The Niemeyer Nest

Adventures with Evie!

2012-02-13T20:24:00.001-06:00

It was time to take Evie on a little adventure without Henry. She needed some special time with just Mommy. Today was the day! Although, Evie barely woke up in time to go on our outing. I had to wake her at 9:40! She's still catching up on her lost sleep from last week and she had a bad dream last night that kept her awake for a few minutes around 3:00 in the morning.

Karen came to babysit Henry and off we went to the eye doctor. Evie did not even care where we were going as long as she was getting out of the house. She did great at my short appointment and was quite impressed by the machine that checked my eyes. Evie got lots (too much?) attention from all the little old ladies at the eye doctor. They all wanted to tell her that she was beautiful and that her outfit was so cute. Evie selected her own clothes this morning and all the compliments gave her a boost of confidence. I thought it was a bit much but she sure seems to have great fashion sense since she did receive so many compliments on her pink present jumper paired with striped leggings.

Evie met "a Mamaw" in the elevator. Mamaw is what we call my grandmother and Evie is quite aware of other Mamaw's. The lady tried to chat with Evie in the elevator but Evie was not so sure about her. She looked up at me and said, " I don't like that Mamaw. That someone else's Mamaw." I am pretty sure that the lady did not overhear Evie's innocent little comment.

After the eye doctor, we headed to Philips' Toy Mart, it has the reputation of being the best toy store in the area and it sure is the best! Evie and I spent more than an hour browsing, playing and having a great time. I told her that we were going to get one small toy and she chose a kitty bank for herself and a blue boat for Henry. We purchased a few treats for our plane trip later this week but those are put away so that the wonder does not wear off before I need it to occupy Evie. Philips' Toy Mart is celebrating their 66th year in business and they truly have the largest selection of toys that I have ever seen. Everything is excellent quality and serves a purpose meaning that it is played with for longer than five minutes. I was impressed with the myraid of activity books and sticker books, perfect for entertaining a busy toddler quietly for a few minutes. I love the Kumon brand and they are hard to locate in town so it's good to know a place to get my hands on them. Evie had a ball in there! I found a really cute paper store nearby and cannot wait to go back when I have time to browse without my busy toddler.

Evie suddenly wanted to know where brother was after a few hours out with me. I reminded her that he was with Karen. Evie said, "Henry want you Mommy. Karen is NOT his Mommy. He miss you." Evie really shows empathy for others which makes me so happy. I hope she always cares about other's feelings so much.

I told her that we could go out to lunch to a real restaurant since it was our special day. My suggestion was Puffy Muffin and even included the offer of a Valentine cookie for dessert. She turned me down with her vote to visit Chick Fil A. That girl loves Chick fil A and their lemonade and their playground. So, since it was Evie's day, we went to Chick fil A. We sat in a booth getting situated with our lunch when she decided that she needed to come sit next to me instead of across from me. That made me smile!

I had so much fun with Evie this morning. It's hard to believe that we used to have every day all by ourselves to just flit around town with little regard to schedules or routines. Henry has changed that a bit for now but we sure love having Henry in our family. Soon enough, he will be flitting around town with us and he will have his turn for an adventure with Mommy.

Henry was just waking up from his nap when we got home and was thrilled to see us. Not sure, he even noticed that we were gone but he did like his boat which made Evie so proud!

Weekend Wrap-up!

2012-02-12T19:51:00.000-06:00

We had a LAZY weekend at home! It was just what we needed. We literally did almost nothing. On Saturday, we made a quick trip to Home Depot to look at ovens and then came right back home. Henry seemed to be getting sicker so I called the doctor. He told me to try whatever it took to get Henry to sleep so he could get better. Henry was probably up 10 or 12 times on Friday night but he did so well last night. We took the pediatricians advice and treated him for all possible ailments. He took a steamy shower with me, then a warm bath, reflux medicine, teething medicine, antibiotic, and warm apple juice. We turned up the humidifier and put in a new vaporizer. Henry only woke up once! We did it all again tonight and are hoping for another good night.

Henry is feeling much better. Evie napped really well both days which gave me a chance to have a break. Hope your week gets off to a good start!

Week in Review!

2012-02-10T16:14:00.005-06:00

It's been a long, hard week with some fun sprinkled in too. We are all ready for the weekend. Weeks like this make me really appreciate steaming mugs of hazelnut coffee with liberal amounts of cream, warm cozy beds and comfortable pajamas.

Sunday: We stayed home all day! Henry was not feeling well. We went to Christian and Courtney's house for the Super Bowl. It was so much fun. I ate way too much and did not watch one minute of the game.

Monday: I hosted a Beauti-control party for a friend starting out her business. Kids were welcome but it's still hard to get people to that type of thing. I learned that attendance rate is usually about 33% of the people invited so I will know to invite more people next time. It was fun having a small group of five and a few phone orders. I made Up all Night rolls, Nancy's quiche and fruit salad. My rolls were okay but this was our first sign that the oven was about to leave us. Henry was up all night on Sunday, screaming and crying, which is so unlike him. I made him an appointment at the pediatrician for 2:40 so both kids had to be roused from their naps to get there on time. That was one of our only good nap days of the week! Dr. Brooks diagnosed Henry with a double ear infection and bronchiolitis. No wonder, the poor thing was screaming! Evie was on her best behavior as a result of my offer to take her for ice-cream after the appointment - if she remained on her very best behavior. It worked and it was so fun to treat my little girl to some pink frozen yogurt at Sweet Ce Ce's. She topped her frozen treat with cherries, pink sprinkles, whoppers and a few other things that have escaped my memory. That cup of yogurt disappeared in a jiffy too. I stuck with Original Tart without any toppings but enjoyed mine just the same. Henry found his pink spoon quite tasty and entertaining. Our next stop was to pick up Henry's medicine. Can't remember what we did the rest of the day.

Tuesday: Evie went to school and Henry stayed home to catch up on his rest. I got a few things done around the house and then went to the library before picking up Evie from school. Evie did not nap at school and did not nap at home. I was quite anxious about taking her out for dinner but am so glad that I did since we have not been anywhere since. She did great and it was so fun to see The Porter's. Chick Fil A is CRAZY on family night but it masks all the noise of my own children. My eye started feeling strange on the way home.

Wednesday: My fear was confirmed when I woke up with pink eye and spent most of the day trying to get a prescription called in to my pharmacy. My eyes have always been susceptible to pink eye and while teaching I contracted it a few times. I can just look at someone with pink eye and have it myself within a few days. Carl was out of town and I did not want to drive without my contacts. Courtney came to my rescue and picked up my medicine for me. It's another reason that I can add to my list of a million reasons why it's important to have a close relationship with your neighbors.

Thursday: By this point, I was ready to get out of the house but my glasses are so old that the prescription is no where close to being correct. Evie's school is less than five minutes from the house so since she was pink eye free, off we went to school. Henry and I came right back home to rest since he had been up a million times again the night before. Carl got home about 8:30 after being in Dallas since Monday. He may have wished that he was still in Dallas between Henry being up all night again and me being cranky from no sleep. Henry is coughing so much that it's hard for him to sleep. Our water bill is going to be excessively high because I have been running long, hot, steamy showers several times a day to relieve his congestion along with running the humidifier day and night. Hope the little guy is on the mend so we can all get some rest. Evie and I attempted to make cookies afterschool. Minnie Mouse cookies were her choice but our poor oven was unable to bake these without burning the bottoms. It's time to finally get a new oven. We have been putting it off for months since our 1984 oven was working just fine.

Friday: I woke up determined to have a good day even though we were stuck at home . . . again! Henry napped for a long time this morning and Evie made valentines with me. We made a big mess but had a blast creating sweet cards together. She spent the morning at the beach and pool decked out in her puffy vest, tights and favorite pink skirt. We enjoyed being together and there was much less drama than yesterday. Miracle upon miracles, both kids napped at the same time! I had a million things to do but I dropped it all to read my book - The Mermaid Chair and then took a nap myself. Henry woke up with diaper issues. He has gone from one extreme to another in the diaper department. Evie took a whopper of a nap which was greatly appreciated by her family. Perhaps, she will be a little less prone to meltdowns after catching up on some rest. It's snowing lightly and the temperatures are the coldest that they have been all year. It actually feels like winter! I am looking forward to hot, cheesy pizza and a good movie tonight! Evie went in with Carl to get the pizza. She came back talking about "that man throwing a pancake up in the sky." She is at such a fun age. Happy Friday to everyone.

Meltdown City!

2012-02-09T14:58:00.000-06:00

Evie is on Day 3 of a nap strike. I am not ready for this yet. Nap time is so delightful especially when both kids nap at the same time. Perhaps, this is just a phase and that she will get back on track in a few days. At least, she napped in the early days of Henry's arrival when I was even more exhausted. Evie just needs sleep in order to function. She gets that from me. It's been a long week without naps but there have been some funny meltdowns since she is so tired. Even brother thinks it's funny. He thinks everything that Evie does is hysterical but it is especially funny when she does not find it amusing.

Here's one conversation that I want to remember:

Mommy: Evie, I am going to start calling you Cranky.

Evie: No, Mommy, I am an angel! ( Imagine this being said in her most ferocious voice.)

Henry has been sick this week and he is taking Amoxcillin. It's pink just in case that has slipped your memory. Evie is convinced that this is not the correct medicine for brother. She keeps saying, "That not his color, Mommy. He needs blue. Evie needs medicine to feel it better."

At the doctor, Evie chimed right in when Dr. Brooks walked in. She said, "Hello Dr. Brooks, how are you today?

I picked Evie up from school and her teacher walked her to the car. After Molly walked away, Evie said, "I like that Molly. She my special friend."

Evie has given me lots of sass this week. That's not going to work for me so it's a constant struggle for me to keep my cool with her. She threatened to put a spell on me. I love her imagination and maybe it'd be fun to be a frog for a day or two. Then, she wanted me to " it's a peer" that is her version of disappear.

My exhaustion has caused me to forget so much of this week! This is all going to seem easy one day all too soon when my worries change from skipped nap times to skipping out on things that really matter!

Camera Shy?

2012-02-08T21:02:00.001-06:00

7 Months!

2012-02-05T20:04:00.005-06:00

Dear Henry,

You are the sweetest baby! We just love you to pieces and there are lots of pieces to love. You are covered in rolls and are so squishy. Mama loves a chunky baby and there is a lot of chunk to you.

You are wearing size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night. That extra size at night keeps the sheet changing to a minimum and keeps you a little more comfortable. You nurse every four hours and demand complete silence. Not one sound or movement can occur while you are eating. If it's loud than you just wait until later to eat. That might be a sign of your stubbornness but you are perfectly content sometimes waiting 6 or 7 hours to eat. You will take a bottle but it is certainly not your preference. Our college sitters cannot get you to do it and neither can Daddy. Karen, your favorite sitter, is a grandmother and she is able to convince you to take it. You eat lots of fruit but your favorite seems to be peaches. They sure smell delicious. Evie still encourages you to eat prunes on a daily basis because she wants some too. Your constipation is finally improved! It only took 10 weeks and four doctors to figure out a way to help you. Keep up the good work, Henry!

Sometimes I feel like a pharmacist dispensing medicine to you all day for all your various ailments - reflux, constipation, teething and now you have a double ear infection. We keep our pediatrician busy!

None of this makes you cranky during the day but it does impact your sleeping at night. Mommy has a major incentive to get you back on track: sleep! I am not too worried there is plenty of time for sleep. You go to sleep around 7 and wake up for the day about 7. You still wake up once, twice, twenty two times a night. Only kidding, it has been pretty rough the past few nights because you have not been feeling well. Sometimes, you fall asleep when I am putting you to bed and I just rock you and cuddle you because you are literally growing before my eyes. You are not swaddled to sleep anymore! I just waited until you were ready and you barely even noticed.

It seems like just yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital but it has been seven whole months. You have such a gentle, happy personality. People make you smile and you have not met a stranger - yet! This is all new to me because Evie did not like strangers even looking at her until recently. You do whatever you can to get anyones attention. You are content to play by yourself or with Evie. She puts on little shows for you that entertain you quite nicely. You love things with wheels even baby strollers. You like blocks, paper and plastic spoons.

Evie continues to adore you! She has a new hugging game that basically involves tackling you and it seems to be your favorite too. Evie always has your best interest at heart. She keeps everyone in line - "Be careful with Henry. Both hands, Mama. Him's little. Don't forget Henry. Read him a book too" It's just so much sweeter than I could have ever imagined watching you form a special bond with Evie. She tells people "that MY brother" whenever anyone gets a little too close to you. Evie did feed you a leaf this month but she was so sorry and felt terrible about it. Perhaps, the way I felt, when I fed Uncle Ben a Hi Ho Cherry O when I was a little girl.

You sit up all the time and you are beginning to move. Daddy says that we cannot leave you unattended anymore because you end up in some crazy predicaments. He got out of the shower to find you playing in the cords to the hairdryer. YIKES. Life is about to change for us when you become mobile. Evie gives you a fair amount of reprimands already for "tasting" her toys. She's really going to be surprised when you can literally crawl after her and her toys. You are beginning to pull up a little bit too and it's so fun to watch you exploring your environment. Everything is just as exciting seeing you do it as when we watched Evie learn new things.

You will always be our special boy and we are so proud to be your parents. I have a feeling this next month is going have some major changes. Can't wait to see what happens!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Week in Review!

2012-02-03T19:55:00.002-06:00

We had lots of home time this week which makes me much happier. It was still pretty eventful though. Henry fell out of his sleep and play right onto the floor. There was a loud thud but he was fine. I was way more upset than Henry. My heart literally fell when I heard that sound and then he did not make a peep. I ran up the stairs and he was laughing away like it was such a fun ride to fall a few feet to the ground. Then, Evie fed Henry a leaf which made him throw-up. Of course, Henry was still perfectly content. Nothing bothers him!

Monday: It was a gorgeous day so we headed to the park for a picnic. Evie made a new friend. She has really become much more outgoing to new people. I heard her say, "Hi I Evie- you know your name?" Lunch always tastes better outside even peanut butter and jelly. Nap time went really well after our morning at the park. We went for a walk that afternoon too. I LOVE my double jogger but still think I am going to sell my other double. Evie had a bad dream and ended up with me in the guest room. Neither one of us slept very well since she likes to sleep in the middle of the bed and snores quite loudly. She tapped me a few times asking me about Raffi. I can find that pink giraffe without even opening my eyes. He's practically a member of our family.

Tuesday: Evie had school. I spent a lot of time trying to get Henry to sleep in his crib. He loved sleeping his sleep and play but that fall makes me too nervous to put him in it again. Henry barely slept at all because he was trying to get used to the crib again. It's been awhile since he slept in there due to all his belly issues. We ran a few errands and then picked Evie up from school. It was another beautiful day so we headed outside to play with our boys. Evie was CRANKY since she only slept for 15 minutes at school. Oh dear, it was a tough afternoon, nothing made her happy. It was our date night. Courtney came to babysit. Both kids were asleep but Henry woke up while we were gone. Our Baby Whisperer was able to get him back to sleep. Carl and I were so impressed. We had a fun date to Bosco's. It was fabulous not to have a babysitter to pay when we got home and even more fabulous that both our kids were asleep. Henry seems to always be awake when we get home.

Wednesday: We hung out at home all day. Campbell came over for a little bit while Courtney had an appointment. He was PERFECT. Evie loved having him over. We painted pictures, worked puzzles, watched a little bit of a movie and played cars. Evie and Campbell both take snack time very seriously so we had a few snack breaks too. Don't worry, I kept a close on them with those scissors. One of Evie's friends cut her hair off during a playdate. I do not want that to happen on my watch!

Thursday: Evie went to school and Henry had his sitter. I had a hair cut and ran a few errands. It was so nice to have a little break since Carl was gone on Wednesday night. I picked Evie up from school and she wanted to know why I did not have Henry. She asked, "What's the sitter's name, you know?" Yes, Evie, I know her name. Henry was asleep when we got home so we headed outside to play with our boys. Henry adjusted to his crib by Thursday and is sleeping much better. Carl got home from Chattanooga in time for a walk around the neighborhood before his haircut. We both go to the same stylist. I was her first client and Carl was her last one of the day. Carl gave Henry a little walking lesson before he left.

