um, let's be honest, I wanted a girl

yes, of course

our first priority was a happy, healthy baby

with that being said, I wanted a daughter

like real bad

like having a little anxiety attack before we found out her gender

like I might have shed a tear if that ultrasound tech saw something "extra"

the mr. and I have decided that we are going to only have one child

[hold your hostility please, we can talk about it later]

so I knew that we had one shot to get what I wanted

and the odds, well, they weren't as great as I would have liked

now, the mr., I really do think, deep down, did not care

if we had a son or daughter

and bless him for that

now, why my gender bias?

let me share

I come from a family of women, yeah, we have men, obviously

but not many, and on most days, my life is that of women

my weekends are spent with my mom and grandma

special days are spent with my sister

and yeah, I like it that way, and as you could guess, a daughter

just seemed to complete the little family puzzle

other reasons you ask?

well, girls are special because you can dress them up in a tutu

and play with them in the dirt all the same

I was an athlete all my life, and since the mr. was too, I have a feeling

miss everly may have a little of it in her too

and my last reason why I wanted a daughter, well, they stick around

I believe that when you do a great job of raising a son

they move on, and no longer need you, 

and probably don't have lunch with you every week

or call you every day just to chat

but daughters, well, they can be different

I am extremely close with my mom, she is my best friend

the person I love spending every weekend with, and now that I'm at home

sometimes E and I sneak in a mid-week lunch date too

so this being said, I expect Everly to stick around

and when she is all grown up, which quite frankly needs to happen

in like a hundred years

I expect her to become my friend, and stick around

and that folks, is why I thank the mr. everyday

[or at least everyday in my head]

that he gave me a little girl

oh hey, I'm twelve weeks old

so clearly having two parents home with me

for the last two weeks made me a busy little lady

because I completely forgot to write about my 11th week

oh well, I'm past it

so, week twelve

it seems like so much happened in this one little span of seven days

for instance, I now love to talk all day long

of course no one is understanding me quite yet

but that doesn't stop me from  telling them any story that comes to mind

and considering they aren't comprehending my words

they still seem pretty into them

this week mom also made sure that I had more time on my tummy

man, I'm sure figuring this whole tummy business out fast

I can hold my head up high, and even get my legs moving pretty well

however, having the head up and legs/arms moving as one,

well, not yet, but soon I tell ya

 don't you just love these last two pictures

I can't let mom think that taking my picture is that easy

so I try to throw in a sad face every once in a while

but seeing as how these pictures were taking one after the other

clearly I didn't make it very hard on her for too long

this week I also got weighed again

[geez, my parents are sure into doing this]

and I'm now at 10 1/2 pounds

I'm still gaining weight, just a little slower than others

I keep trying to tell mom that I am just not that big of an eater

but she still seems to worry about it a bit

other big things this week include my obsession with my Sophies

I make sure to always have my little Sophie in the car with me

and big Sophie stays at home for right now

I think as I get bigger I'll bring along big Sophie

but I still have a hard time holding her for too long

even with this being said, I can now officially hold my Sophies

and get them to my mouth, and that makes me pretty happy

I think that just about sums up week twelve

and today I get to go visit Auntie Meg, which I'm pretty excited about

so I probably should go

-Everly Mae

just shopping in san francisco with the girls

yesterday Everly went on her first trip to San Francisco

we were on the hunt for bridesmaids dresses for Jaymee's wedding

and from start to finish the day was a success

we found dresses and shoes

changed diapers on Bart

[bay area regional transit]

and were even asked if we were looking for prom dresses

and considering I'm on the closer side of thirty

I'm going to take that as a compliment

and clearly even having Everly in my arms isn't aging me much!

