Sheriff Evie

Evie's daycare class had a short program for parents yesterday. They dressed up as cowboys and sang songs they had learned. One of them was called "I'm a little cowboy..." to the tune of "I'm a little teapot". It was pretty cute and I'm glad I didn't miss it. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I couldn't capture the cuteness of the whole class. Evie wanted to bring her costume home, giving me an opportunity to take pictures of her. She is pretty proud of herself!

Remember, horizontal lines are not slimming

I don't know why, but I've never been big on the pregnant belly pictures. But something tells me that this is going to be one for the record books, so I need some sort of starting point. Here is a picture of what a twin belly looks like at just 2 days shy of 24 weeks.

Happy Easter!

I wish I could say that the highlight of Evie's Easter was the awesome music at church, or playing with her friend Reece in the pew, or eating Easter brunch with Aunt Kaitlin. But the truth is, I think her favorite part was her dress. She got an Easter dress from Grandma Bev and Grandpa Wayne a week or so ago in the mail, and I actually had to hide it after trying it on her. Otherwise, she would have worn it all day every day. As it was, she spent most of Easter Sunday in it (long after all the adults had wisely changed into more comfortable clothes).



Lately, Evie has been classifying dresses as good or bad spinners. Does the dress spin? If yes, it is a good dress. This Easter dress is off the charts on spinnability. Take a look...





Evie enjoyed the little bit of morning sunshine we had here by trying out her new jar of bubbles as well.


Spinning dresses. Bubbles. Sunshine. All simple joys of childhood!

He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Mattress from Costco: $$$



Bed frame and duvet cover from Ikea: $$$



Sheets from Target: $$



Big girl bed with big girl sheets with room enough for all her "friends": priceless

Haven't We Always Been "High Risk?"

Mommy, you are eating for three, so you need two breakfasts.


When we found out we were having twins we also found out that we shifted into a new category of pregnancy. We are now "high risk" and this has meant a host of changes. Kaia now needs to eat for three as opposed to two, I need to make sure Kaia can rest as much as possible when she gets home, and we needed a new doctor. Our old doctor does not handle high risk pregnancies and so this week we learned what it meant to be high risk.

The bigger of the twins.


Kaia wasn't feeling exactly right on Tuesday night and the symptoms continued into Wednesday. We scheduled a doctor visit for the morning and this led to a two day long trek from one clinic to another, to a hospital childbirth wing and finally ending up in the ultrasound room of the coolest doctor I have ever met. The good news is that although Kaia has been having some very small contractions those are under control and it looks like The Gentlemen will stay in place for a good long time. The coolest doctor ever also asked me if I thought The Gentlemen looked identical. He thinks you can sometimes tell from the ultrasound. What do you think?

Smaller, but working on it.

The Naming Contest

You know why I get to use the bigger space? My mom is having twins.

My buddy Chris suggested a naming contest and he offered Danny and Arnold as options for The Gentlemen. Kaia and I won't be revealing the names until after they arrive, so points for most creative and bonus points if you end up being right. Go for it!

Alright Boys, Time For A Double Play.

Could it be we have a shortstop & second baseman on the way?



Early on in Kaia's pregnancy we both had a feeling that twins were a distinct possibility. I had a dream that we had twins and Kaia thought her baby bump had arrived a little too quickly for just one baby. Back in December our doctor listened for a heartbeat at our second visit and told us, "There is only one heartbeat. It is not twins. You would be much sicker if it were two."
Fast forward to March 16th and our first ultrasound appointment. The technician places the wand on Kaia's belly and I see two round objects. I say, "Wow a head and a butt!" The technician says, "No two heads." Kaia said, "No there is just one baby." The technician points and says, "Baby 1 and baby 2." (Kaia's version of this is probably a little different than mine.)
The technician asked us if we had any inkling that we were having twins and we told her about our doctor's certainty. So much for that.
As we called close family to share the news we heard the perfect nickname for our two boys as we wait for them to arrive. Kaitlin christened them, "The Gentlemen." I love it. We'll keep you posted on The Gentlemen.

Breaking News!

That's right, Baby A and Baby B. And both of them are boys.

CSI:Evie

The next lead detective?



Evangeline has managed to hold on to her cough for two weeks now and for those two weeks we've not had a lot of sleep. The good news is that our little girl is in pretty good spirits during the day. In fact in such good spirits that she puts up with my nonsense. I thought this was really funny. (I know, I know, children are not monkeys for our enjoyment.) (Well, I mostly know this.)

The Doctor Is In

Hmm. It could be a baby . . . or a kitty.


