Current Events With Grandpa

The good thing about doing so much with your grandparents is the deep sleep you fall into at the end of the day. Evie Lu slept like a champ last night which made all of us very happy.

A new day brought a chance to read the paper with Grandpa. The local hip hop scene was the topic of much discussion.


After the paper Evangeline moved onto belly time with Grandma.


Today looks gorgeous, so we'll keep you posted on where we go!

You Want Posts?

Evangeline saw a lot today. We went to the waterfront for the first time and she gave her opinion on the Alaskan Way Viaduct, had great food at Ivars Fish Bar, fed the seagulls (see below), and went to the Aquarium. Apparently anyone can go to the Aquarium and for free.



So last August Grandma Bev bought us a family membership to the Aquarium meaning Kaia, Evangeline and I can go anytime for free. Another perk was five guest passes. We used three on Aunts Megan and Kaitlin and Grandma Bev. That left us with two which we planned on using today. We march past the ticket booth because we don't need tickets and walk up to the front where previously we had tickets ripped. Except there was no one there. We just waltzed in. So, if you want to go to the Aquarium and see the awesome otters . . .

We followed a big day out with the quatlity time in. To get the full effect of this picture I think you need to click on it and see Evie Lu's face.


I wonder if she's getting enough attention.

Trust me, she's there.

The Face Of Contentment

Our streak of good stretches of sleep only lasted three nights. On Tuesday night Evangeline decided a 1am feeding was what she wanted and a 4am feeding was a good follow-up. Last night she ate at 11pm, 1am, and 5am. Why the sudden change?

Well if your Grandma Bev was coming into town, would you want to sleep? (It would be the same story if Grandma Rhonda was here too, I'm sure.) No, you'd want to be awake all the time.

So, you look at these pictures and tell me who is more content.

3 Down 1 To Go

So, Grandma Rhonda came out when Evangeline was four days old and tonight we welcomed Grandpa Wayne and Grandma Bev at the airport. That means we are just shy one Grandparent. The ever elusive jazzbo, the soulpatched wonder, the musician par excellence - yes Grandpa Ralph is the only one Evangeline has yet to meet.
(And despite my best efforts Evie Lu has been asking about smooth jazz, so a Grandpa Ralph visit may be needed immediately.)

Here is the shot at the airport.


Don't first time grandparents just glow?


There's a proud grandpa.


What will the days ahead have in store? All we know for sure is we'll have fun and a lot of rain.

Are They Here Yet?

Some of our favorite Evangeline faces come when she is being burped. It is actually hard for me not to laugh most of the time. Last night these were Evie Lu's expressions.
I wonder, does it feel good? Is she asking us how long until Grandma Bev and Grandpa Wayne get here?

You want a burp? I'll give you a burp!

Wow, I feel better.

Can't Blink Too Much Going On

This is what Evangeline's eyes looked like at 11:30 last night. We did keep our streak of six hours of sleep, but it was on Evie Lu's terms. After talking with my good friend Brady I realized our doctor's definition of sleeping through the night and my definition of sleeping through the night are two completely different things.

Just For Aunt Kaitlin

Evangeline wants her Aunt Kaitlin to feel better, so we dressed her up in a ridiculously large Cobber shirt and let her hang out with her favorite mascot. What could be cuter? Or rounder?




And if that doesn't do it for you . . .

The Grammy Awards Put Me To Sleep

I don't want to jinx it, but for two nights in a row Evangeline has gone to her crib and slept for most of the night. Last night she went to bed at 11pm! This was quite the accomplishment for Kaia and I.

As I type this Kaia is getting ready for a day at the lab and Evie Lu is resting in my non-typing arm making little sounds and giving me smiles.

The pictures for this morning were taken minutes ago as I was chasing one of her smiles.

Six Weeks Old!

Yesterday was a big day for the three of us. I went to a council retreat for the day and Kaia and Evangeline went to a baby shower. Luckily I had my laptop with pictures of my ladies as the screensaver, so even though I missed them dearly I could look at them regularly. It is funny how 8:30am to 6pm can seem like an eternity.

Kaia succesfully navigated the very confusing streets around the church to get to the baby shower and everyone wanted to be close to Kaia and hold Evie Lu. What can I say? She's a cutie. And Evangeline's not bad looking either.

Recently Evie Lu has been smiling more and more and she seems to be increasingly aware of what is going on around her. Kaia and I both wish we could see things from her point of view.




The countown to Minnesota Grandparents is down to 3 full days from right now!

If It Is Saturday . ..