Friday: We stayed home again. I had planned to get a bunch of housework done because I am so behind. Evie had another idea. She took a Styrofoam block and created her own version of snow throughout my kitchen. It was everywhere. She helped me sweep it up which helped a lot since it was a HUGE mess. Evie practiced her singing during nap time. She really enjoys performing solos from the safety of her crib. It was so loud that it woke up Henry from his nap. Then, she fell asleep and Henry was awake with me. Carl came home with pizza for dinner and everyone is asleep. We are looking forward to a lazy, rainy weekend with lots of snuggles with our sweet children.

Snack Time

2012-02-01T20:07:00.002-06:00

Snack time is one of our favorite parts of the day in our house. Evie usually has her snack planned way in advance but sometimes says "you pick." Henry is learning quickly that snack time is super fun for him especially when sister is in charge!

Henry according to Evie

2012-01-30T13:57:00.004-06:00

First picture at home of Evie and Henry!

Just for fun, I decided to ask Evie a few questions about Henry. She was so cute chatting away and I know this will make me smile one day when my sweet little girl is not so little anymore.

Evie, tell me a little about your brother.

His name Henry. Him a baby. He a sweet boy. I kiss him. I hug him.

Where did brother come from?

He came from the mall. He grew in your belly. Evie grew there last year.

Who is going to grow in my belly this year?

I not know. (Mommy and Daddy say hopefully nobody will grow there this year.)

What does Henry like to do?

He like to play. He like to taste things in his mouth. He spits too. He play with Evie. He like Evie. He like to hammer too in his mouth. Hammers not food though - they tools.

What is brother's favorite color?

Blue! His color is blue. Evie's color is pink. That not his favorite.

Who is brother's best friend?

Evie (using a very exasperated voice)

What does brother like to eat?

He like prunes. That's his dinner. Prunes are black. Evie likes them too.

Does brother like to read?

No, Evie read to him. He too little. Him like baby books.

How old is brother?

I can't know. He three. No, he two.

Where does brother like to go?

He like to go to park. Henry play with dinosaurs. ROAR!

When is brother going to crawl?

I can't know, okay.

Anything else, Evie?

No, thank you.

Weekend Wrap-up!

2012-01-29T21:01:00.003-06:00

We had a nice low-key weekend! That's just what I needed after last week. On Saturday, we went to the circus. Evie wanted to take her glue stick with her just in case she found a project. I am not sure where this obsession with glue sticks comes from because there is not a crafty bone in my entire body.

Evie was so excited to see her boys in the parking garage when we arrived at the circus. It was a surprise for them so I sure am glad Evie did not spoil it for her boys. We walked in together before going our separate ways to view the circus. Carl and I were prepared to drop a chunk of change on snacks and souvenirs but not prepared for the ton of change that we spent! Oh my goodness, the circus has changed. Cotton candy was $12 and lemonade was $10. Peanuts felt like a relative bargain at just a little over $4. Programs were expensive, I remember when they were about $5. The lady next to me remembered when they were free! Carl had promised Evie a light since that's one of the best parts about those events. Get ready to be shocked, a pink light was $22! Yes, you read that correctly and clearly we are crazy for indulging her but we keep our promises. Evie LOVES her light! It might just have been her favorite part about the circus except for the snow. They dropped tons of "snow" at the end of the circus. Evie HAD to catch a few pieces and carried them proudly back to the car.

We expected a few more animals at the circus. It was mostly dancing, singing and some acrobats. We loved the elephants but they sure were stinky! It's amazing to think of all the work that goes into putting a circus together. All of that coordination and training with so many different people and animals. I could not stop thinking about Water for Elephants and hope those sweet elephants yesterday were treated much nicer than on the movie. Those boots and hook looked awfully familiar!

I was a bit concerned about Evie sitting still for so long but she did it. She seemed to really enjoy it and only put her hands over her ears a few times. Carl and I both enjoyed some extra snuggles with our girl during the scary parts. Evie spent approximately 15 minutes working on her bag of peanuts. Those peanuts provided a lot of entertainment for her so I will take some peanuts along on our next road trip. She also enjoyed her pink lemonade and pink cotton candy.

Henry enjoyed the circus too. He looked around a bit and then slept for awhile since he did not sleep much the night before. Apparently, the loudness of the circus does not impact his sleep the same way as his sister shrieking in the room next door.

It was a LONG circus! Over two hours of circus fun was a bit much for me but it was fun to see Evie enjoying herself so much. Children have such a different concept of time and events. I really had no clue on how to prepare her for our circus visit. All the videos on YouTube seemed pretty outdated and we did not have any circus books. Evie thought we were going to the fair and asked about the Ferris wheel. Now, she knows all about the circus and came home to find her tiger. She thought it was so funny that the elephants stood on stools so her elephant has been standing on our stool too.

The rest of our afternoon was spent hanging around the house. Carl worked in the yard and I tried to get organized in my office space. There is so much paperwork to keep up with between school, our MOMS group, church and the various financial documents. I need to figure out a better way to keep up with it all.

Henry did not sleep at all this weekend! He grew another tooth and has been really cranky. That's so unusual for our sweet boy. I hope it's just his tooth and not a sudden personality change. Evie comes by her dramatics honestly! Hope your week gets off to a great start. It's bedtime for me - sleep when the baby sleeps is a lot harder the second time around.

Week in Review

2012-01-27T20:33:00.000-06:00

We have had something to do every day which is a bit much for us. It has been really fun to see our friends. However, I am looking forward to a more laid-back week with very few plans this coming week. We just have school on the calendar for next week and that feels so refreshing.

Henry eating his puffs. Way more end up on the floor than in his mouth. I had forgotten about how hard it is for babies to get tiny things into their mouth.

Henry likes sitting in his big boy chair for dinner.

Monday: We enjoyed a nice morning at home! Henry took a short nap and Evie helped me put away the laundry. Valerie, our photographer, came to take 6 month pictures of Henry and 3 year old pictures of Evie. That was an experience, trying to get two kids ready for pictures along with myself. Then, keeping everyone happy while she took the pictures. We figured out that it worked better for Valerie to take each child separately to take some shots. Kids always do better without their parents even in photography. Valerie used to be an assistant to another photographer that we have used in the past and commented that now she knows why Stephanie needed an assistant. Stephanie is on maternity leave right now. It's always helpful to have an extra pair of hands so Valerie plans to bring an assistant next time. I cannot wait to see the digital files. After naps, we all headed to the doctor for three year and six month check-ups. Henry is in the 75% for his weight and not sure about the height. Evie is in the 75% for her weight and 97% for her height. Carl was there too as I mentioned earlier which helped a lot because we were there a really LONG time to get both kids visits completed.

Tuesday: Evie went to school. Henry and I headed to Nashville to get my cornea checked. I am not exactly sure what the test is supposed to show the doctor but it took less than five minutes to finish up there. Henry slept there and back so he was up for the day when we got home. He has not been sleeping good day or night this week which has been really tough on me. I know that his stomach is bothering him which makes it even harder because sometimes I am not sure what to do. We picked Evie up from school and played outside a bit. It was a beautiful day! Evie asked me if she could take a little rest so she went down for a late nap. Both kids actually slept at the same time! I love it when that happens although it is very rare.

Wednesday: We had a really busy day! That morning, we had our playgroup at Courtney's house. Evie's first question to Campbell -"Campbell, do you like my dress?" Playgroup was really fun. I LOVE that we are doing smaller playgroups because it's not so wild and it's easier to get to know the moms on a more personal level. Have you had the rosemary bagel from Bruegger's? It's so good! We came home for a quick lunch and then nap time. Another little girl in the neighborhood, wanted to come over to help with Evie and Henry. It did not go as well as the Mother's Helper did last week. This little girl is too young and not ready for this quite yet. Maybe in another year or so but for now it just felt like I was babysitting her instead of her helping me with my kids. Then, Courtney and the boys came over for dinner because both of our husbands were working. Evie and the boys had a ball and were wild as usual. All three of them took a spin in the exersaucer which was pretty funny since they are all way too big. Courtney and I could barely finish a conversation and even Henry made a mess. He's loving sitting in his high chair and trying new foods. It makes Carl nervous because Henry chokes a lot more than Evie ever did. It's just part of learning to eat but it can be pretty scary. Evie said, "mommy, why you put your finger in Henry's mouth."

Thursday: Evie was so busy singing her ABC song that she did not fall asleep until late. I had to wake Evie up for school and then she woke up Henry for me. Henry and I dropped Evie off at school then we came home. It was so nice to be at home on a rainy day. Henry napped and I did a few things around the house. Then, I had a doctors appointment. It's been really busy with the doctor appointments this month because I try to do all my annual visits in January. I will have so much more time now that is all taken care of for the year. Evie was so excited to see me after school. We came home and played a bit. She got some mail from Ipop and wanted to go "treasuring" and then we played sleep. That's my favorite game with Evie. She wanted to get out all of Carl's camping supplies so that made it even better. I went to babysit the boys while their parents went out to dinner. Courtney and I decided to try this instead of always using babysitters. It worked out really well! I felt like a 22 year-old college student walking over there to babysit. That's a feeling that I have not had in quite some time. HA! Campbell and Christian were so much fun. We played trains, read books and ate apples. They taught me all about boy stuff like Lightening McQueen and how to build train tracks so that the bridges stay intact. Little boy snuggles are the best and it gives me lots to look forward to with Henry. Courtney is coming over next week for our turn. Why did it take us so long to figure this out?

Evie likes to "punzel" from Henry's crib.

Henry decided to use his arm to punzel.

Treasuring is so much fun!

Evie's hair is a mess because brother likes to pull out her tails which makes her giggle.

Friday: Henry and Evie both slept late again. It was nice at the time but then Henry did not take his morning nap. Maybe one day, he will eat, sleep and poop more consistently. His medicine has helped some but not like we had hoped. His dosage has been increased which will hopefully do the trick. We went to The Porter's house for lunch and playtime. Kristin made delicious baked ziti which was such a treat! Henry is tolerating dairy again and I have been slowly adding dairy back into my diet for about two weeks. So far everything seems to be okay which makes eating much easier. Evie and Jacob had a blast together. They were being really quiet upstairs so Kristin went to check on them. Evie and Jacob were on the bed playing but they had a Bible with them. That made us laugh! Evie did not want to leave but it was time to attempt feeding Henry and putting him down for a nap. He slept for awhile but not long enough for me. Carl came home to work because he was in the area and it made more sense than going back to the office. He worked at home while Evie napped and I took Henry to run a few errands with me. I got back and tried to feed Henry again and put him down for his nap but he was not interested. Are you seeing a pattern here? He is perfectly content to play but has no interest in eating or sleeping. Our pediatrician explained that he is just literally so full of poop that he does not have room for any food and is so uncomfortable that he is unable to relax enough to sleep. I feel so badly for the little guy. Carl went to pick up a pizza for dinner! My first pizza in nearly 5 months and it was amazing. Pizza is definitely what I missed the most. Evie and Henry both gave us a run for our money at bedtime. I explained to Henry that Mommy is off duty beginning at 7:00. He must not agree because I have been in his room at least a dozen times while typing this post. The good news is that he is finally asleep so I am headed to bed too.

Pictures with 2

2012-01-24T19:49:00.001-06:00

Clearly, Evie was not amused that I wanted to take her picture before school.

Henry is more interested in the book than the camera!

That book was WAY more interesting than me. Firetrucks are fun!

"Sister, let's just get this over with so we can get back to the book."

Evie is not thrilled that Henry now grabs everything from her. She's really going to get mad once he starts moving.

Before Henry was born, I used to wonder why there were so few pictures of siblings together . . . as in the same picture. Well, I get it now that I have two kids of my own. It's nearly impossible!

Henry goes to the Gastroenterologist

2012-01-23T21:25:00.002-06:00

Henry went to the gastroenterologist last week. That is a specialist that I never imagined taking my six month old baby boy to see. However, it seems to be the best place to get some answers on our little guy. It was extremely sad to walk into Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and see so many sick children. Yet, comforting to know that Vanderbilt Children's can help really sick children so a little constipation is not too much to worry about. Nothing like seeing so many sick children to revitalize my prayer life making me even more thankful for my two healthy children. It was truly heartbreaking to see the anguish in the parents eyes while watching their precious children suffer.

I was apprehensive about taking Henry because it seemed like such a big step. Carl was out of town so I was on my own for this visit. It's never fun to take your child to the doctor but this was a good experience. Everyone from the receptionist to the nurse were super nice and more importantly super helpful! First order of business was a weight check, of course Henry has no problem in that area. His nurse even told him that he was a hause cat. He's a big boy weighing in at 18 pounds. Henry was just smiling away during his appointment. He is such a happy baby!

I ran through Henry's medical history with the nurse before the Nurse Practitioner came in to check him out. Stacey was excellent. I was convinced that she would not know how to help him because she was the fourth medical professional for Henry to see. She was very concerned about Henry's condition and immediately began creating a plan to help him. His x-ray was fine in regards to his organs but there was an excess of poop inside his body. That's not surprising, considering this has been going on for nearly two months. A specialist has little tips and tricks that the other doctors did not have since they see a wider-range of problems. A gastroenterologist knows more about tummy issues than I could ever imagine. Stacey suggested splitting his reflux medicine into two doses and administering it with a spoon rather than a syringe. That has made a HUGE difference because he is getting more of the medicine instead of it just dribbling down his chin.

Stacey performed a rectal exam and there was some blood in his stool. That could mean a variety of things but most likely it could be from trying to pass his BM or the presence of a food allergy. I opted to take the conservative approach first which is a medication called lactulose. Conservative is a relative term since we have tried so much but at least it was not so invasive as some of the other options. Henry takes 4ML's a day along with his reflux medication. It seems to be helping a little but not like the NP expected it too which means a barium enema might be our next step.

I will delete this post when Henry is older so that it will not cause any embarrassment to him but wanted to post our experience to help other moms. Several moms have either emailed or commented to me, that their children suffered from constipation too. It's hard to find any real solutions on the Internet and every baby is different. Be sure to check with your doctor regarding your own child.

Things that we have tried:

warm baths
rectal temperature
massage
leg exercises
prunes and pears
fruit juice
eliminating solids including rice cereal and oatmeal
squatting positions
suppositories
Miralax

My parents were here during Christmas and we were all sitting in the den searching the Internet for ways to relieve constipation. There are some pretty wild suggestions out there!

We just got back from Henry's six month check-up. Thankfully, Carl went with me since it was Evie's three year check up too. It was pretty crazy having two kids at the same appointment. Pediatrician suggested giving the lactulose one more week before doing anything more invasive. There was no blood in his stool this week so that's an excellent sign. My best trick for getting your baby to go to the bathroom: put your favorite outfit on him and then put him in the exersaucer. Works like a charm and that's laundry that I am more than happy to wash if it makes my baby more comfortable. Let's just hope this keeps working for Henry.

Weekend Wrap-up!

2012-01-22T21:03:00.001-06:00

Oh my, what a weekend! I think that this is the first time that a Monday sounds good. Routine is a good thing! I will miss Carl though when he goes back to work.

Evie had a birthday party yesterday. That's the story of our life these days. We only attend parties of our favorite people as a way to cut it down a bit. However, we really like a lot of people. Joshua's party was so much fun. His sweet mom, Sara, did not miss a detail and orchestrated the perfect train party. Not a detail was missed. Each child was given a ticket and circulated to eight train-themed centers. They dressed up like Sir Topham Hat, shoveled coal, worked train puzzles and sorted the mail at the depot. Evie loved it all! Her favorite part was the train ride through the neighborhood. It was a bit brisk for a train ride but it was worth it to see Evie enjoying herself so much. After a few train rides, it was time for a train themed lunch. Evie loved eating her turkey train sandwich. It was an exciting morning and exhausted our sweet girl. She slept for nearly four hours after that adventure. Henry slept great too which was a real treat for us to have both kids asleep for the same period of time.

We had an early dinner and then watched Evie put on a show with her dress-up clothes. Evie kept us entertained while we watched the South Carolina primary results roll in on television. I tried to watch a movie with Carl but fell asleep. He watched, The King's Speech and thought it was very good. Maybe I will try to sneak a movie in during nap time this week.

