Evanus Maximus

Dear Evan,

I can hardly believe you've already been part of our life for (more than) a year. It was not the easiest of years, especially those first couple of months -- through no fault of your own; 16 months, I now know, is just a very narrow window between kids.

But it was no time before you had stolen our hearts with your bright-eyed smiles and propensity to snuggle and contagious laughter. Your Gran and Gramps are still lobbying for us to submit this to "America's Funniest Home Videos."

You're all boy, and heavy on the charm. People routinely tell us things like "If Evan ever goes missing, don't let them come looking for him at my house" and "Holding Evan is as good as a dose of Valium." In addition to flirting with much older women, your favorite amusements include all balls, all things with wheels, climbing, exploring, trying to jump, chasing and being chased.

You're a sucker for having your hair brushed. Your pants always have grass stains. You play in any available toilet. You eat until we stop offering food.

Most of the time, you're remarkably tolerant of Claire's occasionally heavy-handed attempts at playing together. Her go-to game, Ring Around the Rosie, is a tall order for a kid who's just learning to walk, not to mention confusing (walking in circles? falling on purpose?), but you're a good sport. Let's hope she's as tolerant when you can exert your own influence a little more effectively.

Anyone who meets you comments on how good-natured you are, and anyone who holds you doesn't want to let you go. But we're the lucky ones who always get to take you home. We love you so much, dear Ev-man, and are so very thankful God handpicked you for us. Happy belated birthday!

Happy birthday, dear Evan

It's known by now that I never get "official" birthday letters written on time but I can't let today pass without giving our Ev-man a quick shout-out. We are so very thankful for you, sweetest boy, and for the love and laughter you add with such exuberance to our days. Happy, happy birthday. We love you so much. (I'll add party pictures here in a day or two.)

Chips and steps

Another night, another batch of homemade potato chips. They are just fantastic. The simple recipe:

Ingredients
Russet potatoes (3 large ones yield more than enough for Matt and me)
Cooking oil (we used vegetable oil last night, canola oil tonight; prefer canola)
Salt and pepper

DirectionsHeat canola oil to 350 degrees in electric skillet. Wash and scrub potatoes. Do not peel. Slice (we like a variety of thicker and thinner chips). Lightly salt and pepper. Fry in skillet for about 5 minutes, flipping once. Spread on paper towels. Lightly salt and pepper again. Devour.

I'm going to keep eating these, but I'll stop talking about them now.

A round of applause for Evan, who started walking this week. He still prefers crawling, but his balance, speed and confidence are improving every day. Bring it on! More independence for the kids = more independence for me! I do not, not, not want to wish these days away, but it's hard not to look forward to each milestone when I know it keeps getting more and more fun.

Double-take

Everyone agrees Claire and Evan don't look alike.

Or do they?

Evan, 8 months (July 2011)

Claire, 6 months (December 2009)

Goofballs.

School days

Preschool started this week, for both kids. Three hours, three mornings a week, during which I can edit a few stories, schedule a couple of showings, get an oil change, find out I'm overdue for an inspection, get an inspection, go to the DMV for a new license plate sticker, update my fantasy football roster, catch up on email, clean my car, and have coffee and free Chick-fil-A with Matt. At least, that's what I did today.

The difference between Claire's first day at Mom's Morning Out, a year ago, and her first day at preschool, yesterday? Drastic. Seriously. Both times I got a little teary when I walked out. Last year it was because she was screaming for me not to leave. Yesterday it was because she appeared not to notice that I was leaving.

Evan, naturally, was fine too. He had his teachers charmed in about 1.5 seconds. His class schedule consists of playing, eating and taking a long walk around downtown. The sidewalk in front of our office is part of their route, and I happened to be there when they walked past yesterday and today.

Claire's class is more structured, of course. There are set times for art, music, storytime, outdoor time and even Spanish, plus plenty of free play. Her teachers are awesome and she's already talking about her new friends by name. Because of her July birthday, she's the youngest one in her class, but she fits in fine. What a difference a year makes.

Things I'm loving lately (Part 1)

1. The heat. OK, double digits would be better than triple digits, but I'll take summer temps over winter ones any day. I do not like being cold. Plus, summer clothes are so cute, comfortable and easy to throw together: Pick a sundress, add flipflops and you're dressed. There's no cold-weather equivalent.

2. Running. My SI joint issue flared up again in late June and I wasn't able to run for about six weeks. As of Monday, I'm back. I don't always love running while I'm doing it, but I MISS IT when it's not an option. Shout-out to Jason Clewis at Pinehurst Chiropractic. He is really good.

3. Claire's literal interpretations. A couple of days ago I handed her a carrot stick and told her carrots are good for your eyes, then turned back to whatever else I was doing. A few seconds later Matt nudged me and pointed -- she was carefully trying to insert the carrot into one of her eyes.

4. Evan's age (9 months). A lot of people love the newborn stage. I endure it; I don't love it. It's a lot of work with very little immediate gratification. A lot of diapers, a lot of breastfeeding, a lot of hard-to-interpret crying, a lot of post-pregnancy hormones, all being dealt with on very little sleep.

