Question: Will next baby be wearing blue or pink?

Trick question. The right answer is neither because neither Mimi nor I believe our child needs to be gendered as soon as they pop out.

Mimi and I went for our “gender” appointment last week and in preparation for it, we knew we’d be happy no matter the outcome. But we just decided to find out because we are again, as with Evangeline, in a period of transition. If knowing that cancels out one question mark and leaves one check mark, then it is worth it. And indeed, as it turns out, the technician would have had trouble keeping it a secret. I mean, I’m no expert but it seemed pretty obvious to me.

We’re having another little girl! We really couldn’t be happier. I already know all the Disney princesses, all the characters in Sofia the First and Dinosaur Train and have developed a healthy appreciation for re-re-re-re-listening to “Happy Snowman.”

I must say though with this many women in the house, I may end up living in the backyard with Wylie. He’s got a pile of sticks in the corner of the yard that looks kinda comfortable. My father and brother-in-law suggested I build a barn. I’ll need to start saving cardboard boxes. I find it strange to write “another” little girl, because just from what we’ve seen of P-nut, she couldn’t be more different from Evangeline. In our ultrasound pictures of Evangeline, it was nearly impossible to get her to sit still long enough to take a picture. In her gender exam, she was spread eagle and doing some sort of strange zero-G acrobatics. In our ultrasound pictures of P-nut, we have to work to get her to move. A little more calm.

Now let’s not get crazy here—I’m totally expecting hours of exhaustingly chasing another naked little girl around the house to get her in a diaper—but she may be at least incrementally calmer. That said, like her sister, she’s beautiful. And in comparing ultrasound photos, P-nut and Evangeline look and awful lot alike. Two peas in a pod. I suspect this means a lot of boys will be hanging around my house starting about 12 years from now. I’ll plan to buy extra yard equipment so I can put them to work when they come by the house. In case it rains, I’ll need to think of some indoor activities I can have them help with. I’ll take up shooting so they can help me clean my 12-gauge.

Now for the next question, do we have name? The answer is yes, we do.

If we learned anything from Evangeline it’s that lots of people have opinions about what you should name your child: family, friends, complete strangers. And we don’t really care to hear them. So we’ll share the name when she’s born. All I’ll say is that if you’re among those who hate Evangeline’s name (“Too long!” “Too fancy!” “That doesn’t even sound American—why didn’t you choose Jennifer or something?”), you’ll probably hate this one too. But hey, she’s not your kid.

Evangeline’s going to have adjustment period to the new baby. To celebrate after the last ultrasound, Mimi and I bought a stuffed tiger for P-nut. When we brought it in the house, Evangeline had trouble figuring out why she couldn’t have it. It looks like a kid toy and it’s in my house…. We talk with Evangeline about P-nut often and hope that helps her prepare for new little girl in the house.

One thing we’ll need to think about is what the options look like for schooling/daycare for P-nut. She won’t be here long when she’s of age, but we’re bummed that the Student Parent Center is closing. It certainly wasn’t free, but it was a good nearby option for school for Evangeline. We’ll miss it when it’s gone.

Christmas in July and Big Sister Evangeline

 As Evangeline’s shirt implies, she will soon be a big sister! Mimi and I are expecting a new baby around July 25^th (Christmas in July, as Mimi is fond of saying). Mimi thinks it’s a boy, I think it’s a girl.

It sure would be easier on me if it was a girl. I already know all the names of the Disney princesses, how to (kinda) match girl clothes and have gathered the importance of chocolate in coaxing even a toddler female. With a boy I would need to prepare myself for that whole locking horns thing you see on Bambi, start watching NASCAR and develop a healthy appreciation (if there is such a thing) of monster trucks.

But whatever you are, baby P-nut, you are ready for a ride. I’ve decided to write a short guide to prepare you for what’s in store in the Perreault house.

(1) Your house will never be clean—Nope, it’ll be an absolute mess. It’s not just that your Dad and Mom are busy people but that your big sister is certifiably destructive. If you want the house clean, most likely you’ll have to clean it. Be prepared to step on downed LEGO towers, and petrified Cheerios. This state of affairs is also probably a result of #2.

(2) The Perreaults never stop moving—And I mean that in the most literal way possible. We wake up, we work all day, we play hard. And by play hard, it should be clear that your Dad runs marathons and your sister pretty much does the same (measured in circles run around our kitchen table).

