On Sunday April 19, 2015, we welcomed the newest member of our family - Miss Evelyn Rose (Evie) at 3:22 PM. She was 8 lb, 6 oz and 21 inches long. She is such a beautiful and sweet little baby, and we've completely fallen in love with her. She loves being cuddled and patted, and is generally very peaceful unless she's hungry or gassy. We are so blessed!
Evelyn Rose
Our newest little princess
First cuddle
Happy parents!
Thrilled big sister
Our big family!
Being this cute is exhausting!
She came out hungry
...and also flashing gang symbols,
which is a bit perplexing
Where are my clothes?! This is my worst nightmare!
Ah, that's better
My little sweetheart
I started having contractions around 2:30am Sunday, and by 6:00am, they were about 6 minutes apart. We were all ready to go, just waiting for the 5-minute rule to kick-in before calling the doctor... so I decided to lie down for a while... which unfortunately caused the contractions to space back out - bummer!
Grandma came over to watch Maggie for the day, and we snuggled a little before leaving:
Ready for another partner in crime!
Jamie and I spent the rest of the morning strolling around Target, driving on Royal Oak's bumpy roads, walking in our neighborhood, walking in other dream neighborhoods... just trying to move things along! My contractions never got consistently closer than 7 minutes, but they were really getting to be painful, so Jamie convinced me to call the doctor. Thankfully she advised us to go the hospital around 1:30pm. We walked to triage (that was a long painful walk!), I got examined, admitted, epidural-ed, and pushed this little girl out all within less than two hours! It was a very good experience, Jamie was an awesome coach helping me through all the hard work. He even asked the nurse to stop cheerleading me because he knows it annoys me to the extreme.
I think Evie looks a lot like Maggie did as a baby, but maybe a little more like me this time. Her hair a little bit lighter, and her face is just a little different. I love her smell and little noises. I also love the word "little."
Very stern expression - maybe
she'll be a teacher?
Maggie adores her little sister, and wants to hold her ALL the time. She loves to help with diaper changes and bath time, and likes to comfort her when she's crying. There have been more tantrums and meltdowns these past couple weeks, but I think she is adjusting very well to all the changes.
This expression basically sums up how Maggie feels about having a sister
Proud sister
There will be a lot of photos like this...
...like this one...
...and this one
Aside from sleep deprivation, Jamie and I are doing really well! The change from one kid to two was way easier than zero to one. Maggie also had the club foot casts and a hospital stay for jaundice, so Evie is a piece of cake compared to all that!
It's been a while since I updated, so there's a bunch of random photos mixed in here, and I'm too tired to make a logical order... also, I did a really bad job of remembering to take photos when people visited (sleep loss makes me less of a psycho documenter)...
Maggie's house
Jamie's students painted a mural at the animal
shelter for "Be the Difference Day"
Meeting Grandpa
Oh really?
First car ride!
First bath at home!
First sour ball! (just kidding)
Hanging with Momma in the hospital
First time holding Evie
Making cookies at Grandma's
Sooo ready for summer
Hi, neighbor!
Her reward for good behavior while grocery shopping
Couldn't decide between milk or water
I love a good beat as much as the next guy, but this is mildly inappropriate, Maggie!
My daughter is akin to a graceful gazelle, gently gliding across the field:
Playing on the seesaw
Outside!
Grammer and Pops surprised us on Wednesday by stopping at our house on the way home from Florida! They finally got to meet their tenth grand-baby!
Proud grandparents
Love this photo
That's it for now - hopefully my blog will improve in quality as I get more sleep (because I will be getting more sleep eventually, right?!).
39 weeks+. So ready to meet our little girl already! I think we are getting very close since I was hit hard by stomach flu symptoms today. At the risk of grossing you out, my online searches have revealed that the body often likes to "make space" right before labor. Thank you, Nature. I now have zero energy and the just the thought of pushing a baby out makes me tired. Hoping I feel much better tomorrow. On a positive note, I took the day off work and got a lot of extra sleep in our quiet house.
It's okay, Momma, we're here for you
On to better things...
Maggie had a fun week at home with her Daddy. They went out and did fun activities everyday.
My favorite date
They attempted to go to the Belle Isle Aquarium with Grandpa on Friday, but unfortunately it was closed (sea life is Maggie and Grandpa's special thing). They went over the conservatory and Grandpa showed all the different plants to Maggie.
Smells like spring!
We attempted to go to a Tigers game last Thursday, but it ended up being delayed almost 4 hours (once again, thank you, Nature). So we hung out with Maggie, ate some Bucharest in the parking lot and eventually went into the stadium to walk around. We had skipped Maggie's nap, and the tantrums and tears were abundant! Jamie drove us home and then went back downtown with his buddy.
Here's Maggie playing catch with cousin Ryan before we left for the game:
Hanging with crazy Uncle Alain in the car
I'm ready to go!
Jamie has finally started his new passion of beer brewing. He ordered a bunch of equipment, so we had a nice big box for playing. It is now Maggie's new home (but we let her sleep in her bed when she's a good girl ;)
Welcome to my humble abode
Yeah, I'm thinking of doing some remodeling Really love the original cardboard floors and walls though
This change to warmer weather has been awesome! We went to the park on Saturday and Maggie had a fantastic time. There was a family of older kids, and the two girls let Maggie follow them around and helped her climb things. It was so wonderful to see Maggie "make friends" but also kind of sad... she doesn't need us as much anymore!
