Grandpa & Grandma Claus

Evvie's first Christmas and, boy Grandma & Grandpa got what they wished for! We woke up to a delicious breakfast, after which four generations of Princes opened presents and entertained Evelyn. She seemed more taken by the rustle of the paper than the actual gifts, but give it time...

Today was another first- Evvie's first walk in the stroller. Ruby, Hallie, Grandma & I strolled on down Lower Street with Evvie catching some zzzzs as soon as the wheels began to roll.

After this, we're off to New York to meet her Smith cousins, uncle and Auntie Jason & Zoe, Uncle and Auntie Butch & Bobbi, and reunite with Grandma & Grandpa Smith. The holidays are non-stop!

Merry Christmas!

Goofy Face

...Sleeping, Smiling, Laughing

Well, it's just the girl and I today. Hallie's getting a haircut and running a few errands, so I'm left to keep the girl alive all by myself. So far it's going well. She's asleep on me as I type this- one-handed, mind you. The laughing picture came from just moments ago, so I must be doing something right.

I've been giving Evelyn a bottle when I get home from work for over a week now & it's been going pretty well. She's six weeks old as of yesterday, and growing like a weed. I'm sure if you listen closely you can hear the fabric in her onesie stretching... perhaps she'll bust out of her clothes like The Hulk. Sometimes when she's mad I see parallels...

The Pediatrition visit the other day was interesting. We've now got her on a Vitamin D supplement because of the season and lack of sunlight on her skin. She's also in the 50th percentile for head size, the 50th percentile for weight, but, get this you tall Smith genes, only the 25th percentile for length. Curious. Maybe she won't grow as tall as mama- or maybe she was measured right before this recent growth spurt and has jumped up in percentile. Either way, she definitely takes up a lot of space in our hearts.

Evvie Loves the Water

The warm water envelopes her skin in a soft caress.

Mama gently rubs soap around each fold and pudge-flap.

Daddy swirls water is a tickling current around her bum.

Oh yeah.

Evvie loves her baths.

Auntie Amy Arrives

The infamous West Coast Auntie arrived safely to meet little Evvie this week. We had a great visit in Turner and enough gifts to constitute another baby shower. Evelyn also spent her first night away from home which went...well once she got to sleep it went really well. Getting to sleep was a bit more of an ordeal than we had been used to, but we all managed- although we also spent a good deal of the next day cranky & in a haze.

That didn't keep us all from having fun, though. You see, Evelyn has this strange effect that just makes people happy. I think it's the gurgling and the staring. Possibly the gas too- that's the oldest trick in the book.

Tonight is the eve of Evvie's 5 week birthday. In some respects, it seems like we've had her always, and 5 weeks seems like a too-brief period of time. On the other hand, she's already 5 WEEKS OLD! Wholy schmoly.
She's smiling more, staying awake for several hours and looking much more alert. We're interacting well, and have the beginnings of a routine. She just started trying a bottle this week and has had two successful evenings of daddy feeding her. This is a good feeling for me, because it resolves my helpless feelings when she's crying and only mama can help.

Look out world.

I now wield the power of the milk-filled nipple.

A Rockin' Video

Sue with Evvie

Sweet Little Face

Bath Time!

Evelyn got her first full-on bath this week. As she sunk into the warm water her squirms turned to a soft contentment and she did not want to get out.
Mommy was pleased at her reaction to the water. There may have been a hint of the Australian Crawl and possibly the backstroke. Swim lessons will be beginning shortly...




Or perhaps she'll just be a sultan on high.

Where's the Baby?

The Smiths Arrive

We had a wonderful visit from Jim & Sue this week. This Thanksgiving we were surrounded by more family than ever before. We feel so lucky that Evelyn has such wonderful grandparents. Jim, however, seemed to be a little jealous of the stylin' hats that Evelyn gets to wear. She was a dear and allowed him to borrrow her favorite pink & blue knitted hat.

It was sad to have to say goodbye, but it's only a month 'til Christmas!!!

Love my Gramma!

I love meeting my Pennsylvania Gramma and Grandpa! It's exciting that my family is so full of wonderful people. I'm exhausted from all the delight!

Sometimes she cries

Ava loves her new little cousin...most of the time.



















Iris is very interested in the "other" little baby! I'll bet she can teach Evvie a thing or two about taste-testing every toy.






Here's 4 generations of Princes together.

Napping... and not napping

An Early Lesson Learned

Evvie is two weeks old today, and at that ripe old age, she imparted some wisdom to us. She reminded us of the importance of stopping and smelling the flowers.

It's a good lesson- but presently we need not be reminded.

