Jude's One Year Old Pictures

I really wanted one-year-old pictures of Jude so I finally ended up scheduling them about a month ago when he was 13 months old.  Our photographer really captured his facial expressions!  He is my serious man!  He is happy most of the time, but he isn't a big smiler.  I will treasure these!  He has completely stolen my heart and I am so thankful for this little boy who makes every day brighter than I could've ever imagined!

After I got these back, I realized that he had already changed since I had them taken.  He had a couple of weeks where he thinned out and then now, he is back to looking similar to these pictures and is my chubby-wubby!  Both he and Finley seem to chub up when they are teething so it'll be interesting to see if he stays chubby or thins out a bit like Finley did.  I love his little rolls and I know I will love looking back on these pictures that capture them!

This one cracks me up!  Devin said it looks photoshopped, but I don't think it was! (I mean other than the usual retouching...)  It just makes me laugh!

Evi's Name

For whatever reason, I've always really wanted my childrens' names to have meaning.  I know a lot of people could care less what a baby book says one's name means, but to me it is important.  

Soon after we found out we were having a girl, I mentioned the name "Hayden" to Devin and he didn't immediately reject it, but when I looked it up, I found out that one of the meanings for Hayden is "heathen."  It never had a chance at making the list after that!

Evi, however, means "Life" and Reece means "Enthusiasm".  For me, this sums up our little girl perfectly.  Though some in our situation might have struggled to be enthusiastic about having another baby so quickly after having baby #2, I can honestly say that Devin and I were nothing, but excited.  Sure we had moments of stress, moments of "How are we going to do this?", etc.  All emotions we had with each pregnancy, but while Evi may not have been planned per say, she was always wanted.  She has never once felt like a mistake to us and I love that her name reflects that.  Another name that I really liked for her was "Merritt" which means "wished for child" and though Devin didn't end up choosing it, I thought it was also quite appropriate for our little one.

The first time I heard the name "Evi" was from the sweet girl who designed our wedding invitations.  I later met up with Evie in BSF which was fun since we had both moved from other towns!  I loved her name and we considered it for Finley, but chose Finley for it's obvious significance.

As soon as we found out it was a girl, I began calling her Evi in my head.  The name Evi has become much more popular since we considered it 4 years ago which was it's main negative.  Even though Devin wasn't at all sure about it, I just couldn't think of her by any other name.  As much as I wanted Devin and I to find a name we both loved, in the end, that just didn't happen.  I had a list of about 20 names I liked and Devin had a list of about 5.  I didn't love any of his names and he didn't love any of mine.  This was really hard for me because I wanted us to agree and kept hoping that we would come across something that was perfect.

An hour before Evi was born, Devin said "I am not going to let my little girl be born without a name!" so he pulled out our laptop and pulled up our name list and immediately said "Evi Reece" and shut it.  I looked at him and asked if he was sure and he said yes.  He is so giving... my sweet husband.  He knew it was the name I loved and I am thankful that he chose it.  Reece was actually his pick.  He loved Reece when we were thinking of names for Finley and it was the first name on his list again this time.  I absolutely love Evi Reece together and when I looked up the meaning of Reece I knew that it was the perfect fit for Evi.

We did decide to officially name her Evelyn instead of Evi just so that she would have more flexibility later on if she decides Evelyn seems to fit her better.  I love Evelyn as well, but I don't know that we would've named her Evelyn if it weren't for the fact it could be shortened to Evi.  Devin's grandmother's middle name happens to be Evelyn so it is nice that it turned out to be a family name as well.

After Evi was born, Devin looked at me as he was trying to send out a text to announce our little girl and we laughed as we decided how to spell the two names.  We honestly were that far away from making a decision as we hadn't even narrowed down spellings-- Evelyn or Evaline... Reece or Reese.  I had to look back at his text to see how to spell Reece for her birth certificate because I couldn't remember for sure what we had decided!

Also, even though Devin thinks this is completely ridiculous, I chose to spell Evi "E-V-I" because it is the middle of Devin's name.  She is a part of him and I love that her name comes from his.  And the fact that she looks just like him... well, that makes it even more perfect!

