Evelyn is 8 months old today!

Our sweet girl turns eight months old today. Evelyn is such a bright ray of sunshine in our lives, we feel so blessed by her presence in our family. To date, she has sprouted SIX TEETH and a seventh is showing up any day now. We bought her a walker a few weeks ago and she is adeptly maneuvering through the house, pinning us to the kitchen cabinets or cornering us so we have to step over her – Chad and I were laughing this morning as we ate breakfast, Evelyn had us pinned in the kitchen table area, we were trapped! With her new found mobility, she likes to get into things – she LOVES the blinds in the living room, the bottom shelf of the pantry, and she also pads right under the dining room table, it is like her little fort! We wondered a few weeks ago if she would get the hang of the walker, she seemed to only go backwards. Here we are today, the kid can swing that thing around like a Ferari!

She continues to sleep through the night. She is starting to hold her own bottle and can lounge in the swing or in her boppy and feed herself. She loves to try new foods and has taken many lunch trips with Gigi and Papa – she likes cucumbers, gyro meat, pitas, and she even tried some orange icing the other night (mommy gave her a taste of a cupcake)! We cannot believe how tall she is and her feet are really long. The days are numbered for her changing table, she is almost to the point of hanging off the ends! She is also starting to pull up, so we have to lower her crib very soon. The kid wants to walk so badly, she has pretty much skipped the traditional army crawl. Instead, she wiggles her body and scoots along, not really attempting a long army crawl. We think she crawls when we are not looking, we have caught her many times in the crawl position, but when she notices we are watching, she quickly rolls to her back. She secretly crawls!

As for walking, the kid can definitely take many steps with assistance. She loves to hold on to the coffee table or couch and inch along the edge, she has that proud look on her face like she is a big girl. In the evening, she loves a bath, but her real favorite is the shower – she loves the splash of the water on her face and smiles when you turn on the water to start the shower.

Her days are spent with Gigi and Papa, taking walks in the neighborhood or to the swing at the park. They feed her exciting new foods and dote on her constantly – she is one content kid at their house! She rules the roost over there, Karen and Mark are happy to see her each morning and sad to see her go in the evening – this is the perfect place for her to spend time growing and exploring.

Chad and I work hard to make time for each other – Chad cooked a beautiful Valentine’s Day dinner last week – steaks and good wine – it was fun to finally sit down at 9PM on a weeknight for dinner, as Evelyn stayed up later than usual. We ate and then promptly went to bed! Finding time to get things done, as I am sure all parents say, has been challenging for us both. In January, I started a new job. Two weeks later, Chad got a promotion. Needless to say, we are both in a professional swirl, learning new jobs. Throw a baby in the mix, and you have a pretty exciting life! Chad started getting up at 5AM last month to get in all the extra work and professional development. I, most days, am also getting up with him – it is amazing how little time you have in the evenings after Evelyn is down – so getting up at 5AM is really the only other option if things need to get done! Our house starts to buzz much earlier now, Evelyn gets up between 6:30 and 7:00, so this gives mommy and daddy a few hours to get work done, work out, and drink copious amounts of coffee!

Our sweet Evelyn is eight months old today. What a joy she brings to our lives. Evelyn is an incredible little girl that has touched so many lives already. We love her and celebrate her today and every day.

First Shad of 2014

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It was super windy today so the fishing was tough. I caught this fish using a #6 Pink/ White Kip Tailed Clouser with 5/32 hourglass eyes using my 7wt rigged with an AirFlo Extra Super Fast Sinking leader. There were more airboats on the water than I have ever seen ( like 50) due to some Gator Shootout or something. The noise and general jackassery frustrated Marci and I so much that we left the water early, even though the Shad seemed to have finally arrived. The run has started later this year than years past, probably due to the warm fall and winter. Note to my future self, double check when the Loughman Lake Lodge Gator Shootout is happening for the year, and avoid Jolly Gator at all costs that weekend.

Here is the 2013/ 2014 fly box:

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Pink, Pink/ White, Orange, Orange/ White kip tailed clousers dominated the December tying sessions this year. I did not add any new chartreuse patterns this year as they have not worked as well as pink and orange flies. There are still plenty of shad darts left from prior years, but the kip tailed clouser has really become my fly of choice. Only when the bite is tough do I tend to try older/ different patterns. There are a couple of other patterns for panfish/ bass if the shad are not cooperating.

Missing Chad, Hungry Babe, and “Get on it” Mama

The Helenthal household this week has been a bit crazed. Chad is out of town on business, so Evie and I are ruling the roost, girl style!

Evelyn is eating everything in sight – the kid has not rejected one type of food we have introduced so far. She is eating roasted potato, squash, pear, apple, rice cereal – you name it, she has tried it – and likes it! To be honest, I was a little apprehensive about this new phase – solids. I imagined being splattered with mushy sweet potato in my face as Evelyn threw the spoon and knocked over the food in her high chair. She has taken to it like a charm – she loves to sit in her high chair and interact with us at dinner. She is mesmerized with drinks, she wants to try and take a sip from our cup, and actually does it with little spill! She likes different textures and they don’t upset her. When she is done, she just closes her mouth and does not spit or shake her head. She just closes those adorable lips and smiles to say, “I’m done!”

As for me, I am intent on working in some time to exercise and walk with Evelyn. I want her to be out of doors as much as possible. Last Saturday, we walked to the park in our neighborhood and watched the ducks. She stared down the ducks, so content and interested in their little quacks and waddles. I think about what must be forming in that brain of hers, the synapses connecting as she experiences new things each day. Walking with Evelyn has two great benefits – Evelyn is engaged and mommy is walking off this baby weight!