Eva Charlotte's First Christmas

Christmas is such a special time of the year.  Not only is it a meaningful time for Christians to celebrate Christ's birth, but it is a wonderful time to give presents and spend time with family.  Many traditions take place during this time of the year as well, and it makes the holiday season that much sweeter.  Since we've been married, we've gotten to come up with a few of our own traditions as well.  One of the traditions is to buy a new ornament each Christmas to put on our tree, that represents the past year.  Obviously this year, we had to buy one related to baby Eva.  I found this adorable one at Target this year, and I couldn't pass it up!  ( One side of the star says "2013" and the other side says "Baby's First Christmas" )

I haven't started taking down Christmas decorations yet, but we've been slowly recuperating from all of the festivities!  Being married and having to go to both of our families' get-togethers is hard enough.  Add a baby into the mix, and it gets a whole lot more complicated!  I feel like we were going on a 3 day weekend trip with all of the supplies we had to lug around with us.

Overall, Christmas was fantastic!  The food was great, but the company was amazing.  We got to spend some quality time with family, and it was so needed.  Eva really enjoyed playing with all of the tissue paper and wrapping paper, and even got to open a few presents of her own.  We are so lucky to have such generous families who lavish our daughter with such lovely gifts.  She is definitely going to be one of the best dressed babies ever!  My sister bought Eva the cutest pink sparkly Toms and the most adorable fuzzy baby Uggs for when she gets a little bigger.  I am going to melt just a little more inside when she gets to wear them.  We also got many fun books for Eva to read when she gets bigger.  I have already read all of them to her multiple times... mostly because I think they are so fun also!  When did little kid books get so creative and funny?

Daddy daughter pictures are the BEST

Eva and I on Christmas Eve at my parents' house

I remembered to video tape some of Eva on her first Christmas, but honestly I wanted to enjoy each moment in the present too much to want to take the time to video tape.  It would have been awesome to rewatch her whole first Christmas unfold on video, but alas, we only have a few small clips that I will cherish forever.  It's hard to choose sometimes.  There are so many moments that are so precious that I wish I could capture them on video or in a picture, but getting up to go get the camera can compromise the moment.  It's almost like I will miss it if I get up and leave, even for a second.  Plus, you can never recreate those moments on film, especially with a 5 month old.  We did manage to get a couple of traditional Christmas pictures, as well as a Santa picture!  Eva was so happy to sit on Santa's lap.  She looked up at him and smiled when I went to go hand her to him.  She might have been a little scared of all the elves trying to get her to smile and look at the camera though.  It was so precious.

Eva's first Santa picture!

Eva playing with the tissue paper :)

The best Christmas present I received this year was Eva saying "ma" for the first time.  I am so proud, overjoyed, ecstatic, amazed, warmed, and in love with the fact that she is able to say mom already.  I realize she doesn't associate me with this term yet, but the fact that she will say it on command now makes my heart melt.  How can something so small and so needy give me so much joy without even trying?

Festive 5 Months!

Happy 5 months to my darling Eva!  Each day, she brings me more and more joy.  I can't imagine life without her.  I feel like she is starting to look less like me or my baby pictures, but I still call her my "little clone." It's so fun to watch her little personality develop as we learn her likes and dislikes.  Overall, she is an extremely curious baby that always has to be looking around.  She makes great eye contact, and loves running errands with me.  She is so adventurous and gets bored easily.  There is always entertaining to do when she is awake!  Oddly enough, the vacuum is quite entertaining for her.  She enjoys watching me vacuum or dry my hair with extreme interest.  If she starts getting fussy or bored, we just whip out the vacuum and BOOM... instantly enamored.  Eva is starting to use her hands a lot more lately.  She can pick up things off the floor and stick them in her mouth... great.  She loves to pull her pacifier out of her mouth and pop it back in over and over.  I think it's some sort of game to her.  She started being able to give us high fives as well, and it's the cutest thing ever.  It melts my heart every time.

I know it's been a while since I last blogged, so I will try to recap the past month the best I can.  Thanksgiving was a little overwhelming.  There were so many people at my husband's family gathering, and I think Eva was a little overwhelmed.  She was fussy for what seemed like the entire time, and did not want to nap AT ALL.  I am so bummed because I did not get to take a picture of her Thanksgiving outfit!  I made her a cream and brown colored tutu, and she looked so adorable!  I actually had to change her out of it within the first hour we were there because she peed through her diaper on it!  Little stinker.  I'm also bummed because I feel like I didn't get to spend as much time visiting with everyone because she was requiring so much attention.  I think that Christmas will go over a little better, but we will see!  

Eva is starting to enjoy books a lot more now.  Before, she was simply too squirmy to let you sit and read her a book.  Now, you can hold her interest temporarily.  She still loves the alphabet song, music, pressing keys on my computer or parents' piano, her stuffed doll, water bottles, riding horsey back on our shoulders, standing up, and "the poop dance."  For those of you who don't know what the poop dance is, it's a little tune I made up to entertain her while I bicycle her legs.  When she was first born and was pooping all the time, I wanted to try to make sure she got all her poop out before I changed her diaper.  So I would bicycle, bounce, stretch, and scrunch her legs up while I sang to her.  Even now, she still loves it and thinks it's hilarious. 

As far as eating goes, it's going a lot better!  She is eating solids in the morning and in the evening.  So far, Eva has gotten to eat baby oatmeal, bananas, and avocado.  Tomorrow we are going to start sweet potatoes!  I already know she is going to love it.  I love watching the reaction on her face when she gets to try a new food for the first time.  It makes me want to give her a new food every day, but I know that's not safe.  I never realized how fun it would be to watch her experience ordinary items for the first time with such excitement.  It really makes the day to day things in life so much more entertaining.

Here are a few shots from this past month.  A little sneak peak into our life!

Here's a short clip of Eva babbling after eating her oatmeal.

And finally, here are her 5 month chalkboard pictures! 

Her chunky thighs make my heart smile!

That smile....