Welcome Evelyn Rose
We are excited to welcome our beautiful daughter, Evelyn Rose, to our family. She was born June 26 at 10:32 am, weighing 7lbs and 1oz and 19 inches long. Jacob was thrilled to meet and hold his sister and has been a wonderful big brother these first weeks of her life. Everyone is happy, healthy and in love with our little girl.
Evie came quite quickly- much faster than Jacob’s 25 hour labor. In fact, we got to the hospital a bit later than we should have and she arrived only an hour and a half later. My labor began at 3am Saturday morning and progressed slowly until around breakfast at 7am. I didn’t even call my parents, who are visiting from Michigan, as I was sure it would be a while until I needed to get to the hospital. I told Tom to take the dogs and Jacob for a walk and then we could call the midwife and see where we were at. At 8:15 I knew things were progressing much faster than I thought and I called my mom between contractions and told her to come so they could watch Jacob. Tom had a run-in with the coyotes at the canyon and didn’t make it back until 8:30- where he found me packing our bags and sweating him to LEAVE NOW- forget calling the midwife or the hospital- it is TIME TO GO!
Once we arrived at the hospital everything happened pretty quickly. At one point I asked the midwife if I was in transition yet (the part in labor right before you push) and she said, “honey, you’ve been in transition pretty much since you got here”. It was then I realized this baby was coming soon! The midwife had me change position a few times and then I was able to push (which only took about 15 minutes- with Jacob it was 2 1/2 hours!) and there was our baby girl! Of course I had them make sure it was a girl right away and then she was able to lay on my chest for some time and nurse. She didn’t even cry when she was born and has been a pretty quiet baby since. It took us a day to finalize her name- she just didn’t look like any of the names on our list- and we are so happy to have our little Evie.
We have had a lot of loving wishes, gifts, visits, food and presents from our wonderful friends. I want to thanks everyone so much for all their warm thoughts and gifts. It means so much to us to have you think of us. And of course if anyone wants to visit they are more than welcome- just let me know!
Add comment July 7, 2010
T – 7
Our due date for baby girl is one week away. It is hard to say if we are ‘ready’. Are you ever really ready for something this big? Jacob has shown increased interest in babies lately, most likely as it has been part of our daily household discussions. He has been spending more time with the young siblings at his preschool, and thankfully, he has been sweet and gentle in his interest. Another way he satisfies his baby curiosity is by asking to watch videos of babies on YouTube. More specifically- ‘babies with diggers’. Yep- it used to be so easy to find little video clips to amuse Jacob- shots of Fire Trucks, garbage trucks, excavators, cars, but now he has specific search parameters. There actually ARE videos on YouTube of babies playing with diggers (isn’t there videos of EVERYTHING on YouTube?), but they last about 10 seconds and then he expects us to find MORE of the same. He’s getting pretty hard to please!
baby playing with digger
Amazing news (ok, if you are NOT a parent, you may want to skip to the next paragraph)- Jacob has started potty training on his own. I think some of this is from his new preschool where he watches the older kids and sits on the potty, but just earlier this week he decided that he too was going to go on the potty. We are certainly not pushing him since he just turned 2, but I have to say- it would be AWESOME if he were transitioning out of diapers at the time the new baby comes.
In preparation for the new baby, my parents and the lower half of my family have arrived to help out from Detroit. Jacob was a bit overwhelmed by the brood, but since there are 3 young kids and a 15 yr old, there are plenty of playmates to go around. They are staying through the first week of August which will give Jacob a chance to get to know my parents as the last time he saw them he was just a year old.
Add comment June 25, 2010
Kauai
Ahhhh Kauai, how we loved you. On the last week I was able to fly, we took a trip to Kauai and stayed in a house a block from Poipu Beach. Being pregnant, I wasn’t able to enjoy surfing or diving, so we opted for a super chill holiday instead. Lazy mornings over breakfast, followed by flip-flops on as we head to the beach with the pop-up chair, bucket and shovel.
