Dear Everleigh (17 Months!)

Dear Everleigh,

You just turned 17 months old (wow! a year and five months old!), and I'm sorry this post is a few days late, but I've been so busy enjoying you lately, I haven't dedicated much time to writing. This was a big month for you! Even though there weren't any huge visible changes-- like busting out some new teeth or growing several inches--you are really becoming a Big Girl, and I couldn't be more proud. Here are some of the highlights from the month:

"Tattoo"--you were curious about Daddy's two large tattoos, and after he explained them to you and told you what they were called, you glommed right on. Now every time you see Daddy's arms, you say "Tattoo", except you put the emphasis on the first part of the word--"TATToo". It's very cute. Last night you got into a sticker book and started putting stickers on your arms and saying "TATToo". Sigh. We love you. No tattoos (or TATToos) for awhile though, k?

Daredevil--honey, you may be trying to worry me to death :) You LOVE being daring, and taking everything as far as you can. Right now, you're way into trying to climb over the back of the couch head first, and even though we catch you every time and stop you, you're determined to experience this rush. I don't think what you think is going to happen will happen. You also started standing on your rocking giraffe, which I understand. But lately you've been taking it a step further and standing on the back rail while holding on to the handles. Maybe you'll join the circus? Be a stuntwoman? Whoever you are, you are brave.

No. No. No (shaking head). No. --ok, it's still pretty cute. But lately when you decide your response to a question is "no", you make sure you get the point across by saying no in a way that leaves no wiggle room. Furiously shaking your head and saying "no" in several different pitches.

"I do"--I'm pretty sure you've never uttered the word "yes", but sometimes if we say "do you want more peaches?" or whatever, you'll say "I DO!", which we love.

"Happy"--Sometimes in mid-play, you will look over at me or Daddy and just say "happy". It literally makes my heart swell. It's amazing how that simple word confirms to us that we're raising a happy girl.

Family time--we've been setting aside lots of time lately for family time, and it's been sooooo good for all of us. The more time we all 3 spend together, the more I feel complete joy in my life. You are so special, Ev. It's impossible to have a bad day with you.

Dreams--you're doing so much better sleeping on your own like a big girl most of the time! Sometimes though, I'll slip in and watch you sleep, or lay with you in the early morning. Lately, you've been talking in your sleep a little. Last week while in a deep sleep, you said "puppy" and just this morning you whispered "Daddy". I hope you're having lovely dreams of puppies and your Daddy while Mommy snuggles you close.

I wish I could tell you how much having you has changed me, but I really couldn't begin to put it into words. Your Daddy and I are so proud of your intelligence, your strength, your bravery, your sense of humor, your sweet nature. And hey, it never hurts to be really good looking either (wink). Never forget--we love you and we're all in this together.

Love always,

Mama

How We Chose Everleigh's Name

A sweet shower gift from my friend, Kim!

I thought I'd share the story about how we chose Everleigh's name, because I get asked about it a lot :)

My first "real job" out of college was working for a financial company in town (pre market crash!). Part of my job was to man the telephones and speak to investors, so on a daily basis I heard lots of unique names from all over the US. Being my planny-planerson self, I already knew a baby (or 2) was something I wanted in the future, and I often kicked around potential kids names. Anyways, while working there, I actually made this hypothetical list into a handwritten list I kept in my desk. Any time I heard a cool name I liked, I would add it to the list.

Well, one day I spoke to a man named Everly, and I loved the name so much, I immediately added it to my list. From then on it was my top boy's name. I was pretty certain if I had a boy, I would name him Everly, and if I had a girl, I would name her Tilly. On paper.

So when we found out we were having a girl, I told Scott about my Tilly name, to which he responded that there was no way he was naming a real person that. So I made a list of approximately 50 names I liked, which he narrowed down to about 8 in 30 seconds. Harper made the cut, but Everly was not even on there since that was our top boy name. After reviewing the names, Scott asked, "what about just sticking with Everly anyways?" To which I replied, "let's do it".

The next morning on the drive in to work, Scott said out of the blue "Everly Harper". And it was settled. Later we decided to change the spelling to make her gender a little more clear, since our baby book had Everly listed as a boy name, and the only other Everly I had ever met was also a man. So we landed on Everleigh Harper.

As my pregnancy progressed, I would often google the name "Everly", "Everleigh", "Everlee", etc. jusrt to see what was out there. Our baby book listed the (boy's name) Everly as meaning "singing", which we also thought was awesome since we're both musicians. However, I had a hard time finding this meaning anywhere else since....

At first my google searches pretty much came up empty handed. Which we thought was cool. We loved the name and that was all that mattered. We swore she'd be the only kid in her class with the name, but thought it was still mainstream enough to not be weird just for weird's sake. Then as we got closer to her birth, I started seeing more and more of the name popping up. Someone from the Twilight movie named their baby Everleigh. A popular baby blogger (whose blog I discovered through this googling process and now read faithfully) named her new baby Everly. Suddenly the name was everywhere.

When Everleigh was about 3 months old, we took her to a birthday party and she met her first Everlee face to face, a new baby girl that belonged to one of my sister's friends. So I guess it's blowing up a little. But I just wanted to share that we chose the name a long time ago, and picked it because we loved the meaning and the ring of it and all the images it conjured up for us. It had nothing to do with what was or was not popular, or what another blogger or friend named their kid. I truly did not even know baby blogs existed before these searches!

