Eva's Valentine's Day Photos for Daddy

Trip to the Zoo

We spent Valentine's Day at the Woodland Park Zoo with our friends, Chris and Marnie. At first Eva wasn't too excited about it but once we got her out of the car she was on board. I have to say, she's even cute when she's unhappy. That's a proud mama talkin'. Chris and Marnie's adorable girls, Dorothy and Abby, had fun holding Eva at the zoo. She's like a life size doll to them right now. We will definitely make many return trips to the zoo with the season passes that Chris and Marnie gave us for Christmas.

Return Visit to Lil' Klippers

Eva and I made a return visit to Lil Klippers to prepare for her Daddy's surprise Valentine's Day portraits. This time Eva was very comfortable there and totally made herself at home in her little helicopter as Wendy clipped away at her baby locks. Mom also enjoyed the visit since the salon is next door to her FAVORITE cupcake shop, Trophy Cupcakes. It's well worth the drive to Seattle for the cupcakes and the friendliness of the salon. We'll definitely be back!

Eva's Drawer

When I was in graduate school I babysat a boy named Toby. I remember well some of the strategies that his savvy mom, Kate, used to keep him busy since he was an active nine month old much like Eva. One of Kate's tricks was to give Toby his own drawer in the kitchen. She stocked it with tupperware and other baby safe items. I was always in awe of how Toby seemed to prefer to play with the common, everday items in his drawer rather than the room full of toys in his playroom. Well, I get it now. And, during the winter cleaning blast last week, Jeff and I created Eva's drawer. It's stocked full of tupperware, plates, bibs, and other baby items that we use for Eva. She LOVES her drawer and has a devious look whenever she gets into it like she's pulling something over on us. I was able to actually make dinner with her in the kitchen last week, which is HEAVENLY since our little spicy one refuses to go in her bouncer now. I'm waiting to bust out the pots and pans when I get really desperate. );

The Story of the Flashlight

When Eva was en utero about a year ago we heard from our friends Jen and Chris that it was possible to get the baby to move towards the flashlight if you placed it on your belly. Jeff and I tried numerous times to try and get Eva to move but it just didn't work. In retrospect that should have been my first sign that I had a child in the making with a mind of her own! Once Eva emerged from the womb, we used the same flashlight to check on her in her bassinette which was right next to our bed. Like many nervous parents we checked numerous times throughout the night just to be sure. Now, this very same flashlight has evolved into Eva's favorite plaything. She discovered it on our bedside table and since then we have allowed her to claim it as her toy. Boy, does she love her flashlight! She delights in shaking it, shining it on objects, and eating it, of course!

First Swimming Adventure with Maya

Eva had her first swimming adventure on Saturday with her friend, Maya. Since Maya's got a full eight months on Eva, she's a pro in the open water. So, Jen and I were pretty confidant that our little waterbabies would do just fine. As we approached the kiddie swimming pool, Maya started to get nervous and her trepidation started to influence Eva. Before long we had wimpering babies who would go nowhere near the water. We played outside the pool for a while with all of the pool toys and equipment. Eventually we started to coax the girls into the water and once we did they had a great time. The ladybug floater that I bought Eva was a big hit. I can't wait to take her again. In April I plan on taking swimming lessons with her. Before long she'll be swimming across lakes with her mamma!

Spring Cleaning Fairy Arrives Early - Lucky Me!

Jeff aka Dad aka Responsive Husband here:

This entry has nothing to do with Eva. Then again, can that really be true? Seriously, now that she is here, can anything in my life ever really have nothing to do with her? If even tangentially. I have come to realize that, in some manner, everything we do will have some connection to Eva.

Eva is generally an early riser, usually waking between 5:30 and 6:30 each morning, though more often it’s prior to the midpoint. I, however, USED TO BE a late sleeper. Jen and I trade off the first morning shifts on the weekends. Today was my day to sleep in, which meant 8:09 a.m.

I came downstairs, eager for my coffee and maybe a peek at the Sunday news (online). Instead, I was greeted by a list. Fellow husbands, you know the list I’m referring to. Wonderful wives, so do you. Suffice it to say we men have different opinions of those lists than do those of the gentler gender.

1. Grocery shopping - JMW (at least the first item is not assigned to me)
2. Vacuum/Dust the house (not assigned, which we all know means me)
3. Finish bathrooms – Jeff (fair, since I didn’t finish them yesterday)
4. Finish laundry – JMW (whew!)
5. Jen run (gave me a chance to sluff off)
6. Empty dishwasher (Jen took care of it before making the list)
7. Clean/organize main floor/kitchen (holy crap did that ever take a long time!!!)
8. Blah blah blah…..

The last time Jen greeted me with such a list was shortly before Eva was born. There is a word for that: Nesting. And I quickly learned there are two words for a proper response: Yes dear.

And thus I snapped to. Coffee in hand, I finished the bathrooms, dusted the furniture on all three floors, helped organize the kitchen and main floors, put a first coat of paint atop the earlier laid primer on the mounting trim I had made for the gate at the top of the stairs (not on list, but that doesn’t matter), and designed a way to mount the protective screen in front of the fireplace to keep Eva and her curious crawling at bay (also not on the list, also didn’t matter that it wasn’t), blah blah blah…. And all of this was quietly done so as not to wake Eva while she napped.


Baby food jars organized: Check
Matches: Check
Pumping supplies: Check


Plastic wrap, foil, wax paper drawer reorganized: Check


"Eva's Drawer" created and organized: Check


Bottle drying rack reorganized: Check


Uh oh! Looks like the Spring Cleaning Fairy wasn't up for the challenge.

The World According to Eva

I keep saying how much our life has changed since Eva started crawling. It's really amazing how quickly they jettison past these developmental milestones. Ever since she learned to crawl she is literally unstoppable. She scans the room and immediately zones in on what she wants, which is ALWAYS the object that will cause her the most harm, and then goes in for the kill. I enjoy watching it happen when I'm not on duty. We literally have to do man to man defense with our little lady 24/7. Eva is covered head to toe with bruises from the moments when the phone rang, or something caught our attention outside, and BAM! She's got a shiner to demonstrate her parents' inattentiveness. And baby proofing? What a joke! It's literally impossible, I've decided, to make your room safe for babies.

The beautiful part of this stage is to watch how proud Eva is when she pulls herself up places and gets what she wants. I ran into a mom in the park who remarked that babies spend the first six to eight months looking around at all the things in the room and the next six to eight months trying to get their hands on all the things that were once out of their reach. It makes sense. The author of "The Scientists in the Crib" describes babies and their sensory experience in the world as "visiting Paris for the first time with your lover." Definitely a unique way to describe their vantage point! Since we won't be going to Paris anytime soon I'll just continue to chase after my little darlin' and try to see the world through her eyes.