Yummy Homemade Baby Food

I have been wanting to try making my own baby food for a while, so this week I decided to give it a go. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was. I just went on youtube and tada a ton of videos where available on how to make homemade baby food puree. The first food I did was carrots, because they are one of Evan's favorites. So I was not too surprised when he gobbled them up. The second one I did was mango and it was a huge success. He loved it and got so excited opening his mouth for more and more.

Gymboree With Daddy

Evan is now in the level 2 Gymboree class! In this class he will learn about cause and effect and we will be focusing on building his strength. In level 1 the babies mainly did work on the mats but now we are going to get to play with the ramps, slides and climbers. They offer this class on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Dan came with us last weekend for his first level 2 class.

Fun Way To Start The Holidays

We met up with the Perez and Conley's at Hyde Park for the annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. It was so much fun to see our friends and kick off the holiday season together!

Evan's First Thanksgiving

As far back as I can remember my family has always started off Thanksgiving day getting up very early, putting on our walking/running clothes and heading over to the Turkey Trot. Anyone who knows me, know how much I love traditions. I am so happy to share this particular tradition with Evan. This year they changed the time of our race, it now starts at 7:30 am so we had to be up at 5:30 am... Evan was so confused why I woke him up before the sun. He went to the race in this rocket ship pajamas :) My mom and I walked the 5K with Evan and my Dad and Daniel ran the 5k competitive run. It is a lot of fun to see so many people there with their families. It always takes my mom and I a loooong time to finish the race because we tend to like to socialise :) A family friend's house is on the 5K route so we like to stopped by to visit them for bit. My Dad and Daniel on the other hand are more serious competitors so they met up with us later on. Dan finished the race at a record speed, under 30 minutes! I am so proud of him! After the race we headed home for delicious brunch. It was a relaxing day with lots of good food, friends, and football.


Since Dan's dad has to work on Thanksgiving night we have our Thanksgiving with the Mota's on Saturday. It is so nice to have a baker in the family. Every year he makes a rotisserie turkey at his bakery and brings home the most delicious pies. I think I gained at least 10 pounds this weekend!

Things To Be Thankful For...

1. The mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
2. The taxes I pay because it means that I’m employed.
3. The clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.
4. My shadow who watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.
5. A lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.
6. All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.
7. The spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.
8. My huge heating bill because it means I am warm.
9. The lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.
10. The piles of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.
11. Weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been productive.
12. The alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I’m alive.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lowry Park Zoo

We took Evan to Lowery Park Zoo this weekend. Dan and I decided to get annual passes. We got one adult pass plus one guest pass. This way I can take my sister, mom, friend... whoever wants to join us. Both Dan and I had not been to Lowery Park since we were really little. A lot has changed since then! Evan had a great time and loved looking at all the animals. I could not beleive how hot it was today. It does not feel like we are a few days a way from Thanksgiving! Tomorrow some of my friends from playgroup are going to all meet up at the zoo. It is nice to know other moms who have passes too. I am determined to get all my moneys worth :)

Chatterbox

Evan has been chatting it up this week. He is dadada this and dadada that. Dispite my best efforts to get him to say mama, he only says mama when he is mad at me. Lovely! Dan and I will be in bed in the morning trying to squeeze in some last minute zzz's when we here a loud MAMA coming out of the monitor, letting us know it is time to get up. Who needs an alarm clock when you have a baby?! For the last few days I have been trying to capture his adorable dadada on video, but every time I turned on the camera he would get quiet. Well, this morning I was finally able to get a good video. Here it is...

http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/sara0710/?action=view&current=ejm1029.flv

New Video

Every night before Evan goes to bed we have been playing his Praise Baby DVD. He really seems to like it. Here is a link to video- http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/sara0710/?action=view&current=Video001.flv

Also, I added a new section to the blog on the right column for a list of videos :)

10 Month Old

This picture is one of my favorites. Evan is such a happy baby. Don't get me wrong, he has his moments where he can be Mr. Cranky Pants, but overall he is an easy going happy boy! He has learned early on that to get his way all he has to do is look at me and shoot me one of his smiles and I just melt. I am in trouble. hehe If you look closely at the picture you can see his two little bottom teeth.

Halloween

Evan had so much fun this Halloween... and so did Dan ;) Dan set up some halloween decorations outside our house and scared some of the local neighborhood kids. I think Dan enjoys this holiday more than all the kids trick-or-treating! We had so much fun handing out candy. If I had to estimate, I would say we had 75-100 kids this year. I went through all 5 bags of candy. It was good though, no leftover candy to tempt me with! Evan had such a great time taking pictures and seeing all of the trick-or-treaters. We dressed him up as a cute little "chubby" skeleton.

