Evan Questions

I asked Evan the following questions and his responses are listed after each question, verbatim:

• What is your name? Eh-Van E-V-E-V 
• How old are You? Two 
• When is your birthday? June fourteethff 
• How old am I? 1-2-3-Peanuts 
• What is your favorite color? Blue-eye 
• What is your favorite food? Um Okra! Applesauce
• Sidenote: Greg programmed talking stuffed dog Scout to say Evan's favorite food was okra, even though he's never had it! 
• Who is your best friend? Eli 
• What is your favorite song? Paw Patrol (theme song) 
• What is your favorite animal? Puppy
• What are you afraid of? Scary Bad Guys 
• What makes you happy? Eli (when prompted he also said "Annie make me happy")
• Where is your favorite place to go? Mommy Home 
• What do you want to be when you grow up? Paw Patrol 
• What does love mean? Daddy

He's the best almost two-and-a-half-year-old boy.

MOM

Whelp! Hello Again Blog!

Evan is in such a sweet, fun stage as far as little lives go and I keep lamenting that I'm not recording it in words as I should. Or as I have done with Eli especially (and somewhat with Annalee). And I was about to start a Word document for all this but I know I did do some on this here neglected blog. Eventually I ought to figure out how to get it off here but as it stands, there is a lot of us on the internet for all the crazies to find (but also for me to find if we have a fire and lose our laptop and external hard drive and all that). So here goes some serious mother-only-loved recording tidbits of Evan and hopefully I can get Eli and Annalee written up too because as they say, the days are long but the years are short.

EVAN, 22 months plus 10 days ;)

