6 Months

It's pretty strange to think that Evelyn has been with us for half a year.  In a lot of ways it's hard to picture life without her. Did I really use to sleep 8 hour stretches through the night? Was it really possible to leave the house in under 2 minutes?

Who needs that kind of rest and freedom anyway?

In all seriousness though, these last few months have been so so so fun. Each new stage really is the "best stage" which makes me even more excited for what's to come.

I can't write a post about Evie's sixth month without mentioning sleep. At about 5 1/2 months things just started "clicking" for her. All of a sudden days became less fussy, activities became less overwhelming and sleep become something that wasn't so complicated-- for all of us! Long story short with some trial and error, Evie (for the most part) is now napping during the day and sleeping at night in her crib.  Most nights it still takes a lot of time and energy to get her to fall asleep, but once down, she will usually only get back up once during the night, in which case I give her a little snack and back down she goes. This has been huge for us. Ryan and I are finally enjoying some alone time in the evening and Evie is getting the rest she needs through the night.

If I had to pick one word to describe our little girl right now it would be passionate. Since day one, Evie has been very enthusiastic about everything she does.  Although this personality trait can be hard to manage at times, I so love that our daughter is one with a lot of spirit. I can't wait to see how this passion  unfolds with each passing day.

Likes

*Still standing. You're happiest on your feet.
*Outside. The warm weather has been so good for the both of us. You love looking at the birds, squirrels and trees and taking in new sights and sounds.
*Stroller. Yay! You are so so chill just cruising in the stroller.
*Cans/Glasses. For some reason you are mesmerized by glasses of water and soda cans.

Dislikes

*Getting dressed. Anything that involves an article of clothing going over your head and arms puts you in rare form, which is pretty frustrating considering I have to change you 2-3 times a day.
*Men/Unfamiliar faces. Oh my, we are going through a stranger danger phase. On several occasions you have gone from perfectly content to frightened tears when someone unfamiliar (usually a man) come to say hello. Ryan thinks definitely OK that his little girl is fearful of "scary men."
*Going to bed in the evening. Nothing new here. You want to play 24/7 even if that means fighting through exhaustion. Maybe when you can crawl and walk on your own you will just move yourself to sleep.


Other

*Pinching. You have such a mighty grip for being a little thing. You are really into mommy's face right now. You'll grab onto my lip and cheeks and it hurts. Bad.
*Your hair is getting longer and blonder.  I love how your long bangs hang in your eyes.
*Teeth! You've been putting anything and everything in your mouth since 2 months, and finally, just the other day, there they were. Two very small teeth poking through on your bottom gums.
*Reaching. As soon as something interesting catches your eye, out go your little arms, reaching for that cool, new object that you want to put your hands and mouth all over. Lately the remote control has been a hot item. And the other day we walked by the counter and grabbed a towel, which means mommy should be a little more cautious of what's in your reach.
*First solids. We mashed up an avocado last weekend and you took it like a champ. I'm not sure you loved the taste, but you enjoy putting the spoon in your mouth. You may have gotten more on your face and hair than in your mouth.
You're on the move. We like to call it the caterpillar. When on your stomach, you slowly inch like a worm to whatever toy is in your sight. You can also now raise up on your arms and knees, but haven't quite figured out how to crawl.
*At your 6 month well-visit you weighed in at 14 pounds and 12 ounces and measured 25.5 inches long.

Happiest in her daddy's arms

Mmm avocado!

Little one, you amaze me every single day. It's going to be a fun summer.

Learning To Let Go So I Can Hold On

There's almost always a basket of clean, unfolded clothes in our bedroom that never get put away. The vacuum cleaner rarely leaves the dining room because I'm always going to "get to those floors tomorrow." Boxes of old clothes and photos wait patiently for me to organize and have been for six months.

Let go. 

There was once a time that I could enjoy a quick trip to the store to buy groceries;  get my hair done without thinking twice about the day or time; run to the mall for a new shirt or two.

Let go. 

I used to run. 10, 15, sometimes 20 miles a week depending on my mood. It cleared my head. It made me feel alive.  I did it for me.

Let go. 

These days? These days I feel like a million bucks when I sleep 6 consecutive hours.  Exercising is  lifting my 15 pound baby in and out of the car seat. Socializing means singing "10 little monkeys" for the eighth time in two hours just to hear my baby giggle. Getting out of the house involves eating drive-thru fast food at the park with my sleeping daughter in the back seat.

These days, happiness means watching her eyes light up when her daddy gets home from work; walking hand in hand with my best friend as we push a stroller during sunset; waking up on a Saturday morning to small hands on my face and spit-up on my pillow.

Putting away dishes I catch her smiling at the toy giraffe as she fumbles with its rubber limbs. It drops to the floor and her eyes find mine. And she smiles a smile so big that I can't help but drop the towel I'm holding to pick her up and draw her close. Twenty minutes pass and after two more rounds of "10 little monkeys" the dishes are still there where I left them.   

Letting go. 

I'm a slow learner, but one day at a time I'm learning the laundry can wait. The floors, "Ill get to them tomorrow." Running? Oh, I'm still running. It's just a different route with a few more bumps.

In 20 years, dusty counters and dirty dishes will still need dusted and cleaned. But the moments spent with my baby will have passed and I'll only be left with sweet memories.

So today, today I think I'll hold her a little closer, a little tighter, a little longer.

Easy Spinach & Tomato Penne Bake

Now that I am finally getting into a rhythm with having a baby around, I've had a lot a little more time to plan and prepare meals for Ryan and I through the week.

Almost all of the meals I try come from Pinterest. I love that I can do a simple search for a type of dish and thousands of results pour in from various websites and blogs across the web.

I select most of the recipes I make based on three things: finished product photo, number of ingredients and time involved (usually in that order). So yeah, I guess that makes me a pretty lazy cook. I like to think practical.

Anyway, I'm not usually one to crave pasta, but since Ryan loves it, and since pasta is typically a pretty quick and easy dish to prepare, I chose this one from Pinterest-- Penne Bake w/ spinach and tomatoes.

I wish I would have taken a pic of my actual finished meal, but I'm here to tell you that it really did look pretty much dead on the photo that convinced me to try it out in the first place and that rarely happens for me.

Here's the recipe (with a few modifications I made along the way)

* 1/2 yellow onion, diced

* 3 garlic cloves, minced

* 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

* 1 Tbs. butter

* 1 pinch crushed red pepper

* 1 Tbs smoked paprika

* 1 (26 oz) can diced tomatoes

* 1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked

* 4 cups baby spinach

* 3 cups shredded mozzarella

* 1/2 cup breadcrumbs

* pinch of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high. Add onions and saute for about 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add the garlic, crushed red pepper and paprika. Saute another minute. Stir in the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper, and simmer 5 to 10 minutes.

Add in the cooked pasta and spinach. Stir to combine. 

Pour mixture into a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs. (See suggestion below for sprinkling cheese and breadcrumbs in layers rather than just on top for even more cheesy goodness). 

Bake for about 20 minutes or until brown. 

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Next time I make this dish the only thing I'll change is how I layer the bread crumbs and cheese. The recipe says to add both on top before putting it in the oven, but I think layering it on top of the noodles throughout would be even tastier.  I might try adding some italian sausage as well.

It made about 4 servings which was great because Ryan was able to take some for lunch.

Serve with some Texas toast or a nice salad from your leftover baby spinach-- and enjoy!