Two Under Two

 

...That's right! Evie is going to be a big sister! When we found out we were pregnant with her, we immediately told EVERYONE! This time, though, we wanted to keep the pregnancy under wraps until we were able to go to the doctor and make sure everything is fine. We told immediate family, but no one else. I took a pregnancy test on November 1st, and it has been killing me to keep it a secret for so long, but we finally went to the doctor's office on Friday! On the phone, we were told that at our first appointment they automatically do an ultrasound to find the heartbeat and to date the pregnancy. The only problem was we were given about four different prices for that first appointment. Even when we showed up on the actual day, they charged me less than they'd said, but told me they were only doing a Doppler instead of an ultrasound. We were very confused and asked the nurse once we were in the room to explain once and for all what was going on. There was a small ultrasound machine in the office itself, so she left to ask the doctor what he wanted to do. He came in and said that because no one had given us a straight answer, he would just do the ultrasound for free!
Our first ultrasound with Evie was when we were 7 weeks along, so there wasn't much going on yet. She really just looked like a little cocoon:

This time, though, I was almost 12 weeks along, so the first thing we saw, even before a heartbeat, was little feet kicking. Instead of a cocoon, this baby looked a little like a gummy bear:

At the beginning of my pregnancy with Evie, I was still working the last of the Depo Provera shot out of my system, so I had no idea how far along I was. This time, it was so nice to have clear and accurate dates to work with! According to my calculations, my due date was July 8th. The doctor, after checking my dates and looking at the ultrasound, put my due date at July 10th, but a couple of days one way or the other is no big deal.
The doctor asked me if we had planned this baby or if it was an "oopsie," and I want to make it clear that this baby was planned for and prayed for, just like Evie was. Todd was a little surprised that we got pregnant so fast after deciding we wanted another baby, but I wasn't. Infertility doesn't seem to be my cross to bear; pretty much as soon as we decide we want a baby--boom!--there's a baby. And I really don't care this time what we have. I very much wanted to have a girl first, and when I would pray for Evie's health and safety, I would secretly pray that she would be a girl. I had a feeling that she was, but I didn't know if it was just wishful thinking. This time, I have a feeling that we're having a boy, but I would be really thrilled either way. It'll be great if we have another girl, because we already have plenty of girl baby clothes. Also, they would grow up to be best friends. On the other hand, it'll be great if we have a boy, because it would be a fun new adventure to have one of each. Also, we would have someone to "carry on our family name." Either way, I'm sure our kiddos will be close, because Evie will never be able to remember a time when she was the only child, and the next one will obviously never be able to remember a time without Evie. They will always be an important part of each others' lives. And mine.
Oh, I am so excited to finally have the news out in the open! I'm PREGNANT, everybody! Again! And my 22nd birthday is in 2 days, which means that once this baby is born, I'll have 2 babies under the age of 2 while I'm still 22. How cool is that? I am so thrilled about this baby, and can't wait to embark on this adventure again. You all are welcome to come along for the ride!

Evie's First Christmas!

This year turned out so much better than I'd hoped! We planned out presents in advance and saved up for the majority of them--a big change from last year. We only went over-budget by a little bit, Evie had a great haul, and I'm sitting here sipping some delicious eggnog. Life is good!

Evie's first Christmas started Friday night when we went to see Santa. The local mall across the street encouraged their customers to take their own pictures with Santa for free, which was way better than the $20 studio fee I was afraid I'd have to cough up to document this rite of passage. So we bundled up and headed over, with Evie dressed in her adorable holiday outfit, to see how Santa and Evie would get along.

Apparently several babies freak out once they're sitting on his lap, but Evie (our little social butterfly) was just fine.

Both Santa and Mrs. Claus were very taken with our little girl. They commented on how pretty, friendly, and festive she was. Of course, we puffed out our proud parent chests, smiled, and agreed.
Christmas Eve was a hectic day of working, running some errands on my lunch break, and doing some last minute shopping right after work. We ate dinner when we finally got home and then it was time to hang stockings!