I love my little Evi Reece and every time I say her name, it just feels so amazing.  I finally have my Evi!!!

Out of the Mouth of My Babes

Finley is constantly saying funny things these days.  It makes me sad that I don't record more of them because while this age of 3 definitely has its less than pleasant moments, it has become one of my favorite stages simply because of all the sweet things that happen throughout our day.  I've learned that 3 is all or nothing.  Either Finley is super happy and super sweet or she is super sassy and super cranky!

Hopefully, I will get better at recording these little moments so I can look back on them one day and remember them all.  Plus soon my little man will be talking as well and I can only imagine the conversations I'm bound to hear!!!!

Evi in her "thinking pose"

This morning I had Evi in her bouncy seat while I fixed some coffee and got Finley some milk.  Finley was next to Evi talking to her and I heard her say:

"Evi, what are you thinking about?"
"Are you thinking about others or are you thinking about yourself?"
"Oh, Evi!  What a good girl!  You are thinking about others!"
"Others are me and Mommy and Daddy and Jude and Jenny...."

I just smiled.  Finley takes in everything I say to her at this age.  Just a reminder that I have to be so mindful of my words.  Whenever she won't share with Jude or when she has a hateful attitude, I have been trying to help her evaluate her actions and thoughts as to whether they are loving or selfish whether they are focused on her or others and today it made me smile that she was passing that down to her sister.  I am so relieved that she chose to pass on my kind words versus the frustrated ones that I know I often use!

Week One Comparison and Evi's Doctor's Appointments

Week One Comparison:

Well, here is a comparison of me at one week post partum with all 3 kiddos... I must say that I am quite surprised at how quickly the weight is coming off with the 3rd... especially since Jude and Evi were back-to-back.  I still have 10 pounds to lose, but I can fit in all my regular clothes and it is so nice after 2 years without them to be back in normal attire.  I honestly don't know where the weight went, but will just be thankful and not waste too much time thinking about it... afterall I have 3 kids to chase these days! =)

Evi's First Two Doctor's Appointments:

 Life on the go with 3!

 Notice that they forgot to take her umbilical cord clip off when we left the hospital...

 Not too happy about being laid on the crinkly paper... Man, she looks like Devin! =)

On Friday, I took Evi in for a weight check.  Our doctor was out of town so even though we saw him in the hospital, we went to the nurse practitioner instead.  I kept teasing the nurse that we were a disaster waiting to happen, but honestly, having all 3 kids in a small, teeny-tiny room ended up going extremely well.... even despite the fact that it was right smack dap in the middle of naptime.  I may have spent a considerable amount of time praying over it! Evi looked good, but was a little jaundiced and her weight was the same as discharge... 6 pounds 4 ounces.  Since she hadn't gained in a few days, I was asked to bring her back in on Monday.

On Monday, I took Evi in again and this time she weighted 6 pounds 6 ounces which the doctor (the other doctor in the practice) thought was great!  She was really pleased with the progress and thought she looked absolutely perfect.

I quizzed her about the mark on her face (it's on the left cheek... it'll be interesting to see when her jaundice clears up and her red newborn complexion goes away how noticeable it is....) and like my doctor, she said she couldn't really tell what it was yet.  It's either a Stork mark, a hermangioma, or possibly a birthmark.  Most everyone seems to think the first two are more likely which is great because it means this mark will fade with time... probably not until she is closer to two depending on which one it is.  If it is an actual birthmark, it will obviously not fade and we'll have to decide what to do from there.  Of course, she is gorgeous regardles, but I just want to make sure that there is no reason for us to be concerned about it!  The best news of the appointment is that since she is gaining weight, I can let her sleep through the night.  She has been nearly impossible to wake up for feedings in the middle of the night, but I was told I needed to not let her go more than 4 hours without a feeding so I was really struggling each night to get her to eat.  Thankfully, I can let her sleep and therefore, get some sleep myself!  We truly do have the best newborns ever!

Three: Week 40