Heads Up

This is one of the first photos of Evan with his head up. We have had little time for Tummy Time since Evan usually does not like it one bit. Since his moments of happiness are few and far between, the tendency is to avoid anything that will send him into a downward spiral. Nevertheless, the doctor has said that he needs it. He seemed pretty happy during this recent session. Perhaps a trend?? (pllleassse)

Come on Mommy, it will be fun!

It has been a little too long since my last entry! Things have been pretty busy due to our plans for the yard makeover and Evan being very fussy lately.

Benjamin has had his ups and downs since the last post. I am happy to say that we are currently in an up phase! He has been so sweet and cute. He has recently been encouraging me to join him in his play by saying, "come on mommy, it will be fun!". Yesterday he was hugging me and said, "my little mommy". It was such a warm moment, erasing all of the frustration that I had felt with his misbehavior last week. He also set the record for his longest sentence at 14 words! I think it went something like this: "I want to bring my flashlight outside so we can find our way home". Pretty soon he will be giving lengthy speeches!

In Evan news, we are still hoping that he emerges from the crankiness of the "fourth trimester". There have been moments when it seems like those days are gone, but only to be followed by a very difficult few days. More than anything, I think we just want him to be happy. We did get a few beautiful pictures of him smiling at our recent photo shoot. Those pictures will be posted in the upcoming weeks.

This weekend continues the major transformation of our yard and really marks a new phase in the overall project. I call the new phase "shock and awe". This phase coincides with my exponential increase in enthusiasm for landscaping/gardening/study of botany. I have been obsessed with picking out plants to go in our new landscape. I can name most of the native plants with the exception of trees, although I am quickly increasing my knowledge of the larger of our green friends. From this day forward, this blog will also include gardening. I will describe the progress on our landscape and successes and failures with the various plants. So stay posted!

(by the way, if you scroll down you will see Lance and Benjamin applying corn gluten to the yard. Just FYI, IT DIDN"T WORK!!!!)

Spring is Springing

Well Spring is approaching and with it, Evan's personality. Just yesterday he started to be noticeably more alert and interactive with us and the environment. He has been awake and not cranky for longer periods and is beginning to really coo at us. I am so excited to get to know him as he emerges from his newborn phase. He seems to be a very conversational and talkative baby. Lets see if this holds up as he gets older! If so, we are in for some real fun!

In other news, the gardening season is at hand and I am stoked (in Lance's words). I can think of about 100 types of plants that I would like to procure, but I must reign myself in a bit. I think I can narrow it down to like 50. The thing that seems to get in my way is the weeds, which drives me crazy! I have contacted a professional lawn care company and they are coming out on Wednesday to give us an estimate on replacing the grass. My heart soars with giddy anticipation of a weed free life. I am realistic and I realize there is no such thing as being completely weed free, but I am also prone to dreaming. Check back here in a few weeks for possible pictures of a completely new lawn. Buffalo, I won't miss you!

Evan is 2 Months Old!

Evan turned 2 months on Wednesday! And, yes, I caught a smile on camera to mark the occasion! What a beautiful smile he has! When he is calm after a feeding, Evan will now engage with me and smile when I talk to him. It doesn't happen too often, but when it does it is so sweet and so rewarding. It really feels like we are finally communicating in a meaningful way. He almost seems to laugh when he is really getting into our communication. At Evan's 2 month appointment he weighed 11 pounds, 12 ounces and was in the 50th percentile. He is right on target with his weight gain and that makes me feel great. I don't have to worry about not having enough milk.

This is the first time I've had to sit down and post a blog entry about Evan's milestone. My friend Becky was visiting for the last couple of days. We had a great time going to the Brazilian Steakhouse and to Fonda San Miguel. Although I will say that I don't think we changed Becky's mind about not having children!