Cute baby picture alert

See them over at my sister's blog.

25 My midwife

Joan Bryson. She's a nurse as well as a midwife. She's delivered thousands of babies through her business, Community Midwifery, which she runs out of her Park Slope brownstone. I met her last November when Mr. Miller and I decided--to our own surprise--to have E at home. I had scoped out numerous midwife options. At the meeting with Joan, it was clear that she was the right fit for us. I immediately felt at home with her. And in the time leading up to E's birth, she became more than just my midwife; she became my New York "mother", mentor, and friend.

E at four months

Our girl is growing like a weed. Her four month stats (% compared to girls her age):

Height: 25 in (74%)
Weight: 16 lb (90%)
Head Circumference: 43 cm (91%)

*UPDATE* E's also sleeping at night and taking naps without being swaddled, at long last.

24 E's pediatrician

I adore E's pediatrician, Dr. Jana Dehovitz. She has a warm, generous personality and she interacts with E like she's a person, not an incoherent baby. Dr. Jana has been kind to promptly return my panicked calls for help and accommodate the revised vaccine schedule I suggested.

The icing on the cake is that Dr. Jana's office is also walking distance from the burrow and adjacent to the Promenade.

We're going to miss Dr. Jana. But we praise the Lord for providing us such a fantastic pediatrician for E's early months.

Black on White

Newborns can't distinguish tones much, which is why they're enraptured with black and white images. As I mentioned before, Evangeline couldn't take her eyes off our black and white wallpaper for the first months of her life. She's now graduated to high-contrast color board books. Because I don't know whether I will decorate our next place in b&w, I think we may invest in this board book or these flashcards before the second mini-Miller arrives.

Three months

Our girl is no longer the wisp who worried the pediatrician. She's 14 lb 6 oz and 25 inches long. She insists on either laying on her tummy or sitting upright. Her favorite activities are sing-alongs with Mom (I do all the singing), walks in the neighborhood, and flying like an airplane. She sleeps through the night, and usually takes three long naps during the day. She smiles incessantly, except when I point the camera at her.

Mirror, mirror on the wall

Who's the fairest of them all?
Evangeline, naturally.

Getting things done: a recipe

Babies are hands-on. After E's birth, I wondered, "How am I supposed to care for my home with this baby needing me all the time?" Here's the recipe that's worked for me over the last couple weeks.

1. Geometric wall-paper :: It terrified E during the first month of her life, so we took it down. Now, it mesmerizes her for hours on end.




2. The swing :: Sure it's a boring YouTube video, but the swing gives serious roller-coaster-thrills to E. She used to stare at herself in the mirror on the backside of the Panda face. Now she stares at the joint in the structure.



3. Dad :: As a full-time student, Mr. Miller is around most of the time, and he truly enjoys taking care of Ev. She plays with her hands or looks around the room while he wrestles with game theory problems, reads the Wall Street Journal, or listens to Rush Limbaugh.

Happy days are here again

The weeks following Evangeline's birth were tough. Sleep deprivation. A weak body. A constantly crying baby. I wondered whether there was light at the end of the Newborn Tunnel.

There is.

Ev has consistently slept through the night for the past two weeks. The happy result is that when Ev woke me up this morning, I felt great. I literally sprang out of bed. The day passed in a joyful whirl. I played with Ev, showered, worked out, cleaned the apartment, spent time with my husband, picked up groceries, hosted a friend for lunch, researched the organic clothing craze, answered e-mail, talked to my sister and my grandma, bathed Ev and read her books, spent time in the Word, cooked dinner, and read a novel. Yah!! Thank you, Lord.

The play-by-play

The trip to Arizona was memorable and sweet. And it passed far to quickly.

Wednesday - Exit the airplane, feel the heat, and realize I brought the wrong wardrobe. My grinning mom greets us at the airport. Later that night, Evangeline meets Aunt HaHa (Heather), Uncle Rich, her cousins, Opa and the Lyts--all on the first day! And I get to cuddle with my newest nephew.

Cousins fresh from the oven

Thursday - More time with Aunt Ha-Ha and her boys. Evangeline meets Andrea and Megan. Megan has the glow of a soon-to-be-bride!

Friday - Breakfast with Mom at The Farmhouse. The cinnamon roll melts on my tongue. We pick up Aunt Ev at the airport, swing by Carolina's for lunch, and race back to Aunt Ha-Ha and the boys. That night at a shower for the future-Mrs.-Joel-Barr, Evangeline meets many of the wonderful faces that graced my years in the local home school community.

