Girls Night

Peter had to go to Seaside for a Rotary conference, so Ev and I had a Girls Night (and day).  We spent the morning in Silverton for Harp Festival; Ev wore her concert black (thanks again to our one and only Aunt Paige for the LBD).

When we came home, Angie Harker came to visit and brought books -- our little genius will probably be reading them to us by next week.  ;)  After Angie left, we went for a walk with the dogs (I had two leashes and a stroller and was wearing my skirt from the festival.  Impressed?) and then watched the Red Sox.  (No comment.)  She was awake for almost six hours.  I just now got her to sleep.  We'll see how soon she wakes up.

Yesterday we got a new TV!  (Samantha, you'll have to tell Thor that I'm no longer using a 16-year-old 17 inch for all my reality favorites.)  We also went to the Korean BBQ and complete strangers were taking care of my baby as I ate.  When we got home, Evelynd was fascinated with the mobile Melanie made her.  (You can see it here: http://dassowdiapers.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-evelynd-got-her-name.html.)  She was smiling and reaching for it.  At one point she said, "Coo."  I repeated, "Cool."  She looked at me and had a huge smile.  She thinks her mobile is pretty cool, Melanie.  Thanks!

Happy Baby.

P.S. I love the bib in this video (thanks Jana) because it's one of the few things that says "Mommy" and it has two spaniels with the bigger one wearing the pink bow -- it's like Sam and Daisy!

P.P.S. She's awake.  She slept for 15 minutes.

Dreamy

Last night Evelynd fell asleep at 10 p.m.  Peter and I started watching a movie, but I fell asleep about twenty minutes into it.  Then, I heard crying, woke up, and it was 3 a.m.!  She slept for five hours and I had my first dream in months.  (The next time she woke me up was 6:30.)  So what was it?  I was playing at my friend Christopher Wicks' church, but it wasn't any of the three churches I associate with him -- this was a church I do not recognize at all.  For some reason I was not prepared with my music and only had some easy Christmas arrangements for a Mother's Day service.  Strange.  Christopher must have been in my subconscious because he had left me a message and called Evelynd "peerlessly cute."  I happen to agree.

Peter and I were able to trade babysitting duties as I was being a piano teacher and he was getting 'roids from the doctor.  (He has a wrist sprain with a possible disc tear.  I hope it gets resolved quickly so he can keep holding his baby girl.)  One more day of piano festival left for me.  Then Saturday is harp festival and I need to finish grading the law school final papers.  Fun for me!

She's smiling here, but was moving around so much it's a little blurry.



This is another outfit I picked up.  It was a little cold today to wear the diaper cover, so I pulled out her black velvet pants instead.  Also, thanks for the cute shoes Melanie and Sylvia (they have yellow ribbons on the side, so they look great with her new top).

P.S. Red Sox won and Ellsbury was awesome!  He's getting back to his old self.  Also, Lowrie batted 1.000 today.  Those Oregon boys are pretty good.



Girly Girl

Video of Evelynd playing and cooing

Today is Evelynd's 6-week birthday.  We started the day by going to piano festival while Dassow Daddy got a haircut.  Lookin' good.

Then, I had a dilemma.  I wanted to dress Evelynd in something cute and girly for her birthday.  We have a lot of cute onesies, which are comfortable and practical, but you need to understand something about me.  I have four younger brothers.  My house was full of trucks, forts, sporting equipment, and boy clothes.  Every time my mom was pregnant I would pray for a sister.  With my youngest brother, Nick, we thought he was a girl.  We had pink at the baby shower and the crib was going into my room.  And then he came out and, whaddya know?  He was a boy.  My mother's father said that four of a kind beats a full house in poker, so Nick being a boy made our family a winning hand.  I guess it was, but I didn't know I'd have to wait decades to get a girl.  So today I went to Gymboree and Nordstrom and bought a bunch of girly dresses and hair clips.  (God not only gave me a girl, but a girl with lots of hair!)  Look forward to many pictures with girly dresses.

Was Mommy's story that interesting?

I love this onesie Gail stitched for Ev, but today we needed to make her a little girlier, so....

It's a girl!

You can see the dimple in her right cheek in this picture.

Today I had my six week followup with my doctor.  I'm pretty much healed and ALMOST back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

This evening, we got a visit from Fred and Stephanie Thompson.  They have two sons, so Stephanie showed up with a bunch of girly clothes for Evelynd, too.  Including a tutu!  Thank you, Stephanie.  You know what I like.

How Do You Measure Up?

While I was at piano festival today, Peter decided to take pictures of Evelynd next to her bunny from the Allphin family as a gauge by which we can measure her growth.  He also got a video of her new dance.  In http://dassowdiapers.blogspot.com/2011/04/heigh-ho-heigh-ho-its-back-to-work-i-go.html we have videos of Evelynd doing her Hoe Down dance.  Her more recent one is like riding a bicycle (or "She's a Maniac" from "Flashdance").

I think her outfit is what happens when Mom leaves, but at least it fits the blog name.

Babysitter for Hire?

I had Piano Festival all day today.  That meant that Peter got to babysit.  I left him a bottle, but Evie had never had one before.  At lunch, I got a text saying: "Bottle not working."  I think the subtext was: "Peter pulling out his hair."  Eventually Ev was hungry enough that she gave in.  I enjoyed how happy she was to see me, though.

