All about Eve

Long time no blog. But I've got a great excuse for my tardiness. Meet our newest addition, Eve Alice Dower. She was born on Friday 29 July at 7.44am. She weighed in at a hefty 3.710 grams, which is pretty impressive given Ollie was 3.715 grams, making them both 8lb 3 oz. She did manage to pip her brother in the height stakes though being just a few centimetres taller than he was.

She is an absolutely wonderful little baby, especially on the first night. We were expecting to have a shocker because that was what we had on Ollie's first night but the little trooper slept for seven hours straight which was incredibly unnerving but extremely welcomed. Unfortunately she hasn't replicated this feat since then but she is still an absolute champion who feeds well, sleeps well and generally doesn't cry very much at all. Except perhaps in this photo, but this was her first bath.

The photo at the top is Ollie meeting his little sister for the first time at the hospital. We had done so much talking about the baby (and calling her Evie) with him over the past months and I fully credit this with Ollie's truly wonderful response to her (well that and the fact that he is just a great little boy). He came up to the hospital with two of the nannas on the first day proudly wearing his "big brother" t-shirt and was positively jumping out of his skin to meet baby Evie. It probably helped that Evie bought Ollie a massive duplo set as a present but we couldn't have asked for a better introduction. He showered her with kisses and wanted to "rock a bye baby" her. In fact this has continued to be his response to her. He is absolutely besotted with her and I catch him telling her gorgeous little things like "I'll protect you" and "I'm her brother, she likes me". The only real risk of physical injury to her comes in the form of overzealous kissing.
After three nights in the hospital we were totally ready to come home and get on with our life as a four. Ollie had been staying with Nanna Freddie at a hotel near the hospital (thanks Nanna) so he could be a part of it all but by then we were all just a bit sick of our surroundings. Since getting home we have had a steady stream of visitors which has been lovely. In particular we've had Pa and Nanna Kaye staying as well as Nanna Freddie and Poppy. This has been great for Ollie having all these people around to entertain him, which in turn has been great for Nick and I so we have been able to devote some energy to baby Evie and also to allow me to have some sleep ins after the long nights. But all of the guests have now gone and we are getting down to the business of being a little family again. Nick is lucky enough to have another three weeks off work so we will enjoy lots of coffees and trips to the park as well as a few other activities we've got planned. Thankfully as I'm not quite sure how I am going to handle having two of them to look after on my own. I can't imagine how we will ever leave the house but I'm sure in time that will come.

As for the title of this blog, well it has hardly been all about Eve, but I guess that is part of the burden of being a second child (coming from a second child!!). But I can assure you that she is absolutely beautiful. Apparently she looks just like I did at that age and there is even a photo to prove it. When I get a bit more organised I will scan it and post it. This is somewhat of a relief given how much Ollie looked like Nick. I am just thrilled to have gotten a look in with this one!

As I write this she is in my arms having a little snooze and I can safely say that she is totally perfect. She has the tiniest, pointy little chin and these gorgeous little cupid bow lips. Her tiny eyes (at this stage dark blue but who knows) are framed with teeny tiny little blonde eyelashes and her eyebrows are so fair that they are almost non-existent. She has dark hair like Ollie did that is fairer on top making her resemble a little old man who is bald on top. Her feet and hands are long and skinny, unlike Ollie's which looked more like a german shepherd pup's paws. She also has the most beautifully shaped little fingernails. I think she definitely looks like a little girl.

I cannot quite believe that I have such a beautiful little girl. I had always thought I would have two little boys but now that I have her I couldn't be happier. I look forward to all the lovely girly things we will do together (pedis, trips to the hairdresser, shopping, high teas); and I am thrilled to pieces when I see all her beautiful little dresses she already has hanging in her wardrobe. I am also relieved that she will hopefully be less inclined to clamber all over the furniture and jump off things in the manner that a certain little boy person does. But I may be way off the mark on that one.

One thing I definitely know is that even though I've only known her for such a short amount of time, I am 100% in love with her. She is the perfect little person to complete our family and we all feel absolutely blessed that she is here.