Joe, Emily and really, Vaughn's Blaughg

He Laugheth

2011-10-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

Isaac was born on a rainy Seattle night at 1:25am, two hours after we arrived at Valley Medical. Though Emily planned on having an epidural, there wasn't any time. There was much weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, with intermittent cries of "No!", "I don't want this!" (referring to going natural), and "Where is he?!" (referring to the anesthesiologist). By the time 'he' got there, Emily was already pushing and so 'he' was quickly shooed out of the room by the midwife.

There were no complications to speak of. For the last couple minutes they couldn't get a reading on the baby's heart so the nurse and midwife (we gathered later) were a little worried, but right as he was being pulled out he cried for like a second, just to let us know he was ok.

Anyway, here are some pictures.

Just like Daddy

2011-02-12T13:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Vaughn reminded me of how Joe used to put on the "pat-pack" aka backpack, and then ride his bike (to school). Then he went and got the back pack, had me help him put it on, and then started riding his tricycle (or moto) around.

One of his most common phrases used to be "I do it baby self", but now he actually says "I want to do it myself". Vaughn's getting to be such a big boy!

We miss you all in Rexburg!

Fun with Grandpa Tom.

Adam Serenades Vaughn.

Christmas Eve, and Vaughn's B-day.

Look at him go!

2009-11-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

Here is a pretty good video of him walking around. I think what is most amazing is that he can turn while walking (and yes, he is an ambi-turner). He really likes to pick up heavy things and carry them around, like cushions, juice bottles, and textbooks. He never seems (too) discouraged when he continually falls because of the awkwardness of his burden. He just stands up and tries again...and again...and again.

Fall and almost One!

2009-11-10T10:38:00.001-08:00

"Get Nina"
"Get Daddy"

9 1/2 months

2009-10-19T15:27:00.001-07:00

Still crawling. But almost walking. Yesterday he was standing at Joe's knees, turned around and looked at me (about 4 feet away), and tried to walk to me! After about 3 steps he lost his balance and then crawled the rest of the way. Vaughn is also a champ at rolling his "r"s now and making all kinds of other babblings.

Here are just a few other pictures from our Summer, now that it's almost Winter.

Going back in time to: Vaughn the Cheetah

2009-06-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

I had started to make this blog post well probably about 5 months ago but it was taking me too long and then when I came back to it, it was gone! This happened a couple of times and so I guess I just gave up. But - I just found that google had actually saved as draft for me and so I'm just now posting it. Here it is:

This weekend Kim and Aaron visited and it was great. We laughed, we cried, and ... Well actually just Vaughn cried, but not the whole time. And it was more like he moaned and groaned. This was in part due to his little digestive system being a little backed up after having eaten some banana the other day. You might say it drove him bananas. After not pooping for a day his diaper was probably 3 times the fullest amount it had ever been previous; ten THOUSAND times more than he could have hoped to have dreamed for ;) Hahahah. Anyway, he's feeling a little better now - and he won't be eating bananas again for a while.

Vaughn Videos

2009-06-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

We moved. We're fairly settled. And here's what's happened in the mean time.

For some reason I keep getting this dang tonsilitis thing. After 3 1/2 weeks and two batches of antibiotics, I'm really frustrated because it's crept up again. I felt that I'd conquered sickness for good during the last three years, being cold, flu, etc. free. This leads me to Joe's theory: I'm being punished for having become too prideful of my good health. Maybe there's some truth to that. But I think that nursing is perhaps the greater culprit. So I've been improving my diet the last few days and have come up with a defensive plan. For those who are interested, read on: 1. Gargling salt water or Biotene multiple times a day. 2. Meal plans, seriously. 3. Even more water. 4. Bedtime no later than 9:45pm. 5. Cutting out sweets (for the most part). A few weeks ago we decided to make homemade brownies. One thing led to another and we ended up having to not double, and not triple, but quadruple the recipe. (And then we realized we were short a dozen eggs, on Sunday.) Well...I don't think that helped boost my immune system.

Also, (I'm out of time)

Baths.

Twins. Just look at them.

Bumbo. He eats his rice cereal sitting in this now.

Sucking BOTH thumbs.