Morning came too soon! Someone always wants to wake up at 7 and this morning that someone was Evie. We went to early church. Evie was reading to "her cousin" when I picked her up. She kept telling me and everyone within ear shot that this girl was her cousin. Perhaps, her name was Mary or Lucy but she was not related to us. Henry did not fare so well in the nursery this week. He was not happy at all when I picked him up and did not settle down when we went back in the church. Carl and I decided to head out after communion because Henry literally never cries so we knew something was wrong with our little guy. It was so sad to see him with big tears and gasping to breathe. He perked up after a feeding and a nap.

Carl and I did a major clean-up of the house to prepare for our small group to come over for dinner. Carl did most of the cleaning while I ran to the grocery store. It's pretty easy to cooking-wise because everyone brings something. Carl grilled pork tenderloin and I made two pies along with an appetizer and a dessert. Dinner turned out well but it was a madhouse! Eight adults and seven kids for dinner is a bit overwhelming. Thank goodness, that a few of the kids had youth group tonight so that cut our numbers back a little. We made it but barely. Carl said he was so in shock the entire time that it was so wild and I gently told him that's the way it is with kids. We will finish the year but will probably either skip small group next year or do one without kids. Evie was a major pain! I am sure it's hard to have so many people in your house playing with your stuff when you are three. Some of the big kids were not so sure about her but she sure loved them! Maybe loved them a little too much. We enjoyed the fellowship with friends - it's just getting to that part. That's the hard part for us, getting dinner prepared, served while entertaining the guests and taking care of our kids. It's a lot at this stage in our life. We really have enjoyed getting to know the other couples. I may feel differently in a few days but after three timeouts for Evie, pillow fights with tears in the den, a horrible storm and chocolate pie smeared from here to there - it was a little much. We have to host one more time and I am thinking a nice cookout would be fun and a little easier to manage.

We were so busy doing this weekend that we did not get around to taking many pictures. In the morning, Valerie is coming to take pictures of Henry and Evie for their six month and three year portraits. Wish me luck, my first time doing a photo shoot solo but I wanted the pictures done while Henry was still six months old. Hope your week gets off to a great start!

Week in Review

2012-01-20T16:04:00.001-06:00

Monday: We celebrated Evie's birthday! It was so fun watching her open all her birthday presents. We spread it out over three days but here are a few pictures for the grandparents. She wanted to go to Harris Teeter for a pink balloon and a cookie. I love that she is so easy to please most of the time. Then, we went to see Beauty and the Beast in the movie theatre. Henry stayed with a babysitter. It was Evie's first movie and I was not sure what to expect but she LOVED it. Except for one part, when she told me that she wanted to go home. She perched on my lap for a bit and enjoyed the rest of the movie. Campbell and Christian came with us along with their Mommy. It was so much fun. Can't wait to go back for another movie. Evie requested chicken nuggets and lemonade for her birthday dinner. That was easy! It's just so hard to believe that my sweet girl is 3.

Tuesday: I took Henry to the GI doctor while Evie was at school. Doctor was amazing and had lots of good suggestions. Evie was so proud of her birthday crown from school! She took ice-cream sandwiches to her friends and told me multiple times how all her friends "like them samwichs." After school, our neighbor, Erin came over to help me with Evie. I was not too sure how it would all play out but Erin did a fantastic job taming our Tennessee Tornado.

Wednesday: We headed out to the MOMS Club board meeting and had a delicious breakfast. Evie played with Jackson and Elise. Henry just hung out with me. Evie told me that she wanted Henry to go back in my belly. Only took her 6.5 months to make that comment so that's pretty good. Henry pulled her sketch book off the table which annoyed Evie. However, she quickly forgot about this and told me that Henry was the best brother ever and that he so sweet. We made pancakes for dinner and just hung out around the house.

Thursday: Evie had school and Henry had his sitter. I had an appointment and then met Courtney for lunch at Wild Iris. If you are local, check this place out! It was delicious. We both had the tuna melt but it was not your ordinary tuna melt. It was served on warm homemade bread and was loaded with red onions and capers. DELICIOUS! Let's not forget the amazing housemade potato chips that were seriously divine! I cannot wait to go back. After lunch, we went to Stacey Rhodes Boutique. It had lots of super cute clothes but it's definitely more of a splurge type place. Too bad, we do not have any upcoming weddings to attend because they had a million cute dresses that would be perfect for a fun cocktail party or wedding. Perhaps, a bit much for playgroups and playgrounds. Erin came back to help me out but Evie was asleep. She played with Henry for a bit. Mother's Helpers are fabulous!

Friday: Evie was quite imaginative all morning and had all kinds of elaborate role playing that she wanted me to participate in with her. She was super sweet with Henry and kept hugging him. Evie is quite generous with her hugs these days.Then, we headed out to see our friends in Murfreesboro for playtime and lunch. It was so fun although Evie was extremely whiny! That whining drives me crazy and I do mean crazy. Evie and Abby kept busy playing with the dollhouse, drawing on the easel, and turning Maura's house into a disaster zone. Maura made some delicious chicken sandwiches. Best part, is that she will use the rest to make barbecue pizza tonight. I cannot wait to try that with my family. Evie crashed right when we got home and Henry seems to be busy trying to relieve his constipation. Carl has been out of town and is on the way back now. We will all be thrilled to see him walk through the door! Happy Friday, y'all!

Sleeping Beauty!

2012-01-19T20:21:00.002-06:00

Evie is always exhausted on school days due to a short nap. I usually let her watch a movie or read when she gets home so she can rest a bit more. It was fairly warm this afternoon so we headed outside for a bit. We came back in so Henry could nap and Evie decided to rest in the Moses Basket. She sat there reading long enough for me to read a magazine. Then, Henry woke up, so we headed upstairs. Evie wanted the Moses Basket in her crib and told me that she was tired and needed more rest. I went to change Henry's diaper and when I came back she was sound asleep.

Riding Along in my Automobile!

2012-01-18T21:48:00.001-06:00

Evie is really into cars these days specifically pink cars. Shocking, I know that Evie has a color preference even with her cars. Evie has been requesting way too much TV. It's so easy to get stuck in a rut with show after show. There is only so much Caillou that I can handle without losing my mind. After nap, I decided to pull out my transportation unit from when I taught first grade. Evie LOVED having her own road and spent the longest time driving her little cars. Be sure to notice that Evie is wearing her shiny shoes. She likes to be fancy even in her pajamas. Henry had fun too and thought the road was quite tasty. Evie was quick to tell him not to do that. "Hen Wee, we drive on roads not taste them."

I will definitely pull this activity out again. One thing about cutting back on TV is that the house gets a lot messier but it sure is more fun to play. Evie is so sweet! She said, "it was the best day ever" when I was putting her to bed tonight. Just a little construction paper, that's all it take to make her day.

Happy Birthday, Evie!

2012-01-16T14:24:00.000-06:00

Dear Evie,

You are 3! That just seems so big and you are so proud to be 3. You asked for a big girl bed and keep telling me that you are a grown-up. What a silly girl! You have changed so much this year! Everyday brings new experiences for us all as you begin to navigate your own little world and we step back a bit to allow you to grow. Daddy and I still marvel that you went from this tiny little baby to a real little girl in what feels like the blink of an eye. Sometimes I can not even look at the pictures, it just seems impossible that this is all happening so quickly.

Baby Evie!

You weigh 35 pounds and are 39 inches tall. You sleep for 12 hours a night and take three hour naps when you are home. Sleeping is one of your favorite activities. You have started sleeping with way too many objects. Let's see you have your old favorites of Raffi and blankey but you have added: mouse, hippo, pink blanket, pillow and a flashlight. That was your Daddy's idea and it keeps you busy until you fall asleep. Bedtime is always a nice respite for me but I am always ready to hear you calling "Mama, come get me" every morning. You gather up all of your snuggly things as you call them before heading downstairs ready to start the day.

You are quite independent and want to do everything yourself which is wonderful for Mommy. Every morning, I give you some clothes and a few minutes later you are dressed. This works much better than trying to dress you myself because then you like to turn it into a game of chase. We try to work with your independence instead of against it. You brush your own teeth, climb into your car seat all by yourself and carry your own backpack. Sometimes your independent streak works against us! You can be strong-willed and know exactly what you want in life. That makes us proud even though it can be aggravating in the moment. It's important to know what you want and to make it happen.

You go to school on Tuesday and Thursday. Ms. Molly and Ms. Jen have taught you so much. Daddy and I love to hear you sing new songs, tell us new stories and show us your latest project. We love to hear you talk about your friends especially Molly and Vivi. School has been a fantastic experience for you allowing you to gain more confidence and learn to trust other adults. Mommy likes it too!

You are truly a sweet little girl. I loved it when you said, "Thank you for having a party for me, Mommy. I liked it." Manners are important and nothing sounds more precious than your little voice saying, thank you. You tell us "thank you" without prompting a lot and always at the most appropriate times.

You say lots of funny things! It's so cool to see you making connections and watching you grasp new concepts. You point out objects that are similar and note that they are friends. Your imagination is amazing and it takes us on all kind of adventures. Just this morning, we visited the beach, went swimming in the pool, shopped for cupcakes at the grocery store and sang on stage with your sparkly wand and your dress-up clothes. Sometimes, you tell me exactly what response you want from me. "Mommy, say Evie is a good singer or Evie looks so pretty in her pink dress." I have to say it exactly as you indicate or you want me to start all over.

Daddy and I still refer to you as our Tennessee Tornado because you are wild! You have lots of personality and we would not have it any other way.

Things you like: playing outside, anything pink, hummus, your boys, Caillou and art. You play with your babies so sweetly yet you are just as happy digging in the dirt or riding a 4 wheeler with your boys.

You LOVE to read and spend lots of time checking out your books. Sometimes, you ask me "what that word" is but usually you just chatter away keeping with the general story line. I hope that you will always enjoy books. It makes us so happy to listen while you read to Henry. I read you a lot more books when you were a baby than I read to Henry. You make me feel better about that because you read dozens of books to him every day. After you finish, you always ask him if he liked it and then finish off with an AMEN. That's your way of saying, "the end."

You notice everything! Nothing gets past you. If someone is sad in a book or a movie, you want to know where there Mommy is and "why she not helping." Daddy and I have noticed that you are very aware of our moods too. You say "Daddy, why you not talking" when he is quiet. He reminds you that Daddy does not talk as much as Mommy. You tell us that you like us all.day.long! You make everyone feel so special when you tell them they are the best. You are our best Evie!

Henry adores you! We could not ask you to be a better big sister. You are a natural and love him so much. It's so amazing to see you nurture him and protect him. I hope you will always do that for Henry and that he will always take care of you. You have to stick together! That's what siblings do for each other and for their parents.

Mommy is a planner and likes to map out things way in advance. Just ask Daddy, he will tell you all about my constant quest to create our life as a family. One thing that I never do is imagine you as a big girl. It's happening fast enough right before our eyes. Our greatest hope for you is that you will always be a thoughtful, caring person. That matters more than most anything else. Daddy and I pray that you will continue to follow Jesus and follow His plan for your life. He has plans for you to give you hope and a future. That's Jeremiah 29: 11-14, Mommy's favorite verse for you.

There will be lots of days when we will drive each other crazy and days that you will wish for a different set of parents than us. That's okay, it is part of growing up and then one day you will realize that we set boundaries for you because we love you so much and because we want you to reach your full potential in life. I feel so fortunate to have the privilege of being home with you every day. Daddy works hard to make this happen and I will be forever grateful to him that I am here with you teaching you about the world. Being you and Henry's mother is my favorite role that I have ever played, you are the magnificent little girl, the one that I always dreamed of having one day.

Daddy and I are so proud of you! You are an extraordinary little girl and we are still in awe that you are our precious daughter. We love your sweet smile, your happy laughter, your endless cuddles and your amazing spirit. You have made our lives richer than we ever imagined and more fun than we ever dreamed it would be.

Happy Birthday to our very best Evie!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

1 year old Evie!

2 year old Evie!

3 year old Evie!

Weekend Wrap-up!

2012-01-15T20:39:00.000-06:00

We had a super fun weekend! Yesterday was busy with Evie's birthday party. After naptime, Carl and I snuck out for a quick date. Evie was thrilled to show Miss Shannon all of her new toys. I booked a sitter when I found out that there was a boat show this weekend. I knew that Carl would love the chance to go check out some boats even though we are not in the market for a boat anytime soon. Nashville is not the most boat-friendly city but it sure was fun to dream. Carl picked out the perfect boat for our family.

It was fun to dream and check out some interesting stuff! After the boat show, we headed out for a bite to eat which proved to be a lot more difficult than we had envisioned because there was a hockey game. It was entertaining to walk the bustling streets, listen to the live music and try to spot a few stars. Carl thinks he saw Vince Gill and Hank Williams Jr. was in a bar that we passed. I am HORRIBLE at star sightings! There were tons of people hanging around where Vince Gill was so that was our BIG clue then Carl overheard someone say that it was Vince Gill. We kept trying to find a place to eat with no luck so we decided to head back to our area of town. Local Taco is always a hit so that is where we went. It was not busy at all since everyone was at the Predator's game. We got a cozy spot by the fire and enjoyed some yummy dips and fajitas. I could eat there every night! Henry is tolerating dairy in small amounts so we split a brownie with ice-cream. Keep your fingers crossed that he does okay with that! I skipped the cheese dip but that brownie was too tempting.We had such a great time and need to get out more by ourselves. Although, our babysitter cost more than our dinner! Kids really do change everything but we LOVE being parents.

Henry surprised us all and slept 9 hours straight! We woke up so refreshed and made it to early church just in time.

Evie and Henry looked so adorable in their snowman outfits. Henry was the star of the nursery. They just adore him which makes me feel so comfortable leaving my sweet baby boy in there. Evie and I picked him up and they were all gathered around Henry while he entertained them with his big grins. One of the workers told me that since Henry was leaving they could give the other kids some attention. Henry is the happiest, easiest baby. I took the kids back in church. As we were leaving, Evie told me that she needed to hug Jesus. I was not sure what she meant at first but figured out that she meant Father Dixon. He thought that was pretty funny and it made his morning after a tough sermon.

We stopped for bagels on the way home. It was pushing our luck with Henry since he is not taking bottles again and needed a nap. He did fine! Evie loves her strawberry cream cheese so everyone was happy.

We enjoyed a low-key Sunday at home. Those are the best kind of days! Evie played with her new toys, watched her Madeline movie, and everyone took naps. Henry tried a new food tonight - Organic Brown Rice and Lentils. He was a big fan. Evie asked me to taste it . I was not a fan. Evie was curious about why Henry liked it if it was not tasty. Oh dear, nothing gets past our Evie.

Evie's Birthday Party!

2012-01-15T15:21:00.001-06:00

Evie had her 3rd birthday party yesterday! It was so much fun. Evie enjoyed having all of her little friends celebrate on her special day.

Heidi and Beverly at Sweet Birdie's Nest designed a super cute invitation using the park theme of our venue. They are always a pleasure to work with and do a fantastic job!

Evie has been talking for weeks about her birthday at the park so we were hoping that she would be just as excited on the big day! She did not disappoint because she was so pumped to be heading to her own birthday party. We let her open a few presents before we left and then it was time to go. Morning parties have lots of good points especially that we did not spend the entire day telling her that it was not time for her party yet.

Inside Out Play Park is new to our area and it's a park that is inside just as the name implies. It's perfect for cold days so I knew it would be a fantastic spot for a January birthday party. Inside Out did an amazing job and I highly recommend them. They did all the decorating with the supplies that I dropped off, ordered the pizza, cut the cake, and cleaned everything up. We had our own party planner, Drea, who orchestrated the party perfectly herding the kids for games, pizza and cake. She did everything for us so that Carl and I were able to enjoy the party too. Henry hung out with Carl and checked out all the big kids. It was the easiest birthday party and fun too!

Here's a peek inside the park before the kids arrived.

We all enjoyed playing a bit before the party started.

