Nelsonblog

Overheard just now:

"Oh, Evan- don't put cheese in your ear!"

I can't stop laughing. 

Evan has decided to get this whole teething thing over with and just have them all COME OUT AT ONCE.

Okay, maybe not all of them- but he's got three of em coming in right now.  THREE. 

He's not particulary enthused about it, come to think of it.  I think the quaint phrase 'Screaming like a Banshee' sums it up quite well.

Oi veh.

Here's a rare picture of him smiling. 

Who am I kidding, even when he's miserable- Evan smiles all the time. 

Evan's got a cool new walker/car transforming thingy!  Yay!

Vroom!

Baby's first car accident.  Poor guy.  Good thing he was wearing that helmet!   

Chris and Evan were hanging out at the bottom of the stairs in our house and Chris decided to see what Evan would do on the stairs.  This is the first time Evan had a chance to explore the stairs.  At first he wasn't quite sure what to think of them – he just knows they are what mama or papa carry him up and down everyday.  He was uncertain on the first two steps as Chris directed his legs and arms – trying to coordinate the movement.  But once Evan got it down – he climbed up the rest of the stairs.  Chris called me over and I got to witness such an awesome sight – my boy climbing up the stairs.  He is growing so fast!

Evan's progressing quite well!  He went to his helmet doctor yesterday and they reported that he's hit a growth spurt in the last month and his head has rounded out in reponse.  They said that if this progress continues to proceed at this pace he should only have to wear the helmet for another month or two!

Hooray!  Good job, boy!

I'll scan and post the cool graphs that chart Evans progress too- they're pretty neat.

Evan has started to clap his hands together.  He gets very excited and smiles big and claps.  It is such a joy to watch!

This Wednesday the 10th, I had the privilege to be present at our dears friend birth.  Nalaina and Steve welcomed a precious, beautiful girl into the world on Wednesday.  I had the awesome opportunity of being in the room with Steve and Nalaina during labor and delivery to offer whatever support I could.  Nalaina was such a trooper – she did a great job (Steve did a great job as well!) I was so honored to witness the birth of Zaida Anne Harper – I saw her within the first few seconds of her life and heard her first cries – it is hard to find the words to describe it but it was absolutely amazing.

It's interesting how in life things have a full circle – Both a beginning and an end. 

Nalaina
delivered at the same hosptial where I had Evan – to top things off she
was in the exact same room that I had been when I went through labor.  When
Chris and I stepped onto the labor and delivery floor I was flooded
with emotions – Chris and I hadn't been back here since the day we took
Evan home from the intensive care unit.  I both cried and I smiled – it's
amazing how my life has so radically changed in the last 10 months. 

When
we approached the door to the room that Nalaina was in – the room I had
spent five days in I froze and couldn't step inside – this was the room
I sat in waiting to hear if my son was going to live or die.  This was
the room where I had hurt so much both phsycially and mentally.  As my
mind raced through memories of all the heartache surrounding Evan's
birth – I heard Evan jabber.  There he was - right next to me in his
stroller waiting to go into the room – I looked down at him and he
smiled. Just a few months ago I had entered this room several times
coming back from the intensive care unit from visiting my son not
knowing what the next day or even hour held for our family and here I
was – nine and a half months later with such an incredible son looking
up at me and smiling and my amazing husband standing right behind him. 

So,
I took a deep breath and we did it – we all went into the room together
- I had wanted this moment more then anything almost ten months ago and
now it was mine.

Life can be interesting and it can be
challenging – but we have to keep pushing on.  To some people – it was
just a room – but to me I associated painful memories with it until
now.  To be present at the birth of Zaida and to witness her first
minutes of life seemed like a reward to me for the things that I had
missed with Evan right when he was born. I felt such joy and
exhiliration in that room – I felt the healing of my heart.

It was such a treat to take my son home to meet my family. Few of my great memories from our trip: my son on the floor playing with his cousins Brianne, Brandon and Steve, Evan in a laundry basket and his uncle Mark pushing him around on the floor and making him dizzy, my sister holding Evan and kissing him, my dad rocking Evan and calming him down, my mom giving Evan a bath, Chris and Evan exploring snow for the first time. There were so many other wonderful memories but these were the highlights – these are the moments that make life absolutely precious!