Four Week Frenzy

I'm a bit behind on my four-week post for Evelynn. Any of you who know about this week know why. It started with my big 3-0 weekend last weekend. Instead of celebrating, we spent the weekend and part of the week caring for (and cleaning up after) Claire who contracted a stomach bug, throwing up all in the car and running fever for several days. We were all a sad lot with our usually cheery girl feeling so very lousy!

But we're back on even ground this week and Claire is looking happy again. Here she is riding her toilet paper pony.

As far as Evelynn is concerned, at four weeks we are surprised at how well she holds her head up. She likes tummy time and practicing lifting her head. I also discovered today that she likes being carried around in the sling - in fact, it puts her to sleep. Like her sister, Evelynn is not much for riding in the car. She is sleeping well and eating well. The only thing she does not do well is burp. She continues to have a hard time with gas and spitting up. I am trying to modify my diet as much as possible to help with this and hope she gets a better handle on it soon. We must go through 4 or 5 outfits and at least that many burp rags every day.

Claire loves her sister more and more every day, and we know it will get even better once Evie is able to do more. We had a pretty rough week #4, but are hoping for a good week ahead.

Evelynn at 3 Weeks

Just love this picture! And yes, I took it myself. :0)

Evelynn is 3 weeks old and still doing great. We've had a rough night or two, but what parent of a 3-week-old can't say that, right? Claire is a great big sister, so very helpful and learning to be patient. Evie is adjusting well to family life at the Peel home. So, life is good.

Evelynn at Two Weeks

Apparently I blinked. Evelynn is two weeks old! She's growing, pooping, sleeping, eating, and pooping like a wonderful little baby (yes, I know I said pooping twice, but it seems to be her forte). There isn't a lot to say about a two-week old, except to say that she appears to have a good disposition and we couldn't be more blessed. She has earned a nickname - the Eviedillo - due to her constant desire to curl herself into a tiny ball. She can be hard to hold and hard to swaddle and impossible to dress in anything other than a gown because of this constant roly-polyness. So far, the 'dillo is delightful!

The girls :)

Claire at 17 Months

So our big girl is 17 months old now, just shy of a year and a half. This past month has marked a lot of growth for Claire. Physically she just seems enormous suddenly, but I know a little of that has to do with the change in perspective that comes from having a tiny infant in the house. However, much of it is truly a growth spurt. She's finally outgrown almost all 12 month clothing and moved into 18 month clothing. She seems bigger and heavier every day.

Also, she is growing so much cognitively. She is moving on from books like Goodnight Moon to The Cat in the Hat. Her attention span is so much longer than before. She continues to be fearless, which makes it hard to watch her while caring for Evie as well. She can climb on and off of surfaces and wedge herself into spots faster than mom or dad can even realize that she's left the room.

She loves to be outside more than anything in the world, making this winter weather a real difficulty for all of us. She is adjusting really well to being a big sister - helping mom by fetching things while Evie nurses, patting Evie on the back, often wanting to hold Evie for brief spells, and copying whatever mom does with Evie with her own dolls. She is learning to be more patient.

We are also entering the two's with Claire. She loves the word "No" as long as she's the one saying it. She likes to give her opinion on anything: Claire, are you cute? No; Claire, are you sweet? No; Claire, are you Daddy's girl? (pause) Yes (a real conversation with her the other night). She has started these regular mini-meltdowns where she lays down on the floor and fake (or real) cries. But she continues to be very sweet and enjoyable about 95% of the time - and what more could parents ask for from their child?

Evelynn at One Week

Here she is at one week old. Evelynn is a great baby - a good sleeper, good nurser, with a good disposition. And I failed to mention in my last post that she has an adorable little dimple on one cheek - I've got to get a picture of that soon!After her first bath - see her little curls?Claire wants to hold her, but only for a minute. You have to be ready because when she's done, she just shoves the baby aside!The big sister in her rocking chairCool ClaireGeoff's big project from the honey-do list for the week. He and Pop paved the floor and porch of Claire and Evie's playhouse outside. Geoff came up with the design and took pictures before putting the playhouse in place.

The Long Anticipated Arrival of Evelynn Jane

Lots of pictures in this post. Generally I upload large files of the pictures for family who are saving them on their computers, but I did medium files this time, so let me know if you want/need any copies if they don't save large enough for you! I didn't upload pics of everyone who came to the hospital because the post was getting big - I'll email those to individuals soon.
For now, enoy!

The morning of the surgery - My 39 wk 1 day belly

I was so good about taking regular photos of the growing belly with Claire, but I didn't do it with Evie. I guess my life was a bit busier with a toddler running around.
Scheduling a c-section was certainly easier than the emergency we found ourselves in with Claire's birth. However, it gave me a bit more time to have some nervousness about surgery. I have nothing to complain of, though. The doctors and nurses (including my sister-in-law Lara) kept me calm, and everything went pretty well. I did have adhesion between my uterus and bladder which took a good while to correct before they were able to actually perform the c-section itself. The healing seems slower this time, and the pain a little worse, but of course it's all worth it.

In the process of being cleaned up in the nursery. She was COVERED in vernix which kept her nice and protected in the womb, but didn't make for very pretty fresh out of the oven pictures. I spared you all from those on the blog; this one is a bit cleaner. While she was being cleaned, mommy was in recovery trying desparately to rid herself of the shakes from anaesthesia - not an easy task this time!

Finally in the room with mommy. (Nani made her a hat)!

With mommy and daddy. Unfortunately, the hospital was under a flu restriction and Claire was unable to meet her little sister until we got home. This was hard on mommy who hadn't really been away from her big girl for more than a four hour stretch in all her little life! Daddy decided to go home in the evenings and spend time with Claire, but she sure missed mommy.Born 8:00am on December 31,2010

7 lbs. 3 oz. 20 in.

Evie has thick wavy black hair and dark eyes that have enough hint of blue in them to cause mom and dad to argue over whether they will be blue like mom's or brown like dad and Claire's. Daddy's littlest girl

Already hamming it up with mommyClaire is waiting at home playing with Nani and Pop. Nani made the girls matching hats as a special surprise.Homecoming! Mommy completely forgot the don't-pick-up-anything-heavier-than-your-baby rule and picked up her toddler WAAAAY too soon after the surgery. She had really missed her girl! Claire wasn't super interested in her sister right at first. She was more glad to have mommy home!Trying out the two girls on one lap. It goes well for a few minutes, then Claire shoves Evie aside to have mommy to herself. In her holiday hat

Claire's first attempt at holding Evie (she thinks Evie is a baby doll)

Claire's "I'm the Silly Sister" shirt - It's hard to find "big sis" shirts small enough to fit her!

Claire helping Nani in the kitchen

Mommy's new favorite picture