Team Sharp

Just Dance Kids is Very Popular in our house

2012-01-31T20:40:00.000-06:00

January 2012

2012-01-29T21:05:00.000-06:00

Evia loves her new princess pajamas.

She is such a silly girl and has a great laugh.

Painting and coloring are two of her favorite activities. She loves her new easel.

This is from Christmas. Violet took Deacon's boots and wore them around.

December 2011 (so far)

2011-12-16T22:17:00.000-06:00

Violet had a Christmas program for her school. She was the star of the show of course.

I tried to get a picture of the girls in their matching dresses, but it didn't go well. Evia kept wanting to pose. This is her Heisman pose.

Evia loves singing with her princess microphone. I am not as big a fan of the mic, but it does make her happy.

The girls enjoy playing in the pop up tunnel.

Thanksgiving OKC 2011

2011-12-16T21:58:00.000-06:00

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T21:19:00.000-05:00

Dewberry Farms October 2011

2011-10-24T21:37:00.000-05:00

Papa and Gram came to visit and we went to Dewberry Farm. Not the best family picture but the only one I have from this year.

Both the girls loved snow cones!

Evia loved going down the slide mountain. Right after I took this picture, Evia turned to the little girl next to her and began taunting her. She was yelling, "We won! We won!" at her because she made it down faster.

The rope swing was a big hit, too. She fell while swinging and bit her tongue. I didn't realize she had bitten her tongue until later when I saw a hunk of skin loose on her tongue. She was having too much fun to notice.

Corn dogs rule!

This is Cinnamon the pony. Evia says riding the pony was her favorite part of the day.

Playing at the playground.

Violet's Walking

2011-08-03T16:42:00.000-05:00

OKC Visit

2011-07-25T12:41:00.000-05:00

OKC Zoo Trip

2011-07-11T15:02:00.000-05:00

We are ready to go to the zoo!

Enjoyed riding the carousel and playing in the bounce house.

We saw Malee the new baby elephant.

May 2011 - Birthday, Memorial Day, Etc

2011-06-01T15:00:00.000-05:00

The girls are super cute in their matching flag shirts for Memorial Day. I love how they are both have their tongues sticking out.

Evia is giving her best "blue steel" look.

Violet's neat new trick where she climbs on the hearth. The fence now blocks it so she can't climb. That should slow her down for a couple weeks (maybe).

Violet loves refried beans as much as Evia did.

Evia had a great third birthday party. Here are several pictures from the party.

Splash Park

2011-05-09T15:01:00.000-05:00

We took Evia to the splash park on Friday. She loves going to the splash park. It was also a big hit with Violet.

Easter and Picnic

2011-05-05T12:17:00.000-05:00

We went to the park for a picnic on Monday. Evia thought it was really fun to hide under the table and act like a kitty cat. That's her new thing. She crawls around and meows at you. I have no idea where it came from.

We have to remind Evia to share toys with Violet. I had given some cheerios to Violet and Evia wanted some. Evia promptly took a big handful of cheerios from Violet and informed her, "Violet, you have to share!" I don't think E fully grasps the concept of sharing.

My mother made pretty dresses for the girls this Easter. Violet is very pleased with hers.

One of the few good pictures I have of the girls together. I love this picture.

That lump next to E is Violet. She was sick of holding her sister. This is how most pictures of them turn out.

April 2011 (part 2)

2011-04-26T13:46:00.000-05:00

The Easter bunny was "sick" just like Evia and Violet were, so Evia had to hunt for eggs on Monday night. She thought it was great fun. I have video to post later. The girls will be wearing the pretty Easter dresses my mother made next Sunday.

Evia loves the bubbles and sidewalk chalk grandma Rachelle sent her.

She sat in the sidewalk chalk and it amused me.

This is how most pictures of Evia turn out. Slightly blurry since she is in constant motion. She likes to hold the skirt on her dresses and twirl in a circle. That is normally fine, but this particular dress overlaps in the back. She did this move at church and flashed her bible class.

Evia is not ready for Violet to stand and walk. I caught her in mid-push.

A sweeter moment. Evia does share toys with Violet and they both enjoy playing with the doll house. "playing" for Violet means chewing on the furniture and bashing it on the hearth. Evia is very calmly brushing the doll's hair in a rare still moment..

April 2011 (so far)

2011-04-14T11:32:00.000-05:00

Evia is 8 months old. She is crawling, standing, and tries to take steps while holding onto the couch. She is very active but has a pretty mellow personality.

Evia loves her baby sister. She is very sweet with her most of the time and it's really cute to watch them play together. Here they are in Evia's tent/castle/fort (depends on what she's playing at the time).

Evia loves to watch us cook and will "cook" food in her doll house kitchen. Here she is checking on her enchiladas. Notice the use of mommy's winter glove as an oven mitt. Don't worry. The oven wasn't on. This is just pretend.

More park pictures. Evia is in constant motion. The neighborhood park is great for burning energy. I love the picture because she always has to run down the hill a few times before we leave. She really gets into it.

March 2011

2011-04-09T11:11:00.000-05:00

Modeling her new helmet. She loves the helmet but still hasn't mastered riding her bike.

It's almost impossible to get Evia to keep her bows in. She will ask to wear one and them promptly remove it.

Happy Violet! She is such an easy going baby. The total opposite of Evia.

Evia is out little tomboy. She loves to run, play outside, jump off things, and just generally be a little monkey. She comes home from school totally filthy. I love her energy and wish I had as much.

Evia's Got the Joy!

2011-03-31T12:47:00.000-05:00

Evia kept singing while I was trying to brush her teeth. I said she could sing for the camera if she would just let me finish with her teeth. She is a total cheese for the camera.

Look Who's Crawling!

2011-03-30T10:37:00.000-05:00

Violet has started crawling. She has been working on a clumsy crawls for the past week. She now crawls everywhere and I've put the fences up in the living room to keep her contained.

Hey Evia! Stand by your sister and smile so I can get a picture. No? OK then just be a complete ham and I'll still take your picture.

Someone looks just like daddy!

February 2011

2011-03-23T10:05:00.000-05:00

Christmas 2010/January 2011

2011-03-22T16:10:00.000-05:00

A little late, but here are some pictures from Christmas and January

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-30T14:36:00.000-06:00

Missy and Chris came to visit this Thanksgiving. Evia and Josh had fun playing together.

