thanksgiving 2015

nora & evelyn,

happy thanksgiving!! i love celebrating holidays with you two and this year is even better, as i'm still on maternity leave!
we kicked off thanksgiving eve with the downtown tree lighting ceremony & our too-many-years-to-count annual mac n cheese night.  aunt kristen & i started this back in high school and although she and uncle mike don't join us anymore, we still keep it going!

with uncle kyle & evy 

 

this year we started our thanksgiving morning off with some pumpkin pie oatmeal & the macy's thanksgiving day parade.

then after many hours of getting 4 people showered, dressed & fed we finally made it to grandma & papa's for dinner!

after game playing, turkey eating & wine drinking at grandma & papa's, we headed over to gigi & papa's for dessert.
(and wrestling with uncle mike & snuggles uncle jimmy)

a late bedtime means soo much fun for all!  what a great day to reflect on what we truly are thankful for... family, health & happiness. (and warm coffee! )

thanksgiving 2015 (we keep adding to our crew!) 

thanksgiving 2014

thanksgiving 2012 

first snow!!

nora & evelyn,

this past weekend it snowed for the first time this season!! nora, this was the first snow that i think you really remembered, or at least were excited for.  last year you did NOT like the snow--too cold for you! you keep saying, "its 'nowing mommy!!"  evelyn, this was your first snow!! not that you'll remember it... 

it started snowing late friday night after bedtime.  i woke nora up so you could see it coming down.  it is such a magical sight to see... your first snow of the season! (even for the non-snow-loving me)  seeing the wonder in children's eyes during the first snow makes you look at things differently. 

saturday morning we had a birthday party to go to, but we quickly rushed home to put on our snowpants and boots to play outside!  

"I tuck, mama! I tuck!" (tuck=stuck)

mom stinks at building snowmen so we resorted to making snow castles with our sand toys, sledding with the neighbors, and making snowballs.

making snow angels

evy is not so sure about the snow...  

after what seemed like forever, we came inside for some hot chocolate & snuggles! 

 and just because this one is too funny... :) 

happy two months, evelyn!

dear evy girl,

you are two months old now! it's crazy how fast time flies (yes, i know i've said this and will continue to say this every single month with both your sister and you!).  we love you so very much and i am loving spending my days with you!  

you are the most easy going, laid back baby.  even if this changes down the road and you throw us for a loop, i'll look back on these first two months and count my blessings!  you made the transition from one to two kiddos so much easier than i expected.  

this month you started smiling!!!! you smile HUGE grins and it just melts our hearts!  the best is when you smile at nora and she says, "mommy! she's looking at me! she's smiling at nora!" and she just can't help but touch you and smile right back at ya! 

i swear you rolled over two times when i wasn't looking, too.  i put you on your tummy and went to tend to something with nora and not only 3 seconds later you were on your back.  i have yet to see it for my own eyes though!  

if i go through your "LOVES" and "HATES", you pretty much just love everything.... the swing, bouncer, solly baby wrap (you love when i wrap you up and wear you!), rock n play sleeper, your paci, being held (you are quite the snuggly little babe), and eating. 

you are not a huge fan of getting your diaper changed, getting into the car seat, or being hungry. you also don't like to be left alone... you like to be where the party's at.  but then again, what baby is a fan of these things!? 

you're in size 1 diapers, 0-3 month clothes & pj's.  it's so fun to put you in some of nora's old clothes and look back at when nora wore those outfits.  nora has taken to saying, "that nora's when nora baby!"

you weigh 9 pounds 13 ounces (16th percentile) and are 22.5 inches long (56th percentile).  the doctor is happy with your weight gain so far, so therefore so are we.  

you are sleeping through the night for the most part.  we feed you around 9/9:30 and you sleep 10:00-5/6:00ish.  sometimes earlier and sometimes later.  this is awesome and we're loving every extra minute of sleep we can get.  even if you stop being a rockstar sleeper, i'll take the last few weeks of good sleep.  so thank you :) 

you eat pretty much every 2-3 hours and make it well known if you are hungry!  you are an efficient eater and are pretty good at nursing.  you'll take a bottle from dad, too.  you are still being treated for reflux and some days seem worse than others.  otherwise, you've been healthy!

