Evie Update: 2 Year Check Up, Potty Training, Vaccines

Yesterday was a really big day for Evie. She got her first vaccinations ever at her 2 yr old check up. Ben and I decided to delay vaccinating her until we felt she was old enough and actually needed to be vaccinated. Well she is going to school this year and because she will be exposed to so many new germs and kids we felt it was the right choice to start vaccinating her. She got 6 shots yesterday in her thighs, the total number of vaccines was 9. I was extremely nervous about how her body would handle the shots. She is completely fine so far (knock on wood). She is a little more tired and crabby than normal but otherwise she is doing great! I have been checking her temperature every few hours to make sure she doesn't have a fever.

At our appointment Evie's pediatrician talked to us about potty training. I have had Evie in Pull-Up diapers for months now and she has a potty seat at my house and at Ben's house. We each work with her to sit on the potty and in general to be comfortable with the potty. So today I got her a step stool to get on the potty by herself. I also started working with her to pull her pants and shorts up and down herself. Hopefully soon she will make the choice to pee and poop in the potty instead of her pants. =)



Other than all that she is talking up a storm! Sonya, our daycare lady, says Evie talks all the time and she is very excited. I am so happy at how much she has grown up in the last few months. A friend of mine recently gave me a small table and chairs set, a spinny thing for evie to sit on, 2 huge bags of clothes, and a huge box of books. I am thrilled because Evie loves all the books and the table and chairs and the spinny thing. And she looks ADORABLE in her new clothes! Yay for good friends!! =)





And in me news I start working tomorrow. I go to new teacher orientation tomorrow and Friday and Monday. I am very very excited and a little nervous. I can't believe I will be in charge of thirty 2nd graders in less than 2 weeks!!! Here is what I am gonna wear to my first day of orientation. What do ya think? Sorry the pic is so dark.

Evie and Me and Evie and Gramper

Happy 2 year Birthday Evelyn!!!

Two years ago today you came into our side of this world. I wanted you so much! I could not wait to meet you and hold you in my arms. And you made your entrance into our world so easily. My birth with you was everything I could have hoped for and more. Having you at home with your Dad and my parents and Heather and Christine was exactly what I wanted and needed. There was more love in that house that day then I have ever felt before. You bring so much love and light into my life and into everyone's life you encounter. You could light up the state of Georgia with your smile and your laugh. You are truly a gift to me and your Dad. He and I may not have succeeded at marriage but we definitely succeeded at making and raising the smartest, sweetest, funniest, and silliest child ever. And you are the greatest gift that your grandparents and great grandparents have ever received. Your Grammy and Gramper love you more than anything in this world, anything. They tell me all the time how much they love you and how incredible you are to them. Your Nana never fails to mention how amazing you are when she calls me. Your Mimi and Grandpop feel the same way too. And your Gigi and George and Great Grandma Evelyn and Oma love you to pieces too! And your Uncles Paul and Stan and Aunts Karen and Vanessa all love you tons as well! You won't know for many many more years how amazing your existence is to us and what an amazing and wonderful impact you have had on all of us but that is okay. For now just know that when I rock you and bathe you and kiss you and chase you and tickle you I am in heaven. And the same goes for your Dad I am sure and your Grandparents and your Aunts and Uncles. We all love you so much!!

Happy Birthday Evie! =)

Changes...

Hey all,

Big changes are taking place in my life right now. To start I am moving into my parents cottage on the farm for the next 6 months with Evie. After 6 months I will either have enough money saved to get my own place in Grovetown or I will stay in the cottage for another 6 months. Ben filed for divorce and surprised me, he is trying to take custodial parent from me. When we first separated we agreed that I would be the custodial parent (the parent that has the final say on all issues and receives child support). As a result I am changing my plans so that I can get custodial parent. Ben and I will be going to court in September. I have a job interview set up with a local elementary school for next week which I feel very confident about. I already know the principal and teachers at the school. So I will be teaching full time and going to grad school full time starting in August. Life will be busy!

Evie is handling the changes really well. And tomorrow she will be 2 yrs old, holy cow! Sometimes it seems like she is 2 going on 12 but then other times she comes up to me and says "baby". When she says that to me it means she wants me to rock her like a baby in my arms and sing rock a by baby to her. It is so wonderful for me, I don't know if she realizes how happy it makes me to rock her. She is amazing, so so so perfect! She truly means everything to me and there isn't anyone or anything in this world that I would let come between me and her, ever.

Binky Free since 5-19!!