and even after a day of shopping with the girls

E still had a little energy for a quick pizza date 

with those boys we left behind

[I think she had more energy than Jaymee and myself actually]

talk about a thankful mama

I feel like with every week I get more confident with our outings

and I find myself forgetting how road trips used to be before Everly Mae

and I'm pretty ok with that

all photos edited with Afterglow

how my daughter has made me a calmer person

since I was born, I pretty much hit the ground running

with a pretty intense personality [sorry mom]

now being a type A kind of girl has its upsides

like graduating from college in three years and being in your career at twenty-two

but my whole life I have always felt like I am moving non-stop

I remember when on break from classes in college

or on summer break from teaching, and just being restless

not enough to do, and too much time, ha, those were the days

when I thought of myself pregnant, or as a mom, I pictured a very wound-up persona

reading every book on pregnancy and parenting on the planet

always worried about sleep schedules and current parenting practices

but something funny happened when I actually became pregnant with Everly

I had no interest in those books, I only read one, Your Best Birth

[which I highly suggest, but that probably will be another post all together]

and even though I had my fair share of nesting, it was by no way what 

I thought it was going to be like

[no, I wasn't cleaning out the fridge at 2am like I was told]

my Everly changed me before she was even born
now, I am by no way saying I am cool as a cucumber
but I just feel a new calm
if it takes us two hours to get ready and leave the house, so be it
if I only get one errand done in a day, well, that is a victory
masters homework will get done when it really needs to get done
when I wake up before the entire family, I can just lay there forever
and stare at my little family
before Everly, as soon as my eyes opened in the morning, I was OUT of bed, stat
but not now
so let's just say that motherhood changed me in a way I did not expect
and I kind of love it
and I have a feeling my blood pressure will thank me in the future
not to mention when raising a girl gets really fun, like the teenage years
well, hopefully I'll still have a little calm from my Everly to get me through

co-sleeping works for us

if you would have asked me before Everly was born if I was going to co-sleep

my answer would have been, kind of

we have a co-sleeper bed for E to sleep in

and if you haven't seen one, it is pretty much a basket you put your baby in

and then you put the basket in with you in the bed

well, Everly has slept in it a total of zero times

she just wouldn't have it

since this little thing made her big debut

she has not slept anywhere but near us

even the first night she refused to sleep in the little hospital bed

they bring you when rooming in with your baby

instead, that little bed was used for nothing but changing her diaper

she slept in my arms the first night

we tried when we got home a few different things

the first night she slept in a swing

and if my memory serves me right, she has been in our bed since day three

so now we sleep belly to belly

and I couldn't love it any more

for a nursing baby, co-sleeping just makes sense, at least it does for us

Everly doesn't cry at night, like at all

she wakes me up by waving her arms a bit, or cooing, or a little of both

but no crying, which is a relief since we live above a very nice couple

that have already raised their kids, and might not be too happy being up all night

with our little one

but anyways, I digress

so, this isn't a research-based post on co-sleeping

and if you want that, maybe check out this or this

but here are a few things to keep in mind

make sure the little one stays flat, and stay away from heavy blankets

Everly usually just has a sheet from her waist down

and since we are right next to each other, she never gets cold

I think the first thing that people ask when they hear we co-sleep is

"aren't you worried about rolling over on her?"

well, no, not really

risk factors for rolling over on your little one include

the use of alcohol, drugs, or obesity 

[the first two seem pretty obvious to me, but hey, there you go]

they also say that nursing mothers have even more instinct about where their baby 

is in relation to themselves while sleeping

and I find this to be so true

I can tell if the mr. has gotten too close to us

and I instantly find myself swatting him back onto his side of the bed

talk about a protective mother

but here's the deal, I love sleeping with this little lady

waking up with her is such an amazing way to start the day

she is always so happy in the mornings, like extra happy

and sure, one day she will sleep in her crib

but for now, co-sleeping works for us

because we love all things vintage...and we think E does too

a few years back the mr. and I discovered one of our favorite places 

to go antiquing, Long Beach Antique Mall II

there are technically two Long Beach Antique Malls, but their second location

is my favorite

and so this is where I decided to snap a few pictures of Everly doing her first

"vacation antiquing"

because hey, having a baby doesn't mean you have to stop doing things you like

so here it is

turns out that antiquing can actually be a great baby activity

there is just so much for them to see

I love this last image, the boys are clearly pondering that giant pot

but not our E, she has already figured out that thing, and moved onto that vintage sled

 another thing I'm loving now that Everly is bigger

is we love holding her so she can see everything

and no, don't hold her like a baby

because she will cry, and if you have spent any time with her

you know she doesn't cry very easily

so you don't want to be the person to put her over the edge!

