CUTENESS!

Since I am so behind in my blogging, I am just going to post some pictures of the last five months of Evan amd do a little bragging on my kiddo's!   I can't say enough good things about this baby.  I just love him so much.  When you have your first child, you can't imagine loving another child as much as you love him or her.  When you have your second/third/fourth/fifth, you understand that it's possible and that your love just grows and changes!  I love each one of my kids the same amount but for different reasons!  I love that they are all so different.  I am really enjoying watching them all grow into their own little beings!  I love that I have raised them to be themselves, to be confident and to be independent.  It is our job as parents to prepare them for adulthood and I am so proud of the job that Bryan and I have done!  The very best compliment in the world to me is when someone compliments my children.  Not just how cute they are (because we all know they are!) but their behavior and personalities. They are not perfect by any means but countless times in restaurants, out in public, or at school,  I have received some of the best compliments from strangers and teachers on how well behaved my kids are and what good manners they have!  I am so blessed!  Bryan and I must be doing something right! 

Evan has been the best baby.  Have I mentioned that??  He has such a laid back, happy personality.  It's a pleasure to be his momma!  I don't know if he was just born that way or if it's because Bryan and I are relaxed and comfortable being around a baby but this kid NEVER cries.  At least with me!  I can't speak for when I'm at work because he IS breastfed and doesn't have his boob so he probably cries more when I'm not around.  But as for when I am with him, he rarely cries.  At two months he started sleeping in his own room.  First night alone he slept 6 hours.  He is now sleeping between 9 and 11 hours at night and takes two naps during the day.  One in the morning for about an hour or two and one in the afternoon for 3 hours.  His sleep schedule is close to what my other kids have been, it's just hard because i have to wake him in the mornings to get the kids to school and wake him in the afternoon when I have to pick the boys up from school.  I am starting to put him in his crib and quit using the swing. He's sleeping in the crib now for the last last hour...knock on wood! I will start to transition him to the crib at night soon once he gets used to naps in the crib.He goes down without a fight right now so I am expecting maybe a night  or two with some crying but all kids go through that.....unless you rock your baby to sleep until they are 10 years old!  LOL!  I am a firm believer that kids need to learn to put themselves to sleep.  It's a life skill. Babies need 15-18 hours of sleep per day, it's really important!  If they don't learn when they are young, it's harder when they are older and very disruptive for the family.  I need my sleep too!  Okay, I'm off my soapbox!

Evan has been hitting all of his milestones on time and ahead of schedule for many!  He is constantly watching his brothers and his sister so that probably has something to do with it!  He's also incredibly strong.  He was bearing weight on his legs in the first few weeks after he was born!  He loves to be upright! As of right now, Evan is grabbing toys and bringing them to his mouth.  He passed a toy from one hand to another today but I don't know if it was on purpose or if the toy was just so large that he used two hand and ended up passing it that way.  Evan can sit alone!  He's getting better and better with his balance everyday.  Yesterday I placed the boppy pillow behind him just in case he fell but he stayed up for 7 minutes....I timed it!  LOL!  He was playing with toys and didn't fall!  He's been babbling and last night actually said dadada after I said it!  SO SMART!  

I started babyfood with him at 4 months.  Since he's exclusively breastfed (for the most part, except when I didn't pump enough and he needs formula while I'm at work).  He just was getting so HUNGRY, and eying my food and grabbing my drinks.  I make all of his babyfood with the baby bullet thing that Bryan bought me!  He eats great!  So far he's had apples, pears, peaches, blueberries, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, squash and baby cereals.  The only thing he hasn't liked was the squash.  He will eat the peas and green beans now if I mix them with fruit!  We also started juice, he doesn't love it.  He doesn't love his sippy cup either but he does drink out of it!   I'd really like him to skip the bottle if at all possible. I plan on breastfeeding for at least the first year and then let him self wean after that. 

Evan goes everywhere with us.  He's a boy on the go!  With my first child, I took him out very minimally.  I soon realized with Andrew, that babies are portable!  I can't very well make my whole family stay home or make Bryan babysit everytime I need to run an errand.  He loves his Ergo carrier.  That's his favorite way to travel.  I can even breastfeed him on the go!  He's been to the mall, movies, countless restaurants, a couple of festivals, Rawhide, the zoo, many many stores.  You get the point!  He loves to be out with his momma! Yesterday we even took him swimming!  He wasn't sure at first but we eased him in with no trouble.  By the end, I had him floating on his back with his head resting on my chest.  Totally content and calm, he even dozed off for a moment. It's good to get them used to it when they are young!

