Happy Birthday to Maggie!

We now have Evelyn's, Alan's, and Maggie's birthdays all pretty close together.  I tried to be completely ready for Alan's birthday and Maggie's birthday before Evelyn was born!  It was hard, but I think we were mostly successful.  

For dinner we had ravioli, corn, and fruit.

Maggie just opened up a picture of her and my dad together.  This was a present from Grandma C. 

She LOVES getting new clothes!  Such a girl thing.  Jared has never cared.

Maggie got a lot of new books

I gave Maggie one of my old cabbage patch dolls with about 7 outfits to go along with it.  She LOVES it and has me help her change the dolly's clothes at least once a day. 

It took about 20 tries to get her to finally smile for this picture!  Maggie with most of her presents.  

Maggie told me several times each week for MONTHS before her birthday that she wanted a pink cake with pink frosting and pink ice cream.  It wasn't a fancy cake, but she loved it!

 Happy Birthday, Maggie Moo!  We love you!!

All About Evelyn

I've still got more catching up to do with this blog!  I've been sorting through all the pictures from Evelyn's first few weeks, and I'm amazed at how big she is already!  

Here is some info about Evelyn's birth day.  I was induced with her, and I had an AWESOME experience!  I cleaned my house the day before, left food in my fridge for my babysitter (Grandma S.), and was all packed and ready to go.  I couldn't sleep that night, however.  Alan didn't get home from work until 11:45 pm (trying to get stuff done before his paternity leave) and we were due to be at the hospital at 7 am.  Well, about 4:00 am I was STILL awake and couldn't sleep because I  was just feeling excited and a little bit nervous, so I woke up Alan and we watched Bill Cosby's comedy routine about having a baby on YouTube.  (It is super funny.  You should look it up if you haven't seen it.)  Then we got out of bed at 6:15 to get ready to leave for the hospital.  When I got to the hospital they gave me Pitocin and my epidural, and I delivered by 10:40 am!  It was sweet and almost too easy!  

The doctor told me that there was an issue with her umbilical cord called "marginal insertion" and said she was a lucky baby.  Basically, her umbilical cord was LOOSELY attached to the placenta and was also attached in an unusual place, so there was a real possibility that she could have kicked it loose there at the end of my pregnancy, which would have resulted in her being stillborn.  Kind of scary.  We didn't know she had this issue; if doctors catch it, they usually have the baby be born at 35 weeks with a C-section.  Anyway, I guess she was a miracle baby.  We love her so much!

Here are a few glimpses. I have a TON of pictures that I'm not posting.

First time in her new car seat before we left the hospital 

Grandma C

Grandma S

Grandpa S

Jared and Maggie put these toys by Evelyn because they thought she'd like to "play" with them.  :)

First real bath after umbilical cord fell off

Looking so pretty in a dress Aunt Amanda gave Maggie 3 years ago

Aunt Lisi made this cute hat

Jared loves Evelyn!  He comes right up to her face and says in his LOUD baby voice, "Hi, Baby Evelyn!"

When Evelyn is crying and I can't pick her up, Maggie quotes me by saying, "Mommy, sometimes babies cry." Although one time when Evelyn had been crying for several minutes, Maggie started crying, too, and said, "Mommy, Evelyn's crying!!"  She was being so sensitive.

This is Evelyn at exactly 4 weeks old.  This is just a few seconds after she gave me her first REAL smile!  She is starting to smile more and more, but it's usually only once a day or so if she's in the right mood.

Alan's birthday

 Alan's real birthday was a few days after Evelyn was born. My sweet sister-in-law brought us a delicious pork chop dinner, and then for dessert we had an ice cream sandwich cake that we had made before the baby was born.  I love this guy!

Maggie has so many cute dresses this spring?

Evelyn

Maggie (3 years ago)

 Do Maggie and Evelyn look alike?  Or is it just because they are wearing the same dress?

My 3 (!!!) cute kids

4 Days Old

There is a sweet song sung by Barbra Streisand called "Jenny Rebecca, Four Days Old" that I've heard since  I was little.  Here I've got a video of my mom singing it to Evelyn when she was four days old.  Precious.  (Don't mind the hiccups and the pooing that little Evy does during the video.)

Well, darn, after posting this I realize you can't really hear my mom very well.  Here are the lyrics:

Jenny Rebecca, four days oldHow do you like the world so far?Jenny Rebecca, four days oldWhat a lucky, lucky, luckyLucky girl you areFor you have swings to be swung onTrees to be climbed upDays to be young onToys you can wind upGrass to be lying onSun up abovePillows for crying onWhen you're in love
Ponies for riding onWind in your hairSlides to be sliding onLeaves in the airDolls to be caring forLove to be givingDreams to be daring forLong as you're livingYes, you haveDreams to be daring forLong as you're livingJenny Rebecca, four days oldWhat a lucky, lucky, luckyLucky girl you are...

Welcome, Little One!

39+ weeks pregnant.  2 days before new baby!

 Baby Evelyn has arrived!  Everything went smoothly with the labor and delivery, and she came super fast!  We are so lucky and happy to have this sweet girl in our lives.   More pictures and updates to follow... I'm having so much fun with her that I will have to catch up on blogging later!

7 lbs. 15 oz.
20 inches long

April Birthdays

A couple weeks ago my family had a combined birthday party for my mom and Alan.  Since all of my siblings had just gotten home from vacations the day before, we were the lucky ones who hosted my entire family for dinner and dessert. We were happy to do it, but it was a lot of work to set up and clean up.

Ok, these next two pictures don't have anything to do with the April birthdays, but here they are anyway.

Maggie's favorite stuffed animal is this stuffed monkey from Aunt Shawna.  She tucks it into bed with her every day.  It is super cute.

Jared got a stuffed snake from Alan and I a couple weeks ago to go along with his snake obsession.  He LOVES it.

The Ninth Month (Again)

The Ninth Month

Being a duplex
I have been happy, my dear,
To loan you half the house
Rent-free and furnished
As best I could.

You have been a good
Tenant, all in all
Quiet, yet comfortably there
Tapping friendly on the wall.

But I hear
You have outgrown the place
And are packing up to move.
Well, I will miss
The sweet proximity.
But we will keep in touch.
There are bonds, my dear,
That reach beyond a block
Or a mile or a hemisphere
Born of much love and labor.

I approve the move
And gladly turn from landlady
To neighbor.
--Carol Lynn Pearson

I put this poem on my blog right before Maggie was born almost three years ago.  I think it is very sweet, so I'm posting it again.  I literally have DAYS left until I get to meet my new little lady.  We are getting very excited around here!  I still have some things I need to before she comes, but we are getting there.  I seem to always forget how utterly lame being uber-preganant is.  Every day I feel more and more stretched out and  lousy, and I have been very impatient with my little kiddos because I have been so tired.  Today I am going to try to spend some more one-on-one time with each of them.