White Christmas

Our trip to Arkansas went very well! Evan was great, didn't fuss at all. We stayed on our schedule really well the entire time. While we drove we'd stop at a fast food restaurant when it was time to feed him. I'd nurse him and then we'd put him on the table on his blanket and play with him for awhile. Then Matt would either order us a meal (since Evan's eating times line up with our meals) and we'd eat while Evan stayed on the table. Then we'd hold him for a little bit and then pack him up and go. By then it would be his nap time. His afternoon feeding wouldn't line up with our meals, but then we'd do the same thing except just order a snack or milkshake instead of a meal.

Evan also did really well while we were staying with my grandparents. He napped better than normal and he was really laid back. I was afraid he'd be super fussy like he was when we visited my mom's parents back in October, but he wasn't. The trip back wasn't so smooth, we had to make some unplanned stops (including pulling over on the side of a back road in the middle of nowhere in Alabama to change his diaper in the car!), but it could have been much worse.

Evan experienced his first snow and his first Christmas on the same day! How cool is that!? I couldn't believe that it snowed while we were there. The day we arrived it was great weather, very warm. But of course the temperature dropped that night and it rained the entire first whole day we were there. That turned to snow overnight and on Christmas morning there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground! I am not a snow fan AT ALL, but it was a fun experience for Evan's first Christmas and while we were on Christmas break since it didn't interrupt our everyday lives.

Evan received lots of presents of course. I can't even list them all, but most of them were clothes, little toys that he can play with now (and put in his mouth), and sippy cups (he got 3 of them, lol). Some other fun things were traditions that my mom started for him. My parents made a donation in his name to an organization that purchases and gives things to 3rd world countries. So Evan donated 5 ducks to a family in Africa. My parents are going to do that in place of a present every Christmas. He received his first Christmas ornament in his stocking from Nana. Every year he will also receive a Christmas book from Nana. :-) My parents also bought him an exersaucer that we have yet to assemble. I think he's about ready for it though, he's holding his head up really well.

Things that have been going on with him lately......

• His eyes are changing. At first I thought they were turning green in the middle, but now I think they are a light brown. The brown(green?) color is expanding and taking over more of the blue though! I'm so excited to see what they end up looking like!
• He is rolling over from his back to his tummy. He did it for the first time yesterday. :-)
• He is standing. I still hold his hands so he can balance, but he supports all of his weight. He can't do it for very long, but he just did it yesterday for the first time.
  

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!