Girls just want to have Fun!

Here are a few pictures of Evie with her friend Abby and her cousins, Mary and Lucy!

Kitchen Work!

Evie and I have not done much today. Our kitchen is under construction and everything from our cabinets is on our dining room table. Yesterday, we had our soffit taken out and today he came to mud. It's a pretty messy process but I knew it would be. It will be worth it to have a nice kitchen. We ordered our floors today and they will be installed next week. I cannot wait to rip up our old vinyl floor. Remember the painter from last week who wanted to charge a ton. Well, he is also the guy who came to mud and he has lowered his price and will include the paint. HA! I knew he was too high. He told me that he painted LeAnn Rimes and Alan Jackson's house. That might be part of his sales pitch here in the music city! I don't care if he painted the White House -he was overpriced last week. Here are some pictures so far but keep in mind we are far from being finished!

Evie was so excited when her Daddy came home. She crawled super fast to him and practically leaped into his arms. He went back outside to get his laptop and she totally freaked. It was so sweet. They went jogging together and I ran to the grocery store. We had so much fun playing with her tonight. She took four steps so she is getting more confident each day!

Birthday Pictures!

Evie had fun at her party. It all went smoothly. She was a little overwhelmed at first but quickly warmed up to everything. It was cute seeing all of her friends together. Evie was not so sure about her cake but loved it when I fed it to her on a fork. We tried again tonight with her smash cake and she seemed to like it a little more.

Evie had fun opening presents with her cousins. They really helped her get the hang of it. She got all kinds of nice things: baby bracelet, cross necklace, garden bench, fairy book, a dress, a set of musical instruments and lots of toys. Evie has really enjoyed playing with everything!

I think Evie's favorite part of the party was sharing puffs with her friend Abby. It was so cute to watch them eating together. I love to see Evie with her friends. So sweet!

One year ago today . . .

We brought Evie home from the hospital! It felt so weird to leave the hospital with our little bundle of joy. Evie slept all the way home from the hospital. I remember pulling into our neighborhood and a country song came on something about a little girl growing up. Perfect song! Lyrics were something about being washed in the blood or the water. Of course, it made me teary and everytime I heard that song it would remind me of bringing Evie home from the hospital. Kurt and Lollie had a sign made for us announcing Evie's birth. It was so sweet!

Carl and I decided that we wanted to come home and be alone with Evie. Everyone had told us what an overwhelming experience it is to come home with a new baby and that it would be wonderful to spend it as a family. We wanted to savor that time with Evie. It was amazing! We walked in the house and it was so clean! Carl's parents left our house in perfect condition. It felt so surreal to walk in our house with Evie. We showed Evie around our house and took her to see her room. I had spent so much time nesting and it was so wonderful to be in there with our beautiful daughter. Evie was ready to eat and it was so special feeding her while rocking in the glider. I felt like a real mommy rocking my sweet baby in her room. Carl left to get us some lunch and Evie slept a bit. She did not like her pack and play from the first day but loved her crib. I swaddled her and put her in the crib.

After lunch, I took a nap and Carl held Evie. It was the best nap and felt so wonderful to be sleeping in our comfortable bed after a few nights at the hospital. We spent the evening on the couch staring at our beautiful baby! It was such a special day and I would not change any part of it.

Busy Day!

We woke up and had a delicious brunch. My parents left after brunch. We had a nice visit and it's always so sad to see them go. Carl's parents and his brother came over after the girls went swimming. Evie was so excited to see her cousins! They played with all of her new toys.

Evie went right down for her nap. She was worn out from playing with her cousins. Mary and Lucy went to Target to get a new movie. I went to Franklin to return Logan's shoes. Carl and Kurt went to workout. The girls played with the sand and water table. What a mess but they had so much fun! Evie thinks her cousins are just so much fun. We ordered pizza for dinner. YUMMY!

Kurt's roommate from college came over to visit. Evie stayed up and met Rob too. Everyone went right to sleep. I am ready for bed too but will update with some pictures tomorrow.

Happy Birthday, Evie!

Evie - We keep saying that we just cannot believe that you are 1. Look how little you used to be - this year has gone by faster than any other year of our life. You have brought us inmeasurable joy and happiness. We cannot even remember our life before you were born. What did we do with all of our time. Nothing is as important as taking care of you.

I remember sitting at the hospital quite comfy after my epidural. We called your grandparents and of course your Aunt Lindsay to let them know that we were at the hospital and you were on the way! Uncle Ben came to the hospital too. He was a first year law student so he had a lot of work but he worked in the waiting room.

