there's no place like home

playing with grandpa

Evie and I are back to Ann Arbor after a month in Chicago. It was fantastic seeing friends and family for four weeks, but it feels great to be back home with Dave and back in our routine. I am super thankful to have gotten my thesis revisions done (I should be expecting that diploma in a few short weeks), and I'm thankful to my parents who watched Evie as I schlepped around Chicago turning in paperwork and stayed busy disputing statistical analyses with my thesis committee member. Ugh...I'm so glad it's over!

Great news! Evie has teeth! The bottom two teeth have broken through the gums (although I have no proof in the form of photographs). Apparently she does not like to show them off, but she definitely likes to use them as I have found that it is more difficult to feed her when she chomps down on the spoon with her teeth and won't let go. No more gummy smile, but it's so nice to see her growing up.

If any of you have seen us lately, you probably have noticed that Evie is wearing a dress. I have decided to dress my daughter in this manner because 1) I love dresses; 2) She owns a lot of them; and 3) almost everyone mistakes her for a boy. Even in dresses, people still insist on referring to her as a boy or a "he." Just today Evie was donning an ensemble that I thought was quite dainty (dress covered in flowers with matching bloomers), and this woman  repeatedly refers to my little girl as a he!   This past weekend was no different. My friend Lyndsey and I accompanied Evie to the pool. She wore her one piece bathing suit (when have you seen a boy wear one of those?) and a girl about 7 or 8 years old approaches us to ask if Evie "is a girl or a boy." When I answered that little Evie is in fact a little lady, the young girl responded, "Oh because my Opie thought she was a boy."
"Is Opie your little brother?" I asked.
"No, Opie is my grandma." she answered
 Opie, only a few feet away and in earshot of our conversation, waves to me and smiles. Seriously!?

In more positive news, sleep has improved for both myself and Evie as she has only been getting up once during the night. Well, it's unclear if she is waking up more than once because I have turned the baby monitor off, but I get up once per night to feed her which has definitely improved my functioning. Happy mommy = happy baby. I feel like I have a lot more energy now to attack the day with her. I have felt like a zombie for the past 6 months, and I have forgotten what it is like to be normal! The pediatrician informed me at our 6 month visit that Evie should be sleeping through the night. She recommended that I let her cry it out, and I was very apprehensive. I still cannot stomach her cries when she is falling asleep at night, so we typically do this song and dance: I rock her, she is inconsolable, I put her down in her crib and she wails, I walk away for a while to preserve my own sanity, and then the cycle begins again until she finally falls asleep. Some nights are very long, while others only require one cycle. I have found myself doing very exhaustive things like going to the pool (sometimes twice a day) so that I tire her out. Unfortunately, the only person I am tiring out is myself. 

enjoying her elmo dvd

Since we have been back to Ann Arbor, we have been busy with play dates, long walks, swimming, enjoying some time with daddy, and attending the Ann Arbor Art Fair. I have found myself really liking Ann Arbor since I have come back this past Thursday. It's hard to believe that this time last year I was sitting in our walk-in closet crying (so that Dave wouldn't see me) because I missed Chicago so much. Don't get me wrong, I still miss Chicago, but I'm so thankful to have met so many awesome friends here that it actually feels like home. When I was back in Chicago hanging out with my friends and visiting my old place, I got a little teary and was really missing living in the city and being near friends and family, but things are a bit different now that we have Evie. It's so convenient that it only takes about 15 minutes to drive just about anywhere. It's also so nice to know and be close with other moms. Most importantly, it is so nice to not have to work so that I can enjoy spending time with Evie. I make sure to thank Dave periodically that his job allows for this. I also feel pretty terrible that he works so hard and around 80+ hours/week. Ah, the life of an ortho resident (and wife).

In addition to entertaining Evie all day, I've also been staying busy organizing/decorating our place and playing on Pinterest. For those of you who are not familiar with Pinterest, I'm warning you now- this will eat your time. Let me know if you need an invite, as I can provide that for you. I have also been doing some shopping around Ann Arbor. I have found a lot of great deals at Found and Treasure Mart. If you like vintage items and antiques, you need to visit these shops. After all, it's important to support your local businesses.

reading at starbucks with the best of them

Attention all moms out there, I need to share information about a wonderful program called Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  I signed Evie up  a few months ago, and as a result, we are sent one book each month, for free! This is a wonderful program that promotes literacy. I know that the program is not available in all areas, but it is worth looking into.  I've already gotten a lot of use out of the three books we have received. Who knew books would be able to hold Evie's attention (well, most of the time)? There have been instances when taking a book away from her (because we had already read it 4+ times) brings her to tears. Whenever I bring the books out she kicks her feet with excitement! She cracks me up.

Ok, time for me to get back to my motherly duties.  Auf wiedersehen! 

killing time

Tomorrow will mark three weeks since I came to Chicago with Evie in order to turn in my thesis revisions. Needless to say, I am ready to turn this thing in and get on with my life. Right now I am patiently waiting for one of my committee members to read over the revisions she "suggested" so that I can turn in my final copy and finally get back home. It looks like the earliest this is going to happen is Monday. In the meantime, I'm trying to make the best of this visit.

happy 4th of july!

Evie has been enjoying her time in Chicago by visiting with friends, family, attending a parade, visiting the local swimming pool, and teething. I have been thinking that she has been teething for some time now, but I have continually been wrong. I am now finally able to feel and am also able to see her bottom two teeth about to erupt through her gums. Go Evie!!

In other news, sleep continues to be an issue as Evie is still waking about every 3-4 hours during the night to eat. Per the doctor's recommendations, I was told to let her "cry it out" but I think I'm going to have to wait to return to Michigan to try this out (when Dave can provide me with some emotional support). 

my silly girl

grrr! it's a jungle out there!

During the past week, both Evie and I caught something awful and were feeling pretty crummy. This has been the third time in her life that she has been sick. I thought breast milk fed babies aren't supposed to get sick! After two boxes of tissues and half a bottle of baby tylenol, both of us are feeling better. Thank God for modern medicine!

In my free time, I have been working on making children's hair clips and headbands. Shout out to my beautiful God-daughter who was an amazing product model! I have also been hitting up some garage sales and scoring some awesome baby goods. 

Dave has just begun his second year (out of five) as a resident. Apparently, being a second year ortho resident carries the reputation of being the most demanding. I'll be keeping you informed as to whether that proves true. 

beautiful abigail

Until next week!