Happy Birthday Evan!!

The 'Evanosaurus" turns 3!! Ready for the big day!

A quick photo outside before going to school! Look at all that snow!

Enjoying dinner at Culver's! Evan's favorite spot!

Thanks Auntie P .. love my knight stuff (& making a mess)

Watch out Heinz

It was a busy week and for good reason! Evan turning 3 has been a highlight. He's no longer a baby or toddler...but a little boy. He's silly and smart and very loving. A good mannered and good natured friend to many and no matter the mood we're in, he can still make us smile and laugh along. I adore this child.. Plain and simple. First born, first grandchild, first son...we couldn't be happier with the person he is and continues to become.

This week happened to be "Dinosaur Week" at Apple Lane...what more could a boy ask for...except that it was also his "birthday week"! We brought in dinosaur cupcakes to school on Thursday. Luckily for me, they have to be store bought so we picked up blue and green cupcakes from Walmart and added eggs on some and mini dinosaurs on others. Unlucky for me was the nice blue surprise Evan gave me the next morning....he's been doing AWESOME with potty training, and happened to have an accident in his pull up. It was BLUE and stained his little butt blue!!

Thursday afternoon, we decorated the house with balloons and invited the Hart family to join us at Culver's for dinner. They came over before to open some presents. Evan opened the smallest one first and was so excited...more Matchbox cars...a collection of construction vehicles! He proceeded to play with them while we were telling him there were more to open. His response "i don't want open presents, i want to play with these" We jokingly said "Okay then I guess we'll have to give the presents to other people and you won't get them" As serious as can be, he says "Otay" picks one of the other gifts up and hands it to Kallie "here you Kallie, this is for you"....we all laughed! So, we opened a couple more and left for dinner!

Evan remains in the 50th percentile for his age at 92 CM and 14.2 kg...I haven't done the accurate conversion so I'm thinking he's about 36 inches and 31 pounds.

Saturday was Evan's party at the YMCA. I debated where to have it this year. With addition of new babies recently in our circle of friends, and the kids are getting a little older, it was time to keep our house from becoming a disaster zone, we opted for the YMCA. They have a kid's gym with rock climbing walls, rope swing, mats and basketball goal, a multipurpose room for the party, and gymnastics room with soft toys, spring floor, etc. Perfect for running off the sugar highs! We decorated and presented Evan with his dinosaur cake! I practiced a few weeks ago, and made an orange one. After completing Evan said he didn't like it and wanted a green one that day. Not happening until his party! The cake was from a book Alex gave me for Christmas and a lot of fun to do. I made a bigger dinosaur this go around, and of course it was green. The spikes are actually Lay's Stax dipped in colored chocolate (I tried both pringle & lays' in my test kitchen the Pringles were too fragile). The test run didn't take but an hour to assemble and frost, so I figured I could get in done after the kids went to bed on Friday night. I baked the cakes during the day and let them set. I ran out of icing halfway through...at midnight...sent Alex to get more. I didn't realize increasing the size slightly (going from 8" round pans to 10") would call for triple the icing! So, I colored the icing, and finally finished at 2:00 AM! Evan woke up around 1AM and said he wasn't tired and all done with his nap.

trying out the rope swing

shooting hoops with Lucas & his mom! Lucas made a ton of baskets!

Kenzie & Ryley climbing the walls...literally!

Pinata time!

going on a dinosaur hunt!

Evan's best buddies from Apple Lane. Elliot (left) Lucas (right) we were so happy to have some boys

Jolly Green Dinosaur and Dinosaur Egg cupcakes! (candy rocks!!)

All dressed up in green & blue!!!

Taking a break!

My Valentines

I tried desperately to capture some sweet moments on Friday before the kids went to "school" for their Valentine's parties. I will forever cherish these photos b/c I can totally picture the same look on their faces when they are teenagers..."seriously Mom?"

finally, a little smile...all those acorns she's storing in those cheeks must've been hindering her smile!! :)

I couldn't beleive all the goodies they brought home on Friday afternoon! We made treat bags for Evan's class and just gave boxes of chocolates to their teachers. I didn't expect Emery to come home with a bag full of goodies! She got a t-shirt, bib, teething ring and lots of candy too! I felt bad we didn't bring anything for the kids in her room...but I know for next time....she gave us an adorable valentine card --her footprints making a heart on a doilie! So cute!