It is a lot of fun to share the baby preparation time with Evangeline. She wants to know all about what Kaia is feeling and what the baby is doing. Evie Lu also wants to make sure the baby is getting what he/she needs. She told Kaia a week ago that the baby needed cake. (This could be because Kaia will tell Evie that snacks she's eating are "for the baby.")
In exactly one week we'll find out whether Evangeline will be a big sister to a little girl or little boy!

Okay, come back tomorrow and we'll listen again.

On The Mend

In the "sick chair" with Tiger by my side I'll be okay.


For the longest time I said I never wanted kids, but then I met the love of my life and my heart changed. Before we had Evangeline I imagined that I would be a no nonsense kind of dad who would not be swayed by cuteness. Wrong again. I am a giant softie, I have a tough time keeping a straight face when she's being mischievous, and I hate to see Evie Lu in any kind of pain.
I happened to be at IKEA when Kaia called to say the husky voice had turned into croup and I could not resist buying a $10 stuffed tiger. (Apparently all Swedish kids have their own tiger. Who knew?) Tiger (that is his official name) has become Evangeline's new constant companion. When she doesn't want to take medicine, Tiger comes to the rescue.
Evie is on the mend now, but it has been a week of rising and falling temperatures and a cough that makes it sound like she's been smoking for two decades. Thank goodness for Tiger.

In the bedroom the Tiger sleeps tonight.

A Sick Girl

Here I Am!


I thought we were going to make it through the winter without a bout of croup, but unfortunately it caught up with Evangeline today. We'd been a bit concerned that Evie Lu was coming down with something, but it really hit hard once bedtime rolled around. We've spent the time out in the crisp air and hopefully our little girl will sleep. It won't be long until she'll be up on my shoulders again!

And now a drum solo.

Walk On The Ocean

Can we go there Grandma?


The time you get to spend with family is always too short. When I see sweet pictures like this one of Evie and her Grandma Bev the distance between us and most of our family becomes hard to justify. Thankfully so many family members have come out to see us and Evie's Aunt Kaitlin lives in town. I'm so glad we have pictures to help remind us of great moments.

Wiill You Play With Mii?

I'm totally going to beat Mom and Grandma!


Over President's Day weekend Evie's Grandma Bev and Grandpa Wayne came into town. It had been nearly eight months since Evie had seen her Minnesota Grandparents in person. (Thankfully Skype has been used quite a bit for video calls.) One of the funniest things we did was play Wii games together. We usually played after Evie went to bed, but one night Evie decided she wanted to play too. Her steering wheel wasn't connected to anything, but she was very serious about the whole process. Evangeline is still convinced that she won.

The key is to not look too smug when you win.

Driving With Miss Evie

Are you ready to go?


Evangeline has been fascinated with driving recently. She was thrilled one day when her car seat was brought inside and she could pretend to take her baby on a trip. Evie Lu brought out her two red chairs and put the car seat behind them. I'm afraid Evangeline wants to be British because she was insistent on driving from the wrong seat.

Hold on! This is a tight turn!

Evie Thinks She Knows Something

Evie is not a doctor, although she has a diagnosis.

Evangeline is really excited about being a big sister and she has a definite opinion about the gender of her sibling to be. (We won't know for another six weeks.) Evangeline has told me about how she'll let her baby brother or sister play with some of her toys, but not the little ones because it isn't safe for babies. I get a kick out of seeing our little girl growing up.

Spin-ability

Does the hat go with my ensemble?


Evangeline has embraced dress up time with a new gusto. She no longer limits herself to play clothes, but will go into her drawers and closet to put together new outfits. (Thankfully this tends to be an afternoon/evening activity and we haven't yet had to talk her out of wearing wings to daycare.) The most important test for any outfit is how well it spins.

Check out my wings!


The spin test takes a discerning eye. Evangeline will tell me that a dress is not a good spinner even though it looks perfectly fine to me. (Evie Lu looks at me as if I'm a heathen with no sense of style when I try to convince her of a dress' spinability.) When she finds the right spin to a dress, Evie Lu loves to demonstrate. I think she would love some time with her Aunt Megan to work on proper twirls.

I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Building A Buddy

Wait, am I made of this stuff too?


Evangeline was given a make your own bear kit for Christmas and we decided that it would be best to save this as a rainy day project. Wow, am I glad we saved it. Evie Lu had a blast helping Kaia put together a new friend.

You have to be careful here mommy.


There was a time of panic when Evie Lu took off with most of the stuffing and couldn't remember where she put it. Thankfully we found it and avoided the sad fate of an under stuffed new bear. Our daughter is very matter of fact about what she wants these days and this project was no exception. The bear had to be made just so.

