Genius...doesn't everyone think their kid is one?!

Active as ever

My little bruiser has been SO much fun over the past few weeks! I'm loving this time at home with both babies. Will continues to do a great job with going down for naps and bedtime (finally--we paid our dues since it took him a whole 16 months to figure this gig out). He loves to race up the stairs. Loves getting tickled, playing chase, ring around the rosie, doing circles when hyper, dancing to music, and shooting hoops in his new basketball goal (more on this later). Will loves to help in so many ways. Last night, he helped me transfer the wet clean laundry from the washer to the drier. Will is talking and babbling a lot now. He repeats words very well, but you do have to catch him "in the mood" to do so. He can recognize and point out about 12 pictures in his favorite word book. He follows directions very well, and pretty much knows all about what we are telling him to do/talking about. It is awesome to see Will pick up language! He is saying "What's this?" and maybe even "There it is!" He gets excited when (women) visitors come over to see the baby. He flirts and turns it on for them! However, he wasn't in the smiling mood for his spring pictures. Noooo...Will was bashful and actually fought the urge to smile. You can tell in the way he is holding his lips downward as if to try not to let them curl up! It was insane, b/c Will smiles all the time! But the pictures turned out cute anyways...at least in my book! More pics to come...here is a sneak peak.

the name

I think I forgot to tell you... we named Evy after her great grandmothers. The middle name, Rose, is Jeff's ninety two year old grandmother's name. Mimi, as she is called, is the most vibrant ninety two year old I think I'll ever come across! I will never forget when she came to the winery with all of us in Jeff's family down in southern Indiana just six years ago. I was dating Jeff at the time and just couldn't believe how involved and active his Mimi was! She has had a pace maker put in and her eyes operated on in the past few years, but nothing stops this young at heart grandmother from going about her day! She was even caught chipping ice last winter! We just love her so!

Evy's first name, Evalyn, is my grandmother on my mom's side. Ebby, as we called her, was such a sweet woman who was known to be too sweet to even kill a fly. She is fondly remembered by so many family and friends. We think of her often even though she has been gone for over ten years. Ebby was a loving and devoted mother and we are honored to give our daughter her name.

SHE'S HERE!

Evalyn Rose Elder, surprisingly arrived three weeks early on April 4th, 2011. You can definitely disregard the ticker to the right side of the blog...! My water broke on Sunday at midnight just as Jeff arrived and checked into his hotel in Louisville. He had early morning appointments for work on Monday, so leaving that Sunday night was a must. Go figure! It was quite a shock being home alone with Will when in this predicament. Good thing my mom, dad, brother Brent, and girlfriend Cara came to the rescue!

Brent drove me to the hospital where my mom and dad were waiting in the emergency room drive up with a wheelchair. :) Cara stayed at the house to watch Will, who thankfully slept through all the drama. That little boy had no idea that he'd get to meet his baby sis the very next day!

After Jeff got the call that my water broke (and after I had to reassure him that I was SURE it was indeed my water that has broken), he checked out of the hotel & went to his parents' house to pick up his mom. The two drove together up to Indy and to the hospital, arriving around 3:30 AM. Little did we all know....Evy would be making her grand debut just five hours later! We thank God for the beautiful birth experience we had this time around. He definitely answered our prayers by making this pregnancy, delivery, and labor much smoother...dare we even say enjoyable?! We also thank Him for all the family who so willingly stepped in to be a part of helping us in this surprising yet monumental moment in our life!

Evalyn Rose Elder... All of her teeny tiny 5 lbs. 14 oz. graced us with her presence at 8:23 AM. We are loving her to pieces! Will can't get enough of her. He makes the sweetest little humming sound while kissing/hugging her. While in the playroom with both Evy and Will the other day, I lost count of how many times Will would stop what he was playing to come back over and lean his big noggin towards Evy to gently tap heads. Between that and the kisses, it is absolutely priceless and melts my heart every time! Thank you Lord! :)