Hi All,

Just a quick note to say that since I took Evie to the dentist on 5-19 and they told me it was time to nix the binky Evie has been binky free! And though she asks for it sometimes she is handling the cold turkey cut off very well. I am so glad!! My life is way easier now that I don't have to have 2 or 3 on me at all times and have access to a sink every 5 minutes because she throws or drops them on the ground. And I am happy that I can take pics of her without having to take the binky out first!

Also her speaking is taking off! She is adding words every day it seems like! She says thanks, shoes, sit down, and so many other words that I can't even think of. I am certain that the combo of no binky and being around other speaking kids is to blame for this jump in vocabulary.

So YAY for Evie, she really is becoming a big girl!!! =)

So, So, So Much to Say!

Hi Dear Readers!

As Cara graciously and astutely pointed out I have not posted new info in quite a while. Sorry about that! With the separation and imminent divorce and the end of the semester and the start of summer classes I have been swamped. But I am here and this post will be super long because I have a lot to report =)

I'll start with pics of Evie because they are always a crowd favorite. Here are pics of Evie at Grammy's friend's horse farm. There were chickens at the farm too which Evie loved!








The news here at the farm is that Gramper made an unexpected and brief visit home this last week. Grammy went to get him because this happened:

Yup, that is a tree in the swimming pool!



Now onto the nitty gritty. Ben and I were trying to get a separation agreement signed over the last 2 months but without being able to hire a lawyer I was not really ready to sign anything. The news on that front is that I will be getting my school loan money this week and I will use part of it to hire a lawyer to get divorce paperwork going. Ben and I have fluctuated between civil and not so civil but for the most part we are keeping good communication and Evie is being well loved and taken care of, of course!



In me news I am very pleased with my new gym. I joined the YMCA recently and they have great childcare and an indoor and outdoor pool and awesome machines! I am so happy to be going there. I was going to the gym on base for free but they are closing and their childcare cost extra and had awful hours. As a result of somewhat diligently going to the gym 3 days a week I have a small amount of muscle definition on my arms and legs and I have lost a dress size. I am very pleased. My next mission is to get good abs, I know it is probably impossible (see pics of me 9 months preggers) but I am gonna try.


In school news my classes are going great! I have my math midterm tomorrow night and surprisingly I think I actually will do well. I "get" what the class is about. I am not a total math idiot! Hooray! My other class is online and it is about classroom management. It is easy so far but I have 2 major papers that I have to write in the next 2 weeks before the class ends so I have to get my butt in gear or I will be sorry!



In job news there isn't much to report. I am still waiting to hear from the county. Apparently they are having major issues and that is why I haven't heard anything. I am trying to be patient. In the meantime I have applied in some other counties and I hope to hear from them soon. No matter what I will be working full time in the Fall whether it is as a teacher or as a retail clerk. I have to make money and get benefits to support myself and Evie. In the fall I will be taking 3 classes at night so whatever happens I will have to be able to go to school and work. If I am teaching then going to school at the same time won't be a problem at all. So please keep your fingers crossed for me!



In blog news I made this blog public again. People were having a lot of issues with getting to the blog so I just made it public again.



In more Evie news she is going with Ben to visit her Grandpop and Mimi and Oma and her Great Grandma Evelyn who she is named after. They are leaving Friday and will be gone for 5 days. I will miss her terribly! But I know her grandparents and great grand parents miss her terribly too! Luckily I have the fortune of being able to go to the beach the same weekend with Mike. I am so excited! I haven't been swimming in the ocean in over 4 years!!! I love the beach and I love swimming!



So I think that is all the news from here. If you have questions or want to know something I forgot to mention here you know the drill, leave a comment or email me. =)

Happy Mother's Day to Me!!

I had the best Mother's Day ever this year! Evie and I went to North Carolina to see Evie's Nana and we went to Virginia to see Gramper on the Appalachian Trail. It was so awesome! Evie travelled in the car very well (thank god for portable DVD players!). So here are some pics and video of our travels =)

And Happy Belated Mother's Day to Grammy, Gigi, Mimi, Oma, and Grandma Miller too!!

Been A While

Sorry it has been a while. As you can imagine I have a lot going on these days. First off I interviewed with my top pick school and I think it went well. I won't know til late next week at the soonest. I hate waiting! =)

Evie is doing well, she has been cranky and very hungry lately. I think we are going through a growth spurt or molars. Hard to say at this point.

I have 2 more interviews scheduled for next week with schools that would be okay but not as good as my top pick. We'll see.