. . . . then that means Grandma and Grandpa will be here in five days! Grandma Bev and Grandpa Wayne will be swinging this way soon and Evageline is doing her best to not be on any kind of schedule at all.

Last night I was up with her until 12:30am and Kaia was up with her from 3 to 5am. I don't know if this is possible just yet or if I was imagining it due to sleep deprivation, but I think Evangeline reached up her arms for me to pick her up. This was at 2:30 when I changed her and brought her to Kaia to eat. She did it twice actually. When I picked her up the second time she gave me the longest sweetest smile.

Yeah, I'm Cute

Now Evangeline is a big baby, as evidenced by the mostly naked pictures from a few days ago, but she's not as big as she looks in her overalls. We just could not resist trying on this outfit. We figured it was also good training for helping her Minnesota Grandpa out on the farm. You need a set of bib overalls, right?

I Got A Hug!

There are a thousand little joys that come with being a new dad and tonight my daughter gave me a hug. She didn't mean to, but as she was sleeping on my chest she reached her arms out and gave me a hug. To quote Chris Davis, "It was the coooolest."

Here is the snug new addition to the stroller. Evangeline loves it.

But This One Goes To Eleven . . .

Not everyone will get this reference, but in the movie, "This Is Spinal Tap" the bass player in the band gets stuck in this stage prop. Leave it to my daughter to recreate a scene from one of my favorite movies.

This is the cool sling Kaia bought to carry Evangeline around, but we found Evie Lu likes to pull it over her face and then she can't get out.

I'm fine really, I can handle this.

Now, I want to avoid what happened last time . . .

Is it getting dark in here?


Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad! Where did you go?

Major Vocal Performance

Evangeline is getting louder. Our little bundle of sweetness is finding new decibels seemingly everyday and Kaia and I just look at each other thinking Karen Carpenter said it all with "We've only just begun."

Now she isn't getting loud about wearing makeup, borrowing the car, or how her boyfriend really is a good guy. We've got a ways to go before we worry about that. No, at this point I think she just wants to be heard. Why she wants to be heard at 1am I'm still trying to figure out.

SuperBaby

Erik and Cam invited us to their place for Sunday's big game and Evangeline was the belle of the ball. It is a riot to walk into a place and see everyone look your way, but they are not looking at you. No, it is the bundle in your arms attracting all the attention.

Evangeline slept through most of the game, but did manage to win $10 when her square had the right score in the third quarter. College fund here we come!

Thank You Notes, Taxes, And Other Excitement

Below: "One too many kisses! Oh no, we've passed the limit!"

Today I was asked if I was bored being home yet. My answer is no, I am utterly fascinated by Evangeline. Everyday she has a new little expression that cracks me up. I am hooked. So even though we had a completely average day with more than a few annoyances, like taxes, it was a great day.

Below: "Do I have time tomorrow to take over the world?"

Oh Boy

"The times, they are a changin'"
We thought we knew fussiness, but Saturday night proved us wrong. This last week, our still wonderfully sweet baby, discovered a new gear and volume level. Following the advice of our pediatrician we started using a pacifier, which I like to call the "stopper." And for a time it was the stopper. Evangeline would cry and the stopper was applied creating peace and harmony.

Saturday night proved the stopper was not all it was cracked up to be. The ability to scream through the pacifier was impressive in a frightening way. We had to keep reminding ourselves this is a short stage and and really 90% of the time Evie Lu is the sweetest little one. Wow.

Here is a calm picture, for now.

Not So Little Feet

Kaia and I have been amazed at the size of our daughter's feet. They are adorable, but big. So, this may seem weird, but here is a picture of baby feet.




Kaia swears Evangeline laughed yesterday. Evie Lu was asleep and I was holding her when there was this sound. Kaia looked up at me and told me it was a sleep laugh. She had a great big grin. We have wondered what makes her cry out during her sleep and now we get to wonder what she is laughing about in her sleep. Must be her dad's jokes.

Looking For Locks

Yesterday we went on a field trip to see the locks. It was a beautifully sunny day and Evangeline slept through the entire adventure. She chirped once or twice, but beyond that she was content to stay bundled up.

Pooping Calisthenics - 1

So, on Thursday morning Kaia gave Evangeline a little sponge bath and as we got ready to put her onesie back on we noticed something interesting. She was going through all these stretching motions and then we heard a sound.

I took the next 16 pictures as quickly as I could to catch all the different poses she struck. Feel free to name any of them. Or scroll through them as fast as you can to get an idea of what it looked like in real time!