she wouldn't slide off me and suffocate.  At two and a half months, we hit the jackpot and tried putting her to bed in the crib for the first time.  Someone likes her crib!  Evelyn also likes a tight swaddle and lots of things pushed up beside her.  I know, not safe.  I can tell you she survived it since she is actually 4 months going on 5 months old as I type this.  Here is a typical sleeping position.

  
The Big E is still the center of attention.  This is what I had to deal with when trying to get the girls out the door for school.  It's like pulling gum off the bottom of your sneaker.  It just doesn't come loose. 

Evelyn is discovering her voice and is making all sorts of cooing sounds.  The girls eat it up.  They even twist the sounds into words sometimes.  My favorite sound is her horse noise.  She makes the snorting sound of a horse many times a day.  It's quite cute.

They like to dress her up in all of her cute summer clothes.  Summer clothes are cuter than winter clothes!

 (please excuse the crazy hair.  They were fresh out of bed.

This baby has a smile that doesn't stop.  It is in full force now.  We love it.  I think the girls even feel it is a door to her soul.  The have the affirmation that she loves them and enjoys their silly faces in her face, constantly!

Girls On the Run

I am trying to hit the high points in order to catch up on this blog.  I have included many running activities because we seem to be turning into a running family.  I say that while I sit here trying to heal my stress fracture from RUNNING!!  We seem to come together as a family when we go to a run.  We cheer hard for our runner, whether it be daddy or a sister.  We all know what it is like to work hard to get to the finish line. 

This spring was full of runs.  With each run, times got a little better and more fun was had.  Miss Evelyn was a dream during each and every run.  It was like it was her way of cheering us on.

One of the biggest runs Savannah has ever done was this last Girls On the Run 5k.  She officially joined the program even though she could only attend one our of the two weekly practices due to gymnastics.  The program works hard to develop strong girls with a goal of running a 5k together (lots of emphasis on teamwork).  Thousands of girls grades 3-5 do this all over the country.  It is a great program.

Come race day, they pump up thousands of runners - this years count was just over 2,300!!  They had super girl capes, chalk for the girls' hair, face paint and blaring music.  The girls were pumped.  It was a good thing because it was H-O-T.  HOT!!  Each girl is supposed to run with an adult.  Naturally, Savannah ran with Alex.

Here is what makes this a high point of our spring.  Out of 2,300 runners, Savannah was the SECOND Girls On the Run participant to cross the finish line!!!  Holy smokes.  I was shocked.  The races includes the boys program, Stride which placed some runners ahead of her.  However, there was only one GOTR girl that beat her to the finish line.  This girl has some serious running legs.  She finished just a hair over 25 minutes.  I was one proud Mama!

The proper running hair!

The runners. . .

The cheering section which included Savannah's principal.  Out of thousands of people, we bumped into her!

Four Months Old

One sweet and smiley baby is four months old (and then some).  I am head over heels for this girl and so thankful she made her way into our lives!

Strings

Savannah enrolled in the Strings Program this year.  She really enjoyed playing the violin.  Piano gave her a huge advantage.  By the end of the year she was able to play recognizable songs without too much squeaking.  Here is a video from her last concert. This is the song that was selected for kids that actually practiced throughout the year and excelled.  Savannah was one of them!


To make things interesting, the parents were given the task of learning one of the songs.  We performed with our children that night.   I definitely have a greater appreciation for what my big girl has accomplished.

There Will Be Days Like This

Sometimes I have to just let go and enjoy life through the lens of a 6 year old.

Memorial Day and Pneumonia

Our Memorial Day was a bit of a roller coaster.  Savannah had Friday off from school so I was able to take three of her closest friends to Monkey Joe's.  They bounced their hearts out while Evelyn slept and ate, slept and ate.  Saturday was a day of relaxation and working around the house.  Evelyn seemed a little cranky.  Sunday, we expected our friends from DC.  They were coming to meet Miss Rose for the first time.  An hour before they arrived we noticed Evelyn had a fever.  It was 101.3 so we called her doctor to see about using Tylenol.  They wanted us to go to the ER immediately.  Young babies with high fevers are worrisome.  We hung up the phone from that phone call two minutes after our friends arrived.  Out they door we went, while our big girls stayed behind.  Timing was everything that night.  Thank goodness for good friends!!

After the evening in the ER, Evelyn was sent home.  We received a call later reporting pneumonia in the left lung.  Why we weren't told this in hospital, I will never know.  We tried to wait it out but eventually she had to go back in for a heavy dose of antibiotics.  I hated giving them to her at 8 weeks of age, but everyone was pushing me in that direction.  She quickly turned the corner.

In the middle of all this, we were able to catch a parade and some tadpoles.  Evelyn was a good patient and just seemed to sleep a lot.  We figured she could sleep in her stroller just as easy.  The life of a fourth child.  Rarely does life get put on hold for you.  The girls really enjoyed the parade.  They loved the Chinese Dragon and reenactment soldiers from years ago.  Is it possible that these girls are turning into history buffs?  Just ask Adeline about the mean king and she will tell you all about the revolutionary war.

We said goodbye to our friends and then headed to the pond to unearth some tadpoles.  Thank goodness Miss Lila was there to dig deep in the mud and grab the slippery guys.  She is a sensory seeker in this arena.

The fruit of our labor!

Teeth!

If she loses any more teeth she will have to go back to a bottle!  This girl LOVES to lose teeth.  She doesn't wait until they dangle and twist.  Nope!  Adeline has her Daddy Yank. Them. Out!!  She forcibly losens them and then has Daddy finish the job.  It is so gross.  The ripping of teeth roots!!  Blood!  Yep, they bleed when they aren't really ready to come out. 

This. . . all in the name of the $3 the tooth fairy leaves.  Our fairy is very generous.  I would like to meet her some day and ask her what she was thinking when she started leaving such amounts under the pillows.