Christmas decorating

As a big Christmas fan, I enjoy decorating for the holiday. Much to Jamie's chagrin, I love a real tree. Yes the needles get messy and you are still finding a few months after you took the tree out, but nothing can replace the scent of a real tree. We put up our tree this year and have got the lights on it. After a couple days of passive observation, Eva decided to check it out. So far, her favorite part is the tree skirt. She tries to pull herself up on the branches but has now realized they aren't as sturdy as say a coffee table, her parent's legs, a leap frog table or the incredi-block.

Now we'll see if we get to putting any ornaments on the tree this year...

First Sighting

Many of you know, little Eva now has two teeth on the bottom. She is fascinated by them and keeps running her tongue over them. While the teeth came awhile ago, they weren't showing up until now. Eva is shy and doesn't want to show her teeth. Fortunately I was quick with the camera and got a couple shots for posterity for you all.

Side view of lower centrals

Front view of Eva's lower centrals

Thanksgiving Smackdown

At Thanskgiving Eva and cousin will enjoyed some old fashion wrestling time. Eva is pushing him around until Will decides to fight back with a right hook to the cheek. Very amusing!

Safety 1st

While Eva being so mobile these days, we've started the task of baby proofing the house. Trouble is, this little girl loves to pull off the padding we put around the sharp edges of the coffee table. She thinks it is really funny to do. We also love ridding on our blue hippo these days.

Here she is jabbering while destroying daddy's handywork.

Here's Floyd back

My predictions of a Minnesota victory over Iowa were a little off the mark. Getting pummeled by the Hawks was a fitting way to end the terrible era of Gopher football in the "Dome." Next year, outdoor football will be back on campus - it will be a good time to get Eva to her first Gopher game.

I can take solace in the fact that we have hockey...

PS - Minnesota still leads the series 39-33-2

To aunt Jane - here is Floyd back.

Family

Eva is so lucky to have such a large family. So many aunties and uncles to love her. While we don't get to see the Pribyl side in Alabama much she sure loves them.

Eva and Auntie Patti have a special moment in Asheville.

Do you think she has Jamie's coloring?!

How quickly they learn

Its hard to believe that Eva just mastered the skill of crawling and now she is onto another. Her auntie Cassy is the best bargain shopper we know and finds all sorts of good deals for Eva toys. Eva now has toys that are just the right height to pull herself up on. We're afraid that she knows how to pull-up really well but doesn't get the whole getinng down thing quite yet. If one of the toys is by the couch she can cruise from the toy to the couch cushion. Such a big girl!

Adventures of a mobile baby

Miss Eva has officially learned to crawl. She was stuck on the army crawl for a little over a month. Now she has the hang of the butt in the air and moving on all fours. Time to go get some baby gates for the house. Her favorite things to crawl to are cords of any kind. Very fascinating.

Here she is demonstrating her new skills.

I am a big girl now

Major developments happen so quickly at this age. Eva has been working so hard at crawling and pulling herself up. She's made great accomplishments on those feats. I read when babies are developing these gross motor skills, it can really affect their sleep patterns. Last night she awoke at 11PM crying, which was very unusual. She wasn't hungry, just really sad. I rubbed my finger on her gums and thought I felt something but I wasn't quite sure as I was super groggy. Today it was confirmed. Eva has her first tooth! Dada and I can't believe how fast these awesome eight months have gone by. We are so proud of our big girl.

The new tooth should help our big girl skills of eating Cheerios and other foods we can pick up with our fingers!

Just learning how to self-feed.

Let's go Gophers!!

OK - so the day after Halloween was the Minnesota Gopher homecoming football game. While we couldn't go to the full on festivities due to our cold, we did have to start the maroon and gold tradition running.

We all headed to the homecoming parade on University Avenue. Fortunately we've been having an unseasonably warm fall. No hat even required. Eva got to meet lots of mama's sisters from the sorority, or as we call them AO-Aunties.



She even got to see her friend, Lindsay. Little Lindsay was very generous with hugs and kisses for Eva. This moment was so precious - even random people were taking photos.



Finally we are at home, relaxing in our Gopher gear. Unfortunately Eva's team spirit didn't pull the Gophs through, they lost to Northwestern in the last minute of the game. As long as we beat Iowa... Auntie Jane - Floyd is coming back!!!

Ha-Bee Halloween

Happy belated Halloween to all. Little Eva was a bumble bee. A very adorable but crabby bumble bee. She had a cold and and ear infection. Putting on her costume didn't make her the hap-bee-ish little girl on the block.