To me, 9 months is a major turning point. For starters, everyone's sleeping well. That alone is worth celebrating! Evan is crawling and standing up and able to explore to his heart's content. He can eat lots of different foods and be distracted with graham crackers and Cheerios long enough for us to enjoy eating out again.

He and Claire actually play together sometimes. He laughs at anything and everything, and his laughter is contagious. He can be slung around on my hip or plopped in a grocery cart; I don't have to lug that heavy car seat around anymore. This age is a sweet spot and in my opinion it just gets better and better from here.

5. Storytime at the library. Reading, singing and dancing, making crafts, mingling with other kids and other moms ... I know I'm not the target audience, but I think it's pretty fantastic! We've been going to the Monday morning one at the Carthage library (although now that we are technically living in Southern Pines the SPPL has allowed us to have library cards again, and one of these days I'm going to check out their storytime too).

After storytime we always spend some time perusing the children's books and deciding which ones to borrow. I love stumbling across books I loved as a kid but had totally forgotten about! My favorite find so far: "George and Martha," by James Marshall (also the author of the legendary "Miss Nelson Is Missing"). I still don't know what split-pea soup is.

6. Broker price opinions, or BPOs. Basically, these are simple drive-by appraisals banks hire real estate agents to complete. They don't pay that much, but it's the easiest money I know how to make, so I do as many as I can.

Lovefest

Evan was not the happiest baby on the block at Bri's birthday party the other week. That day he already had endured a chilly Stoneybrook and missed both of his normal naps. He's too young to be distracted by the party's adjoining playground, and he was running on fumes. But when he landed on Granny's lap, he forgot all that.

"You can only perceive real beauty in a person as she gets older." - Anouk Aimee

I ran across this quotation a couple of years ago and saved it because it reminded me of radiant, beautiful Granny. I love you so much!

Hard laughter

I am notoriously bad about taking pictures, never mind videos, but Matt got Evan belly-laughing today and I couldn't not record it. Evan has the sweetest, happiest disposition, and at any given moment he's usually smiling, but this laughter went on for a good 10 minutes. Matt and I were cracking up too. Claire slept through the whole thing. The video is only 43 seconds long and it will definitely turn your frown upside down.

In other Evan news, he is finally sleeping through the night -- at least 13 hours most nights, about 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., with a feeding around 5 a.m. After the New York trip I decided to let him cry through his usual 11:30 p.m.ish feeding and see what happened. The first night he cried for five minutes and then slept until 6 a.m. Success! And he rolled over for the first time yesterday, then spent the rest of the day rolling some more. Go, Ev-man!

We sleep

Evan celebrated turning nine weeks old by sleeping six straight hours last night, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. (Then he was up at 4:30 and 5:30 and 7, but it's progress nonetheless.) His previous record was about four hours, with one or two or occasionally three at a time being much more typical, so to say Matt and I welcomed this extra sleep would be a vast understatement. I won't say I feel like a new woman today, but things do seem a little less foggy and blurred than they have lately.

Matt and I have taken to starting the night sleeping in the bonus room because Evan is such a light sleeper that no matter how quiet we are, he wakes up when we're getting ready for bed. (His bedroom is essentially our bedroom closet so there's not a lot of room for error as far as noise.) Then when he wakes up to eat the first time, we move downstairs for the rest of the night. It's not ideal, but that way we get at least a couple of hours of uninterrupted sleep.

I cannot believe it turns out Claire was such a naturally great sleeper and I took it for granted. When she was 10 weeks old she was sleeping all the way through the night, waking up around 6 a.m. to each and then going back to sleep. I don't have a baby book or anything but I remember this because she was 10 weeks old when we left her with Mom and Dad for the weekend to attend Todd and Rhonda's wedding. I would not dream of asking anyone else to deal with Evan overnight at this point. (Although I have already asked Mom and Dad to keep him in June for Kate and Vinny's wedding in Vermont. Yay!)

I've said a hundred times that I can't wait until he's old enough for crying it out -- so soothing himself back to sleep will be his responsibility, not mine. I know people have very strong opinions about sleep training but personally until he's three or four months old I want to respond to him quickly when he cries. But a day is coming ...

He had his two-month appointment on Thursday and everything looks good. He weighs 11 pounds 14 ounces, which I think is 8 ounces more than Claire was at two months. The doctor did prescribe him Zantac because from my description of Evan's spit-up patterns he thinks he might have acid reflux. I don't know what's considered normal, but it definitely seems like Evan spits up excessively.

I'm hoping if that is the problem, the medicine will help more of his food stay down and then he'll need to eat less often during the night. Or maybe he just likes my company. Luckily for him and for us, he is a total sweetheart when he's awake, generous with the smiles and cooing up a storm.

November pictures

Just a few ... there are more pictures, and better ones, on Dad's blog, but here's some of what I finally got off my camera this morning.

And not only that, but I blogged about Evan's birth, only three weeks after the fact. This feels like a monumental achievement.

He's here!

