3 months old and the auto show

***Quick side note: if you copy my version of the First Born survey, I am missing question 13 (thanks Heather) and 25 and 26 (thanks Andrea). I think the question is "What is the sex of your first child?" (after looking at Chris's blog). That's what I get for copying it off of MySpace. Since then, I have just re-numbered my survey.***

Today is Evan's 3 month birthday. He coos his thank yous to everyone that has wished him well today. It seemed fitting to post the First Born survey today (post below).

Yesterday, we went to the auto show downtown. Mike and I usually go every year so we figured Evan wouldn't mind it too much. We met Christina, Jeremy, and Cole down there and took in the many cars.

Christina and Cole immediately took to an SUV. She needs a vehicle with more room so that we can shop more!

Evan seems to have his eyes on other things

Mike and a big red egg. We have a slightly older egg (Prius) is silver. Mike said he was just checking out the head room. He loves these cars. I just like the gas mileage.

Christina and Cole checking out a sun/moon roof

Mike checking out another car

After a few hours at the show, we went to my dad's house where Evan borrowed a very slightly used plushy dog bed for a nap. My dad's dogs prefer the use of regular beds. He enjoyed it while we ate dinner and watched the NASCAR race where my boy, Jimmie Johnson won!

My First Born Survey

I did this already on my myspace page and then Chris put it on her blog so here ya go:

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Excited, happy tears
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? Never
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 27
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? home test
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Mike and Christina
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Yes
9. DUE DATE? Jan 7, 2007
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? No
11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Nothing for the first 7 months, I didn't want to eat. At the very end, chocolate
12. WHO IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? extended family (sorry!)
13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? no, I was going to take what I was given and hope he was healthy
14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 20
15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes
16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew
17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? nope, just had to go to the doctor all of the time because of my diabetes
18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Northside Hospital (where I work and where I was born)
19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? probably 30 if you count induction then the c-section but it was easy
20. WHO DROVE YOU THE THE HOSPITAL? Mike
21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Mike
22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? c-section I didn't want
23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? I had an epidural while induced then you have to get the good stuff for the c-section
24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?? 7 lbs even
25. DID YOUR CHILD HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS?? nope
26. WHAT DAY WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ON? December 12, 2006
27. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Evan Michael
28. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 3 months today

OK mommies repost this as "MY FIRST BORN" :)

A busy start to March

Evan playing his piano in the crib

A very happy musician

Lounging around after his bath

This has been a busy week. I started back to work full time and I can't remember the last time I was this tired. Evan sleeps good, about 6-7 hours each night with the nightly wake up around 3 or 4 AM. He usually goes to sleep between 9 or 10 PM. It is only 20 or 30 minutes that it takes to feed him but it kills my sleep cycle. Mike is feeling it too.

We took the bassinet to my mom's house on Tuesday evening, so since then, Evan has been sleeping in his room, in his crib. I had a harder time letting go than he did but it is working out great so far.

Evan's baptism date is almost set. Right now, it looks like he will be baptised on Sunday, May 13 at 4:00 PM. That day is also Mother's Day but it was the only day that was offered to me so I took it. I already have confirmation from my mom and Evan's godparents, Tim and Sharon (our sponsor couple when our marriage was convalidated in the church) that the day will work. This means that Evan will be 5 months old when he's baptised so I probably have to exchange his christening gown/baptismal outfit for the 2nd time.

Things are starting to fall back into place (from before Evan was here with us) and I'm almost completely healed from my c-section wound. I go back to the doctor on Wednesday so here's hoping for the best. For now, it's off to bed. The pictures are from yesterday and today. Have a good weekend!

Blogging Delay

So far, this is a busy week, re-adjusting to working full time. I will post updates and things tomorrow evening. Hope you all are having a good week!

Over the last week

On Tuesday, Mike, Evan and I took a long road trip to Virginia. Evan hung in there pretty well, only needing us to stop about 3 times to stretch out. Here are pictures from our trip.

Evan stretching out Wednesday, the next morning after the road trip

Evan and his great grandmother, Ila. She held him most of the time we were there. Both her and Evan enjoyed it very much.

Evan and mommy before cake Thursday, Mike's 28th birthday. I took a vacation from looking like a real person.

Daddy, Evan, and the birthday cake that Grandma Ila surprised Daddy with. They share a similar expression in this picture.

More time with Grandma Ila after cake

Charlie the cat, telling us to pack our bags on Thursday evening, because he was tired of us invading his space.

Grandma gave our two cats a scratching present since Charlie loves his. As you can see, Aaron and Sidney took right to it.

On Saturday, we finally let Evan out of the suitcase. We didn't have room for his car seat after we packed all his stuff. Nice fit, don't ya think?

