Nice to get out and about!

Evie is still feeling a little under the weather. Her nose is like a faucet! We stayed home with her this morning to give her a chance to rest. I decided to take a little nap while she napped. It was wonderful!

Evie woke up and had a few cookies for a snack - her Daddy said it was a special occasion since it was Super Bowl Sunday. I am going to have a pick up a few more boxes of trefoils because Evie thinks they are fabulous!

It's so cute to see Evie exploring the world on her own two feet. She is everywhere! I even found her nibbling on a piece of lint from the dryer. She loves checking out the contents of the closets and since the doors are still off - it's all fair game.

We were ready to get out of the house this afternoon. It was time for our weekly trip to Home Depot. Carl wanted to check out the spreaders and grass seed. I needed to find new light covers for our kitchen and Evie found a pool thermometer with a duck on it. Evie was startled by one of the workers and started crying. She lets you know how she really feels. Luckily, there was a doggie in the store named Stacey. Evie made friends with Stacey and charmed the owner with her barking sounds. I cannot believe that we have a daughter that barks so much. It's hysterical to hear her bark. Evie was in heaven when we were in the lighting section of Home Depot. There were lights everywhere for her to check out. She is still loving putting clothes on and will try anything including aprons, underwear and dresses. It's so funny to watch her because most things go over her head even if they should go on her legs. A drawer full of dishtowels, aprons and placemats provides her with endless opportunites for fun.

I cleaned out a closet this afternoon and am trying to organize the office. We want to make it into another guest room but there is so much stuff in there. I did find my address book in the disaster so that was exciting. Evie went to bed a bit early. I was feeding her before bed and she stuck her finger up my nose. It started gushing blood! I screamed for Carl and he brought me a tissue. Evie was very concerned and would not finish eating. Carl gave her a wipe and kept trying to wipe my nose for me. She is such a sweet girl already!

Carl is watching the Super Bowl. We like living in Central Time because it came on here at 5:30. Carl made chicken wings and ribs. I made some Buffalo Chicken dip. We were thinking about the past few Super Bowls. Some years we went to parties, some years we had a party but for the last two years we have just stayed home. One year, we went to a party where the host had Tivoed the game and he did not start it until it was almost half time. That was one long night for a girl who is not too impressed with football. Luckily, there was a sweet baby there and Mike made some yummy guacomole. Good times!

Snow and Sniffles!

It has been snowing off and on all day! Thank goodness that it has not stuck - not sure that I could handle another weekend stuck inside. Evie woke up with the sniffles. This usually happens after a baby puts his fingers in her mouth. YUCK! I try to keep this from happening but Evie is faster than me.

I went to run a few errands this afternoon while Evie slept. The mall was so crowed so I had a change in plans but it was still nice to have a little break from being a mom. Although, even when I am not with Evie , her stuff is constantly popping up everywhere. I found a pacifier in my pocket, a bag of goldfish in my bag and a sippycup in the car. I ran into one of our neighbors who is also in my MOMS club at Publix. She was so excited to be shopping without her four kids so we had a nice, long chat. There was a wonderful surprise when I got home, our Girl Scout cookies had arrived. YUMMY! Evie tried a shortbread cookie and she thought it was quite delicious.

We gave Evie the day off from having her picture made but that does not mean that she did not do anything cute all day. She is walking a lot and the sweetest thing is sometimes she will hold my hand. I have held a lot of little girls hands but nothing is as wonderful as holding Evie's little hand while she walks. She helped me prepare dinner tonight and kept stuffing her little elephant into a pot. She would trap him in there with the lid. Apparently, this was quite entertaining because it lasted for awhile. Long enough for me to try a new recipe for garlic mashed potatoes. I'd post the recipe but it is not worth repeating at your house. Trust me there is no place for sugar in garlic mashed potatoes!

Another soggy day!

Evie was up bright and early but played quietly in her crib until 7:30. Thank you, Evie for letting me sleep a little - maybe you could try that again tomorrow.

