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Whew!

We were up north for the weekend throwing a surprise birthday party for Mike's dad (I won't tell you how old he is, but it starts with a 6 and ends with a 0.) The party was a great success—lots of people, lots of food, lots of beer. Perfect. We took 182 photos over the last 2 days (which is so not an exaggeration.) That's a definite sign of a well-lived weekend.

Because we are the luckiest parents in existence, Eva was (once again) extremely well-behaved. She spent the entire 4 hours we were at the party being passed from one new person to another, and she charmed them all.

When she finally found her way back to us, she had a balloon attached to her wrist, a (Nascar—sigh.) hat on her head, and frosting smeared from her nose to her chin to her ear.

It was a good, good party.

 

Poster Girl

For the past month or so, our city has been participating in "The Big Read," a national program that encourages a community to come together to read and discuss a single book (Fahrenheit 451.)

Mike was asked to speak at the kick-off event last month, and Eva and I attended the event (Eva's first trip to the library!) Afterward, one of the organizers asked if Mike would mind posing for a promotional picture and, seeing Eva and I standing nearby, thought it would be a great idea to include her in the picture. So they went and did their thing, and I'd forgotten all about it until Mike came home the other day with this:

Apparently, these are hung up all over town—but mostly on our refrigerator.

 

I Almost Put Him in My Purse and Took Him Home

Last Thursday, Mike and Eva and I all got to meet little Keegan. Let me tell you, his hospital picture is deceiving—that guy is tiny! Eva was never that little (at least not outside my belly.)

As you might expect, he's completely adorable. And he's a well-mannered little guy too. Eva and I are looking forward to lots of playdates this summer. Well, I am. Eva's not so sure, but she'll come around.

Weirdo.

Yesterday, as I was nursing Eva before her afternoon nap, she reached down, grabbed ahold of her foot, and stuck her toe in her ear.

Wow.

Eva, Mid-Shriek

 

Sorry—yesterday was a busy day for me. I didn't have much time to write a post for you all. Eva has developed a high-pitch shriek which she loves to share with me every chance she gets. You can imagine how helpful this was for the editing I was trying to get done. (Yes, I do "work" occasionally...) Also, she chose not to take her afternoon nap yesterday, opting instead to throw herself on the floor and scream each time I so much as thought about doing something other than letting her hang from my hair or my necklace.

Yeah. It was a hell of a day. I was VERY glad to see Mike when he arrived home from work.

For A Minute, My Heart Stopped

When we put Eva down for a nap, we give her a hug and a kiss, lay her in her crib, hand her her little bunny, cover her with her blanket, and head out of the room. Eva immediately begins rolling around and around in her crib until she wears herself out and she falls into a peaceful slumber. At which point we return to her room, attempt to get her blanket out from under her, re-cover her up, and leave her to her nap.

Some of you may be wondering why we bother to cover her at all when we first put her down, and I don't have a good answer. It's just how we do it—Eva likes the 20 seconds that she actually cuddles into her blanket before she steamrolls it, and, other than the effort we spend having to wrench the blanket out from under her, it's never been a problem.

However, I was forced to reevaluate our system on Friday when I walked into Eva's room and saw this:

And then I remembered this is the reason we use the blanket with the holes in it. The system stands.

A Quiet Moment

 

Cozy on the Couch

I am so lucky. I really am. And it’s never more clear to me than in the mornings when Mike gets up with Eva and feeds her breakfast while letting me sleep just a little longer. And then I get to stumble out into our sunny living room to be greeted by a steaming cup of coffee and some snuggle time on the couch with this little lady:

It’s so easy to forget and take for granted all the little happinesses in our lives. I think we owe it to those affected by the horrible events in Virginia to pause, take stock, and be mindful of how lucky we really are. As they know all too well, everything can change in an instant.

One Handsome Dude

I'd like to introduce you all to a special little guy...

This is Keegan Joseph. He was born to our good friends Ken and Sarah on April 12. He weighs 6 lb, 10 oz, and he is 20" long. Actually, he may weigh more or be even taller, since he is now almost a big one-week-old boy.

Sarah says, "We are all doing well—Keegan is a very good little boy!  (but he just peed through his second diaper in 2 hours—we are accumulating quite a laundry pile!)"

Congratulations Ken and Sarah! Happy thoughts to your new little family.

A Big Step

Eva went to see the doctor today for her 9-month check-up. Would you believe that she weighs almost 21 pounds? No? Well, it's true. And that means it's time for our little baby to move up to the next size car seat. How's that for a milestone? Won't be too long and she'll even be able to face the front of the car.