there are so many wonderful things i could say about you, miss evy girl.  your daddy and i love you so incredibly much.  we never knew it was possible for our hearts to grow even bigger and love another sweet daughter, but they did and we do! you truly are a gift to us.
we love you to the moon and back, baby girl!
xoxo,
mommy & daddy

here are some pictures from the past month...

first dinner out as a family of 4! 

morning snuggles

sunny & chilly walks 

a typical day...

nora & evy,

typical.  ha.  nothing too typical these days, but i wanted to write a little about what our "typical" day looks like.  these days when nora was a baby seem like such a blur and i don't want to forget my time home with you two!  i am LOVING being home every day with you girls now.  i am dreading going back to work, but i know it is for the good of our family.  okay, so here it goes... 

5:00-6:00am 

evy wakes up ready to eat then right back down again! then i pump & either head back to sleep or start to get ready for the day... make coffee, oatmeal, get nora's breakfast ready, etc. 

7:00am

nora is up and ready to play!  i hear the sweet sounds of "mommy! come here! i'm awake!" depending on how tired i am, i let you play in bed for a bit before i come get you. 

7:15am

ready for breakfast, coffee & "nora" time... this is when you get mommy & daddy all to yourself, nora boo! we'll play with play dough, read books, or play with your toys.  occasionally a tv show (current faves: Room on the Broom, Daniel Tiger, Curious George)

i'll try and sneak in a shower if daddy's home or a quick pull-myself-together look.  

8:30ish

evy is up and HANGRY.  quick dose of reflux meds for evy & girl is ready to eat!  if daddy is home, nora and daddy will play or if it's just us girls then nora will read books with mommy while i'm feeding evy or finish up a show from earlier in the morning.

9:00am

play time!  some days we'll get out of the house for a walk or go on an "adventure", other days we'll just hang around at home.  one day a week nora goes to gymnastics and one day a week she goes to Miss Kathy's house.  Miss Kathy days are mommy's "get things done" days.  

10:00am

evy is ready for a nap.  she'll nap on the go if we're out and about, in her rock n play or like today, in the crib!! (first successful crib nap.. it was short, but successful!) 

11:00am

lunch time for all... evy's nap was short today and she's ready to eat again.  i feed evy and get nora's lunch ready.  

today since daddy was home, we braved the wind and went out for lunch!  first successful lunch out!!

12:00 

NAPTIME!!! (my favorite part of the day... just kidding...)

occasionally i get can both of you to sleep at this time, but usually evy wants to eat again at this time. once nora is down, evy & mommy have some one-on-one time to play, do tummy time, or just hang out and binge-watch some tv :) 

if both of you are napping at the same time (woo hoo!) then i'll get dinner ready or take a nap myself :)

3:00pm

everyone is up and ready to go!  one quick little feed for miss evy and we're out the door for another adventure!  we'll meet friends at the park, go for a walk, go to the library, or run errands.  keeping busy during this time of the day is the key to success! this is the time daddy usually leaves for work if he's working at night.  we wave bye-bye to daddy and count down the hours til he comes home again!! 

  

5:00pm

home and the witching hour(s) begin.... operation keep nora busy and keep evy happy--whatever that may be! if we're lucky we may have a visit from grandma or gigi during this time... the more hands the better! 

5:30pm

dinner! 3-4 nights a week it's just us girls and a few nights a week we get to have a family dinner with daddy.  his schedule has been pretty crazy the last few months and we're sooo happy when he's home at night with us.   evy is usually ready to eat again so i've been taking multi-tasking to a whole new level... feed evy while sitting with nora to eat and get her whatever she needs.  how are moms only equipped with 2 hands and arms?!  

6:30pm

bathtime for nora! HOPING desperately that evy decides now is a good time to take a catnap so i can have two hands and my full attention on my big girl nora :) 

bath, brush teeth, books, and bed!! you are currently trying to con me into reading as many books as possible to stall going to bed.  don't worry, i don't fall for it :) i stick to my rule of 3 books before bed! 