• Sweet boy is learning to talk. He started out with us for first words (mama, dada, eli) and that as blossomed into a very clear Daddy, Mommy, Eli. Awhile back I realized that he never says Annalee, he would just call her Eli too, but occasionally now he tries and when asked he'll repeat Annie somewhat. He has been saying "what Chewbacca says" for months now and that's hilarious. Other often used words include: Puppy, WaWa (water), Ball, Book, More (Maa), Eat, Up, Off, NO, Yes, Bye Bye, Hi, Cheese, Bus (last week we were driving and he saw a bus and said BUS to me, I didn't have to point it out or say it)... man, lots more. His babble has turned into actual words more of the time. This last week he has started saying Bruce and Jodi, our next door neighbors, and oh dear is that cute. He says lots of other words on command "Evan can you say ____" and half the time you can hear the right word. 
• He's still so short so when he runs it's like a somewhat really fast waddle move. 
• Evan has a good arm. Throws a ball quite well for his age and LOVES all balls. Just loves throwing and kicking a ball. 
• He likes duplo legos and building things. He also plays well with the magnet magformers. He sometimes puts tiny legos in his mouth but rarely. He likes to point a nerf gun already and spent a few weeks awhile back bringing me one to ready for him to shoot. The last few weeks he's really been into matchbox cars, lining them up and making them go.
• Evan loves bath time. He stomps around in the water, plays with the fake bugs and other bath toys and generally has a great time in there. 
• Evan doesn't like to miss out. Tuesdays and Fridays Annalee has school and half the time Daddy brings her after bringing Eli meaning we are left alone together and HE SCREAMS SO LOUD to want to go with them. Another word he says often lately is "Side" meaning "Outside!!!!".
• He doesn't get much TV time (it goes in spurts, currently we are on a hasn't seen TV in a week or so) but sometimes I'll turn it on. He's gotten opinionated though so if he doesn't like the show, he'll just look at me and say "No" and except a change. He does better with no TV time. He will whine at me to watch it and look at the remote or grab it for me  and say "Teee" over and over. He likes Daniel Tiger and Sesame Street and Clifford and the snippets from church I sometimes play. Since I just turn on PBS mostly, he doesn't get many options. 
• This boy has great facial expressions! He can frown and pout and contimplate and scowl with the best of them. It's hilarious. His browline has something to do with it all probably. He can also do THE BEST "Surprise" face where he puts his mouth in an "o" - y'all really ought to see that. 
• He's wearing 12-18 month pants, a few 24 months but they are probably too long. And 18-24 months/2T shirts. He's darn adorable. He loves his Crocs I got him in AZ because he can put them on himself. 
• Today at the park he said "Hi!" to some people, no prompting from me. I see him a bit more wild and extroverted than the other two but still somewhat cautious. He still tries to push the limits a bit more but is not all insanity.
• Evan has started loving books probably since Christmas or so. He will flip through them and "read" and do this for long stretches. He started with the photo books, just loves those, but now it's other books. We're Going On A Bear Hunt was a big one in February. Dr. Suess was big for awhile too. Now it's Star Wars books because he moved on a bit from board books. CARS and random tiny books he loves too. 
• Bedtime is 7:45ish these days. He'll get jammies, brush teeth (which he hates and it's us forcing it for as long as we can endure), stories and then blankie and a stuffed animal with him on his pillow still in his crib. Blankie "bbbaa" is his comfort for sure. He "eats" it more than the other kids ever did so that'll probably be a habit to break. He has been sleeping through the night mostly since the fall and wakes up 7:15-8:15. His parents just love this schedule. 
• He sleeps on his stomach most often, with his bum in the air sometimes. Also side sleeps with blankie tucked in there. For naps I get to see his little sleep positions and often it makes this mama heart flip and do "awww". He still naps around 1ish until we go get Eli. Some days he takes longer to get to sleep and others he sleeps longer but it's still a norm thankfully.
• Eating habits: he's probably the worst eater of the three and I'm probably more lenient. He doesn't like many veggies and he's terrible at spitting out what he doesn't want. He likes carbs. He really likes sausage. For awhile there Grandma had to make double link sausage at brunch. He likes some fruits but like with veggies, a bit of a texture thing. He loves his cereal in the morning (true Kasowski) and will eat many bowls of Crispix, his absolute favorite. Slowly branching out here. 
• Evan is not a snuggler. He will maybe give a hug in the morning or post nap for a bit but rarely snuggles up to us for any length of time. He does if we happen to rock him to sleep or hold him in the middle of the night though. 
• He's been quite healthy. A few snotty noses, a few fevers, a cough occasionally this last year but nothing worrisome, praise be. 
• He picks out green bowls if given a choice. Annalee maybe convinced him that's his favorite color and willed it so.
• He totally copies his siblings. 
• He is learning to share. He'll scream SO loud but often gives one of his siblings whatever they are fighting over. 
• On our trip driving up to SC from FL a few weeks ago, he learned to scream so dang loud, he would ball up his fists and yell. Dear me, it was terrible. He has also done this a few times since then. He doesn't love his car seat very much. Sometimes picking up Eli requires my full weight against his plank and refusal.
• He enjoys Grandpa maybe a bit more than Grandma, though the love of driving up to their house is evident. He runs in and grins and recently has figured out exactly where the snacks are...
• Evan whines at least five times a day for snack and he also figured out where our snack drawer is and will grab granola bars out of there and bring them to me wherever I am and POUT like no other. This invariably happens at 4:50 every day. I don't give in and I ought to hide them. 
• He loves dogs. If he sees one, he will most likely go very close to it and if it's friendly, will try pet it. Puppeeee!!! I don't really get it but it's fun and cute and now I point out dogs to him as something to do.
• Gratefully, he goes to nursery at church or mops usually really well and if he fusses, only for a few minutes. Seems well adjusted that way.
• Evan would watch videos on my phone all day if I let him. He's always trying to "See" if he hears me watching something. And in the rare chance, I'll get him on Snapchat and he won't let anyone else near the phone. 
• My favorite moments are going to get him when he wakes up and I say "Eveeee" and he's in a great mood and ready to be lifted out of his crib. This morning he talked to himself for a really long time before I went in there. The only word I could make out was Eli and I'm sure it was an epic story.
• Evie is his nickname more than any other. But we mostly call him Evan. Rarely the Evan Bevan comes back. Eli will make up words for him still like "baby goo". Annalee likes bossing him around as a fake name she changes every day. 
• One "game" we play in the car is "Did we forget anybody?" so we call out each person. Evan caught on so now he'll point and say "Dad-dee? Mom-mee? Elyi? Elyi (or maybe Ann-nee)?" and then he points to himself and says "Me" which often sounds like "Nee" - all with a bit of a goofy grin.
• He can tell me sometimes poop if I don't happen to smell it or if I ask. He's quite regular. And dare I say he can potty train before three?? Not getting my hopes up and I do appreciate the other two doing it so quickly and easily since they were so ready.
• Evan dancing is legs wide, a swaying type motion, that is so darn hilariously cute, you have to see it. 
• Since the other two color often, Evan has gotten more into marker messes than the other two ever did. He will sometimes color himself (awhile back we had a stretch of eating markers) but that is happening less and less and he is more and more just coloring paper, which is a win. 
• Uncle Chris bought him a little orange bug rider thing. He'll sit on it and push his legs and really go quite fast around the kitchen island, to the front door. He loves that. 

Pretty soon this sweetheart will be two. I'm really enjoying this stage now, as he's really opening up to all he can do. It's not without it's moments, but overall we find so much JOY in this dear boy.

-Evan's Mom

Evan Bevin is ONE!