Alex and I met up wiht our friends Konni & Jeremy for a nice dinner at City Cafe in Rochester! It was so great to sit through dinner with no kids interrupting...a rare event when we get together!!

The cutest valentine this morning...look at those baby blues!!!

I've been meaning to capture Evan's room lately. He's been collecting animal figurines since this summer (thanks to the Carley's!) Evan earned them for good behavior, good potty training and gifts from Grandma. We originally bought them as families so that he could have some concept of Mommy/Daddy/Baby thing when I was pregnant. Then he quickly discoverd dinosaurs (we have nearly 50) Thanks to Dinosaur Train on PBS we have all learned their real names. I love it when Evan combines two species like Triceradon....triceratops and a pterydon. You'd never know it wasn't a name...maybe it is ..who knows!

Just decided to look it up onWikipedia  and it does exist...but it's a TRANSFORMER not a dinosaur!!Anyway, Evan keeps inventory of all his "guys". Each night before bed, he lines them up on his night stand and makes sure none are tipped over...they watch over him at night. I think it looks like some sort of "Noah's Ark" and then the random dinos chasing them. (Most of the dinosaurs have their own home in a case made special for dinosaurs)

And then there's Evan's bed. Good thing the boy has a queen size because I don't know where he'd find room to sleep if it were smaller. Again, Evan keeps inventory of these "guys" too!

We were going for the "Where's Waldo" effect....did it work?? :)

Our trip to Iowa!

Evan has been very interested in holidays lately!  The other day he asked to listen to Frosty the Snowman song in the car, and I told him the CD was with the Christmas stuff now that Christmas is over.  He said no Santa come to my house and bring me presents again? I chuckled and explained the order of the upcoming holidays.  First is Valentine's Day, then your birthday, then the Leprachaun comes and then the Easter Bunny.  He asked if the Easter Bunny is going to drive to Apple Lane.  Oh, the imagination he has! Later that night we made a chain from construction paper to countdown the days until his birthday.  I can't beleive our little boy is turning 3!!

He's been a big help lately with Emery while Alex travelled this week.  I was anxious about working too and getting everyone to their daycare and picking them up.   Much like the rest of the country this week, we had two snow days on Monday & Tuesday.  We got about 8 inches overnight, and then an additonal 2.  I've never seen this much snow at one time! None of it has melted and hasn't been warm enough to play in.

Last weekend, my parents flew into Des Moines for a birthday party!  It was my great aunt, Lela's, 100th birthday!!  Lela is my mom's dad's sister!  Her two cousins she grew up with and their kids/grandkids were all there and it must have been 25 years since we were all together.  It was also special because my dad met Emery for the first time.  Evan LOVED staying in the hotel.  We had a room overlooking the indoor pool so Evan was definitely anxious to swim.  He would climb onto the a/c unit to check the people out and reported how many sharks he saw.  Alex took him swimming twice and he loved it!  Lela's celebration began at the fellowship hall at the church in the afternoon and then we met up with everyone for dinner.  It was such a great time had by all! Lela is the sister of my mom's dad.  Her sister, Marguerite, is who I'm named after.  We've been really blessed to live so close to Des Moines to visit for this incredible milestone! If we could all be so lucky to live 100 healthy years! 

there's 100 years between these two!  Lela & Emery

My parents and I drove around town while Alex napped with the kids back in the room.  We drove to the cemetary where my mom's parents are buried, but couldn't locate their plaques as the ground was covered with snow or too muddy.  We also visited the house my mom grew up in, her high school and searched everywhere for Chick-fil-A!!! Yes, Chick-fil-A....haven't had a sandwich or sweet tea since last May and there were 2 restaruants in Des Moines.  I later found out that the one closest to where we were was actually in an office building food court. For those of you who live where there's a Chick-fil-A nearby...don't talk to me! I realize it's just a fast food place, but....it's worse than craving their chicken biscuit on Sunday morning and can't have it b/c their closed. And no, McDonald's southern style biscuit/sandwich is not comparable, plus our Mickey D's quit serving them...guess there's not enough southerners living in Austin!!! ;)

the house my mom grew up in

my grandma lived there until she moved to Atlanta in 1988

Another big thing this week, was Macy, our cat, leaving our home :(.  We have 3 cats and there's some type A personality clashes between Macy & Heinz.  Being that Heinz & Pitsy are brother/sister we didn't feel it fair to separate them.  So my parents agreed to welcome Macy to their home.  She's a wonderful cat, the most perfect companion for anyone except an 18 lb male cat.  We think Heinz's behavior issues were a result of Macy's presence and before succumbing to medication we decided to isolate the problem.  My parents just lost their cat a few months ago and rescued a 9 month old kitten.  Macy is adjusting well, and definitley getting some exercise with Willow.  My mom says her favorite place to lounge is the treadmill...ironic since she's almost 15 pounds and 19 inches long!  On our way back home, Evan was sad because he missed Macy and our hotel room...but not Grandma & Papy!! Deep down he misses them too!!

