There's a new chair in town!

...and it vibrates!



Evie inherited a vibrating chair which seems to be providing her with a little peace and is getting her out of her sling (which I have begun permanently wearing because it seemed like the only way to appease her, thus perpetuating the Princess Leah as Jedi Warrior look). The vibrating chair seems to make her happy! She is smiling (sort of)! She squirms around happily as evidenced in the picture above (actually, she is squirming OUT of it in that picture..but don't worry grandparents! I have fixed that.) And it also might give us a break from furiously bouncing on the yoga ball at all hours of the day and night! Hooray for the vibrating chair!

Valentines Day

This year we had a little more to love on Valentines Day. Evie was so excited, she wanted to get started at 3am! By 5:30 she had everyone up (cats included), but fortunately, as part of his Valentines gift to me (and weekend duties), Jim took over the beginning of Evie's first Valentines day and I went back to bed for a few more hours. I love when Valentines day falls on the weekend!

Part of the reason Evie was so excited to get Valentines Day started was that she knew she would get to wear the Valentines dress that Gram got her. Although she is a fashionista, she is also practical and chose to wear the dress over her warm green pajamas. What a trendsetter!


A few screaming minutes later, we were off for a walk and lunch at a pub.


Jim got Evie a balloon for her stroller. She screamed with joy (Note: she might only be one month old, but she LOVES balloons. We tie them to her changing table and they are a great distraction):


At the pub, they said she had a 'cute' cry. We were glad they felt that way. Once she got her milk, she was cute and QUIET (which makes her extra cute). She was mesmerized by the giant TV and placed some bets on horse races.



She asked that she have her picture taken alone at the top of Parliament Hill. She strives to be independent:


But then I insisted that she let me pose with her because I wanted to see how my red sweater turned out in the artsy picture. She did not protest, but slept peacefully.


It was a fun Valentines Day. In the evening, Jim grilled us steaks, asparagus and mushrooms and we managed to get Evie to sleep long enough that we could eat dessert at the same time--chocolate fondant and ice cream! YUM.

Annoying

I was really excited because I downloaded Picasa and the program put the pictures on my blog SO FAST. I thought it would be a great way to blog. Alas, there seem to be some technical difficulties, so I will try (Evelyn permitting) to re-post all of the pictures the old fashioned way. Stay tuned....

UPDATE: it's fixed (by me).

Don't forget the cats: By Finch and Jack

There are some things that never change.

1. The front window is where all the action happens.


2. One day I (Jack) am going to develop super-cat powers and get out of the front window. At that point, I am going to KILL that black and white cat. Until then, I'll take my frustrations out on Finchley.


3. I (Finchley) still think I'm part obese merekat.


4. Clearly we are the superior beings!*


*Her parents made us disclose that she isn't really cross-eyed. She just was looking really closely at one of her jungle gym toys. And we also are being forced to say that even when her eyes are crossed, we think she's still really cute. Gag.

New kind of social life

Never fear, all you people who are getting sick of reading about Evie. Although she will still be front and center, we ARE planning a trip to Barcelona over Easter. So that's the good news. The bad news is that Easter is still a ways away. Hopefully we'll get out for some walks or something between now and then.

We do have somewhat of a social life, although it still revolves around Evie. On Sunday we got together with our prenatal group for lunch at a pub. The last time we were all together, was before we had our babies and even though the Moms had gotten together for coffee, this was our first time to see all the Dads in action. Plus there was a big football game on and a big Rugby tournament (the six nations or something like that). So, it was pretty funny to see a bunch of couples with tiny babies and strollers in the middle of the pub. Everyone seemed pretty relaxed and happy.

Alan and Caroline with Sorrel:


Richard and Anu at the bar:


Jim fed while I ate. Then I proceeded to drip parsnip soup on Evie's head (it wasn't hot and it gave her a new smell for the day):


George demonstrates how to burp a baby and drink a beer at the same time (very important skill to master):


Kate and Toby tag team on the feeding/eating thing (this is also how we eat dinner at home these days--one eats while the other holds Evie):


Joan and Niah:


Evie's favorite spot:


Chatting with Marjorie and Zoe:


It was fun to get out and socialize with our new friends. After that, Evie and I went for our first walk together in Hampstead Heath, where I discovered that pushing a stroller up hill is really hard.

Vintage snowsuit

Jim and Scott both wore this snowsuit when they were babies. It's still keeping Evie warm over 40 years later. They don't make things like they used to!

 

Evie and friends

This week, Evie got together with Alex and visited Julie and Pumba. She also slept six hours in a row, for two nights in a row, but then she went back to her normal schedule of partying at the wee hours of the morning.

Alex knows some cool moves:


Sleeping (when she should have been awake, unfortunately):


She is getting good at entertaining herself:


Pumba was perplexed by Evie and talked back to all the noises that Evie was making. Julie said she does the same thing with their horse:

Reunion

Before:


After:

I guess she's not THAT bad: by Finchley

The other day, I jumped up on the couch to get some pets. Imagine my alarm when I realized, mid-jump, that Evie was there! Obviously I wasn't ready to get THAT close to her, so I turned around mid-jump and almost did a back flip to avoid contact. She's pretty cute, but I don't trust her yet. She makes lots of weird noises and her crying makes me run cowering from the room.

But when she's asleep, she's ok:

Snow day in London

Well, when you turn on the news here in London, the only thing they are talking about is THE SNOW! It has snowed about 8 inches today--the most snow since 1991. And that meant that Jim couldn't get to work (public transport was down)and Evie had her first snow day. We bundled up and headed into Hampstead Heath, where people were out throwing snowballs and attempting to sled on all manner of household item (from cutting boards to tupperware bin tops). Snow is a unifying substance in London and everyone seemed in a good mood (although on the news they're all complaining about how England is like a third world country because the roads weren't cleared and the buses weren't running and blah blah blah).

E's snowsuit (hand me down from a neighbor baby)looks just like her Ugly Doll (a gift from Joe T).


First outing with the stroller. She wasn't such a fan at first:


But she was asleep by the time we got out onto the sidewalk:


Ever paranoid, we had to stop and rearrange all of her layers several times:


The photographer in the snow:


Boys with a giant snowball:


The snow made it kind of hard to figure out where we were sometimes:


Family picture in the snow (Evie is represented by her stroller):


After the snow, we headed to the pub for a cold one and lunch. Evie had a strong milk.


...followed by her first trip to a book store:


Then she passed out on the couch. What a day! The tube and trains are running now, so tomorrow we will probably be back to normal (meaning, Jim will be back at work. It's bee nice having him home so much lately!)

More exciting times at the flat

Over the weekend Mom and I actually left the house. On Saturday we went to Borough Market and to walk along the river. It was incredibly crowded and COLD and we forgot our cameras. On Sunday we went to Spitafields, where it was even colder and starting to snow, but I remembered my camera! Here is Mom on Brick Lane:


And now....I bring you more Evie pictures! Jim, aka Super Dad, babysat all weekend while we were out and about and all was well when we got home (of course). He is also the best at giving Evie, who has a staph infection, her antibiotics. When I give them to her, most of them end up on my shirt and face.

Evie does not like getting changed. But sometimes she is placid and looks really cute during the changing process. Usually, though, it's a scream-fest.


It's best not to come between Evie and her food.


She's also very strong for a tiny baby. Here she is with her giant bottle. Grr...


After her appetite is satisfied, she can be very angelic. Plus she loves Aunt Kate's quilt: