The Shocking Truth

Despite his adorable rolls of baby fat and his extremely endearing infant face, Everett proved himself to be deceptively rugged, even as a new-born. Upon the strong recommendations of his older sister, Everett’s parents purchased a wet-wipe warmer for him as well. It soon became clear however, that while the comfort of heated washcloths on his bottom was not unappreciated, he had the constitution to endure far more primitive conditions when called upon to do so. In a pinch, when the warmer was unplugged, or ran out of wipes, Everett withstood what could be described as artic washcloths containing water straight from the faucet with only an initial fortifying gasp.

Treasure, Talent, and Timing

Even extremely early on, Everett had the knack of making anyone in his presence happier. Before most babies even crack their first smile, he was a master at waiting for just the right opportunity—the moment when anyone’s full attention was engaged on him. Just at that precise instant, he would let loose a series of the most enormous grins. His smiles were not half-hearted in the least. When Everett broke out in his toothless grin, his eyes squinted into two little half moons and his ample cheeks creased merrily.

Close One

During Everett’s eighth week, his mommy sat by and watched gratefully as his daddy took a turn at changing a diaper. Probably just to see the looks on both of their faces, Everett waited until the old diaper had been discarded and then let loose an enormous flatulation. Predictably, both parents froze in a second of sheer panic and then scrambled wildly to finish the job of rediapering. “That’s a sound that will make your blood run cold,” Everett’s daddy commented as the two congratulated themselves on a successful, mess-free operation.

Hangin' Out

Everett started to take charge of his own life very early on. During the first six weeks of his stay with his new family, it was clear he enjoyed being held but had little input as to whether or not this happened. In the seventh week though, he found that any one of the curly, brown things growing from the top of his mommy’s head were perfect handholds and could very successfully prolong his time in mommy’s arms.

Lessons Learned

Everett’s mommy and daddy made sure to purchase a pumpkin before the Halloween season ended. They were not carving a jack-o-lantern this year, but observing another important Paulson family ritual which involved cutting away the top of the vegetable and stuffing their new infant inside to be photographed. Though Everett’s parents had selected the largest pumpkin available due to their rapidly growing boy, when the appointed day finally arrived, it still was doubtful whether the hollowed out gourd would accommodate him. In the end, most of him could be stuffed inside and the pictures came out very well. Happily, Everett’s parents had learned a thing or two from their previous photo shoot two years ago. His big sister had narrowly escaped a rollover in her pumpkin, so as a perk of being the second-born; Everett’s pumpkin was securely propped with logs from the start. If Everett is fortunate, maybe this incident will prove to be symbolic of the smooth path ahead owing to all the bumps his parents had learned to hurtle successfully during the previous two years. Everett can only hope.

Waking Up To The World

"He really is interacting so much today,” Everett’s mommy commented to Everett’s daddy on Saturday, November the eighteenth. Everett sat on her lap smiling and chortling contented and entirely engaged in the conversation.

Plegm Shlegm

Poor Everett caught his first cold in the middle of his sixth week of life. It wasn’t a bad cold and he fought it off quickly, but his gravley breathing and coughs still broke his mommy’s heart. To make matters even worse, he remained constantly cheerful and completely uncomplaining through the entire ordeal, much unlike his mommy who had passed the germ to him in the first place.