Guess what!?!

Once again, this is going to be a bunch of random thoughts. Kind of like my journal from the 4th grade my mom recently found. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it and reliving the exciting events of my 4th grade year. Look forward to that.

Guess what!??! (Apparently this is how I started most of my 4th grade entries, so we'll keep with that format.)

Guess what!?!? Evelyn finally had her 12 month well visit (only 2 months late, thank you Florida Blue). We went to a new pediatrician (again, thank you Florida Blue). Everything went pretty well. I was nervous about meeting the new doctor. I am not the average, go-with-the-flow parent, so there are always a lot of questions on my end. I would say I'm a little more than 50% satisfied with this new pediatrician. I'm learning to just let some things go in one ear and out the other.

Anyway, Evelyn is growing like a weed and doing just great. She is 21 pounds 13 oz (46%) and 31 3/4 inches tall (95%). I already knew she was pretty tall, considering she can now reach things on the edge of the kitchen counter and open the pantry door. It's always exciting to me to see the data.

Guess what!?!? Evelyn and I survived three days home by ourselves. I don't like it when Chris is gone, but it is often necessary in our lives. But, we kept ourselves busy with playing outside, reading books, going to Disney, shopping, and a Starbucks date. We also watched a little more TV than usual even though Evelyn has about 5 minutes of interest in the TV. I enjoyed Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Doc McStuffins. :)

Guess what?!?! With Evelyn's expanding language skills, I've really been thinking about the process of teaching our children. Why is it that we (as a society) are so interested in our children making animal sounds? Who really cares what a cow says? I'm pretty sure Evelyn gets thoroughly annoyed when we ask her 5 times a day. And what about the animals that we don't how they sound? A turtle, for instance. How does a turtle sound? Or giraffe?

It's a big responsibility to be teaching a youngin'. I often think about what would happen if I taught her the wrong names for items or the wrong color names. How do we even know that blue is actually blue? How do we know that Adam actually named a giraffe a giraffe? Maybe we've been doing it wrong all these years.

Guess what?!?! That's all I have to say for now. Maybe I will have more deep and elegant thoughts in the future. Maybe

Lazy, Sunny, Florida Days

Days like today make me want to lay on the beach reading a good book and eating watermelon. It's beautiful, overcast, warm (almost hot), and I'm exhausted from a fun week of traveling. However, when such lazy days at the beach aren't possible with a little one. So instead, we've been enjoying a lazy day inside, I bought watermelon and a load of other fruit at the store, and we're planning an afternoon in the pool for the first time this year.

We had a great trip to Illinois. Evelyn did great on the flights and got way too much attention during the week. We took her to the St. Louis Zoo while we were there, which she loved! The monkeys, fish, and birds were the biggest hit.

My sister's wedding was beautiful and everything went great. It was fun to be with all the family, have all the grandkids together, and watch my sister glow. She was such a beautiful bride. I'll have pictures to post later in the week.

Now I need to dig out my bathing suit and get ready to jump in.

May

May is here! Here in Florida, that means the beginning of the hot, humid, and rainy season. Let the sweat pour!

May also means it's wedding month for my sister! Next week is the big day! We're headed up to Illinois on Monday to start the festivities. I can't wait!

I've made a challenge to myself for the month of May. I'm going to limit my time on my phone (mainly Facebook and Instagram) for only when Evelyn is asleep. I am so guilty of stopping in the middle of playing with her because I have a sudden impulse to check Facebook. That is ridiculous! So I'm trying to keep my phone close by so I can hear phone calls and text messages and have the camera ready, but not be so hooked that I am carrying it around everywhere. I need to be less attached and more focused on my daughter and responsibilities at home.

Speaking of Evelyn, she's going to be 13 months tomorrow! I'm not going to do monthly updates anymore, but I can't help track the months in my head. She is a growing, talking, and CLIMBING girl! She is learning new words every day. Some are just repeating what we're saying, but she is able to put meaning to a lot more words now. My favorite things she's saying right now are: "bash" (bath) "bird" "tank do"(thank you).

I'm working on a summer bucket list. Some of things on my list are fun - visit to the splash park, going to New York City, lots of time in the pool, picnic in the yard. Some things are necessities for my sanity - cleaning out and organizing all closets, cleaning the grout, cleaning and organizing toys, transitioning Evelyn to the crib/her own sleeping space. Some things are for my business - reach out to local businesses, at least one party a month, make more demonstration videos. Hopefully it will be a fun, productive, and profitable summer!