Highlights from our Elves. Yes, I said ElveS.

Last year we had such a blast with Buddy, our Elf on a Shelf, that Santa decided to send us one more Elf from the North Pole!  Her name is Belle!  Buddy and Belle played some really fun tricks on us this year!  Here are the highlights!

Daddy Daughter Dance

This year Taylor's dance studio put on a Daddy Daughter Dance!  It was actually Bryan's idea to take Taylor.  He really takes pride in having a daughter, she has a special place in Bryan's heart for sure!  They both got all dressed up and enjoyed dinner and dancing together for a couple of hours.  Taylor made some new friends too!  Older girls, of course!  Typically that's who she hangs out with.  She likes that they mother her and tend to do what she says, moreso than girls her own age that don't like to be bossed around!  LOL!  They had a wonderful time, Taylor still talks about dancing with her Daddy! 

Are You Ready For Some Football??

Connor started flag football this year and is doing really well!  He enjoys the practices and getting to hang out with the guys! He was able to play both offense and defense and seems to enjoy catching and running with the ball more than blocking and defending.  He wants to play tackle next season......Dad is convinced, me......not so much!  He's getting older and is definitely a BIG kid but he'll always be my baby and I don't want him to get hurt!!!!  Ironic though because I wouldn't mind him playing hockey.  For some reason football scares me more!  I'm sure the guys will win this one and I will be posting pictures in the fall of him in his full football gear!  Here are some pictures of Connor playing football!

Andrew has a natural talent for SOCCER!

Andrew has been begging to play soccer for a while now.  We were a little reluctant at first because Bryan knows nothing about soccer and you know how guys are.....they want their boys to be just like them!  For Bryan that means the boys needed to be baseball, basketball and football players!  Finally, after months of asking, we enrolled Andrew in soccer.  The first practice, he did great!  Paid attention, was the fastest little runner.  I could tell how happy he was!  That boy learned FAST!  After just 2 practices, they had their first game.  Andrew scored 3 goals!!!!!!  Andrew continued to be one of the best players on the "Red Sharks"  that season.  Can't wait until fall!  We will be enrolling him into San Tan Soccer league!  Hopefully he makes the club team someday!  I could see him having a future in this sport!!  So proud of you Andrew!

My family is complete, what a wonderful Christmas gift!

This Christmas couldn't have been better!  Evan's scheduled c-section was supposed to be on December 26th.  That would have been horrible!  I would have spent Christmas in anticipation and nervousness.  I'm so happy his birth happened the way that it did and that we were able to have our Christmas with our complete family.  It felt so good to have him home!  He really IS the best baby.  He rarely cries, breastfeeds beautifully and sleeps really well too.  He's such a blessing!  Although, he would still be a blessing if he was the fussiest baby ever!  LOL!  I just love him!

We spent Christmas Eve at Bryan's parents house.  We had fun celebrating, eating and spending time together.  Christmas morning we spent at home playing and opening gifts.  We went to my sister's house on Christmas afternoon.  I don't know if it was the Percocet or if I was just high on life but I honestly can't remember one gift! This year wasn't about the presents.  It was about family and the new life that was given to us.  Best Christmas ever! 

He's Here!

This is WAY late but needless to say, I've been a little busy over the last.....ummmm....5 months!  Here is Evan's birth story!

On December 14th, 2011 I came down with a nasty stomach bug. Fever, cramping, dehydrated and running to the bathroom every 5 minutes.  I began to have some contractions that evening, I believe because of the dehydration.  They were pretty consistent so around midnight I decided I better go into triage at the hospital just to be safe and to maybe get some IV fluids.  Evan wasn't due for another 3 weeks.  When I arrived at the hospital, they hooked me up to the monitor and I was having some good, consistent contractions.  Evan's heartrate was in the 160's-170's and I had a fever of 101.  My cervix was 5 cm!!  I was already in labor!  Needless to say, the doctor decided to go ahead with the c-section a few weeks early.  I called Bryan to wake him up.  My surgery was in 1 hour!!!!!!!!   He had to get grandma to the house to watch the kids and then haul butt to Banner Desert, 20 minutes away.  At 4:44 am on December 15th, Evan Grant Morrison was born!  Weighing in at 7 pounds, 1 oz and 19 inches long.  Healthy mom and healthy baby!  My prayers were answered!