Sleeping doesn’t necessarily stop us. Your Dad doesn’t always sleep (not healthy) and your sister….Well, lets put it this way. I tucked your sister to bed two nights ago and then in the morning when I went to wake her up I found the furniture in the room had been rearranged and she was sleeping naked under her desk. ???

(3) You will be inundated with books—You’d better like books because they’ll be coming down around your ears. I don’t even know how many bookshelves we have at our house—in part because we’ve begun using furniture not meant for books, for books anyway. Want to read some Gramsci? On it. Prefer less Marxist, more contemplative. Dostoevsky on the way. Remembered that you’re a baby? Oh yeah, that. We’ve more Sandra Boynton, Dr. Seuss and Llama Llama than you can shake a stick at.

Also, we have reading time every night. You’ll be expected to chill-the-heck-out for the short period of time in which this occurs. This will include chapter books like Anne of Green Gables, Wizard of Oz and Peter Pan & Wendy.

Also we get three newspapers. Three. Breakfast time with newspapers is sacred. Trod carefully when you want to do puzzles or dance to the Belly Button song during breakfast.

(4) Hope you like school—That’s pretty much all we do is school and we love it. We’ll expect you to love it to or we’ll think you’re weird. Your Mom and Dad both are academics and spend an awful lot of time thinking about big ideas and figuring out how to communicate those to students. So no, we will not let you be that kid in class staring at your (crotch) smartphone while the professor is lecturing.

(5) Did we mention breakfast is sacred? We also make awesome breakfast. In recent years, I’ve been in charge of egg tacos and your Mom has been in charge of pancakes. They each happen about once a week. Are you excited? You should be.

(6) Your sister loves you—This mostly likely will be expressed in early years by drawing a Hitler mustache in marker on your face, dressing you like a princess or grabbing you by the hand and forcibly maneuvering you toward whatever activity she thinks you should do.

You Mom and I have been talking about you with Evangeline. We point to your Mom’s belly and say, “This is your baby brother/sister.” Evangeline is pretty indignant and points to her own belly saying, “No, my baby brother/sister right here.” As you can see, she’s more than willing to carry you herself.

(7) You will have killer clothes—Let me just do some math for you. You have three aunts. Three (Edgerly, Sarah and Catelyn). They’re all beautiful and they know how to make you beautiful (or handsome). Also you have three (four kinda) grandmothers and a grand-nana. They all will ensure that you are just killing it for pictures. Not to mention a stylish momma.

(8) Yes, your stuffed animals do talk—Don’t be ridiculous. Just because you hear a strange voice and my mouth is moving doesn’t mean I’m making the sounds. It’s totally coming from your stuffed animal. Also, your stuffed animals have attitude and typically take your parents side in any dispute. It’s just a coincidence.

(9) There will be a lot of music in your life—Notice I didn’t say “good” music. We all sing a lot. What we lack in talent, we make up for with enthusiasm. You should see me do air guitar while singing Bob Seger. Scratch that. You will. So just wait for it expectantly. Also we sometimes do awkward, very white, three-person dances. These are occasionally followed by piggyback rides. 

(10)               We love you—We’re not perfect, God knows. You could have won the lottery and ended up as the child of some rich, recently retired Silicon Valley tycoon but nope you’re with us. What we lack in funds and societal sex appeal, I think we make up in compassion and care for each other. You are coming into a loving house. We can’t wait to meet you.  

Two Months

 

Trying out Sophie

She loves Christmas Trees, they lull her to sleep

I love this face, but who wouldn't

With her BFF James

Hobby Horse from Nana (a day coming soon that I will not have to hold her on the horse).

Just a few photos from the past month. We have been really bad about blogging, but Christmas was very busy. Evangeline is now two and a half months old. She is right on schedule development wise (or so the Parents as Teachers instructor said today.) She can hold her head up at 90 degrees, bat at things and is trying to grab things. She loves to look at photos of other babies and herself in the mirror. She weighs 13 pounds and 3 ounces and is wearing size 3 to 6 month clothing. She's about 25 inches long. I am so surprised how fast she is growing up. She smiles, coos and says "ah-rah" a lot. She loves animals with big eyes, and really loved Christmas trees during the Christmas season. I don't know what she'll do when we take ours down this weekend.

