Tummy Time/Monkey Hug

FLASHBACK

Here's Evelyn in the bath from December of 2005. See any resemblances?

Bathing Boy

In an excitable big-sister kind of way, Evelyn helped Levi get clean. Both were excellent, and Levi was very calm and sedate in the tub. (Until the bath was over, then ALL HELL broke loose!)

Swimming?

Here's another playground picture, in case you've forgotten how much Evvie likes them. We were supposed to be swimming, but... it's Easter morning and the place is shut down for the holiday. (What does the "C" in YMCA stand for, dummy?!)

Evelyn's disappointed. I've got just seconds to mitigate a meltdown...aha! The playground!

It was windy, chilly, and we had the place to ourselves.

An hour and a half later, we finally come home.

Couchin' 2

Headin' to Turner

Evvie's so proud to be a big sister!


Amelia and Evvie sugar-crossed the hot buns for us...

...with occasional help from Grammie.


Doting uncle and aunt.

Couchin'

The Many Moods of Evelyn Mae (and not too many for Levi)

Yup.
That kid'll sleep through damn near anything.

At the Bike Path

With a brisk spring breeze in the air, the snowbanks just about melted, and a three-day-old baby itchin' to get out, the whole family headed to the bike path for some exercise.

Evelyn has gotten a lot better at getting her helmet on, and she even pedals now (Although if we lag behind, she'll call out for a "BUCKET BOOSTER" whereby I pop a wheelie and run full tilt up the path).

She'll sometimes take her hands off the handlebars with a "whee!", to which I try to say in an unpanicked voice, "Hold on, now! Hold on!" (Although I'm secretly proud of her daring, it frightens the bejezus out of me).

Stopping for a snack seems like another photo-op to me! (If you're looking for any photos of Baby Levi, he is in this one!)

It's a little-known-fact that the best part of the bike path is the ratty old "playground" of excised McDonald playthings from the 70's. Evelyn doesn't know what a "fry guy" is, but she'll happily bounce up and down on all of them. The merry-go-round was in an April mudpuddle, so we stuck with the swings, slide, and Mayor McCheese. They're still embedded in their original concrete, jackhammered up and deposited in the back area behind a church by the bike path. The scene is generally one of surreal absurdity.

Mama was busy giving Levi a snack in the car, so we got to play for a long while. I realized that I should have had Evelyn keep her helmet on once I saw her at the top of the slide!


You gotta go up if you wanna come down.

It was a good morning to get out. Levi slept a ton from all the fresh air ( although sleeping a ton is still sleeping during the day and not so much at night!)

Levi Status Update

Despite a long wait in the doctor's office, Levi was a real good boy! Here are his stats:

Length: 21" = 77%
Weight: 8 1/2 Lbs = 56%
Height:14 3/4" = 71%

First home visit

Auntie Amy snuggles with the babe for the first time. Her first nephew!

The Princes of Turner came down for a visit today- with presents for Levi, Evelyn and...Ruby?! After lunch Evelyn played a rousing game of hopscotch her new favorite game.

Levi Fits in

So far, so good. The dog has adjusted, Evelyn has adjusted, and once we can sleep a little, perhaps Hallie and I will feel adjusted to our new life as four. A nuclear family.

Evelyn's New Suit

For her final swim lesson (for which she earned a lovely pink ribbon of completion, by the way), Evelyn wore her brand new swimsuit (Thanks Grandma Sue!), complete with swim headband!

She was so proud that she insisted I take dozens of pictures. Here's a sampling:

Levi's First Few Hours

I drew the top part, Evvie drew the bottom. Pretty good partnership, I think.



Evelyn is so excited to be a big sister. I think she's starting to be disappointed at how little her brother can actually do. She likes holding him a lot, but then asks "What's he going to do NOW?"

That's about it, sweetie.



Trying to make Levi laugh.




A visit from the local grandparents.




Heading home.

Welcome, Levi!

Born at 3:50 am on April 3, 2009, Levi James trooped into the world looking just like his big sister did three years ago. Same lip, same head shape, same great attitude.

His stats:

8 lbs 10.9 oz
21" long
Beautiful as can be.