7 months old!

My precious little one turned 7-months-old on March 1st, and I am a few days behind on posting her newest accomplishments!

She continues to become more and more of her own person. She's started showing preferences for certain foods or toys. She has also become more aware of people (and dogs) around her, which is very fun.

She is laughing up a storm! She cackles and giggles in the cutest way I've ever heard or seen when we play with her, and I am loving it!

She has two bottom teeth (and 2 top ones starting to come in), which is just so crazy and makes her seem way too old, according to this Mama.

She is getting up on her hands and knees and starting to have more purposeful scooting that will be crawling before we know it. She is steadier every day, and if she could just figure out to move her hands, not just her knees, we'd have a crawler :)

And above all, she is more awesome every day, and I love her so much! She is such a blessing of sweetness, joy, beauty, and silliness to me and her Daddy. We are so happy and cannot wait to see where God is taking our sweet family next...only 7 days to Match!

Half Birthday!

On February 1, 2015, my baby girl had her half birthday! We were in Augusta, celebrating her God Mother, Jennifer's, birthday, so you know she got some half birthday loving :) Not only is this month a huge milestone time-wise, but she has also learned and accomplished so many things over the past month! I feel like my baby is starting to become a little girl in some ways.

Evelyn with Jennifer and her Aunt Melissa and cousin Jackson!

Her personality is more apparent than ever before! She is so sweet and gentle. People are always commenting on what a wonderful baby she is (for which I give God, and not myself or Mikey, all the credit!)...she just hangs out with us most of the time, and she is always smiling or calmly observing and learning from the world around her. Basically, she's the best.

Evy after a bath.

She has started sitting up on her own, and with that comes a whole new world of possibilities! She can reach for things better, so she can play for longer periods of time, entertaining herself. It is so fun to watch her learn and play with her toys. She loves her soft blocks from Gramma and Grampa and her play kitchen from Gammy and Poppa! Before, I know it, she'll be crawling...aah! She is already starting to scoot around a little bit.

Little sitter :)

She started eating solid foods! She caught onto eating from a spoon so quickly. I am so incredibly proud of her and excited for all of the new options she can try! Right now, we are just doing solids at dinner time, but we will probably start adding them to more feedings during the day and working towards a three-meal-a-day schedule.

6 month old stats:

27 inches tall - 88.29%ile

16 lbs 11 oz - 60.82%ile

FIVE months old!

I am dumbfounded. How is my little baby girl five months old?! It does not seem possible. But, alas, it is. And she is awesome, let me assure you.

In the past two months she has grown in so many ways!

#1 - She is 95th percentile for Length! She definitely takes after her Daddy in that, not my little 5'2" self. I bet she'll be taller than me in middle school. And Mikey will have to console her about the difficulty of finding pants long enough for her tall, skinny self. He's the pro at that.

#2 - She doubled her birth weight at 4 months! I don't even know how much she weighs now, at 5 months, but she is growing great! I love her little baby chub. She was almost exactly 50th percentile for weight at her last check-up.

#3 - She is laughing and smiling and being generally happy and wonderful. She loves when her Daddy beatboxes or throws her in the air. She always has a laugh or chuckle for her Aunt Nina and Uncle Luke. And she continues to love spending time with her grandparents!

#4 - She is rolling over! Almost exactly at 4 months old, she rolled front-to-back for the first time. Now, she is doing it every day! She's still working on getting over that arm on the back-to-front roll. And then she'll be rolling all over the place before I know it! She also loves to stand up, so who knows when she'll start sitting up straight and pulling up to stand! I'm not ready for this...

#5 - She is teething! Poor baby has had a few minor fevers and general fussiness related to her sore little gums. And she. is. drooling. But she is still so sweet and happy most of the time! Maybe the worst is yet to come, but teething has been a lot easier than I thought it might be. I just have to watch out because she is putting everything she can grab into her mouth!

We are so proud of our beautiful little girl. She is smart, sweet, strong, and so lovely. I am so blessed to be her Mommy and to raise her alongside the best husband and father I could even imagine!

Make Up Your Mind

"Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be." 

- Abraham Lincoln

This has long been a favorite quote of mine. One of my best friends in middle school gave me a book mark with these words on it, which I then hung on a cork board on my wall. I saw it every day until I left home for college.

These words are not meant to diminish the serious reality of depression and other mental illnesses. The friend who gave me this little, but well-loved, gift struggled with bipolar disorder. I myself battled depression for over four years. These illnesses are real, and if you need help, seek it out.

But even through those years, I went back to these words for encouragement and motivation. I think one of the greatest struggles of my adult life is realizing that I cannot do everything. I cannot be everything to everyone. I cannot accomplish every goal I ever dreamed up. I cannot be everywhere at once. I cannot. As I've grown in my adult life, I've accomplished many things, and to some people, that might give you some sense of power. But the many demands on my life that I have been able to fulfill have, for me, also highlighted the many things I could not do. I had to start making sacrifices. Saying no. Letting go.

Sometimes Often, my floors are not vacuumed, the budget is (way) behind, and the dirty laundry is overflowing its basket. Not only household chores, but also goals in other areas of life. I cannot ace every test. I cannot make everyone like me. I cannot be the best in every category. I am not always home with my baby. I do not keep up with my blog. I do not cook, or workout, or eat vegetables as much as I'd like.

In this new year, as I started thinking of resolutions to make, the list got so long that I gave up. I realized again that I cannot do it all. I have to pick...maybe I can actually do one or two of the most important things on my list. But I will never be able to do it all. Not like I wish I could.

And I feel helpless.
And small.
And defeated.

Life is beating me. (Double meaning intended)

And then I remember this quote.
And I remember that I can. always. choose.

My attitude is mine.
My thoughts are mine.

I can choose joy. I can have a positive attitude. I can hold my tongue instead of saying something mean or hurtful or negative. I can focus on all of the amazing blessings in my life...my husband, my beautiful baby, my family, my friends, my work, my home, my dogs, good food, time well spent.

I can choose how I spend the hours I do have in the day. Maybe I cannot do everything, but I can spend my time well.

I am not a victim in this world. I am not defeated. I can choose.

I make up my mind to be happy this year.
That is my resolution.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

-Philippians 4:8