Evelyn Mae is an orchard in bloom... and we are inhaling deeply.

...Not Quite Ready to Talk to Grandma Sue

As you can see from the picture, Evelyn hasn't shown much interest in talking on the phone yet. This will, I'm sure, change drastically...probably about 12 or 13 years from now.

It's been a real good stretch. I've been figuring out how best to work from home, while Hal & Evvie claim to enjoy having me around. She's waking up about 3 times a night needing a slurp, but she's been pretty quiet and falls back to sleep readily.

Today Hallie had a follow-up with Natalie- blood pressure still dropping, though still not at her pre-pregnancy numbers. After that, she attended a Tea with other breastfeeding moms at a conference room in the same building. It was good for her to get out and commiserate about some concerns with other moms who have been through the same, and in most cases, worse experiences.

We both think her cheeks are looking cheekier & her hands a little bigger. Just like a Chia Pet, she's growing before our very eyes! She'll be two weeks old tomorrow if you can believe it!

A Visit to Turner

There's a good reason we call her my "Great" Grammy!

Nappin' with the Dog

VIDEO TEST

Click here for a movie of Evvie yawning & rooting

Please let me know if this works or doesn't work. It works for me, but I'm on a Mac. If it does work, enjoy!

Smaller Version For Slower Connections

My Girls

Leaving the Hospital

Hallie & our Midwife, Natalie Rockwell. What a team!
















Looks like we're all loaded up and ready for the car!

















It's hard deciding which of the new Grandparents get to hold me!
















After all this excitement, I think I'll take a little snooze...

Hospital Photo

Here's the link to the hopital website photo of beautiful baby Evvie! It wasn't posted as of 3:30 on Friday, but I am told it will be posted tonight:

Midcoast Hospital Beautiful Babies

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

Ladies & Gentlemen!
Introducing Evelyn Mae Prince!

Born 7pm November 3, 2005.
6 lbs 15.8 oz (Let's just call her 7 Lbs.)
20" long
Beautiful as can be.

Where did you leave it?

Hallie lost her mucuous plug. Just up and lost it the other night. "Where did you leave it?" I keep asking her.
Honestly.

There's lots of other news, too. We had another biophyysical profile on Tuesday morning. Hallie munched a few Skittles in the waiting room to get that baby movin' and WHOOO DOGGIES! The sugar rush had the baby doing heaadspins and waving her arms all around. It was fun to watch. All the measurements seemed good, but we found that the amniotic fluid volume had dropped. We were sure to point this out to Natalie a few moments later when we saw her.

Of course the nurses alreay knew that things were changing & moving along for Hallie because of the flakes of blood in her urine. Everybody was excited and asked Hallie if she was feeling any contractions. She wasn't. Her cervix is 1cm dilated and about 50% effaced. These are all great signs that things are moving along, and with any luck we won't have to induce her- although they are finding protein in her urine, so her PIH is still a problem. It's too bad she can't walk around and let gravity help this baby out.

So we're still waiting- she's at 38 weeks & it's not going to be long now!

AG Shower for Jay!

On Halloween the wonderful folks at Associated Grocers of Maine threw a great shower & luncheon for Hallie & I. Since Hallie was at home on bedrest, I had the honors of being in the spotlight.

Many thanks to all the kind gifts and donations. We've certainly got a leg up now on getting this new child off to a great start!

What could this be?



That takes the cake!



I know momma's going to love this color!



Lunch was, of course, amazing!

Yin Yang Family

Baby in 3D!

So the upside to Hallie having to get all these tests is all the images we get of Baby. The next one was taken on Friday with a new 3D ultrasound monitor that the hospital has just acquired. Hallie was sort of a guinea pig as several technicians got a dry run on the equipment. (She's still flat on her back with me playing the part of Jeeves.)

Can't quite see it? Here's a little help.

Week 37

Outta the hospital, but not off the couch. Hallie's on bedrest until the baby is delivered. The good news is that a blood pressure medication is not necessary as long as she stays immobile. She had a big day out yesterday for another Biophysical Profile on the baby. Got to ride in the car and everything! BP was way highat the office, but when we take it easy, stay on her left side, & take the BP at home it's fairly good.

Natalie says that there's no way Hallie will go beyond her due date. We've got another appointment tommorrow, but I get the feeling she's just trying to get this babe to 38 weeks. I won't speculate, though- stay tuned for tomorrow's news (inducing labor next week???)

Here's some ultrasound pix from yesterday. Babe checks out A-OK. (The up side to all of this is we're getting a LOT of pictures of the baby!)

Here's two of the face...































...and some cute little fingers!


















...and the little piggies!