Worse Than a Papercut

I hate papercuts. They're such minimal pain compared to a lot of things but whenever I get one they are a shock. Like, "How could a little ol' piece of paper do THAT?!"

This afternoon I discovered (well, re-remembered) something worse than a papercut. It's the quick-of-the-fingernail cut. Yuck! I was pulling out my vitamins for the week (which I forget to take all too often) and putting them in the little daily pillbox. One of the vitamins is for DHA brain-development, etc. and it comes in those little foil packs where you puncture the foil, then pop the vitamin out. Well, I'd done all the punctures and was starting on the pops when I had a sudden pain ...in the process of punching out a vitamin, some of the plastic evidently cut into the quick of my thumbnail. Ouch! And it's so gross how you see that little bit of blood perfectly outlining the bottom of the nail.

A very random post, I know, but take it as a little warning for those of you who dutifully (or not-so-dutifully) take your vitamins! ;o)

Laura's Blog

Yay! Another friend has come over (to the world of blogging). :o) Welcome, Laura! (see link under friends' blogs).

***Thanks, Christy, for pointing out the technical difficulties with this link; I think we're up and running now. :o)

We Have Laughter

Evie has been doing her cough-laugh for a while now, but recently, to our delight, we got to hear a true chuckle. It happens when I lean over her with my hair down and let my hair fall over her face. Another thing that sometimes gets her is if we massage her shoulder...she is very ticklish in those shoulders! I love seeing her little emotions and personality unfold!

4 Months Old

Here are pics of our sweet little Evangeline at 4 months.

Just Being Honest

Let me first say that I wanted Evie so badly and I am so thankful for her. No question, no doubt about it, she's a BLESSING to me. That said, sometimes I don't like being Mommy! Sigh. We are having napping troubles. I think it's further complicated by the 4 month milestones and the drooly, sloppery teething that seems to be starting (Yikes!). Frankly I just second-guess myself so much. I read the books, listen to the advice, read online, and still feel lost as a goose! In principle, it's simple: I believe in letting her cry it out. Not everybody does, but in my mind it's like a bandaid...it hurts to pull it off, but you just do it and in the end the quicker you do it, the better. It's difficult to hear her cry, but the thing is, there is always going to be something uncomfortable or even on the verge of painful when it comes to good parenting. In the course of trying to shape my child's heart, I've got to get my hands dirty. So, I think I see this trial as foreshadowing of what's to come...it's just part of being a mommy. And sometimes I don't like it!

That said, though I believe in letting Evie cry it out, I don't think I do it very well. And I have so many questions! How long is "okay?" If she settles down and starts talking to herself, happy as a lark, then starts crying again, do I start the timer over? Does that mean she wasn't really tired? (but I KNOW she was tired!) How much of a cry is okay, and when is she just hysterical? Oh, I hate this!

Lord God, please, PLEASE, guide me as the Mommy of Evie. Give me confidence that the actions I take with her are right, and if they're not, guide me toward the right way. Please help me to trudge through and persevere during the hard times of parenting and help me to let go and just ENJOY during the easy, fun times (instead of finding something to worry about as is so often my tendency). Amen.

First Cold :o(

Yep! Evie got her first cold. She started having a genuine cough yesterday (as opposed to her cough that leads to crying and her other cough that is her "laugh") along with a runny nose. Last night she would cry any time I tried to lay her down in her crib...not her usual "I don't want to sleep" cry but a more urgent, sick "don't leave me, Mommy!" type cry. So, I held her most of the night. We ended up sleeping on the couch with her laying on my chest. She had an elevated temp as well, but the infant Tylenol said "ask doctor" for her age and weight so I didn't know what dose to give her and I didn't want to trust what I might find on the internet, especially since I was pretty groggy from no sleep. So, in the morning the advice nurse told me how much to give her and her temp is back to normal.

She slept a lot today (which was great, so I could catch up on sleep too) and when she was awake she was smiling and cooing again. She really is so pleasant to be around! What a blessing! But it's certainly no fun to see that little blessing be sick.

So, by now you're probably wondering why I have a Superman poster on this post. Well, thinking about Evie's first cold reminded me of Superman II, where Superman gives up his powers to be with Lois Lane. Evie's first sickness must be kind of like Superman's first experience with his loss of power...something totally new and unheard of and unpleasant! Okay, so it's a weird analogy, but I admit to having a big crush on Superman as a kid--he's still my favorite superhero--Hee hee! But in all seriousness, I found it interesting contemplating a little person's first experience with being sick. It must be very strange, and perhaps a bit scary. I'm very thankful that my little one seems to be feeling better!

Cute Cousins

Here are some shots of Evie and her closest-in-age cousin, Rivkah. Rivkah is about 4 months older than Evie. I also threw in a shot of the rest of us, enjoying the show they were putting on.

Evie & the Easter Lilies

My mom got us these beautiful Easter lilies so I decided to pose Evie next to them in her little Bebe Pod seat. She's wearing the dress that Ruthie gave her. I used the "chicken trick" to get her to smile again. (See "Bluebonnets!" post) In the other one she looks quite pensive. :o)

Bubble Tea

About a year ago, Richard and I got hooked on another "expensive-enough-to-be-a-meal-but-it's-not" beverage. (Sound familiar, fellow Starbuck's lovers?) This new discovery was "Bubble Tea." It's also known as "Boba." It's a sweetened tea (offered in a wide variety of flavors) that has balls of tapioca thrown in (known as bubbles, boba, or pearls). The tapioca balls are slightly sweet, but really have very little flavor. Their main draw is in the texture: chewy & slimy (but in a good way). Our favorite bubble tea place is called "Fat Straws." It's called Fat Straws because for you to be able to suck the bubbles out, you need an extra fat straw.

