Best reason of all to live in Tennessee!

I got NOTHING done today because my entire day was spent in the doctors office. Carl was home so I went to the dentist and for a follow-up from my surgery. Dentists are always interesting. Our former dentist went from being Dr. David to Dr. Carol in a period of about 6 months. It was a pretty weird transformation. Dr. David used to talk to me about fishing and then when he became a she. . .our conversation moved to jewerly. I knew he had become a real woman when he noticed my bracelet and commented that it was a David Yurman. Actually, it was a knock-off but you got give him - I mean her - some credit.

Carl checked out our new dentist a few weeks back so he passed the test. He was quite chatty. It made me laugh because my mom always said that dentists have to be good conversationists. Dr. Myer's fits the bill! I learned all kinds of things from him. Do you use an electric toothbrush? They move 35,000 times per minute while a manual only moves about 100. He compared a manual toothbrush to a rotary phone. Evie will probably never see a rotary phone. I asked him when I should bring Evie in to have her teeth, all two of them, checked by a dentist. He said 2.5 years old and that I might want to consider taking her to a dentist that specializes in children. Apparently, this dude is big on analogies because he compared himself to a children's dentist using pizza. You can take your kid to Pizza Hut or Chuckie Cheese. Both places have pizza but the experience is different. Carl said he must not like children but he has 3 grandaughers. Trust me, I know all about them!

Carl had fun with Evie and Evie had fun with her Daddy. We all went to the Fresh Market to get a few things for our special New Year's Eve dinner. Carl said Evie wanted to wait for me to get home. It was packed but we got some filet's for dinner and a few other items. Believe it or not, we are having some company for an early supper tomorrow night. We used to have people over all the time but in the last year things have changed a little. That's okay, there will be plenty of time for that later in life.

Hope everyone has a wonderful night celebrating a new year! It seems like we just started this decade and now it is already over. I am right where I want to be to ring in 2010. Safe and sound in my warm house on my comfy couch with my sweet hubby about to enjoy a delicious peanut butter stack for dessert! So you've made it this far, the best reason of all to live in Tennessee is that it's in the Central Time Zone which means that I can ring in the New Year at 11:00 CST when the ball drops in NYC at 12:00 EST and then go to bed at approximately 11:06 CST! Stay safe out there. New Year's Eve is for amateurs.

Cabin Fever!

Evie and I are feeling much better today! We had a bad case of cabin fever so we ran a few errands this afternoon. Evie was so happy to be at Target. She drank her milk and looked all around. I bought Evie some size 4 diapers. She sure is getting big! We worked on the word NO for a long time today. Evie loves to crawl towards the stairs and I was trying to teach Evie to listen to her Mama! Our little lesson did not go so well at first but finally she caught on that she needed to crawl towards me and not the stairs. I think shaking her toy might have convinced her that she needed to come get her toy from me.

Nothing too exciting is happening around here. I have done TONS of laundry and tried to organize a little around the house. It's a full-time job keeping up with laundry and the constant stream of clothing changes for Evie. She grows faster than I can sort and put her clothes away. I am trying to keep them organized for future use.

Evie's birthday is coming up soon. We are having a small family party and inviting a few of Evie's little friends. It seems you either go really BIG or really small for the first birthday. We are going small. I can barely get dinner on the table for me and Carl much less plan a party for 50 people. It's hard to believe my sweet little girl is going to be 1! Carl thinks Evie is ready to be a Big Sister. Pretty funny because I think she is really enjoying being the center of our universe.

Baby Steps!

We had a lazy day at home today. Carl went to work and we stayed in our pj's all day. Evie and I are both a little under the weather. Evie took three naps today but two of them were for less than an hour. I hope that we both feel better tomorrow. It's nice to stay home all day every once in awhile especially while being productive. Nothing got done here today! I have a list of things a mile long but no energy to get anything accomplished. I had fun playing with Evie all day. She is so happy to have some new toys. She loves dogs so much that if the dogs are outside we have to move her away from the window or she waves at the dogs instead of eating her meal. My Dad gave her a stuffed black lab and we are pretty sure that she thinks it is real. I am sure she will figure out that since it's not moving away from her that it is a stuffed dog.