Macy

Back to life, Back to reality!

I keep thinking of that eighties song...Back to Life...Back to Reality, which pretty much summed up the week! 

I was worried how the week would end but knew it had to be better than the way it began!  Evan came down Thursday night with a stomach bug just in time.  Alex had only been home 40 minutes from business trip all week in California before Evan got sick.  I felt terrible thinking it was something I cooked, but we soon knew it wasn't my culinary expertise.  Saturday night Alex came ill and Sunday morning I had it.  Luckily, Emery never got the nasty bug. 

Tuesday was my first day back to work and we did great.  I didn't sleep well the night before and was oh so tired waking up, but by the end of the week it seemed normal! Now I just have to work in my workouts before the kids wake up.  I thought this would be easy to do, but no matter what time I wake up one of them is soon to follow...beginning to think I should just stay in bed as long as possible! 

getting ready to go to my 1st day at Apple Lane

Emery did great her first day and it was easier than I expected.  For one thing, she's not old enough to know the difference like Evan who was 1 when I went back.  Secondly, it wasn't a new job so I was more excited to go back to see everyone. Third, I'd done it before!  It didn't keep me from crying (I had packed extra tissues)  Alex was great and took Evan to his daycare so I'd have enough time and not feel rushed. It felt good to be ready early and just get to play with the kids and not run around...I'm sure it won't be long before that habit returns ...but the moments together and the relief of arriving on time is well worth the sacrifice of an extra 20 minutes of sleep!  Some people who know me...may be surprised that I'd relinquish any amount of sleep...but for my children I'd do anything!

I had so much anticipation Tuesday afternoon I could hardly contain myself.  I couldn't get to pick up Emery fast enough and the commute is no more than 7 minutes with traffic (which is usually just a snow plow, semi or street sweeper!)  Emery and I went to bed very early that night as she took about 4 catnaps rather than her long naps.  I was nervous again Wednesday morning, but only because I was taking both kids to separate places, had a meeting and it was very very cold...bitter cold ( the high was 2 and with the wind it was about 12 below or so).  We all did great and suddenly we were back to life!

Our daycare is great and we love it...however, there are two locations.  Evan attends the main site, but the infants (under 15 months) are all at the Community College location which is much smaller.  Evan could go there too, but his class would be mixed with all ages (3-5 years) rather than just 2-3 year olds. I thought I would mind, but it's nice having the babies in a smaller location (less germs!). 

dressed for beach day  (he insisted on wearing the bathing suit underneath too!)

Work was great and nice to be welcomed by my coworkers and members! Life is good...now let's get some warm weather!  We hoped that beach day would help cure the winter blues, but all was forgotten once you add a hat, mittens, coat and step outside!

Evan has continued to do great with the potty and gets "special treats" when he's gone a  certain # of days without accidents.  We took him to Walmart to pick a toy out and check out things for his 3rd birthday!  He picked out a mini-monster truck that has Superman logo and cape.  He calls it the Super Duper Monster Truck and corrects you if you call it Superman. He learned Emery's full name a few days ago at dinner and got it perfectly correct on his own last night! He was dancing around naked before bath (as he usually does) and inspecting all his boyd parts.  He's in a stage where he knows Emery and I are girls and Daddy & him are boys.  He was showing Alex his belly button & said "See Daddy we have two belly buttons", he continued to other parts of the body...until he looked down and said "See Daddy we have two ...of these things" (let's just say he was talking about the berries of his twig and berries!)"  Alex laughed hysterically and said he looked so confused --was it that he didn't know what to call them, or just realized they were there!

Oh, the joys of boys!!

