Holding Hands

Last night I went to Cheesecake Factory with my friends, leaving Jimi alone with Avery and Evan.

When I got home he told me that earlier Avery was over by Evan on the couch doing something.

He thought she was messing with his passi, so he went over there to intervene.

Instead he found her holding his hand.

That is just so sweet.

(Also sweet: Last night I got some real sleep. Evan only woke up at 2:30 and 5:30! The secret is, he slept in bed next to me. Please withhold your judgements and naysaying. It is so worth it, and I remember I did the same thing with Avery. She turned out fine.)

Black Toe

Way back during Thanksgiving, Jimi hurt his toe playing flag football.

The toe turned black.

Black Toe is always creeping around in pictures.

Here it is at Christmas.

It is nigh on to March, and Black Toe is still black.

So we always ask Avery, "where's daddy's black toe?"

And she goes over and points to Black Toe.

Speaking of black toes, Evan got circumsized today.

Jimi had to work, so I took him to the doctor all by myself.

I was on the verge of crying the whole time because I was so nervous. I have to leave the room when my kids get shots, so this was hard for me.

I didn't have to go in for the actual procedure, luckily. I heard his squeaky cry a few times though, and admittedly some of my own tears splashed on the stupid Parent magazine I was "reading".
(Am I the only one annoyed by parenting magazines? I don't know why, but I am.)

He weighed 7.10 today! Apparently some of the milk is clinging to his little bones despite the puking.

What a relief.

Daddys are More Fun Than Mommys

Jimi holds Evan while playing "giddy up" with Avery.

Ok, Evan, that's good. Don't grow any bigger.

I am satisfied with the weight you have gained.

He always makes that shape with his mouth. It's cute.

Babies, Babies, Babies...

Me and four of my sisters were pregnant at the same time.

In one year, five new little babies were added to the family.

("new little babies"...very redundant)

And here is the aftermath...

I stole these pictures from Nettie's blog.

Kim already had Dallin when the top picture was taken, so we don't have a before shot of her.

She and I were only pregnant at the same time for 4ish days.

Woo hoo for babies!

Cord Stump No More

Evan's cord stump fell off in the middle of the night last night.

I put it on the night stand to examine the next day.

I showed it to Jimi in the morning. He said, "gross."

What do most people do with cord stumps? It's a pretty special thing, but also pretty gross.

So I took a picture of it and threw it in the garbage. 

Look away now if things such as this gross you out:

Avery's cord stump also fell off in the middle of the night. I also put it on the nightstand, but couldn't find it in the morning. Did the cord stump fairy take it? I will never know.

Jimi goes back to work tomorrow, and all the grandmas have gone home. We'll see how I do on my own.

The Trouble With Newborns

I'm not saying that all women feel this way, but for me, there are some serious catch-22's with newborns.

Here is Evan, one week old. That teddy bear is going to show just how much he will change and how big he will get over time.

Since the day he was born, I have been on edge about him gaining weight and growing properly. So much so, that I am wishing the newborn right out of him. That stage which is so fleeting and short; the skinny long fingers, the pealy purple toes, the callouses on his little lips. Soon all that will be gone.

And I will say, "he's so big! I don't remember him when he was small!"

Well, the reason I don't remember the newborn stage is because I was wishing him big the whole time. And the post-partum anxiety only exacerbates that. I can't wait for him to be less fragile, less sensitive, more sturdy, including that delicate digestive tract that pukes all over me. I want to have a normal night's sleep, I want the embillical cord to fall off so that I can give him a real bath...

But then one day he will be big, and I will miss the newborn.

Is there any way around it?

Furthermore, the other day I was walking back from getting the mail, and I missed being pregnant! Can you imagine? After all the whining I did while pregnant? But I miss the feeling of having a little buddy moving around inside me.

Alas, I must take a deep breath and just enjoy the little bundle while he is little. One day he will be as big as this girl:

Big Sister

Lately, Avery wants to "ol" Evan. She will put her arms out and say "ol?"

The she looks around all proud.

One day while I was feeding Evan, she came over to me and put her mouth on my knee like she was drinking. She looked up and said "aaaahhhh!" (just like Jimi taught her to do when she gets done taking a drink).

This video cracks me up. It pretty much summarizes how Avery felt about Evan the first few days. She really wants to care about the new little bundle, but Backyardigans is on. She's so conflicted.

Wee Hands

Evan does cute things with his wee little hands.

PS this is my special shirt I wear when I am engorged.

An Evan is Born

Jimi gave me a blessing the night before.

 Here on the morning of, is our last picture as a family of 3.

The 2 hours prepping for surgery went by slowly. I was so nervous. Finally when we were walking to the OR, I had the thought: "I don't want to do this. I don't want to be here."

 I remember I had the same feelings as I was being wheeled into the OR with Avery.

During surgery, I was laying there scared, so I told Jimi to sing to me or tell me a story.

