Happy Birthday to a Fabulous Husband and Dad!

Evelyn Turns Three!

Evelyn at five months.  This is one of my favorite photos.

Make a wish!

Full of life, spark, giggles, curiosity. . . I hope that "three" is a great year for her.

Henry at One Year: The Whirlwind!

You've probably noticed that the bulk of my posts in recent weeks is of the photographic variety.  This is no accident.  Henry, newly one year old, requires constant attention.  This is certainly normal baby-becoming-toddler behavior.  He wants to engage with me, point at things, try out words, read books of his own choosing, play with Evelyn in ways that require a little physical help, and practice walking.  Oh yes, and he also wants to be outside as often and for as long as possible.  Henry is avid grass/pine cone/ dirt eater.  And, like his sister before him, he has reached the stage of the Car seat Olympian.  Back-arching and ear-piercing screams are his specialty when Henry does not want to do something.  This little guy means business!  Bribes rarely work (I've tried handing him toys, books, snacks while buckling him in, but he is no fool).

Henry is now twenty pounds and about twenty-nine inches tall.  He has eight teeth (four on top, four on the bottom) and he loves using them to eat all manner of food (and outdoor objects, see above).  Recently, Henry has discovered that blueberries are scrumptious.  He also likes coconut yogurt, peaches, pears, brown rice pasta, kidney beans, and chicken.  Avocados are still a favorite.  For his birthday, he enjoyed a fruit tart topped with blueberries and he thought it was quite good-- we also got one for Evelyn and she told us that it was delicious.  The cutest sight:  Evelyn and Henry "blowing" out candles together.  Henry just learned to blow and he does it the same way his sister does. . . he tucks in his lower lip and makes an exaggerated "fff" sound.  Happy Birthday, Henry! 

Happy Birthday, Henry!

One year ago, the sweetest little boy came into this world.

Happy Birthday to my little girl!

My little girl is two years old today. In honor of my Evelyn, I'm posting a list of her current favorite things:

1. Spending time outside: Rain or shine, Evelyn is always up for a trip outside. If she's getting a little cranky or overtired, I can usually settle her down (or wind her up, but in a pretty good way) by taking her into the backyard.

2. Exploring nature: Evelyn loves to run along trails in the woods and she loves to dig in the dirt. Worms are friends but spiders are not. She loves to point out the clouds in the sky and whether or not she can find the moon during the day.

3. Nibbling (versus sitting down to a big meal): Evie enjoys pasta, almond milk, cow milk, broccoli, raw peas and treats of any kind (especially frozen fruit bars!).

4. Pretend: In the past couple of months, Evelyn's capacity for make-believe has grown by leaps and bounds. She "talks" for her little animals or dolls and carries on conversations between two characters all by herself. Evelyn also likes to play "restaurant" with her little kitchen set. Her menu usually includes some very interesting (and tasty!) concoctions.

5. Family and friends: Evelyn is a very sweet big sister and she loves little Henry. Anytime we get together with friends (and certainly whenever family members come to visit), Evelyn is in her element. She loves social interaction and seems to subscribe to the "the more, the merrier" philosophy when it comes to spending time with friends.

Happy Birthday to my lively, talkative, and brilliant (I could go on. . . ) girl. I am so blessed to be your Mama.

With my own two hands

Henry is here! He was born safe and sound at home and I was able to help catch him and pick him up immediately. Henry is exactly nine pounds and twenty-one inches long. He is slightly heavier than Evelyn was, but the same length. Labor and birth were absolutely beautiful and perfect-- less than half of the time I spent laboring with Evelyn. It was still very hard work, but I felt great after his birth and didn't have any complications at all.

From start to finish (start meaning that contractions are still pretty manageable and 10 minutes apart), I had a twelve hour labor. Evelyn went to stay with a friend at about 1:00pm, after she had a nice nap. I think that my body was holding off until I knew that Evelyn was safe and secure with our friends so I could focus completely on labor. Things didn't shift into "high gear" (two to three minutes apart, much stronger) until about 3:00pm. Our doula came over to our house at that point and our midwife and her assistant joined us somewhere close to 5:00pm. Henry was born at 6:00pm. He latched on right away and is content to nurse or sleep next to Mama while swaddled in a soft blanket.

Evelyn came back to join us about two and a half hours later and she was very excited to meet her baby brother. She exclaimed, "Oh! It's Henry! He's out of Mama's belly. It's my baby brother!" Chris took some excellent video of Evelyn remarking over Henry's eyes, nose, mouth, chin, ears, blanket, and "tiny little hat." I helped Evelyn hold her brother. She was very excited about him and had a hard time leaving our bedroom, but Chris settled her to sleep pretty quickly.



Speaking of sleep, Henry is asleep right now and Chris has taken Evelyn out for a "big sister trip" (she has a lot of energy and is still learning about body awareness near the newborn, so we thought a little break would be nice). I think I'll try to sleep a bit, too.

A lovely birthday

Today was absolutely lovely, for a number of reasons. First, I woke up feeling rested for the first time in months-- thank you, Evelyn! Second, the Seattle area was blessed with beautiful blue skies and a seventy degree day. The rest of the day's details were simply icing on the (birthday) cake. It wasn't a particularly momentous number this year, I'm still a twenty-something gal. But this was one of my best adult birthdays.

Evelyn happily wished me "Happy Birthday!" a number of times throughout the day and she drew me a birthday card. Our whole family enjoyed a long walk through the neighborhood and some of the trails. One neighbor found it necessary to let me know how "uncomfortable" I looked and asked if I was due very soon. We just smiled and nodded and kept walking. While Evelyn napped, I went for a pedicure and read more of the novel I'm currently reading. Chris and I left Evelyn at home with her favorite babysitter and went out to one of my favorite local restaurants for a leisurely dinner. We drove along the lake, just enjoying some good conversation. We ended the evening with dessert, cuddles from a very happy toddler, and a quiet house.

I think we are definitely ready for Baby-on-board to join us. I'm feeling pretty relaxed and refreshed!

Her First Party

Very much like the afternoon she was born, her birthday was sunny and gorgeous, a hot day that epitomizes summer.  

She spent the afternoon in the shade of this magnificent tree, learning to run and climb around on its roots.  When the sun became too fierce, she took a reprieve in the lake, sand between her toes and in her belly button.

She was in great company:  baby friends and their lovely parents.  Smiles and laughter and encouraging faces.

 

She preferred the light sweet juices of a slice of watermelon to the vanilla cake with strawberry filling.

She opened a few gifts.  Books! A tea set!  Beautiful clothes!  A bouncing zebra to ride!  Some bamboo cutlery and a stainless steel water container of her very own!  She would have been thrilled with the boxes alone but she was very excited to play with these new things.

The day was perfect from start to finish.  Even the sunset joined in the celebration, echoing the colors of Evie's pink and purple balloons.