Evia loves climbing which is really fun until she falls.

Jacob and Violet

Evia is ready for Bedlam. It is almost impossible to get a good picture of Evia because she won't stay still. I realize she isn't smiling, but at least it isn't blurry.

I get one of her smiling and cut off part of her head. She is a rowdy little monkey.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T14:29:00.000-05:00

Evia loved the bounce house at the fall festival.

Evia as Darth Vader. It is hard to take pictures of her because she won't keep still. She loves the light saber and was really mad when we wouldn't let her take it to school Monday morning.

She really likes jack o lanterns.

We let Evia decorate a pumpkin with markers. She loved it. She's posing with her pumpkin.

Helping daddy carve a real jack o lantern.

Halloween wasn't as exciting for Violet. She slept through the festival and the trick or treat.

Picture Post

2010-10-07T12:49:00.000-05:00

2010-09-21T13:06:00.000-05:00

Violet on her one month birthday. She is getting so big.

Violet might be a red head. It looks that way in the sunlight. We'll see if it stays that way.

A friend of my mom's made Violet a hat with violets on it. Super Cute!

Evia likes to play with her legos. She enjoys building spaceships and towers. She was quite proud of the tower that was taller than her.

Welcome Violet!

2010-08-19T08:59:00.006-05:00

Violet Faith Sharp - Day 1

6 lb 12 oz 18.75 in

First picture of Evia and Violet. It's hard to get a picture of them together. Evia is very good with her little sister. She covers her with blankets and tries to give her a pacifier when she cries. She also passed Violet her eye infection a couple days ago but the eye drops are clearing things up.

Ready to go home.

Evia loves popsicles. Daddy takes her on a walk after dinner and she gets a popsicle.

Random Picture Post

2010-05-24T10:08:00.007-05:00

Cupcake and candles for two year birthday

Evia loves being outside. That is her chair and she will let you know it.

She loves sunglasses. Yes they are upside down but that's how she prefers to wear them.

Sleeping cutie

Evia loves blackberries. That's the disgusting half eaten substance in her mouth.

Randy scored a tricycle and kid's bicycle at a garage sale. Evia likes her tricycle but hasn't quite figured out how to pedal.

Evia Birthday

2010-05-06T09:07:00.005-05:00

I can't believe Evia is already two. She is a little girl now but will always be my baby. We bought her a car for her birthday. She loves cruising up and down the cul de sac and pitched a major fit when we had to quit for bedtime.

The cozy coupe produced many firsts in just the first night of use.
First road rage.

First accident.

First breakdown.

Evia got a tent from Grandama Rachelle. She plays in the tent a lot and wants mama or dada in the tent with her. I even caught her trying to push our dog Daisy into the tent one day.

The Zoo Trip

2010-04-30T09:02:00.008-05:00

Evia and I went to the zoo earlier this week. She had a great time. Next time, I will call the zoo to make sure that 8 different schools don't have field trips scheduled for the same day. It was insane with all the first graders running around.

The monkey exhibits were the big hit of the day. We spent about 20 minutes at the orangutan enclosure. The baby orangutan was playing with Evia through the plexiglass.

She later was bored with the animals and found the leaves very interesting.

Splash Park 2010

2010-04-26T08:30:00.003-05:00

Evia loves the splash park. We'll be spending a lot of time there this summer. I bought her a swimsuit and water shoes for our next visit.

I love this picture of Evia and Randy. Evia was running all out to give daddy a hug. Randy caught her before he ended up soaking wet, too.

Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-02T13:15:00.002-05:00

Evia had her spring party and egg hunt at school today. She really enjoyed the snacks since she doesn't get cupcakes and cheese puffs at home.

2010-03-27T19:05:00.004-05:00

We went to the park today because the weather was so nice. We tried a new park, but it wasn't really set up for 2 year olds. Here's Evia throwing a fit because mommy is trying to help her swing in the big kid swings.

So we let her swing by herself and this is how she did it.

Rainy Day Wagon Ride

2010-03-24T19:07:00.005-05:00

Evia loves her wagon, even if it's rainy outside.

Evia and Santa

2009-12-15T18:53:00.003-06:00

Santa came to our church. Evia was not a fan.

It was funny to see her waving and saying hi to Santa while crying.

Splash Park

2009-10-18T14:48:00.005-05:00

My mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law and Bennett came to visit this past weekend. We went to the park to let the kids play and run around. There is a water splash park there, but we thought it would be off because it is October. We were wrong. Randy and I were watching Evia and Bennett play in the water area when the water suddenly came on and sprayed all of us. There was no keeping Evia and Bennett out of the water. They thoroughly enjoyed running and playing.

New Toys

2009-10-18T14:05:00.010-05:00

Evia has several new items which are very fun to play with.
1. Orange Chair - Randy bought this for Evia. It is a seat, step stool, and jungle gym all in one.

2. Dog Kennel - For some reason, Evia has decided that Daisy's kennel is the best place to hang out.

3. Outside Playhouse - She still likes the swing best, but enjoys the playhouse and slide. She tries to climb up the slide and was sharing with Bennett.

Labor Day Fun

2009-09-14T13:33:00.001-05:00

Evia and I went to Oklahoma for Labor Day weekend. She had fun sliding on the play set.

First Zoo Trip

2009-09-12T12:46:00.003-05:00

We took Evia to the zoo for the first time a couple weeks ago. She really enjoyed it. She knows that our dog Daisy says "woof woof". She would stop at every animal and yell "oof oof".

She was tired by the end of the day.

Picture Post

2009-06-26T20:18:00.003-05:00

This post is a couple months late. Evia turned 1 on May 6. We celebrated her birthday in Oklahoma over Memorial Day weekend. She needed a onesie so everyone knows who is the birthday girl.

The family ready for first birthday fun.

Evia had her own cake for smashing and eating.

Tentative at first. Not sure what to do with it.

Starting to figure it out. The cake was good!

Not shy at all now. How much can I eat in one bite?

Woo-hoo! Sugar Rush!