Happy Birthday baby boy! You surprised us and continue to bless us as the baby in the family. You are starting to grow out of baby status right into being a toddler! You are healthy, minus some nighttime congestion and a few colds this past year, we have been grateful not to deal with tiny-baby-is-sick. You are way attached to your mom, most likely because she doesn't leave you to go to work more than three hours this whole year! You like your dad second best and of course, you are a fan of your big siblings. You like to eat. And when you are hungry, you are not happy. Your favorites are carbs (just like big bro), and fruit and I know you would eat watermelon until you exploded. You are a mediocre sleeper. You stand on your own for bursts of time but minus one tiny step, you have not decided walking is cool. You crawl crazy fast, especially with this "flat tire" crawl where you sort of carry-drag your right leg. You are pulling up on most everything and peeking over, trying to see what you can grab. You recently began hating diaper changes and wanting to flip over but I'm being crazy stubborn and basically using my body weight so you can't and by golly, I think you are learning to stay put while I wipe your bumper. You poop lots every day so I know your digestive system is sure working. You like to wake up and eat around 4/5am but I think you are less into nursing during the day so I'm hoping we will be weaning soon. Problem is you have yet to master a cup, though you do like straws. This week you are super into your tongue and it's sticking out often. You like to say mama and daaa and maybe you say more and night night and bye but very much still baby versions of those that probably only parents swoon over. "He just said Dad!" Isn't that so cute???!" You are in 18 month size clothes but your pants 9-12 month because your legs are quite short and super chunky and for now, it's crazy cute. You are sure growing though! You keep us on our toes because you eat everything. I have fished way way too many items out of your mouth. You have eaten a good bit of crayon. So far you haven't ever choked - praise be to God! You also started chucking items off your high chair if you don't want them. Today I thought you were eating the blueberries but you tossed over half of them behind your head, down your back. I call you "little stinker" often. Also Bubs, Bubba, Boo, Evan Bevin, Baby Boy, Elkie, Bubbee and your siblings are really into Goo, Goobs, Goobee. I think Dad just calls you Evan.

I could/should try write more and make more than one looooong paragraph but mama needs to get stuff cleaned up from your birthday party. Okay? I know you'll understand. I love you, my sweetie.

And your siblings, they adore you too!

-Mama

Party Round Up.

We celebrated Evan yesterday! A few days early 'cause Wednesday is a hard day for a party! Awhile back I decided we would do a "circle" party theme because he loves balls and I already had everything! It turned out quite adorable! We focused more on inviting family and many couldn't make it but we had Grandma and Grandpa K, the Browns, the Greats (Great Grandparents who came from Buffalo just for the party - how sweet!), and our neighbors Bruce, Jodi and their son Michael, and our further down the street neighbors/friends, Sam and the kids.

The invitation - he cooperated well for our photo shoot. 

My slippers from my costume box and Dad's socks fit the theme.

The birthday boy (with his circle "e" shirt I whipped up an hour before his party thanks to stitch witchery!) and his parents

I found these glasses in my costume box - awesomeness!

Grandma and Grandpa Kasowski AND The Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Kasowski!

Month-by-Month sticker ties (a serious Mom win that I kept that up each month) made such a cute display.
Bouncy balls, bubble rings, and pom-pom crafts for favors

Greg took a pic of some of the food! circle/balls only!
Pea pods = find the circle inside!

Greg took this photo and I think this is how the kids will remember me so I'm including it.

The crown lasted two seconds. Check out the reused "i am 1" from sister!

Much fun!

Our next door Wisconsin neighbors who will watch our kids for us occasionally and we do love them so!

These girls just cared more about playing in the dirt out back!

Opening presents, check out the tongue, a new thing he does!

Intent.

He REALLY enjoyed smooshing his cupcake in his hands. It took him awhile to taste it, then he was quite thrilled and yelped loudly!

We sure love Great Grandmooother - isn't she a beauty?

Love these generations of Kasowski men.

Cousin Alexia is sure a fun one!

Evan, you are our baby and we have loved having you in our lives this last year. You are a joy, sweet boy.

 -ELK's mama

Glad in the Yuck.

Eli had one sick day for kindergarten. And it was only a four-hour Wednesday night sickness. That's amazing! He finished school Friday! FIRST grade next fall!

And we had a weekend with the Lipperts and my parents in Fargo. We had family photos taken Sunday morning (on Grammy's birthday, a pretty great gift I think!). We arrived home Monday afternoon.

Tuesday morning Eli threw up and Annalee followed suit and all day today much misery from them, poor kiddos. But how awesome that it happened 1. after school is done 2. after our family weekend 3. in the morning instead of the middle of the night!!!

And so far just those two. Whew! Not the best way to start summer but it really is the "ideal" time to be sick.

I have hopes to create a summer bucket list for us. We had a fun kick off in Fargo... but our kids do not love travelling. Eli on drive whining "my brain isn't thinking what I want it to think" - what?!

Evan is clinging to mommy and daddy very much so. Separation anxiety more than the big siblings ever had. He is hard to understand and keeps us guessing but he's sure precious. Excited for his birthday coming up!

Glad he's healthy today!

Evan Bevin Eleven.

I've taken his photo every day on the 14th, amazingily so! Mother's Day around 6pm I realized it was his day! Thankfully I got 'er done! Only one more on his actual birthday and I can put this all down as a mom win. And he's gosh darn cute, this boy! 11 months of him with us and part of our lives.

He's been a bit fuss fussy this last week. Not sure what's up. A great sleeper, he is not. Yet. He loves to feed himself food (crackers, cheese, cereal, bread, avocados, etc). He puts so many things in his mouth that he shouldn't, thankfully he has only swallowed paper and we've been able to fish other items out. Uffda. He's got four teeth up top and three below, his left lateral incisor is being slow to the party. He is crawling super fast and pulling up, but not standing solo or attempting walking solo yet. He enjoys smooshing his face into his blanket whenever he can. He enjoys dancing to music and he has a sweet giggle that can melt even the hardest of hearts.