Our nurse said you would arrive around lunchtime so we were worried that your She She and Poppy would not make it from Sunset. Guess what, the nurse was wrong! We spent the day chatting with everyone and I was able to rest some. Something amazing happened while we were in the hospital, Captain Sully landed an airplane on the Hudson River. He became a national hero for keeping all of his passsengers safe. The passengers were on the news standing on the wings of the airplane. Pretty cool! Your Daddy left with She She and Poppy to get something to eat. I am sure he was pretty hungry and I rested. By this point, my epidural was long gone so I had to get another one. Everyone was hanging out in the waiting room. Another group came in with wine and snacks. Your She She went over to meet them and snagged a glass of wine from them. Finally, you were getting really close to making your appearance. I did not feel like it was real. It seemed like I was looking down on everything and not really a part of it.

Aunt Lindsay and Nana were waiting outside the door. They could not wait to meet you. Finally, it was time for the doctor to arrived and you popped out within thirty minutes or so at 1:33 AM. We thought you were beautiful from the very beginning and just loved your blonde hair. The nurses weighed you and checked you out from head to toe! We thought you were just perfect and they agreed. We were so thankful that you were born healthy in every way! You weighed 8.1 oz and were 20.5 inches long. Daddy got to hold you first and he just fell in love with you. I was so excited to hold you and snuggle with you. You were a perfect little bundle all wrapped up in a warm blanket. Daddy went to tell everyone you had arrived and to tell everyone your name. We kept your name a secret because we thought it was special and we did not want to hear any opinions. Aunt Lollie and Uncle Kurt taught us that trick. Evelyn Claire was the perfect name for you and everyone else agreed. We told everyone that your nickname would be Evie.

Everyone came in to see you and they thought you were just wonderful too. You are Nana and Ipop's first grandchild so that is extra special. She She and Poppy know all about little girls. Mary and Lucy have taught them all about bows, ballet and the color pink!

It was so special to have the grandparents, Uncle Ben and Aunt Lindsay there to see you on your birthday. Everyone left to go home to catch some sleep. We held you and looked at you for a little while longer. Then the nurse took you away to give you a few tests. Of course, you passed them all with flying colors and then you slept in the nursery the first night.

So, now you know all about the day you were born! Here's what you are up to these days:

You weigh about 20 pounds and wear 12-18 month clothes and a size 4 diaper.

You go to bed at 7:00 every night and you sleep all night long. You wake up around 6:30. I wish you could sleep just a little bit longer in the mornings but you are our alarm clock. Naptime is still around 8:30 and 1. You sleep for at least 1.5 hours and usually more. Mommy gets so much done during this time.

You love to stand and love to cruise around the house. You will take a step or two but that's about all the interest you have in walking. It's really fun to watch you push your grocery cart around the house.

You love lights and point to them all the time. We think it's really funny to hold you under a light and ask you how old you are because you hold up one little finger to represent your age. That's what we tell ourselves anyway.

You still love to eat but are not eating quite as much as before. Pancakes and banana are your favorite breakfast. You like turkey and cheese with grapes for lunch. Pasta is always yummy and you think pork is really great. You still nurse a few times a day and drink a sippy of milk several times a day too. Fruit is always a hit especially mandarin oranges and strawberries.

You like to squeal and giggle at everyone. I think you are pretty social and you make the other mommies laugh at Kindermusik because you get so very excited.

You have a few friends that you really enjoy. We play a lot with Logan, Cassidy and Abby. I wish we could see James and Paisley more because you would love to explore with them.

You say a few words like Mama and Dada. However, we can convince ourselves that you are saying whatever we want. Daddy thinks you are saying touchdown when you hold up your arms. It sure sounds like it.

Evie, we hope you have a wonderful birthday and many more happy years to come! You are so special to us and we are so thankful for every minute of life with you. We are having a party for you this afternoon. I cannot wait to see your reaction to cake. Mommy LOVES cake! Happy Birthday, Evie!!! We love you!

Project Complete!

Our laundry room is finished! We are really happy with it. I think it's the nicest room in the house with fresh paint and flooring. It needs some prints on the wall and a window treatment.

Evie was so excited to see her Nana and Ipop when she woke up from her morning nap. My dad and I had to go pick up the cake and get another gallon of paint. Evie stayed here to play with Nana. They had way more fun here!

Evie rested a bit in her crib and we cleaned for the party. I am a little behind because of the laundry room project. Everything is back in it's place and we are getting closer to being ready for Evie's big day.

I am still shocked that my baby is going to be 1! Last year, this time I was in labor waiting patiently for my sweet girl. I was in labor for 24 hours when she finally made her appearance into the world at 1:33 AM. Epidurals are marvelous things and I felt good. We were so excited to meet our blonde, blue-eyed beauty. Carl and I were so surprised to have a blonde baby. Both of us had assumed that she would be a brunette like me. Evie has been full of surprises even from the very beginning!