Museum of Life + Science

We took all the kids to the Museum of Life + Science in Durham.  This was the first time that Daddy was able to ride the train with us.  The kids loved the train ride, as always.  Evelyn was awake the entire time and seemed to enjoy watching the light come through the trees.  Vivienne rode beside me and pointed out all the sights to me.  Miles rode in front with his daddy.

Of course, we checked out the butterfly house.  We also saw the new area called Into the Mist.  It's a play area with lots of mist jets.  It gets so misty that the kids could hide in the "smoke" clouds.  They enjoyed running through it with Daddy as I waited on the path with little Evie.

After that, Jason took the big kids to visit the farm animals while I took Evelyn inside to cool off a bit.  Then we ate our picnic lunch at the outside fort and packed up to head home.

We have truly enjoyed this time with Jason before he heads back to work next week.  These are the types of things that Daddy often misses, because the museums are so crowded on the weekends that it's not worth the trip.  It's too bad that we're not independently wealthy so that he could spend every weekday with us.

Happy 2 Weeks!

It's hard to believe that our little angel is already 2 weeks old.  It feels like she has always been a part of our family, and I cannot imagine life without her.  Jason and I both agree that she looks a lot like Miles right now.  It looks like she will probably have brown eyes (Miles and Vivienne both have blue eyes), and she has some beautiful dark hair right now, but that may all change with time.

Evelyn sleeps very well at night.  She only wakes us up twice each night, and she is now sleeping all night in her co-sleeper (which is much better for me because I can sleep more soundly when she is not in bed beside me).

Her strong neck makes nursing very easy, even with a newborn.  With Miles and Vivienne, I couldn't nurse them in a side-lying position in bed until they were much older.  We also had to put folded blankets underneath their heads to support them.  Evie doesn't need any extra blankets or support, and she was nursing side-lying at only a couple days old.

Evelyn has a very calm temperament and doesn't spend much time crying.  She gets a bit fussy at night, but this is usually easy remedied with a little rocking or breast feeding.  I nurse her on demand, and that seems to work well for both of us.

She only seems to spit up on occasion.  I suspect that she is probably getting too much milk at times, especially in the evening when she cluster feeds, and her little tummy gets a bit overloaded.  We're still trying to figure that out.

Evie is getting much more focused with her eyes now, and she will clearly look directly into our faces for long periods of time.  She can trace things with her eyes, like a helium balloon moving back and forth above her.

She loves to be held and cuddled, and she also seems to love the sling.  I'm very glad that she likes the sling, because I think I'm going to have to rely on it heavily when Jason goes back to work.  He has had 2 weeks off with us already, and we have this upcoming week with him as well.  I'm not looking forward to him going back to work.  We are so lucky to get such generous paternity leave and have him work for a company that is so flexible with his schedule.

Evelyn is an absolute joy of a baby, and we look forward to watching her blossom into an amazing little person.

Evelyn's 2-Week Checkup

We took Evie for her 2-week pediatrician's appointment today.  She is growing very well.  Here are her stats:

• Height:  21 inches (88%)
• Weight:  8 lbs 14.6 oz (77%)
• Head Circumference:  14.1 cm (74%)

Evelyn just seems huge to us compared to her brother and sister.  Miles and Vivienne's weights were only in the 7th and 13th percentile (respectively) at their 2-week appointment, so Evie is quite a contrast.

The pediatrician put a little silver nitrate on Evie's umbilical cord stump, because it was just on the verge of falling off.  She said that everything looks really great, and we have no concerns about her.  She is nursing like a champ and sleeping very well (waking up only twice a night and now sleeping the entire night in the co-sleeper), so we certainly have no complaints!  

The doctor also noted that Evelyn is a very strong baby.  Jason and I (and Grandma) have been thinking that she was very strong, but we weren't sure whether this was because our only reference point was from Miles and Vivienne, who were much smaller and born a little earlier.  But the pediatrician said that she could see Evie holding her head up, very steady (not flopping to the side).  She has very good muscle control for a 2-week-old.  We'll have to get her started working on her flip turns and dolphin kicks next week in the pool.

Our Youngest Beauty

We had a photographer come this past Wednesday to take some pictures of Evelyn.  After she left, I snapped a few with my own camera.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Owange Poopy!!!

Vivienne's favorite new phrase is "owange poopy."  She frequently tells us all about how Evie has "owange poopy."  We can even be out at a playground and she will say,"Baby owange poopy!"  Vivienne is clearly very intrigued by her sister's poopy.

\Viv is also an incredible little mommy's helper.  She loves to help me change Evelyn's diapers.  I will lay the baby on the floor, and Vivi will go get a clean diaper and an alcohol wipe for me.  After I take off the dirty diaper (and Viv declares that it is indeed "owange poopy!!"), she will hand me a clean wipe.  She loves to throw away the dirty diaper when we're all finished.  It's very sweet.  A few times, she has tried to get me to change her diaper again immediately after I just did it - even with the baby still lying on the floor.  I have to assure her that the excitement will happen again probably in another hour or so and Mommy will definitely need her help.  (Evelyn literally poops at least 10 times a day.)

Elise & Greg Meet Evelyn

Today, Elise and Greg came to visit us after naps.  It was fun to introduce them to Evie, and the kids had a great time playing together.  Greg is so generous to share his snacks with Miles and Vivienne, who are always coveting his pretzels and goldfish.

Evie was beyond excited.

I read the Little Red Caboose to the boys a few times.

My favorite part of their visit was when the kids decided to play a little ditty on the piano.

Vivienne showed off her cute new dress.

And there was lots of fun in our play tent and tubes.

Thanks for coming to visit us, Elise and Greg!  We hope to see you again soon.

Museum of Natural Science

Mom, Jason and I took all the kids to the Museum of Natural Science in Downtown.  It's a great museum for the kids - lots of exhibits to look at.  They particularly enjoyed the fish (Miles calls them "shee!"), turtles, snakes and bugs.  Their favorite part of the museum must have been the elevators and escalators, though.  It's funny how kids are drawn to things that seem so common and simple to us. They find magic in everything.

Vivienne and the Centipede

We got to watch them feed the centipede, which was fascinating.  That centipede jumped on the cricket like a snake.  I would never have known that such a slow-looking animal could move so quickly!

We checked out the newest section of the museum, the Nature Research Center, which opened just a couple of months ago.  Most of those exhibits were geared toward older kids, though.  We'll have to try that area later when they are a bit older.

Walking with Grandma

Evelyn enjoyed the museum in her usual style:

It was a fun day with Grandma.  The big kids really enjoyed themselves, and we're looking forward to taking them back again sometime soon.