Big travels

Eva had her first plan ride last Tuesday. We flew to Asheville, North Carolina for Jamie's cousin, David's wedding. Eva was a super champ on the flight. The plan didn't give her ears any trouble. However, she didn't want to sleep. All the cool lights and noises kept her looking around. Even when dada brought her up to the galley, she was turning her little body around to see the rest of the plane.

Here she is after she finally fell asleep on the plane


Asheville had many exciting things to do. We went up to Chimney Rock and looked out at the beautiful vista below. Although Eva was way more interested in my empty water bottle (no need for fancy toys with this little one).






Eva toured the Biltmore and was pretty good being in the Baby Bjorne for two hours. For those of you that have seen her recently, you know this is a feat. This little girl just wants to go.

Here she is with mama and dada at the wedding


Dancing with cousin Will (it turned into a pajama party)

Mama

Eva has said her first word, mama. Now whether or not she know what it means, it still makes me so proud. She has put together the syallbles, ma and ma to get mama. Sometimes she'll wake up saying "mama, ma, ma." Adorable. Currently working on dada.

Ahh boo boo

Our little babbling baby is now mimicing pharases she hears. She is especially good at "ahh boo boo" which her dada says all the time. Eva also will copy sounds you make with your mouth. It is quite funny to see all the concentration she puts into making sounds. Who nows, maybe some day "ahh boo boo" will turn into a great orator.

Waiting for our first tooth

Eva is chewing and drooling on everything these days. We suspect she feels her little teeth moving around in her mouth. Hold anything out for her and she'll put it in her mouth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHEiS-tMCDY

We're going to the zoo

Eva, dada, and I went to the Como Zoo yesterday with Cassy, Mackenzie, Abby, Bella and Grandma Judy. It was a beautiful day to spend outside. We started with a picnic, then went to Como Town where the girls went one some rides.

Fire Captain Abby driving the truck

After that we walked through the zoo. Eva's favorite place was the aquarium where she watched the sea lions swim round and round. Next summer, we'll have to get there for the sea lion show. The orangutans had a baby. It was the cutest little fuzz ball ever.

Runner-up of cutest baby contest (Eva, of course, won)
Eva eating a rose in the sunken garden with Grandma Judy

New videos of Eva

We've posted a couple new videos of our little angel. Enjoy.

Eva really loves her bath time. She splashes a whole bunch. Her favorite part is when we rinse her off and she get to drink the water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wziP6fRSJ_g

At six-months old, Eva has found a way to move around the house that is a little different than most. Watch and you'll see why.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDTHWc7pnQ8

Labor Day Weekend

Eva's daycare was shut down for the Republican National Convention. I guess they figured babies within the security zone wouldn't mix well (it is a half block away from the Xcel Center). My work was right across the street from the security perimeter. If you see shots of the protesters breaking store front windows my building is in the background. Needless to say, it was a wise choice to take the week off work and head up to the cabin.

At the cabin we went for a boat ride to the big island where Eva got to play in the sand. Her cousin Ava made her a "hot tub" to sit in on the beach. Eating sand and seeweed was super fun. Eva sat in a kiddie pool for the first time as well. It was a relaxing weekend with the family.

See me play in the sand.

Click here to see Eva laughing at her cousin Ava dancing (click on watch in high quality).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjUhod2Y6vc

Eva gets so excited around her cousins. She loves big kids! At her daycare they take her into the Infant II room so she can watch the bigger babies run and play. She finds the bigger babies much more interesting than little ones.

Just call me Captain

Just call me Captain Eva Marie

Eva started eating solid foods about a month ago (yes - mom has been a bad blogger as of late). She really has taken to rice ceral and vegatables well. As of now, no fruit for her.

Look at me! All done with my ceral.

She is growing like a weed. Such a big girl now. Eva now sits up completely by herself. She started this about a month ago for a few seconds. Now she can sit up for minutes. Mom and dad are so proud of our little girl.

We've spent several weekends up at the family cabin. Eva loves being out by the water. Grandmpa & Grandma Reisinger bought the family a new toy last weekend. Eva was excited because she got to drive the new pontoon! Look out Cross Lake Pribyls - here come the sea legs!

She went in the lake for the very first time last weekend. All was well until she started to eat sand. Even better - the sand spit-up that came later.

Here Eva is in her cute two-piece suit (thanks to Auntie Jane).

I love putting things in my mouth

Fun little toes go in Eva's mouth. This is now her favorite activity best done in her birthday suit or with a diaper on. Eva is mesmerized by her feet. It is so fun to watch her gain more control over her hands.

Once propped up, Eva is able to sit for a few seconds. So fun! She doesn't even get that mad when she falls over after. It is such a blessing to watch her grow every day. We even started to feed her rice cereal.