Christmas Day itself had lots of ups and downs. Todd and I woke up just before 6 and went upstairs to open our presents, letting the munchkin sleep for another couple of hours. We went back to bed at about 7:30, but I woke up at 8 to the heartbreaking sound of Evie sobbing in her sleep. To cheer her up, I sent Todd upstairs to get her our present to open.

She had lots of fun pounding on the paper and pulling it off! Once we pried her away from her new toy, we took her upstairs to open all of her other presents:

This rattle was from her Uncle John. Then her girl cousins, Kim and Emily, gave Evie a toy cell phone so she can "call" people on her very own phone instead of always trying to steal Todd's phone when I'm talking to someone else.

She had a grand time playing with the cell phone while waiting to open her next present from her Uncle John and Aunt Margot, which turned out to be...a Rock-a-Stack!

Evie immediately fell in love with her new colored donuts, and it took some convincing for her to let go long enough to open another present. But she decided it was worth it when she saw what her boy cousins picked out for her. Kevin and Collin got her a brand new fuzzy little teddy bear that Evie loved snuggling.

Todd's supervisor from his old job has a four-year-old little boy who wanted to give Evie a present. He gave her a Winnie the Pooh phone that makes all kinds of fun noises. 

Santa brought Evie a boxed set of mini board books, which she immediately wanted to start reading. Of course, Todd and I are so proud of our budding bookworm!

Last of all was Evie's stocking. She finally learned how to pull things out of it, and got very enthusiastic about it!

Just for the record, her stocking included a rubber ducky, two new teething rings, a hairbrush, a "Baby's First Christmas" ornament, and a package of strawberry/apple puffs. Once Evie had opened all of her presents, we posed her in front of the tree, surrounded by all of her loot:

It's a pretty good haul for only being 9 months old!
Shortly after we brought all of her new toys downstairs, Evie spit up all over herself, our bed, and her new teddy bear. Unfortunately, that was the last of the formula we had until we can pick some more up tomorrow and it meant we need to do a load of laundry. On the plus side, though, it gave us an opportunity to try out her rubber ducky and her hairbrush! Evie thought it was extra fun when Mommy sang "Rubber Ducky" and squeezed her ducky at the squeaker parts. She even kissed him on the beak. Then she cried when it was time to get out of the tub and dry off because she had to leave her beloved ducky behind.

After Evie's bath, it was my turn to shower and get made-up (I got new make-up in my stocking!). While I played with my hair, Evie played with her colored donuts. We think that the orange one is her favorite because Todd says that she was holding the orange one in her left fist and had the others in a row next to her. Then, one by one, she would pick up another color in her right hand, compare the two, and bang them together. Then she would put down the other color and pick up another, repeating the whole ritual over again. Apparently, she did this for several minutes until I startled her by turning on my blow dryer.
Once we were all clean and polished, it was time to go to church. Since it was Christmas, we only had sacrament meeting, followed by a Merry Mingle that involved food and chatting. During the sacrament, we kept Evie quiet by feeding her puffs one at a time and then letting her read her books. She was in a pretty good mood until we went into the cultural hall for the Merry Mingle. Then she was hungry, but she wouldn't eat the food we tried to give her. She was tired, but she was too overstimulated to sleep. Eventually, her face just crumpled and tears started to fall. Honestly, I started to laugh because her heartbroken face was just so adorable that I couldn't help it. A lady in our ward stopped by to talk to her, and Evie made an admirable attempt to flirt and cry at the same time. I really wish I'd caught it on camera!
Evie cried until we finally gave up and decided it was time to head over to Todd's parents to meet up with the rest of his family. As soon as we started the car, though, she fell asleep and she stayed asleep for a couple of hours while the rest of us opened our presents. She finally woke up enough to sort of open her presents. (Sorry the video is sideways; I don't know how to fix it!)