Evie was so excited to see everyone as they arrived! She had a ball with all of her friends. I was standing behind Evie during lunch and she asked to me to go over there. She wanted to have some girl talk with Molly! Evie got so excited to see Abby that she went to get Carl to show him too. That girl loves all her friends. We hear about them all the time!

We had cookie cake from Publix and it was so yummy! Not to mention easy to cut and a lot neater than cupcakes or sheet cake. Everyone loves chocolate chip cookie - it was a hit. Someone took a little swipe of icing before my picture but that's just a three year old thing to do!

After cake, it was time for the birthday surprise. Drea took Evie for a ride around the track on a four-wheeler and gave her some princess attire to make it even more special. Evie loved it and did not want to get off when her turn was over.

Party time was over and it was time to pass out the cute favors from Cakeology. Kayce designed tree house cookies for Evie that were replicas of the tree house at Inside Out. I did not take a picture but they were adorable. She did an amazing job decorating the cookies and shipped them to me without a single cookie breaking on the journey from South Carolina. They were beautiful and delicious.

We came home with lots of wonderful presents from her thoughtful friends. Evie loved opening all of them and has already had so much fun with her new toys.

We had a blast celebrating Evie's third birthday with all of her friends. Evie makes everyday an adventure and we are enjoying the ride with our sweet, adorable daughter.

Week in Review: Snow, Yellow Porch and Hippos

2012-01-13T18:37:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy week so blogging took a back seat. We are so happy that it is finally Friday!

Monday: We enjoyed a nice morning at home. Carl had a doctor appointment so he was home a bit longer than usual. It was nice just to be home with nothing to do. I did a little straightening up and prepared dinner for a friend. After naps, we headed to the park because it was a nice day. It's important to take advantage of those days in January since there are so few. Evie made friends with a little girl named Charlotte who had twin sisters. She keeps talking about the girl with the two babies. Evie even made the connection that her friend Abby has two babies too. We dropped off dinner at Kelly's house and it was so good to meet her new little baby boy! He is just precious and so tiny. It's hard to believe that Henry was just that small. Carl and I had a double date with Courtney and Christian. We went to The Yellow Porch for dinner and it was delicious. Carl had a fillet and I had a salad with salmon along with a passion fruit tart for dessert. Even better than the food was the time we spent with our friends! It was so much fun and nice to actually finish our conversation without any interruptions! Guess who was awake when we got home at 10? Not Evie! Henry was up and smiling like it was the best day of his life. We had a really rough night with VERY little sleep due to some more tummy issues.

Tuesday: Evie was off to school and Henry had a sitter because I had two appointments. It was time for an eye exam which is never fun. I had to wait a long time but it was worth the wait. Dr. Rebecca Taylor is a fabulous physican and gave me an excellent eye exam. My eyes do crazy things after pregnancy so it was good to know that I was in capable hands. Henry was not having fun with his sitter so I rushed home with my blurry vision from being dilated. It takes my eyes nearly 12 hours to get back to normal after they are dilated so that is never a good combination with driving. Henry was having more belly issues so I decided to take him back to the doctor. I saw another pediatrician in the group and he was excellent. He agreed that it is entirely out of the range of normal to suffer constipation for 6 weeks. Evie was along for the appointment and she did great especially considering that she had been at school all day. The doctor sent us for an x-ray so off we went to yet another doctor's office. That's four different doctor's in one day just in case you have lost count. Oh dear, I was done but my children were hanging in there just fine. They just played with toys, raided the candy bowl and cooed at strangers while I filled out forms and answered the same questions. I was so worried about Henry but everything with the x-ray turned out fine. Henry is going to the specialist on Tuesday and are hoping for some answers for our sweet boy. We were all exhausted after this busy day. Henry slept for eight hours straight which was bliss for me!

Wednesday: We headed to the library to hear Ms. Cheap. She is the local newspaper columnist who writes about ways to stay cheap! I have been looking forward to hearing her speak for a long time. She was so gracious to come speak to my MOMS group and I enjoyed it so much. More on that later! We ran a few errands after that while we were already out and about. After naps, we headed out for haircuts and to order Evie's birthday cake. Carl had a dinner meeting so it seemed like a good idea to get out for a bit. He took his customer to The Yellow Porch because he enjoyed it so much. Evie and Henry both love the grocery store so it went without a hitch.

Thursday: Evie had school and Henry stayed with me. We ran a few errands. Nothing too exciting! I really cannot remember what we did all day but it was a good day. We had our first snow of the year which thrilled Evie. She was so anxious to build a snowman but unfortunately there was not enough snow. We made hot chocolate and then cut out snowflakes. I helped Evie make a paper snowman but that was not exactly what she had in mind but it turned out so cute! After our project, we watched Madeline on the couch and snuggled. Her boys gave her a Madeline doll for Christmas so she watched the movie with us too. Carl got home just in time for bedtime because he had another late meeting. He has had a busy week!

Friday: It was a snow day even though there was no snow on the ground. We stayed home doing laundry, reading books about snow and hunting for hippos. Evie and Henry both took super short naps. I napped too but of course that means nothing got done since they woke up so early. Oh well, we had a nice afternoon and Carl got home earlier than usual so Henry and I headed out for a bit while he took Evie running.

That's our week! Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day because it's Evie's birthday party. It seems impossible that my baby girl is turning 3.

Weekend Wrap-up!

2012-01-08T19:19:00.001-06:00

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I took Evie to Brilliant Sky Books on Friday to meet her friend, Molly. Brillant Sky books is one of my favorite places to shop for toys. Evie was so excited to meet her friend Molly there. She talks about Molly all the time. They are in preschool together and Molly's mom is in our MOMS club too. It was a fun morning out and so cute to see the girls having a blast together. It's almost Evie's birthday so I was trying to gauge her interest in toys that might work for her birthday. That's the tough part of a January birthday!

Everyone napped and then we went outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather with our boys. It seems like all the neighbors joined us out there at some point since it was such a warm day. Evie drove a 4 wheeler which was a sight to behold. Courtney took some pictures that I will try to get from her. It was hilarious and made me extremely nervous for driving lessons. Evie ran into a tree, a car and Courtney within her first few minutes driving. YIKES! Then, she had a spectacular temper tantrum as we were leaving because she NEVER wants to leave her boys. Carl got home right after we came inside and went with us to deliver dinner to a new mom. It took us forever to get the kids settled so we just skipped dinner from pure exhaustion.

Saturday was a lazy day! It was raining so we all slept a little later than normal. Evie settled down to watch Pippi Longstocking and we had a carpet picnic for lunch. Then, it was time for Jacob's birthday party at a gymnastics studio. Evie had a ball! She ran, tumbled, bounced and played the whole time. Kristin made the most delicious cupcakes and it was a fun afternoon celebrating sweet Jacob turning 3. It's hard to believe our kiddos are turning 3. Evie kept telling me that she needed to show her Daddy the treat bag and balloon all the way home. She said her favorite part was the snack. That's my girl!

Henry and Carl did not have such a pleasant afternoon. Sweet Henry is having tummy issues again and would not take a bottle from Carl. I am pretty sure that it's time to go to the gastroenterologist which seems like such a huge step but that is the recommendation of both pediatricians that he has seen regarding his stomach.

Evie and Henry took short naps once we were home. We woke up Evie so she'd sleep last night and she went with Carl to run a few errands. They came back with chips, salsa, cheese dip and guacamole from Local Taco. YUMMY and another night of not cooking dinner.

Carl and I watched a movie after the kids were in bed. Henry was up most of the night. Poor little thing was just not feeling well at all. Carl took over with the kids while I slept in this morning. Everyone seems to be under the weather so we have just had a nice lazy day at home. Carl has a really bad sinus infection and took a nap. He never takes naps. Rest is probably the best thing. Evie seems to be getting a little cold like me and then of course there is Henry. I made chicken noodle soup for lunch which might help everyone.

I cleaned while Evie, Henry and Carl slept. Our house is a wreck! I just cannot keep up with the mountains of laundry, constant clutter and general mess of life with children. My expectations are much lower than they used to be but it's still pretty messy. Carl took over the kids after nap and I was able to finish up the house. It is so much better now!

We enjoyed our lazy day at home! Gloomy days are just perfect for lounging around in pajamas, reading books and watching movies.

6 Months!

2012-01-05T19:51:00.007-06:00

Dear Henry,

You are six months old today! So much has changed this month, your biggest accomplishment is that you sit up all the time. It must be great to see life from a new perspective. You seem to like it a lot and seem much more aware of everything around you.

What a big boy you are weighing in at 18 pounds and some change - that puts you in the 75% percentile. Your weight has stabled off a lot but you have grown in inches and are in the 90%. That means you are longer than 90% of the other 6 month old boys out there. Not a big surprise since all of the Niemeyer men are tall.

You take two or three naps a day depending on what is going on and are still quite flexible about the timing. I try to make sure that you get your morning nap and we are always home for afternoon nap. Evie loves her nap. Let's hope you continue to love sleeping as much as Evie. You go to bed between 7 and 8 and wake up between 7 and 8. You are still waking up in the night but showing lots of improvement going 5 and 6 hour stretches again like you did a few months back. I think you are finally feeling better now that your tummy troubles are on the mend. You still like to be swaddled and that will be the our goal for this coming month. Henry, you are a little too large for the swaddle. I had to buy the swaddle in the MEGA baby size so that it would fit you. There's not much room left so we have to get you out of that thing. You have taken a few naps without it so I think you might be ready to say goodbye to our friend, Woombie.

Eating is one of your favorite activities. You LOVE baby food and will eat two or three jars per day. Pears, prunes and carrots are your favorite along with a little oatmeal. Baby Mum Mum's provide you with some entertainment. Evie is constantly telling me that you want one. She patiently hands it back to you every time that it falls which is often. You have experimented with a sippycup some and will drink a little from it. Bottles are not such an issue anymore. You have decided that the Breastflow by First Years works just fine and will take it without too much hassle. You nurse every 4 hours and eat solids twice a day. It's pretty messy but it is worth it to see your big grin as the spoon comes near your little mouth. Nursing you is still sweet as you rub my face or twirl my hair. Although, you have grown two teeth and that can be tricky while feeding you.

You had your first Christmas and seemed to really take it all in. Wrapping paper was fun for you and all the new boy toys have been a big hit.

It's fun to have so many trucks, blocks and balls. You have even have your own bin for cars because you have accumulated so many.

You love to go outside for a walk or to watch Evie play with her boys. Daddy took you on your first jog and you just bounced right along with Evie.

Laid-back is still the name of the game. You are always calm and happy. It's fun to hear you laugh and squeal but you rarely cry. That's a pleasant change, my friend. Try to keep that up!It's easy to take you places and you are perfectly content to check everything out. You do not nap well in public but will nap on the go.

You spend your days checking out Evie, hanging out in your exersaucer and playing with your new toys. We love you so much! I could hold you and squeeze you all day. You are so soft and cuddly. Your laugh is contagious and makes us all smile. Evie just adores you. She said, "I'm glad hims in our family." You are always included in her plans and she wants you along for the ride everywhere we go. She tells me to hold you tight, be careful and not to leave you. If you get fussy, then she directs me to "help Hen Wee" which has made this such a smooth transition to becoming a family of four. I love seeing her love you more as you learn new things. Evie is so proud of you for sitting up. She said, "Hims sit up like just me." Everything is "like just me" with Evie. She is already planning sand castle building at the beach and reminded you to bring your green shovel. Yesterday, we were on a walk and I looked down to see this.

Words cannot even begin to describe our feelings for you. We are so thankful to have you as our son. Our healthy, happy little boy. You are so precious to us and such a delightful gift from God. We are enjoying this special time with you because it is so fleeting. Soon, we will be chasing you all over the house trying to get you in the bath or waiting it out while you experiment with a tantrum. Those days will be fun too but these baby days are the ones that seem to really fly.

Can't wait to see what you have your sleeve for us this month, Henry!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Reunited!

2012-01-04T20:01:00.000-06:00

Christian, Campbell and Evie worked together to create this beautiful masterpiece.

Evie has been crying with real tears because she has not seen her boys. It's been two weeks and that is just not acceptable to Evie. I missed them too! Today, was finally the day, that the boys and Courtney came over for lunch and playtime. Evie likes to open the front door so she can see them walk over and it was hysterical to see her literally jumping for joy once she saw them in their cute matching hats.

They played really well together and it was so nice to catch up with Courtney. Evie and Campbell were missing so I decided to go investigate. They were snuggling in the guest room bed under the covers. It was so cute! They were dreaming and Evie was not thrilled that I told them to go back downstairs. Sleeping and dreaming are two of Evie's favorite games to play. Too bad, my camera was not handy because that would have been one cute photo.

Evie had a total meltdown when she found out they were leaving. Hysterical! Evie told me that she wanted to go live with her boys. I told Evie that I'd miss her so much and she told me that I could live there too. She crashed after her meltdown for several hours. Henry missed the entire play date because he took the longest nap of his life. He was more tired than usual because he found his scream and was practicing throughout the night. Happy as a clam but loving the sound of his voice.

Best news of the day was when I finally figured out that Evie goes back to school tomorrow! Alleluia! I am thrilled to have a little time to get some things accomplished and she will be so happy to see her friends and teachers. Evie has been playing school over break so she will enjoy the real thing even more.

Back to Life, Back to Reality!

2012-01-03T19:27:00.000-06:00

Our weather girl!

Whisking her hot chocolate!

Mmm, so yummy after Mommy took out the marshmallows.

Sweet girl loves to be just like Mommy and Daddy.

Henry just goes with the flow although he let's us know that he wants to try whatever we are eating.

Henry's first time in the high chair. He's looks a little confused by Evie's art lesson. She was working really hard at teaching how to draw a circle. "Just like this "Hen Wee." See this red. Evie like pink but red is nice too. Daddy like blue. Mommy like pink and you like green. Pink not your favorite, that Evie's favorite. Okay, brother."

It's been a fun yet exhausting day at The Niemeyer Nest. Carl left for work around 7 and the day seemed really long without him. It is nice to be back on our schedule. We had some friends come over to play this morning which helped pass the time. Evie and I kept busy having music class, drawing on the easel, and swimming in the pool. She is her father's daughter because "tending snow and rain" was part of our routine for the day. Evie loves weather games and even got into the spirit with a scarf, rain boots and her umbrella. Her imagination is growing every day and it's so fun to see her "tending" about so many real life experiences.

Carl's Grass

2012-01-02T20:07:00.000-06:00

Carl has been home with us for two weeks! It has been wonderful having him here. He is a big help. It was a hoot watching him and Evie vacuum this afternoon after we cleaned up all of our Christmas decorations. They both were taking their chores seriously. Henry was not sure what was going on at our house.

Carl has never taken this much time off so he had big plans to grow a beard. He had a pretty good beard going. Carl decided to do a little trimming last night just for fun.

Pretty crazy! He even left the house like this to make a Starbuck's run. Evie kept calling his beard - grass! They mowed it off tonight and he is back to having a soft, smooth face.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T20:18:00.000-06:00

2012 is off to a great start! Carl and I are not really fans of New Years. It seems so anti-climactic after Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. We went out for lunch yesterday with Henry and Evie. That was fun and more than enough adventure for me. Henry is suddenly interested in everything that goes in our mouth and wants to try it in his own mouth. That makes meal times a little more of a juggling act. He is enjoying Baby Mum Mum's and crackers along with baby food so far. Carl thinks he'd eat a cheeseburger if we gave him one. Two teeth as sharp as those might just devour a cheeseburger.

We had a lazy afternoon around the house. Carl took both the kids jogging which gave me thirty minutes by myself in the house. I organized a closet while they were gone.

Evie loves to click glasses and do "cheers" so we indulged her with some sparkling apple juice in our fancy champagne glasses from the Andre's. Evie thought this was so much fun! She enjoyed some jelly beans for dessert using her new chopsticks.

Then we put the kids to bed and prepared dinner for ourselves. Carl pan seared filet's and I made the sides: lemon-thyme green beans, salad, and baked potatoes. It was delicious! Dessert was a warm chocolate chip cookie with some lactose-free ice-cream. Neither of us made it even close to midnight!