Saturday evening, we went to Christina's house for a birthday celebration for Daddy (3/1) and Uncle Charlie (Christina's brother 3/2). Daddy and Evan decided to get into Cole's toys and try out Evan's new Bumbo tray.

Evan tried to sing us a few tunes on Cole's Kid's Bop (at least I think that's what it's called). He had a little trouble with the microphone. He loved it though because the entire time, he was kicking and looking at the picture below.

That's Evan on TV! The Kid's Bop has a video camera type thing in it so the kiddies can watch themselves sing.

Cole, too cool to hold the guitar the right way.

Sporting the mohawk

After music time, the PS3 was broken out. Cole was all into the one player game he thought he was playing while Mike actually played the game behind him.

Today, Evan unwinds.

All in all, our short trip to Virigina was fun. It was quiet... We didn't have internet access and the cell phone service was patchy at times. We did get to see the town of Quinton where Grandma Ila lives, meet some of the people she goes to church with, and see Mechanicsville and Williamsburg. We made a quick trip back through Greenville on Friday evening to visit Mike's father and step-mom, Jackie, and came home. Mike missed our house, especially his bed since he only slept in it one night when he arrived home from Haiti, before we left again.

Our tax filing day was Saturday, and let me say that it's a good thing that Evan came in December instead of his due date in January. Unfortunately, Mike had to return to work today and I return full time back to work tomorrow. I finally have to adjust back to my old life with the addition of my almost 3 month old.

My Apologies

Sorry! I forgot to blog that we left town shortly after Mike arrived back into the country. We went to Richmond to see Evan's great grandmother, Ila. I will post a few pictures and blog more later. Special kudos to Heather and our Falk family compadres in Houston for their wonderful Happy Birthday to Mike message! Blog more later.

Delayed Homecoming

Mike is, thankfully, back in the United States tonight. Him and 6 others didn't make the original flight out of Haiti and just got to Miami around 9:30 PM tonight. This means that he won't make it back to Atlanta until tomorrow sometime, if they can get a flight.

I still miss him dearly and can't wait until Evan and I can head to the airport to get him. I'm just glad we can talk by phone now. Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder.

Oh, The Places You'll Go

Cole and Evan: Before their naps
After their naps

With Aunt Christina

For some reason I have Dr. Seuss on the brain. Over the past two days, Evan and I have toured Georgia. We of course start out in our lovely Lawrenceville and have been through Snellville, Conyers, and Covington to visit Christina and Cole. With Christina and Cole, we went through McDonough and Locust Grove to shop at the Tanger Outlets.

Today, we drove through Lawrenceville, Dacula, Bethlehem and Bishop, and in the counties of Barrow, Oconee, and Morgan. We also rode in the car with Andrea and David to Watkinsville. I didn't know half these places existed just a few years ago and didn't even know there was a Morgan county until today!

We drove out to Andrea and David's to visit today and saw their mansion in the woods (It's a mansion compared to my one level at least). We went and had a nice Italian lunch, took a walk, and played trains. We had a good time!

The countdown until Mike returns is down to 2 days. Really, he'll be home Saturday but it will be around 8 PM so that counts as a day. I am so ready for him to be home. Our days out and about have helped me get through since I don't get to talk to him on the phone and only get one email a day updating me on the progress of the entire 24 person team in Haiti. Shopping has helped too and I'm the last person that needs to buy more things. Now I'm off to bed only to wake in a few hours for a feeding, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Manic Monday

Have you ever had one of these days? This wasn't today for Evan but it was a stressful one for his mom. I miss Mike dearly and he won't be home until Saturday night. One daily generic email with an update just doesn't cut it for me but I'll have to take it. I'll be glad when he's back home with us.

It was difficult for us to get up this morning and go over to my mom's house before I went to work. Work was stressful too. Evan seemed like he had a good time with his Lola though. The best part of my day was coming back to him.
Here's hoping your Monday's were better!

What'll Ya Have?

Today I took the day off of work and Mike and I took Evan out for a history lesson. First we went to the R.M.S. Titanic Exhibit at the Civic Center. It was neat to see all of the artifacts taken from the ocean floor and when you go in the exhibit, they give you a boarding pass with a passenger's name on it. At the end of the exhibit, you find out if your passenger lived or died. My lady was an actress in first class and she lived. Mike's guy was an orchestra player in second class and he went down with the ship. Mike told me that's how they coined the phrase, "and the band played on." I don't know if it's right or not but it sounds good to me. The exhibit wasn't as cool as the Bodies exhibit they had there last time but I learned a little something.

Afterwards, we took Evan to the famous Varsity. Granted, he slept most of the time after being awake during the entire Titanic Exhibit but he brought home a few souvenirs with him. Mike and I had a couple of servings of cholesterol and some Frosted Oranges. Evan got a hat and a straw.

