So Long Sweet Gums!

We have a handful of sweet gum trees in the back yard. If you're not familiar, these awful trees drop very spiky things that hurt like heck if you step on them. As part of the landscape plan, we are to remove two of the trees from the yard.

The neighbor had a tree trimmer over at her house today. Chad decided to walk over and have the guy give us an estimate on the removal. SO glad he did! If we removed the trees today while they had the equipment here, we could save over 60% on estimate given by the landscape design firm. We ended getting four trees removed altogether.

It was fascinating to watch the guy climb the tree and cut it down! Apparently he is not afraid of heights! Check it out.

I Turned 3 Months!

I love your smiles, your laughs, the way you kick your arms and legs when you get excited, the smell of your hair after a bath, and those kissable cheeks.

Counting Sheep - Not So Much

Remember that post I made about Evan sleeping through the night? Well, that lasted for two weeks and then he started waking up again once in the middle of the night to eat. He has to get in that 7th bottle or his little tummy will start to growl! Fortunately, he is still sleeping 9.5-11 hours a night, so I am not going to complain about having to get up to feed him.

Last night we had a nice surprise though - Evan slept for almost 12 uninterrupted hours. He went to bed at 7:15pm and woke at 7am! He must have known it was Friday night and he was supposed to sleep in!

We Survived Daycare

After many tears, mine not Evan's, Chad whisked Evan away for his first day of daycare yesterday. Yes, I did the ugly cry. It's really not attractive, but in this case, I think it was justified! After 8 long hours of work, I hurried to daycare to pick him up. I found Evan fast asleep in a swing.

The ladies said he did well. However, I am quite sure they tell all moms this on the first day. Ms. Veronica said that he cries really loud when he is tired or hungry. Yes, I am aware, thank you.

As I mentioned, Evan was asleep when I arrived. I was forced with the decision to either leave him in the swing or move him to the car seat. I choose the car seat because I didn't want them to feel like I was hovering in the room. We got all the way to the car before he woke up. It ended up being a bad decision because he was a little nightmare come 6pm.

My work schedule is now 7:00-3:30, which allowed me to get in a couple hours of smiles and giggles before Evan turned crabby. It was a LONG day for both of us. We put Evan to bed at 6:30 last night, and I was in bed by quarter to eight!

I'm sure it will get easier from here on out. But in the meantime, I'm playing short video clips and changing my wallpaper to Evan's picture to make it through the work day!

My Big Boy Chair

We bought Evan a Bumbo chair this week. It is supposed to help him learn to sit up on his own faster. He is still working on supporting his own head, so he doesn't spend much time in it yet. Evan's neck is pretty strong though, and not because of the extensive amount of tummy time. You see, Evan is a big eater, and anything that gets in the way of eating calls for an arched back, a high pitched scream, and tears - real tears. He is not a fan of burping mid-bottle...hence arched back, tears, and raising his head off our shoulder to tell us to put the bottle back in his mouth. Therefore, his strong neck is all due to his love of food!

My Funny Valentine

We started Valentine's Day at church, which as we found out, is getting harder with Evan. I spent the majority of the sermon in the fellowship hall while Evan cried. 11am service is too close to his naptime, and the 8am service is just way too early since we live 35 minutes away. Maybe I'll have to break down and transfer to the WELS church two miles from home.

The rest of the day was uneventful, however, we managed to pull out the camera for a couple of smiles and giggles.

Global Warming?

Hmmm...I think not. 4" of snow fell on Friday. I think it is time to move further south and west.

Evan's First Vacation - Savannah, Georgia

I only have two weeks left of maternity leave, so we decided to get out of town for a long weekend. We've tried several times to make it down to Savannah, but for one reason or another we never made it. Despite the lackluster weather forecast we decided to make the trip this past weekend.

We hit the road Friday mid-morning, and about 2 hours into the ride we realized that we forgot the stroller. Other than Evan, it was probably the worst thing to leave at home! I tried calling a baby equipment rental, however, I am still waiting for a return phone call. We ended up buying another stroller frame as it would be a miserable weekend without it. Having solved that problem, we checked into the Spring Hill Suites in Savannah's Historic District.

Although it was drizzling, we headed out to find dinner. It was in the mid-60s so it wasn't a bad stroll. We ended up at the Moon River Brewing Company. According to some, it is one of the most haunted buildings in Savannah. When we go back to Savannah without Evan, Chad and I want to do the Haunted Pub Crawl. Moon River Brewing Company is one of the stops on the tour.

Saturday morning we headed out early for a walking tour of the Historic District with Savannah Dan. Unfortunately it was a bit cooler and windy, which made it not as pleasant as it could have been. Evan was a challenge on the tour, but we managed! We HAD a reservation at Lady & Sons for lunch, however, Ev was not having it so we had a quick sandwich at Leopold's (recommended by Savannah Dan). We made one last stop at Forsyth Park before heading back to the hotel so Evan could nap.

Saturday night we walked through City Center where I had my very first praline. Not a fan; it tasted like pure sugar. We continued down to River Street and had dinner at Rocks on the River at the Bohemian Hotel. As a side note, if Chad didn't have Marriott Rewards I would love to stay here!

Sunday morning we headed home. We will definitely go back when it is warmer. There is still so much to see and do...SCAD (like Harvard for art students), Tybee Island, Ghost Tour, Bonaventure Cemetery, Lady & Sons for dinner, and Hilton Head is only 45 minutes away for some golf!

I'll leave you with one of my favorite shots of the weekend. We'll be back soon Savannah...

Forsyth Park

Two Month Dr. Appointment

Evan had his two month appointment on February 4. He now weighs 11# 13oz (55%) and is 23 1/4" long (65%). He was also given four vaccines, three by shot and one orally. Evan obviously didn't like the shots, but he survived (and so did I). The hemangioma by his armpit has grown slightly, as Dr. Kelly said it would. But, other than that he is a very healthy baby boy!

Counting Sheep

At first I thought it was a fluke, but Evan is going on two weeks of sleeping through the night! He usually goes down between 9-10pm and sleeps until 6-7:30am. Not too bad for a 9 week old! My guess is that it has something to do with the amount of food he consumes! Evan drinks 6 bottles a day for approximately 30oz. The kid is ALWAYS hungry. I swear we finish one bottle and 30 minutes later he has his hands in his mouth.

He has his 2 month appointment on Thursday. I am curious to see how much he weighs, as his thighs are turning into pork chops! Speaking of his weight, he has also outgrown all of the newborn clothes. Most of the 3 month clothes are too big still, but it is fun to see him in some different outfits!

Honky-Tonkin' in Nashville

Chad had to take a last minute business trip to Nashville this weekend to work the Pillar and Post Convention. Evan and I went along with the hopes we would get to sightsee. As luck would have it, Nashville got hit with a huge (and out of the ordinary) snowstorm. We didn't leave the hotel at all, as the city was pretty much shut down. I guess we saved enough to do for our next visit to Nashville (like visiting the honky-tonks on 2nd...but we probably need a babysitter for that!).

Oh well, here is a video we took in the hotel room. Of course, all the good smiles came before we took out the phone to hit record.