Holidays at Home

What an eventful start to our New Year! We had a great visit home to Michigan until the last day or two, when Evelyn came down with the start of Influenza...

Our sick girl :(

We made our trip back home and then Jordan and I fell victim to viruses. Evelyn spent 5 days with a fever & we ended up in Urgent Care on New Years Day. I came down with a  terrible sinus infection that was teetering on an ear infection with terrible pain, and Jordan got an ear infection that grounded him. Literally. He couldn't fly for about 10 days. It was miserable. On top of that, Evelyn is getting her bottom eye teeth (they are almost in as I type this!) and I think she's having a major growth spurt. So even though she isn't sick anymore, our 12 hour a night sleeper is up for hours at a time, uncomfortable and crying. Whatever craziness is causing this awful sleeping pattern we are ready for it to be over! I know its just a phase and it will end soon, but the sleep thing has got to get better soon! And not to mention, it isn't super fun to see your kiddo uncomfortable and you can't do much about it. Either way, its just a phase, right?!

So back to the holidays. We had a great trip back home to Michigan. Evelyn did great in the car and we couldn't have asked for better weather, in December, driving across the country! We got to my parents house on Christmas Eve afternoon & had a great dinner with my grandparents. We went up to Jordan's parent's house in Grand Rapids on Christmas afternoon and the next 2 days were a total blur of family & fun. We went to Jordan's Pop & Grams Christmas afternoon, then spent the evening celebrating with his parents. We spent the night with his parents, and the next morning we celebrated with the extended Spaans side. That same day, we came back to my parents house and celebrated Christmas with them. Then we headed over to celebrate with the Shoemaker side of the family in the evening. Whew, even just typing that makes me tired all over again! We were able to see everybody (expect the Hamilton side who is in Florida for the winter, we did FaceTime with them though!) and even though it was quick, we made it happen!



















The weekend after Christmas we had a little bit of down time to relax before Evelyn got sick. We saw some friends, ate at places we missed dearly, and I got my hair done! We had plans on our last full day at home to see more friends and soak up the last bit of family time that we could, but Evelyn was up almost all night and we all needed a day to recover from that! Thankfully she slept enough the night before it was time to head back to Oklahoma! Our drive back to Oklahoma was fairly uneventful. We did the trip in one {long} day, but we all survived and slept in our own beds, which was an amazing feeling after a week of being away. It didn't seem like we were gone a week, but with the driving days and illness, it flew by!

Its so crazy that this was our first year being away from family during the holiday season. We were lucky enough to be able to get home and see everybody so it didn't really seem like we were actually away. It was great to see everybody, but was super exhausting. I'm hoping in the coming years as we add to our family and get settled back in Michigan, that it will be an easier routine for Christmas gatherings. Its a great time to see family and we wouldn't trade it for anything, but its easy to get caught up in the gift giving & miss the point of what Christmas is all about. My hope is that we can still see everybody and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, but just maybe not all in 2 days! We have large families that make the holidays so much better but also add more things to do during a busy time of year. I'm looking forward to the coming years as Evelyn & our future babies get to enjoy the magic of Christmas through their little, sparkling eyes.

Five Amazing Months

Just a few days ago my little babe turned five whole months. Seriously.

Evelyn's first Christmas was the highlight of her fifth month. But she seemed to change before my eyes over this past month.

I know I've said things are going by fast and I'm sure time will continue to go faster than I would ever choose it. But since I've been back to work, my days off go by at super-sonic speed. Everyday I work I barely get to see my girl, so my days off are even more important - and they are over too fast.

But enough sulking about time. I have to deal with the fact that she is constantly growing and changing and I've just got to enjoy the ride and soak up every. single. moment.

Look at that face. So Serious. That is an Evelyn face at its finest. And it made our Christmas card. The only picture on our card this year. What more do you need on a card to make you smile? That face sure does make me smile! 

Evelyn started playing in her jumper this month. She LOVES it!
She started SITTING on her own. Yes, seriously sitting. She just started doing it one day. I couldn't believe it. She is actually very sturdy and likes seeing the world from that point of view now!
She has found her voice. She is constantly making sounds. I wonder where she gets that from?!

Her first Christmas was great. We had many celebrations. With all of our grandparents it means lots of family get togethers and celebrations. The week of Christmas she had 3 days of presents!We celebrated our family Christmas on Monday, drove to Jordan's parents that evening. Tuesday was Christmas Eve and we were at my parents house to celebrate with them, then we celebrated with extended family and grandparents that night.  I had to work on Christmas Day, so it was up to Jordan to celebrate with her Christmas morning. Evelyn was busy and had so much fun with all her presents and family time!

Everyday it seems like I can see the wheels turning in her little head learning from the world around her. Watching her take the world in is magical. 

Happy 5 months baby girl!!