Eva's Baptism & 4-Month Checkup

Eva had her baptism on Sunday. She was welcomed into the Christian family by her godmother, Cassandra, and her godfather, Jeremy. She was well behaved when Father pour water over her head. It was a simple Catholic ceremony performed by the priest who married Jamie and I. She wore a baptism gown that was worn by one of Cassy's twin daughters. It was a special day!

Jeremy, Eva and Cassandra at Eva's baptism

Eva also had her 4-month checkup today. She got her second round of shots, which she did very well during. Only cried for a little bit. She is progressing well and hitting all the key milestones.

Vitals:

Height - 25 inches (91 percentile)

Weight - 15 lbs, 13 ounces (88 percentile)

Eva's 4 months old!

Wow how time flies. Our little girl is already four months old. Eva celebrated her 1st Independance day. She was all decked out in red, white and blue.

Happy 4th of July!

Eva is talking all the time. She has also discovered that she can make noises with her lips. It is super funny to her. She laughs at herself when she does it. Also somewhat new is she is really good at rolling over from her back to her tummy.

Eva's feet provide her a constant source of fasicanation. She even has started sucking her toes. Too funny. Speaking of sucking, there is no more thumb sucking. She now sucks her index and middle finger together at the same time.

I leave tonight for Toronto. This is my first trip out of town since she's been born. Jamie will definitely have his hands full. Let's hope it all goes well.

Looks who's talking

Fun development, Eva is now really trying hard to talk. If you are playing with her and look away, she'll start "talking" to try and get your attention. It is really fun to see. Also, I love to her her giggle. It is more of a chuckle but you can't help but smile when she laughs.

This week she has been rolling over again from her tummy to her back. This morning while Jamie and I were getting ready for work, she rolled over from her back to tummy. She is getting stronger every day. At school they had her sitting up and she sat up by herself for a whole couple of seconds. That's my girl!

We're getting her pictures taken this weekend, so check the blog again for those!

Updates

Happy belated Father's Day to all the dads out there reading this. Eva and her daddy celebrated their first Father's Day up at the cabin. It was an ok weekend weather wise, but they had fun.

Last week Eva had her first ear infection. She has been kinda off since it happened. Not as smiley and fun, but still our precious little girl. When she was at the doctor's last week she got weighed again a rang it at 14 pounds, 1 ounce. This girl is definitely steadily gaining some weight.

One of Jamie's favorite things to do it to tickle Eva's thighs. She thinks this is the funniest thing in the world and giggles for us. Nothing is as precious as her little laugh.

Eva and Jamie celebrating their first Father's Day!

Eva's Three Month Old

Eva turned three months old yesterday! How fast they grow up. To celebrate we went to Mike T's birthday party at Poncho Villa for tacos. Eva was so well behaved at the restaurant. She loved looking around at the lights, ceiling fans and the TVs.

Giggles are now much more frequent and she love to laugh with her dad. Jamie tickles her tummy and she thinks it is super funny.

Eva "graduated" to her crib on Monday night. She was busting at the seams in the bassinet. It is now super fun to see where she will wake up at in the morning since she scoots so much with her feet. Eva is a very mobile little girl!

This picture is a couple weeks old, but she looks so darn cute!

First Week of Daycare

Eva went to her first day of daycare on Monday. She is in a classroom with all boys right now. Big boys. She has a little friend there named Luke to watch out for her. Luke's mommy is my friend Bernadette.

Several of the boys are "graduating" to the Infant 2 room and it will be just Eva and another little boy in the Infant 1 room for most of the summer. She'll get some extra special attention. Plus she is the first girl they've had in the room for quite a few months.

Her teacher, Stella, said the Eva is especially strong and alert for her age. Eva now holds her head up for a really long time and likes to rock side-to-side. Her hands are a constant fascination this week. She even tries to hold her own bottle now.

Look at me. I hold my bottle like a big girl.

New Updates

Over Memorial Day weekend, Eva had her first trip to the cabin. Being Minnesota, it wasn't quite swimming weather yet but we were able to enjoy the outdoors. She was able to spend lots of time being loved by grandma, grandpa, uncles, aunt and her cousin Ava.

One of Eva's favorite activities is to sit outside. It doesn't matter where. At home we sit on the front bench and watch the cars drive by. At the cabin we sit out on the deck and watch the festivities on the lake. There are always some sort of critters that capture her attention.

Auntie Cassy and Eva on the front porch.

We keep working on our tummy time and rolling over. Unfortunately we haven't rolled over in a week. Other things we are trying is learning how to sit up. Eva has a little chair made to help babies learn to sit. Each day she makes progress. Yesterday she would tip over right away and today she was able to sit up for a minute.