Evie is beginning to take some steps. She pushes her little grocery cart and steps off of the ottoman. Several people have told me that she is close but what does that mean! She will walk when she is ready and I am in no hurry. It is kinda cute to see such a little person walking. Speaking of cute, Evie looks pretty cute in her shirt from The Reserve. Her She She and Poppy got it for her. They do not have her size so it's a little large but it will fit before we know it.

Growing teeth is hard to do!

We had a fun day. Carl enjoyed lunch at Chuy's with us today. YUMMY! We ran a few errands this afternoon. Nothing too exciting. Evie is growing another tooth or at least she has all the signs: lots of drool, a runny nose and lots of dirty diapers. She was a little cranky before bed tonight so I hope she sleeps all night. Carl has been sick for a few days and now I have it. He was checking Evie's temperature tonight with the temporal thermometer and it was not working on her. Carl practiced on me and I had a temperature of 101. I have been so busy that I did not even realize it. My sweet hubby went to get me some medicine.

We had another crazy thing happen tonight! I was sitting here on the couch talking to Candice. Someone was knocking on our door . . . remember what happened the last time we had someone at the door. Well, this time it was the previous owners of our house. They came to get their mail and they wanted their grapefruit! You know the grapefruit that we have already consumed! Thank goodness I was busy because it was such a strange situation and Carl handles things like that better. Does anyone call or email to let someone know they are coming by? Unexpected company makes me a total basket-case because I like my house to be clean! Our house was far from clean tonight since we just got back last night. Carl's got her number so maybe she will call the next time!

Christmas in Gastonia!

We made it to my parents house about 12:30. Evie slept all the way from Atlanta to Gastonia so she was in a great mood! We had a delicious lunch that was nut-free so Evie could enjoy it too. She really likes jello so my mom made a jello salad with fruit for her. Carl enjoyed his caramel birthday cake. I did too! Evie thinks my parents dogs are so interesting. She works really hard to catch them but they are too fast for her! One day she will get them!

Evie was thrilled to see more presents. She figured out that it's so much fun to open presents, push the boxes across the room, play with the bows etc. Evie got a really cute playhouse from her Aunt Libby. It has a toilet that flushes and a working doorbell. She loves the grocery cart with all the food. My mom was so sweet and surprised me with gift certificates to my favorite places in Nashville - Puffy Muffin and The Factory! My dad got us a webcam and headset so we can show them all of Evie's new tricks. We had fun playing around with it over the weekend.My parents babysat while we went to a movie. Carl wanted to see Sherlock Holmes. It was a guy movie but there were some parts that were interesting for me. It was a bit far-fetched but most movies are that's what makes them more interesting than real life. Thanks for babysitting Evie, Mom and Dad!

We had so much stuff in our car there was barely room for Evie. We left Gastonia around 11:30 and arrived here at 6:45 but we stopped for a LONG lunch at Cracker Barrel and there were two LONG traffic jams. Evie did great. Thank goodness she is such a flexible traveler. Evie took two naps, spent a long time reading Pat the Bunny and put things in and out of a Nutrigrain box. I sat with her the last hour and fed her sugar cookies and Carl sang her silly songs. She makes the trip much more entertaining.

Evie was so excited to be back at her house and see that her toys arrived here too! She played for a long time before bed. I am so glad that Carl does not to work tomorrow. It's nice having him home with us! You should see our house with all the stuff we just brought in - there is a lot to put away! We had a wonderful Christmas with Evie. She really made it special for everyone. My mom said Evie was the gift and she is our gift everyday!

Christmas in Atlanta!

