Evynn is ONE

I know I've already posted about her 12 month update and her party and so on, but I just cannot fathom that we have a ONE year old! The last year has been the absolute best and definitely the hardest year ever. I remember when she was the tiniest baby and would only sleep in our arms, eat for 5 min at a time but CONSTANTLY, and cried all the time without any clue as to what was wrong. Now I look around and have a walking, talking, playing, girl who sleeps great and has no time to be held. I cannot believe the challenges, joy, milestones, and growth we've experienced this year.

Sweet Evynn,
You have taught us so much! The second you were born you taught us a deeper love than we could imagine, and that is a wonderful picture of how God loves us! The first few months were full of pure exhaustion, frustration, and sacrifice... definitely sacrifice. Thank you for teaching us this huge lesson in life to sacrifice our own time and energy in order to provide for and care for YOU! We also smiled at the littlest milestones-your smile, your laugh, holding your head up, rolling over, etc. We spent hours sitting on the floor with you, cheering you on the roll over :) As you got older we learned from each other what we all needed! You continued to teach us how to sacrifice ourselves, and how to play and be silly. You've made us realize how quickly time passes and how we have to be present in all times. I so miss that tiny 8 pound baby who wanted to cuddle constantly but I love seeing your sweet, crazy personality come through! I love seeing you study something and try to figure it out. I love seeing you take your first steps, work your mouth to get a word out, try new food, and best of all-show us your love through your wet, slobbery kisses. You're a dream to us, baby girl!

get your tissues ready! something about a cheesy song makes everyone tear up, am i right!?

27 things

27 things about Cody for his 27th birthday! 

1) Cody LOVES the Lord. Not like the way everyone in west Texas says they do. He genuinely Sits and meditates on the glorious gift that Jesus gave us and speaks it to anyone and everyone so passionately with tears in his eyes. You can't listen to a sermons by him without feeling moved.

2) he LOVES his girls.. Myself and Evynn. He makes that very known. I know he loves me without a doubt. But every night when we lay Evynn down to sleep he repeats "I love that sweet girl so much".

3) he serves his heart out. Whether it's helping me hang banners for a party I'm planning, changing evynns diaper at 3 am, or talking to the poor for hours in the beating sun, he's there and serving his heart out.

 4) He loves and hates politics. He'll talk your ear off about it but gets so angry at the same time.

5) he can quote anything. Remember the Titans? Done. Or any of the hundred episodes of the office, he can quote a whole episode.

6) he's athletic. Unlike his wife ;) he played all sports back in the day and now enjoys some pick up basketball or working out. I hope our (boys, someday?) get this trait.

7) he loves technology. While we don't own all gizmos and gadgets, he loves researching Apple watches and new fancy cameras and what not.

8) wants everything organic. Once while I was at work he traded out EVERYTHING and bought organic, mayonnaise, shampoo.. Everything! It's impossible to find junk food at our house!

9) he reads so much. Which goes hand and hand with his mass amount of knowledge in theology. Seminary is partly to help this but he reads several books a week

10) he won't admit it, but he's kind of a picky eater ;) he has mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. I will give him credit for growing to like mayonnaise, oatmeal, and a few other things in our marriage.

11) he's an expert cleaner. He definitely is the tidier one between the two of us. Perfectly organized closet, spotless counter tops, folded and hung laundry.. All him.

12) he loves to travel. Like I've said before, we discussed our desires to travel before we got married. Of course we aren't able to constantly travel but we so treasure the few trip a year we take. I'm so fortunate for a husband who always to see new places (or return to old places. Jamaica and Chicago both have our hearts!!).

13) he is a documentary lover. He is always in the middle of a netflix documentary about anything and everything-food, politics, architecture, sports, etc.

14) He is silly! if you know him personally you know this to be true. The guy has jokes but isn't afraid to be truly silly.

15) he is a perfectionist. while I am a "do-er" and want to get this done and of my list, whether perfect or not, Cody would rather spend time planning, drawing/taping it out, and making sure it is spotless even if it takes a long time to do the task

16) He is smart! Especially when it comes to theology. Talking to him about the Lord, theology, the bible, etc. you can see his knowledge and definitely his passion.

