Dear Spencer

Now that your baby sister is home, here's what you've been up to:

You asked to hold Evelyn for the first time one evening when she was two or three days old.  You held her for about one second and then started pushing her off your lap.  You weren't being mean, you were just finished.  You asked again last night, she's 4.5 weeks.  It was the third time you've held her overall (you held her for a second in the hospital).  You've never been into people sitting down holding babies--not as a baby being held, and apparently, not as a brother doing the holding.

Once she was about a week old, you started telling me to put her in her swing.  You typically did this when you had another plan for what I should be doing at the moment.  Overall you've been so patient and so sweet, but not overly involved.  You were not in to the family pictures we attempted when Evelyn was two and a half weeks old.  That seemed to be your first big day of acting out due to the baby--or maybe just overall fatigue.  Or, even more likely, reacting to the overall fatigue of your parents!

You refuse to carry your back pack to Sunday School or speech, but you have offered to carry the baby in the car seat multiple times.  You tell me to get her, and if I don't do it soon enough, you lift up on the handle to give me a hand.  Thankfully they weigh a million pounds--you won't be carrying it anywhere anytime soon.

You love to set things out of your reach and then lean out towards it as far as you can while saying, "I can't reach it!"  After we acknowledge that, no, you can't reach it, you proclaim, "I'll get it!"  You then proceed to run and pick it up.

Now, if you don't care for what you've been served to eat, you carry the plate to the kitchen counter.  It's a good thing, in that you've learned that it doesn't help much to kick and scream about it.  It's a bad thing, because when we don't let you take it back, or don't offer a substitute you're hoping for (popsicle?  ice cream, anyone?), you start screaming then.  So, really, we're still sort of delaying the inevitable.  Ha!  No, in all honesty, you're getting much better with your eating.

On October 3rd, you ran right back with your speech therapist "Miss Jenny."  This was the first time you've done this it's me dropping you off, but in my opinion it was really soon in the process (you've only been going since September 19th).  I was THRILLED, because you're obviously liking it to be already running off with her when it's time.  She got you to sing "Wheels on the Bus," and she was impressed.  I'm so glad you're letting her in, because you know and say SOOOOOO much, but you don't sing and talk to everyone.  She told me your articulation is already improving, and I agree to an extent, but I think also, you're just finally showing her what you already know how to do.  I spend a good part of the hour you're at speech praying that it's going well.  Your family and friends can't wait to hear and understand more of what you're thinking.  You're such a precious little boy, and you're an amazing singer (and dancer!).

When we put you in time out now, you say, "Mommy! Daddy! Evie!"  If you know Daddy's isn't home, you just call me and Evie.  It's hilarious.

You love being tickled.  You tell Daddy to tickle you in the kitchen, which really means you want to be chased around the house.  You're already too fast to run in the house.  Injuries are more and more severe because of your break neck speed.  For some reason, you think it's funny to tickle my nose.  You get in my lap and say, "Tickle nose!  Tickle nose!"  And the other day you asked for butterfly kisses.  We had not done those in probably six months!

You still enjoy playing in the sprinkler, even on cool-ish mornings.  By the end, you're freezing.  I put your sweatshirt on you a few mornings ago, because it was chilly in the house.  You asked to go outside and make a snowman!  Your dad and I got a kick out of that!

The day after Evelyn turned 3 weeks, you climbed into her bassinet AND into her swing.  Thankfully she was not in either of them at the time.  Since then, you've climbed into the swing multiple times; but I'm thinking (hoping), you've embraced the exceedingly clear message that that's a definite "No."

And finally, you've mistakenly shown your hand--you're GREAT at cleaning up.  When you want to do it, you could practically clean the whole living room by yourself.

When it's just the three of us at home, you typically do really well.  You're even taking naps better than you were before Evelyn was born.  However, when people come over and want to talk to me, you're acting out more than usual.  Your Gigi's theory (that I ascribe to) is that it's one thing to have my attention divided between you and Evelyn, but when another person (or two) also gets my attention, it's more than you can handle.  After all, everyone has a threshold.

Your mom finally ran and played with you in the backyard today--for the first time in a long time!  Evelyn took a nap on the sofa, and we kicked and threw the ball.  Hopefully it was the beginning of having your old mom back!  (She sure hopes so!)

You're a precious two year old, and a great big brother.  This holiday season is not going to be boring!

You Survived!

Evelyn, we're lovin' gettin' to know you.  You've survived your first month with your family.  I promise it'll be more fun soon.  As soon as we can all get and stay well...which will probably happen when you're about ten.

You're growing great, and a couple of nights ago you slept for five hours.  We're hoping that was the beginning of a beautiful thing.  You very well may be my favorite if you sleep five hour stretches this early on, and I tell you this repeatedly.

A day before you turned one month, you weighed 9 lbs. 11 oz. (67th%), were 21 3/4 in. (78th%), and your head circumference measured 14.5 in. (47th%).  Your eyes are still kind of a non-color.  They seem to be lightening up a little.  Your hair is starting to fall out, but you still have plenty, and it's dark brown.

You do pretty well in the car, unless you're hungry.  When you wake up (hungry), you literally go from zero to screaming in a quarter of a second.  It's a little scary since I'm not used to it yet.  It definitely serves its purpose--we get movin' and you get fed!  You still love hearing your Daddy talk and having him hold you.  You were screaming this morning, and Spencer walked to your swing and held your hand until I could come get you out.  He held your hand while watching Barney, and you stopped crying.  It was precious.

You are strong and are already trying to do "sit ups" like your brother used to do.  I can't prop you up on  your boppy pillow because you try to sit up and end up falling forward.  I've tried all different angles. You don't like being on your back, and you do spit up some; but you don't seem to be in pain, so hopefully it's no big deal.  It's a little difficult to get you to fall asleep, but you don't scream for hours on end or anything, so write us down as officially thankful.

You've already been to the pumpkin patch, both grandparents' houses, to church to have our family directory picture taken, out to eat at Big Orange, to Tuck & Cover to meet some of Mommy's friends, to watch brother get his hair cut, to your cousin's farewell party, and you make the trek with me to brother's speech therapy three mornings a week--not to mention all the sweet friends and family who have come to our house to meet you.  You've had quite the social calendar.

In the middle of the night, when we're together, and it's quiet, I think a lot of things, but those thoughts almost always end in the same place--I'm so thankful that God has entrusted you to us.  You're such a precious blessing, and I still have a hard time believing that you're here and part of our family.  I love you, Evie Rose, and I'm looking forward to the next month as your Mommy.