Evie was the first one to wake up on Christmas Day. Imagine that! Mary and Lucy slept until 7:30. I was so surprised because that would have never happened when I was a kid. They were so excited when they woke up and saw all of there stuff. Evie was already downstairs for breakfast. She noticed all of the toys right away! Carl had a Santa birthday cake and he blew out his candle. We had some cake for breakfast and opened presents. It was a whirlwind morning. Evie would have been mad to leave so quickly if she had been any older. Traveling on Christmas day is not fun but we both wanted to see our families. Evie loved all of her gifts. Sheshe and Poppy got Evie a warm, soft outfit. I cannot wait to see her in it!

Lollie made the most delicious breakfast casserole. Her secret it to saute' the bread in the sausage grease. It really makes a difference. Evie had so much fun being with everyone. We all had such a great time! Thanks Kurt and Lollie for hosting Christmas at your house.

Merry Christmas!

Evie had a wonderful first Christmas! We had so much fun with her and enjoyed spending time with both families. Evie got lots of fun gifts and so much attention. She is a lucky girl! Evie really likes her grocery cart and baby dollhouse. Carl had a fantastic 36th birthday. I cannot believe he is 36! There are lots of pictures for me to post when we get back to Nashville. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Oh Holy Night, the stars are brightly shining!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve! It has been so nice being here with Mary and Lucy. They are so much fun and so sweet. We ran to the mall really quickly today and it was pratically empty. Christmas Eve might not be a bad day to get some shopping done. Carl was not feeling well so he slept a few hours this afternoon.

We had to wake Evie up from her nap to go to church. Mary was with us and Evie was so happy to see her. Church was beautiful and Evie did fabulous! We were so impressed. She loved seeing all the children and the puffs helped her stay quiet. It's hard to talk with your mouth full!

Carl went upstairs to get a diaper and heard Santa on the roof. He ran downstairs to let everyone know the exciting news. We quickly looked outside and there was package on the front step! It had Christmas pajama's for the girls! Lucy was concerned that Santa was not going to come back since they were awake. Santa only comes when everyone is asleep except for quick drop-offs. Santa was so thoughtful to bring pj's for everyone. Evie loves hers and they fit her perfectly. Santa sure is smart!

We are working hard to get everything ready for the morning! I am so excited to see the girls on Christmas morning. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Fun with Cousins!

We made it to Atlanta around 2 this afternoon! Evie did great and took two naps in the car. Kurt and Lollie were so sweet to invite us here for Christmas. Carl's parents are here too so everyone gets to spend Christmas together. Mary and Lucy did not know that we were coming so they were very excited to see Evie! Let me tell you that Evie was worn out at bedtime. Mary and Lucy had Evie crawling all over the house, up and down the stairs and outside. Mary went to a birthday party so Lucy kept Evie company. We got a chance to meet Mary's friend, Ava this afternoon after the party. It's so fun to be with all of these little girls! Carl and I have lots to look forward to with Evie. No rush though Evie - we LOVE you being our baby!

Family Fun!

It was a beautiful day with a high of 60! That's my kind of winter day. We decided to go to downtown Franklin for lunch and shopping. It was so much fun! We had lunch at Merridee's Bread Basket and I bought some Christmas treats there. It's so nice having all of these delicous bakeries to sample all of these delicious sweets. Merridee has some fabulous chocolate chip cookies. I like them slightly chewy and they offer the most amazing mint brownies. Sweets are my favorite foodgroup. Evie had a bran muffin, yogurt and fruit for lunch. What a healthy eater! After lunch, we checked out a few shops and I bought myself a little gift. 95% of our Christmas shopping was completed online so I did not buy myself anything so I decided that this would be the perfect treat! Do you buy yourself Christmas gifts while shopping for others?

After our adventure in Franklin, we went to visit Carl's office. It was good to meet everyone although Evie probably does not agree. She was not so happy to be there! It's so loud and all of these strangers in her face made her quite uncomfortable. Evie likes to warm up before being grabbed or engaged in conversation. It's so funny but that's just her personality!

It was such a nice day for a walk and Evie loves to be outside. It's fun to see all the Christmas decorations even in the daytime. I had to go pick up a few things at the store for our trip. Evie needed some food and diapers for our trip. In the morning, we are heading to Atlanta to see Carl's family and then going to Gastonia on Friday to see mine. Evie will LOVE being with her cousins for Christmas. We are so excited to see everyone!