Ten Months Old

2009-03-07T10:37:00.008-06:00

I haven't blogged in a while. We've been sick around the Sharp house. I had a sinus infection that lasted about a month, and Evia caught it. She was sick this past week. We are all finally on the mend though.

We took Evia in for her nine month checkup at the beginning of February. She weighed 17 lb 3 oz and was 27 inches long. No shots on that trip, so that was nice.

She turned ten months old yesterday. Here's a picture from this morning.

She is a very happy, active baby. Evia has moved to the cruising stage. She moves around the living room by walking while holding onto furniture, tables, and toys. She is pretty quick and is trying to stand on her own. I think she will be walking soon. She laughs a lot and loves playing in the bath tub. I can't believe how much she has grown and how she changes every day.

Nine Months Old - with new tricks

2009-02-07T18:17:00.005-06:00

Here is Evia's latest trick. She has been crawling for a month and loves to stand up. She pulls up on furniture and takes little steps while holding on. Today, Randy and I were playing Mario Kart and I notice Evia showing off her new baby skills. Behold, Evia the climber.

She did this several times. We would pull her off the toy train, and she would crawl back over and climb on it to stand up.

Last week Evia didn't have any clean pajamas in her new, larger size. I had just moved her to the larger PJs, so decided it would be fine to put her in the one size smaller set because it was clean. I dressed her, put her in the pack and play, and went to brush my teeth. When I cam back, the zipper had split and her belly was sticking out of her PJs. I started laughing which Evia also found funny. She then laughed and rolled around causing the zipper to split over its full length. Her PJs stayed fastened at the top and she had one leg hanging out. I had to get a picture. She ended up sleeping in her regular clothes and I did laundry the next morning.

Mommy's Helper

2009-01-23T16:47:00.007-06:00

Evia has decided she likes to help around the house. She is very good with the laundry.

2009-01-23T16:09:00.003-06:00

Now that Evia has mastered crawling, she has moved on to pulling up on things and trying to stand. She uses the alphabet train and takes little steps while holding onto it. She falls a lot but gets right back up on the train. They have a toy like this at her day care and she does the same thing there. Her teacher locked the toy in the closet. Evia's routine with the toy is stand up, fall, fake cry, repeat.

We got these new end tables with an open bottom, and she enjoys crawling up onto the little shelf. At first, she could climb up but couldn't get back down. Here she is letting us know she needs off the table. Of course, she climbed right back on it when I pulled her down.

The table is more fun now that she can get on and off by herself.

Eight Months Old

2009-01-08T21:36:00.006-06:00

Evia has been working on crawling for a few weeks now. She finally put it all together on her eight month birthday. She also has figured out how to sit up on her own. The crawling is neat to see and very scary. I can't turn my back on her at all now. I have to put her in the pack and play to keep her contained. We have a baby fence system but haven't set it up yet. Baby proofing has begun and will be continued through the weekend.

Christmas Pictures

2009-01-08T20:32:00.008-06:00

It's been a while since I posted and a lot has happened. Since it was Evia's first Christmas, we had to get a picture with Santa.

We went to Oklahoma to visit family for Christmas. It was a great trip. Randy's birthday is right after Christmas. We went out to eat with his family. Here's Evia with her Grandma Rachelle and Papa Mike.

Evia and cousin Jacob.

Evia, Aunt Missy, and cousin Josh

Evia and Grandpa Ron

Evia in the pretty Christmas dress her Grams made for her.

Grams bought Evia a great onesie. It has the periodic table on it.

Evia and cousin Hannah in their matching PJs.

Evia and Aunt Haley

I took a ton of pictures over Christmas and realized that I didn't get any of Evia with my parents for her first Christmas. I only got one of Evia, Randy, and me together, and we look terrible in it. We still had a great time and great memories.

I've Been Tagged

2008-12-04T18:45:00.005-06:00

My sister Meredith tagged me. Here are 8 things about me.

8 TV Shows I Watch
1. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
2. Burn Notice
3. The Office
4. 30 Rock
5. Real Housewives of OC/Atlanta/NYC
6. Project Runway
7. Football (college/NFL/i've even been know to watch arena league)
8. Anything MMA (ultimate fighter/UFC/WEC wrekcage)

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen
2. Hungry's
3. Babin's Seafood
4. Carrabba's
5. Texadelphia
6. Chilleno's
7. Hideaway Pizza
8. Luby's

8 Things That Happened Today
1. Got an iced hazelnut coffee at McDonald's (mmmm love)
2. Got sick at work
3. Left work early but worked at home anyway
4. Napped with Evia
5. Knitted on a sweater
6. Worked a Su Doku puzzle
7. Sang Evia's favorite songs to her when she got mad. She doesn't care that I can't carry a tune.
8. Surfed the internet

8 Things I look Forward To
1. Relaxing this weekend and getting over the bug that Randy and/or I have been sick with for the past week.
2. Hanging out with Randy & Evia
3. Christmas
4. Seeing Evia crawl. She can't sit on her own yet but she can get on her hands and knees and scoot.
5. Finishing the sweater I'm knitting for myself.
6. Christmas - i miss family
7. Randy finishing the killer project he's currently working on.
8. Christmas - Can't wait to see family

8 Things I Wish For
1. That I live long enough to raise Evia to adulthood.
2. That I go to Heaven.
3. That I'm a good example to Evia and she grows up to be a christian woman.
4. To have a good relationship with Evia like I had and continue have with my parents.
5. That Evia throws Randy and me a super awesome surprise 50th wedding anniversary party.
6. Unlimited amounts of cashmere yarn
7. A maid. Randy has agreed we can hire one but I just haven't done it yet. busy and lazy...the very reason my house is dirty and a maid is needed in the first place.
8. That I would win mega millions, move to a big house in Oklahoma closer to Randy's and my families, and buy an Aston Martin

8 People I Tag
1. Haley
2. H-Bomb
3. Aunt Sissy
4. Bennett's Mom
5. See #1 on Meredith's tagged list
6. All of the above
7. Do you see a pattern?
8. Seriously Haley, update your blog already!

Evia's First Bedlam

2008-11-29T17:17:00.003-06:00

It's Bedlam Baby! Evia is ready for bedlam. Her pals Bullet and Pistol Pete are going to watch the game with her. Go Pokes!

