falling back into our routine

We returned to Michigan and so did Autumn, our favorite season. Our little family enjoyed the remainder of our stay in Chicago (daddy joined us on the 17th), but it is so good to be back home! Unfortunately, it seems we couldn't leave Chicago without taking a souvenir along with us. Evie caught a virus which she so generously passed on to Dave and myself. We took our poor girl to the doctor who diagnosed her with croup. Our little peanut is doing much better now. We had our 9 month check up last week, and our little heavyweight is tipping the scale at around 18 pounds. She received the first round of a two part flu shot which will hopefully be beneficial in preventing future illnesses.

We happily jumped back into our routine and are enjoying our friends who we've missed while we have been away. We've been practicing walking and Evie can now walk with the help of her Sit to Stand Learning Walker (awesome invention, btw)! On most days Evie only takes one nap in the afternoon and typically goes to bed at 8 pm (hooray). Yesterday she started making her first consonant sounds!! It sounds like she's saying "PSH." I love it! She even spits a little when she says it :) Also, I noticed her little top tooth poking through! This little chick is growing up sooo fast.

We have been enjoying Autumn by visiting farms, cider mills, and orchards as much as we can. Dave had this past weekend off, so we headed to Dexter Cider Mill (twice) to enjoy cider and donuts. Evie and I also visited Three Cedars Farm on two occasions with friends. Both locations are extremely charming. I think I may have to take a break from these outings as it is possible that I have consumed a record breaking amount of sweets (in the form of sugar and cinnamon coated donuts) in the past 5 days. Nevertheless, we are really digging living in Michigan in the fall. The leaves have begun to change color, and I enjoy driving down the country roads admiring the massive trees and foliage. So much so that sometimes I accidentally swerve because I'm mesmerized by their beauty. I'm looking forward to enjoying as much time outside as I possibly can before the winter frost sets in and we're homebound. According to the forecast, we will be having at least a week of Indian Summer. We plan on taking full advantage of it.

we came across these trees when driving on the back roads by our home

dog days of summer

Dog Days

  

Definition: the hottest, most sultry days of summer. Also defined as a time period or event that is very hot   or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress.

beach babe

It has been sweltering in this part of the country, but life has not been dull. Evie seems to be grasping new skills, all the while developing quite the personality. She spends her days upright as she either is sitting or standing (with assistance). She can actually stand while holding onto furniture for more than a minute (I stopped counting after 60 seconds) without assistance from me.  Lying down actually is met with resistance (which makes changing her diapers quite a challenge). She is not yet crawling, but some how she finds a way to scoot across the floor at a snails pace on her bottom. Sometimes I find her up on all fours, rocking back and forth. Somedays she has stranger anxiety and other days, she seems perfectly content when someone else is holding her. She loves children, dogs, elmo, swimming, and food. Her delight with the aforementioned is quite obvious as she screams, squeals, and squawks repeatedly. This seems to startle animals and other children, but it is so cute. Just recently, she has begun to hide her face in my chest and put her arms around my neck when she is shy or tired. It's so amazing to see her interact with her environment. Sometimes she just sits on my lap, puts her forehead against mine, and giggles. My heart just melts whenever she smiles.

Evie's sleep and mine, as a result, has greatly improved!!!! Last night Evie slept 12 hours, only waking up once to eat. I could not believe it. What a difference sleep makes! I feel like a different person, and she wakes up with a smile on her face. I'm still rocking her to sleep at night, but I don't mind. I'm enjoying this age and being able to cuddle with her while she will allow it. 

daddy's girl

Dave has been working like a dog. He has had the last two weekends off, but he has been working 80 hours Monday through Friday. While he is not physically at the hospital on the weekends, he has dictations (patient notes) to do and lots of reading to catch up on. This leaves a few hours Saturday and Sunday to hang out with his two girls. We've been enjoying spending time as a family at the farmer's market (in both Ann Arbor and Plymouth), at the the pool, and enjoying time with other residents and their families.

Evie and I are beating the heat by hanging out at the pool. This girl is quite the fish! She loves kicking, splashing, and actually cries if I leave the water with her prematurely. It's quite the blessing that it has been so hot this summer as I don't think she would be as comfortable in the water if it were ice cold. It's so nice to have something to do with her that is literally just outside our front door.

We have visitors coming! Uncle Matt, Aunt Beth, cousins Katelyn, Christian, and Grandma and Grandpa are all coming to Ann Arbor this coming weekend. Dave and I composed a list of activities and places to visit. We're all very excited to spend time with family and introduce them to summer in Ann Arbor. You'll be hearing about our weekend adventures soon!

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!