Best Friends

It was so amazing seeing my friend Tiffany's son, Joshua meet Evan for the first time. Tiffany and I have been friends for over 10 years. We were best friends all through high school, she was my room mate in college for 4 years, we were in each others weddings, and we were at the hospital the days our babies were born.

Joshua and Evan looking so cute in their
matching "Best Friends" onesies.

Hunsader Farm

Over the weekend we went to the Hunsader's Farm to pick out Evan's first pumpkin. My parents were able to meet us down there to join in the fun! We all had an amazing time and could not have asked for better weather. It finally is feeling like fall! The farm had so much to see and do. There were craft booths and live country music. Dan, my mom and I bravely ventured through the corn maze. I am so glad they were with me since I have such a horrible sense of direction I might have been lost in the maze for hours :) There were scarecrow displays set up that made for perfect picture opportunities. There was even a petting zoo! Evan loved looking at all the animals. On the day we went there was also a classic car show going on, which was right up my Dad's alley. I am so glad this is going to be one of our family traditions. I can't wait to take Evan back next year!!

Rolled Over

This morning I put put Evan down on his play mat on his tummy and then went to put some laundry away in his room. I was only gone for a few minutes, but when I got back in the room there he was as happy as can be on his back! This was the first time Evan has ever rolled over. I yelled for Daniel to come over and we praised him a lot and loved on him. We tried to get him to do it again for us but he was not interested. We will try again tomorrow :) At least I know he can do it!! We could not be happier. Yea!

Busy Weekend

My cousin Lindsey got married over the weekend! Our family flew up to Philly for the wedding. This was Evan's second plane ride. He is such a great little traveler. The wedding was beautiful and my cousin looked amazing! I am so happy for her and her husband Greg. While we were on our trip my Granny noticed Evan's first tooth broke through on the day he turned 9 months old. My baby boy is getting so big!

Dan loved the weather. It was in the 60's. It finally felt like fall! I now feel ready to decorate our house with my fall/Halloween decoration.

Car Show + Swinging = FUN

My parents and I took Evan to his first car show in downtown Dunedin. It was so hot but Evan loved looking at all the old cars with Grandpa. I love the relationship Evan has with his grandparents!

There was a park at the car show. I did not think Evan was going to be able to sit in the baby swings by himself since he is not too stable when he sits up. However, when I put him in the swing he did great and was able to sit in the swing by himself. He loves anything that is fast so the swings were right up his alley. He laughed so hard. It was adorable! I took so many pictures and videos :) He has such a contagious smile you just can't help smile back.

Early Interventionist- Week 1

Last week was Evan's first meeting with an Early Interventionist. We got to finally meet the women Evan is going to be working with. Her name is Star and she was really nice and so good with Evan. She told me that a lot of the things I was doing with Evan was right along the lines of things she normally suggests. Evan and I were given homework :) He has to do two thirty minute sessions that look like this:

Tummy time on boppy- 5 minutes
Bumbo chair- 5 minutes
Practice rolling over- 5 minutes
Step & Play- 5 minutes
Tummy time- 5 minutes
Floor exercises- 5 minutes

We work on this once in the morning and then after his afternoon nap. Every Sunday Star will call me with when our next session will be.

Mommy Survey

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? We wanted to get pregnant after our 1 year anniversary but we got impatient and decided to stop being careful a few months early... we ended up getting pregnant right away :) Best surprise ever!
2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes, we were just about to celebrate our first anniversary.
3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? Thrilled and surprised how fast it happened
4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU? No way
5. HOW OLD WERE YOU? I was 26
6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? multiple positive pregnancy tests :)
7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Dan was with me when I found out we were expecting. We decided to keep the good news to ourselves for a while and told our families on Mother's Day.
8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? I wanted to know but Dan would have been happy to wait it out.
9. DUE DATE? Our due date was December 27, 2008. However, Evan did not want to come out and I was induced one week later on January 2, 2009.
10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? Nope
11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? Milk and Reese Peanut Butter cereal (I had to have a bowl every night- yummy)
12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Heartburn, you would have thought he would have been born with a head full of hair... nope!
13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? boy
14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No, I was just shocked that I was having a boy... I remember thinking "what am I going to do with a boy?!" I know nothing about bugs, trucks, and sports :)
15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? 22 pounds
16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes, 3 of them.
17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew about them, one was with family in Philly, one was with friends/family in Florida, and one was a work shower.
18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? No, but there were plenty of complications during the delivery :(
19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? University Community Hospital, Women's Center
20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? Almost 11 hours
21. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL? Daniel
22. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Daniel
23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? Natural
24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? Yep
27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 5 pounds 14 ounces
28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN? January 2, 2009
30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Evan Joseph Mota
31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 8 months