Baby's First Christmas

2008-11-29T17:11:00.003-06:00

Here is Evia's first picture with Santa. She wouldn't smile for us but at least she looked at the camera.

Six Months Old

2008-11-08T16:22:00.006-06:00

Where does the time go? Evia was six months old on Thursday. She went in for her check up and is doing great. She weighs 13 lbs 11 oz and is 25 in long. She's in the 10th and 25th percentiles. She can roll over and sit if supported. She is very vocal and her jumpy seat is hands down her favorite toy.

Here she is all dressed up for the OSU/Texas Tech game. I had to change her after she got mad and spit up. During the second half, mommy was also so mad she could spit.

Randy and I enjoy watching UFC fights, so a coworker bought this onesie for Evia. She is pound-for-pound the cutest baby in the world.

She enjoys her mat and rolls around to get to her toys. We have to keep small things off the living room floor now because she will roll to something and immediately stick it in her mouth.

A not so fun first

2008-11-04T13:25:00.007-06:00

Monday night was our first emergency room trip with Evia. Before I get into it, she is doing fine. She has been sick since Sunday with symptoms of a bad cold. Last night, she started having difficulty breathing and we called the pediatrician. Her recommendation was to go to the ER. This worried Randy and me. Fortunately, her issues are all upper respiratory. No RSV, no pneumonia. She is feeling much better today but is still really stuffy. I can't imagine not being able to blow my own nose. I am now an expert with a bulb syringe. Here is video proof that she is feeling better. She loves her bouncy seat. She has figured out how to make it jump and play music.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-04T13:03:00.008-06:00

We had an enjoyable first Halloween with Evia. She was super cute in her shark suit. She's in her stroller ready to go to our neighborhood Halloween party. I'm glad we went with the shark since there were other baby bumble bees there. Evia in her bee suit was way cuter than the other bees and we wouldn't want the other baby bees feeling bad about their costumes.

She quickly tired of the shark suit and finished the evening in her pumpkin onesie.

I think this picture of Evia and Randy is really cute. They look so much alike. Sometimes, she will make a face that is just so Randy.

Halloween Practice

2008-10-27T13:38:00.007-05:00

So Meredith emailed me the other day about a website having a 50% off sale on baby Halloween costumes. I was very excited because I wanted to buy a costume but felt the baby costumes were too expensive. Hooray for 50% off! Great, except that I used the sale to justify buying Evia 2 Halloween costumes and ended up saving $0. Here are some pictures where we tried on the costumes to make sure they fit. We'll post more on Halloween when she's not wearing her PJs too.

Costume #1 Bumble Bee - This will likely be her primary costume since most people think the second costume was an odd choice for a baby.

Costume #2 Great White Shark - C'mon. How many babies do see dressed like this? I've seen many a baby bumble bee before. What else do you expect? As Meredith described us once, "you are the only two people who can show up to a party in costumes no one else gets."

I have knit many things for Evia but this is the first garment that fits her. I still need to put buttons on her jacket. All the others are too big and she won't be able to wear them until this winter.

I just think this picture is cute. She can move around and rolls a lot now. She has a blanket she plays on in the living room. She was having a good time playing this weekend and wore herself out.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-10-18T14:13:00.005-05:00

Friday was my 32nd birthday. Randy got me a super awesome gift. I've wanted a video camera for a while and he bought me one. It takes HD videos and still pictures.

I had to play with it once we got the battery charged. Me and Evia on my birthday.

My mom and dad come down every year for my birthday. It always falls around mom's fall break.

Evia likes the big books.

Picture Post

2008-10-18T14:00:00.006-05:00

I haven't posted in a while, so here are some pictures taken since the last post.
Evia enjoying tummy time. She is getting so strong. She can push herself up with her arms and hold herself up now.

I love this picture. Her eyes are so wide and bright.

She was laughing out loud. She laughs a lot now, but whenever I try to get a video of it, she stops. One day, I'll get a video of her laughing.

More Fun With Food

2008-10-03T20:20:00.008-05:00

We were feeding Evia her rice cereal tonight and she is pretty funny. She would eat the cereal and as soon as we took the spoon away, she would cry. She did this for a while, and we thought it was cute. Here's a video of her eating.

Evia has been chewing on her hands for about a week now. Today she decided toys were better. She sticks them all in her mouth and even chewed on her bumbo. She drools all the time.

Evia started going to daycare this week. She will be going three days a week since I'm going back into my office part time. When I dropped her off, she was sitting on the floor with one of the workers. Two other babies immediately crawled over and started patting Evia's legs. Evia was cooing and "talking" back to them. It was pretty cute.

She also has started sleeping in her nursery this past week. That has been an interesting transition but she sleeps a little longer each night. I'm hoping she starts sleeping through the night soon. She seems to change every day. I can't believe how big she is getting.

First Foods

2008-09-27T10:18:00.006-05:00

At Evia's 4 month check up, her doctor said we could start trying rice cereal and then move to green vegetables when we were ready. By the end, she was wearing more of the cereal than she ate.

4 Months Old

2008-09-24T19:04:00.004-05:00

It's been awhile since I last posted. It's been crazy around here with the hurricane and all. This will be a picture post. Evia had her 4 month check up on Monday and she is doing great! She weighs 12 lb 10 oz and is 23.75 in long. This puts her in the 10th and 25th percentiles, respectively, for her age. For her corrected age, she's in the 50th and 75th.
This picture was taken on her actual 4 month birthday.

Here she is sleeping beside me on the couch while I was working.

Tummy time on her boppy.

She can now sit supported for short periods of time. We bought her a bumbo.

Might be time for.....

2008-09-14T23:01:00.002-05:00

some new carpet in the bedroom. It appears that Hurricane Ike did reach the interior of our house. We had some water leak into our bedroom carpet, and I didn't find it until it started to smell musty. Seems like it came up through the weepholes. Will need to evaluate the drainage on the side of the house. May have been caused by the extremely heavy rain, or the piles of debris blocking drainage. I'll have to make sure that the drainage path is clear and my gutters are working right too. A section of the carpet and pad was a minor disaster, and the shop vac wasn't cutting it, so the utility knife did. Had to move some furniture and cut out a piece about 3' x 10' on the side wall. To be evaluated again tomorrow to see if more needs to go. There might be even less carpet remaining when Autumn gets home. Will post pictures tomorrow as well as some exterior stuff.

