February

Charlie and I started off the month by meeting up with some friends and going to the open gym at the RiverPlex in downtown Peoria. I had never been to that before so it was a fun experience for me to. We had fun watching her boys run around playing on all the mats and such. Since Charlie had really just started crawling he was a little unsure of himself, but he found a little foam dodge ball and had fun rolling it away from himself and then crawling after it. Towards the end of the open gym most of the kids had left so Charlie and I were able to play on some of the slides and stuff more without being trampled. Here is a little video of Charlie going down the slide.

Charlie and I went to a super bowl party with some friends that live in Delavan Il, and had a nice time visiting with them. Their church hosted the party and the community center, so there were a lot of people there, and it was a little hectic for my taste, but it was nice to catch up with some friends that we hadn't seen in a while.

Unfortunately I think the busy schedule and over stimulation from being around so many people at the party made for a not so fun Monday for Charlie and I. He woke up Monday morning with a fever of 101.5 so I decided to take him to the Doctor. The Doctor we saw that day was not the one we usually see, and I was not a fan of her. She made me feel really stupid about bringing him in since he had no other symptoms other than the fever. But just a few days prior we had been with another friend who's son ended up with strep so I was just being cautious. Well the Doctor couldn't find anything wrong and sent us home with instructions to call back if any other symptoms showed up or if the fever didn't go away in a few days. After a day of snuggles with mommy and a little tylenol Charlie was back to his normal self.

We decided to get rid of the coffee table in our living room because Charlie kept bumping his head on it, and it was so big that it didn't leave a ton of room for Charlie to play. We opted for a storage ottoman that is padded, that way we have a place to keep his toys, and he won't bump his head on the sharp corners of the old table.  Here is a picture of Charlie enjoying his new toy box!

On a more personal note I decided to start another blog about my baby weight loss journey. If you want to check it out HERE is the link! I also decided to be Handy Momma and instal all of the child locks on the cabinets in the kitchen and living room. I got all of them done in one afternoon with no help at all, I'm pretty proud of myself!

We decided to venture to the Lakeview Museum with some friends of ours, and we actually had a pretty good time. There was a whole children's area, and then they had a dinosaur exhibit with a lot of kids stuff set up also. Here are a few pictures from our trip. 

Charlie print on the pin wall

fun house mirror

digging for fossils

Charlie loved the 3 way mirror box!!!

Riding in the Dino Jeep

T-REX!!!

Dino dress up

Charlie-saurus

Charlie has been getting really good at throwing a ball. I had bought him a little basket ball after out trip to the open gym ( seeing how much he liked playing with that foam ball I just had to get him one) Here is a little video of Charlie and Daddy playing catch...

Almost every morning Charlie has a bowl of Cheerios and raisins for breakfast. He sits on the floor in our living room with his little bowl and eats his breakfast while watching morning cartoons. Isabel ( our dog) has discovered that if she waits around long enough that she gets some breakfast to. Here is a picture of the breakfast buddies...

Charlie turned 10 Months!!!! He is getting so big, I can't believe that he is going to be a year old in just 2 months. Here are his 10 Month pictures...

Nick, Charlie and I decided to go to the zoo since Nick had not gotten to go with Charlie and I the last few times we had gone. We had a pretty fun time. Most the animals were not to active since it is pretty cold still, but for once the Lion was REALLY active, and was actually clawing at the glass trying to get this little girls stuffed animal. Here is a little video of Charlie in front of the lion cage while the lion in trying to get out!

Later that night Charlie went and spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa Evans while Nick and I went to our friend's bands concert, and then went out afterward for a date night. Our friend's band is called Hello Industry, and if you have never heard of them you really need to check them out. The show was a 30/30 coffee in downtown Peoria, and it was a blast. Nick ran sound and I took photos. Here are a few of my favorite pics from the show...

I found out last week that my endometriosis has returned and that now it has attached to my ovary. If you are not familiar with my history I will give a brief summery. I was diagnosed with Endometriosis in 2009 after a laparoscopic diagnostic surgery. After trying many different birth controls that were supposed to help my symptoms, and a few different hormone treatments that were supposed to help. I decided that it was not worth it anymore and decided to take a more natural approach. All the medications were making me feel worse, and not helping in the ways they were supposed to so I stopped taking all of it and tried changing my diet, started exercising, and doing some other lifestyle changes and my symptoms improved quite a bit. When I got pregnant with Charlie my symptoms were gone, and they stayed gone until a few months ago when I started my period again. Each month my symptoms have been coming back more and more, and this past month my abdominal pain has been pretty bad. I decided to go to the doctor and it turns out my endometriosis is back and it is now on my ovary which most likely means I have at least 1 if not more surgeries in my future. 

