In the Pumpkin Patch

5 weeks in. Evelyn has gained a bit of weight and is beginning to sleep through the night. We could not be happier. The initial fatigue of every 2 hour feeds is fading and Stacy and I are finding time to have dates. We are settling in to family life well. People ask me if my life has changed, and the answer is "yes", but frankly having a baby hasn't been "life-changing" the way you typically think of it. Having Evelyn seems really natural, really...right. She should be here now. So I feel more like myself, more like the Gabe who is a dad, and since I was ready, it seems, well, pretty normal. We trust all is well.

Oh look, we found a cute little pumpkin!

Show me angry, baby!

Show me crying, baby...yeah!

Be the pumpkin...be the pumpkin..nahnahnahnah....nahnahnah....


No pictures, no more posing, only milk and mommy's cozy.

Parenting Thoughts 3 Weeks In.

3 Weeks In

3 weeks into this parenting gig and we're a bit tired. In spite of all the amazing support we get from friends and family (we could not ask for more) we find our energy levels low. Evelyn however is becoming more and more energetic by the day and spending more time awake each day. She still sleeps a lot though. Nights are getting a little better. She is nursing every 4-6 hours now at night, instead of the usual every 2-3 hours.

We see lots of situations where we know what is good for Evelyn, like a clean diaper, bath, or food and yet she cries through it only to realize that at the end, what we wanted for her is nice and stops crying. Smacks of the way God must see us a lot. We ask God to help us, to make us more like Him and then He starts to make us holy, and we start crying.

Evelyn has two modes:
1. "Everything is the way I want it and life is good."
and
2. "Something is not quite the way I want it, and bam, I'm upset."
Describes my 2 modes of prayer almost perfectly.

So we find lots of analogies in Evelyn to our life and relationship to God, as our Father. Quite literally. Maybe some day we can be teenagers in God's eyes and not just babies. I'm sure He's looking forward to that.

"I can see your lips moving, but I can't hear a word you're sayin."


Ninja on the left...


Ninja on the Right...Wha-Cha!

Leopard print is in! Check out my sweet diaper covers! Huggies got nothin' on this.

In case you were doubting I'm the sweetest thing on earth, I present exhibit A above.

Visitors

Scott and Katrina

Betty and Elizabeth

Nurse Cora Etta-took care of Evelyn while in the hospital

Grandmother Kathryn-don't mess with her while she is holding the baby

Grandpa Gary

Kathy

Lee and Carolyn-Grandparents

The Ludlow's

The Morrissey's

Sara

Trait

The Wang's

Amanda and Emily

Great Aunt Becky

Great Uncle Bob

Megan and Gabe

Liz

The Martins

Mikey
Erika

Sandra

Sharon

Carolyn (now known as Nana)

Chris

Sara- I just love holding babies!

Libby

Erin