Saturday, May 26, 2012

Summer Kick-off

What a busy day we had today.  Baby girl had her first taste of grits for breakfast. Then we went grocery shopping for our big cookout on Monday.  Then we came home and played in our new kiddie pool. Well, Evangeline played. The rest of us just enjoyed her fun. At first she was too engrossed in splashing to talk to me.


Then she decided she wanted to tell me all about it!


It was a good day.  Of course no summer day would be complete without a little watermelon!


Tonight, mommy and daddy will go on a much anticipated date and baby girl will get to hang out with grammy and grampa! (And be spoiled) There are many more fun activities in store for us this weekend, but we are all REALLY looking forward to this Friday....Dreamnight at the Jacksonville Zoo. Lots of families from the local SBA will be there and Evangeline will get her first look at a lion and a giraffe and who knows what else!  More pics to come from that special evening.  :)

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Evangeline 8 month Update

I have been remiss in posting how baby girl is doing.  So, I will attempt to do a brief update of her skills as an 8month old as well as a doctor-visit update.  To begin with, she doesn't need any speech therapy. She is babbling away with all sorts of sounds. Her communication skills are excellent and she loves playing "peek-a-boo" and other silly games we make up.  She finds it hysterical when you mimic the strange sounds she makes.

She is learning to feed herself. She can hold her own bottle while laying down/reclining. She hasn't quiet gotten the hang of this trick while sitting up, though she is working on it.  She still has some tone/strength issues and holding her bottle up high is a bit difficult and she drops it.  This will come to her as her arm strength continues to increase during her tummy time. She is also learning to pick up small soft foods from her tray and bring them to her mouth. Watermelon is her favorite! A lot of the fruits and veggies we give her end up on the ground or her lap, but she is learning how to put them in her mouth and chomp them with her little gums.  She still hasn't gotten her first tooth yet, but she is certainly teething! 

Her arm strength is improving, and she can now roll over when she has motivation to do so, though it is a challenge for her. Her physical therapist has a goal to get her crawling by 10 months so that is exciting.  I love to see her develop as new ideas occur to her. It will be magical to watch the whole idea of "forward motion" spark behind her eyes as she lurches forward for the first time!

Her most recent urology apt was great. Her kidneys still look perfect and she won't have to go back till she's a year and then they will do some tests on her bladder to see if she is still filling at a normal pressure and also to see if she is still retaining extra urine. This test should tell us a bit  more than the one when she was only three months old did, and I am excited and hopeful about the results.

Her Physical Therapist is talking about getting her a stander to help her learn to bear weight in her legs.  She lacks confidence in that area and a stander will help her get stronger.  It is still a few months before he wants to get it for her to use, but we have to plan early as it can take a while to order with insurance holding the process up a bit.

She is still the happiest baby on the planet and I am still lucky and blessed and fortunate to be her mom. When she smiles at me in the morning, my heart melts and I can't wait to get back home to my family at the end of the day just so I can see that welcoming grin she flashes at me when I walk in the door.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Big Project

Well, my new project is in full swing!  Feel free to read all about the details here.  This is where you can find out why I'm so passionate about this new book for preganat women, where we are so far and how you can participate! 

I promise to get on here and do an Evangeline update soon. Its way past due.  Just wait till you hear all she's doing now! It will nock yer socks off!