As a treat to myself I decieded to get my hair done and I went a little crazy this time. I like it, but I'm not sure it's going to be a color I do often, but it is a fun change...

Charlie is getting such a personality, and I am loving every second of watching him grow and turn into a little person!!! He is so much fun, and I am so blessed to be his mommy. I am really looking forward to his Birthday in April, and celebrating with family and friends. 

January part 2

January has been a very eventful month for Charlie, so eventful I had to break up the month into 2 post!
Charlie had his first accident that drew blood! He was trying to pull up on the coffee table in the living room and he fell bumping his chin which made him bite his lip. That same day he also face-planted onto his bead maze and got a little scratch under his nose.

Charlie and I went to bloomington to surprise my family by coming to by Grandmas birthday gathering. only my dad knew I was coming, so everyone was very excited to see us when we got there. Charlie had a really nice time playing with his grandparents and great grandparents. He also really enjoyed eating a whole adult size piece of great grandmas cake! Here are a few pictures of Charlie playing with great grandpa...

I got to see Charlie crawl forward for the first time that same night, it was only a few feet but I was sooooo excited! Nick told me later that he had seen him crawl forward a few feet the night before while he was watching him, but it was the first time I had seen him do it. I tried getting  a video that night of him crawling, but of corse as soon as I got my phone out he decided to stop. I did get a video a few days later though...

Along with crawling Charlie also started a slightly more annoying activity...grinding his teeth! He makes the cutest little face when he does it that looks like he is pouting, but it is the WORST sound in the world to hear those little teeth grinding together. Here is a picture of his little teeth grinding face...

Charlie is also no longer the baby in the Evans Family. My Brother-in-law and sister-in-law had a new baby boy! We took a little trip to the hospital to meet little baby Drew Alan Evans...

We have had a lot of fun playing with Charlie lately, he is learning so fast, and it is so fun now that he can play along more and enjoy his toys. Here are a few videos of some play time...

See you next month!

The first part of January

Charlie decided to start the new year off by crawling...sort of. While trying to move forward he ended up scooting his way across the room backwards. He gets up on his arms and because he doesn't push forward with his feet he ends up pushing backwards with his arms. Here is a little video I captured of that first night of scooting...

We got a new tv for our living room up stairs so that Charlie and I don't have to watch tv on the computer anymore. We got a blue-ray player to go with it that has Netflix on it so we can watch movies and tv shows from there as well as what is on the rabbit ears.  Here is a picture of the new set up. Nick is actually in the process of building a new tv stand as this one was not really made for a tv and doesn't fit very well in the room. The one Nick is making will go in the corner. 

Charlie and Isabel are really starting to like playing together. Here is a little video of the two of them playing...

He has also started dancing when he hears music which is sooooo cute! Not only does he do it when I tell him to dance, but just the other day we were at the grocery store and I looked over at him sitting in the cart and he was dancing like a crazy man to the music playing. Here is a little video of him dancing...

Charlie, Kamden, Megan and I took advantage of the beautiful january weather we have had and went to the zoo. The boys had a fun time looking at all the animals, and then going to the park and doing a little swinging afterwards. Here are a few pictures...

We also had a fun little play date with Jocelyn and Nikki. Jocelyn insisted on bringing Charlie every toy she could find when we told her that Charlie couldn't crawl yet. It was pretty funny watching the two of them, and I can't wait until Charlie can crawl because I think they will have a ball!

Charlie had his 3rd and 4th tooth pop through this month! Here is a pic of #3

Charlie turned 9 Months in January, here are his 9 month pictures. They are inspired by the photo book called "when my baby dreams"

We had to purchase a new car seat this month because my big boy has out grown his infant one. He was still ok in his old one by the weight, but he was getting to tall for it. The one we got is still rear facing because Charlie is to light to be forward facing, but it is convertible so it can go forward facing and also be a booster seat so it should last us until around 80 lbs, which for Charlie will probably be until he is in high school! Here is a picture of Charlie in his new seat...

We also made our first adventure out into the snow this winter. Charlie was not sure what to think, and didn't really enjoy it to much so we were only outside for about 10 minuets, just long enough to snap a few pictures and make a snow angel...