Love him! Planning his first birthday to happen in less than a month!

-Evan's Mom

What To Recall.

As we move through our lives, there are things that will be forgotten. The things that make each day here seem normal for us will fall away as the little beings get older and wiser and bigger.

So here I go trying to record snippets. OH snippets. You are a good word! I shall use you more!

ANNALEE (3.5 years) snippets!

• Annalee was whining the other day at breakfast and said "brrrr, I'm hungry!" and we all had a good giggle. And now we say a version of that occasionally "brrr, I'm tired!" ;)
• I brought Annalee to the library last week. She loves picking out books and picked out great ones this week. I told her she could pick out one DVD. She came back with two: one for her and one Star Wars one for Eli. She is so considerate and a bit sneaky.
• Annalee often says to me when she sees my phone "I want to send something to ..." meaning she wants to send Daddy or Grammy or Grandma a text of just emojis (like 30) that she picks out. 
• Annalee still uses "her" when she should be using "she" - "Her said..." "Her wants..."
• "I'm still hungry." She says this lots. 
• We are in full swing Star Wars birthday party prep and every.single.time someone asks about Eli's birthday she pipes in "And I'm having a golden birthday party!!!!!!!" and thinks it's happening soon instead of in six months and I may be sort of regretting telling her the theme (4 on the 4th so clearly golden) and already having bought items for it (so much gold)!!
• So much her daddy in behavior. She took a calculator from the grandparents house without asking (I found it in her backpack) so I made her bring it back the next time we were over there and apologize. She would not say the words so we had to leave. Seriously stubborn. Most of the time she is SO SO SO easy and responsible and level-headed and fun and wicked smart. Until those times were she is stubborn and then it's cray-cray.
• She writes her name and Eli's and Evan's and has started to read out loud letters she sees.
• She colors at the same level as Eli. Not his thing. Totally her thing. Give her markers and a pad of paper and she's content for an hour. 
• Annalee's favorite: "I want to have Annalee and Daddy time!!!"
• She won't let Greg (and sometimes Eli or me) out of the house without "a hug and a kiss!" - and if she doesn't get it, she FLIPS out.
• It takes her a few hours to warm up in a new setting or at a friend's house. She's very quiet and won't talk unless I really prompt her or unless Eli is with. For play dates, often I'll find her right next to me. Content to just watch other kids and be comfortable with me right there. But once she crosses over, then she's happy and loves to play with new toys and somewhat other kids (but depends on the kid). 
• Annalee can be a bit bossy once she is comfortable (like with cousin Alexia) or with her dolls and it's cute. For now.
• I think her biggest fear in life is being left. If I tell her to go to the bathroom before we go, and I happen to open the garage door and she thinks I'm leaving, she will scream. I have started to reassure her "I will not leave you"
• She dresses herself, doesn't use a booster for meals, only needs helping wiping poop, can get her own water (sidenote: she had a flip out for a few weeks where she all of a sudden wouldn't get her own water after months of doing this... were talking FLIP OUTS... but I WON! After some serious stern parenting, she did it! Conquered her newfound fear and did it and whew!), can buckle the top of her car seat, help pick up (if her attitude is good, even better, often lately we've gotten "but it's too hard." or "it's so much work" which does not go over well with this mom and dad"), and entertain herself for HOURS if need be! 
• Annalee was trying to use goofy words as adjectives like Eli often does and called our neighbor that babysat "chunky Bruce!" :-)

EVAN (10 months) snippets!

• This last week he's been saying "ma ma ma ma" and I'm pretty sure it's for me. And maybe today a definite "da da" too.
• He's our climber. Loves to spend time each day half up on a stool or the first stair. He's unable to actually climb up because his legs are too short (thankfully, I'm not ready for that). Auntie Amy brought over the walker this weekend which he scoots around in pretty fast!
• I cut the hair right above his ears tonight, just a tad. He's got some crazy hair and a good bit of it. Bald spot from early months is starting to fill in (and sort of looks blonder). 
• He lights up at his siblings.
• Loves cheese, finger foods (bread/bun/toast) and really anything he can feed himself. He eats plain dry Cheerios every morning. Usually at least some baby food for lunch or supper with whatever I can get in a good size for him. He does like to eat. He's gotten a few non-food items in his grasp and I have to be careful with this one!
• He doesn't love the Jump Up anymore. Hit that limit I guess.
• He still nurses during the day and at least once at night. GROAN. I think he has an allergy. Has anyone ever heard of a baby that is congested only at night?? That's his deal. Nothing overly terrible but it makes him wake up and then it's hard to let him cry it out when he's all stuffed up and can't breathe. But during the day he is fine so it's not a virus/cold. I'm hopeful we will turn a corner soon because this mama is tired with a T. Or exhausted with an E. 
• Evan's front two teeth are big with a big 'ol gap! He's getting in the ones next to those now too. Not sure about friends for the front bottom two. 
• Our schedule is usually a 30ish minute morning nap and a 1-2 hour afternoon nap. Times TBD.
• Eh-van...I go into him in the morning with a crazy high pitched mom voice saying his name like that. 
• He's also called Goo by Eli or Baby Goo. Bubba or Bubs by me. 
• Evan loves me most and is the most struck with separation anxiety out of all the kids. DON'T EVER LEAVE ME is what he is saying internally if I leave for a long time and because his brow line is so pronounced, you can just see it!
• Size 4 diapers still... because I want to get through the boxes before we move to 5!

