Rollover Baby

It has been quite the last couple of days. We said goodbye to the last of our visitors on Tuesday, but Evangeline saved a surprise for us. All weekend Evie Lu had been teasing us with possibly rolling over, but her right arm kept getting in the way.

Hanging with Aunt Kaitlin


After we returned from the airport, Evie Lu was hungry. I had the bottle warmed up, but still needed a burp cloth. I walked away from Evie Lu for literally a minute and found her on her belly! After the hours we all spent watching her closely, it turns out no one saw Evie Lu roll over for the first time.

Kaia decorating Evie Lu's baptismal cake and Grandpa Wayne making sure the frosting meets his high standards.


I was all set to tell you this story yesterday, but we had a power outage for several hours Wednesday evening. Our apartment has some great windows, but that means the sun comes right in and heats everything up quite a bit. Without power we had no fans and so spent part of the night taking a walk and sitting out on our tiny lawn waiting for service to return.


The finished product


We have a few more pictures from last weekend to show you still, so tune in tomorrow unless we lose power again.

Dancing with Uncle Jody

Family On Parade

Grandpa Wayne and Grandma Bev


Sunday morning came early for us on Evie Lu's baptism day. We were supposed to be at the church by 8:10am and factoring in the 25-30 minutes it takes to drive to the church we knew we'd be straining our abilities just a bit. We made it by 8:20 and I considered that a great success. Befitting our rainy day baby it was pouring all day Sunday.

Evangeline needed to be changed into her fantastic outfit when we got to the church, so a pew became a makeshift baby area. We were greeted by the wonderful members of the congregation and before we knew it church was underway.

Grandma Rhonda


Evangeline was ever the smiley baby and only threatened to cry once during the actual baptism. That first rush of cold water can shock anyone. Pr. John performed the baptism and told Kaia after the service he felt he was going to cry if he looked directly at either of us.

Evie Lu was in rare form for the rest of the service as she made eyes at the couple sitting directly behind us. We sang loudly and rejoiced in the gifts of God given to us. I have to tell you, being Evie Lu's dad is the best.

Aunt Kathy

Shall We Gather At The River

I have been lax with the updates these last couple of days, but we've been so busy. Everyone (except for Jody) arrived late on Friday night, and this set us up for a great Saturday. We just spent time together and watched "Evie Lu TV" as long as she was awake.

I will tell more stories of the weekend in the days ahead, but below are some pictures from the baptism. Jody and Kaitlin were sponsors and did a fantastic job. Part of the service featured a tune Dad wrote for the new Lutheran hymnal and it was tough not to have him standing there celebrating with us. Someday we'll all celebrate together.

Could Evie Lu get any luckier than to have these two as sponsors?


Proud Parents


Looking good in her dress.

Evie Lu's New Desk

Evie Lu has been using an activity center at the church and now she has one at her house! You can see in the pictures how tall she is standing. It has been a crack up for me to be at my desk working away while Evangeline works at serious baby stuff. Evie Lu's been so busy she now makes me check her calendar before scheduling lunch dates. Wow.

Trading Spaces

Last night Kaia and I decided to rearrange Evie Lu's room in anticipation of company coming for Baptism this weekend. I am a freak and I love moving furniture around, but I'm not so sure my daughter inherited this trait. Maybe in time she will come to know the joy that I inherited from my mom in the late night urge to move the couch to the opposite wall, but maybe she'll take after Kaia and say, "forget that!"

Now wait, I liked my crib over there.


If I start to pout will that make you stop?


Hey! That's just crazy talk! Put that back!

More Than You Want To Know

Evie Lu, this is how you blow bubbles.


Evangeline Lucille has not been pooping normally for three weeks. (I can already hear Brady postulating what abnormal pooping could be.) The change coincided with her four month check up when we found out our daughter weighed 17lbs 5oz.

Due to our emergency trip to Billings we didn't have a chance to see our Dr. until yesterday. Loaded with every possible theory as to why Evie Lu has had diarrhea for 21 days I went to see Dr. Ann. The first thing the nurse had me do was strip Evie Lu so she could be weighed. Now we do not have a puny baby, but when the nurse told me Evie Lu now tipped the scales at 18lbs 10oz I was amazed. Clearly our baby is thriving.

Our Dr. told us not to worry. She had no explanation for the change in poop, but laughed a bit when I still was concerned.

As for the pictures above and below, you really need to click on them to get Evangeline's full awe at my bubble blowing prowess.

Dad, you are no good at the bubble thing.

Cousins

Someday you'll be this tall.


