Dear Evie,
You are one month older, one pound bigger, and learning new tricks every day!
You are smiling and cooing and constantly blowing bubbles. You have mastered the pouty face and can cry real tears. You open and close your hands with intention, stare at your feet when you kick them, and turn your head towards our voices. You have mastered tummy time and love to arch your back and turn your head to the right side when laying on your back. I bet you’ll be rolling over before we know it.
The big kids are always trying to play with you. They try to stick your hands around rattles and through plastic rings. They sing to you and play peek-a-boo. And you often have company in your bouncy seat: Ricky or Rexy or Baby Giraffe or random Matchbox cars.
Sam calls you Evie Girl. And when you toot, he says, “Good one, Evelyn.” He loves that he can help to wash your hair and button your jammies. Nora, on the other hand, needs constant reminders to be gentle. She would climb into your lap if we allowed it.
Daddy took his two-week paternity leave this month. We spent several afternoons at the pool, went to the playground and the bowling alley, and stayed up late watching Netflix together. Paternity leave is certainly different the third time around!
You slept through your first three-mile hike while Mommy carried you across rocky trails in the Delaware Water Gap. Then you woke to watch the big kids play in the waterfalls and probably wished that you could join them. You dipped your toes in the Atlantic Ocean for the very first time during our trip to Long Beach Island. You squinted in the bright sunshine and relaxed to the sound of the crashing waves while I reminded Nora not to toss sand in our direction.
We spent almost a week traveling to Greensburg to visit friends, to Altoona for a Wiley family reunion, and to Dover to see family. Fortunately, you are very good in the car … until it stops moving. You were passed around and into the arms of many great aunts and second cousins, attended your first baseball game and watched the majority of it from Aunt Kirsten’s lap, and spent lots of quality time with Uncle Andrew who was visiting from Colorado.
You weighed 10 lbs 10 oz at your 2-month check-up and measured 22 inches long. Sam and Nora were both along for your appointment, and they were much more nervous for your shots than you were.
You now have your very own chair at the dining room table. You’re usually content to sit there during breakfast and lunch. But you prefer to be in the K’tan wrap while I prepare dinner and in my lap while we eat it. I suspect you’ll be reaching for my plate in no time.
You love, love, love bath time. I bathe you every other night, around 7:30pm after the big kids are finished. You quiet as soon as you hear the sound of the running water and are completely content once you’re in the tub. In fact, you often cry when it’s time to get out.
You are still taking short and sporadic naps throughout the day — usually in the bouncy seat, if we’re home. But I can always guarantee a solid nap in the car or the Ergo. One Sunday afternoon, you accompanied me to Costco, Trader Joe’s and Target, and you slept soundly through every stop and every transition in and out of the car.
Nighttime sleep is much more predictable. You join us in Sam’s bed for family story time, and the kids fight over who gets to lay closest to you and who gets to hold your hands. You are typically asleep by 8pm. I keep you downstairs with us and wake you to change your diaper and eat before I go to bed around midnight. Then you’re up around 5am for a snack and again at 8am (if Sam and Nora don’t disturb you earlier).
You now sleep in your crib, which is set up in your own little corner of our bedroom. I’m sorry that you don’t have your own nursery — painted and thoughtfully decorated — like Sam and Nora did at your age. But I did sew a crib skirt and buy new sheets before you were born. So that’s better than nothing, right? And I promise that I will create a beautiful room just for you as soon as we move into a house with more space.
You are still nursing 8-10 times per day. Though sometimes it’s more for comfort than hunger. Daddy gave you your first bottle, unplanned, while Mommy was at the hair salon. And you sucked it down like a champ. Daddy has also learned the trick to calm your cries — he takes you outside and walks circles around the deck. You love it, even when it’s 95 degrees outside.
I love when you smile at me in the morning, when you rest your head on my shoulder, and when you wrap your fingers around mine while I’m nursing you. I know from experience how quickly this newborn stage ends, and so I am soaking it all in while I can.
I love you, sweet girl!