Whelp that's enough for now. Will get the BIG bro done later this week for his birthday!!!!

-HLK

10.Ten.one-zero.

Look! This baby is now in double-digit months and he's a charmer, this one!

Four teeth plus another one and two coming real soon!

Hi.

Outtake, check out my fast arms!

I want to write a big 'ol update post but I'm tired. So maybe soon, eh? For now: this baby needs to sleep better for me.

-mom

Recording Tidbits.

Oh man, the other day Greg, kids and myself were distracted watching videos taken from Greg's phone that he smartly (sure that's a word) saved onto the computer. It was just lovely to watch the kids a year ago, just see how they've changed and how gosh darn cute or hilarious they were at that moment. Take videos, people. It's capturing a moment in time and versus photos, you don't forget the nuances that go with said story. I'd like more videos of early married Greg and Heather.

And that motivated me to write down more of the current life we lead... because day-to-day goes by and you forget. Plus I have my mom's mom gone from Alzheimer's and my dad diagnosed with Alzheimer's and genetically speaking I'm pre-disposed so I'M GOING TO BE INTENTIONAL and write down memories. Also this fuels me to celebrate more. Y'all, celebrations are important.

• Eli started calling Evan "goo goo" most mornings. No idea why or where that came from. But they are just thrilled to say "hi goo goo!" when they see him. 
• Annalee is into naming her babies and made up friends "Tina" or "Prina" or "Piza" or something that ends with "na" or "a" - she is often celebrating their birthdays. 
• Eli whines about an ailment or cries (perhaps a soccer player in the making here) quite impressively for attention. Maybe a bit of a hypochondriac. We may have fed into this. I notice it whenever I visit him for lunch or volunteer at school (or Grandma does), he's always quite struck with an issue right before leaving. Also right at bedtime. In his defense, I think he does get headaches and he does have bumps and bruises. But really, sometimes I just want to scream "you're fine!!!" (and sometimes I do, tough love, but he also loves a good snuggle so often that happens as well). 
• Annalee feeds Evan most every day. She loves to give him his baby food. She's a bit messier than me but she's darn good at it and it's quite helpful. She giggles, he's all about it. I took about ten videos of this last week. 
• Annalee often "reads" quietly to herself. 
• Eli is actually reading now and he's doing fabulous. I try not get over into his academics (he's five) but he's doing very well. His sight words this week are "use and but" and he has told me fifty times "b - u - t not the b-u-t-t like this" because up there on his favorites are butts and farts and poop and BOYS ARE GROSS.
• Snack time = the best time in our home
• Eli loves to add "B" to people's names and joke around. Beli and Bevan and Bannalee etc etc. He also just distorts words and rhymes made up words LOTS. Annalee has also started to do this but it's a bit wackier with her. 
• Eli HATES to see Annalee get disciplined. He always wants to intervene. Annalee has started to whine "I want the yellow bowl" or whatever in the morning. And when we started saying "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit" and she starts throwing a fit, we ignore. And Eli gives her the yellow bowl. So we have had to tell Eli he can't give her whatever she wants. It's ironic because often they are fighting over something but if it means she gets in trouble... he is quick to come to her defense (but not enough to throw himself under the bus either). 
• Every night Eli will pray first. Annalee often doesn't want to but I do ask her to "thank God for at least one thing about your day" and so she will often be thankful for whatever fun thing she got to do that day. Eli prays about his day often and family and random but always, always prays "please God no bloody noses, no bad dreams, no dark monsters"... the boy does have crazy bad nightmares at times. 
• Speaking of nighttime, future Heather - I hope you are looking and feeling fine being all rested. You better work out most mornings and shower and do your hair before 8am and be able to hold adult conversations. Because YOU ARE SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT. And it must be fabulous. 
• Evan slept until 5:30am, ate then back down until almost 7:30am three nights ago and I woke up a new woman that morning, ya'll. I was organizing the basement at 9pm that night. It was a fluke, he was back up often the last two nights. He's hungry but also nursing for comfort but the screaming keeps us up even with the awesome noise machine... we will get there but until then, "raising tiny humans is exhausting" and "I'm a permanently exhausted pigeon";)
• Eli still wants to hold my hand. I had lunch with him at school today. He held my hand proudly in the line. LOVE THAT KID.
• Annalee won't let us leave her without "a hug and a kiss!" every single day. If Daddy goes without in the mornings, she will scream. 
• I pick up dirty pajamas and blankies and socks waaay more than I figure I should. Somehow Annalee catches on to put hers in the hamper much of the time but Eli, every day I must say something. 
• Evan is pulling up on his crib... so we'll have the lower it. He's up from his nap, sitting so nicely in his crib but I bet if I don't go in there in the next few minutes, he'll pull himself up! 