It has been so nice being home these last few days with Carl. We have had so much fun exploring our new town, getting a few projects done and of course enjoying our time with Evie. It seems like everytime Carl is off work then we leave to go out of town. Sometimes, it's nice to stay home. We plan to have another "staycation" soon.

Evie went to bed early since she had a VERY short nap in the car. I was upstairs feeding her and heard someone knocking on the front door. Carl was downstairs in the laundry room. He had closed the blinds and was changing his pants. There was someone knocking very loudly on the door. He figured it was UPS so he opened the door in his boxers and held a towel in front of him. Guess what? It was not the UPS man at the door! Our neighbors were standing there - the mom, dad, and two kids with a plate of homemade cookies. Claire, the 9 year old, shielded her eyes from Carl and he excused himself to put on some pants. Remember he had just put his jeans in the wash so he grabbed a pair of pants from the drying rack that felt like cardboard - his words and went back to talk with the neighbors! HA! I bet they will not come to our house again with out calling and Carl will most likely not open the door again unless he is fully dressed! Carl and I have been cracking up about this all night especially Claire's reaction! So funny! I am sure this will be something we always remember about our first Christmas in Brentwood.

Christmas Tradition - 8 years in a row!

Carl took the week off and it has been so wonderful having him home. We have not been that productive but we are having FUN with Evie. She gets more entertaining every day! Bye-Bye is her favorite word and she waves her sweet little hand when she says it. Evie is not responding so well to "NO" but we have plenty of time to work on that.

Carl made us breakfast this morning and we noticed that Evie has a fondness for Canadian bacon. YUMMY! Banana's are still her favorite! She goes crazy when she sees her yellow fruit!

Evie was so excited to go to Gymboree today with her Daddy! I think Carl had fun too watching Evie interact with her friends. He saw how she is all over the place and does not always stick with the group. I like to think of her as a leader! She certainly keeps me busy.

Evie was hungry after all of this activity so she had a big lunch and took a nap! Carl went jogging and took Evie with him. She loves the jogging stroller and I love having a few minutes peace at the house. Although, I am always happy to see them come back.

I made a $100 selling stuff on Craig's List today! Free money is the best. Maybe I could turn this into a real job but it's kinda weird having people come to your house. Craig's List is a great way to get rid of excess stuff around the house and make some cash! Before Evie, I was a teacher and had thousands of books. One summer while pregnant, I got busy and sorted the books out and was able to make close to $1,000 just by having flocks of teachers come to my house searching for books to fill their classroom libraries. My favorites are stored away for Evie and I know she will enjoy picking out some books on her own too.

Carl and I have always gone to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner the week of Christmas since we met. Eight years is a pretty strong tradition and has included multiple cities including Raleigh, Columbia, Charlotte and now Nashville. We were a little worried about taking Evie but she did great! We went at 5 and were the first people to walk in the door. Things have changed but Evie does better earlier. Carl was talking to his brother who commented that we eat dinner 3 hours before they do even with a 1 hour time difference between Nashville and Atlanta! HA! Evie was quite impressed with her first Japanese meal. She sampled everything: mushrooms, rice, veggies, filet mignon, chicken and ice-cream! Can you guess what was her favorite part? Of course, she LOVED the ice-cream! She takes after me with the sweet tooth!

We celebrated Christmas! Evie got her first gift in the mail from her friend James. It was the cutest little pink seersucker backpack with her name on it. Carl and I both opened our gifts from each other and I gave him a birthday gift! Carl's birthday is Christmas day so I always try to make his birthday special for him and not run it together with Christmas. Everyone should get their special day and Carl gets to share his day with Baby Jesus. Evie will think that is really special but right now pulling paper off the boxes is pretty high on her list of things to do!

