buddies

Everett and his buddy Nolan Lusby hanging out poolside

a month of firsts...

Everett made his first trip to IKEA with me and my good friend Sara Thomas. I always forget that they don't give you bags, so Everett was stuck holding everything. He didn't seem to mind ;)

It seems like we can never quite finish all of the bananas before they start turning mushy. This was one of those mornings, so I decided that the mushy bananas should be used to make some chocolate chip banana bread. Everett sat in his bumbo seat and watched me make it. He loved the noise of the little hand mixer and fell asleep watching me. First try at making banana bread "together" was a success!

First July 4th holiday.

Everett got to see fireworks in Downingtown, although he didn't seem all that impressed?!

First attempt at eating rice cereal.

He was unsure at first, but ended up loving it. We can't seem to shovel it in fast enough now!

First trip to the cottage. I spent my childhood traveling to Tionesta, PA (north of Pittsburgh) and playing in the river, hiking in the woods, and fishing with my dad. I have so many great memories of that little cottage on the Allegheny, and I'm thankful that Everett can have the same!

First tube ride. We dropped Mimi, Pop-pop, Aaron and the boys at the bridge about a 1/2 mile upstream from the cottage. Aaron was so excited to take Everett! He cried for a little bit, but Aaron said he really seemed to enjoy it! It was also Everett's first time wearing his life vest from Grammy. He didn't seem to mind it, which is good because I forsee Everett getting a lot of use out of that little vest :)

It's pretty amazing how much fun we've had with Everett. Watching him experience new and different things makes it that much more fun for us. He is awesome and we're loving every minute of being his parents :)

first fathers day

I realize this is a week late, but Happy Father's Day Aaron! Everett loves you so much and I do too. You are an incredible man and an incredible dad. I pray that Everett will grow up and be just like you. I'm pretty sure if he could talk he'd let you know you really are his HERO :)

Everett's new trick

a bump in the road

This is a difficult post, and hard to come up with the words to write it. Usually, I stick to the happy and fun things going on in our life, but we've hit a bump in the road. Everett was born with a heart murmur. Many babies are, it's a common thing and usually goes away we were told. So, we didn't think anything of it until his two month appointment when the doctor showed some concern that she could still hear the murmur. We were scheduled for an echo (ultrasound) and an EKG and finally got the testing last Thursday. Test results came back and he was diagnosed with something called aortic valve stenosis. We didn't really get a good explanation, probably because I was in a fog after they told me my perfect little boy has a not so perfect heart. We spent the next 5 days frustrated and bitter at times and sad and just upset. Millions of questions filtered through my brain --- was it something I did or ate or didn't do when I was pregnant? Will Everett be able to live a normal life? be a regular little boy that digs in the dirt and runs around the playground? The questions were unending, but also knew that the Lord had things worked out. So we prayed. Family prayed, friends prayed, and we waited (anxiously) for clarity. We had an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist from CHOP (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) on Monday. We spent 2.5 hours there, having tests done and re-done and watching poor little Everett poked and prodded. In the end, we got a lot of clarity on what was going on with Everett's heart. He does in fact have mild aortic stenosis and they also found that his aorta right past the valve is twice the size it should be. While that sounds grim, it's not as bad as it could be. For now, Everett can be treated just like any other little boy his age. In fact, the doctor told us to pretend we didn't have the conversation (I think he could see the worry on our faces as he told us the diagnosis). We will have to go back to CHOP in September to have another echo and EKG done and will most likely need to have an MRI done on Everett before his first birthday. As long as his aorta does not enlarge any more, Everett will just be monitored. And while a lifetime of pediatric cardiologist appointments seems daunting, we are SO SO thankful that that is all that needs done for now. We don't know what the future holds for Everett and if he will get to run around on that playground or play sports if he wants to, but we do know that the Lord has amazing plans for him... and for that we are incredibly thankful.

(Psalm 139:13-14) For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and WONDERFULLY made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

what a difference 3 months makes...

It's hard to believe that Everett is exactly 3 months old today?! People always say that it flies when they're this age and they're right! He is growing into quite a little person--- smiles a lot, babbles, giggles, and is alert and active for longer periods of time. He has even been sleeping through the night! The past three months have been incredible! Everett has brought so much joy and happiness to our little family. We are so blessed by this little man and still daily look at each other in awe, realizing what an incredible gift the Lord has given to us! Every good and perfect gift is from above... James 1:17

1 week

3 months

Announcing our little love...

*These were made by the lovely and talented Jill Young. Her company is called Sprouts of Joy and they do announcements and childrens stationary among other things. If you're interested:  SproutsofJoyCreative@gmail.com

Mother's Day

Yesterday was my very first Mother's Day. Aaron was incredibly sweet--- he took me out to dinner for our very first date night since Everett was born, he made an entire breakfast spread with all my favorites- bagel, eggs, turkey bacon, juice, and of course coffee, he even made the pasta salad for our family lunch so I didn't have to. He made me feel incredibly special and said in his card to me "Everett is a lucky boy!" It got me thinking about Everett and how incredibly blessed I am to be his mom! He is such a sweet boy. There are so many days that I just look at him and can't believe that he's mine! I'm pretty sure I love him a little more each day. It's such a wonderful feeling when he looks at me and smiles or is comforted just because I pick him up. Everyone says it's a different kind of love and it really is. Something that you can't really understand until you're a mom. You want to give them everything, protect them from everything, and you love them more than anything. So this first of many mother's days... I'm really thankful. Thankful for Everett. Thankful that the Lord entrusted us with this perfect, tiny blessing. Thankful to be a mom.

so he DOES look like his daddy...

My family has always said that they think the first-born child looks just like their father, so Aaron and I assumed the same would be true with Everett. Sadly though, when Everett was born, we all thought he looked just like my family and nothing like Aaron! Yesterday we were finally able to see Aaron's baby pictures and I have to say Everett looks a lot like Aaron too! I'm really glad that Everett looks so much like his handsome dad :)

Aaron- October 1983

 

Everett- March 2010

Aaron- 1983

Everett- 2010

Diane and Aaron

Everett

Cousins!

yeay for cousins!

Aidan (almost 8), Everett (2 months), and Ethan (4)

all smiles