HLK

ELK 9 Months.

Oh Evan, he's a thrill. He adds to the daily "work" load of my life incredibly but I melt when he smiles at me. I enjoy the stages of my kids as they come. And usually as they go too! It's important to find the good in each stage, treasure it, and recognize they will grow up.

Things to remember about Evan these days...

• All schedules went out the window due to Florida vacation and sickness (Evan FINALLY has a clear nose and no yucky cough). Meaning he wants to nurse to fall asleep, some days he doesn't nap longer than 30 minutes, he's up a ton screaming at night for God only knows why. SO tired. Me and him and Daddy. I'm hopeful in a desperate way that we will turn a corner this week. I can't recall how long he screamed last night. And if I was smart I'd go to bed instead of type this. Sleep training or a schedule and more food is going to happen to get us sleeping again.
• His top two front teeth popped through the last few days! Perhaps some of his sleep issues? I'm sure in a week they will be front and center. And for all those reading this, please be gracious to my sweet babe. He's got a serious gap y'all. Serious. I noticed it yesterday and today our doctor mentioned it. Even though we had that frenulum cut... still... this kid will need braces. And might have problems with his s's. And might look like Tow Mater. But darn lovable.
• Scoot, army crawl, whatever you call it. Evan can get there. If you set something out he wants, he's on it. He can get up to traditional pose but doesn't usually get too far that way. He goes around in all directions too. And is usually slow unless he really has his eye on something. 
• 7th percentile for height at 2ft, 3in and 72% for head circumference of 18 inches. He has stayed the same the last weeks in weight and is in the 68% at 20 pounds, 10 ounces. Since starting to move, his weight has tapered off as he was about the same a month ago. But no worries, dear ones, the rolls and cankles and thunder thighs are still in full force. And we shall pray he hits that growth spurt one day. #myshortgenesaretoostrong
• He lights up. He's got such serious expressions thanks to his brow line. But when he sees one of us or something to delight him, he just lights up. His whole being is joyful in that moment and it's a wonder to see. I love capturing it on camera too.
• Evan likes his blankies, just like his siblings. He loves to smoosh his face in them and chew on them and be all comfy with them. 
• He likes the squeak of Sophie Giraffe toy, starting to like a ball he can roll, likes to put most everything in his mouth, likes watching his siblings around him, delights to see me or Greg give him our full attention. 
• Evan used to love the Johnny Jumparoo and still does spend time in it, but not with such joy and amusement as before. We call it the Jump-n-Dump because more times than not, a diaper change soon follows. 
• He still likes to be put in the baby bjorn, forward facing, with Daddy. This doesn't happen too often but it sure quiets him when he's fussy.
• I'm way lax with certain things and let less concern me with him compared to siblings as babies (I let him chew a pen yesterday, he has gone without socks or shoes outside in the cold more times than I'd like to admit, I make him go get the toy instead of give it to him, etc). And I hope that is good for him, making him flexible and tough and easy going. 
• He loves mum-mums like Eli did and has one a day usually. We try give him one to occupy him when we are sitting down to eat. He's ready for more finger foods so the next weeks will be full of new things foodwise.
• Annalee loves to feed him his baby food. It's messier than when I do it, but she finds it fun and I'm all about a few moments to concentrate on food prep or clean up! Big sister win!
• Evan babbles at times but no real sound with meaning as far as I can tell.
• He loves door stoppers. I hear that distinct, loud noise and I know Evan has shimmied his way to the back of a door and fiddling with the stopper. 
• He's been sitting up by himself for a few weeks, gaining confidence and mobility (going from sitting to crawling). It's nice to have another option to set him down.
• We lay him on his back to sleep but most usually he goes to his left side and stays there or goes all the way to his tummy, tucking his blanket in with him. 
• He giggles when Eli fake hurts himself, fake falls, etc and it's a glimpse of our future. 

I love you, Evan Lloyd, and I'm so glad I'm your mama. And I'm so glad I haven't slacked off in taking your month-by-month photos. You're welcome, son.

8 Months 2.14.17

9 Months 3.14.17

-Evan's Mom

ELK 8.

Gorgeous boy here. 

Life Moves Pretty Fast.

If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.

That's right, Ferris.

The blog is supposed to be my reminder to stop and assess and record and be glad for all that is going on in our lives. I am wary of so much of us on the good 'ol internet but it really is a nice way to record life and share a glimpse of us. There is something therapeutic to it all, too, that yes, this is my life and yes, these are my kids, and by golly, I can use words, lots of em', and no one can tell me otherwise or limit me to 140 words or videos that disappear after you watch them. Freedom, God bless America.

As I write this, our littlest man is on all fours, bum in the air. Now he plopped and just his top half is up, alert, looking at me hoping I'll pay him a smile. I do and I'm rewarded with a smile in return! He will start to scoot backwards now, I'm sure of it, and I'll be heading over there to free him from the spot he will stick himself by the chair. He's still slow enough to make it easy for me. But soon, oh soon, we might even have to get a gate!