I love my little girl and I am so glad to have her as we go into 2012. She was the best Christmas gift I could have ever received.  I know I've said this before, but Greg and I are so lucky to have such awesome family and friends to support us this year. Evangeline does not know yet how much people love her, but I hope she figures it out.

In other news, today she got her first round of shots. She cried but I cried harder. She's been sore since we got home. She was brave.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to do better on this blog. I'd also like to get back to the weight I was at my wedding in 2006 so I can wear all the clothes I have not worn in awhile. I'd love to be a great professor when I start teaching on January 17, and I would like to get better at managing finances.

In the beginning...

Here's a few photos from the hospital and Evan's Birth : )

Super hero daddy and Evan at an two hours old.

Getting footprints done. Granddad holding Evan's hand.

Post womb bath.

All clean and ready to go.

Evan and Mommy in the recovery room.

All wrapped up like a package from heaven.

Week one of Evangeline (or as I am calling her Evan)'s life was pretty normal for a baby. It consisted of a lot of eating, sleeping, crying and changing clothing and diapers. Greg is still planning on posting something about why we chose her name, but he is really busy catching up on school and work from the week he took off.

Mom, Dad and Evan in front of the Women and Children's Hospital on Thursday

Coming home from the hospital was hard, but with my parents in town it was a lot easier than it could have been.

Home in my bouncy chair.

We came home Thursday. It was hard not having all the nurses and hospital staff to remind me of feedings and checking the color of Evan's diapers. It was also hard to keep track of my own pain medication. Several things about the hospital reminded me of a spa. I got a sinus massage one night and the hospital even hosted a congratulatory meal for us our last night there.
Evan went to her first pediatric appointment on Friday. She had gained 6 ounces since leaving the hospital. The doctor also said she was developing very quickly. He commented on how good her head control was. Evan even made a dirty diaper for the doctor.

All dressed and ready to go home.

During the week she spent a lot of time with her Grandad (my dad) and Grandma (my mom). Spoke to all three of her aunts, Nana, Grand-nana, great aunts, second cousins, friends, Greg's former students from the Washington Journalism Center and many others on Skype.

My dad and Greg managed to get the radiator for the Mustang dropped off and fixed, but mainly we just played with Evan and got settled back at home.

We had great friends provide meals for us beginning on Thursday and continuing for the next week and a half. Flower and gifts arriving daily. Neighbors stopping by to say hi and ask if there was anything we needed.

Granddad and Grandma and Evan

Birth Class Buddies, James and Evan

My dad went home Sunday. And our friends Brenda and Kyle and their baby James, who was born the Friday before Evan, came over. Brenda and I met in birth class and were walking buddies during our third trimesters. It was so special to finally lay our babies side by side.


Greg went back to school and work on Monday.
Mom and I went to the grocery store on Tuesday (my first trip out of the house since the pediatrician), she had been to the grocery store earlier in the week and spoke with a large number of the staff there so several of them congratulated me on Evan's birth.

Evan and her Grandma

Mom hung out a few extra days and went home Tuesday. It was so helpful to have her around. I'm grateful that she cleaned house and helped me keep sane in the first few days home from the hospital.

Who will she look like?

There are many questions going through my mind as I am in the last month of pregnancy. What will Miss P be like? What will she like and not like? Who will she look like? What will her favorite book be? Her favorite movie? Her favorite color? What color eyes and hair will she have?

I thought it might be fun to post photos of her relatives as babies here so you can see what she might look like... For fun let's play a little game of "name that baby." Leave your answers in the comments... Later this week I'll post the answers as well as some of Greg and my some guesses about her personal traits.

The Green Room

In Theater performers wait in the green room before the big production, so I guess it is only fitting Miss P has her own green room. Her room is coming together nicely. Greg and I spent half of yesterday and today in there getting it ready. We painted and decorated the room. We also finished painting her bathroom (yellow).

Her bedroom is Mother Nature Green (by Behr) and will have many things added to it once we are done. Below are just a few photos of what we have done in there so far in Miss P's room...
Book shelf with lamp, ultrasound photo fame and 3d bird's egg frame. Bird paintings on top of frame will also be hung in the room. Not sure where yet.
Bird shaped mirror (from Sonora) and Once Upon a time framed art from Sleeping Beauty (daddy picked this out).

More room updates to come. Right now I am busy working on curtains and a few other surprises. I cannot wait to share those with you all. Thank you all for all you have contributed to make her room beautiful.