Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Daddy reading his Father's Day card to Evan - who is
in return smiling at Daddy! Mommy's fav.

Evan and Daddy

Happy Father's Day, Daddy!

Evan's stepping stones he gave to his grandpa's!

Mommy and Evan

Lounging.

Our big boy.

Sitting up by himself!

Mommy giving Evie kisses!!!

Someone is getting sleepy ...

All dressed up in his 'suit'!

Complete with Daddy's tie!

Sunday we celebrated Jason's first Father's Day! We spent time together as a family and later spent time with Jason's family. Evan made daddy a personalized calendar to hang up at work. He has been making comments about wanting a photo for his desk of Evan and I - so we went and got our pictures taken together, too. They turned out sooo good! I have been waiting to post them so they would be a complete surprise to Jason. Evan also made both grandpa's a stepping stone with his footprints! They turned out way better than I had planned, but only after a little chaos and switch to plan B.

Jason has done really well adjusting to being a father. There is always room for improvement on both of our ends, but we are simply learning and taking one day at a time. I love that they boys are able to spend quality father and son, the nights that I work. Evan loves his daddy and smiles in his presence. In fact, my most favorite picture is posted above. Jason is reading his Father's Day card and Evan is looking at him and smiling .... PRICELESS! This is what makes it all worth the hard times - which are becoming much less frequent.

I know that I look forward to spending many more special days together as a family. Mother's Day and Father's Day are 'made up' holidays to make the industry money - however, we will always celebrate and honor these special days. It was a long journey to be able to call ourselves Mommy and Daddy! We have only been parents for 3 months, but I have learned just how hard of a job parenting can be. But after it is all said and done, it is a blessing to have those experiences! It is hard to see that when you are going through a difficult time, but once the fog clears, it is a great experience!!! Happy Father's Day Jason!!!!

Fun in the Sun

Showing a little skin ...

Relaxing in his boat!

Taking a nap

E with his frog floatie - cute!

P, E, & Lil' E - buds!

Drake cooling off

Nap time for Drake too.

My precious water baby!!!!

Last Thursday, Evan had his first pool experience. In fact, it was his first time being outdoors for an extended period of time. I have been wanting to take him to the pool, so this was a really exciting day for mommy! We went to Toys R Us and got him a special floatie the night before - his little Bevie Boat. It was a great day to spend with friends!

The sun was hot and it was a perfect pool day! Tahisha and some work girls got together and had a little pool party. Emily even came out before going into work (crazy girl)! Drake even made an appearance and enjoyed napping in the outdoor air. Evan cried when the water hit his feet, but he got used to it and actually enjoyed himself. He was just relaxing his boat - stretched out and lounging! It was one of the cutest little things I have seen - but I am partial! :)

Apes brought Preston and Ethan out too. Good times with the boys! They had their swim gear and Preston was even showing us how brave he was to not wear floaties and go under water. Go P! It is exciting to think that our boys are going to grow up together, including Mr. Drake! They will all be able to go under water without floaties before we know it.

Mommy was even able to get some sun and have some adult time by the pool! Our first pool experience was great and I am hoping that each trip to the pool will be as successful. I am so happy that he liked the water because it was going to be a long summer, if he didn't. Now we can spend some quality time together outside of the house! Now we just have to get daddy to the pool for some family fun!!! Here are the pics ... PRICELESS! Thanks Tahisha for inviting us!!!

9 and 10 weeks

Trying to figure those fingers out ...

Finally, I got a smile on camera ....

And another.

Our family.

Serious playtime

Mommy's Chunky Monkey

Bathtime

My peanut sleeping like a big boy


Here is Franklin in the trash can

Life is back to normal and we are finally back to our normal routine. I returned to week last week, which would explain why I have not updated in 2 weeks! I was very upset about returning to work, however, it turned out to be just fine. Daddy and Evan were waiting at the top of the steps when I came home my first night! I have now worked 5 shifts and Jason is doing great with Evan, while I am at work. It was nice to see my co-workers, patients, families, and just get back to normal life. I think that the mental break away from being home is good for all of us. Jason and Evan can bond, while mommy gets a break and back to adulthood. Plus, I think that it has been good for Evan to have a break from me also. I just made it through 3 days without having spit up on me and was able to take a shower and get ready in peace! But I missed my peanut without a doubt!