He has started babbling and it's adorable. Dada dada but we know he's not saying Dad. At least this mama knows that. He has started to be very concerned where I am. He whines for me. Always for mama. I'm his biggest fan. And darn well I should be considering he spends most of his life with me. I am treasuring most moments as I watch him grow, less baby as the days go on and more toddler appears.

-

In complete hilariousness to this post title, I am posting this a month and a half ago after I initially wrote it. GULP. Whatevs. I'm dating it to be when I wrote it 1/28! SO FAST.

ELK 7 Months.

Here we are, this little baby closer to one year old than he is to birth. I love him. I don't love love baby stage (sorry folks, I like when they can talk to me) but we are soaking up our moments with this babe while he is still full-on baby.

He was in the 4% for height at his six-month check-up earlier this month. And 74% for weight. Sorry boy! He has not been awesome in sleeping UNTIL LAST NIGHT WHEN HE SLEPT FROM 11PM TO 7AM and I woke up SO AMAZINGLY HAPPY and I have had the BEST day because, as you can tell from my all caps, I LOVE SLEEP and I miss it so! Evan doesn't seem to want to be consistent at sleeping or developing a pattern (partly due to his cold from over the holidays and me not sure if he's ready for all that crying it out yet and wondering if he's legitimately hungry since we are slow-going on the solids). Speaking of food, we started with some brown rice cereal before Christmas and he tolerated it. Fast forward a few weeks and a few other foods (avocados, pears), I realized the kid was constipated. Big time. The other two have rarely been stuck (ha!) with that problem so I'm in new territory here. Poor kid. We eliminated rice cereal and give him a tiny bit of pear juice and he's fine but I'm thinking he's got some food sensitivities that the other two never had. I am excited for him to start eating solids more and more so I know he is nice and full for nighttime. So far he will eat whatever except he was really against peas. He loves my milk and nursing and being with me, obviously. He definitely can be impatient for his milk... but overall he's happy.

Evan squeals with delight or just to be heard. He rolls over to his tummy most of the time after putting him down. He can scoot around in a circle, sort of a shimmy, and is getting dangerously close to being not able to be left alone. He reaches for toys and love to chew on them. He loves fingering his blankie and putting it close to his face to sleep. He likes to jump in the johnny jumper and sit in the beast. He tolerates his car seat. He likes to kick his short legs when he's excited. He loves to look up at lights or fans. At church this morning he was fascinated looking up.

There's more but I better go to bed (which I'm deep-down SO SO SO HOPEFUL will be another repeat of last night but sadly, more realistic assuming he'll be up often). But he's still my darling!

-mom

ELK - Six Months.

Our sweet baby is half a year old!

And because he thought he should help this tired mama to remember, he did two milestones this morning: popped his second tooth and rolled over from his tummy to back (first tooth and rolling from back to tummy happened earlier). What a baby!

look at these thighs!

He won't have his six-month well baby check until the first week in January but he's got to be getting close to 20 pounds. Heavy baby!

What else!? He smiling often. Still doesn't sit up on his own. Loves milk. We tried feeding avocados mixed with my milk but he was not a fan and had quite the gag reflex. Hope to try brown rice cereal soon. He has dry skin issues, sadly. The other two didn't ever have that this early. Evan is working on a schedule and will hopefully fill me in on what that is soon. He giggles at Eli's antics and smiles at his sister. I'm still the favorite. He wears six month size but also 9-12 month items (long torso, sort legs, round!). Its crazy cold so I'm happy with all footed items to keep him snug. He is happy if he's full, usually. He will take a bottle when I'm not around. He likes to lay on the play mats and bat at the toys. He will give me one longer stretch at night, usually. He likes toys that he can put in his mouth and scrunch and play with. His car seat pull toy is a favorite. He loves sitting in the high chair and watching the rest of us. He babbles cuteness often.

Evan Lloyd, you are a joy! We are exiting the baby baby phase and entering into the "wow, look what you can do now!" stage. I love to snuggle you close, breath in and exhale happily being your mama. I kiss your side forehead fifty times a day. I love to say "Hi Evan!" when I come into your room to see you... or sometimes "Hi bubs!" "Hey Bubba" or "Good Morning Evan Bedevan!"

You are currently pooping one of the longest, loudest occurrences in your lifetime as I type this. Oh bud, here we go again to change your cute bum.

-mom

Going Home Final.

On the doorknob to Evan's closet is the brown going home outfit. The one Maelee was supposed to wear but didn't get to. My mom embroidered her name on it and we all hated it was empty. When Eli came to be, we rejoiced in getting to put his name on it and bring him home from the hospital in it.

Eli in the outfit. April 29 2011.

And then again when we carried Annalee into Grandma and Grandpa's home (our temp home at that time). And it was sweet having Maelee's name in pink, Eli's in blue, Annalee's in yellow. And even though I thought we were done, we got another babe to add to it all. Evan wore it in June home from the hospital. A tribute to her all tied up with a wee bit of snarkiness "damn it, I will be worn."

So it's been hanging there and I keep thinking I ought to get a few photos of it worn while we still have a baby to fit into it! And our little five-and-a-half-month sweetie is a big 'en already so it had to be done (ideally months ago). But we squished him in it yesterday as a last tribute to this special going-home outfit that perhaps my grandkids will wear someday!!?