So, now and then, if I call Richard when he is on his way home from work, I'll say, "Whatcha doin'?" and if I'm really lucky, he'll answer, "Buyin' a beverage." Yippeeeee! It's a bubble tea day!

Fast forward to Richard's birthday...on his wishlist was a bubble tea kit, so we could make bubble tea at home and perhaps save a little moulah (I am a stay-at-home-mom now, after all). So, that's what I got him. Now he's been perfecting his technique in boiling the bubbles to the perfect chewy-slimy texture, and adding just the right amount of powder for our Tai Tea or Chinese Milk Tea. Here's a shot of us enjoying our first glass of homemade bubble tea. I had a head start on mine, obviously. Please ignore my unkempt hair sticking out on top (Can I blame everything on being a SAHM?) ;o)

Bluebonnets!

Christy told us about a great spot for bluebonnet shots, so we took advantage of it before everybody left...very sunny, and thus, not ideal conditions for pictures, but cute nonetheless. Here are a couple of shots: one of the whole family and the other of the cousins. I loved Evie's huge smile in the cousin shot. What was the secret to getting her to smile? Making chicken noises! Chickens have always made me laugh. Even the word chicken cracks me up. I guess I passed my silly sense of humor on to my daughter. Another thing I noticed is that Evie really seemed to enjoy interacting with the other kids, especially Rivkah (4 months her senior). How fun is that?!

4 Generations!

Richard took a picture of 4 generations on my side of the family: Evie, her mommy, her grandmama, and her great-grandmother. I am thankful for this wonderful heritage!

I'm also including a photo of Evie alone with her great-grandmother, as well as a funny picture of my mom with my aunt, Donna--the two sisters were accidental "twinkies." They had shopped together years ago and decided, "What are the chances we'll both show up in the same sweater?!" Well, yada, yada, yada...a twinkie shot! ;o)

Easter with Family

Richard's family (his mother, from Arkansas, and his sister, brother-in-law, and their 4 kids, from North Carolina) was going to visit us when Evie was about a month old, but nursing was really not going well for me at that point and they ended up postponing their trip until April. It worked out for the best, because Evie was able to interact so much more at 3 1/2 months than she could have at 1 month. So, the Lloyd clan, as well as Mother, got to join us for Easter services at Northwest...

Easter turned out to be a pretty chilly day, so Evie didn't wear the Easter outfit that I had planned. She did, however, get to wear the beautiful Talbot's outfit that Jay gave her. I didn't know she'd get to wear it again because I expected the chilly days to be behind us...I should have known better; we are in Texas, after all! We also put Evie in the nursery for the first time.

After church we went to my Aunt Donna and Uncle Kevin's house to let both sides of the family spend some time together. Much to our surprise, they had hidden a ton of eggs so the Lloyd's and the younger Allen girls could have an Easter egg hunt. It was fun to see my nephew, Keziah's reaction to all those eggs! It was a really fun time with family.

Food & Fish

We had quite the full schedule while Richard's family was here. Richard & his sister, Ruthie, were raised in South America (their parents were missionaries in Colombia and they went to boarding school in Venezuela), so we went to our favorite Colombian restaurant, Casa Vieja, while they were here. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture, but the food was so yummy!!

We also went to the Dallas World Aquarium. What a neat spot for kids and adults alike! You feel like you are in a rainforest...the birds fly freely, so I had exotic birds like roseate spoonbills and toucans fly and land within feet of me.

Decorating Easter Eggs

Our nieces & nephew seemed to enjoy decorating Easter eggs. For some, they coated the egg with a thin layer of liquid starch, then stuck squares of colored tissue paper to it. The black eggs (like the one Keziah is decorating) are spray painted with chalkboard paint, so the kids draw on it with chalk.

The Heard Museum

A couple of weeks ago Richard, Evie & I went to the Heard Museum. It's a really neat spot because it's in the DFW area, but the land was set aside and left undeveloped so it looks like our area must have looked before it became a concrete jungle. :o( They have even "created" a wetland area. You can go on hiking trails, go on a birding tour, or hide in one of the photography blinds to capture birds digitally. This picture is of us on the walkway over the wetland area.

A Fun Surprise

Here's a picture of me with E, Justus, and Joshua. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get James in the shot. I do have my trusty Medela Pump in Style Backpack on though...Ha! :oP

My best friend, Elizabeth (I call her "E") and her husband have planted a church in San Antonio. God started stirring their hearts in this direction 4 years ago! In their latest prayer letter they mentioned the official kickoff of their church, Vista Community Church, at an elementary school. E had surprised me by showing up to my baby shower back in October (With 2 boys and living all the way in San Antonio, I just had not expected her to be able to make it). Boy was I shocked! So, I decided to turn the tables on her. I didn't feel I could leave Evie long enough to drive there, and I couldn't manage taking her, so I decided to make a whirlwind trip via Southwest Airlines. I left Evie with Richard. It was such fun to see the look on E's face! I approached her from behind and said, "Excuse me, are you the pastor's wife?" Hee Hee! Their kickoff was a GREAT success with about 100 people attending! James (E's husband) preached a wonderful sermon on the Passover and how it relates to Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection. Afterward, I got to join them for barbeque. It is such a blessing to have such a special friendship that isn't lessened by distance or time apart.