Spoons & Forks!



Nana thinks I am ready to be civilized, so since she is visiting I am eating out of bowls instead of off my tray and using spoons and forks. I am better then anybody realized and I appreciate that she believes in my talents. If she hadn't visited I am sure I would be eating with my hands for weeks to come! Every time Nana comes she helps me grow up a little bit more.



Family Pictures

Today Nana tried to get some nice family photos but I just did NOT feel like cooperating. Usually I like the camera and ham it up, but no no no - not today! I refused to smile, you just can't make me. I was grumpy and I let them know it. And Jack better sleep with one eye open - I am not sure I like him one bit!

Mommy & Daddy's Anniversary

Today is August 2, Mommy and Daddy's 3 year anniversary! I can't believe that in 3 years they have had me AND Jack. They are so lucky. In these photos I am waiting for daddy to come home and then Nana is going to watch me so he and Mommy can go out to dinner and celebrate. The next day I found out that Mommy and Daddy parked the car at the restaurant and when the approached the restaurant doors they realized something was missing: JACK! He was so quiet sleeping in the backseat that they completely forgot he existed and they rushed back to get him. Whoops! I have never let them forget that I existed. I make my presence known always.

Nana's here!



Since Mommy has to give so much time to Baby Jack, Nana came to play with me. We play london bridges and every day Nana goes shopping and buys me new toys...puzzles, arts and crafts, and lots of books with game ideas. Nana lays awake at night stressing over how to make my life better. I am lucky she loves me so much!



Inspecting the new arrival

I visited Mommy in the hospital where she was staying with a baby, and for some reason she brought it home with her. They tell me I am a big sister and ask me to kiss him all the time. I am not sure what I think about all of this. I hope he knows that this house is mine and all the toys in it are mine and Mommy and Daddy are MINE!

Jack's newborn photos

On Sunday a photographer came and took pictures of Jack. I was not comfortable with the photographer so Daddy took me to Aunt Lindsay's to play. She took some very nice photos of Baby Jack and was a good little model.

Jack's1st days at home

Mommy and Daddy brought Jack home and I hardly notice him at all. He sleeps all day and all night and barely ever opens his eyes. He is so good and sleeps for 3-4 hour stretches and Mommy has to wake him up sometimes to feed him. He sleeps in the laundry basket that I slept in as a baby. Mommy and Daddy are already so in love with him. I am happy that he is always asleep because Mommy and Daddy can still spend lots of time with me. Our neighbor Rebecca is so nice - she brought us all dinner to celebrate Jack's Arrival home - it was a feast and Uncle Dylan tied a balloon to our mailbox so everybody would know we are welcoming a new baby, and Chris and Dylan came over to smoke a cigar with Daddy.

I am a BIG SISTER!!



I became a Big Sister today! John Henry Ewald - who we will call Jack - was born at 2:20 am on July 19th. He is 6lbs 15oz and 18.5in long. He is much smaller than I was but he was born 2 weeks early so maybe that is why. Yesterday was very hot and Mommy was conducting interviews all day so she did a LOT of walking between campuses and wonders if maybe that is partly why she went into labor.

Last night Mommy went to sleep and at 1:10am she woke up to go pee and then her water broke while she was on the potty. That made her confused and she wasn't sure if her water broke for sure so she woke Daddy up just to warn him. She knew that within a few minutes she would start having painful contractions if it was the real deal and sure enough those contractions began! Mommy rushed around packing the hospital bag and she called the midwives to let them know she would be on her way to the hospital soon while Daddy tried to call Aunt Lindsay lots of times but she never answered. Luckily Uncle Dylan answered and soon they both came over so that I could keep sleeping and Mommy and Daddy could leave for the hospital. By the time they arrived Mommy was having very painful contractions and was desparate to leave for the hospital and she had visions of the epidural needle dancing around her head. But Daddy, in his rush to pack the car, had misplaced the keys and Mommy nearly had a panic attack while everybody rushed around looking for them. Silly Daddy had left them on the roof of the car, and finally in less than an hour they were on their way to the hospital.

Mommy's contractions were hurting her so she tried her best to remember to breathe so she wouldn't hyperventalate the way she did when she was in labor with me. About half way to the hospital a very surprising thing happend: Mommy began to PUSH with each contraction. She and Daddy were very freaked out by this. All at once Mommy realized that she was not going to be able to have an epidural and she felt a lot of panic. Daddy asked Mommy if she wanted him to stop and pull over because there was a police car nearby, but Mommy urged him to keep driving and Daddy sped along as fast as he could. As she pushed she was shocked to feel that Jack may actually be making his entrance, and on the 5th contraction of pushing she reached down and pulled Jack out and onto her chest! Daddy whipped to the side of the road and looked at his new son. Holy Moly! The hospital was in view so as soon as Jack started crying and they could see he was okay they were on their way again. Daddy was driving super fast and they missed the first entrance to the ER, so they looped around and zoomed through the hospital parking lot and pulled up to the doorway. Because Daddy had pulled up so crazily a bicicle cop was on his tail and greeted him as he bounded out of the car. But as soon as Daddy explained that they had a baby in the car, the policeman understood his hurry. Pretty soon several doctors descended on the car and they clamped the cord and Daddy was able to cut it before the rushed Jack away to check him out. Lucky for everybody, Jack was in perfect shape and everybody's worries began to fade.

After having some time to process Mommy was really happy about how Jack arrived. She never ever would have given herself a chance to go through natural childbirth and she felt privilaged to have experienced it, especially so quickly! Also recovery was much easier than with me. Within a few hours she was answering work emails and on the phone like nothing had ever happened!

Because Jack was born outside of the hospital she had to stay for 3 full days and nights at the hospital. Aunt Lindsay took good care of me and Daddy came home too. I visited Mommy and Jack at the hospital and was really happy to see her. She was getting really bored at the hospital but she was happy to have me visit. Jamie, Caitlin, and Vicki all visited her too.



Another fun-filled summer weekend!

It was so super duper HOT this weekend. Mommy took me to the playground at 7am because that was the only bearable time to be out in the sun! Then on Sunday afternoon me, Mommy & Daddy all went for a swim in Aunt Lindsay's pool!

Mommy's Birthday, July 4th and Nana's Visit!

Nana came the day before Mommy's birthday. She turns 30 this year! Nana was sweet and bought her 6 massages and Daddy got her a really nice watch and her and Daddy had a date night in Boulder at a yummy Italian restaurant. While Nana was visiting we went to the Zoo and the pool and the indoor play area and we blew bubbles and played outside with chalk and I got 2 new pairs of shoes! Mommy is so pregnant now that she gets really tired when she carries me all around so it is nice to have Nana here to get a bit of a break!