Friday, May 20, 2011

Precious Brother Moment


After my quick mention about Drew and Evan getting to explore in our backyard together when they're big boys, Drew could not stop talking about it! For the next hour, he told us all about his plans.

"No girls. No Mommy. No Daddy. Just me and Evan. I hold Evan's hand. He no be scared. We go to water (there's a little creek behind our house). Jump! Just me, Evan. Big boys!"

And my heart swelled with thankfulness for my sweet family of two boys and two girls. And joy to hear my big boy be so excited to play with his baby brother.

I've been shocked by how gentle Drew is with Evan. He gives him sweet kisses on his head and little hugs. I rarely have to tell him to be slower, softer, gentler. In the picture above, he put a lion stuffed animal on Evan's head!

The girls are another story. They want to be super involved in every process with Evan, so I'm always reminding them to slow down, don't move him, be careful, be gentle, give him some space...every time he's awake. It's all because they adore him, but I'm not sure it feels all that loving to Evan most of the time!







They've been thrilled to see Evan smiling, even at them a few times! Here are the best smile pics I've gotten so far.





Off to prepare for a fun weekend with AJ's college buddies and their wives. We're so excited for this belated 30th birthday celebration!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

2 months



Sweet Evan is two months old already. Life is pretty fast paced these days, so I just want to take time to write down some thoughts from life with him.

I often call him the perfect baby. I've thought each of our babies was easy, but this guy seems almost too good to be true.

He loves his pacifier and is great at holding on to it. I can't think of a moment that it didn't work to calm him.

It is a rare moment when he really cries hard. He sleeps so well, hangs out happily while awake in his bed, sits or lays wherever we put him and rarely makes a peep. The way I know he's getting upset is by his grunts, huffs, and puffs. He seems so mild mannered.

When he does cry at the end of a nap or in the middle, it is like an on/off switch when we pick him up. He stops immediately. I've also noticed recently that he stops when I start talking to him, before I pick him up. I love being the one whose voice calms him.



He is enthralled by toys above him. He didn't love his bouncy seat until I added the bar of toys. He's often found staring above, watching and reaching for the toys he sees. The big kids have made a game of cheering "Go Evan!" while waiting for him to touch a toy then saying "Yay!" when he does. It's fun to see them all "playing" together already: here's a video!



The newness still has not worn off with the girls. I love that they still say, "AWWW" pretty much every time he wakes up from a nap or they've been away from him for a little while. Jenna loves to take his pajamas off for him and has been asking when she can change his diaper.



Drew often asks, "Where's my Evan?" He gets lots of top-of-the-head kisses from his big brother. It's not always easy sharing Mommy, though. When Drew wants to be held instead of Evan, he'll often say, "No feed Evan. No feed Evan." Drew says his name E-nan.

He sleeps so well. Last night was his best night yet: he went 8 hours between feedings and gave Mama several solid hours of sleep in a row!

He's a crane necker. Since he was just days old, he often pulls his head back when being held facing the adult. He does that during tummy time too which helped him roll over 3 times between the ages of 2 and 4 weeks! I was shocked! He also loves to look back at whoever is holding him. He could win a staring contest any day!


He's beginning to smile and coo. Best mother's day present ever! The easiest way to get a smile right now is to stroke his chubby cheeks and talk to him.

Until a few days ago, he's seemed consistently solemn and serious. His daddy says he has a constant scowl. That's pretty true, and it's funny to get that look back from him when I'm in his face being silly and trying to get a smile out of him. Here's the scowl during his one month photo session with Mom.


He's growing differently than our other kids. By differently, I mean he's chunking up quickly! He's already in 3-6 month clothes exclusively.

He looks just like Drew's baby pictures. I will need to be sure to label baby pictures, or I could easily confuse them someday...especially since they wear most of the same clothes.

Since we're planning for Evan to be our last baby, I find myself soaking up the moments to hold him, kiss him, snuggle with him, and watch him. We all love him dearly.