Evie and I are checking out 4 in home daycares today. Evie is going to start going to daycare in the next few weeks because Grammy has more animals coming to the farm and ministering opportunities on Ft. Gordon. I think Evie will love daycare because she loves other kids so much! It is really cute, she plays so well with other kids, she shares and just rocks! Thanks to a very awesome lady Evie will be able to go to the private school we want for her! Nicole has a child going to the same school and she graciously agreed to take Evie along when she drops off her son for a fair fee. I am so thankful! I really want Evelyn there at least a few days a week.

My semester is winding down, thank God! I have 2 more days of class and then it is final projects due in 2 weeks. I really like my classes this semester but I am eager to be done with them and move onto my next classes. Math and Classroom Management are my next classes. I need both very much! I am not good at Math and I've never really had to do classroom management by myself.

So that is the news over here. How are you all? =)

Signs

Evelyn will be 16 months on Tuesday and she doesn't say any words yet. It is too soon to seriously worry about her language development. But we are worried, because that's what being a parent is all about. So in order to give Evelyn more ways to communicate we ordered some DVDs that teach ASL to toddlers and their parents. Her being able to sign will be really great for all of us. Instead of wasting 15 minutes trying to figure out why she is crying she will be able to tell us what she wants (food, diaper, toy, whatever). I am really excited because I can tell that she has a lot of thoughts on stuff. She is trying to talk to us. She points at stuff and then jibber jabbers on about it. She points at leaves blowing on a tree and the cats and then she tries to tell us stuff. But we don't know what she's trying to say. It's a little sad and a little frustrating. I am really looking forward to her being able to communicate better with us. She understands (for the most part) what we are saying to her. If we ask her to point to Elmo's nose, she does. If we tell her to pick up something she does. She understands us quite well. But we don't understand her, yet. I have high hopes for these DVDs and for signing.

Maybe this is "normal".

Evelyn hasn't gone to daycare in 2 weeks. We decided to pull her out because she kept getting sick after going, even for just 6 hours a week. Evie has been sick for like a month now, and she still isn't 100% yet. So now I am beginning to wonder if this runny nose/moody/clingy phase is just Evelyn's "normal". We've taken her to the doctor twice in the last month and they say the same thing every time, it's a virus and we just have to wait it out.

So I suspect there is a conspiracy among pediatricians to make parents of toddlers believe their kid is sick, instead of revealing the truth which is that 1-2yr olds are just snotty, in every sense of the word. Of course I think Evie is the most precious, adorable, smart, and talented, snot-filled toddler that ever walked the earth, no doubt! But the lack of sleep that accompanies the sick toddler syndrome is pretty sucky when it lasts for over a month. I really can't complain too much though. Evie does sleep well every once in a while, which is wonderful. And Ben and I switch off nights, so usually one of us has gotten a reasonable amount of sleep on a given day.

But to be honest things in our world are going pretty well. Evelyn has suddenly and adamantly stopped taking a bottle. She won't even drink water out of a bottle. It is what we wanted to happen but it kind of surprised us that we didn't have to fight her on it at all. Also she has really started eating like a champ! It's hard to know what she'll go for at any given meal, but in general if it has bread and cheese she will be into it.

Another new development in our life is the start of potty training. I know she is only 15 months and she doesn't need to PT yet but we noticed that she goes off by herself to poop and she sits on a chair to poop too. Those are pretty obvious signs that we can recognize and use to train her to poop on the potty instead of in the diaper. We haven't had a poop since we got the potty chair, but hopefully she'll think it's cool to poop in the potty. I bought a book for her with pics of toddler girls using the potty and I got a book for myself about early potty training. I would love for her to be diaper free by 2 yrs old, we'll see. If she isn't potty trained by then it's not a big deal.

Also we have word that we will almost definitely be here for another 3 years. The Army has basically ok'd Ben's paper work which would keep him here and active duty for another 3 years. Ben and I are both thrilled financially. We're both worried and concerned about what the next 3 years of active duty will bring to our family. We're hopeful that he won't be deployed but the reality that he could be deployed is looming over both of us. I don't think about it all the time but it is always in the back of my mind.

Ben starts his MBA classes next week! He is getting his MBA through Phoenix University online. We know it isn't prestigious but he just wants to get a masters degree. I'm excited that he'll be done in 1.5 yrs or less, that is awesome! I wish my masters program were that easy. I need to sign up to take the GRE and get my application together. I'd love to start classes in the spring or summer but we'll have to see.

Half marathon training is off to a slow start but I think we're doing well and I really think we can do it. We just have to make ourselves get out there and run. It's not easy with a sicky toddler but we will persevere!