Sorry to leave you hanging. Evan was born just a few hours after that last post (Nov. 5, 5:41 p.m., 7 pounds 9 ounces, 20.5 inches). Labor got off to a sort of slow start but once things started rolling it all happened very fast and I am so incredibly thankful for an easy, uncomplicated, practically pain-free delivery! From start to finish, it could not have been more different from Claire's birth story. I'll post the play-by-play sometime soon on Evan's blog.

The last week has been a blur. Overall, it's been a heck of a lot better than our first week with Claire. Dealing with Evan is no big deal, except for handling the lack of sleep. With Claire, I was a total novice about everything from breastfeeding to changing diapers to soothing her. Now, even though I've already forgotten some of the details, I'm a lot more comfortable and confident kind of playing it by ear -- which makes a huge difference.

According to Mom and Dad, who kept Claire last Friday and Saturday while we were at the hospital, Claire was pretty much perfect the whole time, so we didn't know what to make of it when she was a total basket case Sunday and Monday -- whiny, clingy, demanding, and waking up around 5 a.m. Finally we realized that the time change was to blame. Who knew one little hour could make such a difference? Gradually she's gotten back on track and now she's more or less back to her usual 12 hours at night plus an afternoon nap, resulting in a much better disposition. Thank the Lord.

I have hardly been online at all -- anytime at least one baby's asleep, Matt's been handling the other one so I can nap (no word yet on how I'll survive when he goes back to work) -- so I owe a ton of people emails. I mention that here only because a lot of the people I owe read this blog. I promise to respond ASAP!

Matt just got back from a run so I'm going to take advantage of the chance to take a shower. Thanks to everyone who's helped fill our fridge with good food and our house with gorgeous flowers and our inboxes with sweet messages. Can't wait to introduce all of you to Evan!

P.S. We do have a few pictures, but I haven't gotten them off of our camera yet. Check out Dad's blog if you don't want to wait.

Baby time!

Almost, anyway, I hope. I guess this post technically belongs on Evan's blog. I'm writing from the hospital bed. We've been here since 5:30 a.m. After a couple of hours on a penicillin drip they started the Pitocin at 8:30 and now my contractions are a couple of minutes apart. I haven't seen the doctor yet but as of 8:30 I was 3 cm. dilated, up from 2 on Tuesday, so at least things seem to be moving along better than they did with Claire.

I don't love being stuck in bed but I have been able to finally start a book I checked out from the library a long time ago. The first due date was Sept. 21 and I've been renewing it ever since. I also have responded to almost every neglected email and Facebook message, so for at least for a few hours, I have a clean slate.

Daytime TV is awful. How do people watch it?

I never posted a picture of Claire's new dresser (which Evan will use while he's in the "baby room"). We got it at the Coalition for $35 and added more coats of paint than I care to think about (it was red with decorative fish when we bought it), plus new drawer pulls. Here it is (it's hard to get a good angle in that small space):
So, not a lot else to report. Thanks a MILLION to Mom and Dad for coming over at 5 this morning so they could be there when Claire woke up and then take care of her until whenever we get home. What would we do without you?

Hunter is here!

In all likelihood most people who read this blog have already heard, but it's the kind of great news that doesn't diminish with repetition ... Hunter Grayson Talbert is here! Congratulations to Amanda, Stephen and Bri!

He was born about two weeks early, just a few hours after a routine doctor's appointment at which the doctor informed a shocked Amanda that she was 5 centimeters dilated. Five hours later, she was holding sweet Hunter! You can read the full story in her own words here. He is an absolutely beautiful baby with a great grip and, from what I can tell, a fantastic disposition. Even his poop hardly stinks. Click here for the first round of pictures. Hooray for our growing family!

Hunter's arrival has significantly increased my antsiness to meet Evan. I've definitely hit full-on nesting mode in the past few days, probably partly but not fully due to Hunter's birth. Matt and I deep-cleaned the refrigerator and oven last weekend, if that tells you anything. The last time I had the urge to do that, much less actually did it, was about three weeks before Claire was born. We'll see if a pattern emerges.

I also am finally making progress on Claire's new dresser. It's sanded and primed and we've ordered new handles, so all that remains is to paint the final coats. This afternoon I cleaned not only the baseboards but the grout on the kitchen floor. And I'm about to wrap up my remaining stories that are due before Nov. 1. I have one more interview, tomorrow morning, and then I'm only 3,000 words away from a short break from accepting writing assignments. The last thing I want to be thinking about during labor is some article that's due in 36 hours.

Finally, and this is less about nesting than about decreasing the odds that Claire will accidentally drink bleach or eat soap or lose an eye playing with scissors, I spent most of yesterday morning doing some much needed, way overdue babyproofing. Our bathroom cabinets, linen closet, pantry and kitchen cabinets are now reorganized with everything dangerous out of her reach. This will buy us some time until she gets good at climbing, anyway.

K2, AKA ...

Not sure who checks the new-baby blog, especially since I hardly ever update it, so I figured I'd include the news here: We've decided on a name for K2, Evan Bryce. Glad that's settled!

This is probably the shortest post I've ever written.