Memorial Day Weekend at our Family Cottage

Rondeau Park, Ontario

This was a great weekend....a ton of fun. It was Evelyn's first time at the cottage and she seemed to love it.



Mike grilling up the most awesome venisen I've ever had. Those tenderloins and brats where amazing!


Xavier smiling although he probably had a mouth-full of sand



Allison lounging on the porch eating some cheese....now THAT's the life.

Evelyn and Allison playing in their new playpen

Evelyn's first experience in the sandbox

Eric and Allison...cuddling at the cottage.

Grandma and Sister Mary Louise enjoying some lunch

Grandma and Evelyn hanging out near the grill

Evelyn getting ready to munch on a graham cracker (the boo boo on her face was from an unfortunate incident with a straw)

Ian and Evelyn playing

It was a wonderful weekend at the cottage. We all enjoyed ourselves regardless of the rain. I loved watching Evelyn look around at all the new things and just take it all in. I'm sure the fresh air did her some good.

Her 9 month update is coming soon....stay tuned...

~Mandy

8 months

MMMMmmmmm Pickle!


Standing up (with her tooshie out)



Munching on some Zwieback toast


Wow! Evelyn has had quite a week of "first times." The first day, she stood while holding on to her activity table. The next day, she pulled herself up to her activity table. The day after that, she held my hands and put one foot in front of the other to "walk" to daddy. And the day after that, she got up on her hands and knees (and was close to crawling). It's been crazy! It's almost like she just decided to develop at a rapid speed all of a sudden. I see the need for "baby proofing" is in our near future. She'll be on the move in no time.

Has it been SEVEN months already?

Where has the time gone? Over half a year has gone by since Evelyn's been born. Can you believe it? 'Cause I can't!!

As you can see, she's sitting up on her own. She also makes new sounds like "ga ga da da ba ba bfffffffffffffft" which translates to: "Daddy, please change my poopy diaper." (That's MY translation, anyway).

She continues to investigate the world around her. One interesting thing I've learned about her is that she doesn't like overly sweet stuff. I've given her a taste of ice cream a couple of times and she made an awful face. It was like she wanted to say, "Hey...skip that sweet stuff and bring on the peas." I would really like her to stay that way, but I'm sure that'll change. She loves her veggies. When I feed her peas, green beans, carrots..whatever, she makes "num num" sounds. I just love that.

She's laughing a lot more, too. Daddy gets her belly-laughing by rubbing his face into her ribs or nibbling on her feet. Watching her is hilarious...she can hardly catch her breath. She likes it when I hold a stuffed animal above her while she's laying in her crib. I hold it up, wiggle it, then drop it on her. It cracks her up almost every time.

She's just now learning how to hold her own bottle. Just like anything else, it's like one day, she just *knows* how to do it. It's astounding to watch her strengthen and grow her abilities day by day. It really blows our minds.

Anyway, I'm sorry it's been a MONTH since I've updated our blog. We've been pretty busy with work, family parties, etc. and our day-to-day lives. I'll certainly try to be more vigilant, since many of you have expressed your appreciation of the frequent updates.

As always, we will be using this entire blog as part of Evelyn's baby book, so please...comment away...and don't forget to *sign* it so we know who you are.

Love,
Mandy

New Six Month Photos with her Cousin Faith

Here are some pictures of Evelyn at almost six months and Faith (our adorable neice - Ryan and Tena's sweetie) at almost 2 months. Tena and I talk about how the girls will (one day) go to the mall together to pick up boys, while Jason and Ryan discuss how the girls will get together to go to church and reseach how to enter the convent.

Five Months!!

Has it been five months already? I promised myself I wouldn't blink, but I guess I did. So much has happened in five months...I can't even begin to imagine what could happen in five years!! People have warned me that time flies at light speed when you have children, and they weren't kidding.

The days of rocking my tiny little baby are over. I no longer need to hold her little head as I pass her off to Daddy. I no longer need to sanitize each pacifier each time it hits the floor (since she sticks everything in her mouth anyway), I no longer need to sneak into her room to see if the blankets go up and down with each breath. My little teeny newborn is graduating to true babyhood...and the fun is just beginning.

Some things we've learned about Evelyn:

She smiles easily...especially if we lift her over our heads or say "muh muh." She loves songs such as the "ABC's" and "I'm a Little Tea Pot." When Daddy walks in the room and says, "HELLOOOOOO miss EveLYNNN," she shrieks with delight. She sleeps from 7:30 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. (with exceptions, of course). She likes the book, "Where's Baby's Belly Button." She likes swinging side to side, not front to back. She likes most of her toys...only if she can jam them in her mouth, of course. She thinks it's hilarious when we raise our voices. She gets fussy if she doesn't get the sleep she needs. She doesn't like Dr. Suess books (yet). She smiles as soon as she wakes up. She hates tummy time. She loves laying on the back of the couch to watch the cars drive by. She laughs when something cold hits her lips. She doesn't care if her diaper is dirty or not (which should make potty training interesting). She's not much of a cuddler, but she loves to be held up high on my shoulder and watch what's going on.

It's been a lot of fun getting to know her. And, like I said, the fun is just beginning. Thanks for reading and please leave comments. I'll be using this blog as part of her baby book.

Love,
Mandy

Merry Chirstmas!!

Evelyn opens a gift from Grandma Roberts

Merry Christmas!

Lots of Pics

Mommy and Evelyn at the Rogers' Christmas Party


Evelyn's first taste of solid food


After she actually TASTED the food




Proof that the picture taking should be left up to Mommy





(L to R) Beth, Cindy, Jennifer and Connie showing off the ingredients for "Cookie Day." Over 1,000 cookies later and we barely made a dent in the ingredients!



(L to R) Me, Sarah, Amy and Stacy at my Mom's coctail party (a prelude to the Legends Party) Great fun!



