And here we are at just over 5 months old! Miss Evie has gone through and survived the "4 month sleep regression" which basically consists of no longer sleeping through the night and waking up every hour for a month. It was difficult and hard to remember how you made it through the newborn stage. But we are back to 11-13 hours straight at night.
We've had some new experiences in the last month. We went to church with James and Briana a couple of Sundays ago and then yesterday we went to Dad's church with the family. It was such an interesting and new experience for me.
Miss Evie is blowing lots of bubbles and strawberries, has a geniune laugh now, and is the nosiest baby that I have ever seen. If she hears something going on in the other room, she won't go to sleep. Oh no, in fact, it is time to get up and play. This is really cute until she gets super grouchy and still won't go to sleep.
Eva has started going to sleep by herself. As I speak, she is falling asleep in my arms, very quietly making noises to herself. It is the cutest thing ever. And cuddling with your sleepy smiling baby, well there is no greateer joy.
I have started working towards my AA in Early Childhood Education. I am doing all of my work online, so no classes for now. I'm glad I found something that works with my schedule so I can start getting ready for Eva to go to school. Currently the plan is to public school, but maybe private school could be an option if I manage to find a well paying job when it is time for her to go to school.
We bought a new car! I am now the proud owner of a 2007 Honda Civic in a very lovely shade of blue. So we are officially a Honda family. It is very different driving a car as opposed to van. The van was the only car I have driven for 6 years. Yes, I have had my driver's licnse for 6 years now!
G and the boys are vacation for the next two weeks, so I'm hoping to get rid of lots of junk on eBay while they are gone. So far, we have managed to rid ourselves of piles of baby clothes and I've made over $300 in process!
Stephen and I have been together for coming up on 4 years! On the 26th of this month, it will have been 3 years since he proposed to me. I've been thinking about how when we were going together, it seemed like FOREVER until he proposed and then FOREVER until we got married. But we started going together in February, were engaged by August, and married by January. It's been a great ride with him. It is an amazing feeling to wake up every day with your best friend right next to you.
Since having Eva, our relationship has been tested like nothing else. A baby tends to put more stress on your relationship than draw you together, at least at the beginning. Sleep deprivation and family's opinions can really take a toll, but I'm here to say: it is possible to make it through. We have been drawn so much closer after working through lots of things that we wouldn't have experienced if lil' Eva hadn't come along. You learn a lot about each other, about yourself, and about God's love.
Leaving the group was such an incredibly hard thing to go through, but thankfully Stephen has been there with me every step of the way. Even though we prayed about it and we knew God was leading us to do it, losing so many friends was by far the hardest thing we have gone through since being together. It's been 16 months since we left and almost a year since we went to a wedding and we still miss everyone. But on the flip side, it is amazing the peace that God gives you when HE leads you and when you follow.
And we have had so many amazing opportunities since leaving that we probably wouldn't have otherwise had. Meeting new people, talking about new things, questioning what we have been taught and deciding what we will teach to our family are just the tips of the things we have gone through.
All that to say, I am sooo thankful for all of God's blessings in my life. I have such an amazing husband, for my beautiful baby girl, all of my wonderful family and friends, a great job that I love, and a very bright future to look forward to. I can't wait to see what else God has in store for me!