We have our living room furniture all here now, but no pictures until we get the old TV stand moved out.

Lastly, we got our tax refunds!  Happy day!

Happy Easter

Evelynd in her "Baby's First Easter" outfit.

Dancing by her Easter baskets from the Lathens and Vanderhoffs.

Holding onto her Oregon Easter Bunny from Leta.

So what did her Mommy and Daddy get her?  The things she most appreciates right now: food, clean diapers, playtime, a walk, and a bath.  Good first Easter for Baby E.

P.S. Red Sox won Saturday and today so they are making a huge improvement from the beginning of the season.

Photo Shoot With Mommy

Today was a gorgeous day.  It was in the 70's and not a cloud in the sky.  So we decided to take the whole family to the park.  Evelynd slept through the whole thing, but the dogs had fun playing fetch and meeting the kids who were there playing.

Then we went to Fred Meyer for the first time with Evelynd.  We had to take two carts so Evelynd's car seat could fit in one.  We saw Kacky Hayes (so good to see her out and looking good after her surgery!) and Evelynd slept though the whole trip.  Once we were home, Ev was in a great mood, laughing, playing, smiling, and cooing and I was actually able to get some good pictures (it is usually only Peter who can get good ones).

Cutest Baby Ever.

P.S. Red Sox won yesterday.  Today's score isn't final yet, so I'll have to update you later.

A Fox in the Tree

Yes, we have a Fox in our family tree and we finally got to meet him.  He's our six-month-old nephew (the son of my brother Chris and his wife Paige), so he will be in the same grade as Evelynd.  Chris, Paige and Fox live in South Pasadena while Chris is in dental school at USC.  They are on a break from school and were visiting Paige's family in Washington, but were able to cross the border into Oregon for the day to visit.

Baby Fox holding his cousin's hand

Paige, Fox, and Evelynd

The cousins (yes, they are on a changing pad).

For even more pictures, visit Chris and Paige's blog: http://chrisandpaige.blogspot.com/2011/04/one-with-home-sweet-home-day-3.html.

P.S. Red Sox won.  They are always awesome against the Angels.

Dassow Daddy and Baby E

Aunt Laurie and Cousin Jenny got this cuddly soft blanket for Evelynd.  Peter likes to cuddle with her in it.

Sleepy time.  (By the way, it's REALLY nice to have couches.)

SuperGirl.  Yes, she is in her Daddy's arms here, too.  I think he likes her.

P.S. Red Sox won and Lowrie is still awesome!

Blessings, Advice, and Wolves

Smiling at her new friend Robyn Millane

Evelynd in the dress she came home from the hospital in; the dress is now getting packed away since it's more like a shirt than a dress.

Blessings.
Today we got another nice surprise that made me think of how lucky we are to have so many generous friends in our lives who are so thoughtful.  The Vanderhoffs, one of my piano student families, made a first Easter basket for Evelynd.  Evie's mother especially appreciated the Cadbury Mini Eggs and the jelly beans.  We got a baby scale from the Wise family, lunch from my grandparents, and lots of help holding and walking Evie at every house.  So, thank you all for all you've done for us.  Evelynd is a lucky little girl to have people like you in her life.

I put Evie's newborn clothes away today.  I'm choosing to look at this as a blessing that she is a growing, healthy girl instead of being sad about how fast she's growing already!

Advice.
At the baby shower Sue Wise and Pam Noland threw for me, they had a great idea.  There were cards at the front entrance that read: "Please share a memory, prayer, or your wishes and/or advice for Bethany, Peter, and their new daughter for their baby book in the space below."  Some of the advice:

• Cherish the quiet times.
• Choose your battles.
• Pray for your kids.
• Don't sweat the small stuff.
• Follow through.

There were also some very sweet thoughts and memories.  It has been a blessing to have these thoughts to read when it's been a long day following a sleepless night.

Wolves.
My 11-year-old cousin, Isa (who you can see in the "I'm Tired" post), was also at that shower.  Here is what she wrote:

Peter + Bethany:

Hi!!!

I think you should treat her with respect, spoil her, give her tons of candy, and don't let her out of the house for fear of wolves.

Peter Got a New Phone

Stick 'em up!

Show me your guns.

Maybe everyone already knows this, but until last week we had phones that were only phones.  No cameras.  No data plans.  Now Peter has a phone with a camera and can put cool postcard backgrounds on the photos.  So he did.

P.S. Red Sox won and Lowrie went 4 for 5!  He is en fuego.  Let's hope he stays healthy.

Sylvia Jipping Turns 1

Our friends the Jippings had a birthday party for their daughter Sylvia today.  We weren't able to make it thanks to Evelynd's sleep schedule last night (she woke me at 1, 2, 2:30, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10:30) and Peter having a sore throat.  Luckily, we got to stop by later to see Sylvia and her family.

The birthday girl in her birthday crown.

Happy Birthday, Sylvia!

Thalia let Evelynd play with a balloon from the party.

The birthday girl's big sister, Thalia, with her new friend Evelynd.  By the way, Evelynd has the same dress as Thalia thanks to her Nana and Papa Dassow in a 2T size or they could have matched in this picture.

P.S. Red Sox won again!
P.P.S. I wore normal clothes today!  No more maternity clothing for me (unless I keep eating dessert like I have been this weekend).