Evia Hearts Elephant

2008-08-18T17:38:00.007-05:00

Evia loves this elephant and so do I. She entertains herself with it and I get stuff done. Today she had a marathon play session. She makes it rattle and "talks" to it.

Evia enjoys playing with daddy. Sometimes she can spit up a lot. At these times, we strip her to her diaper and retire the burp cloths for a bath towel. This was such a time. Randy is covered in the towel for protection.

I was on a mission to find ruffled white socks to go with these shoes. Those things are hard to find.

3 Months Old

2008-08-06T13:06:00.005-05:00

Evia is 3 months old today. I can't believe how big she is now and how different she looks from when she was born. She ate around 9:15 last night and slept from 10 pm to 4 am last night. Randy and I were very happy about that. She is starting to go longer between feedings at night. I put her in the bassinet with her body lengthwise on the mattress last night. When I got her at 4, she had rotated her body 90 degrees and had moved close to the bottom of the bassinet. She was back at the bottom again when Randy got her this morning. She's a wiggler even when she sleeps now. She is showing some interest in toys now. She loves the octopus rattle on her play mat. She has an elephant rattle on her papasan. Yesterday, Evia would swat the elephant and then squawk in a startled manner when it rattled. She did this several times yesterday in a ten minute period but won't do it today. She doesn't care for tummy time and has figured out how to roll herself over onto her back. It's not the most graceful roll but she does it the same manner every time. Here are pictures taken on her 3 month birthday.

Embarrassing Conversation

2008-08-05T14:24:00.008-05:00

My mom makes a great oatmeal cake. She showed Randy how to make it last time she visited. Randy made the cake Sunday night. He added bananas to the batter to try something new. It was really good but that's not the point. Here's a conversation Randy and I had Sunday night after Randy put a very small amount of the cake icing on Evia's lip.

Me (scoldingly): "Don't give her people food!"
Randy: "Uh...She is a people."
Me: "Shut up."

Gram of the oatmeal cake and Evia

2008-08-03T18:44:00.010-05:00

I took Evia to church for the first time Sunday. Here's a picture of us getting ready to go. We tried to get a picture without her paci but she screamed whenever we took it out of her mouth. She turns 3 months old on Wednesday. There have been several babies born at my church recently. I think Evia is so big. She is compared to when she was born but there were two six week olds almost as big as her and a four month old who completely dwarfs Evia. She continues to grow and is healthy so it's okay if she's on the small side.

She's showing more interest in toys now. Here she is on her play mat. There is an octopus rattle on the mat that she loves. She likes to "talk" to it. She has some cute sneezes, too.

I started back to work this week and am working part time from home. It's nice to work while she sleeps in my lap. It's been good the past two days and hopefully this arrangement will work out for a few more months.

Say Cheese

2008-07-24T13:50:00.004-05:00

Evia has started smiling in the past couple weeks and it is so cute.

Assorted Cuteness

2008-07-24T13:37:00.003-05:00

I haven't posted in a while. Here are several pictures taken over the past couple weeks.

Evia and Randy

2008-07-12T19:34:00.007-05:00

Evia is definitely a mini-Randy. She looks so much like him. The only mommy I can see in her are her eyes. They are the same blue color my family has. We scanned some baby pictures of Randy for comparison.

Happy Independence Day

2008-07-04T16:04:00.004-05:00

My mom, dad, sister, brother in law, and niece came to visit this holiday weekend. Evia spent her first independence day with her cousin Hannah. Here they are in their patriotic outfits. It's double the baby cuteness on the Sharp blog today!

Not holiday related but she wanted to show off her pretty blue eyes.

Grams and papa getting ready to babysit while the rest of us go shopping.

Got Your Tickets...

2008-06-28T13:52:00.010-05:00

...to the gun show. Evia is looking very baby buff and showing off in this picture. Mommy is looking sleep deprived and dirty.

She is doing great and likes to eat, probably too much. I took her to the pediatrician Tuesday because I was concerned about some spitting up issues. The pediatrician thinks it may be due to overfeeding. Mommy was feeding often and didn't know that babies don't always realize when they are full and should stop eating. Now that I have adjusted things according to the pediatrician recommendations, she is sleeping better, spitting up less, and is less fussy. She probably had an upset stomach and that totally made me feel like a bad mommy. Having a baby has been an eye opening experience.

My family is coming down for the July 4th weekend. Evia's cousin Hannah is 3 months old and will be visiting too. I'll have some super cute pictures of the cousins to post. They are only 6 weeks apart in age. Here are a few more pictures so you can get you recommended daily allowance of cuteness.

She makes this face a lot. Randy and I call it her monkey face. My coworker Annie says it looks like Zoolander. I guess this one is "blue steel". I'll post further pictures when she perfects "magnum."

Big time mat fun.

Now bored with it.

June 23, 2008 - Baby Got Back

2008-06-23T13:46:00.008-05:00

I was looking at pictures from when Evia was born. It's amazing how much she has changed in the past 7 weeks. She was so skinny at first. This is her leg in the first days after birth.

Here she is now. Check out those thighs. She has rolls now and a double chin. She used to have all this loose skin and no bottom. I was changing her diaper last week and noticed that she has a butt now where there wasn't one before. It is so cute!

Taking a bath is just about her least favorite thing in the world. She likes being swaddled and cuddled in the towel afterwards though. She looks so much like Randy. We have some baby pictures of Randy that look just like Evia. I need to get those scanned and post here.

June 16, 2008 - Happy Father's Day

2008-06-16T12:08:00.008-05:00

In honor of father's day, here are some pictures of Evia and daddy.

Evia spends a lot of time sleeping. She looks peaceful when sleeping except when she decides to grunt. She wiggles, grunts, and makes a lot of noise when sleeping.

