Evie: 15 Months

What a fun summer we have had with our little girl! At times it has been SO HOT (welcome to the south) so we haven't been able to get out of the house much, but nonetheless we have had a good time watching our sweet baby continue to grow and learn new things!

Her personality is really starting to come out too! She is determined and sassy and stubborn and sweet and funny. She loves to play peek-a-boo and has killer dance moves and she has discovered how fun it is to scream like a little pterodactyl. She definitely has a dramatic side and has already figured out how to try to get her way. We have already had one battle of wills that resulted in her screaming and crying for 35 minutes because she refused to say "please." Whew are we in for it! You can go ahead and start praying for us now (especially her daddy).

Next week, she gets to start going to Mother's Day Out. I am so excited about this for her! Holt already loves it and I think she will too---the structure and socialization will be so good for her. Plus, Mama gets a break twice a week! Woohoo!

Over the last few months, we:

*hosted Evie's first birthday party!

* went to the bug exhibit at the Clinton Library in Little Rock. Both the kids loved it!

* celebrated summer birthdays with the Lowery crew
* went to our annual Jordan family reunion

* took family pictures to celebrate having a ONE year old! I highly recommend SarahGrace Sharp--she does fantastic work!

*celebrated father's day and Daniel's 30th birthday (I can't find my pictures! I wonder if someone deleted them...)
*got to participate in the VIP cookie dough tasting at Bliss Cupcakes (thanks Kerri and Taylor)!

*played in the kiddie pool outside

*went to Target with both kids by myself for the first time

*celebrated 4th of July with our cousins up in NWA
*went to the local library for the first time

*created sensory bins to help pass the time stuck inside while it has been super hot outside

*ate donuts with Poppa (Evie's great-grandpa)

*went to Vacation Bible School at our church
*Evie got to be an only child for a week while Holt stayed at RoRo & Melly's house

*I celebrated my 28th birthday

*we celebrated Holt's 3rd birthday

*we traveled to Conway for one last "hurrah" before MDO

*Evie started going to Mother's Day Out

Her vocabulary has exploded! She can say: uh-oh, Bubba, Holt, Mama, Dad/Daddy, bubble (Bubble Guppies), bug, more, RoRo, Melly,  bye bye and hi (hi dad/bye dad are her favorites), baby, vroom vroom, thank you, please, that's cold!, what's that? (50 million times a day), hot!, shoes, diaper, hold me

She has several teeth now! She has 4 on the top, 4 on the bottom, and all her molars. Just waiting on her I-teeth and 2-year molars and then she's done! Because of ALL those teeth coming through, she hasn't been sleeping the best. But, I think we are finally coming out on the other side!

weight: 21 lbs (45th percentile)              *she has hit a MAJOR growth spurt! Normally she's in the
height: 31 inches (60th percentile)            15th percentile for both!*

Favorites: *dancing to music *Moana and Trolls and Bubble Guppies *her bubba *mama and daddy *being outside *jewelry--girl loves her bling! *shoes--she will come to me carrying her shoes and say "shoooo" wanting to wear them! I told Daniel he was in trouble already ;) *baths *pacis--she normally has a Paci in her mouth and at least one in her hand. For nap and bed we have about 4 pacis in there at all times. That will be fun to wean her off that!

Sleeping: This has been kind of everywhere this summer. She has been teething a lot, which has made it tough. We did FINALLY go down to one nap a day, but it's been kind of back and forth all summer. For a few weeks she would still need two naps and then she would go down to one and then back to two. But eventually we worked out a system where she has officially dropped down to one nap. She does sleep all night (thank goodness teething never interfered with that) from about 6:30/6:45pm--7:15/7:30am so I am more than ok with the days being a little rough. She is a very light sleeper like her daddy, so that makes it a little more challenging too, but overall I'm just happy she sleeps at night!

Feeding: She is still a great eater. She definitely went through a growth spurt this summer, but I think it's slowing down now. She eats a waffle and banana for breakfast with milk then maybe has a mid-morning snack of goldfish or cheerios. For lunch she has a peanut butter sandwich, a pouch, and one other side (pretzels, string cheese, raisins). After nap she has milk and another snack and then she eats whatever we eat for dinner. Thankful for another good eater!

Typical day:

7/7:30 AM   wake up
breakfast
playtime/watch TV a little
10:45/11AM   lunch
11:45PM   nap
1:30/2PM  wake up and have snack
quiet downtime until Bubba wakes up (about 3PM)
playtime
5/5:30PM dinner
6/6:15PM  bathtime
6:30/6:45  bedtime

Photo dump:

Holt:"Sissy, I give you a kiss!" Evie: "noooo!!"

man she's cool

She LOVES the swing at church! Funny since she hated it as a baby...

"bye daddy!"

girlfriend loves her jewelry and shoes...already!

she has awesome fine motor skills and can balance the ball on the t-ball stand

sharing popsicles

washing daddy's car while our new floors were being installed

watching daddy mow

sweet friends at church in matching outfits! L to R: Evie, Emma, and Everly

silly girl!

i pray they always love each other like this

sweet girl!

they love baths together!

cheese!

I can't believe she is ours

always on the go

sweet siblings

they were over pictures by this point

me and my girl

she is definitely a daddy's girl though!