When Kaia and I got married my niece Parker was a few months shy of turning two and now she's growing up to be a remarkable young woman. I can't believe how big she's grown and it makes me more than a little frightened that Evie Lu will grow fast as well.

Parker took quite a shine to Evangeline and I look forward to seeing them grow together. Although I'm already practicing the question, "Did your cousin Parker teach you that?" And I'm sure the answer will be, "No, Uncle Jody (or Aunt Megan) told me it would be funny."

That is love

Close Encounters Of The Baby Kind

While we were in Billings Evie Lu got to spend a good bit of time with her friend Olivia. Olivia is six weeks older than Evangeline, but they are very close in size. We didn't capture it here, but there was a very funny moment when Kaia was holding Evie Lu and Alyssa (Olivia's mom) was holding Olivia and it looked like the babies wanted to thumb wrestle. Both reached out trying to grab the other.



These pictures were from after church on Mother's Day. Evie Lu is out cold, but Olivia wants to play.

Two peas in a pod

In case there was any question, Evie is certainly her father's daughter. Sure, she doesn't have the soul patch (thank goodness!) and hasn't yet learned to master the guitar (someday!). But they certainly share the same blue eyes and goofy smile. I'm hoping that Will's love of bad puns isn't linked to these traits, but that his easy-going-ness is.

I also want to share my thanks for your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time. We are so lucky to be so loved and taken care of, even when the miles are many between us.

Evangeline's Dad At One Year

Here is the picture I promised yesterday. You can tell this was placed in a stack with other photos because the writing from the back of one transferred to the front of this one.



So is there a resemblance?



The big news for today is Evangeline's baptismal gown. She has one! Kaia searched several states in hopes of finding the perfect outfit and today she returned triumphantly. Kaia made me promise not to post photos of the dress before next Sunday, so you'll just have to wait.

What Do You Think?

First, let me say thank you. I never thought I'd be losing my dad at 31, but your prayers and kind words have made all the difference. If it is okay with you we'll keep leaning on those prayers. With all due respect to fathers everywhere, mine was the best and he taught me everything he felt I needed to know.

I think it is more than a little interesting that the last book he loaned me was a book called "To Own A Dragon." He grew up without a father and said this book about that subject really helped him and he thought it would help me be a better father. I started it a month ago and never got a chance to discuss it with him.



So, take a look back through the old Evie Lu photos and let us know if you think she looks more like Kaia or like my baby photo above. Tomorrow I'll include my 1 year old photo.

I Am Ralph's Granddaughter

There was a phenomenal article about my dad in Sunday's Billings Gazette and it got me to thinking about the stories I'll tell Evie Lu so she'll know about her grandpa Ralph. I'll definitely sing my daughter his songs and I think the best way to give Evie Lu a sense of my dad is to road trip with a Ralph mix of tunes playing.

I remember not appreciating a lot of what my dad played for me as a kid, but in the last few years I've been buying those same tunes for myself. My dad was always looking for the next thing on the horizon and so I love the picture above. Kaia and I are looking straight ahead, but Ralph's granddaughter is looking for what comes next and more than a little perturbed by being held still.

I Belong To The Band

At 11:29am my dad went home to be with the Lord. There is a great old blues tune that says:
Allelu Alleluia I belong to the band Allelu
We sing this song today.

A Mighty Heart

To be held in the heart of a friend is to be a king. - Bruce Cockburn


As of Saturday morning my dad is still in the hospital. We are trying to make him as comfortable as possible and we pray for God's will to be done. The damage to my dad's brain is massive and irreversable, but his heart is strong. I thank you for your thoughts and prayers.

Two months ago I was home with Evangeline on a day off. I turned on the tv and Field of Dreams had just started. I sat with Evie Lu on my lap and we watched it together. Near the end of the film Ray realizes one of the baseball players is his dad, John, who had passed away. Ray asks his wife what he should do and his wife's response is, "You should introduce him to his granddaughter." At that moment I lost it. Holding my daughter who had not met her grandfather yet. I called my dad and told him what a ridiculous softie I was. My dad never got to hold Evie Lu or see her face to face, but I know he knows her well.

