Innocents at Home: Cousin Evie

Talk about a whirlwind of a week! First, Penelope and I flew to Dallas to see Penelope's newest cousin Evie, (a long layover made even longer by a delayed flight got us there past midnight our time and made for a very exhausted mama), and then when we returned from our trip I started back to work. If those aren't reasons enough for the long blog silence, I was also welcomed home by a virus on my computer that required major surgery to remove.

Before moving on to sweet Evie, a few remarks about traveling on an airplane alone with a toddler:

--Don't expect the people at security in the Dallas airport to lift a finger to help you get through. They actually relish watching you struggle to singlehandedly load and move six bins of stuff down the counter and collapse a stroller and lift it onto the coveyor belt all while holding your child who's screaming for more crackers. The security people in Raleigh, however, were lovely--thank goodness for southern hospitality.

--The important traveling with toddlers rule of making friends with the people seated around you on the plane is even more paramount when you're traveling alone with a toddler. No longer do you have the husband next to you who is fully prepared when a toddler arm is stuck in their face during liftoff or when a magazine is tossed their way. (So very sorry Mr. Middle-Aged Man that sat next us on the flight home from Dallas for the toys that ended up in your lap while you were trying to sleep.)

Back to Evie...

We were still in Germany when she was born back at the end of June, but we did get to be part of the hospital welcoming party thanks to the wonders of Skype. Now that she is almost two months old, we were itching to get to see her in person.

Why hello there, little Evelyn Grace!

Not only is she the cutest little thing, but she also has got to be one of the easiest newborns around. Just wrap her in a blanket and lay her in her crib and she's asleep. Arms tired? Just lay Evie on a blanket and she's content to look around. Penelope would just start crying. And instead of emitting ear-piercing cries like Penelope did when she's hungry, Evie just lets out a wimper or two. "Mother, could I trouble you for some milk?" (It's probably a good thing we didn't realize at the time how difficult Penelope was as a baby.)

But there is no mistaking who is Evie's daddy:

I think the similar hair-do helps.

Penelope was instantly in love with her new cousin.

She loved doling out kisses, "love pats", and hugs to little Evie.

Cousin cuddle time

Of course, Evie just went along with it.

Penelope was also enamored with Evie's things. Penelope rarely had bottles as an infant, and it's been over a year since she's even seen one. But the instant she spied Evie's bottle in the dishwasher she claimed it as her own. It didn't matter that there wasn't anything in it, we still had a difficult time getting it back. I suppose Penelope thought it was some new fangled pacifier.

Penelope was determined to prove that activity mats, bouncers, and infant swings aren't just for little babies. She took every opportunity she got to roll around on the activity mat, climb in the bouncer, get stuck in the bumbo, and press the music buttons on the swing.

Of course Penelope eventually tired of Evie's things and discovered some new things to play with around Evie's pad. Like the time we found her in the gas fireplace scooping the (fake) ash into a plastic bowl. She was quite excited about Evie's indoor sandbox and very confused as to why she wasn't allowed to play in it.

To keep Penelope out of trouble we ventured out into the terrible Dallas triple-degree heat for some fun at a local splash park. Penelope jumped right in and had a heyday running through the water.

We even got Evie to join in on the fun.

Penelope playing with her Uncle Matt and Aunt Jocelyn

Not only did we get to see Evie and my sister and brother-in-law on our trip, but we also got to spend time with my brother Trevor and sister-in-law Ali.

One day the Uncles tried to convince Penelope to play in the sprinkler in the backyard.

Despite their best efforts, Penelope wasn't convinced.

But Penelope was very eager to read with them. Uncle Trevor was a very patient reader, but very confused as to why his niece's attention span only lasted a few pages before moving onto the next book.