Henry is sleeping until 8 most days which is so nice especially when Evie does it too or Carl is home to take care of Evie. Evie helped Carl make waffles and bacon for breakfast. We stayed home all day just relaxing and not doing anything.

Carl and I both prepared our New Year's dinner of pork tenderloin, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, Hoppin' John and cornbread. We both thought it was delicious but Evie was not the least bit impressed. She took one look at her plate and started pointing out all the things that she does not like. Everything was new on her plate so it did not go over too well so she had cheese and crackers.

Best wishes for 2012! Happy New Year!

Sunny Days!

2011-12-29T20:59:00.000-06:00

It was a gorgeous day in Nashville so we took the opportunity to play outside. Both kids had a blast and nap time was extra long which is always an added bonus.

I took Evie to a fun new play place this morning. We had a great time. It's so easy to take just Evie since she is pretty easy these days. Meltdowns are our biggest issue and we had none this morning. She did cry because she thought that I left her. Evie went down the slide and could not find me. Another mommy helped her find me and she was fine again.

We ran a few errands this afternoon and then headed out for some dinner. Nothing too exciting but it was fun! Best news of the month, Henry is not constipated anymore!

Christmas!

2011-12-28T15:39:00.001-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas! Evie seems to be at the perfect age for the excitement of the season and Henry enjoyed his new view. He is really enjoying sitting on his own and plays happily with his toys.

Evie woke up around 7:15 and was ready to see what Santa brought her. She was so sweet when she saw her gifts. Carl and I really had blast as she made all kinds of comments about Santa bringing her just what she wanted and then she said "thank you Santa."

After, she played with her Santa toys for a bit, Evie remembered her stocking and led me by the hand to the den. Santa brought her lots of fun things in her stocking, chopsticks, Pez, socks, and a light up toothbrush. Henry liked his stocking too. Santa must know that Henry is growing two teeth because he brought Henry some teething toys and a new hat to keep his ears warm this winter.

Evie and Henry opened their gifts from She She and Poppy. Evie loves her new pink coat! Although, her favorite toy from them was the trunk of dress-up clothes. She was had a ball dressing as a princess for the past few days. Henry likes his new soft blanket and squishy toy. We had a quick breakfast before Carl's parents headed to Atlanta to see their other grandchildren, Mary and Lucy.

We opened gifts as a family and played with Evie's new toys while Henry napped. My parents and brother arrived around lunchtime. Evie and Henry were thrilled to see everyone. Nap time went well for Evie not so well for Henry.

Present opening round 2 occurred right after nap time.Evie and Henry both received so many wonderful gifts. Evie told me that her favorites were her vacuum and a pink camera. Henry seems to really like his tool box and cars.

Carl prepared a delicious beef tenderloin for dinner. Baked potatoes, fresh green salad and rolls rounded out our Christmas meal. My mom made caramel apple cake for Carl for his birthday. It was our first family meal in the dining room since we moved in over two years ago. Carl and I have both had meals in there before but not together. Dining rooms are not the most utilized rooms these days but it was nice to enjoy Christmas dinner in the dining room.

Christmas 2011 was wonderful for our family! We appreciate our families coming to us so that we can build traditions in our home with Henry and Evie. Our house is a disaster, our tummies are full, and lots of memories were made. Kids really do make Christmas more fun as we celebrate the birth of Jesus and spend time with those who are special to us.

Christmas Eve!

2011-12-24T22:00:00.000-06:00

We have had a fun day! Merry Christmas!

Henry is not too sure about this photo op.

He decided this was not so bad after all.

I really should post the funny pictures but this was the best out of about 10.

Evie was ready for church and not feeling the need for so many pictures.

Henry was happy to take a picture with She She and Poppy.

Evie decorated a birthday cake for Daddy and Jesus.

Christmas Eve Dinner - ham, lemon-thyme green beans, cranberry salad, pear-walnut salad, mashed potato casserole and rolls. Evie was too busy drinking her Christmas punch to turn around for a picture.

Carl getting a little help blowing out those candles.

Evie is so excited to celebrate her Daddy's birthday with cake.

Check out the kids going for the frosting!

Christmas pajama picture!

Henry has mastered sitting up!

Bedtime!

Taking care of a few last minute preparations.

Stockings are hung by the Chimney with care.
My mom made all of these beautiful stockings!

Santa stopped by our house with toys for Henry and Evie.
Evie received an easel, a marble run and a pink bike.
Henry received a music table, a ball drop and foam blocks.

Almost Christmas!

2011-12-23T20:05:00.000-06:00

We are getting so excited that it's almost Christmas. Evie is counting down for Santa's arrival and ready to make Jesus a birthday cake. It's going to be a fun Christmas with our little girl.

Carl's parents arrived late yesterday afternoon. Evie was happy to see them and promptly began bossing them around. I have no idea where she gets all that bossiness.

We had an easy, simple dinner last night and then watched the Christmas special at Belmont University. It was beautiful at least what I saw of it. Henry's reflux is aggravated by his constipation which has made for some interesting times around the house. He is such a happy baby even when he does not feel his best. Henry slept so well last night better than he has since Thanksgiving. Keeping my fingers crossed that he gives me an encore performance tonight.

Our morning was spent hanging out at home while Henry napped then we headed out for lunch at Local Taco. Carl and I love the food there. What a treat to enjoy such yummy food for lunch! Evie did great and ate her fair share of guacamole along with a few black beans. We came home for naps although Henry did not nap so much this afternoon.

Evie took forever to get to sleep but she finally fell asleep around 2. We made cookies for Santa after her nap. She cracks me up with her creativity in the kitchen! Of course, she had to sample some frosting as she decorated. Only a few sprinkles landed on the floor with the help of a tablecloth under the table.

Carl's dad prepared dinner for us and it was wonderful! Pasta with tomatoes and Italian sausage. We had a nice dinner and then put the kids to bed early since everyone was so tired. It's hard to believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Carl and I are really looking forward to experiencing the magic of Christmas with Evie. Kids make Christmas even more special.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T21:15:00.000-06:00

Welcome Home, Andrew Wilson

2011-12-20T15:09:00.000-06:00

That's the big news here today, Andrew Wilson returned home to his family after a serious injury in Afghanistan. Our entire community has shown so much support to him, the streets are lined with hundreds of yellow ribbons, supporters lined the streets in pouring rain to welcome Andrew as he traveled to his home and members of the community have thoughtfully provided renovations to Andrew's home so that he can manuever throughout the house.

I have been closely following his story and had planned to take our kids to see the parade this morning but the showers kept us away since Henry is still so small. Carl took Evie swimming along the parade route and he said it was full of supporters. Everytime that I drive down our road lined with hundreds of yellow ribbons, I get goosebumps and my eyes tear up.
While pregnant with Evie, a good friend told me that becoming a mother was going to change how I viewed the world. That was a hard concept to grasp but it has become more real now that I am a mother to two innocent, precious children. What if this was my child? Carl and I want our children to make their mark on the world. Andrew has certainly made his mark and with a positive attitude as he works to regain his strength.

I spent the morning thinking of Andrew's parents and how they must feel as they welcome their son home from war. They are certainly proud of their son for giving himself to our country. They may be apprehensive about how to navigate everyday life as they make accommodations for their son who has lost both his legs. Yet, hopeful that medical technology can give him a life that soldiers from previous generations could not have even dreamed of living after injury. What an incredible Christmas present, to return home to his family just time to celebrate the holidays.

Thank you Specialist Andrew Wilson for inspiring me to do more and for giving of yourself to our country!

Jumping and Jesus!

2011-12-19T22:10:00.000-06:00

Evie packed her own quarters so that she could ride the car.

Look at all that drool!

Evie had to join the picture but I sure am glad that she did.

Evie has been anticipating her date with Daddy for over a week. Carl took her to Monkey Joe's this morning for some jumping. AKA - nap time preparation so that Mommy and Daddy can get things done. They had a great time! I would have loved to see them in action. Evie jumped and jumped. Carl tried to get some popcorn for a snack and they were out. He commented that it was horrible that they were out and that's what Evie remembers about the outing. Carl said her eyes welled up with tears because she really wanted popcorn. That's a favorite snack for all of us! Apparently, there were more Honda Odyssey's in the parking lot than there is at the Honda Dealership. Evie loved being with her Daddy and I think that's so important. It was fun for me to go places with just my Dad when I was little and Evie loves it too. She napped really well after her morning of adventure. Mission accomplished!

I took Henry to the doctor and we are trying some new things. Keep your fingers crossed because I am not sure that I like where this is going. He bit his lip with his new tooth this afternoon. It's just a tiny sliver of white so far but it's the beginning of a tooth. Sharp enough to draw blood but barely visible.

Evie and I went to a live Nativity at a church nearby. I was not sure what to expect since this was my first visit to anything like this. It was well-done and Evie really enjoyed it. Some of her comments were so funny. She kept asking why the angel was not flying and why Baby Jesus was not real. Evie suggested that Henry play the role of baby Jesus but did not want her Daddy in the manger. Not sure where that connection came from except that Carl and Jesus share the same birthday. Evie's assignment of leader made her so happy especially since that job title came with a flashlight. The hot chocolate topped it off for Evie, she is definitely my daughter with her love for all things sweet.

Carl and I had a date night to Green Hills for dinner and a little shopping. He was not quite as impressed with The Container Store as me until he found a shoe caddy for our laundry room that will hold all the wet, muddy shoes that accumulate all winter long. Henry was still awake when we got home but he was happy as ever. It's been a fun day! Tomorrow will be another great day.

Weekend Wrap-up!

2011-12-18T20:21:00.000-06:00

We had a great weekend and the best part is that it is not really over yet. Carl is taking off a few weeks which makes us all so happy! He will work from home some but he will mostly just get to hang out with us which is the best Christmas present of all.

Saturday did not get off to the best start because Henry did not want to sleep and I mean he really did not want to sleep. I went in his room at least ten times before going to bed myself than he was up a few more times along with Evie. Our sweet Evie woke up at 2 in the midst of a night terror and was inconsolable that there was a butterfly in her room. I am not sure what made the butterfly seem so scary but she was not too happy about it at all. Carl even saw it. He had night terrors as a child too , so maybe they speak the same language. Evie finally calmed down enough to go lay down in bed with me but every time that I looked at her she was inspecting her fingertips to make sure the butterfly was not there. She finally exhausted herself and went back to her crib about 4. Everyone slept pretty late on Saturday morning after our eventful night!

I ran a few errands on Saturday and even found my wreaths. They look beautiful and we did a little more decorating inside the house. It's so much harder to get things done these days but that's okay there is plenty of time for an immaculate house. Now, is the time for crumbs on the table and blocks on the floor.

Evie slept for more than four hours at nap time after missing so much sleep.

She woke up just in time for our annual Japanese Steakhouse Dinner. Evie was so excited that her boys were joining us too. Our kids did great even with all the noise. Christian had his hands over his ears and Evie told me that she wanted to go home. They really enjoyed the show and it was fun to share our tradition with friends. Evie said, "yeah, he is going away" when the chef finished cooking. Hopefully, he did not hear that part. All three kiddos loved the chopsticks. Henry just hung out. He was pretty tired but he made it just fine.

We had another rough night on Saturday. Henry was not feeling too good and woke up so many times that I cannot even begin to tell you an actual count. He has not slept well today either so tomorrow he is going the pediatrician to see if she can get things moving for our poor little guy.

Carl and Evie made waffles this morning and then Evie and I watched a Christmas movie. Henry is really into his new train toy from his babysitter. He played with it most of the day.

Evie and I went on our own little adventure this afternoon. We went shopping for a present for Henry. You can probably imagine how this activity worked out for me. Evie wanted everything in the store but did finally select something for Henry. Santa Claus was at the store too so Evie was not so sure about tat. She did stop by long enough to let him know that she still wants "a pink bike, a pink easel and a super prize." Santa said that he would work on that for her. Evie thanked him for the pink candy cane and told him Merry Christmas. I asked Evie where she wanted to go next and she chose the grocery store. Poor thing does not get out much anymore if that is her activity of choice. Evie wanted to sit in the "ridey cart" so thankfully there was one available. I had so much fun with Evie and want to make more of an effort to do things with just Evie. She told me that she had so much fun which made me so happy. Evie talked about brother the entire time that were gone telling me where he could sit, what he likes and even wanted to know why he was not with us. Evie is a good big sister!

Carl had a rough time with Henry while we were gone but Henry was asleep when we got back. Carl made popcorn for dinner and we popped the kids in bed. Guess who is already awake again? He is growing a tooth but we think there may be more to this with our little guy. Hope you had a wonderful weekend.

What a Week!

2011-12-16T20:21:00.000-06:00

It's been a wild week at our house. Before Henry was born, Evie and I were on the go all the time. Now, it just seems easier to stay home and hang out than to load up two kids for adventures out and about. We had a lot of adventures this week and now it's time for a relaxing weekend.

Monday was the board meeting for MOMS club. Evie had fun playing with the other kids and Henry spent the time checking out his feet. We ran a few errands after the meeting since were already out but then headed home.

Tuesday is a school day so Henry and I headed out for a shopping frenzy. He is the best little shopper and is perfectly content hanging out in the stroller while I finished up our Christmas shopping. I had to take him out once in 4.5 hours but he was fine hanging out on my hip while I pushed the stroller through Pottery Barn. Carl had to go out of town again this week but was only gone two nights. It seemed like a lot after last week. Evie really missed him this time and kept telling me that she was so sad without her Daddy.

Wednesday was a fun day! We had our playgroup over for cookie decorating. My SIL, Lollie, had told me about cookie painting which is much more fun not to mention less messy than sprinkles. Cookie paint is about a cup of powdered sugar, a few tablespoons of milk and some food coloring. The kids had a blast painting the cookies and the color stayed so vibrant even after it dried. We also decorated ice-cream cones with green frosting and candies to resemble Christmas trees. I will definitely try both of these activities again. A few kids were sick but it worked out because it can be chaotic having a house full of toddlers. Henry slept through the entire play date. We had a lazy afternoon and then Evie had a bath with a few glow sticks. I found this idea on Pinterest and she thought it was so cool. She stayed in the tub for an hour which gave me a chance to fold some clothes and play with Henry. I used to get a lot done when Carl was out of town when it was just me and Evie. Now, it seems a lot more difficult to cross things off my to-do list but I did enjoy lots of fun time with my kiddos.

Thursday, Henry had his sitter while Evie was at school. Courtney and I went out to breakfast at Firstwatch Cafe. It was our first time there but I am already anxious to go back. We had so much fun chatting and enjoying breakfast without the kiddos. I ran a few errands before picking up Evie. It was my goal to find a wreath. Wreaths seem to be difficult to find this year. I went to six places before finding one. It's a gorgeous boxwood wreath but is a little too small for my door. Hopefully, a wreath will be hanging from our front door before Christmas! Carl got back around 4:30 after driving more than 1,000 miles within two days. He was exhausted but pitched right in with the kiddos when he got home.

We finally made it to Friday! It was a rainy, gloomy day which made it perfect for a play date. The Porter's came over for lunch. Evie and Jacob had so much fun and Evie really showed a lot of interest in Anna. I think Anna liked being the big girl once Henry woke up from his nap. We had Pioneer Woman Chicken Chili for lunch and I thought it was delicious. It was a lot more flavorful than my usual recipe. I used canned beans because it's faster and easier. Other than that I just followed the recipe. Both kids napped a long time since it was raining so that gave me a chance to straighten up and check a few things off my to-do list. Evie was extra sweet and fun today. Carl even noticed this once he got home. He grilled some pork for dinner and we had a fun family dinner. Evie has to have brother close by at all times. He was so close to her tonight that he sprayed her when she was changing his diaper. It was so funny! Henry has been super constipated for over two weeks. I have tried it all - prunes, pears, warm baths, temperature checks, tummy massage, water, juice and even a baby suppository. Poor little guy just does not want to go! I feel like we have spent the whole week talking "poop." Carl and I were discussing how this gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "talking s***" - we just want our baby to be comfortable. Any suggestions? Evie was reading Henry books in bed this morning when she announced "Mommy, Henry not smell that good." It's bad people - really bad! Our sweet baby boy is not smelling too sweet but he is still Happy Henry. Have a great weekend!