Daddy's Little Helper

We went to church this morning and tried to drop Evie in the nursery. Evie was not happy so we took her with us in the sanctuary. She did fine for about 40 minutes and really was not disruptive. However, I know she needs to get used to being in the nursery so we headed back down there. I stayed and played with her. Evie is the youngest baby in the whole church out of 500 families so she is in there with older children. The nursery is staffed by high school seniors who text the entire time. Evie got hit with a toy by another kid while she was in there. After church, we hurried to get her and another mom had her trying to calm her down. We will keep trying! One day she will decide that the nursery is not that bad.

Carl put some safety latches on our cabinets since we have a little explorer on her hands. It's very tiresome to constantly pick everything up so this should help me out a lot. Evie thought it was really fun until the drill came out. She does not like vacuums, hairdryers and apparently she is not a fan of the drill either. I quickly snapped some cute shots of her helping her Daddy!

Snow: Are you coming this way?

We had such a wonderful Saturday! Our morning was spent running some errands. We took Evie to eat at Alpine Bagel. She LOVED it and ate most of my cheddar bagel with veggie cream cheese. I also got her an orange muffin that she found pretty delicious! That kid will eat anything! Carl and I were feeling really brave so we popped into Toys R Us. I was expecting the worst but was pleasantly surprised that every register was open and the store was reasonably orderly for less than a week before Christmas. We finished all of our shopping so it's time to enjoy the season with Evie. Christmas is so much more fun with Evie. She decided to check out the presents under the tree which gave us a glimspe of what will happen on the BIG day. Of course, the paper will be her favorite part.

Carl and I were very productive during naptime. I wrapped, prep'd dinner, and organized a few things. Carl trimmed the shrubs and moved some rocks in the backyard. Evie woke up in a great mood. We needed a few things at the Fresh Market and Carl wanted to look at bikes at REI. They are super nice but that means they are pretty pricey too! My suggestion was to get a bike off Craig's List. We would use bikes a lot living so close to a park but not enough to justify that kind of money. Especially since we have so many other things to get for our new house.

We tried to hang our window treatments today and they are not wide enough for the windows in this house. I might try to make one of the Nester's mistreatments for Evie's room and I am hoping my mom can come up with a solution for the other window. It's the most fabulous fabric and would look great in the laundry room if we could make it work. Carl and I have a lot of projects in our future!

I have been craving a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha from Starbuck's since my mom and Carl had one last week. Talk about delicious - that's the best drink and really feels like a holiday treat! Run to your nearest Starbuck's if you have not had one yet this season! Carl is braving the elements to grill a pork tenderloin. There is not too much going on but there is a 50% chance of snow tonight! I would love for it to snow so Evie can play in it and since Carl is on vacation until December 29 - there is no need to worry about the snow causing problems.

We did not take any pictures of Evie today so we will have to catch up tomorrow. These pictures are from yesterday except for the house pics. Evie and Logan look like they are really enjoying Chuy's yesterday. They are so cute! It's important to keep a little distance between them because they take each others food. Cassidy missed the impromptu picture since she was snoozing. Hope you enjoy the pictures of our house! We kept our decorations super low-key this year between moving, Evie and my surgery. Maybe next year will be easier. Our tree is a tiny bit too tall - I think we might have forgotten what house we live in when we were shopping for it. The ceilings are not quite as tall here as our last house. Look really closely and you can see a snowflake or two in the picture of our new house!

Grapefruit, anyone?

Evie and I have been looking forward to lunch at Chuy's all week! Chuy's is the BEST Mexican food hands-down! We met our friends there. Evie and Logan enjoyed themselves and Cassidy took a little snooze. Carol, Amanda and I had a fun lunch!

It has been really rainy and yucky here today so we decided to do a little photoshoot. I love my new camera but am still using my little camera when we are out and about. Although, Carl pointed out several parents with a Canon Rebel at the Christmas program last week at church.

Evie and I were waiting in line today and a little girl kept checking Evie out. She asked her mom, " Why is that girl's pacifier going up and down" - it was so funny to listen to her mom explain that's what paci's do.