Everly and the Magic Kingdom [part II]

a first trip to Disneyland is pretty magical

even if you are too young to remember it

that is why we photographed the experience pretty thoroughly

I do believe that starting young with Disneyland is key

to really loving the park as an adult [I think I was about two my first visit]

so here are Everly's firsts - Disneyland edition

first ride in Disneyland - Jungle Cruise

our cruise captain was very sweet with E, and since

we were the last tour of the evening, there were very few people on board

and she spared us all the gunshots that might have sent Everly over the edge

instead, we got an animated "bang, bang" from our enthusiastic cast member

first ride in Fantasyland - Peter Pan [E slept through the whole flight]

first ride in California Adventure - Toy Story Mania

Everly was hanging out in the Baby Bjorn on this ride

and I was hoping she was going to slow down the Mr. from getting such 

a high score, unfortunately, he still beat me by a few thousand

first meal in Disneyland - The Plaza Inn on Main Street

even though Everly wasn't joining in on the eating exactly

this was still her first meal in the park

and man, was it a good one

half a fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and a biscuit for $13

considering we were in the park, I would say not too shabby of a meal for the price

first parade - Mickey's Soundsational Parade

E really like the parade as we walked by

talk about amazing stimulation for a little one, she was in awe of it all

and as you can see, I was really into her reactions

first character - Donald Duck [Everly's great-grandma's favorite character]

first princess Everly met - Snow White

and as it turned out, Snow White was the only character that Everly smiled for

so, we are going to say that Snow White is Everly's favorite Disney character

at least for now

the day we spent in the park was mostly for pictures and a few rides

the little lady has ridden so far:

Jungle Cruise, It's a Small World [holiday], Dumbo, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Toy Story Mania and visited Mickey and Minnie's houses

for a first trip, I would say it was a success

oh hey, I'm ten weeks old

if I could have a favorite

being ten weeks old would surely be my favorite week so far

this week I went on my first vacation to Disneyland

my first visit to the beach while staying in Manhattan Beach

I got to feel sand for the first time, and see the ocean, and a lot of sun

I was great with the first two things

the sun, well, it's ok, but I prefer keeping my eyes closed if it gets too bright

or wear my dad's shades of course

other firsts include my first smathering of sunblock [thanks mom for that]

I also got to have some tummy time on the beach

and I'm pretty into being on my tummy these days

I started figuring out some scooting this week

in fact, leave me there for a couple of minutes and I will get myself

turned in a half-circle pretty quickly

and one of the best parts of my vacation to southern california

was the warmer weather, like temperatures in the 70's

and since the highs were in the 30's when we left home

mom was pretty excited to get to see my toes and head without

a ton of layers on them!

time for a quick snooze at grandma and grandpa's house before dinner

until next week

-Everly Mae

celebrating Dr. King with positive/negative art [out of the files]

it is no surprise that I do A LOT of art with my classrooms, and many times I re-use and tweak art lessons to fit any of my classrooms.  However, one of my favorite art projects of all time is one that I have only had the opportunity to do ONCE with my own students.  So, seeing as how it is that time of the year again [happy birthday Dr. King] and once again I have no chance to do this art project with my own students, I'm sharing it here so hopefully many kids out there will get to experience the awesomeness of the project!

I have shared this lesson on this blog twice now [here & here].  I have only taught this lesson with my 5th grade students, but I would say that it is very doable with 4th graders on up.  If you teach 2nd or 3rd and your students have been introduced to many art projects, are fairly proficient with scissors, then go for it.  When I taught my 2/3 combination I was really my students first introducer into the world of art, so we skipped this project for the year [they would have been able to do something of this level by the end of the year, so you just have to judge your own class].

Now yes, I know that it is the Friday before the holiday for Dr. King, but it is not too late to do something with your classes to celebrate his birthday.  In fact, a four day week sounds like a perfect time to fit in some Dr. King art and writing.  I am guilty of being an inspiration only teaching blog, and I'm not one to add linkable resources for the projects I do here [sorry, that's probably not going to change].  However, Nicole over at Teaching with Style is one of those awesome teacher bloggers who includes the goods with her posts!  So, Nicole was inspired by this lesson, did it with her 2nd graders, and linked up some freebies to do the lesson with your own kids.