Making Christmas Memories!

2011-12-15T20:54:00.000-06:00

I am so excited to see that lots of bloggers are blogging on Christmas memories. What a wonderful topic! I had planned to do this for documentation since I cannot remember things on a daily basis so maybe this post will help me prepare for Christmas in the future as I reflect on Christmas past.

Carl and I have a fair amount of traditions and are still trying to figure out what works best for us. I think it's better to do a few traditions really well than to half participate in a plethora.

Christmas expectations have to remain in check because life with a toddler and baby is slightly unpredicatable. I have to leave room for all those unanticipated things that crop up and sometimes are even better than my plan. This will be our second year staying home for Christmas which we could not do without our sweet parents coming to visit us for Christmas. It means so much to us to enjoy Christmas in our own home while making special Christmas memories with our families.

So, this is what we do now:

Japanese Steakhouse: This will be our 10th year for this tradition so it's our most deeply rooted and just would not feel like Christmas without our annual dinner. Carl and I started this when we were dating. We have been to Japanese steakhouses in Raleigh, Columbia, Charlotte and now Nashville as we have moved all over the place. It's always so much fun and it's something we have incorporated our kids into as well. Saturday night is our Hibachi night and we are super excited to share our tradition with our favorite neighbors!

Christmas Cards: I LOVE Christmas cards. It's so fun for me to select my card, plan our outfits, and then work on the cards for all of our family and friends. I use labels which makes it extra easy although I prefer the handwritten look. Maybe that will happen again one day. We LOVE Sweet Birdie's Nest and get all of our cards, invitations etc. from them. They do a fantastic job! Here's our card for this year:

My favorite way to store our cards is in a beautiful red photo album. Each year, I place the card in the album and it's so amazing to see how we have changed over the last six years from newlyweds to parents with two kids! Evie enjoys showing Carl the new cards each night. We pray for the families that send us the cards and think of them during the Christmas season.

Twenty Five Books: Every blogger seems to be doing this but so I will remember to do it next year. Let's review - I took 25 Christmas books from my bins of books that were stored in the attic from teaching - wrapped them up and Evie opens one book each night after she opens her Advent calendar. It's our first year with this but it's been a hit. We will do this again for sure!

Christmas Eve Service: I really enjoy the Christmas Eve service at church. It usually makes me teary to sing those beautiful hymns that I have sung for so many years. My favorite Christmas hymns are What Child is This and Joy to the World. Evie's favorite is "Wingle Bells" and it thrills my heart to hear her sweet voice singing it. Carl and I loved attending the late service but that's something that will have to wait a few years.

Nativitiy: We have two nativity sets that are an important part of Christmas. It's wonderful to see Evie playing with it and learning about the real reason that we celebrate Christmas. I have been working with her on identifying the different parts but clearly we need more practice. She identified a wiseman as a cowboy and a shepherd as the grandfather. That makes me laugh especially when Evie dresses in her princess dress while working on her nativity identification.

Santa: Evie can tell you exactly what Santa is going to bring her - " a pink bike, a pink easel with art stuff and a super prize." That's how she says surprise so fingers crossed that Santa can deliver all of these gifts. Evie knows that Santa can only bring her three gifts and she has stuck with these three gifts since before Thanksgiving. She is not really a fan of Santa and told me that I could just buy her toys at the store because Santa is scary. She's slowly warming up to the old man! Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care and it's always fun to see what Santa puts in our beautiful stockings made my mom.

Ornaments: I have a HUGE collection of beautiful ornamanets collected over the years. My mom bought me an ornament every Christmas, that is a gift that I will always treasure. I want to do the same for my children but am about a year behind on this. It's so nostalgic to unpack the bins of Christmas decorations and see my moms' handwriting on a tattered piece of yellow legal paper listing out each ornament and the year it was given to me. It was getting a bit chaotic putting our tree up with Evie as our little helper. I reminded Carl that one day way sooner than we'd like, it will just be us putting up our tree. We will miss our little helper!

Christmas China: Carl and I registered for Spode Christmas China when we were married. We have quite the collection. My Aunt Libby has helped me complete my collection and we eat off those dishes every night for the entire month of December. It makes even ordinary meals more special.

Christmas is such a joyful time! We love celebrating the birth of Jesus and making memories with our family. I have a feeling this is going to be an extra special year with Evie being awed by the magic of Christmas. Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T21:12:00.000-06:00

Weekend Wrap-up!

2011-12-11T20:42:00.001-06:00

Our weekend got off to a bang with Carl returning home after a week long business trip! I was thrilled to see him walk through the door. Evie went nuts when she saw her Daddy. Of course, Henry rounded out the welcoming party.

Henry slept great on Friday night! We headed out to get a Christmas tree after Henry's nap on Saturday. Evie wanted to go to the "pee po" to get it so that's just what we did since Home Depot Christmas trees always seem to work out just fine for us. Evie was literally beside herself with excitement that she picked such a "bootiful" tree and asked me to thank her for doing such a good job. Evie announced that she was cold for the first time in her life. It's about time because it was in the 20's.

Evie worked with Carl to put the lights on the tree before going down for nap. After naps, we all decorated the tree with our ornaments which is always nostalgic for me. It does look "bootiful" and I love the clumps of ornaments that Evie clustered on the bottom section of the tree. She's so proud of her handiwork.

Henry loved playing with the shiny, gold garland strands. Evie kept telling him that was NOT a baby toy.

It was so fun to watch Evie decorate the tree especially since she found it necessary to wear her hat and mittens while decorating.

Carl grilled a delicious pork roast for dinner and then we watched Christmas movie before calling it an early night. Thank goodness because Henry was up SIX times. Yes, 6! Carl pulled me out of bed for early church and I am glad that he did. It was a beautiful Lessons and Carols service. Henry fell asleep in the nursery so we just had Evie. It made me wonder what in the world was so hard about just having one child. Perspective, it changes everything! Evie was so sweet on the way home holding Henry's hand. She even told him when we were almost home.

I went out to do a little Christmas shopping this afternoon with Courtney! We had so much fun shopping for our kids and chatting at Starbucks. I hope to finish up this week so I can enjoy the last little bit enjoying Christmas without spending time in crowed malls and busy parking lots.

Carl and I made some soup for dinner. We had our traditional Sunday picnic in the den. That's always fun but messy. Evie enjoyed reading some books to Henry after dinner. I am about to get busy wrapping presents. Hope you had a good weekend!

Pie in the Sky!

2011-12-09T15:15:00.000-06:00

We had a fun outing this morning with our MOMS Club! Pie in the Sky was kind enough to give us pizza making lessons. It was a bit crazy but it was a blast! Chef Erik taught us the two rules of the kitchen - wash your hands and no running. I'll admit that just those two rules seemed like a bit much for our group. All of the moms rounded the kids up for a quick hand wash before heading into the kitchen.

We crammed more than twenty kids in the tiny kitchen and Chef Erik was fabulous! He knew just how to keep our kids entertained and they all enjoyed him so much. The large oven was a HUGE hit with the pre-school set. Evie told me she liked that "old Daddy" which cracked me up since he is probably not even my age.

The kids had a chance to roll out the dough, spread the sauce and throw on some toppings. It was one packed pie by the time everyone had a turn. Pie in the Sky had a large menu with lots of variety not usually found in a pizza restaurant.

Everyone ordered and the kids were given balls of dough which kept them busy for a bit. Henry just played with his feet. We all sat down to eat and enjoyed our delicious pizza. Evie was starving but thrilled that her friend Molly from school was there too.

Henry tried to swipe a piece of Evie's pizza right off her plate. I had a delicious salad with grapefruit, walnuts and apples. Can't wait to go back to Pie in the Sky with my family. It's true they really do have the best pizza in Nashville. Evie summed it us as we left, "that was good fun, Mama."

"He said yes."

2011-12-08T21:26:00.000-06:00

Henry is so fortunate to have a sister that understands him so well. Evie is always willing to interpret on Henry's behalf which is quite convenient for me since I am not always quite sure about all that babble that comes out between the giggles.

I try to keep lots of banter going between me and Henry just like I did for Evie. Although, Evie does a much better job with her constant chatter. I ask Henry a question and she lets me know his answer. Usually, Evie says his answer is YES! Yes, Henry wants to go outside. Yes, Henry wants to watch a show. Yes, Henry wants to read a book.

Evie loves Henry so much except when she is not interested at all which tends to happen when there is anyone new around. Henry becomes second fiddle and she could not care less that he is even present. Evie is very protective of Henry and told me that she is "glad hims in in our family." Music to my ears! Evie has made a wonderful adjustment to her new role as Big Sister. She keeps up with his lovey, reminds me to hold him, and lets others know that he needs Mama. Evie has not shown any jealousy but wants me to attend to his every need before Henry is even sure there is a need. She likes to "help" wake him from naptime and change his diapers with a liberal amount of diaper rash cream. Evie really takes this big sister thing seriously! Henry thinks Evie is pretty great too. He gazes at her and smiles at her all day long.

Henry has been a little stopped up this week so I fed him some prunes. Evie was not impressed because she thought that Henry was being fed mud. Prunes do have a bit of a resemblance to mud. Evie decided to taste a bite just to be sure that Henry did have prunes on his spoon. She even liked them and decided to enjoy a few bites herself. Maybe that's why both kids have colds now. That's a small price to pay to watch their relationship grow. Evie told me tonight that she'd like two brothers because she is the sister!

Henry's Baptism

2011-12-07T20:41:00.000-06:00

Henry received the sacrament of Holy Baptism on Sunday, December 4. He was a doll and the service was nearly two hours. I took him out once to get him to sleep because he was rubbing his eyes - then it got heavy holding him but he was so peaceful that it was fine.

Evie stayed in the nursery with her friend, Campbell. They had a ball and it was so much easier for us not to have to worry about our Evie during Henry's special day. Father Jerry loved holding Henry. Henry received a bible and a special candle to remember his baptism. Henry wore the baptismal gown that Carl wore which was so special.

Our parents came along with our brothers and sister-in law, Lollie and our nieces, Mary and Lucy. Christian, Courtney, Christian and Campbell were kind enough to join us too.

After church, we attempted a few pictures, I was ready to go since my bundle of joy was so heavy and my hair was a hot mess since I did not have access to my hands to brush it out of my face. Evie was not so interested in having her picture taken either but we did manage to capture the day.

Everyone came back to our house for brunch. Carl's parents helped with the brunch as their gift to Henry. It turned out so nicely. Puffy Muffin is always a good choice. Everyone enjoyed brunch and Henry slept through most of the festivities. It was a gorgeous day so the children were able to play outside.

Dessert was delicious and dairy-free. It was chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream frosting. I will be sure to remember Katy for all my cake needs. Her secret ingredient was oil and the cake was so moist not to mention beautiful.

It was a wonderful day marking Henry as Christ's own forever. Baptism is just the beginning of his commitment as a Christian but it is an important beginning. Carl and I were so appreciative of everyone coming to celebrate Henry's special day.

5 Months!

2011-12-05T21:21:00.000-06:00

Dear Henry,

You are 5 months and growing so fast. I was looking at your sweet little hands and noticed that they are not so little anymore but they are the perfect size to me. You love to hold hands and grasp on to everything that you can get your hands on with quite the grip.

You are wearing mostly 9 month clothes because you are a little turkey - nice and plump. Your diapers are size 3 and we still go through lots of those. You eat every 3-4 hours but get quite distracted by everything around you including your own hands and feet. Eating goes much better in a quiet room which can be hard to do with an exuberant big sister. Bottles are hit or miss. Nana successfully fed you two bottles this weekend so we will keep practicing. It's nice to know that you will take a bottle when necessary. You are eating rice cereal and applesauce plus you had your first taste of prunes yesterday. I think you liked them! You still have a very sensitive little tummy and I have to be really careful about my diet. I hope you outgrow this because it's going to be really hard to monitor your food so closely once you begin eating more solid food.

You are a wonderful napper but still wake up several times per night. Some nights are really tough but most of the time it's not that hard since you are such a sweet little guy. We have tried shorter naps, later bedtimes, more food and everything else but have decided that you just like to see me in the night. You eat and go right back to sleep so I am not up for long at all. Of course, I'd love to get some more sleep so maybe we can stretch those spurts out a bit.

You had an exciting month! You went on your first plane ride to Nana and Ipop's house. I think you liked it because you just looked around and smiled at everyone you met. You also had your first extended car trip to Charleston. We had so much fun showing you and Evie all around Charleston. You took a really good nap on the carriage tour and loved sticking your toes in the cold ocean water. We spent Thanksgiving with She She and Poppy. Daddy told me before you were born that we were not going to travel until Thanksgiving and that's pretty much what we did. You did so well though that Daddy is already thinking about our next trip. I am still trying to recover from last week.

You can sit up for very short spurts by yourself and have rolled over a few times. Evie keeps you busy as she darts around the house, your little eyes follow to see where she is going. Soon, you will be darting around with her but you are content to watch her for now.

Henry, you are such a calm, happy baby. You almost never cry and when you cry it's because you need something. Everything fascinates you especially your feet and the television. Evie never watched TV until she was almost 2 and you are constantly trying to catch a glimpse of anything that you can. Football seems to be one of your favorites.

You love your play gym and will sit in your exersaucer for a long time. It's fun to watch you learn to do new things and you are learning so many things right now. You love to read books, sing songs and giggle like crazy when something makes you laugh.

We love you so much and are so happy to have you in our family! You are so very special to us and we love you more than you will ever know until you have your own baby one day.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Weekend Wrap-up!

2011-12-05T20:48:00.000-06:00

We had a fun weekend! It was a special weekend because Henry was baptized. I will write a separate post about the baptism later.

Friday, Carl worked in the yard and then hung lights outside. Evie loves having lights on her little house. He put colored lights out there because I prefer white lights inside and in the front of the house. We have done very little decorating but it's time for me to get busy. I made chocolate chip cookies while they were decorating and we had a few cookies outside. Henry loved seeing the lights!

Evie and Henry both slept until 7:30 on Saturday which was so nice for us. I went out to run a few errands while Carl held down the fort at home. His family arrived about lunchtime and we had a barbecue lunch with them. Evie was thrilled to see her cousins again. They played outside and had a picnic. My parents and brother arrived right after lunch. It was a warm day which made it even nicer to spend it outside. Evie and Henry both napped until 4:30 so everyone did different things while they slept. We made an easy dinner and had a nice family dinner at home.

My parents helped me get everything ready for Sunday and then we went to bed. Henry slept so well that night but Carl and I were not able to sleep. We went to early church and then came back home for brunch.

Carl's family left and my parents stayed one more night. We just hung out at home all afternoon. Evie and Henry both took short naps. Ben and I ran out for a bit and then we took a walk to see the lights in our neighborhood. It's so funny how my perspective has changed - things like this used to not be my style at all but I love that Evie loves it. She loves to go see the lights! It was even more fun to take our new double jogger from Kurt and Lollie.

We had a quick dinner and then the kids were off to bed. Ben spent the night making bowl game plans with his friends and my parents and I watched a movie. It was a fun night.

Evie had so much playing with her Ipop and Nana. They are much more entertaining than Mommy. They had breakfast picnics, read books, played Rapunzel, fished for Evie and Ben played outside with Evie a lot which is her favorite place to play these days. Evie was worn out from her busy weekend. We all took a nice long nap on this rainy Monday.

Operation Bottle!

2011-12-01T20:06:00.000-06:00

Operation Bottle has commenced at our house! Henry has tolerated the bottle pretty well until today. He was not interested at all in the bottle for the entire 5 hours that I was gone. Karen felt horrible but Henry did eat some cereal for her. I am slightly concerned about what is going to happen tonight but I have fed him lots this afternoon to make up for the missed feeding. This makes me apprehensive because this exact thing happened with Evie too. Evie never took a bottle after five months but that is not going to work with Henry. We will keep working on this once or twice a day to help him get the hang of it. Carl is giving him a bottle right now and you'd think he had never seen a bottle before - that's Henry not Carl. I have lots of suggestions filed away on how to encourage a baby to take a bottle so it's time to go find those.

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-11-30T19:05:00.000-06:00

Traveling Tips!