I am sure it will come as no surprise but our floors are still not complete. They have two more closets, the entrance from the garage, and some space in front of the bay window. Monday is their estimated day of completion but I am not so sure since they have a light to install and shoe to replace. At least, they put the door back on the bathroom. It was tiring to be told constantly, "give me a minute before you come down." Doors are an important part of any bathroom and we are so glad to have ours securely in place. Progress is being made!

Evie has been walking all over the place today. It's just so cute to see her. We shared a snack of goldfish today and she kept patting my leg as she handed me my portion. Could she be any sweeter?

Our shutters are painted a crimson color and I had plans to paint them black in the spring. It's too cold here now and the painter said we'd have to wait until at least April. Maybe even May before he feels comfortable that it will not freeze at night. I was talking about this with a neighbor and she told me that three houses on our street have removed their shutters. That's something that I had not thought of but it's certainly cheaper and their houses look very nice. Our house is brick and traditional. Maybe shutters are not necessary. Any opinions?

Evie and I had a little photo shoot this afternoon.I got some great shots but want to play around with them a little. She is such a happy girl! which makes photo shoots really fun. Yesterday, she cried for a minute at Kindermusik and the teacher was so concerned because Evie does not cry when musical instruments are involved. Boy, has she changed since her early days.

Carl got home late but brought Mellow Mushroom with him. Delicious! I still miss Brooklyn South pizza but the Mellow is a contender in my list of fabulous pizza. We are about to settle down to a nice movie. Let's hope the snow that is being forecasted goes somewhere else. We have had plenty of the white stuff around here.

Soggy Day = Dirty Floors

Evie has become accustomed to the noise. Thank goodness! She still jumps every once in awhile and her nap did not last long; but she is not freaking out anymore. I am starting to wonder a little about my floor guy. They are going VERY slowly and I mean slowly. They may be here for longer than they thought unless something changes! Evie has decided that eating in the foyer is not that bad especially with all the lights on. In case you have missed it, Evie LOVES lights of any type. She turns lights off and on and will stare at lights while pointing for long stretches of time.

We headed to Harris Teeter to get a few provisions. Our cashier thought Evie was a doll as in a real baby doll and then she thought Evie was sleeping. Not sure she had all of her marbles if you know what I mean. Evie was quite relaxed and was leaning over a little checking out the lights so maybe I can see how you'd think she was asleep from behind.

Kindermusik was so much fun today! I just love going and am getting to know the other moms better. Evie enjoys seeing her friends and really soaks it all in. We made a new friend today named Tinsley. She lives pretty near by to us so maybe we will have a playdate soon. Tinsley and her mother had matching Gucci bags. Tinsley is 1 and she has her own Gucci purse. I am not kidding! Evie was very interested in the Gucci bag especially when she found toys inside. I can assure that Evie will most definitely not be getting a Gucci bag since I do not even have one.

The floor guys were leaving and one of them had locked the keys in the car. It was pouring rain outside so that was not fun. Hence my dirty floors!I had to wake Evie up from her nap to go my doctors appointment so hopefully they got it taken care of. She was in a great mood and enjoying her goldfish. Evie loves Dr. Ward but she was not into the nurse. The nurse took Evie's Raffi and got right in her face so then of course the screaming began! Oh well, maybe next time she will not take Evie's stuff.

Evie was so happy to see her Daddy when we got home. She showed him her new walking skills. Don't worry, we caught it on video and will post soon. I am about to head out for Mom's Night Out! It will be a nice break after 4 days straight with Evie. Although, Evie was fabulous while her Daddy was gone and we had so much fun! It's good to have him home.

What a Day!