Saturday - Heather and Mom throw killer, back-to-back baby showers for us. Hayley and Miss Tory arrive early to help. They are wearing matching shoes! Oh, and Tory has the cutest, most kissable cheeks of any baby. Ever. Friends from my old church arrive in short order to saturate us in gifts and mothering wisdom. I cry, and feel that mothering is not only doable, but a great joy. In the afternoon, friends from the home school community arrive. Three generations of many families are represented in the room because so many of my contemporaries are pregnant or bring their new babies. More gifts, wisdom and much passing around of the babies. That night, Evangeline spends some serious time with Aunt Shea (my cousin) who drove up from Tucson for the day.

Preparation

A table laid

Moms with their babies

Sunday - Steve Shank delivers an excellent exegesis of Acts 6:1-6 that engages my mind and increases my excitement to see the Good News go forward. And the worship team introduces me to this new hymn.

Monday - Ev, Ev and I drive down to spend the morning with the Haupts before racing back north for the elder Ev's job interview. Little Ev and I relax at the house until Andrea and the Haupts join us for dinner. Long walk and talk with Andrea with Ev hanging along in the Bjorn.

Tuesday - We drive Mom to work, grab breakfast nearby, and then get a tour of the new ADF headquarters. Ev meets many of the talented people who make that organization thrive. Mom works for a couple hours; then it's shopping in Scottsdale! Whoot! Dinner that night with the Haupts again, bath time for the boys, and a final long walk and talk with Dad.

"I'm cute and realize you're pointing a camera at me."

Bath head

Rich and Dad taking care of the infants

Wednesday - Heather picks us up for the Moms2Moms meeting at church where we experienced refreshing fellowship and heard convicting yet encouraging talk by Charlotte Richardson. Then it's back to Sky Harbor where we meet Uncle David for coffee before take-off. Ev sleeps the entire flight, leading the passengers near her to declare, "That's the best baby ever." We fall into Mr. Miller's arms at the subway and make it back to the burrow sometime Thursday morning.

The end.

Luz + Camera = Magic

Photo credits: my very gifted, creative friend Luz who also plied her talent to make Evangeline these. The three of us spent precious moments together during the visit to Arizona.

One year

A year ago today, Mr. Miller and I were declared one in the sight of God, our families, and a host of witnesses. We've since shared twelve blissful months together.

Marriage is amazing. Mr. Miller is my best friend, my passion, my inspiration, my amusement, and my love. I can hardly believe I get to fall asleep every night next to him and talk to him for so many of my waking moments. By the grace of God, being married to him and caring for the children we have together is my life calling. How can I be so fortunate! I love him more now than I ever thought possible and suspect that this love will only continue to grow as I daily observe his relationship with the Lord, his deep devotion to the Word, his affection for his family--especially our new daughter, and his commitment to see the King of Kings glorified by every tribe and tongue.

Speaking of Evangeline, she is the highlight of our union, a miraculous manifestation of how the "two shall become one."

Treyton Michael

finally decided to leave his comfy home and join us in the real world! My sister only labored for an intense hour and a half before Treyton's adorable, chunky self popped out. He was born a day before his due date and exactly seven weeks after Evangeline.

In other good news, these cousins get to meet at the end of the month!

Head's up

Our girl is holding her head up for extended periods of time now.

A nursery in the City

Here is Evangeline's nursery.





Or, more accurately, Evangeline's nook.

Space is a scarce resource in New York City. Although the City boasts the largest population of any US city, its 8-plus million residents are crammed into 322 square miles. No wonder New Yorkers rarely make eye contact or smile at other people on the street; it's the only way to maintain a semblance of privacy. And there really isn't much privacy. Moments shielded by fences, yards, and cars in the suburbs spill out into the streets here. Some of the stranger things I've seen include a woman riding a bike with two dozen red balloons tethered to the back, several people lugging a fully-made bed, a dwarf impersonating Michael Jackson, an occupied body bag, a violent domestic dispute, and full frontal male nudity. The last sighting confirmed in my mind why so many people flee to the suburbs to raise their children.

A consequence of the scant space is that real estate is ridiculously expensive. Most people live in tiny apartments like our burrow. These apartments demand creative use of the space. For example, I'm storing our summer clothes in suitcases in the bedroom closet alongside my crock pot, and windowsills sub for bookshelves.

Preparing for Evangeline's arrival has further challenged our limited space. Initially, I obtained a crib from CraigsList. But after we measured the crib and the small rectangle of space in our bedroom, we realized that if the crib went in, we would basically have to crawl over the crib to get to our bed. So we gave away the crib and purchased a favorite of urban parents--the mini co-sleeper. We use our bed as a changing table and store her clothes next to ours in the chest of drawers. Fortunately, Evangeline doesn't know the difference. And before she has a chance to realize that her "country cousins" have their own rooms, we'll be back in the suburbs ourselves.

