Everly is 2 months old! And it's Halloween!

Everly Rose is 2 months old!

Two months old already...where does the time go?!! I can't believe our sweet baby Everly Rose is two months old!! She loves to snuggle (especially with and on Mama!), eat, lay in the sun with Paisley, swing in her chair, and watch her light projector with the sound machine at night. She really doesn't like any clothes that have to go on over her head so she still spends a lot of time in comfy sleepers! No need to waste a cute outfit anyway if we're just lounging at home! She is getting stronger everyday and starting to really hold her head up a lot more on her own and she can rock herself from side to side...she has also flipped herself over twice now while doing tummy time when she gets mad and is over it, she gets her legs up and under her just enough to flip over! Her hair is getting lighter and her eyes are getting bluer by the day so I think she's going to end up looking more like me than people thought when she was first born! I love just watching her sleep and eat and nap and lay with Paisley...I find myself getting lost in her and my heart feels so full when I'm snuggling with her and especially while I'm feeding her. I totally get that unique bond that everyone talks about when it comes to breastfeeding and I'm so thankful that I am able to do it for Everly. She's somewhere between 8-9 pounds and is completely out of preemie clothes but still only wearing newborn stuff...she's still our sweet tiny Peanut who we love so much!

Happy Halloween from the bakers and our sweet treats!

We celebrated Everly's first Halloween by dressing her up as a cupcake! I actually made the costume by using a sleep sack we received in the hospital and then I added the frosting, sprinkles, and cupcake liner to it. My mom helped me with the hat by making the cherry on top! It turned out so cute! Paisley was a long john donut so I made that with some cardboard, batting, scraps of fabric, and the same felt that I used for the sprinkles on Everly's costume. I'm so happy that my parents live close by us because they got to come over to see her dressed up on her 1st Halloween and then we made a trip to Jordan's parents so they could see her too. We had to show off our sweet little cupcake afterall! I can't wait until next Halloween when she is walking and we can take her trick-or-treating! 

she is excited for another Halloween outfit!  

Happy Halloween!
I love those sweet little hands on the pumpkin

Daddy sure is under her spell...
and so is everyone else!

let's go Hawks

tailgating with two of my favorite guys

Jordan and I finally got to go to our first Iowa football game of the season and thankfully they won! It was a nail biter down to the end and even went into overtime...any way it takes to get a victory, I'll take it! My mom stayed home from the game to hang out with Everly so Jordan and I were able to tailgate and enjoy some Hawkeye fun! It was a nice way to see how it will go on Monday when I leave again to start back at the hospital. But at least now I get to the spend the rest of the night and all day loving on my girl before Monday morning rolls around! Every weekend is a good one and a Hawkeye win makes it all that much sweeter!

on the clock...

I'm officially on the clock and down to one week left of staying home with Everly... next Monday I will be going back to the hospital to finish my last four weeks of my internship. While I'm excited to get back into the swing of things and finish it up, I'm dreading the thought of leaving her! Ughh....too many hormones and too many emotions, and not enough time! I am pretty thankful to be part of a department that is so family oriented though and understand what it's like to have a baby and to come back to work after having a baby so that makes it better. And leaving Everly with my mom will make things a thousand times easier...I would be a real hot mess if I had to drop her off at a daycare or with someone else!! Now I'll be spending the next week snuggling and loving on her even more than I do as I count down my days until I head back to the real world... which reminds me, I guess that means no more days on end of lounging in my sweats and glasses. Time for wearing real pants and making myself look presentable everyday again!

Goodbye my old sweet girl...

Goodbye my old sweet girl, Abby Lou. I knew the day I picked you out that you would be the best family dog ever... even if you did eat my birthday cake, Halloween candy, and Easter candy a few too many years in a row. You taught us about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering love and loyalty. We will be missing you and loving you always...

“A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water logged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?”

a 40 week transformation...

6 weeks pregnant
33 weeks pregnant
6 weeks post-delivery
total weight gain: 30 pounds
now back to pre-baby weight!

I've made the full circle of transformations over the past few weeks and months... and you can clearly see it! From starting at 6 weeks of being pregnant and clearly feeling sick with the flu (so awful...I've never felt more miserable or exhausted in my life!), to being 33 weeks pregnant, to finally 6 weeks post-partum and the delivery of our sweet baby! I'd be lying if I said I was never worried about the baby weight that I was gaining and what my post-baby body would look like... I actually would have several conversations with my sister and we would say "operation post-baby body" whenever I talked about working out or if I said I felt like I was eating/gaining way too much. I kept things in perspective because I knew I had to be gaining weight to have a healthy baby but I also didn't want to overdo it because all of that weight was going to have to come off one way or another! I wish I could add to this post some awesome workout plan that I've been doing since having Everly to help with the weight loss and to bounce back to my now post-baby body shape so fast...but I don't have any secrets. Well, I take that back. My secret to my post-baby bod started when I was pregnant. I ate a ton of fresh fruits and veggies everyday and walked at least 3-6 miles a day which was a huge help right there. I know some women use pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever they want to and to lay around being a bum (which trust me, I still had my days where I ate anything in sight and didn't leave the couch!) but I never let myself get into that mentality. I never said, "well I'm eating for two!" while other people would be quick to tell me that and give me permission to devour whatever was placed in front of me. I looked at it just like any other sort of healthy work-out and diet plan: everything in moderation. I knew I wouldn't be very happy with myself after having the baby if I was still going to be carrying around a lot of extra weight or had to continue wearing maternity clothes or buy bigger clothes so I always made a conscious effort to watch what I was eating, drank almost 200oz of water a day, and always tried to stay active and get walking at least! Everly was only 5 pounds when she was born so I had to knock off another 25 pounds to get back down to my pre-baby weight. A lot of that comes off easy because of the fluid/blood loss during delivery but the rest you have to work for! My other secret would be breastfeeding and pumping. That is a huge help with weight loss as it burns soo many calories, forces you to stay hydrated (I always have a water bottle with me!), and makes me reach for healthy snacks because I know everything that I take in, will eventually get to Everly. Regaining your pre-baby body after gaining 25-35 pounds doesn't have to be a dream like some women talk about...it is completely possible! And it starts with being pro-active and doing something about it while pregnant. A healthy mama makes for a healthy baby! Jordan and I hope to carry over these healthy habits as Everly grows so we can be active together and lead happy and healthy lives as a family! 

Off to the pumpkin patch we go!

fall family fun!

the cutest pumpkin in the patch!

Today was a perfect fall day here! So we took advantage of it and went to a local apple orchard and pumpkin patch! Jordan picked out a pumpkin to carve for Halloween and I took some sweet pictures of Everly. My mom and I propped her up in an apple basket and she slept (like a baby!) the whole time so she made it really easy to get some super cute shots...At one point, another woman walked by and said, "oh my gosh that's the cutest thing ever! That's not even my baby and I want to take a picture!" I love fall activities like this and can see it becoming a family tradition of ours each year! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well and got to enjoy some fall activities! 

Happy Due Date, Everly!

Happy due date, Everly! We've been lucky to love on you six weeks earlier than expected and you've been the greatest blessing in our lives ever since your arrival! I'm sure this was the first of many surprises that you'll have up your sleeve for us...but hopefully none of them turn into 2 week hospital stays! We are so lucky to be your parents and to have the chance to love you! You are sweet as can be and you already have us all wrapped around your finger!