In the last two weeks we have made some changes and Evan has really started growing into himself! He is now officially on a bedtime routine and doesn't even fight it. He gets a bath at 7:30, then a bottle, and then to bed. He doesn't even cry when we put him down!!! HUGE accomplishment! Now we are on to trying to develop a schedule for nap times. He is now 11 weeks old - one week away from being 3 months. It is so hard to believe that he is already nearly 3 months old. I am really excited about hitting this mark since everyone keeps assuring me that things start getting a little easier at 3 months. We will see .... :)

In the last week, he has started blowing bubbles, babbling, smiling more, and 'playing.' He just started really moving his arms and legs - playing on his back for up to 30 minutes at a time. I love to watch him 'exercise' and try and figure out how to move those arms and legs. He hasn't officially giggled, but he has been smiling much more. I will play with him and he will light up - which in turn, makes mommy light up as well!

The nap situation is still a problem, but I have accepted that I need to stop fighting it. He does better if I just let him take them on his own time. He usually takes two 30 minute naps throughout the day - which is much better than not taking any at all. What can I say, the kid doesn't require much sleep at all. Plus, our nights run pretty smooth (other than having to wake him every 4 hours to eat) so I am not going to push it too much. He thinks that it is time to play at 4:00 in the morning, but is getting better about falling back to sleep. We are going to start self-soothing again. I cringe at the thought of starting this all over again, but I am hoping that the 3 week break and growing will make it much better this time around. He is the appropriate age to start self soothing, but it really wears on mommy and daddy! Wish us luck.

On another note, our dogs are still completely jealous. In fact, in the last 2 weeks, they have chewed up 2 bottles, ate a nearly empty bottle of mylicon, tried to adopt Evan's boppy as their bed, chewed up a pair of shoes, and even more. We are not quite sure what we are going to do at this point - we would love for Caesar Milan to visit our house! :) It is hard enough to adjust to having a new family, but then adding in all this chaos in the mix is not helping. I have posted a picture of Franklin stuck in the trash can. I had just put Evan down for bed and went to throw some diapers away and when I opened the lid, he was balled up IN the trashcan with his little eyes poking out. It was hard to keep from laughing because he looked like he was just all snuggled up. So now I get to give Evan and Franklin frequent baths! :)

Tomorrow we are going to be tackling another milestone and going to a friends pool. This will be Evan's first swimming experience and pretty much his first extended outdoor experience. I am excited to see how he does. Mommy and him when shopping for a floatie today so he could just relax in the pool. The kid LOVES baths, but hates to be cold. So he is either going to love it becuase of the water, or hate it because it is cold. Check back in the near future for some pictures of my little water baby!!!

Week 8 has come and gone ...

Wearing a polo - just like his Daddy!

Startled by the flash ..

Our chunky monkey

A little smile.

Relaxing in his swing...

.... with his buddy, Drake!

All snuggled in his fleece blanket.

Daddy's new favorite picture

Sporting his Hawiian shirt


Ang with Evan

And Debbie and Evan

Evan is 9 weeks today! The last week has seemed to settle even more, with some bouts of schedule switching on Evan's part! :) It seems that he thinks it is time to get up and play at 4:00 in the morning. Silly Evan!!! This has happened for the last 3 nights, and I am wondering if this is now a new habit?!? I have tried to adjust his bedtime accordingly, to help him out - but that doesn't seem to be helping either. I was hoping that we would be on a schedule that would help Jason while I was returning to work. I want him to know that we have a bedtime and a bedtime routine, however, it is hard to do this when you are trying to figure out what works for him!

And on that note, I return to work this Sunday. As you have probably read, in previous posts, this is a bittersweet feeling for me. I am happy to return to work for the socialization and to see my coworkers, families, and patients. However, I am sad to leave Evan for 12 whole hours! For some reason, when he spends the night with his grandarents, I do not feel this way. I think it is me knowing that I will be at work and I have no control over what is going on at home. I do not think that I can take care of him any better than Jason, but I feel that I just know things about him that Jason has not experienced - and will have to learn on his own. I had the advantage of being home with him for the last 9 1/2 weeks.

The closer that Sunday is approaching, the more sad I am. I actually broke down and started crying to Jason tonight. He wishes we could win the lottery so we could all just stay home together!!! :) But I do not want to be strictly a stay-at-home mom either. Luckily, my job allows me to be able to attend all those little celebrations, school parties, and still have my quality time with him. I am thankful that I do not have to work 5 days a week for 8 hours. That would be absolute torture. I think the one thought that is helping me through this is that he will mostly be sleeping while I am away. I am not going to be missing too much!!! But I will miss my cuddle time with my little man!

No huge changes this week. He sat in his swing this week, on 2 different occasions, for 20 minutes or so - even falling asleep both times. This is a huge step for us! He is super smiley and loves when people talk to him and look at him directly. I cannot even tell you how many people will stop me when we go in public. Everyone loves this little fella! People go crazy over babies. He started making bubbles - hopefully a laugh will be just around the corner! My favorite time with him is after he has eaten and is content to let me snuggle him to pieces. I think he knows that mommy loves to snuggle, therefore, he just gives in! :) Those eyes just melt my
heart ...

