Please Leave a Message after the Beep

I'm sorry I've been unable to blog lately, but life is busy. So here's one for you, Jenna! =)

Because I ALWAYS have had short hair, I have vowed not to cut Eveley's hair. She has very pretty long hair and it is really thickening up. Yes, this is a lot of work -- keeping it out of her eyes and free of syrup and spaghetti. But I just love long hair.

When I was at the store last week, I saw the infamous pink sponge rollers and decided to give them a whirl. I put them in Eveley's hair after her evening bath and was pretty sure she would pull them out before bedtime. But she didn't! She kept them in all night long, and this was the result on Sunday morning!

 

 

 

(Don't worry about the battle scar -- she got it by diving onto the bed and hitting a box hiding underneath the down comforter.)

Her favorite game right now is Hide & Seek. It's pretty funny. She believes that if she can't see you, then you can't see her either. So this is a typical hiding place for her...

 

She'll then count to 20 and yell, "Ready or not, here I come." But she isn't up on all the rules of the game. As I am walking through the house looking for her, I will say, "Hmm... Where is Eveley?" To which she responds, "I'm under the table!" We're still working on teaching her the concept of the game, but it is pretty funny.

Mr. Caleb is his usual smiley self. I just love this little boy. If it wouldn't have been weird, I would have named him Joy too. These kiddies remind me of my JOY!

 

 

The quilt is still in progress. But I'm getting closer. Crystal made it sound so easy -- you just have to be able to sew and cut straight lines, she said. Well, note to self: I can neither sew nor cut straight lines.

 

So, what do we have planned for the weekend? Glad you asked. I am leaving this afternoon for a women's conference with some girlfriends. How fun. It's just 2 hours away, but we're all very excited. My mom graciously came to visit so she can watch the kids.

The conference is featuring a ton of awesome speakers and entertainers. But the two I'm most psyched about --- Amy Grant and Candace Cameron. =)

And a few things I'm looking forward to this weekend:

*leaving the nursing bras at home
*taking a bag of York Peppermint Patties all for myself
*going to bed after 10:00 because I want to
*listening to something other than Madame Blueberry in the car

Can't wait!

Whatchoo talking bout, Willis?

I took Caleb in for his 9-month checkup this past week. I have never been one to keep up with the kids' stats or pride myself on their percentile ranking. But they have always been long for their age (always above 70%) and usually between 60-75% for weight. Eveley is now in the 97% for height and looks like she's 8 (but she acts like she's 2). I digress...

Mr. Caleb eats like a horse. He wishes I would let him use a straw to suck down his green beans. I can't seem to get the food to his mouth fast enough. He eats everything. Except peas. But everything else -- squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, peaches, oatmeal, barley cereal, apricots, pears, bananas, apples, blueberries. You get the point.

So, you can understand how surprised I was after this visit. The nurse weighed and measured him. She opened his chart to plot his progress. Then she said, "Let's weigh him again." No big deal. Remember, at his 6 months checkup, he was 75% for height and 60% for weight. And at 9 months???

The nurse informed me that Caleb was now 50% height - he is 28 1/2 inches - and he weighs 19 pounds 2 ounces. That's 20% for weight! What?? He only gained 1 pound in 3 months? How can this be? He must have a hollow leg or two. Now they have prescribed some iron drops for him and have asked us to come back for a weight check in a week. I'm sorry, but that's just ridiculous!

Does he look like he's missing meals?? Maybe he's going to be petite like his mother? (That's a joke...!)

 

Worth the Wait!

Yes, I know. I promised to be a more-regular blogger after quitting my "real job". But, the truth is, I am stinkin' busy.

With MOPS (more on that later), church responsibilities, Bible studies, housecleaning, meal planning, quilting -- oh yeah, and 2 crazy kiddies, I am having a rough time keeping up!

But to make it up to you, I thought I'd share a few treats from this summer. Last year, my sweet friend Kim took some beautiful pictures of Eveley at a local resort for her first birthday. Sadly, Kim moved away. Remember these?

Fortunately, I met a new friend, Anna, in my MOPS group. She is a wonderful photographer, and we had her come to the same resort for Eveley's second birthday (and Caleb's 1/2 year birthday!).

The pictures turned out beautifully! What a difference a year makes!

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Although we had to bribe Eveley with some Curious George fruit snacks, I think the results are priceless. Each photo captures her spunky personality and the stage of the "terrific two's".

 

Cuz

One of the things I really looked forward to upon quitting my job was limitless vacation! So, last week the kids and I set off on our first road trip to Tennessee to see the family. (just cuz we could!) I wasn't sure how I would handle taking the kids all by myself, but you never know until you try, right? I beautifully packed up the car the night before -- the passenger seat was organized with movies, snacks, juice cups, paper towels, and a bin of toys. We left out early the next morning and, to tell you the truth, the kids were perfect angels. We stopped 1 time in the 7 hour trip and arrived around 1:30. Honestly, I would not have even known Caleb was in the car. Every so often, I would toss a different toy back to his car seat and he was perfectly content! Now, Eveley took a little more effort -- we played about 4 hours worth of "find a match" -- this is our version of I Spy. But, nonetheless, it was a fantastic trip. (I think I deserved one after our beach trip fiasco...)