June 8, 2008 - Happy Anniversary

2008-06-08T20:03:00.005-05:00

Today is our 6th anniversary. Both Randy and I completely forgot. I remembered at 8 in the evening. I told Randy happy anniversary and he then remembered we had used the leftover napkins from our wedding reception at dinner. We never use those napkins. They have our names and the date of the wedding. I looked at them during dinner and thought "our anniversary is coming up. it's going to be six years." Didn't even realize it was today. When we were eating dinner, Randy said the napkins reminded him that he needed to update his work calendar so he wouldn't forget our anniversary. Oh well, it was still a great anniversary spent with baby Evia.

June 7, 2008 - 3 Nights Later

2008-06-07T11:44:00.009-05:00

We just finished night 3 with Evia at home. Baby Girl LOVES to be held. She is most alert at night and is a snuggle bug. I love holding her and have a month of lost baby cuddling to make up for. We are experiencing new parent sleep deprivation which is not fun.

Evia had her first pediatrician visit Friday morning. She is doing great. Up to 5 lb 9 oz and 19.5 in long. She is actually on the length chart for 1 month old babies (5th percentile) but not on the chart for weight. Her doctor says that's expected for a preemie. Here's a picture from her first doctor visit.

Daddy bought Evia a pretty pink papasan. I was amused that he purchased what was probably the most girly one in the store. He says it appeared to be the most well constructed.

I am semi-close to apologizing to Meredith for all the years of mocking all the pictures she takes. They say you turn into your mother as you get older, but I had a baby and turned into my sister. There are over 300 pictures of Evia on my digital camera and I always have it close by. Evia will have the Price photo head touch down before too long.

June 4, 2008 - Home at Last

2008-06-05T14:36:00.013-05:00

4 weeks and 1 day later, the family is all home. We brought Evia home on June 4. Here she is the day before. She's taking her bottle and taking her car seat test. She had to sit in a car sear for an hour to show the seat didn't distress her.

We were very excited to be leaving the hospital. Evia's giving a big wave goodbye.

This is while we were taking her out of the hospital.

She's sleeping in the car.

June 3, 2008 - Home Sweet Home (Almost)

2008-06-03T12:39:00.003-05:00

Today, Evia has been in the hospital for 4 weeks. Randy and I get to take her home tomorrow and are very excited about it. She has been doing great taking all food by mouth and is putting on weight. I'll post some pictures later tonight or tomorrow but wanted to let everyone know she's coming home.

May 31, 2008

2008-05-31T20:55:00.012-05:00

My mom, dad, sister, and nephew are in town this weekend to see Miss Evia. She is doing great. She has been frustrated by her nose tube lately and took matters into her own hands. The nurse discovered her Friday morning trying to remove the tube herself. She had successfully removed all the tape from her face and was trying to pull the tube out. The doctor decided to remove the tube completely and try all mouth feeds. She had her last tube feeding at 9 am Friday morning. Every one since then has been by mouth. Randy and I were very happy because we could finally take a picture without tubes or wires in it. Here is the beautiful girl. Check out the beginnings of the double chin. Evia is putting on weight every day.
Grams and Grandpa love Evia.

Aunt Haley will be fixing Evia's hair when it grows back in.

May 29, 2008

2008-05-29T20:53:00.005-05:00

Evia is doing great! She took 5 nipple feeds yesterday. She finished 3 bottles and two breast feeds. It appears she has turned the corner and figured out how to suck, swallow, breathe. She wakes up when hungry now and will cry or suck her hands. She previously didn't do this. She pulls on her nose tube when she gets hungry. The doctor may remove it in the next couple days so she'll take all food by mouth. It looks like Evia will likely be home by the end of next week. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, but it's looking really good. Thanks for all the prayers and support we've received in the past month.

May 28, 2008

2008-05-28T21:01:00.006-05:00

Evia is getting better each day. She weighs 5 lb 2.9 oz. She now has a mobile on her crib. I can't tell if she likes it, but it makes me feel better because it feels less like a hospital to decorate her room. She gets three bottle feeds a day now and is improving each day. Evia had the consult with the occupational therapist and it went well. She took her bottle in record time. The OT will most likely work with her more. I'm ready to have a picture of her which doesn't have a nose tube.

May 27, 2008

2008-05-28T09:11:00.005-05:00

Evia is doing good. She's having some difficulty with the suck, swallow, breathe. An occupational therapist is going to begin working with her Wednesday. That should help her improve in taking food by mouth. She continues to gain weight every day. I was looking at pictures of Evia from her first few days in the hospital. It's amazing how much she's changed. She looks much larger and she is more vocal. She hasn't cried much but has started to cry more the past couple days when she gets upset. Her muscle control is better. She doesn't show as many of the random arm and leg movements. She can get her hand to her mouth to suck and does a good job of kicking mommy and daddy when getting her diaper changed. Her grasp is stronger and she pulls on her nose tube a lot.

Evia gets to meet her Aunt Haley and cousin Bennett this weekend. Bennett is walking like crazy now and I can't wait to see that. I guess I need to do a quick child proofing of my house.

May 26, 2008

2008-05-26T19:50:00.005-05:00

Randy and I spent Memorial Day with Evia. She is so precious. She has cracked the 5 lb mark. She weighs 5.08 lbs. She is still working on taking a bottle. Every day she gets better but still can't quite put it all together. She'll get it though. Here are pictures of Evia and me. These don't happen often as mommy is usually the one taking the pictures.

May 25, 2008

2008-05-26T19:37:00.004-05:00

I haven't updated the blog in a couple days. Grandma and papa were in town this weekend. Here are some pictures of Evia. I don't feel much like writing but I know everyone wants to see baby girl.

May 23, 2008

2008-05-23T19:27:00.006-05:00

Today Evia took a full bottle at noon from mommy. I haven't had her take a full bottle from me yet and I was very excited. Her umbilical cord fell off. The nurses put it in a little jar for us to keep but I was kind of grossed out by it. Does that make me a bad mommy? Baby girl is so adorable that even her new belly button is cute. I was looking at pictures from when Evia was first in NICU. She is noticeably bigger now and doesn't have as many wrinkles in her skin. She is looking more like a newborn baby and less like a preemie. Evia is becoming more vocal. She grunts when unhappy and makes a cute little semi-squeak noise when content. I've enjoyed getting to know her but it's still hard leaving her every night. Randy and I are eager to have her to ourselves 24/7.

