Evelyn is six months old today. And I am not okay. I mean, okay, that’s dramatic, but I’m just so… surprised.

I feel like only two weeks ago I was waving positive pregnancy tests in D’s face, dumbfounded. For about a year, I did not think I would be able to have children. But then I had Lee.

And never in my wildest dreams, did I think that I would be able to conceive a child on my own. But then I felt her. Before she kicked, before she moved, before she was bigger than a kidney bean, I felt her. I knew she was there. It was like God’s way of saying, “Hey, I have a surprise for you in here.”

And now here she is, six months old.

I was always terrified at the thought of having a daughter. It just wasn’t something I thought I would be good at. I saw myself with a hoard of little boys following me around. But then I saw her face.

“I can do this,” I thought. “I can do this for her.”

Her beautiful brown hair. Her big blue eyes. Her devilishly cute grin that will get her anything she wants.

This little girl. This beautiful little girl. I don’t know what I ever did to deserve getting to be her Mom. And I don’t know how I managed life without her.

Her current favorite thing to do is to try to Houdini her way out of getting dressed. Whenever we put her on the changing table and strip her down, she immediately rolls over onto her stomach. You have to use one arm just to hold the child down, keeping her from rolling. Which only leaves you with one free hand for dressing her. Have you ever buttoned up a onesie with one hand? It’s not easy!

I love listening to D dress her in the mornings. I’ll hear, “Don’t you do it, don’t you do it Evie!” Then you’ll see her on her stomach. Then D again, “You sneaky little mongoose, flip back over, come on, flip back over for Daddy.” But she just stays on her stomach giggling. He will flip her back onto her back and she’ll have the biggest grin. “You think you’re slick, don’t you?” he will ask as he puts an elbow lightly down on her stomach to wrestle her pants on, right as you see the top half of her body trying to flip again. Usually Lee is standing on a stool beside D, giggling along with Evie.

Her best friend is still Lee, but her favorite place would probably have to be her crib. This baby girl LOVES her sleep. And if you wake her up, she will not soon forgive you.

She also likes to eat when everyone else is eating. If you are sitting down to a meal, she likes to be in her high chair, pulled right up to the table beside you. She prefers her baby food with a little oatmeal mixed in for an extra crunch. Forget the oatmeal? She’ll let you know. She’s the first baby I’ve ever witnessed who will sit calmly and open her mouth for you without prompting.

What can I say? My girl likes to eat.

Which was made even more evident at her 6 month check-up where she weighed in at 15 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 26 inches long.

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I’m not quite sure what the days ahead may hold for us, but I know that we’ll figure it out and take it in stride all the same.

We may not have known we needed her, but we could never go a day without her.

xxxx A