Evelyn Lee

Evelyn Lee Carter was born into our family on February 24, 2016 at 5:08 pm. 

She weighed 7 lb 14 oz and was 19.5 inches long. She was named (middle name Lee) for her great-grandmother, Dona Lee McRae Kartchner. I also share the middle name.

Evelyn was born into a family that LOVES her. 

Since Jake was gone in Artesia, New Mexico for Border Patrol Training, I had excellent help of three amazing ladies during the delivery process: my mom (aka Nana/Jill Wilson), my sister (aka Auntie Meagan/Meagan Wilson), and my mother-in-law (aka Mamaw/Lenore Carter). These three were INCREDIBLE. They coached me, loved me, encouraged me, and I believe even laughed at me. I wish I had gotten a picture of all three together but here are the proud grandmas-to-be, followed by a picture of Meagan and Dustin after Evelyn was born.

Meagan also did a fantastic job taking pictures AND keeping Jake posted via text messages during the labor process. I loved looking back at the texts!

 Thanks to his buddy in the Academy, Salas, we have this video from when Jake read the texts. sorry hard to understand.

Shortly after Evelyn was born, her dad got to FaceTime us from Artesia. He was, of course, in the med spa at the time, so this was how he looked meeting his daughter for the first time!

Typical Jake!

A few more favorites from the day:

Jake's bear hat

Sleeping through labor

Auntie Audrey

FaceTiming Grandad (who was sick)

Grandpa Carter

Slept the whole night on Nana (Wilson)'s chest - much to the nurses' chagrin and my relief! She was so gassy! (Evelyn, not Nana ;>)

Mamaw Carter

FaceTiming the Hancock cousins, who waited PATIENTLY with their dad and Evelyn's Grandpa in the lobby for several hours during the delivery, only to not be allowed to come see Evelyn in person! Talk about some amazing troopers. More to come on them later :)

Grandmas sharing the glad tidings in the background!

42 days old!

I had high ambitions for posting regularly prior to and after Evelyn's birth. We are now >6 weeks past her birthday and I am finally going to ATTEMPT a post. No promises :) In an effort to make this effective, I'm going to keep my post short and sweet!

Evelyn turned six weeks old last week. Here is a summary of our little girl...

Nicknames:
- Evy (cousins, parents)
- Evelyn Schmevelyn (Grandad)
- Squeaker/squawker (Grandpa and Mamaw)
- Evryn (Auntie Audrey)
- Milky (Mom and Dad)

Recent accomplishments:
- Sleeping in at least one 4-5 hour stretch at night
- Keeps on a pair of socks (her feet are now fat enough!)
- Startled by poop and arm movements, but not by noise
- Drinks 3-4 ounces of formula every 2-4 hours
- Holds head up by herself for 2-3 minutes at a time
- Continues to wiggle her toes while eating/sleeping

Other important facts:
- Recently helped Hancock cousins move into Grandad and Nana's house
- Loves to take baths (but not to get dry afterwards), sleeps on drives and walks
- Goes from 0 to 10 on the panic scale in about 1 second when she decides she is hungry or gets startled
- Starting to get a brown flick in her otherwise deep blue eyes - developing in the right upper corner of her right eye
- Still has small tufts of hair on the corner of her ears and in the crack above her bum
- Wears camo or leopard prints most days (unless they're dirty!)
- Still not a big fan of being put into a carrier but will tolerate it if she is swaddled