Evie Might Be Going to School

Ben and I are going to be working full time starting next week. Grammy is going to watch Evelyn for us while we work. She has offered to watch Evie full time, 5 days a week 8AM-2/4PM. She is really awesome. She is going to take Evelyn to baby gym classes and take her to playgroups, etc. It is super sweet of her and very reassuring to Ben and I. But we feel like Grammy needs a break during the week. At least one day a week when she can get her farm stuff done or just sit on the couch and eat bon bons and watch Netflix. So today Ben and I are going to look at a Montessori Day School by where I am going to be working. The plan is for me to take Evie to the day school one day a week on my way to work and pick her up when I am done with work. She will be there from 8AM-2PM. It is scary for Ben and I because we want her to be happy and healthy and safe. But this school has a really great reputation and I have only heard great things about it. So today we will go see the school together and make our final decision. If we aren't comfortable with it then we will keep Evie with Grammy and wait for the local Catholic school to have an opening in their Mother's Day Out program. The Catholic school also has a really good reputation, but they are full in the toddler class until mid September.

9 Days

Wow, it's been 9 days since my last post. I am certain 9 days is the longest I have gone without writing since I started this blog. Yeesh, I guess I owe myself and my reader(s) an excuse. Here goes. Work. Ben. Evelyn. House floor plan. It is all going really well but, whew, it is very time consuming.

Work is going really well. I am really enjoying spending time with Aidan, he is really sweet and so smart. He starts school on Friday and I am excited to go with him and see what the school is like and how he handles the new experience. I hope he and I both do well. So as of now my work schedule will be Monday and Thursday 8:30AM-1:30PM, Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday 8:30AM-3:30PM. I am excited to have the extra money. I really like working again, especially in this situation. It is a very laid back job in some ways. I don't have to sell anything and I don't have to dress up and most importantly to me, I don't have to deal with customer service. I HATE customer service, with a passion! I am so glad I don't have to be a door mat to a$$holes anymore. Yeah, sure I have to clean up a 5 yr old potty accident every once in a while. But really, I prefer 5 yr old literal shit to adult bullshit any day!

In Evie land we are pushing solids really hard right now. She will be 13 months on Monday and she still isn't eating many solids. She eats them but not enough to cut out a bottle feeding. We want to cut down on the bottles because they are expensive and because she is getting older and we want her to eat with us. So far she likes pickles, cantaloupe, pizza, raisins. cheerios, and cheese. So we are making some progress. But she continues to be super happy, healthy, and fun. She loves running around outside and getting dirty. Speaking of running around outside we got our pics from the pro photographer. The pics are all outside and they are awesome! I'll put a slide show up as soon as I can.

The house floor plan is finally drawn out, by Ben. We struggled for a week with deciding what kind of house we wanted. Thank goodness we have Vanessa helping us or we wouldn't have a clue. We are going to build a cinder block house with a huge front porch. I'll put up the floor plan soon, I swear!

And just like I have been letting the blog go, I haven't been training like I should for the triathlon either. It's okay, I'll get back into it this Sunday, I know it, Gramper will be back and he won't let me slack off, thank goodness. =)

Oh yeah, I did finish Harry Potter. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I still think book 3 and 4 are the best.

7 - the Ketchup Edition

1. Ben skipped work today to finish reading the new Harry Potter. He was up til 5AM reading and now is back in the book. I let him read it first because he is a faster reader. I made him swear not to tell me anything. He slipped once already, hopefully, that is all the slips he will have.




2. Evelyn got a lot of wonderful, thoughtful, and fun gifts for her birthday! Grandpop and Mimi sent presents to Ben and I in traditional Jewish style, instead of gifts for Evie. We got little bottles of our favorite alcohol and water balloons and some fun tabloids. We love it all! Evie's GiGi (my Grandma) got Evie a beautiful new dress and shoes, as well as a new super cut bathing suit and coverup. Uncle Paul and Aunt Karen came to visit Evie for her bday and Karen's brother got Evie a very kickass shirt which I will post a pic of soon. Evie got a nice card from her Oma and Opa (Ben's grandparents). She also got a nice card from my awesome friend Angie! Our friend Heather got Evie some awesome books. And our other friend Melissa got Evie a very cute outfit (pictures to come). Evie's Aunt Vanessa also sent her a very sweet card. I think that is everything. I am gonna post pics of her loot later, but suffice it to say that Evie is a very well liked lady. =) Thank you everyone for your kind words and thoughtfulness!


I made a chocolate "dirt" cake for the party.




Here's Ben with the outfit we got from Melissa.


Thanks Melissa and Emani and Jerome!