If you haven't done positive/negative art before, I suggest looking at the Blick lesson plan to help you out [it was the only one that made sense to me, and Nicole used it too, so it must be helpful].  I would also make sure to make your own Dr. King example [probably a few to make sure you really have it]before starting this with your class, or disaster may strike!

This lesson will really challenge your kids with following directions, something that all our kids need practice with!  Also, I was lucky enough to have a document camera [ELMO] to use while doing this project with my kids.  It is a STEP BY STEP project.  Because you need ALL the paper you are cutting, having kids go off on their own can turn out problematic.  Also, make sure your kiddos have clean hands before starting this project because once you get glue stick, dirty ball wall hands, and white construction paper together you can kiss those squeeky clean projects goodbye!  I love baby wipes to get this done quick and easy by the way.

I paired this art with some "I Have a Dream" poetry writing with my kids, but you could really take the writing portion anywhere that works for your kids.  Good luck and if you try this project out, I would love to hear how it goes [and see a picture if possible].

Everly and the Magic Kingdom [part I]

the beginning of the week we took E on her first "official" vacation

over two days we spent upwards of nine hours in the parks

with a ten week old

and can I just say it really was the best time ever

the mr. and I have been to Disneyland a lot

and we always looked at the people who had babies in the park as crazy people

always asking ourselves why anyone in their right mind would do that

and well, then we were those crazy people

turns out, when it is your baby there is no where else you rather be

than standing in lines for character photo ops

and hitting up Fantasyland real big

 now of course I have many more photos to share

but I figured let's spread out the goodness for a few days

so stay tuned for all of Everly's firsts in the park

as well as some tricks to enjoying [not just surviving] Disneyland with a real little one

so, the past two days were magical

there are many things that I love in this world

I am pretty into the mr.

I love me some Everly Mae

and Disneyland is one of my favorite places on the planet

and the past two days I had all three 

and let's just say, it was AMAZING

and awesome

and I cannot wait to share more of our time 

in the Happiest Place on Earth

but hey, I spent five hours in the park today with a baby

so it is time to take it easy

so I'll just leave you with this little number

let's just say it was pretty much non-stop unbearable cuteness all day

well, at least we know she got something from her mama

since everly was born there has been one thing that everyone sees

she looks a lot like her daddy

the mr. and I cannot see it all the time, because to us, she just looks like our E

but yesterday while I was in class

I was reminded the one thing my daughter got from me

funny faces

not silly faces, and if you ask me to make five funny faces on cue

I probably wouldn't be able to do it

no, these faces are completely subconscious, and some can get me in a pickle

I was sitting in class listening very intently to the professor

and the next thing I know she is making eye contact with me

and making sure I was ok because I had a very "perplexed" look on my face

I was feeling like I got what we were supposed to be doing next

but I guess my face didn't match what I was thinking

and this isn't the first time I have heard this

and in E's ten whole weeks of life I have heard constantly

that she makes great faces

here are just a few of my favorites:

so I wonder what E was thinking while making these faces

and yeah, she may look like her daddy right now

but she has my "looks"

oh hey, I'm nine weeks old

this week I turned nine weeks old

which had its ups and downs

 first off, mom took me to the dr. again

which so far has been not too shabby

get weighed, get smooshed a little by a nice, really tall lady

and go on my merry way

nope, not this time

the beginning started the same, but then this lady came in

mom started looking a little teary eyed

and the next thing I knew the new lady was making me drink something

that definitely was not boobie milk

and then it got bad, really bad

three horrible pricks in my legs caused about thirty seconds of my

"oh hey mom, I'm in pain here" cry

and then mom swooped me up and we were all better

so besides that whole incident the week was good

I have now become a no bottle baby, like no bottles, ever

[which could pose some potential problems in the future, 

but we will figure that out when the time comes]

and we ended the week with something I have become 

very familiar with

mom must have been bored, and realized my cute little headbands

she got at my baby shower finally fit

so she cranked up the heat

took off my clothes

and this is what happened next...

oh, and this week I tried out my Bumbo seat for the first time

and I do love sitting up

so hanging out in this seat every once in a while was pretty cool

I'm now officially over the ten pound mark

[I was 9 pounds 15.5 ounces at my checkup]

and I am now 22.5 inches long!

so yeah for growing

and getting a little chunkier as you can see above

-Everly Mae