Mommy and Me

Today was Evan's first Play and Learn class at Gymboree. This class helps babies explore their senses and support visual and auditory development with tummy time, flashlight play, and songs. They did a game today with a puppet and he loved it! It really helped that he had a great nap and a full belly right before class so he was in a great mood. The only thing he did not like too much was the tummy time... not a big suprise there. However, he did it for longer then I thought he would. It is amazing how much better he is at tummy time then he was just 2 weeks ago. I think this class will be great for Evan to meet other babies and play in a different environment. I can't wait to go back next week :)

What's In a Name

During my pregancy, Dan and I thought long and hard about what we were going to name our baby boy. Although a few names made "the list", we knew pretty early on that we both liked the name Evan. We looked up the meaning of his name and liked that it was a Celtic name meaning "Young Warrior". Now thinking of the meaning of his name it is very appropriate since from the day he was born he has had to be a fighter. He was born weighing 5 pounds 14 ounces with the cord was wrapped around his neck. He developed pneumothorax shortly after birth. A nitrogen washout was done by giving 100% FiO2 for 24 hours. He also completed 5 days of iv for an infection. He spent the first 12 days of his life in the NICU. We thought the hardest part was over when we joyfully brought our sweet angel home from the hospital. Now Evan is 8 months old and he is having problems with developmental delays. He has gone to hearing and vision specialists and was seen by a neurologist. He has to have an MRI and second hearing test done on October 14, 2009. Starting Friday, Evan will have a Early Interventionist come to our house to work with him on his motor skills and strengthening his arms and shoulders. He has been working so hard with Dan and me and we have seen improvements over the last few weeks. We are excited to see and learn what the therapist does with Evan and are very hopeful that he will grow stronger and stronger. Nothing has come easy for Evan. He has had to work hard to learn what comes easily to most babies his age. He is a true young warrior!

Evan's 6 Month Photo Shoot

We Build It... He Knocks It Down!

Daniel and I were in the kitchen tonight getting dinner ready so we put Evan in his highchair so he could see what we were doing. Daniel got the blocks we had bought for him the other day and stacked them up on the highchair in front of Evan. To our excitement he used his arms and knocked the blocks over. Check out his facial expressions... he looks so proud of himself :)

Click here to see the video- http://s14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/sara0710/?action=view&current=EvanChillin018.flv

Yum Yum- Oatmeal!

Here is a picture of Evan eating oatmeal for the first time! Some of it got in his mouth... most of it ended up on his bib :) People are not kidding when they say babies grow up too fast. I can't believe my baby boy will be 6 months old in a few days. Half a year has just flown bye. This month Evan has dropped his night time feeding and is sleeping 11-12 hours straight. Woo hoo! He has also recently started grabbing at toys that are in front of him.

It's Our Anniversary!

Today Daniel and I are celebrating 2 years of marriage! We had planned to have Grandma Mota watch Evan so Dan and I could go to Bone Fish Grill for a nice romantic dinner. I had been looking forward to going all week! Well, things did not turn out as planned... Earlier that day I took Evan over for a swim at his friend Layla's house. We had a fun morning in the pool. When I went to get Evan's bottle out of my backpack I noticed that his bottle had leaked all over. Such a mess! At this point Evan was getting impatient and very hungry. My friend Robynne offered to let me use her formula which was the same brand that I use and it was also soy based, but not the exact one I use for Evan. Being in a pickle I decided to take her up on her offer and made Evan a new bottle. At the time I did not think about it, but the new bottle did not have his gas drops in it. When we got back home I put Evan down for his afternoon nap and then the crying began! Poor little guy had such bad gas pains he was in tears the rest of the afternoon. I felt horrible. When Dan called to tell me he was off work early and heading home for our special dinner I was in tears and so was Evan. Dan quickly offered to cancel our dinner reservations so I did not have to leave him that night. Dan picked up take out, a movie, and flowers on his way home. Even though the night did not go as planned it was a very memorable second anniversary :)

"Where you end up isn't the most important thing. It's the road you take to get there. The road you take is what you'll look back on and call your life." ~Tim Wiley

Father's Day at the FL Aquarium

In honor of Dan's first Father's Day as a Dad I got up with Evan this morning and let Dan sleep in. We had a very nice lazy morning. Then around 11 am Dan opened his Father's Day card from Evan... in the card there were tickets to the Florida Aquarium! Dan was excited because we had been talking about wanting to take Evan to the aquarium for the first time. After Evan's nap we packed up and headed to meet my parents at the aquarium. When we got there it was packed, apparently we were not the only ones who thought it would be fun to spend the day looking at fish. Evan was fascinated watching all the colorful fish swimming around. I think the otters were his favorite. We can't wait to take him back when he is a little older. At around 5:30 pm we walked over to Channelside to have dinner at Bennigan's. It was such a nice day with the family!