He finally got a haircut yesterday.  I love his curls, but his hair is really fine and the cold, dry weather doesn't make for the cute curls he gets in the summer.  I know they'll grow back, but he still looks cute and grown up!!  I can't believe we are having a 3rd birthday party in just a few weeks!

this 'do is called "The Little Einstein"

Alex ran out early this morning and grabbed some donuts to enjoy on a lazy Sunday morning.  He opened the box for Evan to choose and Evan was in complete shock....he just couldn't decide and touched every one of them! Of course, he chose the messiest one --powdered sugar, and it was so cute watching him eat it.  He took a bite and said "mmm I like it"  do you like these too Daddy? What kind do you have...I want to try...mmm.  Mommy you should have the strawberry one...mmm can I try?  Mmm.....about 30 minutes later he wanted another on of those things Daddy.  Mommy what are they called...oh ...oh yeah donuts...please can I have another white one?!  priceless.

Evan's & Emery's 1st bath...or more like an "Emery Dip"

we've decided Evan will be the class clown...

he insisted "Mommy take picture of me and Emery....I make silly faces"....silly

working out that tummy! (i feel like that too Emery when I work out :)

We're ready for another week of fun and can't wait to see Grandma & Papy next weekend in Des Moines!

Emery 12 weeks

Click here to view these pictures larger

Surviving

I'm surving my last week of maternity leave alone with both little ones! Alex is in California ...excited to escape the cold but disappointed that they are having the heaviest rains seen in decades! I pray he won't experience any issues while in LA this week.

The burp cloths I made a few weeks ago. I gave up on trying to figure out the embroidering machine as I realized my time is very limited lately! So I resorted to iron ons...did the job!

Emery and I took some time today practicing for her 3 month photo-shoot on Thursday. I began trying on outfits and she was in a great mood...cooing and smiling...adorbale. I'm still not convinced the tutu is ready for it's debut just yet...but it sure is cute and we'll bring it any way. She really did have more than this one expression...we played a game of peek-a-boo and she loved when I came out from behind the camera. By the time I put her in the lady bug outfit she was over it and we were almost late picking up Evan from Apple Lane.

Evan has been great this week. A funny story is that he was crying Sunday night after Alex left and saying "I want my Daddy back" as if he'd broken up with us. I warned his teachers yesterday that Alex was on a trip...that he hadn't left us!

I've been doing great this week despite my roller coaster of emotions about returning to work next week. It's really not an issue of going back it's about leaving Emery. I love my job and the people and flexibility it offers. I'm sure it will just take a week or too to get back into routine, but I was fortunate to experience all of Evan's "firsts". I've had a talk with Emery so that she'll perform hers on weekends, Mondays, Tues-Wed after 5pm or Friday afternoons! If I think of it that way it doesn't seem so bad!

I have even cooked meals this week! But don't tell Alex...I like him to think my abilities are limited to grilled cheese, breakfast, quiche and spaghetti! I can follow a recipe and even better follow one that incorporates time management...no wonder it was from Real Simple magazine!

Sounds fancy..but it was easy...again keep it on the DL if you talk to Alex! I made honey-soy salmon with roasted red peppers and sauteed spinach. Evan loved the salmon! He called it chicken but hey whatever it takes, right?! I'm just glad I didn't burn anything (I mean everything) I did manage to over sautee a handful of spinach but it shrivelled up to a spoonful in less than 30 seconds so I dumped it and made more! Amazingly, everything was done at the same time. I'm loving my subscription to my magazine! Check it out if you haven't.

Tonight, Evan assisted in the kitchen. We made mini bagel pizzas with Hormel mini-pepperonis...created by one of my best friends! Thanks Holly for your genius product! Great on salads and for dips too! :) I made a spinach, strawberry, walnut salad topped wiht Hormel Natural Choice Grilled Chicken...similar to, but better than those ones called "shortcuts"!! Just doing my part with the plugs.

I'm glad this post finally saved as I wrote it three times...

Hanging Out!

We've just been hanging out lately enjoying our two babies!!  The other night I was feeding Emery and Alex was cooking dinner. I asked Alex where Evan was and he quickly realized he didn't know!  I called for Evan and no answer!  Frantically, I ran to his room (where he often goes if he decides to poop in his pants!).  As I began to leave the room...Evan pops out from behind the curtains...with his thumb in his mouth and the tag in his other hand!  If you know Evan....you know he is OBSESSED with tags!  Tags on pillows, rugs, clothes, blankets and even his underwear!!!  We laugh it off and hope it will be outgrown!!  It's his way of self-soothing!

Emery is just growing like a weed...smiling and her personality is starting to emerge...she's very content but also loves her Mommy's attention more than anyone else!