2011-11-29T19:57:00.000-06:00

I decided to jot down my traveling tips while they are still fresh. We definitely had a whirlwind trip between flying to North Carolina and then driving 1,000 miles.

PACKING: We had three different parts of our trip with different weather so our packing was a bit crazy. I have a list of items that are necessities for a trip with kids such as sound machines, baby monitors and a first aid kit but it seems like all the last minute add-on items are what I need to cut back on. I think packing each individual outfit for the kids in a Ziploc bag would have made it so much easier especially with little socks and bows. It seems like a lot of time was spent looking for those items. Carl went camping before meeting us at my parents so he had LOTS of gear with him. Our van was brimming over with stuff.

Another idea that I have for next time, is to pack separate bags for each part of the trip along with one bag with the necessities mentioned above. Carl lugs our stuff in and out for me but it was a lot to keep up with. Three smaller bags would have worked better than the two large bags. Less is more on a trip! I spent an entire day unpacking, washing and putting away all of our stuff. Some of it, we did not even use.

TRAVELING: Evie is an excellent traveler. Carl says that she has been raised in the car since we moved to Nashville when she was a baby. She used to sleep a lot. Now, she does not sleep at all but she is very calm and easy in the car. My tricks are some new books, toys and movies. Evie loves to snack so I pack a whole bag of snacks such as goldfish, fruit packs and some treats. My van has a coolbox so I put a few sippycups in the coolbox and keep my cooler in the back. We have a bag in the front seat with some of my tricks in it and a bag in the back with her used to store items after she uses them. Some of our staple items are a clipboard with pink paper, flashcards, stickers, little pads of paper, stringing beads and her baby doll with clothes and a diaper. We got stuck in a major traffic accident on Saturday. It took us 9 hours to get back instead of 6 hours. Evie did well until the last hour because I still had some tricks and a few "big guns" left. We refer to our best tricks as our "big guns" and save those for when we really need them. Evie loves necklaces so I bought her a Hello Kitty necklace for a dollar at Target - that was the best dollar that I have spent in a long time! Her necklace entertained her for a long time. Other "big guns" are my little camera, pink paper or even an entire box of tic tacs. Henry still sleeps most of the time but I had a few toys for him so he'd have something to look at while sitting backwards for 9 hours. One thing that I need to remember for next time is to have a bottle in the car. It was time for Henry to eat and it took us nearly an hour to get off the Interstate. It helps to keep a change of clothes for everyone in an easily accessible location so you do not have to pull out an entire suitcase if a change of clothes is needed.

SLEEPING: I LOVE my sleep and will do whatever is necessary to make sure that it happens. Even if that means taking a sound machine, a lovey, and Evie's own covers with me on every trip until she is 16. I left Evie's pillow at home and she informed me that Nana's pillow would not work for her. She changed her mind by the third night and used one of Nana's pillows. We try to replicate what we do at home even while traveling. Evie still naps if possible and goes to bed within a reasonable time frame. Everything goes more smoothly for us if we are all well-rested! Henry still naps on the go but we will do the same thing for him. We left Carl's parents before Henry's morning nap so he would sleep for a bit. I chose the late afternoon flight to ensure that everyone had a chance to nap before the flight. Nightlights are good things to take with you so that the darkness of the room can be adjusted if necessary.

Travel can be stressful with kids so it's important to have lots of patience! Carl and I did not even notice how long we were stuck in traffic which was probably a good thing because it helped us stay calm even when we were not moving at all. Please share any tips that you may have that make traveling with little ones go more smoothly.

She She and Poppy's

2011-11-27T20:35:00.001-06:00

We left Charleston around 10 and headed to the Upstate for Thanksgiving. Traffic was pretty bad for about an hour but at least we were moving. Henry was getting fussy and spitting up a lot which means he had some dairy somehow so we stopped to give him some medicine. He calmed right down and went to sleep. Evie did not sleep again.

Mary and Lucy were waiting for Evie to arrive and Evie was so excited to see everyone. All the girls went downstairs and Henry visited with She She and Poppy for a bit. We had dinner and Evie went straight to bed.

We woke up on Thanksgiving and hung out around the house. Carl helped his Dad prepare a Maple Bourbon turkey that Tony had been planning for weeks. He found the recipe in Country Living. I usually prefer the sides to the turkey but this was an incredible turkey. Sheila suggested that we rave about it if even it was not so good but it was delicious! It was so juicy and moist, one of the best turkeys that I have ever had. Oranges and limes were in the cavity which may have helped with the wonderful flavor. We all worked on some stuffing with lemon zest and sausage that turned out pretty well. Henry slept through the preparations and the girls kept busy playing. Mary and Lucy are terrific at entertaining Evie. Kurt and Lollie arrived later that day. They brought loads of hand-me downs for Evie which is always appreciated. Evie has had a ball playing in those clothes all day. She has changed clothes nearly 30 times and has dressed for all four seasons.

Henry and Evie were ready for naps so I put them down for naps which gave us a chance to really enjoy our Thanksgiving meal. It was almost like Thanksgiving before kids except the monitors were close by humming away. It was a delightful meal and Carl's parents did a fantastic job hosting us all for Thanksgiving. It's a lot of work preparing for Thanksgiving but it was nice to spend the holiday with everyone.

After naps, we headed to the park for some playtime and then had a few snacks before bedtime. Lollie brought lots of snacks and some dairy-free cream cheese from Trader Joe's that was really good. Cream cheese is a pretty important part of the holidays for me so I am thrilled to have found a substitute. We sat outside and kept warm by the fire.

Friday morning, Kurt and Lollie took their kids to Cashier's and the rest of us stayed home. Carl and Poppy took Evie for a boat ride. She loved it! Carl and I really wanted to go to Cashiers but we knew that Evie needed a nap so she could be on her best behavior at dinner. She slept 3.5 hours which is a long time to nap in a pack and play. Evie woke up just in time to get dressed and wore one of her new dresses to dinner.

We stopped at the Market to have pictures with Santa. Evie was not impressed with Santa and kept telling me that she wanted to stay home. I told her that she needed to let Santa know what she wanted for Christmas. Evie wanted Henry to tell Santa for her but finally at least stood next to him for a picture. Evie refused to sit on his lap and we did not want to force her to do it just for a funny picture. Maybe next year! Henry did not seem to mind Santa one bit. That may be a different story next year too. I have a cute picture of Carl's parents with all the kids but they may have plans to use it for a Christmas card so I will post it later. After pictures with Santa, we had dinner at the Orchard House. It was a delicious buffet and the server was kind enough to have the chef prepare some fish and veggies for me. Evie did fairly well at dinner. Way better than expected and we can thank Lucy for that. Evie was most interested in dessert which is no surprise - that girl loves her cake! We headed down to see the Christmas tree and Evie thought it was beautiful. The girls had fun running around for a bit and then we made a bee line back to Carl's parents for bedtime. It was a really fun night!

Evie was still awake when I put Henry to bed but she was quiet. We got a middle of the night wake up call from Evie regarding her nose not working. She went back to sleep easily after a quick cuddle. Evie woke up ready to punzle with brother the next morning!

We always drive back on Saturday after Thanksgiving but especially this year because we had been gone for so long. We left around 10 and were sad to go but know that we will see everyone this coming weekend for Henry's baptism. Thanksgiving and Easter are my two favorite holidays. We have so much to be thankful for and Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to take time to remember all the blessings in our life.

Charleston!

2011-11-27T15:17:00.002-06:00

We were so excited to be on the way to Charleston! Carl and I both love Charleston but it's hard to get there now that we live so far away. Our trip went really well although we were not sure what to expect since this was Henry's first extended car trip. Henry is an excellent traveler just like his sister.

We enjoyed a yummy barbecue lunch at Maurice's in Columbia. That mustard style barbecue is so good! It was fun driving through Columbia since we lived there for about 6 months. Carl thinks we stopped at every rest stop between Columbia and Charleston which is only a slight exaggeration. Henry does not eat well with commotion and there's always a lot of commotion with Evie around.

Carl took Evie to run around at one rest stop and she was immediately covered in ant bites. OUCH! Carl took her dress off and picked every ant off the inside of her dress. Henry slept most of the way to Charleston. We tried to get Evie to sleep but she did not close her eyes one time. Evie has a book, Goodnight, Charleston that covered all the highlights of a visit to Charleston. She wanted to take a carriage ride so Carl took us to Carolina Polo & Carriage Company because his friend, Richard from college owns the company with his family. We had a wonderful guide, Brian who took us all over the beautiful City of Charleston along with our horse, Gibbes. Evie did really well although the tour was nearly an hour. Carl and I were slightly concerned that we were going to have to get off and walk back to the car but that never happened. Evie pointed out every pink house along the way and loved seeing the Battery. It was a wonderful time! Carl enjoyed catching up with Richard who has his own baby boy that is just a little bit younger than Henry. Carl wore Henry in the Baby Bjorn and he took a few snoozes along the way. It was the perfect way to spend our first afternoon in Charleston.

After our carriage ride, we headed to Ben and Katherine's house. Carl and Ben went to College of Charleston together and Ben was with Carl on the night that I met Carl. We had so much fun staying with them and they have two precious boys, Hudson and James that are the same ages as Henry and Evie. Ben prepared a delicious dinner of pork kabobs with pineapple and red pepper along with some delicious rice. We enjoyed dinner together and had fun catching up. Our kids played outside and watched a movie. It was fun to see them playing together. Carl and Ben hung out while Katherine and I headed to bed exhausted from wrangling the kids.

Ben and Katherine have a separate guest house which is also Ben's office. It was such a great place to stay! I was slightly anxious about sleeping in the same room with both kids but it worked out so well. Evie went to sleep first then I fed Henry and carried him into the room. Our sweet girl was exhausted from not napping so she did not make a peep.

It was another beautiful morning in Charleston. We headed out to Charlestowne Landing for a bit. Evie enjoyed exploring the ship and I enjoyed seeing the scenic Lowcountry views. Henry slept through this outing! It was time for lunch so we drove out to Folly for some seafood. My dairy-free diet was difficult to manage eating in restaurants but I enjoyed my grilled shrimp with veggies. Carl and Evie had fried shrimp along with about a pound of peanuts. Henry napped through lunch.

It was such a gorgeous day that we decided to spend some time on the beach. Although, our wardrobe was not entirely beach appropriate since it was 85 degrees and we had long pants on. Evie had a blast running in and out of the water. Henry liked the sound of the waves. It was a special time that I will always remember even the part when Evie threw sand in my mouth. Our Evie loves the beach and was one happy girl frolicking in the sand. Carl loved the chance to stick his toes in the salt water and smell the pluff mud. We thought she was worn out and ready for a nap but she surprised us again by skipping her nap. It was time for showers before heading out for the evening. Carl drove us out to Sullivan's Island. Henry slept and Evie peered out the windows.

Courtney and Phillip, Carl's cousins, hosted an oyster roast for us with some of the family. It was really fun! I have not had oysters in years and am pretty sure that I had more than my share. Evie ran around with all the kids. Elissa's daughter Taylor is just a few weeks younger than Evie so they had fun playing together. I took a picture of John Phillip with Henry because there is a similar one of Carl holding John Phillip about 18 years ago. Time goes by so quickly, before I know it, Henry will be holding JP's baby. It was really a fabulous night and so sweet of the Prickett's to host this so everyone could meet Henry without us running all over town. Mary and Carolyn are so good with the little kids and kept Evie busy all night so I had a chance to chat with everyone. Evie could barely hold her eyes open and was ready for bed. Hudson came in for a visit and then Evie crashed for the night.

We packed up our stuff - way too much stuff! I have some new packing tips for our next trip that is for sure. It was a rainy day but I was determined to go see the College of Charleston. It is such a beautiful place and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend school there. Even in the rain, it is still a beautiful place. We stopped at Caviar and Bananas for breakfast. Thank goodness, that place was not there when I was at the College because all my babysitting money would have been gone. It is the cutest little cafe! We made one last stop at the Battery before getting on the road to She She and Poppy's house. Carl and I were both so sad to leave and wished that we could have seen more people and places. We hope to get back there soon!

Ipop and Nana's House

2011-11-27T14:15:00.001-06:00

Evie was so excited to get to Gastonia and was ready to swing on her new swing right when we pulled in the driveway. We had a quick dinner and let her play a bit before bed. Henry met the dogs and liked them just like Evie. I put the kids to bed and stayed up for a bit before going to bed myself.

My mom stayed home from work on Friday which helped me tremendously. It's a lot more difficult to take of your kids when you are not in your own house. We took Evie and Henry over to see my grandmother. She had not met Henry so I know she was thrilled to finally meet her great- grandson. That afternoon, my dad arranged for Maddie, to come over for a play date. Evie had a ball with Maddie. They got along so well together and enjoyed a fun snack of munchkins courtesy of Maddie's Aunt Joanie! Evie was exhausted and ready for bed right after dinner. Playing is hard work.

On Saturday, Evie and Maddie went to ride a pony at a horse farm in Gastonia. My dad arranged this for the girls since Evie loves horses so much. Bucky was a sweet pony and both girls enjoyed this so much. On the way home, we made a quick stop at the local castle for some playtime. Evie knows exactly where this playground is located and finds it a crucial part of her visit. Nana stayed home with Henry. They started working on our Thanksgiving meal. Henry makes a very good sous chef and enjoyed kicking on his play mat. Evie was beginning to melt so off to nap for her while I took Henry to see my Aunt Libby. Ben took Evie down to the lake to see the geese. Evie LOVES her Uncle Ben and talks about him every single day at home. She told me that she wanted him to take her fishing but she settled for a walk down to the lake. They saw Jackie, Maddie's aunt on their walk. Jackie brought Evie some gorgeous bows that she had made which Evie has already enjoyed wearing. I need to try out bow making myself!

Sunday, we stayed home from church because they were having bagpipes and my mom was preparing Thanksgiving. Evie would not have enjoyed the bagpipes since they are so loud. It was much easier to stay home although we would have loved for everyone to meet Henry. Carl got to my parents that afternoon and Evie was so excited to see her Daddy. My grandmother and aunt came over for Thanksgiving. My mom did an outstanding job on the dinner and it was all dairy-free. YUMMY! My favorite parts were the dressing and the pumpkin cake with a delicious glaze. Evie was not too interested in eating since she had a new audience but perked up for some cake with lemon sorbet. It was very nice Thanksgiving and so sweet of mom to host this early so we could be there too.

Monday came too quickly and it was time to head to Charleston. It literally took us over an hour to pack up and load the van because we had so much stuff . . . too much stuff! We had such a fun time visiting my parents and brother. Evie turned their entire house into her own personal playground. She has a way of doing that but I am pretty sure that Ipop and Nana did not mind one bit. I will get some more pictures from them. Carl had my camera on his camping trip so I did not get too many.

Flying Solo

2011-11-23T14:49:00.000-06:00

Flying is much easier than driving but it can be difficult too. I flew for the first time with both kids last week and it a breeze. Evie had been asking for weeks if we were going to the airport. She was thrilled that the day finally arrived.

Evie had school that day so I picked her up before lunch so she could nap at home. Our flight left at 4:50 and it took forever to make it through security. Evie had her "punzel" on or you may refer to it as a leash. Henry was in the stroller. We arrived at the gate a few minutes before boarding. We flew Southwest and boarded with family boarding. Our plane was not full so it helped a lot to have an entire row to ourself!

There were a few other kids on board which always eases my tension. Evie was ready for snack time as soon as we boarded. I offered her a snack before boarding but she wanted to wait for the peanuts. Evie was not impressed that snacks were not served until we were in the air. She held her little airplane and looked out the window. Henry just looked around. Both kids did so well that I did not even have to pull out my bag of tricks. I took way too much stuff even though I really did not have that much. My advice is to take the bare necessities especially when flying solo. Snacks are always helpful, along with books and a new quiet toy.

We landed and Evie was ready to fly again. It took forever to get off the plane. Our stroller was waiting for us so Henry went in the stroller and Evie walked to the luggage claim. My Dad and brother were waiting for us and then we had about an hour to go before arriving at my parents house. Evie chattered the entire way which was fine after being cooped up on an
airplane. I will definitely fly with both kids again although you just never know how it is going to go.