Peek-a-bear


Once the bear was finished it was time to test drive the huggability. He doesn't have a name yet, but he is very cuddly. What a great gift!

Perfectly stuffed for hugs!

Should We Be Worried?

Each week in daycare there is a theme and this week the theme was dinosaurs. One of the fun things about the themes is the question of the week and the crazy answers the kids give. The question for this week was, "What did dinosaurs eat?" I'm not sure if Evangeline was raising the stakes from Lucy's answer, but it makes me laugh every time I think about my sweet little daughter saying, "The dinosaurs eat . . ." (See response #3 for Evie's answer.)

Good Morning Sunshine

Sing along everybody!


Good Morning Sunshine was the way Mrs. Janet started her classes with Evangeline and now Evie will sometimes start the day the same way. The words are "Good morning sunshine, sunshine. Good morning sunshine who are you?" You then insert your name as you sing the song passing it around the room. Evie Lu likes to sing for everybody. She's started adding "baby" to the list as she gets more excited to be a big sister.

3 Year Check-up

I make sure my baby gets buckled in too.


After three years some things don't change. Evangeline still doesn't like doctors or nurses poking at her. Kaia and I had hoped that Evie Lu's 3 year check-up would be a whole new experience, but it took Dr. Ann checking Kaia's eyes, ears, and throat before our daughter would play along. We have a perfectly healthy little girl. She is still maxing out every category. (Thankfully we are done with head size measurements!) Here are the stats: Height: 38 and 7/8 inches putting her in the 90%, Weight: 39 lbs putting her in the 95%, and a new stat for BMI of 18.14 putting her in the 95%.
Someone told us that if we measured Evie at exactly 2.5 years old, we could double her height and that would be what she ends up at for full growth. When we discovered an estimate of 6 feet tall I had my doubts. But after this check-up, maybe we will have ridiculously tall girl!

Moving On Up

A good breakfast is what a 3 year old needs!


Evangeline went back to school this week after three weeks off. She was ridiculously excited. Not only did Evie Lu head back to school, but she also started in a new classroom. Since our little girl is now three she gets to be in the official preschool classroom. No more toddler classroom for Evangeline!

Would this be Home Economics or craft?


In what must be a cruel prank played on Kaia and me by preschool teachers, Evie came home with a "police car" made out of a Twinkie, Cool Whip, Oreos, and gum drops. I was foolish and said she could eat it before dinner. Evangeline doesn't get much sugar and she was a wild one for a good hour until she crashed. Hard.

Letting me eat this? A poor choice dad!

Art!

Hello, welcome to my studio.


Brushes? Who needs brushes?



Hey! I'm blue!

Birthday Girl!

I may be three, but I still have it.


A New Year's Eve birthday is starting to get more complicated for Evangeline. Her first birthday was celebrated with Kaia's family in Minnesota, her second was in Seattle with her Uncle Jody and Kaia's family, but this year was just the three of us. This is the first year we're planning a celebration farther away from her actual day. We'll keep you posted on how that goes.

I've got this candle thing down.


Evie's big day was very reminiscent of Christmas day. We got up, I made a breakfast for us, and then Evie opened some wonderful gifts. This year she really appreciates that gifts come from people who love her. What a difference a year makes.

This may be the best part.


Kaia made wonderful cupcakes with the Evie requested pink frosting. I never thought I would be surrounded by so much pink. There are benefits though. Since Evie was introduced to pink milk by a book her Grandma Rhonda gave her for Christmas, I've purchased some and had to be the taste tester just to make sure it was safe for Evie Lu.

My Aunt Megan turned 3 too. Wait, she's 30? Oh, that is old.

Catching Up

New pajamas from Great Grandma!


Our little family had a blessed Christmas. Evie was showered with gifts from all over and even received what she asked Santa for this year. Evie wrote a letter to Santa asking for a "choo choo train" and under the tree was a little wooden track and a Thomas the Tank Engine. Evie suggested a couple days after Christmas that if she put cookies out again Santa might come back!


At the waterfall with Grandma Rhonda


Evie's Grandma Rhonda came out for a week and Evie loved every minute of it. My mom became the go to story teller and confidant. Evie was very upset when my mom even thought about sitting somewhere other than right next to her. Grandma Rhonda offered to babysit one night and Evie got to watch her first movie while Kaia and I were out. We keep hearing about how great Curious George is.


Our little train engineer


There is a little train museum not far from us and given Evangeline's love of trains we took a trip out to see it. The highlight for Evie was getting to sit in a train and pretend to drive. I'm sure our next visitors will get a trip to the trains as well.

The grin shines through