My mom sent this picture to me. I love it. It was taken when my parents brought my sister Haley home from the hospital. I can still remember arguing with Meredith over who had to hold the butt end. I won.

May 20, 2008 - Cribs: Baby Evia Edition

2008-05-21T09:31:00.006-05:00

Baby Evia here. I am out of the box and loving it! No temperature probes for me. Today I am in my new crib. Let's take a tour. I went with relaxed baby theme for the decor. It helps me chill after a hard day of bottle feeding, pooping, and being poked by nurses. The light blue crib matches the blue in my receiving blankets and I dressed special to match my crib. My outfits and blankets change daily. I like to keep it fresh around here. My pets are also fans of the new crib. Pink poodle, baby giraffe, and teddy bear approve. No episode of cribs is complete without showing off your rides. Check mine out. Super sweet 2008 Graco in the pattern Deco. Dope. Before you know it, I'll be rollin' down the street in my Graco sippin' on apple juice (totally stole that from Daddy).

Thanks for stopping by and Go Pokes!

May 19, 2008

2008-05-19T22:20:00.003-05:00

Evia is getting better at feeding from a bottle. She had three bottles today. She completely finished one, half of a second, and about 3/4 of a third. She was doing much better today with the bottles. She gained more weight and is now 4 lb 8 oz. She is starting to fill out but is still small. Evia hates getting her diaper changed. She doesn't cry much but she gets going when you try to change her. Daddy gets big points for today. He got her to eat most of a bottle and changed the resulting dirty diaper which was by far her biggest poop to date. Mommy is still trying to get a video of her burping (burps and poops - I apologize for the disgusting nature of this post). Here's daddy giving her bottle.

May 18, 2008 - Hitting the Bottle

2008-05-18T20:07:00.009-05:00

Evia continues to improve in taking milk from a bottle. During her noon feeding, she finished an entire 40 ml bottle on her own. She is going to get a second bottle at midnight. Hopefully, she will be able to finish it, too. Evia also has figured out her pacifier. We had been working some with her with the pacifier but she couldn't really suck on it or keep it in her mouth. Today, we gave her the pacifier and she could hold it herself. She went after it for about half an hour. Randy and I will be giving her bottles tomorrow. We need to practice giving her bottle so we can do it when we get home. Here is a picture of Evia taking the first bottle she finished. The nurse gave me the bottle to keep.

Evia looking cute.

May 16, 2008

2008-05-16T21:38:00.010-05:00

Today was a big day for Evia.

She put on more weight and is now above her birth weight by 1/3 oz.

She moved out of NICU and into the Neonatal Special Care Unit. She has her own little room and it has a couch which makes into a twin bed. The visiting hours are 24/7 so Randy and I can spend more time with her now.

She had her first bottle feeding and mommy was allowed to give her the bottle. She is getting one bottle a day. Once she can take one bottle, she will get two and so on until the doctor determines she can get all her food by mouth. At that point, we will be able to take her home. They start with one bottle and work up because they don't want Evia spending all her energy eating. She needs her energy to grow. The bottle has her full 40 ml volume. She eats what she can and the rest she gets through her tube. She was able to take 5 ml on her own today. She could do the whole suck, swallow, breathe thing but not for a sustained period of time. She took what she could and then I burped her. She let out quite a belch for such a small baby. I was startled by it and the nurse heard it on the other side of the room. The eating made her tired though and she went to sleep. I am determined to get a video of her burping so I can post it. It's amazing the things I now find fascinating.

May 15, 2008 - Just Chillin'

2008-05-15T21:35:00.010-05:00

Evia was looking very relaxed and sleeping soundly when we arrived.

Evia is now getting 40 ml of milk every three hours. Going forward, they will increase the amount of milk she gets based on her size. She now weighs 4 lb 4 oz. That's 1 oz less than her birth weight. She is improving in regulating her own body temperature. She still needs the incubator, but hopefully only for a couple more days. It will be much easier to hold her when we don't have to deal with the box. She hasn't moved to her own room. We're just waiting for other babies to go home. She hasn't started trying to take milk from a bottle yet. She will suck on a pacifier some but can't do this for very long. Apparently, the ability to suck, swallow, and breath can be complicated to master. She'll figure it out though. I love it when her eyes are open.

She's practicing with the pacifier to get ready to bottle feed.

May 14, 2008 - Project RunBaby

2008-05-14T21:30:00.000-05:00

So far, Evia's NICU time has been spent in diapers (comfortable) or hospital issued clothing (boring). Evia is now sporting the latest in super-cute preemie fashions and looking baby chic. She now gets to wear the clothes her cousin Hannah gave her and the clothes mommy bought her.

The IV is gone and she is rocking the mohawk. Fierce.

Evia continues to show improvement every day. She didn't gain any weight today but she didn't lose any either. The clothing actually serves a purpose in that it helps her with her progress in regulating her body temperature. They have increased her feedings to 34 ml every three hours. I was able to hold her for three hours this afternoon. Pure heaven. We fell asleep together in the big reclining chair with her on my chest. I was cradling her head at one point and she began sucking on my finger which was close to her face. We are looking for signs like this and the doctor is monitoring her daily to evaluate when Evia can begin taking milk from a bottle. This requires her to breathe, swallow, and eat at the same time. Being able to bottle feed is a milestone she needs to meet before going home. We are still waiting on a room to open up on the other floor. Once she is moved there, we can stay with her and the visitation rules are less strict.

Here's a picture of Evia and daddy.

May 13, 2008 - Happy 1 Week Birthday!

2008-05-13T21:00:00.000-05:00

Today Evia is 1 week old. She now weighs 4 lb 2 oz and is getting 29 ml of milk with each feeding. The IV is completely out now and all nutrition is from the milk. It was such a relief to see her today and not see that IV. They had to shave her head for the scalp IVs. She has fuzz growing in from the first IV shave. Evia needs Aunt Haley to fix her hair pretty when it grows back in. The IV was limiting our baby holding time and we'll be able to hold her more now. She had been in level one NICU which is the most critical unit. She was moved to level two NICU today which is less critical. The plan is to move her to her own room as soon as one is available. If a room had been available today, she would have moved there today. When that happens, there will be a bed in the room so we can stay with her. I don't have pictures today as I spent the visit holding her.