We got a delivery of some fresh fruit to the previous owners. They are in China so it's not like they are going to be back anytime soon. So, we now have 5 pounds of grapefruit on our hands! It seems like these people would have let everyone who sends gifts their new address! I cannot wait to see if anything else arrives. Some pears would be nice or maybe some cookies.

We went to run some errands when Carl got home this afternoon. It's so crazy out there and I still have two things to get. My plan is to get out tomorrow and finish up. Everyone on our list is getting practical gifts since we all have everything that we need. We still need to get Evie a few things from us. I am sure Evie already let Santa know what she wants this year.

Stairs are so much fun . . .

Look how much Evie has changed this picture was from March before one of our walks. She sure was tiny! Evie and Iwent to run some errands this morning. She did great as I moved her in and out of the carseat multiple times. Evie likes shopping but likes to keep moving so she does not miss any action!

Thursday's are Kindermusik! We had such a fun time. Evie's teacher announced that she is having her fourth baby in June. Evie thought one of the siblings was so interesting and she kept crawling to him. He was NOT interested in Evie at all and kept busy with his 6 year old activities. Evie got so close to him that he accidently wrote on her arm so now Evie has blue ink on her arm. We learned the Cha Cha today and had fun with the jingle bells. Ms. Marie was collecting the bells and she told the babies to say "bye-bye" to the bells. It got really quiet and Evie said "bye-bye." She had perfect timing! What a smart girl!

Evie was so excited when she woke up from her nap because her friend Abby was here. Maura and I had a nice visit while the girls played. Evie even climbed all the way up the stairs several times to show off for her big friend. I had never seen her get past the second stair but now she can get to the top. Carl was so surprised to see her climbing the stairs when he got home.

We went for a walk since it was fairly warm at a balmy 43. BRRRR! Evie's hands were fozen little ice-cubes when we got home. Maybe Santa will bring her some mittens.

I am heading out to a Christmas party tonight and I am so excited. It's been a LONG time since I had a girls night. Here's a yummy recipe to try for your next party!

Dessert Pretzels:

1 bag of Rolos

1 bag of windowpane pretzels

1 bag of pecan halves

Lay pretzels in a single layer on a baking pan. Unwrap the Rolos and place one on top of each pretzel. Put in oven and watch very closely for a few minutes. Take out and press a pecan into top of candy. Place in fridge to cool and then store in an airtight container.

11 Months Old!

Evie, we cannot believe you are 11 months today! This year has gone by so quickly and we have loved it all. Well, maybe not the multiple times you were up in the night but everything else.

You weigh about 21 pounds and you are really tall. Just this morning, another mommy told me she could not believe you were so tall at 11 months. You are wearing a size 3 diaper but I think we may need to move up to size 4 after Christmas. They are starting to get a little tight on your tummy. You are wearing 12-18 month clothes but some of your fall things still fit. Your hair is still blonde and we get lots of comments about it. You have a lot of hair so it tends to attract a lot of attention from everyone especially other babies.

You LOVE to eat and will eat most anything that I give you. Your favorite is still banana and you eat a whole one every morning for breakfast. Daddy does not like ripe bananas but you do not seem to mind so it works out really well. You eat breakfast, lunch and dinner along with two snacks. You still nurse 3-4 times per day but we are beginning to think about weaning. Sometimes, you even drink whole milk out of your sippy cup but you really like water with ice. Some of your favorite meals are pasta, chicken nuggets, cheese and deli meat. You have discovered cookies and think they are really sweet. Snacks are fun for you and you like to eat goldfish, fruit and Pirate Booty. We go through a lot of fruit around here because you eat it for every meal and snack. You are also very interested in everything that other people are eating. Maybe this will get us to eat a little better since you are a growing girl and need lots of healthy food.

You are FINALLY sleeping through the night! Bedtime is at 7 and you sleep until 6 or 7 in the morning. I wish you could make it to 7 but I am so thankful for the HUGE improvement that you have made. You may remember that you used to sleep through the night when you were a little baby but stopped when we moved to Tennessee. I know you are so happy to sleep in your cozy crib each night at your new house.