Evie woke up on the wrong side of the crib but pancakes cheered her right up! She took a nice long nap and then we went to storytime at the library. The librarian's husband read the story today because it was his favorite to read to his daughter 35 years ago. It made me a little teary because I know Evie will be 35 before I know it. I'll be in some classroom, who knows where, reading Moo, Baa, La La and wondering where the time went with Evie. My daughter was so excited to be at storytime sitting next to a big girl. Sophia and Evie giggled at each other the whole time and kept patting each other. It was so cute. Mr. Al was not able to hold the kids's attention like his wife so storytime was a little chaotic. We even ran into another mommy that we know who lives in our neighborhood. I am starting to feel like we really live here now because I am running into people that I know while we are out and about.

Evie wanted to go to Chick fil A for lunch. That worked for me since our kitchen is a disaster zone! Evie's highchair is in our foyer. I packed a cooler for the day because I knew it'd be hard to get into the kitchen. The foyer is not the best place for meals and snacks with a toddler. After lunch, we came home to play a little. Evie is really into her books these days so we read a lot of books every day. Our house was getting very loud but Evie was ready for nap. She woke up after about an hour of sleeping and was not a happy camper at all. Evie was really annoyed that the house was so loud and she let everyone know it. I think all of the loud popping noises that the contractor was making putting the floors down was the problem. We took a peek into the kitchen so Evie could see what the commotion was about. That helped for a few minutes but she was still not loving the noise. Curtis told Evie that she was putting pins in his heart. They felt really bad but they were just doing their job. It's so funny that none of the other projects: a wet saw cutting tile, a sledgehammer taking down the soffit, the hammer on the doors has not bothered her at all! Maybe she will get used to it. I sure hope so because they did not make much progress today. We are going to have a long two days ahead of us. You can see from the pictures that Evie was not happy at all! Thanks Heidi for teaching me how to make a collage.

We headed out to Hobby Lobby to get a few craft supplies and then to a playdate. Thank you Amanda for your help getting me to the playdate. I am still learning my way around the area. I knew how to get to Hobby Lobby and I knew how to get to Carol's. However, getting to Carol's from Hobby Lobby was a bit of a fieldtrip. We did find a new Target along the way so that's always good. Evie was so excited to see her friend Cassidy. I think Cassidy was extra excited to see Evie because she tackled her like babies often do. It was so cute but Evie was not so sure about this extra love. She calmed down after a few minutes. Evie's favorite part of the playdate was Cassidy's dog. She thought he was just wonderful and followed him everywhere. Who cares about friends when there is a cute doggie around? I am so glad that Evie loves dogs but she may need a little guidance about meeting new animals. She has no fear at all and is convinced that all dogs love her as much as she loves them. We had a great time visiting with everyone. It was so nice because Evie walked over to see a few friends and then crawled back to me. I had a chance to catch up with some of the moms that I had not seen in awhile. She was enjoying herself and loved sharing a Valentine day cookie with me.

Evie discovered that she has the same lawnmower as Cassidy. I have never seen Evie take much interest in her lawnmower but she was so happy to mow the grass when we got home. It entertained her for quite a bit but goodness it makes a lot of noise. I moved her highchair back in the kitchen for dinner. Eating in the foyer is way too much work for me. We will be so glad when this kitchen project is complete!

Lunch with Friends!

Evie took a morning nap today so maybe she is not quite ready to switch to one nap. Maybe she was extra tired today. After nap, we headed to Murfreesboro to see Maura and Abby. We had so much fun and it was so cute watching the girls play with each other. Maura made some delicious burritos. I had two! Since Carl is out of town, my cooking has been quite limited so I decided to eat up when given the opportunity. Abby and Evie are growing up and we are able to eat our lunch in realtive peace. I only got up four times. Abby showed Evie her belly button and Evie thought that was really cool as she reached out to touch it. They played with Abby's grocery cart and Evie was surprised to see that Abby has a pink purse too. Evie needs a new sippycup because more milk gets sprayed on the floor than in her mouth. I loved the Nuby because it worked when Evie would not take a bottle. What is your favorite sippycup for your baby?

