Over the course of the visit, I loved seeing Nora and Everett interact with one another. She was quite intrigued with him, and though it took some prompting, she often said her version of his name, which sounds something like Evv-vvvieeeee. She also knew he was a "babyyy!, would say that periodically without any prompting, and would look for him when we asked where the baby was. She was noticeably jealous when she saw me holding him, but she calmed down each time when she was allowed to climb up onto my lap to investigate.
She also figured out pretty quickly that we thought it was adorable when she would kiss him on the head. Billy captured this with a short video:
Baby Everett might not be able to see too far yet, but he was pretty intrigued by her, as well. During the short daytime periods when he was awake, he loved looking at her! In my mind, I was imagining what he must be thinking. How much milk did she have to drink to get that big? Why is she so LOUD? Doesn't she know I'm the center of attention here? Can she show me how to get out of this chair and move around? This prompted a few chats with him, in which I told him he can ask her anything he wants someday but he better be careful about trusting her answers.
I have been quite charmed by Everett since the first picture popped up on my phone, so I loved getting to see the little man in person and hold him for myself. He is such an adorable little string bean! I have so little experience with babies who are not Nora that I couldn't get over his little bitty head, his skinny straight legs, and his long long feet. He may have been a month old, but he still had that sweet, cuddly newborn smell. There are exactly two things I miss about having a newborn-- letting them sleep on your chest and carrying them cuddled up in a soft carrier-- and I got to do both! Having Nora and Everett there together felt like two bookmarks in time, and the juxtaposition of their levels of development made me nostalgic for when Nora was itty bitty while also excited for the visits down the road when Everett will be old enough to introduce us to his unique personality. I can't wait to watch him grow!
I also loved getting the chance to watch Nate and Ashley embrace their role as his parents. When we first arrived, Nate wasn't feeling very well, and I could tell it was paining him to try and keep his germs away from his son. I about died of cuteness a few days later when he loaded E up in his Moby wrap so we could wander around a shopping complex. I stood back and watched Ashley in amazement about her near-perpetual state of calm. I felt completely frazzled, overwhelmed, exhausted, and clueless for the first three months of Nora's life, but Ashley is definitely a natural mama. I know she has been around babies a lot more than I had, but I also think she and Nate have personalities that are better suited to parenting a newborn than I do. Everyone in their little family of three just seemed so relaxed! Do calm parents make for a calm baby? Or does a calm baby make for calm parents? I guess it probably works both ways. : ) Either way, I was envious. Given the way they've managed to handle the stress of the professional obstacles they've been working to overcome since Everett's birth, I can already see that he has helped make their home a safe harbor from whatever else is going on at sea.
And as an extra special treat, Mimi and Aunt Dana also paid a visit to Bend to meet Everett and see Nora while we were there! Mimi and Papa came to meet Nora when she was the exact same age, so seeing Mimi with Everett made me happily nostalgic and extra thankful that they made that trip to Maryland. I know it was hard for Mimi to make the trip without Papa, but I am so glad she did, because having her there made me feel like he was with us in spirit, as well. I am so sorry Papa will not get to meet Everett or his other eventual great-grandchildren, but I am thankful he at least got to meet his first one, and I know he would have been so proud to see them grow. It was also nice for me to have a chance to see for myself that Aunt Dana is helping Mimi to hang in there as best she can to get through this difficult time, and that Mimi is able to focus on the bright spots in the midst of what must feel like a very, very dark time. Plus, I enjoy their company, so I am always happy to see them for my own selfish reasons, and I love seeing Nora interact with them. She may be at a stage where she doesn't want anyone to hold her for more than two seconds, but she was never far off while they were around!
We really could not have asked for a better visit. We got to eat a delicious meal at Old Mill Brew Werks, and we enjoyed several other meals together, but most of all I enjoyed we spending time joking around and relaxing around the house. And as always, I was touched by Nate's affection for his neice. Everyone always tells me that he adored me when I was a baby and would often get into my playpen with me, so when I see him playing with her I can't help but think it's like a repeat of those early days for us, except that this time I get to see it for myself. : ) Naturally, she is quite enamored by this especially tall, kind man who seems to be missing the hair on top of his head, and she does her best to follow him around and mimic his every move.
It seems like splitting hairs about an otherwise perfect visit, but as always, I also wish my dad could've been there to see it. I know he is always with us, through our stories, our jokes, our genes, our facial expressions... but seeing Nate with Nora also makes me aware of how unfair it is to her that she never got to enjoy the special type of spoiling her Grandpa would have had in store for her.
And if we're splitting hairs, Nora would've liked to have been allowed to spend most of her time in the dog room. She kept trying to open the door to let them escape, and during the times when they were allowed in the house, she followed them around constantly. : ) Some things remain the same, no matter which coast you're on.
In closing, I want to say a big thank you to Nate and Ashley for letting us share several of these fleeting, helter-skelter newborn days with us. I can't wait until the next time we're able to get our families together!
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