July update

WOW time has flown by. I have tried to keep up with this blog to give updates at least once a month but it has been difficult!

Evan is doing great and I really have noticed a change in his scar over the past few weeks. I look at pictures from April and May and it just appears to have really turned whiter and somewhat faded. I have to look at old pictures to notice the changes! Scar massage has still been difficult as Evan does NOT like to sit still. Hopefully as he gets older this becomes easier, or we need to find new ways to distract him.

We have had an exciting summer so far – spent a week in Corolla in the Outer Banks with three other families. It was a great time (minus the awful traffic) and the ocean was perfect - cold but tolerable as the air temperatures were so hot. Evan was able to enjoy the beach and seemed to prefer it over the pool. I think he is at the stage/age where he wants to run around so sitting in a floatie not really moving gets old after about ten seconds!

Evan’s vocabulary still amazes us and he is up to about 20-25 words, maybe more. He can say words like tooth, apple, bubble, book, etc but not mom or mommy! I know it’s a more difficult word but still!!

He eats like a champ so we were shocked to see he was still in the 7th percentile for weight at his 15-month visit. He is tall though and gaining so we are all good!

Not much else to update…but enjoy some pics!

May Update

Ugh I wrote a post a few weeks ago but deleted it!!
Some Evan updates…the man is on the MOVE. He started walking around 11 months but it took him about 5 weeks to become a pro. Now we are approaching full-fledged running. It still scares us to have him upstairs on the hardwoods/tile, mainly because of a step we have between our dining room and living room. Evan continues to be SUPER curious but isn’t into everything (yet). He is more of a pointer/observer.
We not only hit the walking milestone but we are also talking talking talking. Evan did say mamamama a few months ago but it has somehow vanished from his vernacular. Instead, he says: dada, outside (sssside), cah (Cotter), uh ohhhh, bah (ball) and I’m sure I’m forgetting some things.
I absolutely LOVE the interaction at this age and watching him learn right and wrong. Evan’s bathtub has a build-in soap tray that he eyes whenever he gets in the bath. To be consistent with Maria at daycare, when he is not suppose to touch something, we wave our finger at it and with a slightly higher tone say “ahh uhhh!”. So, at each bath, Evan looks at the soap tray, waves his finger back and forth, and says “ah uh” and leaves it be.
Sleeping has been an ongoing battle. We have a long string of good days followed by a killer bad one. I think it is a combination of teething (up to 7 teeth) and separation anxiety. Last night in particular, he sat in his crib wailing, no tears, for about 30 minutes starting at 2:30. He was FINE when I held him, fell back asleep instantly in my arms. I put him back in his crib after 10 mintutes of rocking only to start the nonsense all over. Jeff went and got him after 15 minutes of round 2, and he wouldn’t have it. I took him again and instantly, he stopped. This is a difficult stage and I’ve read SO MANY controversial books. Some say to give into it and squash their separation fears and they will eventually “forget” that you aren’t always there and no longer fear you’ll never return. Others say to let them cry cry cry. This separation cry is distinct and unlike others, so for now, I’ve been giving in. Ugh. I forgot to ask for the parenting manual for my Mother’s Day gift!
Speaking of Mother’s Day, it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO fun. The 3 of us went to brunch in Baltimore followed by the National Aquarium. I always love being around anything water-related, and I could spend the whole day there! Evan was absolutely fantastic too, he is becoming quite the outgoing flirt. I love it.
As far as his scar goes, we still try to massage it but sitting a toddler down, exhausted, before bed…never a good combo. I think it would be much easier if he was easily distracted but with a 8 second attention span, we don’t get very far. Hopefully it gets better with time, and for now, we are doing the best we can.
Evan also got his first haircut (NOT A FAN), which unfortunately was after his 13-month weight check. He had ANOTHER stitch removed (we had one at his 1-year appt too) and that was just horrifying. This stitch was half in/half out of his head but not connected to anything (if that makes any sense), and the doctor was concerned about tearing it while attempting to pull it out, so she just shaved it down. She said “hopefully” it will come out over time but ugh. He is still in the 7th percentile for weight and 70th for height. He was 7th at his 1-year checkup so at least he has gained weight (about 13 oz). Between the stitch and the haircut, we felt so bad for the little guy so we went to the local froyo place for a treat.
Besides that, we are fine. Evan has become less and less fond of being in his carseat. I’ve watched too many horrifying videos of families who have kids that break their neck at 15 months because they switch them to front-facing, so for now and the near future, he is staying rear-facing.
We have a VERY busy summer - OBX, weddings, ending in VEGAS…and hopefully lots of pool time with Evan in between!!

Evan turns ONE!!

Holy moly!!

March Update

I’m not sure if anyone reads this or follows us anymore but that certainly won’t stop me from picture overload J We are a little more than 3 months post-op and I think Evan is continuing to heal nicely. We asked our daycare provider, Maria, to help us with scar massage and she does it whenever she can. It is hard to put an 11.5 month old on a changing table, let alone have him sit still to massage his forehead. I’d love to trade places with him!! Anyway, not much else to update. Evan has had a bad runny nose now for almost two weeks, ever since his first flight, so I blame the recycled air. Or the fact that it is 39 degrees in late-March, 10 days after we were in the 80s in Florida. No fever, so I have made it almost 365 days without having to stay home from work to tend to a sick baby. I’ll take it (and continue to knock on wood!). We got up to 18 steps last night so I’ll give him a few more weeks until we both become mini marathon runners from chasing his cuteness around the house. Enjoy the pics!