This beach was full of toddlers and parents around our age, and there was a tide-pool for the little ones to wade in. Even though Jacob lives near the ocean, this is a new experience for him as the water in Northern California is too cold for this kind of fun. This didn’t stop Jacob from exploring and splashing in the water. And Jacob loved getting thrown in the water by daddy!
All this fun would tire Jacob out- not to mention the jet lag (which often resulted in Jacob waking at 4am!).
We did venture out from the south shore a bit to see the sites. Everywhere we went there were wild chickens. This amused Jacob to no end. He would chase them around and tell them to ‘come’ and ‘sit’!
We also went on a boat tour of Wailua River and Fern Grotto. There were Hawaiian singers and dancers on the boat and we got to walk through the gardens to the grotto.
We also toured the Plantation Gardens – some of the cactuses were planted in the 30s!
We also saw Waimea Canyon and the waterfalls.
The weather cooperated nicely and we only had short stints of rain. Because of this we were able to take a lot of walks through the area, and sit out for beautiful sunsets.
We watched Jacob’s vocabulary blossom while on the trip, and he was often eager to express himself to strangers. He also had an enormous appetite- eating from morning until night time. We cooked a lot of meals at home, but went out for a few meals and Jacob kept everyone entertained, whether they wanted it or not! Jacob even ordered his daddy a beer at one restaurant (the waiter asked if Jacob wanted a beer and he said, ‘nooooo, but daddy wants a beer!’.
We are hoping to return again in a few years when Jacob can REALLY enjoy the water, and little sister can start making her own sand castles.
Add comment April 23, 2010
Comedy Boy Top 10
I’m not sure if you are born with a sense of humor, or you acquire it through experience, but Jacob certainly is a silly little goose. I laughed out loud a dozen times in the last few weeks at his antics, his goofy expressions and his anecdotal take on the world. Here is a top ten list from his repertoire:
1. Burp. This morning we woke up a little late (ha! 7am) and had one of our more leisurely breakfasts together. At one point daddy let out a small burp and Jacob said ‘daddy noise’ and started laughing. I told him it was a burp and I guess he found that word hilarious as he kept saying ‘daddy burp’ over and over. I think it was actually an order and being a boy once himself, Tom couldn’t help himself but to burp again, louder. Jacob couldn’t control his laughter. “Burp, burp, burp!”, he kept repeating. Ok, so I grew up with an older brother and one of my greatest achievements as a young girl was to learn to burp on command. So I hit the ground running when Jacob said, ‘mommy burp!’. Jacob cracked up. Then I asked him to burp and he let out THE most hilarious fake burp noise ever. Ok, we will work on our table manners starting tomorrow. I swear.
2. Flamingo. Jacob’s grandad was visiting from England and we took a trip to the zoo. It is amazing to watch how his reactions to the animals evolve as he gets older. He was very taken by the giraffes, zebras, monkeys, and lemurs, but I have to say he spent the most time checking out the flamingos and lifting one leg in the air to emulate them (we have photos and I will post it here once grandad sends them to us). So every once in a while he will lift one leg in the air like a peeing dog and say ‘Flingo!’.
3. Colors/address. Jacob loves our street name, “Cayuga”. I think it has something to do with the fact that it sounds awful similar to a certain someone (Caillou- but I won’t go into that). When we return home I often say that we are on Cayuga street or say our address. He has started to pick up on this and say “27 CAYUGA!” (that isn’t our correct address- he is close though!). He is also getting into color, and one morning he woke up and proceeded to tell his daddy the colors of things in the room. Every once in a while I will ask him what color a car or toy is and 50% of the time he gets it right. The other 50% of the time he answers “27 CAYUGA!”.
4. Booster seat. Once again the attack of bossy Jacob. Here he is telling daddy he should sit in the booster seat as he is in the ‘big boy’ chair.
