Everly's 15-Month Update
Everly York is 15 months old! Her personality shines through every day, and sometimes I'm not sure I like what I see. Serves me right because I feel like I'm looking back in time at myself... This little girl is defiant, hilarious, a little stubborn and always on the go. She is so much fun and so much work at the same time. We still haven't let her watch tv or play on our phones, but that also means we have to entertain her in other ways throughout the day. This can be exhausting, especially as this pregnancy progresses. Sometimes I see other moms insta stories of their little kids cuddled with them watching a movie or their kids watching cartoons so they can get stuff done and it seriously looks like a slice of HEAVEN. Some days I wish I could just plop Ev infront of the tv and relax for a bit. This is a choice we have made though (for now), and we have to live with the outcome. Sometimes though the grass just looks greener on the other side. I always joke with Jason that once the second baby comes Everly will be sitting one inch from the tv watching cartoons and eating ice cream so I can keep my sanity. Only time will tell!
When she's ready to go outside she goes and bangs on the front door or brings me my shoes. When she's hungry she goes to the fridge and pulls on the handle (thankfully she can't open it yet). When she's tired she finds her soother or blanket. When she's teething she holds the side of her face. When she's ready to leave someone's house she starts waving at everyone to say goodbye. Let's just say she makes it very easy to know what she's feeling. The bad part is if you don't follow her lead she won't be a happy camper.
Quick story that I don't want to forget: when we were in Brandon visiting her cousins we went to their swimming lessons and between lessons we went to the skating rink to cool off. The second we got inside the rink Everly sat down and just watched the people skating (she did not do this on the pool side). It's like she felt right at home and remembered the rink and what hockey was. I can't wait for the season to start and for her to start realizing that Jason is out there!
We have had so much interaction with other kids this summer and other moms and I've gotten to see so many different parenting styles. I honestly love it. Some things you take, some things you leave, but at the end of the day you realize we are all on our own journey and motherhood looks so different and unique for all of us. We are creating and shaping these little humans the best way we know how, and encouraging each other on that journey is the best thing we can do!
Toys
Toys are slowly losing their luster with Ev. There are still a few toys she will play with around the house, but her attention span wanes quickly. I filled a $15 plastic pool I got from Toys 'r Us with her plastic balls and she loves it. She sits in it and throws the balls out, pushes the entire thing around the apartment or hides things in it. She also still likes her tunnel from Ikea, but mostly when it's closed so she can sit in it like a little nest. Her babies are fun for a short while until she throws them on their head, and she loves filling bag with toys like a little purse. She has also started "coloring", which basically means she scribbles pencil crayons on a piece of paper for about two minutes until she's bored. She LOVES books, and like every kid makes us re-read the same story over and over again. No little bird, that cat is not your mother. Her happiest place and where she could likely spend most of the day is at the park and splash pad. Her obsession with slides is real, she has no fear of climbing and falling and picking up wood chips and putting them on any surface is exhilarating. This is also my favorite because I get to enjoy summer and be outside!
Food
She basically just feeds herself now, she doesn't like being helped anymore. This means she goes through numerous outfits in a day and is always a mess. I get a lot of questions about what I feed Everly, so here are some sample meals/snacks:
Penne noodles (sprouted brown rice or red lentil) with tomato sauce and ground beef
Cucumbers, tortilla chips or sweet potato crackers with roasted red pepper hummus
Oatmeal made with milk, chia seeds, flaxeed, cinnamon and berries or bananas
Plain full-fat Greek yogurt with almond butter or peanut butter
Cottage cheese, pickles and lunch meat
Eggs with sauteed spinach and feta cheese
Pulled chicken, tomatoes and cheese
Hamburger and sweet potatoes
Stove-top popcorn in olive oil or coconut oil
SunRype Fruit & Veggie bars
Frozen Berries (if she's teething)
Watermelon, nectarines, bananas, peaches and blueberries
Smoothie: banana, kefir, spinach, almond milk, almond butter and flaxseed
Drinks: full-fat milk, almond milk, kefir & tart cherry juice, water, unsweetened iced tea
Day-to-Day
She goes to bed around 7-7:30pm and wakes up around 7-8am. We are still working on getting down to one nap. If she has two it's hard to get her down in the evening. She usually gets tired around 10am though so it's hard keeping her up to just have one afternoon nap. On an ideal day we get out of the house in the morning and go for a walk, go to the park, meet up with friends or go to the gym and then come home around 11:30 for her to nap. She wakes up around 1:30, we have lunch and then play around the house for a bit. Then we head out again for some errands, a walk, the splash pad or to a friends before dinner. Then we come home for dinner, have a bath, read some stories and she's off to bed. Every weekend that we are not away we are at the cottage. Either my parents or Jason's parents. She loves being at the beach, going in her Weeride seat, being outside and going on boat rides. Her schedule is a bit off when we are away and she usually goes to bed a bit later, around 8-9pm. We're more flexible on the weekends and it doesn't seem to disrupt her weekly schedule.
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Giggles
It's pretty easy to get her to laugh when she's in a good mood. She's still ticklish, loves running and chasing people, rolling around on our bed, laughs on the swing or on a slide and when Jason plays peak-a-boo with her. Her smile goes from ear-to-ear and lights up a room. She also loves getting to hang out with her cousins and chase them around.
Grumpy
She has been teething the past few weeks so grumpy seems to be her attitude of choice. She's getting molars so they've been pretty painful. She requires a lot of attention and for things to go her way or she gets pretty cranky. She's reverted to her old self and only wants mommy. It can be draining, but if I stick to her schedule and give her things to sooth her teeth she seems to be a bit better. I think it's also why she's been wanting to sleep so much as well.
Milestones/Firsts
Everly finally figured out how to go up AND down stairs. The other day I was trying to tire her out so she climbed down the four flights of stairs in our apartment all by herself. She can also climb up onto basically any surface and climb back down. She can go down big slides by herself, went to Minneapolis for the first time, went on her first Ferris Wheel ride, went to the St Norbert Farmer's market and played in the sand for the first time. I think she has 12 teeth now, it's hard to tell because she makes it impossible to open her mouth. She still hasn't said any words other than mama and dada but if she's in the right mood you can ask her what a dog and duck say and she'll go ruff ruff and quack quack. She does however understand what a lot of words mean, like cup, pool, garbage, bath, baby, ball, etc. Makes it a lot easier communicating!
Events
We went to Minneapolis and she got to meet Jason's billet family from Des Moines for the first time! She did great in the car ride thanks to toys, snacks and singing. We went to the Mall of America while we were there and she thoroughly enjoyed Lego Land. We also went to Brandon for her cousin Ember's 5th birthday and out to Rock Lake to see where her Auntie Viki & Uncle Haden live.
Tips
Since we have been dealing a lot with teething I have found a few tricks that work for her. She likes eating frozen berries before bed so it soothes her gums, drinking anything cold, chewing on a silicone straw and basically just distracting her with toys. Teething is not fun or easy, but keeping Everly on her schedule definitely helps.
Best,
Stacey