Evie took a little snooze on the way home but woke right up when I was at Starbuck's. I LOVE drive-through Starbuck's. That is one of my favorite parts of living in Nashville especially when my coffee is free thanks to my brother. Ben gave me a giftcard for Christmas to Starbuck's. I LOVE giftcards because you think of that person each time you use the card. Thanks Ben for the tall cinnamon dolce latte with whole milk and whipped cream! Figured I'd go all the way since you were buying. Evie tried really hard to get a sip but I kept it all to myself. It's a good thing that my love for coffee shops developed post-college. I just did not get it when I was in college why all my friends were obsessed with Starbuck's. Now, I get it but am able to keep it as an occasional treat.

Evie took a short rest when we got home just long enough to tame the crankies. She was much happier after a few minutes alone. Maybe she gets that from me! Evie is still loving those acorn shower rings that came with our house. I might have to keep them around for her since she does not have many toys. She likes to transfer them from the Ziploc to the bathroom drawer. It's also fun for her to hide her own pacifier in the drawer and then find it as she slams each drawer really hard for good measure. We sat in the bathroom and played this game for at least thirty minutes. It continues to amaze me that the things that entertain her the most are things we already have. I never imagined that my bathroom would be home to a fleet of toys.

What's for dinner? Not much when Carl is out of town. Clearly, I am trying for Mother of the Year again since I fed my one year old Ramen noodles. Obviously, I was not thinking clearly since they have MSG in them. Ramen noodles were on a list of easy meals to feed your baby. They are crossed off my list of things to feed Evie! No MSG for my little girl - not at age 1 anyway. Evie was not thrilled by the noodles. Steamed veggies and fruit were her favorites tonight along with a few bites of my yogurt and granola. You'd think I would have learned to put whatever I would like for Evie to eat in my own bowl to trick - I mean encourage her into eating more healthy. Anything that I am eating is automatically more interesting to her than what is on her tray.

Evie has been walking again today. Not quite as much as yesterday but it is just the cutest thing ever. I told her to slow down a little so her Daddy can see her. She was walking before he left but now she is really walking! Her new trick is to walk over to me with a book in her hand. That is just the sweetest thing! I love to read her books. All this walking must make her tired because she is also letting me rock her some. Rocking is not generally one of her favorite activities.

Happy Birthday, Cousin Taylor! We cannot believe how quickly the first year went by and now we have toddlers.

Chad is planning to come install our new floors tomorrow! It will be so nice to have new clean floors in the kitchen. Maybe that will inspire me to whip up something delicious for dinner. I posted one last picture of our current floor for posterity-it has served this house well! It's been one tough floor to last through 25 years of family life. I guess Evie will need to find a new playground since the pile of floors will slowly diminish over the next few days.

Tip Toe, Tip Toe!

Evie and I stayed home all day again. Yes, we have been home for 4 days straight. I think that is a new record for us. Thank goodness, we have plans to get out of the house tomorrow. Evie does not mind staying home but it drives me nuts.

Evie never gets bored of pretending to be a puppy, ringing the doorbell in her play house, turning lights on with the switch, and her favorite helping with the dishwasher. She is like a real puppy who comes crawling as soon as she hears the creak of the dishwasher door opening. It is fascinating to her. We played with a bowl of water and a spoon today for about 20 minutes. She found an empty Robeez shoe bag and carried it around for awhile carefully chosing treasures to take in and out of the bag. She even found her name made of blocks! Daddy must have left that for her as a surprise.

If you had asked me this morning about Evie's walking, I would have told she is taking steps several times a day but is not that interested in walking. Well, she must have dreamed about walking because when she woke up she has walked more than I have ever seen her. It's still faster for her to crawl but those little legs are propelling her around the room. She really likes to hold my hand and walk but she is way more steady without my hand. On her own, she will take about 10-15 steps before she tuckers out but she will walk from room to room with me holding her hand. I have done NOTHING to encourage this until today because she will walk when she is ready. Evie is ready to go explore the world.