Eva's grip has gotten much stronger. She can grab hair and pull real hard or almost cut off your circulation in your finger when she gets ahold of it. Eva has started to try and hold her bottle a little bit during a her bottle feed which usually makes a bit of a mess.

Here Eva is in her bebe pod chair batting at her toy.

On Monday, I start back to work at the office. It will be a hard week for me. I know once the first week is over it will be OK. Any big change is hard though.

What a week

This week had many fun events. Eva decided she is going to be advanced and rolled over four times in a row on Thursday night. She also found her hands and was fascinated by them. It was one of those nights I was such a proud mama!

On Friday, Eva spent her first night away from home at Grandma Judy's house. In fact Grandma had all four of her grandkids. Thankfully, cousin Mackenzie was a huge help and even got up with Eva for her early morning feeding.

Mackenzie (12), Eva (7 weeks old), Abby (almost 4) and Bella (almost 4)
Sunday, Eva attended her cousin Ava's fourth birthday party. Eva has four little girl cousins that were all born within eight days of each other in 2004. What fun!

Ava (almost 4) and Eva (2 weeks old)

Mommy, Eva (9 weeks old) and Daddy at Ava's birthday party

Two Month Update

Eva had her two month checkup yesterday. Dr. Maxwell said she is perfect. Of course Jamie and I already knew that. She got three shots and one oral vaccination yesterday. It took a second for the pain of the first shot to register, then she decided she didn't like it at all. I've never seen her face get so red. A couple minutes after it was done Eva was back to her contented self. Worst side effect we experienced was that she was sleepy in the early evening when she normally isn't. She still did a good job sleeping through the night.


Vitals:
Weight - 12 pounds
Height - 23 1/2 inches

Look you can see my band-aids.

Happy Mother's Day

I celebrated my first Mother's Day this year. Jamie was super nice and bought flowers for our back planters and hanging baskets for the front. We went to the twins birthday party at my sisters. I can't believe they turned four already. The highlight of the party was the Dora pinata and their new bikes their grandparents gave them.

Mommy and Eva - Superstars!

Grandma Judy and her clan.

Happy 2 Month Birthday!

Eva turned two months old today. We have her two month checkup (and shots) and Monday. Hopefully all will go well. It will probably be harder on mom and dad then her.

Tomorrow Eva has her first birthday party to attend for her cousins Abby and Bella who turn four.

Here she is getting a bath. Eva likes bath time.

The Holy Grail of Babyhood - Sleeping Through the Night

Whoo Hoo....

Eva has now slept through the night for the past two nights! Let's hope we can keep this pattern going. I still am not quite to the point where I can sleep through with her. I usually get up twice to check on her.

She uses her thumb to soothe herself at night. Here's a little picture of her sucking her thumb.

Eva Rolled Over!

Tonight was one of the nights that make the long sleepless nights all worth it. Jamie, Eva and I were having a very nice dinner down at my dads. We gave Eva a little tummy time. While on her tummy she pushed up and then rolled over. There was almost a repeat performance. How I wish we had the video camera there.

Random update - for all you who heard me complain about our washing machine eating her red Mary Jane sock...the mystery has been solved. It was located in the fold of another shirt. Fortunately I didn't make Jamie pull apart the machine to look for it. He wouldn't have been happy. What can you do when those socks are so adorable?! Grandma Kathy also gave us a back up set.

We Can Push Up

Eva can officially push up now! She doesn't dislike her tummy time as much any more. It is a lot of fun to watch her do more and more on her little activity mat.

Look at me pushing up like a big girl!

It is finally starting to warm up here in Minnesota. We had a really cold week last week! It made getting outside pretty difficult. Eva had to be bundled up in a warm bunting suit to even walk out the door. Days like that make me wonder why we still live here.

Even though its cold out - I am still a happy baby.

Eva Marie Goes High Tech!

Happy May Day!

Welcome friends and family. After a suggestion from a friend, Traci Junkans, I've decided to start a blog about Eva and all her fun activities. It should be a fun way for all those that can't see her all the time to keep up to date with her progress.

Eva is growing like a champ. At about six weeks old she was able to hold her head up completely by herself. Tummy time still isn't her favorite, although she is making progress pushing herself up. Eva isn't yet sleeping through the night. We did have a nice night last night of her only getting up once. Keep your fingers crossed that she can sleep through the night by the time I go back to work. I can't believe that is in June already!

Vitals:
Weight - Approximately 11 pounds
Length - Around 23 inches (very high tech measurement from Dad using the tape measure).