Here's our gifts from Grandpop and Mimi, thank you!!


Thanks Steve and Anne and Nora (Karen's Brother's Family)

The shirt reads "ABCD: For Those About to Read, We Salute You!"


3. The days before and on Evie's birthday I was kind of a wreck emotionally. I was really caught off guard by my emotional reaction to Evelyn's birthday. I am not upset that she isn't a baby anymore, I loved her as a baby of course, but I don't miss the baby phase at all! I was just hit by what a major year this was for me and Ben and our life together. We had a lot of really amazing and sad stuff happen this year. And our lives pretty much turned upside down at least 3 times. We had Evie which turned us upside down. Then we found out Ben had to go to Africa for 6 months. Then Evie and I moved to the farm with my parents. Two out of three of those things were really great and wonderful changes. So the days around Evie's bday were pretty emotional for me, I was crying a lot and just feeling really raw. It was really weird. I feel a lot better now.

4. Mamma Tomato, Daddy Tomato and Baby Tomato are walking down the street. Baby Tomato is walking really slow. Daddy Tomato repeatedly tells Baby Tomato to speed up. Finally Daddy Tomato walks back and squishes Baby Tomato and says "Ketchup!"

5. Training is going really well for the Triathlon. I am really proud of myself for not giving up. It has been really hard! I am pretty sure the only reason I haven't given up is because I don't want to disappoint my Dad. He is a GREAT motivator for me. I do love the feeling I get at the end of a run/bike ride/swim, I feel really proud and healthy. But I hate the feeling I have at 6AM when I wake up and I know I have to bike 5 miles and swim 400 meters. But I keep doing it, and I am getting stronger and more confident that I can do the race.

6. Ben is having a really hard time not talking about HP. I might have to kill him. ;)

7. Ben and Evie and I had our pictures taken yesterday by a professional photographer. She came to the farm and took pics for about an hour. The proofs are great! I don't think she really caught the essence of who we are as a family but she did make us look really fancy and pretty. Even the goats and the dog look fancy! I'll put up pics soon.

ER Visit #2

For those keeping count this is the second ER visit for Evie in her life. Her sickness got worse rather than better today and so I decided to take her to the ER. Also she had a spill down some stairs last night and though she acted and looked fine I wanted to get her checked out to make sure. Well 5 hours, one CT scan, one strep throat test, and two rectal temp checks later and she is perfectly fine. She has some sort of viral thing and they gave me some Tylenol and cough syrup to keep Evie comfortable until this thing passes. The CT scan came back totally normal. Thank god for her hard head! I am really lucky and thankful that her fall was not damaging. She has one scratch on her forehead and that is it. This parenting thing really does feel like torture some times. The emotional roller coaster ride, the sleep deprivation, the constant worry and concern. But no matter how hard this is I don't ever want to stop being Evie's Mommy. She is everything to me and I am soooo glad she is okay.

Evie Got Me!

"Baby Blog" the new Mommy Blog?

What's Up?

Evie is 11 months today. Wow. She will be a 1 year old in one month. This first year has been interesting for sure. The first 6 months are a blurry kind of sad, tired, stressful mess in my mind. These last 5 months have been much better. And also very hard in their own way. Ben left when Evie was 6 months old. That was really sad and hard at first. We moved to the farm, that was quite stressful. I stopped pumping, that was difficult, painful, and stressful. But now, now that all that is done, and Ben is coming home. Everything feels good, everything feels sunny and happy and hopeful again.

I would definitely say that the 6-12 month age range is wayyyy better than the 0-6 month age range. I have really really enjoyed watching Evie become a little person. She just gets more interesting and fun as she gets older. I think I am less of a baby lover than I thought. I actually like toddlers more than babies I think. It is a surprise to me. I always thought I was a baby gal. Nope, I like kids when they can smile and sit up and laugh and walk. All that good stuff. But don't get me wrong, I was and will be again someday, all about my own baby while she/he is a baby. This Mom thing really is getting more and more fun. Today for the first time I got a visit from Evelyn while I was in the shower. Last week she couldn't walk by herself anywhere. Now, I have a shower intruder in the form of the cutest chubbiest little girl ever! =)

My Wild Friday Night

While these two svelt dressers went to a fancy ball...



I hung out with these five...





And we had a BLAST!!! I thought watching Evie and 4 other kids would be really hard but actually it was surprisingly easy. I think I got lucky because everyone was tired but not cranky so bedtime and such was really quite smooth. I'm not saying I'm gonna have 4 more kids. But tonight did give me hope that I *might* be able to handle another kid of my own someday. =)