Evelyn is now enthralled with her reflection (please excuse the hair...we can't be glamorous ALL the time)




Paula's 21st Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAULA! (those nights out are rare, so I thought I'd document it)
(L to R) Jason, Kim, Ann, Kyle, Paula and Mandy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Evelyn sitting in her new bouncy seat from Grandma Roberts


Jason, Evelyn, and my Mom watching a little Nutcracker Ballet music box


Evelyn being held by Grandpa Trombly (showing off her little turkey outfit from Aunt Connie)


Kelsey cuddling with Evelyn



We had a great Thanksgiving! We had a lot to give thanks for this year, of course. Thank you Mom and Tim and Kelly for having us.

Love,
Mandy and Jason

Uncle Ryan and Aunt Tena came over to visit little Evelyn. We woke her up and she was all smiles. Doesn't she look so big? She's growing too fast!

Hollywooood

She gives the word "cool" a whole new meaning.

Pretty Smiles at Two Months Old

She's giving those smiles out pretty regularly now. There's nothing better than smiling at her and seeing her flash those big shiny gums back at me. The one with the tongue really cracks me up.

Holy CRAP!

Isn't this against the laws of physics? I mean, if she's sitting upright in her swing, how is it possible to shoot poop out of the FRONT of her diaper. Well, no one can say my daugter isn't talented!

My First Portraits - One Month Old

Oh Baby!

Evelyn is already six weeks old and a whopping 11 pounds 8 ounces! And, dare I say, she is the cutest baby to ever walk the planet. She has the coolest personality, too. She's very calm, but alert. She usually only cries when she absolutely needs something, and she gives smiles out for free! Am I bragging too much? Too bad! It's MY blog...I can do what I want!! :-)

Anyway, back to reality.... Motherhood is fantastic. I love being a mommy. My heart is melting, bursting and glowing at the same time. It's definitely a full time job, though. I have no idea how single mothers do it. You know, I used to say I wanted as many kids as God would bless us with...now I'm saying I want as many as God thinks we can handle.... big difference. :-)

So...Lots of hugs & kisses from me, Jason and Evelyn! We hope to see you at our Halloween party!

Love,
Mandy

Labor and Delivery

My my my... what an experience! We went in at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 5th to start the induction process (Evelyn was a week overdue). They gave me something to soften my cervix, then the waiting began. Jason went home, and I slept. The next day, they gave me Pitocin (the synthetic version of oxytocin, the contraction-inducing hormone) at 11 a.m. Then, the REAL contractions began. Woooohoooo, those little buggers hurt! As the day went on, they increased the Pitocin dosage, which increased the intensity of the contractions. The nurse commented on how I was still smiling...but she was referring to the times BETWEEN contractions. Once the contractions brought tears to my eyes, they had the doctor come in and give me the epidural. Oh my gosh! What a difference! Then they broke my water. Once that happened, I was dilating a centimeter every half hour, if that! After the 13 hours of labor, Evelyn was ready to enter the world.

The pushing lasted two hours. By the end of the first hour, I was begging for help. I said, "Aren't you going to use forecepts?" The doctor said, "No. Push." Then I said, "Aren't you going to use a vacuum?" The doctor said, "No. Push." Then I said, "Are we going to have to have a c-section?" The doctor said, "No. Push." He was obviously bound and determined to make me push that 15 1/4 inch head out!!

Jason was amazing the entire time. I really wonder how he did all the things he did while I was pushing....did he have three hands? He held my leg up while holding my oxygen mask and wiping my face with a cold cloth...How did he do that? He was extremely supportive and kept telling me how great I was doing. He was wonderful.

Then....she came out! When they put that big, red, beautiful baby on my chest, the only thing I could say was, "Oh my God...Oh my God....Hi sweetheart!" Then, they whisked her away to clean her up and check her out. Meanwhile, I was panting like an exhausted dog, periodically asking the nurse, "Is she healthy?" while Jason told me a million times how amazing I was. It felt like a year while the doctor was stitching me up. All I wanted was to hold that beautiful, healthy, 9 1/2 pound daughter of mine.

After a little bonding time, in came the grandparents. I've never seen them so proud and happy. I sat there and watched them as they stood in a little grandparent circle, gushing over our little one...it was so precious. While they were gushing, Jason stood by me, still telling me how amazing I was. I'll never forget that moment.

Here are some things I didn't know about labor and delivery:

1.) Epidurals don't hurt. Oh, on the contrary. Epidurals are a gift from God. I wish there had been a video of me...before and after the epidural. It would be hilarious!

2.) Epidurals wear off! Not because the dosage is lowered...nooooo...because once the baby enters the birth canal, they don't work! It doesn't matter how many narcotics they pump into your I.V., once that baby is ready to come out, you feel every bit of every contraction.

3.) When you feel every bit of every contraction, it HURTS like HELL! I've tried to describe the pain of a contraction as severe menstrual cramps, but somehow, that description does NOT do them justice.

4.) Everyone is different when it comes to contractions and what they want while pushing. I, for instance, wanted silence during my contractions and needed the weight of my legs to be supported between pushing. Weird.

5.) Doctors don't do ANYTHING during the delivery. The only thing my doctor did was the episiotomy. Otherwise, Jason and the O.B. nurse were the ones helping me while I was pushing.

6.) "Proud" has a whole new meaning now. I'm proud that I was able to push her out. I'm proud that I have such a supportive and nurturing husband. And, most of all, I'm proud that I was able to produce such a wonderfully healthy, beautiful baby. The feeling is amazing and brings tears to my eyes even while I'm writing this. We're so blessed and lucky.

So, there it is....my account of the wonderful experience of child birth. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed doing it. It truly was the most amazing experience of my life.

Love,
Mandy