Our week consisted of a playdate with Whitney, Drake, Scout, and Kenzie. The whole Steinhauser family (minus Dustin) came over for a play date. I laugh because it is a mommy playdate, however, this day - Mommies, sons, and dogs all had a playdate friend! Poor franklin was being chased by 3 dogs that hovered in size over him... but he would just run ... he loved it! Drake and Evan would eat, sleep, and even swing! Whitney helped me prepare the food for Jason's 30th Birthday Party. She baked all of my cupcakes - and finished off the bowl of raw batter, too! Mmmmmmmm! (Love ya Whit) Later that night, Jason, Evan and I returned home from errands to find that Daysia had snatched some cupcakes from the counter, sharing them with Franklin! Do you think they are jeleous?

Today we met some of my old coworkers for pizza and the introduction of Evan! He even wore his Hawiian shirt for the occasion. He let everyone hold him and ate most of the time we were there. Thanks for having us and for the pizza, Debbie! It is always nice to catch up with everyone. Then, later, we met with Drake and Whitney for another "playdate" aka shopping. It was an interesting trip, both boys being older and more squirmy with age. It is so surprising how long it takes to do just a few things! Thank God we are going through all of this together! :)

My thoughts.

Okay ... let me start off by saying that I do not normally write about things like this. In fact, I really hate reality type shows - except Jon and Kate +8. I love this show and have even chosen Ayden as my favorite. Tonight I was watching a couple of the new episodes tonight and I was extremely bothered. This family is falling apart and we are all watching it happen! It is so sad. I mean, I have always thought that Kate was somewhat fake and crazy. She has her moments when you think her feelings were sincere, but most of the time I think so it too worried about her appearance to people. It just makes me extremely sad to know that this wonderful family is breaking apart because they chose money over their family and marriage.

Kate is more worried about her appearance and trying to portray this certain person. I have a hard time watching the show because I get so enraged with how she treats Jon. Notice that she is talking most of the show - he just sits there because she won't even let him speak. She is constantly belittling him in a subtle way. It just bothers me that she acts this way. Jon can make comments at times, but he seems so sincere about his feelings. I love how he will do ANYTHING for his family, to make them happy! I watched him take apart a huge wooden swingset in their backyard so they could take it their new house. He did it because it had sentimental value to him - he watched his kids grow up on this swingset and they had moved it from their previous house, too. Then she was getting super frustrated with him because they were trying to throw things away as they were packing. He wanted to keep a bag of bugs because they were from a memory of his kids going camping, yet she was yelling at him to get rid of it.

I just hate how she will be so rude and take stabs at him. She tries to portray him and always downplay his role as a father - as him being a bad father and inferior to her parenting skills. Jon has just started speaking up for himself, and that is another issue as to why they are spliting up. I love when he jokes with the kids or has a loving moment with them. I actually had tears in my eyes when I was watching the kids 5th birthday party and one of the girls came up to him and was telling him that the friend she invited was a boy. He was joking with her and then just looked at her, hugged her, and then just sat there with her in his arms. I think he is one of the best fathers I have ever seen! He is willing and would do anything for those kids. Just one of those fathers that have a relationship with their child or children that is amazing. A couple of Jason's friends would classify as this type of father.

Jason is growing every single day. It is pretty amazing to see how both of us have grown, since Evan was born. Taking care of this little person, molding him into the person he is going to be. We both agree that it is a really overwhelming feeling - on a daily basis. I question if I am making the right decisions and if we are good parents to this point. I know everyone tells you that you are doing a good job, but who is going to tell you that you are not? I think I am just starting to feel the emotional part of me returning to work on Sunday. I never wanted, or still want, to be a stay at home mom, but there is something about the possibility that I will not see my son roll over for the first time, crawl for the first time, or take his first step. It is bittersweet for me because I miss the socialization of work, however, I want to be with my son. I have spent nearly every single minute of the the last almost 9 weeks with Evan, and now I am supposed to leave him for 12 hours at once? Overwhelming, huh?

I guess I just never thought that I would feel this way, especially at the beginning! Each day that goes by is another day that Evan is learning certain ways to soothe himself, or starting to show signs of how his personality is going to be. He has really adapted and started to become a cuddler! The beginning of our journey as a family was really trying and we have both come a long way and learned a lot. He is starting to do little things like look at me and smile, or grab and hold my hair when he is soothing himself, or snuggling up on my shoulder with me. Man, he is just already growing up so fast and has become quite the healthy little boy! :) What can I say .... he likes to eat!?! We love our little man - Evie Bevie!

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