Victims of Vomit

If parenthood has taught us anything it’s that babies vomit. A lot. It is almost as if Evi bides her time and meticulously chooses the right time to release her venom. For instance, I was changing her entire outfit after a particularly prolific episode. I had finally wrestled her into one of those button-up contraptions that requires an engineering degree and a clearly written instruction booklet (with pictures, please) when I noticed a maniacal glint in her wee, beady eye. As soon as I snapped the last of the four million buttons into place, she gave me one of her winning smiles and proceeded to barf all over the new ensemble. Lovely. Another instance found me securely wrapped in two burp cloths to ensure that my shirt would be stain free for at least 20 minutes out of the day. I put Evi up on my shoulder, checked to make sure all systems were go and began to tenderly pound on her back. No sooner had I landed the first gentle tap-tap did Evi bob her head left, then right and, miraculously avoiding the aforementioned burp cloths, formed her mouth to enable an accurate hit and expertly (and intentionally, I am convinced) landed the majority of her lunch down my shirt. Again, lovely. How much do I miss having a washer and dryer? Let me count the ways.

6-week update

So Evelyn is smiling for real now--she used to smile only involuntarily, like when she was falling asleep or passing gas. Katie talks to Evi in a high, excited voice and Evi just lights up like Christmas tree. She also likes this soft giraffe rattle we have, and if you shake it at her and poke her cheeks with it she gives a huge, open-mouth smile. She's also a couple inches taller now, and is learning how to flex her leg muscles; she can support herself on her legs for several seconds in a standing position (but needs to be held to stabilize her balance).

One other thing that is good is that after going to sleep at 10-11pm, she only wakes up once at night (although she can be up for an hour or hour-and-a-half) and then sleeps until 7-8am. Katie and Evi are often sleeping (so sweet!) when I leave for work in the morning.

We put up a bunch of pictures on flickr detailing Evi's baptism, already 2 weeks ago--wow! Needless to say, we were very happy to have my whole family here and many of our friends who all celebrated with us afterward at our apartment, where, of course, there was plenty of good snacks, lots of good stuff to drink, and football on TV. We feel so blessed to have such great friends and a wonderful family and A SWEET BABY!

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Halloween--Evi's first holiday (and Katie's favorite). We stayed in, but did go "trick-or-treat" at some of our neighbors' places, not for candy, just to show off Evi's lady bug costume. If you have seen the pictures link, then you know that Evi really wanted to be a brain-eating zombie. We also played lots of card games with my parents and sister who were already here for the baptism. Gayle and I went to this cool beer store and got some yummy, Halloween-appropriate drinks: Rogue Dead Guy Ale, a Belgian beer called Delerium Tremens, and two British types called Wychcraft and Hobgoblin. Fun times!

We'll try to get more pictures up this weekend.

Obama!

There are few words that can describe the emotion and the pride that the election results have brought forth, so I wanted to post this poem by Maya Angelou that has a few very poignant passages. Go America!

Still I Rise

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.