Pray For Us

Kaia, Evie Lu and I took a quick flight yesterday to be with my dad. Please keep him in your prayers as he has suffered a massive stroke. Thank you for your love and support.
Will

Poop and Circumstance

A week ago we were at Evie's aunt's graduation, which was the reason we made the trip back home. We all got to see Kaitlin march in with the other magna cum laudes (Will and Evie saw it on the screen in the airconditioned cry room...lucky bummers). We helped Kaitlin move out of her apartment (except for Evie and I...lucky bummers) and helped her say good by to good old Concordia. Kaitlin is now a fellow alumnus of Concordia, joining her sisters and Mom. No pressure on our daughter, but she would be a 3rd generation Cobber should she chose this school. Anyway, it was a weekend filled with memories, visiting family, celebrating academic acheivements, and experiencing new things. Evie had her first plane ride, her first night away from home since being home from the hospital, first visit to the farm, and many other firsts. It was also a weekend filled with many outfits. Our little girl is growing so fast that we had no idea of what to pack. So, anything that was 6-9 months was stuffed into her duffle for the trip. I thought I was crazy for overpacking, but it turned out to be a good thing. Evie decided the weekend was for wearing as many outfits as possible, and so pooped or spit-up on just about every outfit we brought.

The Dirty And The Clean

During our visit back to Minnesota we only got to see Grandpa Wayne in the mornings and in the evenings while we were at the farm because he is busy with seeding. The bonuses were when he would stop in quickly for coffee or lunch (remind me sometime to expound on my confusion at the farm house as to what meal is actually happening - lunch? dinner? supper?).

Here is the Grandpa in all his undiluted glory on a break from the fields.


Evangeline was fast asleep or was pretending to in order to get out of work. (She learned that from me.) Evie Lu did not get a tractor ride this time around, but I'm sure that is on tap for a time when seeding is not in full force.

Later that same day before Evie Lu went to bed, Kaia and Grandma Bev decided to try the first sink bath in Evie Lu's life. Grandpa Wayne and I were doing our best to help by watching the bottom of the 9th of the Cubs-Cardinals game (Cubs win! Cubs win!) as the water was prepared and Evangeline was stripped down. There was a small tactical error as Evie Lu was placed in the sink and the cold metal of the side wall hit my duaghter's back. Wow.

I've heard screaming from Evie Lu before, but this was the loudest.

Hey, that's cold!


Dad, why are you taking pictures? Help me!


Evangeline screamed through the entire bath, which was shortened considerably. Evie Lu was none the worse for wear after she was dried off and we learned a valuable lesson: Do not put your warm daughter in a cold sink.

Relatives: They're Great!

To update yesterday's post Evie Lu's fever is gone and she is fighting a reduced amount of stuffiness. So she is on the mend. It was really hard to see Evangeline try to smile, but only give a 1/4 smile before her great big bottom lip came out. It just breaks your heart.

Below are pictures from Evie Lu's first visit to her Great Grandparents' home. She also got to meet her Great Aunt Pam. She did all the things good Lutherans are supposed to do when you visit. After a wonderful afternoon we went for Chinese food and met (and here's where I get fuzzy on how the family tree works) Great Aunt Pam's daughter-in-law Meg (Evie Lu's second cousin?) and Meg's daughter (Evie Lu's third cousin?) Bailee. Wow, my brain hurts now. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Comfy chair? Check. Paper? Check. Great Granddaughter? Double check!


Who doesn't like belly time?


A whole lot of love.


Great Aunt Pam and Great Grandpa teach Evie Lu the truly necessary components of Lutheranism and discuss coffee as the third sacrament.


Four generations of moms and daughters with the quilt Great Grandma made for Evie Lu.

I'm Sick

We're taking a break from the trip narrative today because Evie Lu is sick. Who knows where she picked up the bug, but last night was difficult as Evangeline could not get comfortable, was stuffed up, and had a fever. To compound the discomfort Evie Lu had her four month check up yesterday which meant four shots!

On the positive side we know our baby is thriving. She weighs 17 pounds 5 oz (well short of the 20 pounds Kaia and I predicted), is 25 1/4 inches long, and still has a massive head. Dr. Ann was thrilled to see how well Evie Lu is doing and told us in the next few weeks we should introduce solid foods.

Kaia is taking her first "mom sick day" today and we'll most likely be laying low for the weekend.

Life On The Farm

The cradle made by Grandpa Wayne for his own daughters


We were greeted at the airport by two very proud grandparents who were thrilled to see Evie Lu grinning from ear to ear as she wheeled toward baggage claim. It must be due to Evie Lu seeing people all the time, but it still amazes me her first instinct is to smile at just about everyone. Once she caught sight of Grandpa Wayne and Grandma Bev she kept up the grinning and added talking to the mix. The last leg of our journey was the drive to the farm.

Evangeline won't remember this first visit of course, but I was glad she was in the house that holds so many memories for Kaia and her family. Ambush the cat was curious about Evie Lu and although we worried a bit, the cat and baby kept their distance from each other.


Three Generations