Raffi, your pink giraffe, is your favorite! You reach for him as soon as you get in the crib. Sometimes you crawl around the house with Raffi. I think you and Raffi will be friends for a long time. Don't worry we have two in case you lose one.

You love to go as long it's on your schedule. Gymboree and Kindermusik are your favorite places and you kick your little legs when we walk in the door. All the mommies think you are really funny because you squeal, clap and bounce the entire class. You also like the grocery store especially the ones that give out samples or free cookies.

You are standing up a lot and crawl so fast everywhere. I am amazed at how speedy you have become. Evie, you can get in trouble faster than I can catch you. You do like to play with your toys and that keeps you still for a few minutes. Laundry is fun for you except when you close your hand in the dryer. OUCH!

We have noticed that you have a lot to say but we do not speak the same language that you speak. You say da- da but we are still not positive that you connect the word with the person! Daddy is one of your favorite people. You get so excited when you hear him come in the door and you quickly crawl to greet him.

You are still very cuddly and come over for a quick hug. I love to put you to sleep at night because you are so calm and sweet. I love how sweet you smell after your bath and you are just perfect. You stroke my face and try to put your hands in my mouth. Daddy thinks you might be a dentist. I'm not so sure about that but you can be anything you want to be!

Evie, we love you so much! You have changed our life in so many ways but YOU have made our life complete. We are so thankful to be your parents and look forward to seeing you grow. Please slow down, we are not in any hurry! Each stage is wonderful and you make us happier every day.

Christmas Card Carousel

Here's our Christmas card for Faith's Christmas Card Carousel. I love it! Lindsey Turner created these for me. She is a natural light photographer in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. I am amazed at the quality of her work everytime she does a shoot for us. I am so excited to have sweet little Evie on our card. Don't you just love her dress! Merry Christmas to everyone!

I'm a mean one . . .

I feel like such a grinch! Christmas is such a special time but goodness it's stressful and busy. Next year, I am starting earlier to get everything done so I am not out with all the crazy people. Evie and I went to get a few presents today and it was PACKED at 11:30. We waited in line for 20 minutes! That's a long time with a baby but she did great! I was the one who was exhausted by the process. We were in need of some nourishment so we headed to Chick-fil- A! I love how they help parents with young children. They will bring you a high chair with a placemat for the table and they deliver your food to you! That makes it so much easier! Some people call Chick-fi-A: Christian Chicken. I LOVE that. It cracks me up every time I say it. Perfect name for the place. Evie had two nuggets, one fry and the whole container of fruit sans the apples. She really likes mandarin oranges and grapes. The lady helping us said that it's good that I am starting Evie early with Chick-fil-A but to stick with the fruit. Funny coming from the owner! I know all about her because she told me this story about her grandsons comical hair. She may have been referring to Evie's hair because we could not find her bow so she was looking kinda crazy!


Evie napped and I tried to get things done around the house. We went to Wolf Camera and Evie made a little friend. I was trying to get some pictures developed and noticed a little girl chatting with Evie. Her name was Emma and she was 4. She said, "Do you know that I LOVE babies?" So sweet! Evie was talking away to her and the lady on the computer next to us. I think we have a talker on our hands! Maybe one day we will understand her language.


Evie is drooling like crazy and is a little cranky. I think she misses her Nana because mommy is not nearly as much fun. We sang some songs, played with the jingle bells and decked ourselves with jewels. Our jewels were the strings of garland that are not on our tree yet. Evie sure is fun!

I was glad for 7:00 to come tonight. Evie has worn me out today. We are going to try to take it easy tomorrow but have a few errands. Remind me to start after Halloween next year so I can avoid the chaos! Our keyboard is not working on the desktop so pictures will return once Carl gets back to repair the keyboard.

The frozen tundra has warmed up . . . temporarily!

Happy Birthday, Lucy! I hope you had a wonderful birthday lunch at Cinderella's castle. Evie left you a message. We hope you got it from your Daddy's phone. 4 year olds are so much fun! I think it's a magical age so it's fun to celebrate at the most magical place - Disney World!