All this talk reminds me of the lyrical refrain of another New York resident:

Santa Fe
Are you there?
Do you swear you won't forget me?
If I found you would you let me come and stay?
I ain't gettin' any younger
And before my dyin' day
I want space
Not just air
Let 'em laugh in my face
I don't care
Save a place
I'll be there

-Jack Kelly, Newsies

One month old

today.

We celebrated by posing for pictures for the grandparents.

UPDATE: She is now 21.5" and 9 lbs. Woo-hoo!

(guess who needs a nap?)

Baby calisthenics

Mothers

Very early this morning, my mom dragged her suitcase down the narrow flight of stairs in our building and out into the crisp Brooklyn streets. Over the last eleven days, she cooked and cleaned for us, held Evangeline so I could shower occasionally, talked with us, prayed for us, and generally strewed her love all about the burrow. I miss her.

She shocked us when she bought her ticket from Phoenix to New York while I was still in labor, and traveled across the country to arrive here just hours after the birth. I'm glad she did because I don't know how I could have made it through last week without her.

One afternoon last week, as I cradled my new daughter and tried to memorize the little curves of her face, I contemplated this undertaking called motherhood. Here was a new life that needed nurturing from Mr. Miller and me for the next eighteen or twenty years. Then I looked up and saw my mom on the Internet furiously researching a baby question for me. I thought about her trip. This trip wasn't a vacation, even though she was in a famous vacation destination. Instead, she was passing the hours caring for me in the most basic ways--providing food, a clean home, and even holding me when I cried. I wasn't that different from Evangeline (aside from the fact that I can form complete sentences). So while my mom birthed me over twenty-six years ago, she's still caring for me.

It dawned on me for the first time that mothering isn't simply a season of life; it's a life-long commitment. That fact is both intimidating and exciting. How does one really contemplate much less prepare for a task that enormous in import? By prayer, yes? And by seeking the Lord's wisdom for each day, not worrying about tomorrow? Perhaps, then, by God's grace and in his providence, I may find myself some twenty-plus years from now caring for Evangeline after she gives birth to her first child, just as my mom cared for me this week.


Oma & Evangeline

Ready!

I'm full-term (37 weeks), which means Evangeline could join us any day!

Mr. Miller reminds me from across the room that most women don't deliver their first baby early. Sad.

Christmas Wrap-up

It appears I have a problem making timely holiday posts. Nonetheless, I still want to post a bit about our Christmas for the record and in the interest of my family, who are curious about such things.

Preparations :: While we did not have a tree this year, we did decorate the apartment a bit, burn scented candles, listen to Christmas music, and bake/consume tons of cookies (peanut butter blossoms, coconut macaroons, and gingersnaps to name a few).

Christmas Eve :: We ate chili (Keith's favorite recipe) and cornbread, carrying on my mom's tradition. Sadly, we did not plan ahead to attend a Christmas Eve service, which I hope to change in the future.

Christmas Day :: Again following my mom's lead, I served Pineapple Walnut Muffins, sausage balls, and coffee for breakfast. We actually ate it in bed while opening gifts. I suppose in the future we'll probably gather around a tree, but this was a romantic substitute, fitting for our first Christmas as a married couple. We were delighted by the gifts and notes showered upon us by our family. Even Evangeline, though still in utero, received some, including a fuzzy pink receiving blanket from Keziah, crocheted booties from Aunt Evie, a teddy bear from Aunt Annie, and a silver rattle from her Oma and Opa. [Note: my parents bought the rattle two years ago for my first baby before Mr. Miller was even in the picture. Talk about an act of faith!]



That afternoon, we strolled several miles through our neighborhood to work up an appetite while my husband, in response to a slew of questions, gave me a comprehensive history of the Republican Party of the 20th Century and the rise of the Evangelical Right. Fascinating stuff. After arriving home and to keep Mr. Miller's hunger at bay while I made the big meal, I served him hot stuffed mushrooms accompanied by a silky pinot noir by The Jibe. Then, we feasted on Herb Roasted Cornish Game Hens, Garlic Rosemary Mashed Potatoes, and broiled asparagus (see photo below). By some miracle, we both saved enough room for a slice of delectable Blackberry and Blueberry Pie smothered in vanilla bean ice cream.

Throughout the day and that evening, we were able to connect with my grandparents, my parents and Ev, and the Haupts over the phone as well as use our new webcam (thanks Dennis and Chris!) to talk to Zach, Kaley, and Keziah in Louisiana, and Mr. Miller's parents, other siblings, and some of the extended Miller clan in Washington.

It was, in short, a lovely day.