7:00pm

hugs, kisses, and lights out!  

the evenings with evy-girl are all over the place now. sometimes you are ready to eat again (and again.  and again) and other times you snooze away in the swing or bouncer.  if you're fussy i put you in the solly wrap and try to pick up the kitchen & get a few things done around the house. last dose of reflux meds for miss evy and maybe a small glass of wine for mommy. 

8:00pm

resting & starting to settle in for the night.  usually evy is snoozing on my chest or in my arms at this time.  you're going through a "i need mom to hold me" phase (it's okay.. i looove it, as i have no where else to be!) 

9:30pm

last feed of the night.  the past few nights daddy has been giving you a bottle before bed & i pump one last time.  this has been a good opportunity for daddy to bond with you and for me to start a stash of milk for when i go back to work. 

10:00pm

lights out for all! everyone is exhausted and so ready for bed!  evy is sleeping in mommy & daddy's room now in either the pack n play or the rock n play... whatever works best for your reflux.  

1:00-2:00-3:00am

at some point evy will be up in the middle of the night.  usually it's around 2:00am, but it can be as early as 1am or as late as 3am.  no rhyme or reason yet!  you usually eat pretty quickly and i hold you up for about 15minutes to settle your milk then quietly back in the rock n play and you're sound asleep! you are the NOISIEST sleeper! so many noises come from you during the night!  i downloaded a white noise app on my phone and all 3 of us seem to be sleeping better thanks to this.  

so there it is... something of a typical day in the georgalas family with a 1 month old (actually 6 weeks!) and a 2 year old. lucy is still, well...lucy and adjusting to being the last on the totem pole in terms of attention.  nora you do a good job of playing with her and feeding her breakfast and dinner.  for that, we are sooo thankful!  you are a huge help around the house these days, nora boo!  

halloween 2015

nora & evy,

we had quite the halloween this year!  in true georgalas fashion, we celebrated halloween all week long!  you two had plenty of halloween outfits & pj's to wear throughout the week and we took advantage of all the fun fall/halloween activities throughout the month! 

evy isn't so happy about all of her halloween photo shoots

nora & lil squish evy girl

thursday evening we went to prospect high school (mommy's old high school!) with aunt kristen, uncle mike, nathan, kylie & brianna.  they had a "not so scary halloween" event for all the kids in the neighborhood.  you didn't wear your flamingo skirt and did not like the neck too much.  you thought it was too itchy!  so we improvised!  evy didn't dress up... just rocked one of the many halloween outfits :) 

friday morning we went to mommy's school for the halloween parade and then a halloween playdate at georgia's house.  we got to see all of mommy's students and teacher friends!  of course, i forgot to take pictures! 

friday evening we went to downtown arlington heights for trick or treating with aunt dana, uncle tim, kate and tyler.  grandma and papa met us there since they haven't seen you girls in 10 days!! we ended our evening with dinner at noodles... nora's favorite restaurant! 

always checking out the big kids :)

finally halloween morning! when we woke up, it was rainy and COLD.  so we kicked off our celebration with pumpkin pancakes, carving our pumpkin, and long naps for all.  nora decided that we should have a HAPPY face, not a scary face for our pumpkin.  you wanted triangle eyes and a triangle nose.  it was pretty cute that you "designed" our jack-o-lantern or as you call it "pumpkin face" this year!

after naptime, we got all dressed in your flamingo costume and baby owl costume and were ready for our visitors!  grandma, papa, uncle mike, gigi and papa came over for trick or treating and dinner!  nora, you loved being the center of attention (shocking) and evy, you were pretty chill the whole night letting your sister take center stage twirling around with her feathers-galore flamingo skirt!  finally the rain stopped so uncle mike and i took you out for trick-or-treating.  you have been practicing all week saying "trick or treat", putting candy in your pumpkin bucket, and saying "thank you".  this was your first year trick or treating and you were so excited and could have cared less that it was drizzling and cold out!  

we had a great halloween and of course, on sunday we dealt with the halloween hangover and daylight savings time.  stayed in pj's and played around the house all day.

happy halloween my favorite little birds!

xoxo,

mama & daddy 

love seeing how much you've changed throughout the years!