Kalleen, I know you don't remember what the sweater looked like. That's ok. Here it is and look at how cute he is in it for church! :)

While visiting her children in Rexburg for Mother's week, Kathleen came by on just the right day to teach us some tricks for naps. It was great - She should be called the Baby Whisperer. Despite Vaughn's feelings about napping he still shared some smiles and laughs with her. It was delightful.

Here are a few short video clips:

Hear Vaughn's concerns

2009-04-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

This is how Vaughn converses lately. He loves being listened to but also knows how to take turns in conversation. I actually just read the other day that that is something special about human babies - that they are born with the ability (to some extent) to take turns.

Just ignore the clicking on the soundtrack, and enjoy!

The "Celestial Tux"

2009-03-23T16:50:00.000-07:00

I love this picture. According to Rex* (as in good friends, Rex & Cassy Pully), Vaughn has my eyes and eyebrows, and Joe's eye sockets.

Well, 6 weeks have gone by without an update. And I'll never get this post up unless I'm brief. Things have been great. Rexburg has turned over a new leaf (well, probably many more leaves than just one) with 50 degree and even one 60 degree weather day! Not bad. The flip flops have come back out and Vaughn has caught a glimpse of the outside world.

He's doing just great. He communicates more all the time with new voice inflections and sounds, chuckles and stares at himself in the mirror, sucks his thumb occasionally, and if you make eye contact with him when he's upset he'll moan more than cry - it's too cute to bear sometimes.

As you can see he's getting bigger. 3 Weeks ago he was 11 pounds, so I think that means he's probably almost 12 pounds now. And some of the most exciting news for me: Baby Vaughn has been sleeping 7 and 8 hour stretches in the night without having to wake up and eat!!! Yay!

Also, about 4 weeks ago Joe blessed Vaughn and it was a really sweet occasion. Grandma and Grandpa Evans along with his Aunt Daisy and her family and Uncle Sam with 3 of his kids all came to Rexburg for it. We enjoyed the afternoon with our self-proclaimed magic burritos (well... the burritos don't proclaim that - I'm sure the meaning is clear), some spinach-artichoke dip, and death-by-chocolate-cookie-brownies. Sam, a seasoned bean-eater, complimented the beans, which meant the world to us. I think his exact words were "So what's the deal with these beans?...cause I've had a lot of beans in my life..." It put a smile on both mine and Joe's face, and made Joe even more hopeful of someday opening up a successful Mexican food stand.

I know it just seems so... improper to talk about something as vain as clothes in regards to the more important blessing itself, but what mother couldn't help be** excited about dressing her newborn in a little tuxedo - coat tails and all? Dubbed by the Niemans: " The Celestial Tux," and sewn by Vaughn's Uncle Nathan's Mom, a very talented seamstress, it was much appreciated.

And more pictures...

* To see who Rex is go to http://www.byui.edu/, and there is like a 1/5 chance of seeing a picture of him on the front page. If it's a guy with red hair, it's him.

** Is it "Couldn't help", "Could help", "Couldn't help but...", "Could help but...","Couldn't help but to be...", "Could help but to be..."? These words are starting to look like another language to me.

Weeks 5 & 6 - Vaughn's Daily Activities

2009-02-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

Well, he is a growin'! First, I just want to note what a good boy Vaughn is. We were pursuing a swing for him for a while, but he cries so seldomly that we feel now it would be an unnecessary expenditure. He pretty much only cries when he's fed up (usually with hiccups) or not being fed yet.

As you might notice from the pictures, he is smiling more. He used to only smile when he was falling asleep, but he would also go through all the other facial expressions as well. Now we will talk to him and make faces and he will smile back (sometimes) and make cooing sounds at varying pitches (sometimes). It is ridiculously cute.

Vaughn...

bathes,

wears foot rattle socks for parties (thanks to Carl and Belinda!),

and regular socks for sleeping,

smiles,

and slips into a baby trance.

Weeks 2-4: Getting To Know Each Other

2009-01-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

Vaughn seems to be getting to know us. Besides smiling & even chuckling in his falling asleep phases of the day, he's almost responded with a smile, fully awake, to us several times. He's also been getting used to certain unpleasant events that happen repeatedly, even though he doesn't like them, such as diaper changes, getting in the car seat, and needing to burp after eating. The diaper change is still pretty challenging for him sometimes because it's a little cold in the office where he gets changed. But instead of crying he squeals like a little dinasaur. I think that it'd be like jumping into really cold water for me - kinda hard to breath.

