Saturday

It's the end of January, but here in Virginia it sure doesn't feel like it. Today was in the high 60s, and I think most people would rejoice over that, but I'm not one of those people. I love, love winter; with the snow, scarves, boots, hot chocolate, and cuddling under blankets that comes with it. It's such a magical time of year. But, not in Virginia. Since it wasn't cold at all today, we decided to go to one of the many parks in the chesapeake area and have some fun. We went to this beautiful park that had a little lake and a giant bridge that went across it, and we fed the ducks, geese, and sea gulls that were there. Evie was pretty entertained with the birds for the first little while, but Dan and I had a lot if fun. Evelyn also tried the swings again, now that she's a little bigger, and she absolutely loved it. We took turns pushing her and hearing her squeal and giggle. It was glorious. On our way home we stopped at ihop for dinner and evie had her very first restaurant meal that was all her own. I forgot to bring any food for her with us, so we just ordered some scrambled eggs and pancakes off the children's menu and called it good. In case you were wondering, she was thrilled by the whole experience and let the whole restaurant know it. I took lots of super cute pictures of us at the park, as well as some videos, but somehow they were all deleted. Still not sure how, so I'm trying not to dwell on that for now. There was a really funny one of evelyn with her plate if food. Sei la vie. The picture at the top is now the only one I have because I sent it to Facebook.

This last week has been really rough. Evie started it with a cold and ended it with an ear infection. Combine that with teething, and that has been our week. So, that is why we went out and did something today. Man, did I need to get out. Of. The. House. Other than that, life has been pretty ordinary, and I'm beginning to think that's not such a bad thing.

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resolutions

This year, I am going to try really hard to:

1. go to bed earlier than 11
2. be a better mom to Evie
1. by playing more
2. and being more creative
3. keep losing weight
4. work out at least once a week. This one may be the hardest one
5. eat better
6. go out and see things on weekends
7. go to the temple more
8. complain less
9. read more
10. take more pictures... as soon as I find my camera's battery charger

I'll let you know how it goes. Here's to 2012! 

Bedroom

We finally moved the dresser from our garage to our bedroom this weekend. Hallelujah. So, our bedroom is almost done now. I just need a bookcase or something to fill a little wall space and maybe a bench to go under the window? Something. But, what do you think so far?

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being a mom has taught me many things

• including, but not limited to, doing almost everything with one hand. ie: cooking, cleaning, my hair, errands, etc. 
• going around with food stains on your clothes is acceptable
• also, not showering until 2 in the afternoon is also acceptable
• an outing to the grocery store is a grand affair
• how to be patient
• and then add more patience onto that patience
• that sometimes I am just not going to look my best and that is okay
• how to get stains out of anything
• that I have no imagination, so I need to work on that
• time management; I thought I learned this in college, but that was nothing compared to squeezing everything I need to do into 2 short nap periods of time during the day. 
• to be more tidy. she sticks EVERYTHING in her mouth, so keep stuff off the floor
• that I no longer require 8 hrs of sleep to survive
• how to entertain a tiny human
• and that crock pot dinners are the best thing ever

But, mostly it has taught me love and joy. Love is so much more complex and deep than I comprehended before hand. I love Dan and I love my family, but the love a parent has for their child is something completely different. Being a parent myself has really helped me realize just how much my heavenly father loves me. It has improved my relationship with Him and my Savior and I am so grateful for that. Sometimes it's frustrating and hard, but at the end of the day it is so worth it to have Evie and call myself a mother. I have been thinking about this a lot lately because I was thinking there was no way I was ready for another baby just yet, but now I don't know. Evelyn has brought us so much joy and she is becoming so independent already that I think another baby may not be such a bad thing after all. However, this is not an announcement because it is just a passing thought and more than likely will not happen.

I love being a mom and I love my little family. I am so thankful to have a home where we can feel comfortable, safe, and have the spirit. I am so happy to be in Virginia and have the opportunity to meet the great people I have met and seen all the things I have been able to see.

Being a mom has taught me all of that; to count my blessings, multi-task, and to be grateful for the little things. Being a parent truly is a sanctifying process and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

