A Year and a Half

My how the time does fly! 18 months have come and gone in the life of Martha Claire Peel. As you can tell from the photo above, she continues to thrive and enjoy every minute! We're going to blink and she'll be steering the canoe down a river, not simply wanting to play with it on the ground.
I marked a new spot for her on the wall growth chart and she is considerably taller than the 12 month spot. I'm not sure on her weight or length at 18 months because we are avoiding the doctor for a bit longer right now - she is extremely afraid of the doctor at the moment and I feel no need to press the issue until she starts preschool this fall. I think she is around 21lbs. She is finally wearing mostly 18 month clothing, still about 6 months behind, though she appears to be growing rapidly.
She is starting to repeat more words and babble incessantly, which is adorable when it's not whiny. Her favorite things to say are, Oh man! Oh buddy! Oh baby! Oh no! She is still in love with all things Dr. Seuss and loves to point to the word "BUMP" and say it over and over in the Cat in the Hat. Her favorite thing continues to be playing outside, and her favorite indoor activity is coloring.
She is definitely in the 18 month phase - clinging to mommy, being leery of strangers, testing boundaries, etc. The tantrums that were going on a few months ago have disappeared for the time being - I'm sure they'll show up again in these next few years. She doesn't do much to get into trouble, but when she's particularly whiny or difficult, so far the only method of discipline I've needed is to ask her if she needs a minute in her crib. Usually she says no, sometimes mommy has to put her there anyway. It's been doing the trick so far.
She's being a great big sister. People have asked if she's been jealous and I have to say I really haven't seen signs of it. Sometimes she is frustrated for having to wait for things (usually because mommy is nursing Evie), but she has done pretty well with understanding that what's Evie's is Evie's and what's Claire's is Claire's. She is good with Evie - always wants to help, which sometimes means that she shoves a paci in Evie's mouth unexpectedly or wipes Evie's face a little too vigorously. I've seen her do a few little things that show a mild hositility when she thinks I'm not looking - raising a foot to step on Evie or "patting" her head a little to forcefully. These are quickly interrupted by a minute in the crib and are really few and far between.
Mostly, life is good here. A little frantic at times, but good. And Claire continues to blossom into a beautiful little girl as she rapidly grows toward being two years old...

Daddy Daughter Moments

Naptime... Playtime...
With Daddy, all are good times!

Five Weeks Plus Picture Post

To make up for lost time (since Evie is well on her way to 6 weeks), I'm posting a bunch of pictures downloaded from my phone - something I haven't done since week 1! So this is a bit of a digest of the past 4 weeks or so - enjoy! At five weeks, Evie is a wopping 10lbs 14oz! (Claire was only right at 8lbs at this same check-up). She continues to thrive and delight, although to be truthful she is not quite as easy a baby as her sister was. We are still having considerable trouble with spitting up/gas, but sometimes that's just the way things go. This little chunky monkey is already outgrowing 0-3 month clothing. She has amazing head control and already sits in the bumbo seat for short periods of time.
My favorite Evie outfit so far - it has a matching blankie and came from our sweet neighbor.

Got to love the Kramer hair-do

Beautiful girl - yes I'm biased

Nestled in her sling (made by Aunt Kathy for Claire). She now does pretty well in her front carrier as well which allows me to play with Claire a little more when Evie is awake. Claire is a little jealous of her in the sling/carrier, though.Found this picture of the two girls together - isn't it cute? I wish I had bought that "little sister" shirt in a larger size. We really thought we were going to have another tiny baby, but she's already outgrown it and I didn't get a chance to have her picture made with Claire in her Big Sister shirt...

Speaking of the big sister, here are a bunch of photos of Martha Claire. It's funny, Evie's the new kid, but I still take more photos of Claire. I was told that this is normal and it's probably because Claire is into so much more these days. Evie pretty much eats, sleeps and poops, but I'm sure we'll get plenty of pictures of her as she grows and changes.Eating an apple - yep, she can eat a WHOLE apple

Trying out a tricycle - not quite big enough to reach the pedals, but she is getting close!

At Cracker Barrel with her big cousin, Sara (We were celebrating the family January birthdays - mine, NiNi's, and Sara's)

Wearing one of Evie's hats - doesn't she look like a little flapper chick?

She arranged a group of her dolls and sat down and "read" a book to them. Too cute!

You can't keep kids out of boxes! Incidentally, this picture reminds me of Colson when he was a puppy always trying to get into boxes, baskets, etc. that were really too small to fit him. So funny. :)

And saving the best for last - Claire's very first pigtails! Daddy thinks she is stinkin' adorable in pigtails.

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 :)