May 12, 2008 - Thumb Sucking Fun

2008-05-13T08:37:00.000-05:00

Evia continues to improve every day. Today, she gained 2 oz and tips the scales at a whopping 4 lb. They decreased her IV fluid rate and were just going to let the bag run out. There were no plans to continue her on IV nutrients past Monday night. Her milk was increased to 25 ml and she is fully digesting it. Once she is off the IV, they will keep her on 25 ml every three hours and continue to monitor her. The nurse said they would probably try to start her on a bottle in the next couple days. Being able to take food by mouth is something she must be able to do before we can take her home.

She started getting really fussy around 5:45, and she is scheduled to be fed at 6 PM. She kept putting her hand in her mouth and was sucking on it. She was showing hunger signals and the sucking was a really positive sign that she's getting ready to take food by mouth. When they started the milk in the tube, she also put her hand in her mouth and sucked her thumb for part of the feeding. Here's a video of thumb sucking. Mommy is very proud of her girl.

May 11, 2008 Also for your consideration...

2008-05-11T20:24:00.000-05:00

This picture came in one of the packages that Autumn bought, and I laughed when I saw it. Talk about multi-tasking.

May 11, 2008 Hiccups and Squeaks

2008-05-11T20:12:00.000-05:00

Autumn had not seen Evia with the hiccups yet, and thus was forced by the laws of motherhood to video it.

May 11, 2008 Mother's day wiggling video

2008-05-11T19:53:00.000-05:00

A short video of inside-the-incubator wiggling action, with bonus eye-opening.

May 11, 2008 Autumn's first Mother's Day

2008-05-11T19:36:00.000-05:00

Autumn's first official Mother's Day. Evia was put into an incubator box today. I never felt like I got a great explanation for this, but it is supposed to be an improvement over the open table with the heat lamp. Something about it providing a better environment for her to regulate her own body temperature for more of the time and provide a very controlled environment. I'm thinking that it sounds like it would have been a good idea from the start, but what do I know? Anyway, she had a little T-shirt on today, and they told us to bring up some little outfits to put her in. Brenda brought us some preemie stuff from Meredith and Haley, which is so appreciated. Autumn will take some of those to the hospital tomorrow. Here's Autumn reaching in and greeting Evia as we arrived.

We also got to hold her again today. Notice the swanky yellow lab coat thing. I seriously could have Hulk Hoganed that thing into 20 shredded pieces, but didn't want to scare the nurses with my beastliness. It seems like the random rules in the NICU change all the time, as we have held her several times before without the coat on. Daddy even changed a dirty diaper (like a pro, I might add). Autumn is having a great Mother's Day. Milk intake is up to 20 ml per serving and she gained another 15 grams. She's back up to 3 lb, 14 oz now. Keep going girl.

May 10, 2008

2008-05-11T19:25:00.000-05:00

Evia had another day of progress. She gained 30 grams since yesterday and is taking 15 ml of milk per feeding now. Also, the oxygen saturation measurement has been removed because she has not had any problem maintaining strong O2 concentration. That generally means that she breathes well and her heart and lungs work well. Good deal. Here's a picture of her doing some cute baby sleeping. The IV is out of her scalp and back in her right hand. That was quite an ordeal. She is a little jaundiced, and is having trouble keeping IVs in her tiny veins. It is also difficult to get them started in new veins. It took a while to find a good spot that had not already been used or attempted. She was pretty calm through the whole ordeal. I think she's going to be a real trooper.

May 9, 2008

2008-05-10T20:45:00.000-05:00

Autumn sleeps in this position all the time. We thought it was funny that such a small baby would sleep exactly the same way. You may notice that the IV is in her scalp, but not on the same side as yesterday. They moved it to the other side. She now has a mohawk. I know they have to use the IV, but I was not very happy about them cutting her pretty hair. She's still cute though. Milk is being increased to 10 ml every 3 hours. IV out soon hopefully. Brenda thinks her heartrate electrodes look like she has fried eggs on her chest. Poor baby, being mocked by her own grandmother and only 3 days old. It's a sad state of affairs.

I love this picture. During our visit, I was cradling her in her crib and she woke up and was very alert for about an hour and a half. It was fun to talk to her and get an active response. Autumn, Larry, and Brenda were also able to see her awake, and fun was had by all.

May 8, 2008

2008-05-10T20:29:00.000-05:00

Not a lot new today, but some cute pictures anyway. Evia had to have some hair shaved to get an IV in her scalp. The IV is keeping her hydrated and providing her nutrients while she ramps up her milk intake. She gets about 7 ml of milk every 3 hours and she is digesting that completely. As her milk intake increases, her IV will provide less and less nutrition, and can be removed.

These pictures don't give you much of a sense of scale. She's small. Weighing less than 4 pounds today. My hand covers her whole torso. Another thing you can't tell from the pictures is how active she is. She kicks and stretches and wiggles all the time. No wonder Autumn kept me awake every night. Pregnancy is probably hardest on the dads.

May 7, 2008 - Some good progress

2008-05-10T09:02:00.000-05:00

Today they took out the respirator tube becuase Evia's breathing was nice and stable. She got a nose canula instead, and it was much less intrusive. Still plenty of electrodes attached to he though. They monitor heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen saturation, and external body temperature. The first law of controls: You must measure what you want to control. So they measure. All food is still coming from an IV.

We also got to hold her today. Here's Autumn talking to her.

May 6, 2008 - Evia Grace Sharp makes her debut

2008-05-10T08:38:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures from the day Evia was born. We were unable to hold her when she was born because they rushed her straight to NICU. Randy was able to see her about three hours after she was born but I was not. These pictures are from our first joint visit to our little girl. She is already daddy's princess.

Her mommy loves her, too.

May 5, 2008 - It was ending just like any normal Monday....

2008-05-09T20:33:00.000-05:00

Until Autumn called me at about 4 pm. She told me something to the effect of "I'm in labor and I'm going to the hospital in an ambulance." Needless to say, I was somewhat shocked. The baby wasn't due for another 8 weeks, and we were not quite prepared for Evia to arrive yet. Here's a picture of Autumn looking brave as she had contractions.