Plus after meeting this little girl, we KNEW she was an Everleigh if there ever was one.  That said, she may hate us when she has to write it out for Kindergarten.

Playing a Show...After a One Year Hiatus

Well, folks, I've just finalized plans to play a show on December 23rd with Alice. Rachel is coming back to town for the holidays, and we were like "um, how bout playing a show?".....so it's settled. We're playing at The Rendezvous in Saint Joseph, MO (Rachel's hometown) on December 23rd...mark your calendars :)

I guess I'm feeling a mix of really really excited and totally freaking out. Here's the deal--I LOVE the stage. Love performing. Period. I started singing in church when I was like...4, then graduated to plays, orchestra, band, small groups, cheerleading, dance...basically anything that involved music + standing on a stage with lights on you followed by applause. I love it. Being in a band so perfect for me, because the band started after a period of me doing singer/songwriter stuff and not knowing where to take it. I was 22 and had just graduated college with 6 months left on my lease and no plan. What better thing to do than to bartend and start a band? My parents were worried. But I stuck with the band even when I got my first "real job"...stuck with it even when I was in night school to get my MA. Heck, I stuck with it when I was living in a different city and when I was pregnant and nauseous and sleepy.

But at this current time? It's been almost a year since I last performed. And that includes karaoke night at the hole in the wall bar we love. Sure, I sing Yo Gabba Gabba songs and The Wheels on the Bus all the time to an audience of one. I've even busted out the guitar a few times for Ev, but stopped after she insisted on grabbing at the strings. Do I even remember these songs? How to play the bass? The electric guitar? How to be awesome on stage? How to take enough time out of my week to practice? These questions may not be answered right away.

Being a mom and being a rock star (even if it's on a really small level where you're just giggin locally and playing shows for your friends) do not instinctively go together. I'm already thinking about childcare and how this even fits in to our move and what I'm going to wear and where we'll stay the night and so on. I'm a mom, guys. Let's hope I can still rock, because let's face it---I could use a few applause.

My Little Pumpkin

My friend, Stacie, was awesome enough to knit Evie this sweet little pumpkin hat for fall. Too bad Ev is so dang against wearing anything someone else might want her to wear for a photo.....

Still, the hat is precious and I loved how the colors in these photos made the whole scene look like yummy candy.

Enjoy

Thanks again, Stacie! You = awesome.

Halloween Success

So...for a lot of moms (and dads) out there, Halloween is a holiday where you buy or make the cutest little outfit for your munchkin, attempt to select something you think they won't hate, and pray they will actually put it on, pose for one adorable pic, and enjoy the family-fun filled night roaming the neighborhood with you in tow, wowing neighbors and passing strangers alike with their cuteness.

I gotta tell you, as a "Christian kid" who was basically never allowed to trick or treat (although I do recall one or two years where we dressed as Bible characters and did a can-drive door to door....), I feel it is my duty to provide Everleigh with all the fun normal kid things I missed out on ;)

The night actually went well. Scott had class til late, so Ev and I met up with my big sis and her adorable 6 year old, Edmond. Everleigh liked her bee costume, and enjoyed wearing it, save the little bee headband which was rejected. She loved getting out into the night air, chasing after her big cousin, pointing out the moon and stars, and even doing a little dance for the neighbors who were pumping scary music into the yard. She mustered up a few "tick or teats", and said some "thank you's", and while she couldn't have cared less about the candy or the actual task of going door to door, I could tell she loved feeling like she owned the night.

Here are some shots! PS: Everleigh pretty much refuses to be photographed...so you either have to take shots of her running away/looking away or trick her by singing a Yo Gabba Gabba jingle and snapping it really fast. This was the best I could do under those circumstances :)

Success!

No Escaping

Everleigh thinks that keys are magic, and that any key (real or fake) can get you out of anywhere, so long as the key touches the door. See below:

Sometimes it's more fun to say "Screw It"

Today is one of those days. After a week of feeling super stressed about how behind I am at work and simultaneously dealing with Everleigh being sick and not getting any sleep etc, I've decided today to go into in straight up "screw it" mode.

I admittedly felt distracted by the loud conversation in the conference room right by my office, and spent 10 minutes trying to get Pandora to work so I could block it out with some sweet tunes. For some reason, Pandora wouldn't load. So I went to Quiet Company page hoping to find some downloads. Have you heard of Quiet Company? They are fantastic. But anyways...that didn't pan out (but I took some time to buy their new album!). Then I settled on streaming NPR's All Songs Considered. Which satisfied my urge to hear something other than loud voices talking about vocational rehab.

Then I tried to open my online folder to get the client assessment done I need to do. And instead found myself blogging. You know what? It's Friday. It's beautiful out, and I am so far behind that I basically feel like just enjoying life and getting to it this weekend.

Hope everyone else is having as much fun dodging responsibility today!!!

PS: I promise to put up some fun/cute pics of Miss Ev soon. Maybe one of her wiping her runny nose off on my lip? I know. Disgusting but true.

Ok, here's a quick pic: