Happy Halloween!

Evan's first holiday is officially in the books! I know it's still technically Halloween, but he's asleep so it's done for us and while he was alive for Labor Day, that holiday is no fun!

He had quite a day. He was able to bring his costume to daycare for a parade that all the kids do in the morning. I wish I could have been there, but according to his daily sheet and teacher, he slept through most of it :) They put the babies in the stroller, which of course puts them all to sleep. But still super cute that they got to be a part of it.

He also managed to stay clean in his "My First Halloween" shirt, which is not an easy task. Out of the eight days he's been at daycare, he's come home in a different outfit than what we sent him in four times!

When we got home, he took a quick nap and was ready to greet some trick-or-treaters in his costume. He stayed happy in it for a little while, but was much happier once he was out of it! Big thanks to my co-worker and friend for borrowing us the costume!!

Here he is, our little pea pod!

 Sitting outside with Mom and his pumpkin that Daddy carved for him!

Back to reality

Sorry for the delay in posts. My time is now limited because I am now back to work! The 12 weeks went by SO quickly, but I am grateful for every minute I had at home with my baby.

Everything went well in our "transition" week of me heading to work and Evan going to daycare. It was a bit of an adjustment for all in terms of our daily routines and schedules but everyone (including Chris!) has it down-pat now.

Going back to work was tough, though I was somewhat ready. I loved being at home with my guy, but work provides some adult-interaction and productivity that I was missing. Even after one day, it almost felt like I had never left (which is kind of depressing!), but then I look over and see my MANY pictures (including a digital frame) of my sweet boy.

Evan is doing really well at daycare. His teacher and the site director both told me they are extremely happy with how well he does. It's a bit of an adjustment for the kiddos too! We get a daily sheet with what he did for the day (in terms of eating, sleeping, diapers, etc.), but it also says "The Best Part of My Day..." and they write some of the activities they did or what he seemed interested in that day. It's so adorable to read that they sing songs and he "plays" with his friends (which means they sit next to each other). Our smiley guy has also been giving all the teachers and his new friends a lot of smiles, so it's nice to know he's happy and excited to be there. He has even done an art project already!

The only downside to all of this of course is that we have less time to spend with him during the day. I pick him up and he often naps in early evening for a bit and then goes to bed between 8-8:30. The first two days last week he was down for the night around 7, extra tired from all that new interaction! But we know that just means he's having a good time!

It was also makes the weekends more special. It was nice to have all that time with him!

Next up, Evan's first Halloween! Many photos to come... :)

Fall fun!

Man, the weather sure changed in a hurry in good old Minnesota! We went from 80 degree days to 60 in a snap. Fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love the cooler weather (though not the 50 degree highs we're supposed to get tomorrow and Friday. I like a good 65 degree day!), the leaves changing and of course, my birthday. :)

Since I love this season, I was anxious to get Evan out to see if he liked it too. We took a trip to an apple orchard where you can pick your own pumpkins a few weeks ago. Unfortunately it was a pretty chilly day, but Evan didn't seem to mind...too much.

Daddy found one just my size!

 

Hanging out with Dad in the pumpkin patch.

And now Mom!

Back at home, I tried to get a better shot of him with his very first pumpkin. While I don't want him to grow up too fast, I can't wait until he's old enough to carve one himself - what fun!

I'm sure he's thinking, "Why does my mother insist on propping me up against these hard orange things all the time?"

Also part of the fall fun has been checking out the falling leaves. Last Friday pretty much all of them came off one of the trees in our front yard. He was totally into looking at them and didn't put up much of a fight when I set him in them, but he wasn't digging the bright sunshine in his eyes! I still managed to get some pictures of course.

Ah, it's bright out here!



Trying out a little leaf-tummy time, but that dang sun strikes again!

Chatty Cathy

We've been hearing a lot of "talking" from Evan lately. His coos, goos and aahs are starting to sound more like he is trying to tell us something or respond when we talk to him.

The other day, he was in a great mood and we had our official first "conversation."

Two months old!

I caption this one, "I'm HOW old?"

Our little man is officially two months old today! As always, I will say that the time has flown by and he's getting bigger and bigger each day. He is also getting more and more responsive and aware each day, which has been fun to see. We are still getting a lot of smiles and a lot of coos and goos too. He is also holding his head up really well and can "sit up" with the assistance of someone.

Unfortunately, two months means his two-month check-up with the doctor, which means his first set of vaccinations. He did get one shot for Hepatitis B in the hospital, but this was his first major set of them. They included two shots, but thankfully there were two nurses who did one shot in each leg at the same exact time (smart ladies!). There was also one that was in liquid form that he didn't seem to mind too, too much. We managed to get away with just the initial screaming when they stuck him with the needles and he was calmed down by the time I got him dressed and back in his car seat. He fell asleep on the ride home and seems to be doing OK this afternoon. What a brave little boy we have!

As for everything else at the appointment, he checked out just fine. He is a healthy, happy baby. He weighed in at 13 pounds, 4 ounces and is in the 86th percentile for weight. Surprisingly, he was in the 55th percentile for height, measuring in at just about 24 inches. I thought he seemed taller than that and taller than most babies, but maybe it's just because I'm so short and just seems big compared to me! :)

We are still doing well each and every day. He is getting into more of a schedule, napping once in the morning and one longer nap midday, then up for awhile in the afternoon and getting in one or two more short naps in the early evening. He's usually ready to be out for the night around 8 p.m. and is sleeping 5-6 hours, then up to eat and get a new diaper, and then is down again for another 3-4 and usually wakes up for the day around 7.

The other downside to Evan being two months is that my maternity leave is officially coming to an end. I have three more full weeks left and then it's back to work for me and to daycare for him. I'm somewhat looking forward to getting back, because I do enjoy my job and it will be nice to have some adult interaction during the day, but I of course don't want to leave my baby!! I do believe daycare is good for kids and I know he will be well taken care of and have the opportunity to make friends, learn things and most importantly, build up his immune system!

We've been enjoying being outside too, especially since the beautiful fall weather has arrived. We usually get at least one walk or run in during the day and then sometimes another walk with Daddy once he gets home.

I got in a few photo shoots for his two-month pictures in the last week. Here are a few favorites:

He wasn't super thrilled to be lying in the grass, but it didn't seem to bother him too much. Only thing is it didn't produce great pictures. I mostly just love his little jeans :)

Some inside shots now. I love, love, LOVE this one!

Starting to get sick of pictures at this point, but still a cute one.

We found a tire to sit/prop up in in the park by our house. I put in the blanket at first because 1, I didn't think he'd like his head and neck on the rubber and 2, I don't know what the history of this tire is!

Our beautiful, smiley guy!

I did try a few without the blanket. I just love his expression and how his lips are in this one.

My favorite, even though it's a little dark. It was pretty shaded in this part of the park and I'm blocking what light we did get. But it's still the cutest thing ever (in my opinion at least)!