It was the warmest day in a long time with a high of 66. Evie and I really enjoyed it! Tomorrow the cold will be back! We went to Gymboree for our class. Evie was so excited to be there since we missed class last week. I have a feeling that we might need to work on sharing. Evie grabs balls, rings and shakers from the other kids even when she has her hands full.

Evie took a long afternoon nap but I did not get much done. I really need to get busy! There is so much to do around here plus I need to prepare for Christmas. Evie has been sleeping through the night consistently. What a difference a little sleep makes for a tired mommy! If you think waking up several times per night is not a big deal then you are probably not the one who has been doing it for the last 10 months. HA!

Evie and I went to chat with our neighbor this afternoon. She informed me of all kinds of things and will be an excellent resource anytime I have a question. Evie was not so sure about Ms. Kay but energetically waved at her trashcan. Evie is a funny girl!

I forgot to let everyone know that my pearl was retrieved! The luster is gone but Mikimoto suggested that I mail it to them to see what they can do to repair it. I will get around to this in January when things settle down a bit.

I went to the mall to get a few things tonight. My favorite purchase was See's candy. If you have never had See's then you have not had chocolate! See's is based in California but has little stands in malls at the holidays. Check it out for the best chocolate ever! You will want the whole box to yourself. I am in bed now but I will post some pictures of Evie tomorrow.

Christmas Pageant

We had a wonderful relaxing day! Evie and I were in our pajamas until 3:30 - those are the best kind of days! We just hung out at home. Carl took Evie jogging and I straightened up a little. I am getting a little behind. In case you ever have a choice, try not to move too close to the holidays. It's a lot to get your house done for living and to decorate for Christmas. Oh well, maybe next year!

After we finally got out of our pj's, we went to the Christmas pageant at our church. It was so sweet. Carl was impressed with the costumes. I loved the music! Evie thought it was interesting that some kids were crawling down the aisle. I think Evie really enjoyed herself. Carl wonders if she will remember going to her first Christmas pageant. I am sure she will go to many more. We rode around a little to check out the beautiful lights.

Then we hung a few pictures and did a few things around the house. Getting settled is going a lot more slowly with our sweet little one. She is way more entertaining than getting things done. Evie is really loving spaghettio's and kiwi fruit these days. Not together!

Evie is also really into laundry. She discovered this with her Nana. Evie joyfully takes the clothes in and out of the basket. I like it because this occupies her for about 15 minutes and there is always plenty of laundry to play with around here. Speaking of laundry - I have plenty to get done while my little helper is sleeping!

Luminary Night!

It was a little warmer today with a high of 46. Never thought that was warm before now. My mom left today! We miss her already. She helped so much while I recovered this week. Thank you for coming Mom!

We went to Target and Whole Foods after taking my mom to the airport. Evie munched on some cucumber at the store. It was a hit! We bought some delicious pecan shortbread cookies.

We came home to work on the luminaries. Since we have a corner lot, we had 35! Our next-door neighbor had 10 and our across the street neighbor had 40! Ashley was kind enough to help since she only had 10 and has 4 kids to help her. Evie thought it was so much fun. She seemed to remember that yummy sand from our trip to Kiawah. We worked in the garage and Evie crawled around with her Pirate Booty snack. It was so fun to see all the neighbors out working on their luminaries. It took us about an hour to get our luminaries finished. It was fun to see how all the neighbors got their bags out to the street. Most people used wagons or wheelbarrows. We used our truck. I am sure it was a sight with me driving the truck slowly as Carl put out the bags and Evie hung out in her carseat. One of the neighbors told me that a wagon would be a cheaper way to put them out. Carl held Evie while he lit the candles. She thought it was so exciting! Carl checked the radar before we put them out but guess what it started pouring as soon as we finished. I got a few pictures but they are a little foggy. It was a beautiful sight while it lasted. Carl went to re-light our luminaries after the rain. Traditions are important and we look forward to many more fun times in the neighborhood.