We just can't get over the facination that there's not only a new little human body that...remarkably... grew from microscopic 9 months ago to an adorable little boy now , but a new person in existence on Earth; thinking, deciding, and acting on his own. I think that I used to sort of have this feeling that my future children would only do what I made them do, like little dolls. But you can only try to influence them, teach them, and negotiate with them. It's nothing short of miraculous.

But we sure can try! (Vaughn hates the straight jacket - but after a short struggle he does seem to calm down and and fall asleep)

Here is an attempt to catch his falling-asleep-expressions (photos taken from one second to the next), especially a smile, but we still haven't really caught it yet.

Thanks to Mathew Thomas for the super cute clothes.

Already a week old

2008-12-31T11:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I think I've gotten about 15 hours of sleep in 7 days. In fact, Joe's been noticing a lot of unusual spelling errors that I've been making, such as "birping" and "hellow". Isn't sleep deprivation intriguing?

But look at how cute he is! He's changing really quickly it seems. The shape of his head improves a little bit every day since his mis-shaping journey to life; his hands and feet aren't quite so dry and they seem to be gaining a most needed layer of fat, and his face somehow seems to be maturing.

We gave him a bath the other day and it was a little stressful. Fortunately my sister, Daisy, showed us how to bathe him a much better way so that he's warm and happy with the use of warm towels and stuff. The next picture is right after the bath - not only did he not cry, I think that he actually enjoyed it.

This picture captures just how tiny he is.

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

So we are home with a new addition to the family. His name is Vaughn Edward Davis.

For anyone who hasn't gotten the details yet, Emily went into labor at about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and gave birth at around 3:30 p.m. the same day. The labor and delivery went really well. Emily had an epidural and was loving life after they hooked her up. As she put it, not only did she feel better after getting the epidural, she felt good. She didn't have to get a c-section so she is feeling (relatively) good right now.

Vaughn is one very alert little boy. He is constantly looking around, making eye contact, following things in motion, etc. He hasn't slept all that much, but he hasn't been terribly fussy either. He is a good boy.

We are very happy, in fact overjoyed, to have a new addition to our family. Here are some pics.

It's a boy, and what a boy!

2008-08-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

So we went in for the second ultrasound on Monday and found out that our fetus is a boy. We could see that it was within the first few seconds of the ultrasound. I think that seeing the Burns' baby's ultrasound pictures helped us to know what to look for, but on the other hand it was pretty unmistakable. We also found out that it appears to be normal and healthy in all the ways that they can check for at this point, so that's good.

It was really neat to see our baby again and with it looking more human and less alien. It still looks a little alien, but I'm sure he will grow out of it (at least as much as I did). One crazy thing is that the ultrasound tech kept on jostling Emily's tummy so that the baby would move into a better position so that she could check and measure other body parts on the baby.

Emily is feeling less sick, but still has to take medication for nausea every couple of days. Hopefully our camping and other vacation fun in the next few weeks will not be adversely affected by her condition.

Speaking of which, we are going down to Utah today to do some camping with some of Emily's family and then we are going to go up to Washington next Monday on the Columbia with Kim and Aaron Utterback (and Co.) for a few days or so, then on to western Washington to see more family and friends.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, we need a digital camera among other things :(

Baby on Board!

2008-06-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

So, as some of you know, Emily is prego. We went in for the ultrasound yesterday and saw fetus. It was totally cool. For the first few seconds I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I mean, it's a human inside another human! The video is like six minutes long or so and the last little while is just some form that the nurse was showing us on the computer screen.

There is one point near the beginning when it pauses and there isn't much to be seen in the uterus, that is when she is pointing out the yolk sac. Weird huh? Anyway a little later it zooms in so that we can see the heartbeat which the nurse measured by dragging a dot to it and recorded for a second then splits the screen and does something to see the beats per minute. I think it was like 160 or something. Whatever it was, it was within the normal range, so whatever. You can't the heartbeat very well on this video because it has been compressed and stuff, so the quality isn't that great.

So for any of you who hasn't seen an ultrasound, here's ours!