 Then the Alicia Keys song came on the little radio they have in there, and I started singing along with it.

"I don't worry cuz, everything is gonna be alright...no one, no one, no one..."

You know the song.

It was about then that they started pounding on my chest to get the baby out.

Jimi looked over and said,

"There's our boy! He's so small! He looks like Avery."

I heard his cry. It is so high pitched and squeaky! All the nurses and doctors thought it was funny.

And I hear Dr. Juarez say the cord was wrapped around his neck two times! What is with my babies and their cords? It's madness.

After he was all wiped down, they brought him to me while I was still getting sewn up. As I talked to him, he tried his hardest to open his eyes. It was just too bright, so he just blinked a bunch.

Jimi and Evan left, and the doctors were still sewing me up.

I said, "Dr. Juarez, why do my babies have their cords around their neck?"

He said, "your next baby will probably only have it around there once."

And of course laying there getting sewed up, I said, "I am not having anymore kids. I'm done."

(Give me at least a month and ask me again.)

They brought him to me while I was still in the recovery room.

I asked him if his name was Evan, and he did indeed look like an Evan to us. So it was official.

Look how teeny he looks in Jimi's arms!

All day long that first day of his life it rained. We opened up the blinds, hunkered in our room, and watched the rain. Cozy.

On the second night, the nurse brought him back from being wieghed, and he was down to about 5 lbs 10ish ounces. I was so scared. I supplimented him some Enfamil, and swore to feed him if he even sneezed like he was hungry.

I used the trick my sister gave me to avoid sore nipples, and miraculously nursing has been on a small scale of painful this time.

The hospital bundle.

And here we are ready to go home.

That is postpartum anxiety on my face.

Here are some fun facts about the differences/similarities with my two babies:

Evan born 9:29am     Avery born 10:29am

Evan weighed 6 6    Avery weighed 8 8

Evan cord wrappage 2 times     Avery cord wrappage 3 times

I am so happy he is here! He smells so good.

 We are working on getting some fat on his bones, and sleeping for more than an hour interval at night.

We are also working on keeping that wiener from peeing all over the place anytime I change the diaper.

On the Couch

This is the place my babies spend the first few weeks of their life.

Pictures are decieving. He is tall, but very very small.

He is tiny! I mean tiny. He got down in the 5 lb range in the hospital. Yikes.

But today he weighed in at 6 3.

Also, his hair is darkish brown.

Sammy (yes, Sammy Kelvington) looks gigantic next to him.

Evan was the next name in a line of names that we liked. It was at the top of the list when time ran out.

He is definitely an Evan.

He likes to eat nonstop at night. But what's a mom to do with a half pint but feed him all. night. long.?
He mostly looks like me. He has blond eyebrows and eyelashes.

He is so squeaky and sweet.
Avery likes to run over and take a look at him every now and then.
Newborns are hard work!

He's Here!

Evan James Larsen

6 lbs 6 ounces

February 9, 2010

19"

9:29 am

Grandpa Sorensen's Funeral

Grandpa looking very hollywood in his cornfield.

My family...minus the Larsens.

I really wish I could have been there to say goodbye to my Grandpa. I stole these pictures from relatives' blogs.

One story I remember about Grandpa is, once he wanted to know what time it was, so he walked all the way home to get his watch. (The details on where exactly he was are fuzzy.) I think this was grandchild lore; I am not positive it is true. Anyone remember that story?

He always made excellent popcorn, and he would always come up with great juice concoctions.

He always asked Jimi about flying.

He wore sandles that looked like they were European...German maybe?

He used the black flavor of Chapstick.

We used to dig through his "junk mail" in his "office" looking for exciting mail.

3 More Sleeps

Some free advice:

If your child is being difficult to deal with, and nothing seems to make him/her happy, just put him/her on top of the counter. Instant appeasment can be attained.

I am at the point where all I can think about is having this baby. I think about what he will look like, how big he will be, how surgery will go...

It's worse than waiting for Christmas morning. As of today, I only have 3 more sleeps before I am thrown into that weird world of newborn. But this time I will have Avery to entertain as well. Good thing I know the counter trick if she ever gets cantankerous and I know not what to do with her.

You know when you read a book, and you can imgaine the characters in your mind? Then when you see the movie version of the book, you can't ever recapture what that character was like in your brain? All you see is the actor.

That is what having a baby is like. In my mind I can imagine what he looks like, even though I can't describe him in words. Then once he's here, I won't remember what I thought he was like. He will just be here.

Right now he has the hiccups. I think I have beer for amniotic fluid because both of my babies have/had the hiccups all the time. (I think that is a cartoon theory, that beer gives you the hiccups).

The Circle of Life

Those are my feet down there. I have to bend  forward a little to see them.

Just one week before this baby will come into the world, my grandpa Sorensen left it. He died today while in the hospital. He has been sick for a while.

(Don't worry, I am happy for him.)

I wonder if they will see each other in passing?