Since we've been home, we have been packing Mike's bags for his trip to Haiti. Evan and I are taking him to the airport at 3:00 AM in the morning and then he will be back next Saturday evening. I will get a daily email update but probably won't get to talk to him. Please help me pray that he has a safe trip and returns home quickly to us.

Ladies Man

I have no idea what was going on here. He almost looks like Mini Me in this picture.

Balmex, changing pad, bib, wedding ring... the perfect man!

Come and get me!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Mike and I were both off from work today and took Evan for pictures at Target and a nice lunch at Longhorn. I spent a fortune on the pictures because they came out so good. He was quite the charmer, when he kept his eyes open. He wore the stripes for his pictures and it looked great. We decided on going out to lunch to avoid the crowds that tonight will surely bring. After lunch, I spent all my money on picture frames for these pictures I won't have back for another week and a half. Luckily I'm working some so I have money for all this spending.

Love to all the ladies from Evan!

Exercise

Welcome Baby Derrick!

I stole this picture off of Derrick's myspace page. One of his buddies took it and posted it. Too bad you can't really see baby Derrick. Derrick George Sinclair, III was born to Katy and Derrick yesterday, Wednesday, 2/7/07 at 10:59 AM. He weighed 7 lbs, 15 oz and is 22 inches long.

I can't wait to meet the little guy and see a better picture, but I'll take what I can steal.

On less important news about me, I made it through an entire day of work yesterday, 7:00 AM - 3:45 PM. I didn't cry and only had a little bit of trouble remembering how to do my job while staring at pictures of my Evan. My coworker, Lynnette, has decorated my bulletin board with pictures of Evan, since she's been using my office while I've been out.

Tomorrow, Evan has his 2 month doctor's appointment and his shots. I don't look forward to it but I'll be ready to comfort him.

A slight delay of plans

Last night, after my blogging about going back to work, I ended up with chills, spaghetti arms, vomiting, and other things. Evan was hungry and upset with me but I could hardly move. I had to call Mike to come home from work where he proceeded to get the same symptoms. We both slept fitfully through the night and most of today. Evan has been sleeping right along with us and been a good baby overall. Luckily, he hasn't caught anything and seems healthy. I'm going to try and go to work tomorrow.

On the good news side, Katy and Derrick's baby boy will arrive tomorrow morning.

I hope everyone else had a good day.

Back to work :(

Who could leave a butt like this and not be sad?

Tomorrow, I start back to work part-time. I will be working a full day Tuesday and Wednesday. If all goes well Friday, I'll go in for a few hours after Evan's 2 month doctor's appointment. This morning, I went by work and talked to my boss and went by the doctor's office to get my back to work paperwork signed. Evan was the best baby and impressed everyone. It makes me so sad that I have to go back so soon. Just talking about it makes my eyes well up. I wasn't planning on going back this early since my FMLA ends 3/6/07, but we need the money. Credit card debt (all mine!), 2 car payments, a mortgage, and a new baby can do that to you.

Evan also cracked his first good smile at me today! It immediately brought me to tears though, both happy and sad tears. Tomorrow morning, Evan will visit my mom for a few hours until Mike is done getting his car's oil changed and things. I'm sure when 4 PM rolls around, I'll be cursing 285 and 85 traffic trying to get back home to my 2 month old baby boy.

Happy Birthday Aiden!

Sarah and Aiden

Aiden and his smash cake. He was very polite about eating it.

With big sister, Katie

What Evan did most of the party

Today was Aiden's 1st birthday party. Aiden is the baby boy of my good friend, Sarah. I've known Sarah since my freshman year of high school. She was the first person I met when I joined the youth group at good ole Saint John Neumann. The party was appopriately football themed and Aiden got some good gifts, including the Georgia Robeeze type shoes he's wearing in the first picture. Evan slept, mostly, and when he was awake, just stared at the ceiling, walls, and other people. Happy Birthday, Aiden!

Visiting Katy and Derrick

Evan and his Aunt Katy
Taking a break on the couch

Sleeping in unnamed baby's Bumbo

On Wednesday, we drove down to Valdosta to spend some time with Katy and Derrick. Mr. Unnamed baby did not make his appearance but we are hoping any time now. We had a good visit and Evan got to use the baby's travel bed, pack-n-play, and Bumbo chair. Katy and Derrick were gracious hosts as always.

While we were there, Mike realized that he had a nail in his tire and it could not be repaired. Luckily it was a slow leak and we were able to drive back to Gwinnett with no problems. We stopped at Costco so Mike could get a new tire for free with his warranty and it took 2 hours! Evan was a good baby but had a horrible diaper. He ended up wearing some of the contents on the outfit you see above. It is amazing how babies can manage to get the dirty diaper contents on their chest, even when you're watching them like a hawk.

Anyways, thanks again Katy and Derrick. We look forward to meeting "Baby to be named later" when he gets here! Evan enjoyed meeting you.