Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

This weekend our family enjoyed a day at Como Zoo in St. Paul with Mom's good friend Emily, her husband Ben and their two girls Sophie and Reese. Evie was a little too young to take notice of most of the animals (she hardly pays attention to Aunt Courtney and Uncle Scottie's dog, Dutch even though he constantly is scheming ways to get a good lick at her face), but it was a nice day to be outside in the sunshine with friends. After the spring and summer we've had, 80 degrees felt like the Caribbean and even though it is almost the middle of June! Although there really weren't any bears, the lions and tigers were in full affect and were our favorite exhibit at the zoo. The male lion came right up the glass and took a good long look at a snoozing Evie, before opting to rest in the corner!

I am also happy to say that Evie is officially sleeping through the night now! It is amazing how good sleeping for 7 straight hours can feel (I will never take a full night's rest for granted again). Chad and I have not had that luxury since March and are hoping she just sleeps later and later and later each morning.

Smiley Baby!

In the past three weeks since I have been back at work, I swear Evie has changed a little each day when I come home! She started smiling shortly before I left for work and now we can get her to do it anytime we tickle her tummy or blow on her face (this has accounted for hours of entertainment for Chad)! There is nothing more endearing than those gums and that dimple (courtesy of Auntie Courtney)! She also has started cooing and will carry on quite the conversation with anyone who will listen. I wonder where she got her talking skills? Our favorite new skill, however, is when she coos and smiles at the same time, which slightly resembles a laugh, but we aren't so sure. Although she seems to mostly do it after she passes gas (which Chad and I still laugh out loud over), we think she may have an idea that we think it is pretty funny and mimics the two of us chuckling!

Evie also just had her two-month appointment. Mercifully, Dad accompanied her for her big shots, although she handled them like a champ and only cried for a few minutes. Apparently, it is a rather large needle! After some snuggling from Dad, she seemed to recover quite nicely. We were thrilled to hear she was tipping the scales at a solid 12 pounds, 3 ounces and was 22 and 3/4 inches long (both in the 75th percentile). Her head only measured in the 20th percentile but neither mom nor dad have big heads (we are, after all, very humble)! The doctor also confirmed our belief that she is a pretty strong little bugger when she stated she could hold her body up as well as a 4-month-old! That same afternoon, she rolled over from her tummy to her back. It is crazy to think our little pumpkin will be crawling before we know it! YIKES!

Sip and See

Over Memorial Weekend,our family made our way to Alexandria to introduce Evie to "Lake Country" and also introduce her to her very first party. Evie's grandparents and their friends do not have typical baby showers, but instead host "sip and sees" to give everyone a chance to "sip" on a beverage and "see" the baby (we think it is just another excuse for our folks to have a party). It was fun for Grandma and Grandpa to show Evie off to their friends, and it also gave Evie a chance to meet her newest boyfriend Beckett (the party was for both of them, although neither one of the babes seemed to notice the other). We didn't get Evie on grandpa's boat just yet, but that is on our agenda for the 4th of July in Brainerd with Dad's family (she even has her very own life jacket)!

She has to get her sea legs soon to hang out with our two families!