My parents now have two donkeys, a miniature pony, pigs, a garden, and -- the best feature -- 3 sweet little cousins living right next door. My brother's family lives there, and it is so fun to see the little ones playing together.

 

 

 

 

 

(We couldn't convince Eveley that she was too big for this swing...)

The girls are stair steps, each born a year apart. And little Wyatt just joined the family in May. Caleb and Wyatt are exactly 5 months apart and will be best buds, I'm sure.

The kids loved the animals and the garden. And then Marmee found the coolest neighborhood park ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We tirelessly tried to get a picture of the 5 grandchildren. After some threats of spankings and some promises of fruit snacks, this was the best we got!

 

 

I think this was the first of many road trips. I pray they all go as smoothly!

Still Crazy in Love

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful hubby.

I never expected our lives together to look like this. I never expected the "for better or for worse" line of our wedding vows to actually come into play. But I can honestly say that we are more in love today than we have ever been.

After 6 years, he knows me better than I know myself. And I know him pretty well too! Yesterday, we headed to Target with the kids. Bob took Eveley and I took Caleb and we set off to pick out some gifts for eachother. (This has become somewhat of a tradition and I think it's tons of fun.) We set a budget and pick out fun things we think eachother would like. As usual, he did a great job. I got a Paula Dean cookbook, a big fat magazine to read in my big fat bathtub, dark chocolate truffles (my very favorite), and a new food saver machine! We are so practical! But I love it! I got Bob the new Tiger Woods PS3 game (he almost cried) and a few other techno gadgets. And the other part of his gift is that I'm letting him play it all afternoon without rolling my eyes or nagging at him to quit!

Bob - I love you so much and am thankful that God handpicked you to be my lifelong mate. You are such a strong, godly man and a wonderful husband and father. Thank you for standing beside me these past 6 years.

If you really want to see those "ancient" wedding pictures, you can see them here.

Let them eat cake.

 

Last week, Eveley was busy doing her current favorite activity -- washing dishes.

 

Since she was entertained, I decided to run downstairs and change out the laundry. While I was pulling wet clothes from the washer, I caught a glimpse of Miss Eveley running past me. I assumed she had just decided to follow after me and was going to shift her attention to the downstairs set of toys. As I walked out of the laundry room, I saw her holding something large in her hand. It was unrecognizable.

 

"What do you have?" I asked her.

"Cake," she responded nonchalantly.

Cake indeed.

(I wonder where she got the idea that you could hide in the workout room beside the treadmill and eat cake????)

 

Keeping Busy

My first week of unemployment has passed, and I just can't say how wonderful it has been. I don't think I was prepared for the way this transition would affect my mood and my spirit, but it has been absolutely wonderful. It really feels like a whole new world. (cue the music). When Bob comes home from work in the evenings, I do not feel like I'm going to explode -- which was my usual mood. I was tired and frustrated and felt that I had too many things to do and not enough time to do them well. But praise God, that feeling has left me. Now, of course I still feel like my "to do" list is never ending and the days are crazy, but it is a crazy that I am enjoying trying to manage.

My little baby is 8 months old. I can't believe it. He has 4 teeth and one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen!



I am taking my job as full-time homemaker very seriously. We are trying to devise (and comply with) a realistic and wise budget. And in order to find some wiggle room in the budget, I've been trying out a couple of things.



1. Making my own baby food. I used to laugh at this thought. It took way too much time, and opening a jar seemed much more practical. But my "little baby" - pictured above - eats like a horse. None of my babies have eaten this much before. And since baby food ain't cheap, I thought this could possibly save me some money each week so that I can put it towards #2 on my list.

I now am finding that I have the time and energy to devote to some new and fun things that really inspire and interest me. My friend Crystal is one of the most creative people I know. She inspires me in so many ways and, to beat all, she's a patient teacher and lives nearby! Check out her etsy shop - Little Bit Funky.

She made Eveley the most adorable reversible dress and made Caleb a matching tie onesie. It is so cute, but the best picture I could get of it was this -- (I don't think she'll be using us as advertising...)



But with Crystal's leading, and lots of handholding, I am going to attempt to accomplish #2 on my list

2. Make a quilt for Eveley's "big girl" bedroom. My fabrics just arrived in the mail. Aren't they gorgeous!



I'll keep you updated on my progress. If you want to join the quilting adventure, Crystal will be giving weekly instructions on her blog. She says that if you can cut and sew straight lines, then it's a cinch. We'll see....

And if you act quickly, you can probably enter her giveaway drawing here. I am crossing my fingers for one of those pillows. How adorable!!!