nine months

My baby girl is turning into a toddler! Yikes! I can't believe how fast she is growing up. Within the last couple of days she has learned to pull herself up, go from laying down to sitting, and started stacking things. She still isn't doing the traditional crawling thing, but her push-up/worm thing that she does is very effective and she is really good at it. If I don't keep a close eye on her, she gets into everything. I feel like she is happier now that she is mobile and can get to places she wants to go, because she is just so smart that being tied down in any one place or activity for too long makes her ornery. Evie is eating solid food like a champ now and can drink out of a sippy cup and loves it. What!? I am loving watching her learn and grow and seeing that cute little personality come out. Recently, her favorite thing to do is shake her head "no" about everything. She thinks it is quite hilarious. Also, she loves it if you go away from her and say, "come here Evie girl". She gets so excited and vigorously does the worm towards you. Another fun thing she has been doing lately is pushing her box of Baby Einstein DVDs around. She stands up with the box in front of her and pushes it around. Maybe it's time for one of those toys that helps babies walk. She talks to me all day long, saying things like "babababa" and "dadadadada". I'm pretty sure she isn't associating "dada" with Dan, but he sure seems to get a kick out of it anyway. Evelyn had her nine month check up today and everything looks great! Apparently she's in the middle, percentage wise, in almost every category. I don't know what else to say about her except that she is an absolute joy and I love her. I have to go because she got into the TV cabinet again.

Goodbye 2011 and Hello 2012

 This year was a really great, and eventful, year for the Christensens. I wasn't sure how to go about cataloging it so that I could remember it all, and then my amazing cousin used this format for her post, and I am going to copy it.

 In January we had to say goodbye to my sweet grandpa Nelson. He was 94 years old and was happy and loving until his last moments. I was able to go out to Utah with my family for the funeral. The rest of that month was spent getting ready for a baby and blogging about nonsense.

 In February Dan and I had our last Valentine's Day together with no kids. The food was delicious. We still lived in Manhattan, KS where it actually snows in the winter and Dan got to be a super hero, Lianne and Derek came to visit, and I started some serious nesting.

 March was a little rough because I was so humongous and uncomfortable. Most of this month was spent keeping my mind off of the human I was growing inside of me with sewing and crafting of a general nature. I also had my baby shower, which was a lot of fun.

 April was the best month by far because my beautiful Evelyn Louisa was born. We learned all kinds of new things this month like, how to change a diaper without getting pee everywhere,breastfeeding takes a lot of patience, how to function on little to no sleep, and that life is just better with a baby.  For Easter my mom and sisters came up to visit us which was a delightful surprise.

 In May, Dan graduated from Vet school, finally, and we blessed our little Evie. In case you were wondering, she cried through the entire blessing. Dan was pretty flustered, poor guy.  I also got to celebrate my very first mother's day as a new mother; Dan bought me a nook. This month we learned which acid reflux medicine worked on Evie and everyone was so much happier as a result. At the end of May, Dan went to San Antonio for training and I moved in with my parents.

 Most of June was spent missing Dan and hanging out with my parents. I had two new nieces born this month as well; Calvyn Abigayle and Jori Colette. At the end of June, we said goodbye to our beloved Manhattan and moved to Virginia. Oh! I also had a birthday somewhere in there as well. 24!

 In July we moved into our house and started settling into our new life in Virginia. Also, I fell down the stairs and broke my back.

 Because of my back injury, most of August we had house guests, which was great. My mom came first and stayed a week, followed by Lianne, then my dad, and finally Diane. While my mom was here we went to the beach. It was a perfect day for the beach and it was fun to get out of the house. Most of the time spent with Lianne was playing with Calvyn and Evie, so we didn't get out and do much unfortunately. We took my dad to Yorktown while he was here and walked around the museum there, and I swear my dad was like a kid in a candy shop. The week that Diane was here was pretty epic. We had a fire, earthquake, tornado, and hurricane all in the same week. Needless to say, her time here was very exciting.

 September started with the end of Diane's stay, which was a little rough for me. We had so many visitors helping me out for so long, that after she left I was super nervous about taking care of Evie by myself with my back still out of commission. So, needless to say, most of this month was adjusting to wearing a brace and taking care of Evelyn at the same time. It was also this month that Dan surprised me with the cutest letter.

October brought us Dan's birthday, Evie's first Halloween, and the start of solid foods. I was also able to record some of Evie's delightful giggles, because at this point Evelyn giggled and smiled all day long. Also this month, Kasie Fry came to visit us. Love her.

November was a pretty exciting month. Evie turned seven months, I mourned her no longer being a newborn, celebrated Veteran's Day, and Evie and I went to Utah for a week to visit the Christensens. After we got back from Utah we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal with a giant turkey and great friends.

December was so much fun. At the beginning of this month, we decked our halls with Christmas decor and wrapped some presents to put under our brand new tree. Evie turned 8 months old, Dan had a pretty fun work party in which Evie met Santa, Dan bought me a droid, and we went to Wichita for a week to spend Christmas with my family. I never did get around the posting about Christmas, so here are some pictures.

Evelyn in her "my first Christmas" jammies

All dressed up to reenact the nativity story.

Having fun at Exploration Place

Calvyn and Evelyn having fun together.

This year was my favorite by far. Here's hoping next year is just as great.