Look at Evan's cute little hand! I got this plaque specially
made for Dan for Father's Day. It turned out better then I thought!

Splish Splash

It is officially summer and so hot! To cool off from the hot Florida sun, Evan took a dip in the little blow up pool in our backyard. He sure does love the outdoors :) I can not wait to take him swimming at my parents pool.

Evan Meets Raymond!

Raymond from the Tampa Bay Rays was at the Land O' Lakes Library today to kick off the Reading with the Rays program. My mom came over for the day and we had lunch and then headed over to the library. While we were there Evan and I got our picture taken with Raymond!! Evan got really sleepy while we waited in line for the picture. I did everything I could to keep him up :) I don't know how he could sleep when there were so many loud kids all running around! A lady from the library took our picture for the library's website and Evan even got a signed picture of Raymond to take home.

Zac's Graduation Weekend

We packed our bags and headed up to Georgia for the weekend for my cousin Zac's high school graduation. We drove up with my parents, so we rented a minivan to make the 7 hour drive more comfortable. Friday night was Zac's graduation and then Saturday we went to his graduation party. Sunday morning we headed back home. It was a quick trip, I wish we could have stayed longer! Evan did amazingly well. He was such a happy baby the whole time and always was smiling. He loved all the attention he got from his Great Grandparents and Great Aunt Barb.

The Mota's at Zac's graduation.

(Great) Aunt Barb and Katie with the graduate!

On our way home we stopped in Jacksonville to see Rachel at Florida Coastal. We coordinated with her roommate to make sure she was going to be at her apartment around lunch time. We met up with her roommate to let us in the gate. Then we gave her Evan and she walked into their apartment holding him and said to Rachel "I checked our mailbox and look what I found!" Rachel did not see Evan's face at first and was really confused on why there was a baby in the apartment :) Then she saw my mom and I in the doorway :) Rachel did not know we were planning to stop by and was so surprised to see us. It was great! My roommate from college, Cristina also lives in Jacksonville so Cristina and her boyfriend, Butch joined us for lunch too. It was such a great weekend with family and good friends.

Aunt Rachel showing Evan around Florida Coastal.

Sara, Evan, Cristina and Butch

Mother's Day

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day as a Mom. We had a picnic lunch in our backyard and later met my parents for dinner at Bonefish Grill. During our picnic Dan got Evan to laugh! It was so sweet. Dan also got me a beautiful charm bracelet, a spa gift card, and a plaster molding kit so I can make a keepsake of Evan's little hand print. My boys made me feel very special and loved!

Let's Go Rays! Let's Go!

Grandma, Sara and Evan at the Ray's game!

Evan looked so cute in his little baseball outfit. He loved all the bright lights and noises! We ended up staying until the top of the 8th. It was such a great game, the Rays won 6-3 over the Orioles.

Baby Storytime

Evan and I went to Baby Storytime at the Land O' Lakes Library for the first time today. The class is for babies birth - 1 years old. It was a lot of fun! There were 6 other babies there, 3 of them were around 4 months like Evan. It was fun to see Evan around other babies. The teacher read a few books and sang songs. The teacher had the moms participate by singing a part of the song and adding their child's name to the song... I am not a great singer and definitely don't like to sing in public... but I could not have Evan be the only baby not in the song so I sang in front of everyone! :) At the end of class there were activity mats and toys for the babies to play with. Evan loved one of the toys that played music and flashed different colors. He started cooing and smiling whenever he saw the toy. I wish I knew where to get one. It was nice to talk to other moms and trade stories about the different milestones our babies are going through. All of the moms with 4 month olds got to exchange stories about teething. In the last few weeks I have noticed Evan is starting to feel pressure on his gums. He is drooling and wanting to suck on everything! We had a great time today and now Evan in napping from his busy morning.

Such a Happy Little Guy

I took this video of Evan when he woke up today. He was all smiles and talking up a storm! I can't believe he will be 4 months on Saturday.

March for Babies!

We met up with my parents and the Perez family at Ozona Blue to go to a March of Babies benefit. We had a great time spending time with our family and friends and got to support a great cause at the same time!


We will be walking 3 miles on Saturday, April 25th in support of the March of Babies because of how grateful we are for the care Evan received at the hospital. If you would like to sponsor us on our walk our website is at http://www.marchforbabies.org/ejm.

Evan Meets the Easter Bunny

Yesterday Evan and I went to Wiregrass Mall to meet my friend Jessica for lunch. While we were there I decided to try to get Evan's picture taken with the Easter Bunny. He was very sleepy when I put him on the Easter Bunny's lap. Then the photographer honked a loud horn right before snapping the picture and he perked right up. He looks so cute and so tiny next to that big bunny!