Dear me, he is something.

And the sister on earth found this white dress given to us and she has fallen in love with it, wearing it and prancing and dancing and singing and... praying in it! No idea why, but she has broken out in thankful prayers the few times she wore it. By chance I snuck a photo of her at the right moment and it's preciousness all in its own right.

These redemptive moments are treasured deep in my mama heart.

-hlk

First Toof.

Evan's first tooth popped yesterday. I've known for about a week one was coming, guess I'm better at knowing stuff the third time around. Here's the only pic I took of just him yesterday, this "maybe gnawing on a carrot will make him happy"

5 Months ELK.

Our littlest is five months old today. He is a joy. I have often contemplated how different his life is compared to Eli's life the first year when I was home with just him still raw grieving our firstborn in our small house in South Carolina with no family around but many dear friends. So different. He has less attention by me, so much more noise and interaction, more little hands and faces all over him, less of focused Daddy time, more extended family time, less photos and all around recording of his every move. But LOVED just the same.

In his first few months, I just wanted Evan to get a good latch. He has. He did it! That's pretty great, friends. He also takes a bottle, even sporadically. That's amazing! I can say now my battle with him is sleep. He has this yucky cold (clearly he is exposed to more germs) that causes him to have snot and a yucky post-nasal drip cough. I don't recall the big kids coughing this young. It's nothing severe (let's hope it doesn't develop into anything severe) but I've been spoiling him, nursing him when he wakes up at night. Sometimes this is three, four times. I am exhausted. And totally, utterly creating a monster. As soon as this dumb cold is gone, the poor boy may have some rough crying-it-out moments. We'll get there. Someday I will be rested again. Someday I will leap out of bed in the morning ready to start the day.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

Probably not. I am not a morning person.

On to other Evanisms.

Update: he was 18lbs 9ozs and 25.5 inches on 11/16

He started rolling over last week from his back to his tummy. He then gets pretty tired and upset because he doesn't like tummy time.

He sucks on his mouth/lips/tongue to get to sleep. He chews and spits out the binkie, preferring his own mouth. It's pretty cute and I think probably he's just thinking he's nursing.

He also likes to clutch blankies or soft things and bring them near his face to sleep. Not ideal for breathing but pretty adorable.

He screeches and yells, especially in the early evening if he's laying on the floor by himself. It happens when he is just getting sleepy and feels like he needs to be a part of whatever else is going on. Super loud too!

He is well on his way to six month size and even nine month size clothes. Not sure his weight but I'd say around 18 pounds. And he is not made for skinny jeans. I can't get them on him. And they are most likely too long. I get this, son. Me issues es su issues.

He has a great giggle. He is ticklish under his neck, on his thighs and tummy. He likes when I put my head on his belly. Adorable.

Photos captured today:

The tongue!

Precious Boy.

And Evan's look is exactly what I look like when trying to exercise:

Crunches? Toe Touches? No thank you.

-hlk

Beast Is Back.

The Beast has come back for another round of baby:

WHAT THE FOX SAY?! (a fav song of the siblings)

hlk

Rolling.

Evan rolled over numerous times this afternoon on grandma's floor. Milestone check!

I was too busy to get a photo, but here's one of him smiling at the birthday girl yesterday! Happy Birthday Auntie Amy!

Week In Quotes.

Some quotes heard this past week:

Eli: "Who is Carson Wentz?"

Eli's classmate to him on tie day Monday:  "you look like a husband!"

Annalee: "don't pee on the rainbow" as she hands me her rainbow drawings while I'm in the bathroom 

Annalee: "where I go?" as her lack of scheduling consistency leaves her guessing our destinations on any certain day. 

Evan: "waaaaaaaaaaaaa" (he is waking up like a newborn these days, every 2 to 3 hours at night, and screaming, so much screaming, minimal naps, just not a great stage for us)

Me, overwhelmed from wiping all three kid's butts in the span of two minutes, to Eli, but more for Greg who was in earshot: "you need to learn how to wipe your own a-s-s."

Eli, happily: "I know how to spell butt! A-S-S!"

Me, trying not to laugh at him or my obvious parent fail: "No, no butt is b-u-t-t" and hoping he doesn't relay that spelling in school.

Eli: "Look! There's "to" in the STOP sign!" As he keeps absorbing all his sight words at school. 

Lady at church: "he has got great thunder thighs!" (pointing to Evan)

Annalee: "my brain is going to pray" (meaning she's praying silently). 

Annalee: "it's okay buddy" over and over because her brother is screaming unhappily (he usually fusses a few minutes before taking a nap... And by fusses, I mean he freaks out and screams and scares the rest of us!). But when he sleeps! Oh he's preciousness. 

"BE QUIET, your brother is sleeping!!!" "Don't wake up Evan, he's sleeping!" "Let Evan sleep!" "Stop whining, you'll wake up your brother!" - Me, multiple times a day, because you never ever ever wake a sleeping baby, kids. 

-mama hlk