Evie Elizabeth, 

You have amazed me this summer! You have become more sassy and spunky, taking after your Aunt Hannah, and WAY more vocal! You really understand what is happening around you and you're starting to figure out how to communicate with words. You already loves shoes and jewelry and babies and having your hair brushed--a true girly girl! Oh, and you love to twirl and dance whenever music is on. You adore your daddy and your Bubba and you love to snuggle with me too. You are growing up before our eyes and we couldn't be more proud of you. You are such a precious, precious gift and somedays I stare at you and tear up because I can't believe you're ours! We love you to the moon and back our little Evie-girl! 

Love, Mama

Holt Turns THREE

THREE.

Y'all. My mama heart can't handle the fact that it's been three years since I first laid eyes on this beautiful child of mine. The one who made me a mama.

1095 days and 26, 280 precious (and let's be honest, some not so precious) hours with him. He has taught me more in the last three years than just about any other human being has in my 28 years on this earth. Because of him, I have a greater understanding of God's unconditional love for me as His child (and how His heart must hurt when I disobey or make bad choices).  Because of him, I have a better understanding of how selfish I am as a human, and I have learned what it truly means to have a servant heart--to put someone else's needs before my own (pretty much all the time).

Motherhood is a calling. It is THE HARDEST thing I have ever done. But it's also the most JOYFUL and REWARDING thing I've ever done too. Motherhood is having your heart walking around outside your body. And this one right here started it all. From the moment I heard his tiny heart beating on that very first ultrasound to the moment I heard his first cry to the moment of tucking him into his big boy bed.

ALL. THE. FEELS.

So what is Holt up to at three years old?

He has a big heart--he is seriously one of the sweetest kids I've ever met. He is very in tune with people's emotions and will say, "Mama, you mad?" or "Mama, you happy?" Or he will notice others and ask why they are mad or sad.

He is extremely inquisitive. I know most 3 years olds ask lots of questions because that's just their brain exploding with learning a whole bunch of things at once. But, my word! Not only is Holt a typical 3 year old, but he is his daddy's child. Meaning, it's like questions on questions on questions. ALL. DAY. LONG. "Mama, what is this?" "It's a bug Holt." "What kind of bug?" "A locust." "Why is it a locust?" "Because that's how God made it." "Why is that how God made it?" Etc, Etc, Etc....
Sometimes I just have to go in my closet and close the door to just breathe for a second.

He has started showing physical affection. He will consciously come give me a hug or want to cuddle on the couch. And at least once a day (but usually much more) he'll say "Mama, I give you a kiss?" And then, "Mama, I give you a butterfly kiss?" And then, "Mama, I give you an eskimo kiss?" Gah, it just absolutely melts me. Everytime.

He definitely thrives on routine and everything being in its place. He is not very keen on change. We have had LOTS of change this year, but he has handled it like a champ. Daniel got a new job and we moved to a new church with new people, we moved to a new house (back into Fort Smith), he got his tonsils and adenoids taken out, and he moved out of his crib into a big boy bed. That's a lot for a little kid to handle and I have to say I have been so proud of him.

He still loves lawnmowers. Everytime we go to Lowe's, we stop and let him "ride" every single one. He has started expanding his love for trucks though--dump trucks, cement trucks, fire trucks, semi trucks, you name it. Oh, and airplanes and helicopters. We live close to a military base so we typically have fly overs by our house and he always tells me, "Mama, some day I want to drive an airplane."

We have started working on memorizing Bible verses with him. Since January, he has memorized three verses and we are working on the fourth. This has been such a sweet time with him! And it helps me memorize them too.

He loves to watch TV. During the summer, it's more of a struggle to fill our time with other things (mainly because Evie makes it harder to get out of the house) but once the school year gets going we stay busy with Mother's Day Out and BSF and playdates. He still loves Daniel Tiger, but is slowly expanding to Bubble Guppies and a few educational shows on Amazon Prime. He also loves Trolls and Moana. And still loves 101 Dalmatians and Lady & the Tramp.

Probably the biggest news this year is that he is potty trained!! We still put on pull-ups for nap and nighttime but other than that, he is in underwear and fully goes to the potty without prompting! Also, he 's a little obsessed with going in the urinal (LOL).

He still takes one nap a day from 12/12:30pm-3:00pm. I usually have to wake him up! Bedtime is till 7:30pm and he normally sleeps til 7:30/8am. He is a really good sleeper!

I have started writing down some of the funny things Holt says! Enjoy!
 "Mama/Daddy, you hur (hear) me?"
"Daddy how you make that fire? Because daddy is a man, son. Holt is a man."
"How you doin dad?"
"Don't worry it bout it mama"
"I need to put on my swim-soup (swimsuit)"
"Mama is drinking out of the toilet daddy" (referring to when I had a stomach virus)

His vocabulary and understanding of what is happening around him is astonishing to me. He is to the point now that I can have little conversations with him which is crazy! I cherish those little moments of asking about what he learned at church or Vacation Bible School or what all he did on his latest adventures with Melly and RoRo.

Weight: 36 lbs. (85th percentile)
Height: 38 1/4 inches (75th percentile)

Holt Parker,

I am so proud of you. You have handled this last year so incredibly well! You are a great big brother to Evie and have started trying to "play" with her in the playroom. You love to have tickle fights with her and chase her around the house. You love to spend time with me and daddy but you also are so brave in doing things by yourself or with new friends. You are so smart and I can't wait to see how much you learn in "school" this year! You fit so perfectly into our family and we are so glad you're ours! Love you to the moon and back little man!

Love, Mama

Photo dump (from the last 6 months):