Evan is 5 months old!

another wonderful month has passed, but much to quickly. evan is still growing like a weed, weighing in at 17lbs 3oz and measuring 27 1/4 inches long. adding rice cereal has really helped him to plump up a bit. he has also started to enjoy peas. i hope he takes to the other veggies as well as he has to the peas.

the good thing about living in central florida is beautiful weather this time of year. it's been in the the 60's lately with lots of sunshine. i just had to take evan outside for a bit of fresh air. i was a good mommy and bundled him up in his warmest outfit (thanks aunt dess) and we weren't out there for too long. he really seemed to enjoy it and it made for some cute pictures. myer enjoyed it too!

evan has been trying very hard to sit up lately. he can balance for a little bit before he takes a tumble. most of the time he props himself up with one hand. he seems to have decided that it is no fun to play while lying down because he'll start to fuss after lying down for just a few minutes. once i sit him up, he's grins and giggles again. i'm sure he'll have it down pat very soon.

we've had a lot of fun taking pictures this month. evan has really started to notice the camera and starts to smile once i take it out. this has given us some really great pictures. i hope he keeps it up.

i hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving today. we stuffed ourselves full of food, family, and friends. our family certainly had a lot to be thankful for this year. in many ways, i don't know if i've ever felt truly as thankful as i do this year. evan got off to a rocky start but has done so amazingly well since we came home from the NICU, it's like nothing was ever wrong at all. i'm so thankful to have a child, but to have a healthy child...there really aren't words to explain just how thankful i am. God has been so good to us! happy thanksgiving from our blessed family to yours!

Little jumping bean

where has this thing been the last 4 months! seriously! i have finally found something that works. unlike many babies, evan is not a big fan of the swing, vibrating bouncy seat, floor activity gym thing, etc. he would usually tolerate these contraptions for a few minutes and then beg (i.e. scream) to get out. his usual favorite past time is to "stand" on your lap. this is not only tiresome but inconvenient for long periods of time. lately, he started "jumping" while standing on your lap. we decided it was time to invest in a jumparoo. this was money well spent. he LOVES it! it's the only thing that keeps him content when mommy needs to get something done or it's time for dinner.

he even falls asleep it it! as he's dozing off, he'll still jump now and then. it's pretty cute to watch. if only i could get the video's from my camera to play on my computer, you could see how much he loves this thing. so for all you mom's with little jumping beans of your own, get a jumparoo, you won't regret it!

Evan and the Tractor

our church has an annual hoe-down and chili cook-off. during last years event, it first slipped out that i was pregnant. i was asked to participate in the tug-of-war. i hadn't even gone to the doctor yet so i wasn't about to take any chances. this year i managed to get out of it again because i was feeding evan. maybe i can share my strength next year. anyway, the best part about the night was when our minister was playing with evan and decided to take him on the tractor (don't worry, it was stationary).

evan also got to spend some time with a sweet friend named chester. chester made evan the cutest little wooden potty chair. he tried to feed evan but it seemed to be a mommy only kind of day. still, it made for a really cute picture!

Mmmm, cereal!

evan had his 4 month check up and all is well. he weighed in at a svelte 14lbs 11oz and a long 27 inches. he's been running in the 50th percentile for his weight and he is off the charts for his height. long and thin like his papaw. no complaints here. i pray he doesn't have my food issues! our doctor did say he needs to double his birth weight by 6 months. so to help that more then 4lb weight gain along, we started evan on rice cereal.

i was really expecting the typical, counter productive type of feeding where everything that goes in, comes right back out. but this was not the case. he loved it. he was just like a little bird, opening his mouth for another bite. of course a little got pushed out in the swallowing process but for the most part, he did really good. i've learned we have to feed him fast. if you wait too long, he hands go right into his messy mouth, furthering the mess. i realize i'll get to a point eventually where i'll give up on keeping him clean while he eats because there will be food every regardless of what i do. but for now, i'm trying to keep him as clean as possible. we're going to keep on with the cereal for a month, then start adding in veggies after that. although it's exciting to see evan growing, this does make me miss the simplicity of just breastfeeding. it was so easy! i didn't have to do anything but pull up my shirt! those were the days :)

Is there a doctor in the house?

now i realize that by typical blog standards, i'm way late with this one but considering i typically blog once a month, this is a big deal for me. it's more of a way to share cute pictures of precious evan.

halloween for an infant is really kind of silly. it's totally for us parents! it's not like you can take the baby trick-or-treating. they would know the candy is for you (now we did have a pregnant woman and a lady by herself with two bags saying they were for her kids so i guess nowadays, trick-or-treating is a free for all). so basically for the sake of cuteness, you dress up the baby to show everyone just how cute they are. we of course were no exception. todd's grandmother had given us a set of baby scrubs before he was born. the plan was to have a picture taken of him in the scrubs, being held by the doctor. but since things didn't exactly go as planned when he was born, the scrubs were shoved in a bag and forgotten about.

as halloween neared, i eyed all of the cute little bunting outfits and feared my child would melt in the 80 degree nights we have in october here in central florida. though a sweating baby chili pepper would have been cute. while going through some forgotten things in evan's closet, i found the baby scrubs. perfect! light weight, comfortable, and free! we even had the stethoscope and baby crocs to complete the look. who knows, this could help to pave the way to a future career. besides, i'd rather have a son who's a doctor then a chili pepper!