HIVES

I kind of feel like mondays have it in for me... Evan woke up from his first nap with a crazy amount of a rash later to be identified as hives... Doc said to stop amoxicillin just in case it was an allergic reaction and just wait. Most commonly these are caused by a virus, but he couldn't be sure... Can take a week or longer for them to go away...
Evan wasn't too bothered by them though

Ahh...

Liam is laying on his big bear singing songs about what he sees.

Evan is playing with all the toys liam brought him

... Love my mondays!

Evan Laughing

First Christmas of the Year!

My grandparents came up from Arkansas this weekend to celebrate Christmas!  It is always a nice day catching up with them and having them see how much the kids have grown!  It was a wonderful day!!!

 Celebrating Great Papa's Birthday at the end of the month!

 Seriously, such a big boy handing out presents!

 Evan figured out pretty quickly that presents were for him and that presents were something to rip into!

Reading with Daddy!

Our first week of Linkle

I should of taken pictures... whoops

Day 1: on the table with a note for Liam and Evan
Day 2: Sitting on a homemade toilet paper roll swing in the window
Day 3: Riding on Dusty Ornament Plane in the Tree
Day 4: Sitting in the playroom reading a book about snow
Day 5: Sitting in Liam's stocking with a new ornament for Liam and Evan
Day 6: Flying in the fisher price plane... hanging above Liam's bed "How did he get the fish down?" Liam asked in the morning
Day 7(tonight): brushing his teeth with his own toothbrush

This tradition has been a huge hit for Liam... he runs to find Linkle's hiding spot every morning.  Also loving the wrapped books tradition... so much fun to have some dedicated book reading time and the fun of opening a present (even if they are mostly all old books!) every night!

Decorating the Tree and the Arrival of Linkle!

7 Months Old

And here we are again... seven months old!  Jon and I are constantly saying that each day we have a different boy on our hands... he is just changing, changing, changing!  Here are some highlights!

• SLEEPING!!!!! I didn't ever comment on this much in the blog this last month mostly because I didn't want to jinx it.  We had been battling with cry it out for the first week and a half in November, with very little and no consistent success.  And then I gave in... it was getting worse, not better.  So we put him back in the carseat, where he would sleep a bit better (still waking up every 2-4 hours and crying for hours before going back to sleep).  Jon and I talked it over and we were going to try cry it out again on friday of that week.  Well, some Mommy intuition took over.  We got to thursday, nov. 14th and I told Jon - this is the night.  We are starting tonight... so we put him down and literally he cried for less than a minute and went to sleep. For the WHOLE NIGHT!!! Crazy but true.  For months we had the same bedtime routine, the same responses... and this was the night.  So, from then on, he has slept.  He wakes up between 2-4 most every night to eat and then goes back down until 6-7.  I am still fairly sleep deprived... but I can absolutely live with this schedule.  Whew.
• Eating just about any veggie or fruit there is.  Loving it all.  Still the mum-mum crackers are his favorite.  He is eating the puffs now, which he eats, but doesn't try to jump/scream for!
• Sitting very well and trying, trying, trying to crawl/move.  He is up on his hands and knees sometimes, but just gets very frustrated that he can't get where/what he wants
• He is into everything... not content to play with what he has, but rather wants the thing across the room and he wants it now.  He often lunges and screams... over and over!
• Loves playing peek a boo, so big and pattycake.  Loves doing anything big brother is doing.  Loves, loves, loves it when Liam shares one of his toys with Evan!
• Still putting everything in his mouth
• No new teeth, but he is gnawing on everything... those front teeth must be trying to come out
• Loves music and dancing!
• Adjusting to daycare.  Still cries everyday when I drop him off.  Sleep is sporadic and inconsistent.  They had been letting him nap in his carseat, which helps him; however they are trying to be more consistent about the crib because I just don't know how long I will be able to keep him in his carrier (heavy!)
• Naps at home vary from 1 hour to 2 1/2 hours... from 2 to 3 naps a day just depending on how things go.  
• He is in size 6-9 and 9-12 clothes, size 3 diapers are starting to get small!
• We are starting sign language with him and he is very interested!  Also, we have discovered that Liam remembers a lot of his signs too!
• Evan loves all toys that light up or make noise... piano, fire truck, and soft train have been favorites.  He is also in love with the little people figurines... great for chewing!  Alligator is one of his favorites!
• Sounds took a break for most of this month... didn't hear much new, but just in the past week we hear lots of different sounds again and so many zerberts!  
• As you can see below, Evan LOVES his brother and Liam LOVES Evan.  Seriously there isn't a thing I would change about their relationship right now... so precious.  THe other night Liam was making Evan laugh and squeal... such a wonderful to be able to see and nurture as a parent!

Love you Evan!

Some Pics from Grandpa Mike's Visit

This is why we don't leave grandpa alone with the kids :)

Evan Update

Evan woke up with pinkeye this morning :(

We had an appt already to get his second flu shot this morning, so I found his eye drops and gave him a dose before heading off to get his shot. While there I double checked with his doctor and she said she wanted to see him because of his ongoing congestion... Of course she didn't have an appt that morning, so we came back this afternoon. Evan still has a drippy nose, which has gotten worse in the last days, his ears are filled with fluid and irritated, although not infected as well as pinkeye in both eyes.

We discussed a couple of options, but ultimately decided to start antibiotics... 10 days...

Hopefully he will be feeling better soon!

Liam has the best mom ever. She surprised him with a remote control polar express train set!

Christmas Tree!!!

Dave and Busters Christmas!

Our Teething Boy!