When we finally got home (at only 6 o'clock! It was a very long day.), Evie started playing with her new toys while we called out-of-town family and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas. She enjoyed sitting on my lap and playing with her new cell phone while we talked on Todd's. Now, while I post on this blog, she's on the floor playing with her orange ring again. I know that she's too little to really remember her first Christmas, but I think that, overall, she had a pretty good day and so did we. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

On Purpose

This post will be short but sweet. I just wanted to proclaim to the world how much I LOVE being a wife and mommy. No matter what kind of day I've had, my family can make it better. One kiss from my husband, one smile and snuggle from my daughter, and my world just lights up like a Christmas tree. Sometimes at work, I catch myself smiling at nothing, just because the thought of my baby's face or laugh crossed my mind. THIS is my purpose in life; THIS is why Heavenly Father put me on this earth: to be the mother of Todd's children. I'm thrilled that I found my purpose so early in life because now I get to enjoy it for even longer, and I can't wait!

More Adventures

Just the other day, I looked at Evie and I swear she'd visibly grown during the night. She's doing all kinds of new things, and she's very excited about them. She can actually crawl now--on her knees and everything! And she's fast about it too! She loves to stand up, and can pull herself into a standing position using almost any piece of furniture in the house. Or, regardless of whether we're sitting or standing, she'll just pull on our legs until she's standing up. She has also discovered the stairs, and keeps trying to escape up them before one of us comes to recapture her. Or, if we run up the stairs for a moment to get something, she tries to follow us. So far, she's managed to make it halfway up the staircase before being caught. On the one hand, I'm proud of her and her accomplishments, but on the other, I'm scared to death that she's going to fall down the stairs and get hurt. We're planning to get a gate next week when our coupon becomes valid; until then, we have to keep a sharp eye on her. Also on Evie's adventures around the house, she's started finding tiny, almost microscopic, specks of fuzz or dirt or whatever, and she manages to get a tight grip with her tiny little fingers, inspect them for a moment, and then pop them into her mouth. Sometimes I can catch her in the act of inspecting her next potential morsel and take it away from her, but other times I don't realize she's eating something bad until I notice her chewing. Of course, the sneaky baby has also taken to chewing on just her tongue so as to throw us off. *Roll eyes here* When I go to her and poke my finger into her mouth to scoop the offending bite out of her gullet, she always seems so pleased. Almost like she's thinking, "Good, Mommy! You got to me just in time. Of course, I'm getting faster and I'll eventually win, but nice attempts in the meantime!" Speaking of "Mommy," we think Evie is starting to recognize us! Sometimes, when Todd hands her to me, she'll smile, snuggle into my shoulder, and say "Mamama." Other times, when she's upset and wants to be comforted, she'll wail "Maa-Maa-Maa-Maa!" It just tickles me pink to have her actually be calling my name (even if she's really just stringing sounds together instead). She can't say "Daddy" yet, but she says "Dad-un-Dad-un-Dad-un." The other day she pulled herself up using our bed, and she saw the cat lying there. So she looked at him, looked at me, and said "Ghee!" So I said, "Yes, that's the kitty!" She just beamed and did it again, "Ghee!" So I responded again, "Yes, that's the kitty!" We did this a few more times, and Evie was just thrilled. Finally, she plopped back onto the floor to discover some dust to eat and the game ended, but I actually had lots of fun! I don't know if this is still just baby babble or if Evie really is trying to use big-people words, but either way, it's fun to play along as if she is. She has a fixation with faces lately, especially mouths. She steals my glasses at least twice a day, doing so while I type this, in fact. And she likes to poke my teeth, lips, and tongue with her little fingers. She thinks it is strange and silly that I have teeth in the back of my mouth. In her own mouth, Evie popped a third tooth just this past weekend and might be growing a fourth, but she won't let me get a close enough look. She pops her lips and loves it when other people copy her. And I've caught her making fish-lips a couple of times! The poor little munchkin has had a cold for over a week now, but she's been her usual cheerful and fun little self through the whole thing. I'm so proud of her for all she is and does, even when it keeps me on my toes!