"What that sound, Mommy?"

2011-11-15T14:21:00.000-06:00

Evie asks this question approximately 100 times per day! She is obsessed with noise of all types from water running upstairs to airplanes flying in the sky - everything is noticed by Evie. I think she is very sensitive to noise because sometimes these noises are barely noticeable to me. The other day she turned the bathroom fan on instead of the light and that caused lots of tears. She was shocked that such a loud noise came on rather than a light. This morning, I dropped her off at preschool and an ambulance was going by and she noticed that too. She mentioned it to her teacher who commented that the noise was rejuvenating - not sure how but anyway Evie announced that noise was pretty! Evie is not impacted at all by noise that she makes just the noises of others. She puts her hands over her ears and tells me that that it's "too soundy" if she does not like a noise. Not sure where she gets this stuff from but it sure keeps me on my toes! We received our prints back from our fall shoot. I like these three a lot!

Weekend Wrap-up!

2011-11-13T19:57:00.000-06:00

We had a fun weekend! Courtney and I headed out to The Container Store and had a blast. It was a little overwhelming because the store is literally overflowing with organizational tools. I cannot wait to go back soon!

Carl held down the fort with the kids but I am pretty sure he was glad to see me walk in the door. That's how I feel at the end of every day . . . ready for another pair of hands to wrangle the kids.
Everyone took naps and then Carl picked up some Thai for dinner. I was in bed asleep by 8:30.

Evie has been a handful for the last few days. I am hoping that she is just tired from the time change. She did great at church this morning but melted down pretty much immediately after we got home. Carl was outside putting together the play set our neighbors gave us. She kept asking to take a sleep - that's how she refers to a nap - so I put her down without any books or songs expecting her to balk at the idea. Instead, Evie was passed out within minutes so I am hoping her behavior can be linked to exhaustion. Henry slept for a bit too but kept waking up. Early naps will mean early bedtimes tonight so maybe that will help us all get back on track.

Carl had the whole neighborhood outside helping him put the play set together and it looks fantastic. Evie thinks play sets are parks and asks me to go play at the park in her boys yard. We are so appreciative of our neighbors for giving us this play set. It's a real perk to have neighbors with older children because they are always looking to pass on toys as their children age out of them.

Evie woke up from her nap in a fantastic mood. We took her outside and let her notice the new play set. She was so excited and kept saying that she had her own park in her yard. Evie is going to love having another place to play.

Whole Bunch of Nothing

2011-11-11T19:48:00.000-06:00

It sure has been a long a week. We have been so busy and are looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I loved having a tea party with my two children this morning. It was so fun and it is wonderful to see Evie including brother in her play. Evie calls Henry, brother, so we do too!

We had some friends over for lunch. Nothing too exciting . . . just Puffy Muffin chicken salad. I love that stuff and so does Evie. That makes me happy! She even asked for a second sandwich. I think she must be growing because she does not stop eating all day.

Henry is having a rough day. I made some brownies for a family at Evie's preschool. There is nothing better than a real brownie so I had one. Yikes! He is still so sensitive to dairy. I will try again in a few weeks.

Evie and I cleaned out some toys. She told me that she "needs more books." That girl has so many books but still wants more.I will be sure to pass that request along to Santa.

Tomorrow, I am going to The Container Store with my very favorite neighbor! Can't wait. I have lots of organizing to do around here since toys and clothes seem to be multiplying around here like crazy. Happy Friday!

Kim's Pony Farm

2011-11-10T20:08:00.001-06:00

Evie loves ponies and horses! I booked a visit to Kim's Pony Farm for my MOMS group. Evie thought it was the best thing ever. She has no fear and hopped right on that pony like it was no big deal. It was so cute to watch her riding around. Her pony had to use the bathroom which cracked Evie up. She kept telling the pony to go "pee pee in the potty." That made me laugh too. Ms. Kim was so sweet and even gave Evie an extra turn on the horse. My sweet girl appreciated that so much and kept talking about that "nice lady" on the way home.

We had a great time and cannot wait to go back soon. They had a playground which gave Evie another chance to have fun on the tire swing. Of course we had snacks. It's always important to have snacks when toddlers are involved. You should definitely check out Kim's Pony Farm if you live in the area. It's about 15 minutes outside of Franklin, Tennessee and it's a beautiful scenic drive. My pictures are not the best. It's difficult to take a picture of a toddler especially a toddler on a pony.

Henry liked the pony farm just fine but decided on the way home that he was tired, cold and hungry. Poor little thing was asleep before 7:00 tonight. We had a busy day and wore him out.

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-11-09T20:42:00.000-06:00

Henry is starting to sit up!

Of course he quickly topples over . . . he's pretty top heavy.

Sweet Boy!

Sleeping Beauty was tired this afternoon.

We had a lazy day at home. Henry had a slight fever due to shots and Evie wanted to take a rest in her crib at 10AM.

"Punzeling"

2011-11-08T19:57:00.000-06:00

We have had a busy two days! I expected this week to be busy but it really has been a lot. Yesterday, we had our friends, the Onello's over for lunch. Evie and Abby played in the backyard while the babies stayed in the den. I LOVE having a portion of our yard fenced in so that Evie has a safe, open place to play. It's enough space for her to feel free but I can still see her and hear her from right inside the house.

I had Mom's Night Out last night. It was my first one since Henry was born so that was a real treat to get out for a bit. Evie was asleep before I left and Henry was still awake when I got home. Carl had fed him but kept him up for some bonding. We stayed up too late and morning came early at our house.

Evie had school and then Carl and I headed to meet with our minister regarding Henry's baptism. It's always nice to have a chance to get to know your minister a little better. Carl thinks that that Jerry is quite intelligent. Carl and I had time to swing by Chick fil A for a quick lunch. It felt so different without Evie. Henry enjoyed being our only child for a bit.

Henry had his 4 month appointment this morning. He weighs 16 pounds and 7 ounces and is 26 inches long. That puts him in the 75% for both and his growth curve is excellent. Dr. K was thrilled to hear that I took Henry off his medicine and agreed that I should remain dairy-free to keep his symptoms from worsening.

Evie had a blast at school. She had so much that she required a complete change of clothes! I love seeing all the little projects that she makes. Evie came home with a Thanksgiving place mat and an Indian hat. She told me not to drive too fast because she did not want it to fall off.

Henry was ready for a nap after his shots so that gave me a chance to play with Evie outside. She is so imaginative with her play. It's amazing how so much can change in just a few weeks. Courtney is letting me borrow a child harness for the airport next week. Evie is infatuated with it and kept telling me that was "punzeling" - that's pretending to be Rapunzel. She'd climb up on chairs and let down her long hair. Her long hair happened to be a leash but that's okay. It was so fun to watch her so engaged in pretend play. Evie "punzeled" for hours today so that may be one of our new favorite activities.

It gets dark so early now! That's my least favorite part about fall. Carl got home right before dark and took Evie jogging. He encourages Evie to run beside him in the park and she is always ready to participate. It really tires her out.

Henry tried rice cereal for the first time tonight. Evie was so excited to feed him. Be sure to notice that Evie has no idea about portion control on the spoon. She piled cereal on there and expected him to eat it. Henry liked it much more than Evie did at this age. I am not planning to give it to him much because it's a bit of nuisance. Food is just for fun the first year anyway but Henry liked it so much that we may try it again soon. We had a quick dinner of leftovers, bathed the kids and got them tucked in all before 7 which is always nice for the parents. Maybe I can catch up on some laundry!

Weekend Wrap-up!

2011-11-06T20:25:00.000-06:00

We had another fun fall weekend in beautiful Tennessee. On Friday, we went to The Porter's house for lunch. It was great to see them for some playtime and lunch. Evie talked about seeing Jacob all week. Kristin made cookies for the kids to decorate and Evie was thrilled to decorate with pink frosting. School has definitely changed our social calendar especially when some of our friends go to school on opposite days. Jacob goes to school on Monday and Wednesday so it's harder to see him than it used to be for us.

Jacob wore Evie out and she took a super long nap. Carl picked up some steaks on the way home from work and we enjoyed a quiet dinner after the kids were asleep.

On Saturday, I ran a few errands while Carl kept the kids then we all headed out to the farm. Our small group from church met on the farm for a bonfire. It was really a fun night! Evie rode a horse which I still cannot believe that I let her do. She has no fear and really wanted to ride it so I let her. Carl had Henry and could not believe that little Evie was on this huge horse. The lady who helped us with the horses wanted me to walk beside Evie in case she fell. Evie did such a great job! Ms. Dianne asked me how old Evie was and I told her that Evie was two and she took us back so fast! OOPS! I am pretty sure she did not realize that Evie was two since she is so tall for her age. We really wish that we had a picture of this. I even had my camera on my shoulder but was holding on to Evie. Evie was not thrilled at all about getting off the horse. She wanted to ride it again! Luckily, she was distracted by a donkey and some cows. Evie was fascinated by all the poop all over the farm. We roasted hot dogs and had chili. It was so nice to get to know some other young couples in our church although we could not be more different from them. They were all so friendly! Evie was convinced that she wanted to climb a ladder into this huge tree house that clearly was not safe. We must have told her a hundred times that she was not getting in there. I was thinking about it today and decided that Evie must have thought that if I was crazy enough to let her on that horse than surely she could get in a tree house. The tree house was falling apart and nobody was allowed on it. Evie jumped on the trampoline and had a blast with all the big kids. There are 4 couples in our group and 11 kids plus one on the way. We went on a long hayride around the property. Evie said that was her favorite part and then we had smores for dessert. It was a blast!

Our kids were wiped out by the time we arrived back home. Everyone slept late and then we headed to early church since it really felt like 9:30. It felt so nice to walk in our church and see those other couples there. Henry and Evie did well in their classes. I picked up Henry and they told me that Henry is so sweet. They even got him to take a bottle although she said it took him forever to take it. Evie never did well in the church nursery as a baby so it's such a blessing that Henry feels comfortable there.

We came home and put Henry down for his nap. Carl and Evie raked some leaves while I cleaned up a little. Henry slept 4.5 hours after only having a short nap this morning. I made some chocolate chip cookies with Crisco and ghirardelli chocolate chips because they are made with soy. Something to keep in mind if you are dairy-free for your baby - try to limit the soy in your diet because it can have the same effect on your baby as milk protein. Our pediatrican recommended not replacing dairy products with soy. Products such as soy ice-cream, soy milk, soy yogurt etc. because that could be too much on Henry's little system but a few cookies should be fine. They were delicious!

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon at home. Carl and Henry watched a little football. Evie and I made some soup. Evie put some shoes on brother and was suprised that he still could not walk. That was so funny to me! We skyped with some friends and then had a picnic in the den. Nothing too exciting but it was a wonderful weekend with my sweet family! Hope your week gets off to a great start tomorrow.

4 Months

2011-11-05T20:28:00.000-05:00

Dear Henry,

You are 4 months old today. You are growing so fast. It's so fun to watch you become more interested in the world around you. You are especially interested in your sister and spend lots of time trying to figure out what she is doing.

Happy Henry would be a good nickname for you. We are amazed at your laid-back, happy personality. You always have a smile and you laugh a lot. It makes you giggle hysterically when your shirt is pulled over your head. Not sure what it is but you find it very funny.

You are wearing a size 2 diaper but not for long. You weigh around 18 pounds so you are our plump little turkey. You eat every 3-4 hours and let me know that you are hungry by chewing on your hand. Sleep is all over the place. Some nights, you sleep 11 hours straight and some nights you sleep 5 hours before waking to eat. You go down around 7:30 and wake up around 7:30 for the day. Napping seems to be one of your favorite past times. You take two long naps about 2-3 hours and one short nap. Or you take a morning nap and a really long nap around 2. You are not on a schedule except that you go back to sleep within two hours of waking up. You still like to be swaddled which is getting more challenging since you are such a big boy.

Your hair is still crazy and you have developed a small bald patch on the back of your head. Nana says it is because you are such a good sleeper.

Henry, you like to kick your legs, rest on your tummy, take baths and play outside. You love the exersaucer, the swing and your bouncy seat. We just move you from place to place. You are a very content little baby and rarely cry more than five minutes in an entire day. That is such a blessing! Your sister cries enough for you both but that's okay you might as well learn early that there is always drama with girls.

Speaking of sister, you are so different from Evie but there are some similarties. She loved chewing on her hands and staring at the ceiling fun was really fun for her too. I can see a little of Evie in you. Although, I think you have way more hair!

We spend a lot more time at home now that we have you although you love to go explore. It's just easier to stay home than to take two kids out and about all day. You help me run errands while Evie is at school so we do get out some. Playdates are fun and easy for us. You went to your first bonfire tonight and enjoyed watching all the children. Daddy even got a little marshmallow on you so maybe you had a taste. Just kidding!

Henry, you are such a blessing to our family. We thank God for you everyday and are so fortunate to have two happy, healthy, beautiful children.We cannot even remember what life was life before you were here with us. You bring us so much joy and laughter. We love you so much!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Living Room or Playroom?

2011-11-04T19:41:00.000-05:00

I have been pondering turning my living room into a playroom. What are your thoughts? We do not use our living room as a formal living area except at Christmas. Evie watches movies in "the red couch room" as she calls it and we put her large toys in there on a rotation. I am pretty sure that Evie has already made the decision for us.

Random Ramblings!

2011-11-03T19:49:00.001-05:00

Henry is so excited to have a new place to hang out.

Evie likes to "bandage" brother with "mermaids."

Evie said his arm hurt.

Enjoying a Halloween treat from Ms. Courtney! She LOVED this cookie.

Evie loves to play her "tee tar" like a real Nashville girl.

We had a tough night last night with Henry so this is going to be short! Poor thing was up four times which has not happened since he was just a tiny baby.

1) Fabric House: I had heard lots of great things about The Fabric House so I decided to try it out this morning. They had a fabulous selection and I am hopeful that one of the fabric samples will work for Henry's pelmet board. It made me want to learn how to sew there were so many beautiful choices.

2) Have you heard this song? It has been on repeat in my head all day as I have been thinking about a friend of a friend who is going through every mother's worst nightmare. It's called Strong Enough.

3) Evie loves to talk princess. She tells me that she is a princess and that Henry is a princess too. We told her that Henry is a prince and that makes her a . . . she said "sister princess." That girl loves being a sister.

4) Pumpkin Spice Muffins: You may have seen this recipe on Jennifer's blog. These are super simple and delicious not to mention dairy free. I made them with carob chips which are not fabulous but will make them with Kroger brand chocolate chips next time because those are dairy free. Mix one box spice cake with one 15 oz can of pumpkin. Add some chocolate chips and bake for 20 minutes at 350.

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-11-02T19:47:00.000-05:00

Behind the Lens with Evie

2011-11-01T19:47:00.001-05:00

It was a typical day after Halloween . . . crazy! The day after Halloween and Valentine's Day were always two of the craziest days in the classroom. Apparently, that holds true with my own kids too. Everyone was in bed asleep by 7 and I am not far behind them.

Evie took these pictures herself and she is so proud so I thought it would be fun to post them. It's interesting to see what she considers important enough to capture with her camera.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:55:00.000-05:00

It's been a spook-tacular Halloween! We enjoyed a relaxing day at home to prepare for the evening festivities. Our neighbors, The C's, came over and we had dinner in the driveway tailgate style. We even used the back of Carl's truck for our buffet. Carl picked up pizza for the kids and Christian picked up Pei Wei for the adults. It was so much fun hanging out with our favorite neighbors. Halloween happens to be my birthday which makes it extra fun. Evie kept telling me that it was her "dirthday too" and she wanted to share birthdays with me. Courtney and Christian made it such a special night for me with dinner, a "cake" as Evie called it and lots of fun. After dinner, we took a few pictures and loaded the kids up in the wagons for Trick or Treating. Evie and her boys loved it all. Henry enjoyed trick or treating in his own little way from the comfort of the Ergo. It was a chilly night and he doubled as my space heater tonight. Carl and Christian took over kid duty so Courtney and I just walked and talked. Our kids loved seeing the costumes and gathering treats. Evie told me that she did not want her friends to leave when it time for everyone to go inside. Hope you had a Halloween full of treats!