4 months

Sarah at 4 months:
Out of all our children she is the only thumb sucker
Likes the song "Hush Little Baby", especially when Will sings it
Has started laughing a little
Loves being given attention and cries when people ignore her for too long
The kids swear that she is actually saying certain words.  Whether she is or not, the sounds she makes are adorable.
Chews on her bottom lip and smacks her lips together
Can kind of hold a bottle by herself
Is very intrigued by her hands and sits staring at them for a long time
Has earned the nickname "Snugglebug" for obvious reasons

Slimey Spitter

Will and his friend from school wrote a story called "Our Monster Named Slimey Spitter" and I thought it was so clever that I decided to share it (with spelling corrections).

Slimey Spitter has spikes that spit slime.  His tail is 900 kilograms.  His eyes store half his blood.  His belly button has lint.  He is 20 meters tall.  He has spooky red blood.  His horns are poisonous.  If he gets zapped by lightning his brain disappears.  If he cries his eyes turn blue.  His favorite food is snake and worm soup.  He's fire proof.  He's the best behaved student in all monster elementary school.  He rides ghoul bus 110.  His last name is Grrrs.

I'm also very impressed with how much his handwriting has improved in the last few months.

Fisherman-in-training

This weekend Bill took Will to the Fathers and Sons camp-out.  They had fun singing songs around the campfire, playing sports, and spending time with friends.  But the highlight of the weekend for Will was definitely going fishing for the first time.  There was a dad there who had brought some fishing poles, and he invited Will to come along with him and his kids.  And according to Bill, Will is somewhat of a natural.  He caught at least a half dozen fish, two of which he got to bring home.  We are not big fish eaters around here, but we're glad Will had so much fun.

  

A blessing

Sarah Lynn Evans was blessed by her dad on May 5, 2013.  Bill's parents made a last minute decision to come for the blessing, and we were so happy to have them there, as well as Bobby and Susan and their family.  I don't know if writing down part of the blessing is allowed, but I did it anyway so I would remember it years from now.  Sarah was told that she would be a peacemaker in our family.  She was told that she would be found serving those around her, especially her Heavenly Father.  She was told that she will have faith in the Lord and will know that He loves her.  And she was told that one day she will enter the temple and make sacred covenants.  It was a beautiful blessing, and I am so grateful to have a husband who honors his priesthood and can do this wonderful thing for our children.  After church we gathered for lunch at our house, and of course had to have a quick photo shoot.

Meeting Grandpa Evans for the first time (in person, at least)

The proud grandparents

Adorable sisters

The girls

Cousins (minus one)

   

3 months

Sarah at 3 months

So much more aware and able to focus with her eyes and look at specific things and people
LOVES to smile at anyone who will smile and talk to her
Such a calm, easy going baby, but when she needs something she definitely lets you know
Makes the cutest noises when she's happy

Pictures from blessing day coming

Playing catch-up

In all the craziness of life the last couple of months, I realized that I neglected to post about a couple things. 

KAYLA'S BIRTHDAY

Kayla turned 4 at the beginning of March.  With a baby less than a month old I wasn't in the mood to put together a big, elaborate party.  Luckily Kayla was very accommodating and easy to please, so we had her party at McDonald's.  

 Parents enjoying small talk while kids played

 Kayla opening her gifts.  The little girl next to her is one of her best friends from both church and preschool.

 

Enjoying a birthday ice cream cone.

The only thing I didn't like about having a party there is the fact that they wouldn't let us bring in our own cake.  They said they would provide one of their own for us, but we decided to spring for ice cream cones instead, and the kids didn't seem to mind.  After the party was done we went home and enjoyed the cake with just our family.

EASTER

Again our celebration this year was pretty simple.  Bill was awesome and took over most of the planning and executing of activities.  On Saturday Will and Kayla went outside for a quick Easter egg hunt in our "backyard" (a large square of grass between our building and another building).  The weather has been unusually cold the last month or so, so they were searching for eggs in snow that hadn't completely melted yet.

 Apparently Sarah was not amused by the festivities.  

Easter morning dawned bright and early with church at 9:00, but not before we took the time to take some pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes.

And after church we invited Bobby and Susan and their family over for dinner.  We made some cute cupcakes for dessert and Kayla wanted to help decorate (and eat).

And just because I love showing off how adorable my kids are, here are a couple of pictures of Sarah

2 months

Sarah at 2 months:


Sucks on her hand voraciously when she gets hungry
Sleeps really well at night already
Has started to smile a lot, especially when you smile at her
Has gained over 2 pounds since birth
Can hold her head up and look around
Loves to have Will hold her, which helps when Mommy needs to do other things

Cuteness

Bill and I are not professional photographers by any means (as shown by the horrible lighting), but occasionally we happen to capture some cute pictures of our kids

 This picture was a complete accident.  I asked Will to look at the camera, but for some reason I hit the button too soon.  But this totally captures how Will feels about Sarah

 

 Bill calls this her gang sign pose

One Month

Sarah turned one month on Monday, March 11.  I looked at her periodically throughout the day, wondering where the last 4 weeks went and marveling at how quickly and easily she has become a part of our family.  Here are a few facts about her first month of life

-She is so expressive already and has huge eyes that take in everything
-She LOVES to be held and snuggled, which means the holder (mostly Mommy, of course) has a very hard time getting anything done unless she's sleeping
-Speaking of sleep, the place she sleeps the best is in her car seat.  She starts out at night just in her playpen, but by the end of the night she is sleeping peacefully in her car seat so that Mommy and Daddy can get some sleep too
-She is a very calm baby, but she is also very good at letting us know she needs or wants something
-She is adored by her big brother and sister.  They are constantly touching her, talking to her, and showing her things
-She is a good mix of both sides of the family.  She has a TON of dark hair, which comes from my side, but her face looks a lot like Bill's side.
-She is patient with her mother who is trying to remember how to handle a newborn

We all love her so much already, and are so glad she is ours

And here's a short and sweet little video that Will took

Introducing...

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Sarah Lynn Evans

She was born on Monday, Feb. 11, 2013 at 4:11 pm via C-section.  She weighed 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21 inches long.  I will post birth story details a bit later, but for now here are a few pictures of our newest family addition.