5. You do it. While playing with grandad at the Dog Trot House, Jacob proceeded to, a)kick grandad out of his chair so he could sit in it, b)from his throne, order grandad to pick up his trucks and “make them go”, and c)tell grandad to go and get them and to do it all over again.
6. Baby Sister. Of course Jacob has no clue what is coming in July. He doesn’t know what it means to be a ‘big brother’ or to have a ‘little sister’, but he does realize that SOMETHING is happening to mommy’s tummy. I mean, how can you miss it, it’s huge! Anyhow, when we ask him about his baby sister he always replies with a ‘WAAAAHHH!’. It’s actually the sound of a baby crying, but it sounds like he is protesting her arrival already. It usually goes down like this: Me, Tom or a friend asking Jacob, “Are you excited to have a little sister?”, and Jacob replies by shouting, “WAAAAA!”. It does sound like he is freaking out over the prospect. ha!
7. Beijo did it. They say it is a sign of intelligence when a child under 2 can formulate a lie. Well then, our son is in genius territory because he makes up some whoppers! My favorite is how he blames everything on the dog. “Beijo did it” is often heard after he falls over or breaks a toy. Some of the time Beijo isn’t even in the room. I can see him calculating this now- waiting for her to be around before he spins his tail so he doesn’t look foolish when we tell him that Beijo wasn’t even THERE. Should I worry?
8. Birdies eat it. Jacob is always worrying about making a mess or dropping food. I’ve always taken the “don’t cry over spilt milk” approach to things, so when he makes a mess after eating a cracker in his car seat I often toss the crumbs out the car door and say, “don’t worry, the birdies will eat it”. Now he uses this for every and anything that crumbles, indoors or out. I have to say he has smartly added “Shanti will eat it” when he is at the dinner table – pretty accurate observation and our lab doesn’t miss a crumb.
9. Mommy/daddy catch! It is super cute to play catch with your toddler. Thing is, Jacob has a wicked strong throw, often resulting in a ball straight in the face when you least expect it. I guess he does warn you, although it happens to coincide WITH his throw. A few weeks ago I was at my computer with a glass of water nearby. I heard ‘mommy catch’, but yep, it was too late- ball hit water, water spilt on computer. It took a day of drying out but all was well. Now we just have to figure out if this is a ‘football’ or ‘rugby ball’.
10. Mommy would do it. After walking the dogs with daddy and grandad Jacob was put in his car seat by his grandad. Now, Jacob HATES wearing his coat in the car seat and asks (demands?) to have it removed first with us just about every time. This time Jacob had two coats on- one an outer coat and little hoodie underneath. Grandad took off the outer coat and put Jacob in his car seat despite his protests to remove the hoodie. Grandad told him it was too late- he was already in the car seat and he will just have to keep the other coat on. Jacob protested and fussed and said, ‘mommy would do it’. Classic.
Add comment April 10, 2010
Truck Race
We started construction on the sunroom, preparing it to become Jacob and baby’s bedroom. New windows and wall insulation should make it nice and warm, and blackout shades will keep it dark at night. We are also installing french doors in the attached breakfast nook for an extra play area for the kids. Let’s hope Jacob can move in and have his own room soon- we sure would like our bedroom back!
A few weeks ago Jacob really started talking, and even in full sentences at times. It is amazing to hear what is going on in his head. Since he has been sleeping in our room I have also held witness to him talking in his sleep. Often he says things like, “Beijo barking”, or “Shanti, where are you?”, but last night he said, “Truck. Fix it. I dropped it”. He was fully asleep- it was hilarious- what a boy!
This morning after cleaning up after breakfast I walked into the hallway to find Jacob hauling one of our big red pillows from our bedroom. I followed him to find him setting up his race ramp and quickly grabbed the camera to capture what he was up to. Little did I know how funny and bossy he would be!
Add comment March 19, 2010
