Evelyn - 8 Months

I can't believe my baby is 8 months old already, where has time gone? She is so stinkin' loved and I'm so thankful for her in my life. [Thanks Aunt Rachel for the adorable outfit]

 Eyes: still gorgeous blue!

- first Bridal Shower (June 20)

- first Fathers Day (June 21)

- first Fourth of July

matching dresses made by Gram. 

- first Cranberry Days (July 10) [a family favorite]
Thanks for the double stroller mom!

- first carrots (July 15)

- first pears (July 17)

- meeting new Atwell cousins (July 17)

- small group River House weekend (July 17)

- tooth #3 (July 20)

Evie's Nursery

I definitely get in color/decorative moods. Right now I love coral and teal - so Evie's room is coral, teal, and silver. The walls were already grey, and we chose to leave them :)

I felt the colors lended themselves to an ocean feel. I played around with doing mermaids for a while, but ultimately they proved too hard to find as cute mermaids rather than sexy ones. So I went with starfish and seahorses. 

Big sister is still sleeping in the crib so we have been moving her things over to her big girl room, so she is enjoying her sister's decorations for now. 

Quilt:

Previous posts on the making of the quilt. 

Dresser:

(Starfish dish purchased on our vacation this summer) 

This coloring is more true to life, and you can see the different shades of the drawers better. Here is the blog post on the making of the dresser.

This pic has no filter so the wall and art look more accurate, but I think it makes the dresser look pink and not coral. 

Curtain:

Found the perfect fabric that was a cool water or "mermaid tail" feel as Josh says. (The window is directly across from the door). 

Before:

After:

Ocean Wave Decal:

I cut this out from sparkly paper. I only runs above the crib, not on all 4 walls. (The crib is on the right side of the room)

Mobile:

Design inspired by my insanely talented sister, Bethany. 

Light Covers:

I did this with decorative tape - super easy! 

Bookshelf and Baskets: (immediately to the right of the door when you enter the room)

Art above the bookshelf: (custom colors designed for Evie!!!)

To Do Before Evie - UPDATED 10/19

Down to 5 weeks! 

We are officially 32 weeks - only 8 more to go. Sounds so soon - but man I know how they drag on! I'm ready to have this baby, but enjoying my time with Ella as a mommy of one. 

Here is a 31 week picture - let's not get picky - I'm impressed I've even taken 5 belly pics so far! 

Here is my belly yesterday. Ella has a shoe obsession and made me wear daddy's work boots around the house. 

So my before-Evie to-do list: 

- paint Ella's new room (paint secured) UPDATE: Josh bought all the other painting supplies. COMPLETED! [Decorating in progress!]

- Evie's quilt (front complete, back material, binding, and stuffing purchased) UPDATE: I've sewn the back of the quilt, now just to sew the two together. COMPLETED!

- Maternity shoot (scheduled) 

- wash baby clothes/blankets UPDATE: Washed [not folded or put away] COMPLETED. [Bought a dresser this weekend]

- pack hospital bag for Evie and myself COMPLETED!

- pack Ella's bag to go with friends while I deliver COMPLETED!

- prep post-baby meals COMPLETED!

- Ella's birthday (small, immediate family, as in she has 50% of your DNA)

- decorate nursery

- find dresser for Evie COMPLETED!

- paint dresser [UPDATE: Josh and I sanded the drawers and 2 are painted.]

- add water detail to nursery wall

- girls weekend away - yippee only 2 more days!!!! COMPLETED!

- complete Christmas shopping??? That's a big stretch goal! 

Evie's Car seat

Got her seat out and cleaned it today - with some help from Big Sister. 

And some safety testing from Lion:

Post-Evie Meal Prep

Some extra cooking and freezing this week allowed me to cross another huge item off my to-do list...meal prep for after Evie arrives. I've got us covered for 14 meals and obvious left overs for lunch mommy's midnight snacking!

I did one massive chicken breast boiling and shredding party and from 9 chicken breasts got meat for:
- 2 Taco Nights
- 1 Quesadilla Night
- 1 Pan of Enchiladas
- 1 Buffalo Pizza
- 2 Nights of my mother-in-laws famous Chicken Roll Ups

I made and froze a Stromboli as well

I've also purchased the canned ingredients and frozen the meat for these great crockpot meals:
- 2 Crockpot Chilis
- 2 of this new Chicken Taco Stuffing recipe

I've also got supplies on hand for:
- 2 Pasta Nights

Gender Reveal for Baby #2

Josh and I definitely wanted to find out the gender of our sweet new miracle. With Ellanore, we actually weren't able to see the necessary items so we had to wait (well) past the normal 20 week mark. Luckily, because of placenta previa, they scheduled a followed up ultrasound for 28 weeks. Those were the longest 8 weeks of my life as my crafts, planning, dreaming, and naming had to wait.

I personally love the details in everything. If you invite us over for dinner; I'm excited. Tell me who else is coming, what your serving, that we are using your new patio furniture; and I'm over the moon. So when it comes to my babies, I simply love to dreaming. I love setting up the nursery; knowing who is going to be in there. Do I fantasized about Josh walking her down the aisle or teaching him to play football? 

Praise the Lord - baby #2 was more active and much less shy than Ella. :)

Baby is healthy in every way. God is good.

Now to the exciting stuff!:) The ultrasound tech was able to see gender, but we wanted to save the reveal for our long drive to NH we were starting later that day. I had previously bought 2 onesies, one saying "Little Man of the House" and another saying "Daddy's Little Princess" and placed them both into manila envelopes. At the ultrasound, we gave both envelopes to the tech and asked her to mark the outside of the envelope that contained the correct onesie.

The next day, Friday, as we drove through Vermont we opened the envelope and were delighted to find:

I had previously told a TINY fib to my mom. Since this week, while we are away, I'm 20 weeks - we got to do our ultrasound 1 week early, however I told her we wouldn't know until the week we got back. She was genuinely disappointed - which made the fib all the more fun for me. :)

I brought a pink and blue cake mix with me to my parents house and immediate started baking once we got here at 3pm on Friday. I had to do some swift moves to hide the cakes but was able to keep them hidden. I also brought a tub of blue and pink frosting. After the two PINK heart cakes were cool, I began frosting - half in blue and the other half in pink.

Prior to cutting into the cake, everyone voted on their guess for gender - and everyone guessed boy... 

We let my parents cut into the cake to reveal the color of the cake -- PINK, PINK, PINK, PINK!

One Small Step for Ella; One Big Tear for Mommy

Ella is pretty sassy and stubborn, I have no idea where she gets it.

She loves "cruising" around the house clinging to furniture and previously had no interest in walking around with parental assistance. Last night, Daddy got her going and she was loving it! Be still my heart, she is growing up too quickly.

Baby Dance Party

Love my tiny dancer!

10 Months Awesome

Ella is crawling, exploring, standing with assistance, and even babbling a little!

Hiding

Now that Ella can stand she loves hanging out on the couch looking longing outside. Oh yeah, and hiding in the cushions and giggling.