17) He does not love his phone... if you know him, you know this to be true ;) You can find his phone across the house and full of messages that are unread... for days. Don't be offended if he doesn't reply ;)

18) He's creative in the kitchen! Luckily with me working 12 hour shifts, he's always been willing to cook dinner. If i don't give him specific directions, he just wings it and comes up with creative concoctions but i've never been disappointed!

19) he is fearless. I admire this about him, considering I am very fearful and anxious. Yes, Cody doesn't love the idea of "bad" things, but he has no concern for tomorrow and trusts God's every step

20) He is such an involved dad! He loves getting down on the floor and playing with Evynn, chasing her, and staying in tune with her needs :)

21) He can get in character, so well! Any story he tells, he automatically changes his voice.. it.is.hilarious!

22) he is a leader; which is obvious being a youth pastor but he makes sure to lead students in all aspects (relationships, purity, financial, loving your family, etc.) when talking to our students 

23) he's a family man, did I mention that?! He's so involved in not only is but loves his parents and sisters. His phone call history might not show that ;) but he loves staying in tune with close family 

24) he hates shopping for himself. Maybe that's a normal guy thing but I think the only clothes he owns have been gifts for him. He's always very appreciative but wouldn't ever go get them for himself. 

25) he brings everything back to the gospel. Again, i admire this about him. Any situation we're in or even the smallest of circumstances he can meditate on and have a good lesson to tell me on how the gospel is in clear sight 

26) he's particular about his hair ;) that might be enough said but he wants his hair in pristine condition 

27) he's selfless. Hence why he let me go out of town for the first time instead of letting him retreat for his birthday. He deserves the best! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CODY!!! I LOVE YOU! 

birthday month

We knew once we had Evynn last year that July would forever by the birthday month, with all 3 of our birthdays. This was the first year to see it play out and so far, its been a blast!

My birthday was last week, July 17th. I woke up that Sunday morning and Cody had made this set up for me-balloons, chocolate truffles that had candles in them, a shirt i'd been wanting, and a gift card to take a friend out for a pedicure. it was so sweet! We went to church, then had a meeting, I squeezed in a nap, then went to saltgrass just us three for my birthday. 

Last weekend was not only the average of Cody and I's birthdays but also the weekend of Ev's birthday so it only made sense to have our families all be present. 

My parents + my best friend Claire came in on Friday and we joined them for lunch then ran a few errands for the weekend then back to our house to play and Cody's parents plus sister were there shortly.

I had also spoken to Cody's parents and my parents months ago about wanting to get Cody an apple watch and I was so thrilled that we made it happen and completely surprised him :) I could hardly wait to give it to him at dinner on Friday!

after we ate dinner and Evynn went to bed, Codys parents and Cody set up Evynn's gift-a play cottage! 

While they were busy doing that, the rest of us went to work on baking cookies! I baked them and cut them into ice cream shapes the night before so all that was left to do was make the icing and get creative. Mitzi, my mom, and even my dad stepped in to help!

on Saturday morning, Evynn woke up and with some help unwrapped her new present! She was first interested in the doors but throughout the day she became more and more interested and ended up spending the entire present-opening-part of her party in the house!

Saturday afternoon we were in full party prep! Cody and the dads spent all morning fixing things around the house, cleaning up the backyard, washing cars, etc. while the girls were hard at work decorating. THANK GOODNESS we had so much help! We keep saying there's no way we could've done it without everyone. SO much thanks to the ladies who listened to my vision and patiently stuck with me ;)

now onto party details:

the idea here was balloon ice cream cones but between hard soil and the wind, the hardly made it haha. But it was worth a shot!

I had made probably 100 feet in this raspberry, light pink, mint, and light yellow banner so we dropped it everywhere! This is the drink table-we had water, pink lemonade, and some cookies here

remember our cookies from the night before?!

"the party room"

the adult cake was made by a friend at church then claire and I (and my mom who calmed my meltdown) helped make the "melted ice cream" look possible! I got Ev's smash cake at United for free with a coupon, yes!

The ice cream banner was made from the honeycomb banner from target, and then I made and glued on paper i rolled into "cones"

It was SUCH  fun weekend and we're still cleaning up toys, confetti, and eating our weight in cake and ice cream ;) I cannot wait to see the pictures Monica took throughout the party!

evynn claire | 12 months

How many months old? 12 months

Weight? 22 pounds 4 oz (75th%) 

Length? 30 1/4 inches! (90th%)

Dr apt? All looks good! Dr. encouraged focusing on the sippy cup with 16oz cows milk now that she's a year old so thats what we'll be doing! She also has a large fontanel...still... but Dr. didn't seem worried!

Any teeth?  still 6 teeth, love that teethy smile!

Sleep?  We have the best last few weeks! I'm hoping it's a permanent thing! We lay her down at 7:30-8:00pm...she either falls asleep nursing on me and I lay her down or we put her in her crib at that time after she's nursed and she puts herself down. And she sleeps till 7:30am. She still takes 2 1.5 hour naps at about 9:30am and 1:30pm. 

Feeding?  I stopped pumping at the start of July which caused discomfort and hesitation on if this is what I wanted to do. I still nurse Evynn when I’m home with her a few times a day and morning/nighttime but she’s taking bottles of formula while I'm at work. I feel better not having to worry about my supply and if I have enough for the next day. I know we’ll be moving onto cows milk at a year so we’ll see how all these changes go!

As far as food, she is willing to try anything but overall lately has seemed to eat smaller portions. It has me a little worried but maybe shes too busy to eat. We did learn she loves watermelon and loves being able to hold it. Very hesitant about tomatoes and not a huge fan of avocados these days but girl LOVES her blueberries!

Developmental milestones?

• ·      She WALKS! She was taking up to 6 steps during our vacation a few weeks ago but officially took off on her own on June 30^th. Now, she has her moments where she prefers to crawl but everyday we notice her walking more and more. She gets excited and stiffens her arms and laughs as she runs away from us ;)
• she loves to use a spoon. I'm pretty hesitant about "practicing" the use of it because it means a BIG mess for mom to clean up ;) but i'll get out a bowl go yogurt, hand her a spoon and she'll dip it in the yogurt-to her mouth-then back for more ;)
• ·      Loves brushing her own teeth (obviously we help her to brush effectively but then let her “brush” her own teeth after that)
• ·      She can blow kisses and recently starting giving us real kisses. She’ll come up to us with her mouth wide open and just touch our face, she usually has her eyes looking somewhere else like “let me just get this over with” ;) it is so so sweet!
• ·      Loves climbing in and out of the chair and rocking chair in her room and rocking herself. Up she goes, toys and all!
• ·      We can tell that her feelings get hurt if we mock her
• ·      She uses baby sign language to say “more”, that’s really all we use BSL for..
• ·      She has learned when we are having her eat something that is different than our food… and she grabs for ours
• little girl is SO daring! (see picture below) but she has now started climbing on her toys. yikes. time to put those away!
• we don't dance (not because we're baptist hahaha we  I just can't dance) but she's picked it up somehow and dances along to her toys making noise
• if i'm sitting on the floor, girl will grab her sippy cup and back her little booty up until she's about as far into my lap as she could go. happy as a clam in my lap. 
• if she finds something small she hands it to us! I don't know how we got so lucky but we're pleased with this reaction ;)

·       

Favorite toy? 

·      Loves this panda bear that wears a Asian kimono (hah!) that mimi and pop pop got her from the Smithsonian museam. She carries that thing around

·      She is starting to be able to sit still and read a book with us so that is something she’s enjoying more
loves her chairs in her room/play room. She grabs an animal or book and sits in her chair so content :)

Speech and language?   “dada”, “mama”, “bye bye”, “hi”, “hot” (uses appropriately for candles, stove, oven, summer heat….and anytime she wants to say it haha), “thank you”, and “target” (<<hahaha!). she is definitely more chatty these days. she is so animated with facial expressions, pointing, hands in the air, and yelling-if only we knew what she was saying!

Loves?  Walking around! Exploring anything and everything, walking around splash pads, waking up early in the morning, LOVES when we call or FaceTime anyone-when she hears the phone ring her face lights up, 

Dislikes? ,

·      Falling asleep anywhere except her crib/moving carseat… so she doesn’t. Dislikes wearing shoes. Absolutely will not sit down in the bath, just stands!

Firsts: STEPS! Splash pad visit! and BIRTHDAY!

(^excuse the blur, someone had to get out of the picture ;))