Isn't this weather simply marvelous?!
Can't catch me
Maggie and I spent about an hour blowing bubbles yesterday. She's so focused on her task, it's a lot of fun to goof around with her.
You, Mr. Popcorn, look delectable. Say goodbye to everyone!
Easter has come and
gone… and I’m still preggers. Looks like
my prediction was wrong!
Just us girls for now!
Thursday we had our friends Julie and Ryan over for a quick dinner and decorating Easter eggs. Maggie loved seeing the girls!
Am I gonna make it, doctor?
The artistic ladies
Another baby to play with!
We had a fantastic weekend as a family! Saturday was one of those magical days where
everything is just great! We took Maggie
to an egg “hunt” at our local park. The weather was great, and as
you can see, it was not very difficult to get eggs… this was perfect – all the
kids got plenty of eggs and there was no violence! Maggie was still scared of the Easter Bunny,
so no pictures this year! We also played on the playground and got nice and
dirty.
Can you find any eggs?
My bounty
Weee!
Afterwards we had a delicious brunch at What Crepe (so happy this restaurant is open again!) and then did a little strolling around the city. Maggie slept for a good 3 hours in the afternoon, and Mommy got lots of rest too!
Maggie ate approximately 1% of her food
Sunday we went to church, and Maggie was thankfully a very good girl in a rather crowded area. We had a little egg hunt around the house afterward, and Maggie found her Easter basket.
Obligatory dress photo
More candy!
Loves to "feed the fox" with money
Playing with her new zoo animals
Grandma and Grandpa had the family over for dinner, and as usual, Maggie couldn’t get enough of baby Will. She currently refers to all the baby items in our house as being his.
Our little family of four
Grandma and Grandpa!
Just taking a stroll
Bustin' out the casual clothes at the end of the day
Jamie has the week off work, so he brought Maggie to visit
me at work today. On their way to the
car, Maggie tripped on the concrete and scraped up her face a little bit. She was so upset! It took a couple minutes of hugging and
soothing, but we were able to calm her down.
Jamie told me she kept saying “I miss Momma” when they got home – heart strings! Well, by the time I got home, her face was a hot mess... we avoided mentioning it, and she didn't seem too bothered. Yikes, I hate seeing my baby all scratched up!
You should see the other guy
Playing with baby Hazel after watching some baseball - Go Tigers!
This weekend we celebrated Easter early with Grammer. There was an event at the community lodge for all the grandkids, so Maggie got to play with her cousins, search for eggs, play games and get candy - LOVED it!
So much candy, so little time
The only thing Maggie didn't like was the Easter Bunny. Every time he came around, Maggie would need us to pick her up so she could hide her face. I didn't push the issue... after seeing all the Easter Bunny photos on Facebook, I really can't blame her. What is with the gigantic, glossy eyes?! They are slightly terrifying!
Luke and Claire were a little braver
I'll just stand here and observe
Claire was all about the eggs
Looking good, kids
Posing on Pops' motorcycle
This was one of my favorite games - the kids were supposed to hop like a bunny to try and get the balls in the tissue box to pop out. Maggie was too excited to stay in one spot and jump however...
In case you didn't get that, here's some slow-mo action for you:
Maggie also got to spend some time with her cousin Will at Grandma and Grandpa's:
Smile! or just sit there!
Banana time
Here's a few others from the week:
Maggie loves to do the 1-2-3 swing thing when she walks between two people. Sometimes she likes to count higher, so you just have to listen for the number with high inflection. 8 continues to be a favorite...
Come on!
Don't let the smile fool you;
getting this girl to eat dinner is a
nightly battle of wits
We had a very quiet St. Patrick's Day around our house... definitely not the crazy holiday it used to be!
Lucky leprechauns
Maggie was obsessed with her shamrock
headband from Grandma!
We were able to get an appointment with the allergist last Thursday, but it was during the middle of the day. Jamie picked the short stick and took a couple hours off work to take her in. I believe he described it as “one of the worst 20 minutes of my life.” They decided to do a mini scratch test on her leg, which requires her to sit still (or rather, be forced to sit still) with an itchy leg. In the end, the control substance didn’t work, so the test did not reveal any useful information.
Seriously?! Thanks for the torture experiment
Since she had a little cough along with the break-outs, the doctor thinks the break-outs were likely a result of a virus attacking her skin cells rather than a food allergy. It can happen to kids around this age. Unfortunately, everything is just a hypothesis and we can only wait and observe.
Checking baby doll's vitals before the appointment
I went in for my weekly doctor appointment on Friday, and everything still looks good with our little girl! The doctor said I appear to be dropping a little bit, but not all the way yet. I'm really trying to treasure every moment with Maggie... I already feel guilty about how much time I will have to devote to her sister; just don't want her to feel neglected.
Are you ready to be a big sister, little one?
Jamie and I went to see “Bob’s Burgers Live” last night
while my parents stayed with Maggie. It
was a fun date night out! We saw a few
parents who brought their kids… I imagine they left about 1 minute into the
show. I think my favorite joke of the
night was, “…my wife is the only one I’ve been with since getting married…
everyone else has been like nines and tens…”
Such a hipster
"Name that Expression" is still one of Maggie's favorite games...
I love my Daddy
Lately Maggie makes us applaud for her so she can take a bow. It totally cracks us up - I'm guessing Grandma taught her:
