New Mom Mayhem

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

Where do I begin! I haven't been regularly blogging for a while because I have been in crunch mode for school. I have TONS of finals coming up and recently had four tests falling between only days apart. Sucky, I know. And to make things even more hectic I got a new CNA job working at the Lutheran Home in town. I am working registry and making a great wage and it's only a block away. Because I am training I worked Tuesday through Thursday from 2pm-10pm last week and will work Monday-Thursday from 2pm-10pm this week. Which means that I am going to school from 9am-2pm and immediately going to work (at 2:45) until 10pm. On Tuesday-Thursday I do get to leave at 11 giving me a little more time with Evelyn and we had a blast this weekend for Easter.

We attended an early Easter egg hunt last weekend...(notice Evelyn's sweet rain boots).

On the day of the real Easter egg hunt, Easter morning, Evelyn decided to wake up and help herself to her Easter basket while everyone was sleep. There were candy and fake grass everywhere. After this fiasco she participated in her first ever real Easter egg hunt! She had a blast and scored it big. The whole day went perfectly and we all had a blast.

Ev in her Easter dress.

Bunny ears :)

And here is Evelyn during the few hours of sunshine we had this weekend. This was her first ever time seeing the ice cream man and she was thrilled!

Big Girl

2011-04-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we decided to transitioned Evelyn's crib into a toddler bed. She was SO excited! She kept running into her room and throwing herself onto the bed. Here's a clip.

She looked like such a big girl laying there. I sat at the edge of her bed, read her a few books and kissed her goodnight. I explained that she was a big girl now so she had to sleep in her big girl bed. When I shut the door I knew it wouldn't be long before I heard some kind of activity inside. A few minutes later Ev came to the door. Without speaking I picked her up and placed her back in her bed. We repeated this about 15 times until I realized it was now a game. So I placed her back in bed, kissed her goodnight again and shut the door completely because she is still (thank God!) unable to turn door handles. She immediately began screaming, "Oh no! Mommy, pwease! Oh goodness!" and multiple other cries of help. This lasted for a good 20 minutes before I heard nothing. An hour later I checked on her and she was sleeping in her bed. One of her toy bins had been dumped out but other than that the room was in order. Overall it was definitely an easier night than I had planned on!

So I was curious to see how tonight would play out. We brushed teeth, watched a show and headed to bed for some reading. She leaped up on her bed and snuggled down into her blankets with her baby. We read a few Dr. Seuss books and I again explained how she was such a big girl. When I leaned in for a kiss she wrapped her arms around my neck and said, "Wuv you, Mommy. G'night." My heart melted. I told her, "Good night, sweetie" before shutting the door. Fifteen minutes later I had still heard nothing so I cracked open the door and there was my big girl sleeping soundly in her bed. I tucked her in, kissed her forehead and walked out thinking how proud I was of her but also how sad it is to see her grow up so fast. From day one she has been such a good, easy baby. Let's pray it continues into Junior High! Cross your fingers!!!

Reading some books.

So proud to be a big girl :)

Workin At The Carwash

2011-04-11T17:19:00.000-07:00

This afternoon Ev and I had to run some errands. For the first time since the terrible two's have started I was proud of her behavior! We went to several stores where Evelyn calmly stood next to my side. She was still curious of the new environment, running her hands across everything on the racks and counters. But not once did she try to make a run for it. I have to say it was pretty nice going into a store for 15minutes and not breaking a sweat! Our last stop was the car wash. It was Evelyn's first time so I let her hop out of her carseat and ride shotgun. It was hysterical!! Although this video skips a few times the audio is to die for!

Due to all the running around we were running a little past schedule so we decided to go out for Chinese. Evelyn went through the buffet line with me for the first time. She helped me hold the plate and chose her own foods as she has gotten a little more selective these past few weeks. When I took her back to the table she sat there so nicely while I got my own food. She only yelled, "Mommmaaaayyyy!" a few times. During dinner a man from the next table got up and walked towards the restroom. Evelyn shouted, "He goin potty!" I said, "Yes, Evelyn, but that's something private and you shouldn't announce it....especially so loudly." A few minutes later the man emerged from the restroom to which Evelyn shouted, "He did it!!! Yaaaaayyy!" Another few minutes passed and his wife went to the restroom. Evelyn says to me, "Her turn. She go potty now." I said, "Yes, but remember...it's private. Shhh." When she came out Evelyn again cheered her on. They got a pretty big kick out of it.

When I went back for dessert I brought Evelyn bananas with a strawberry sauce on them. She told me, "Me no like nanas. Day for monkeys." And before we left she stopped by a table, held out her hand and said, "Fiver?" Which is apparently her way of requesting a high five. Everyone was pretty amused by her and I have to say I had a blast. She has such a personality and it is SO fun!

Here is a cute pic of Ev leaving to run errands.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Evey Bug

2011-04-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

We're back from our first ever blogger vacation! And to celebrate, I plan to recap Evelyn's 2nd birthday.

Dear Evelyn,

These past two years have been quite a rollercoaster! But I've enjoyed the ride. You are growing and developing so quickly that I feel like just yesterday I was bringing you home from the hospital.

Your vocabulary is outstanding and very advanced! You can say 5-6 word sentences, alhtough not always gramatically correct. Some I have heard recently are, "You lay 'gether, pwease?" (meaning you lay with me/we lay together) and "Ess-cues-uh-me...you butt showing", which you politely explained to a stranger bearing plumber crack at a birthday party last night! You are also great at saying big words like "'quarium" (aquarium), stegasaurus and interesting. You LOVE asking questions...and usually answer them yourself..."Mommy go potty.....noooo! Ehninn go potty...yeeesss!" You love to count everything in your own format of "2, 4, 8, 9, tipteen". You received a Tag reader from Grandma Jill for Christmas and love to read alone in your crib at night. These books have helped you to be able to identify most of your colors and almost all shapes. You are great at playing alone and sometimes I think you have more fun this way! You love babies, making us food in your 'wave, coloring and your new favorite is playing with Legos. You are very observant-always identifying the current weather status, what other people are wearing and things we see when walking around. You enjoy going under bridges in the car declaring, "Made it!" when we reach the other side. You are still a fan of Dora dn Kai-Lan but have currently taken a liking to Beauty and the Beast, Chuggington, Bolt and Cars. The other day I was drinking tea and you asked, "Me drink dat tea?" After I gave you a drink you pointed to your tea party set explaing, "Dat tea, too." You then informed me that, "Beast drink tea, too." Yes, Beauty and the Beast DO drink tea, too! You have joined a tumbling class at the Y and are a HUGE fan! You love doing 'saults and running but especially love the trampoline and social aspect of it all. We celebrated your birthday differently this year with a small, intimate family party consisting of Yaya, Pa, Uncle Gawette, Grnadma Jilly B, Pa, Uncle Chris, Aunt Jen and Kaden. We also went on 2 trips for your birthday-to Key Lime Cove and the Shedd Acquarium. You had a great time at both! Because you love anything to do with the outdoors and water you are more than ready for Spring to be here and I look forward to sharing these times with you.

Happy Birthday, Bug. Love you with all my heart,

Mommy

Evelyn, fresh out of the hospital

3months

6months

9months

12months

18months

2 years old!

Better With Age

2011-03-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

Due to a stuffy nose and cough Evelyn struggled to go to bed tonight. Between her symptoms and list of demands (ie lemonade, coloring books and Bullseye), bedtime didn't seem to be in sight tonight. After rattling off several fictitious excuses she finally gave in and settled down. Only minutes later she was insisting she be freed because of a stomach ache. I finally went in and offered to either rock or lay on the floor together (because she is sick and she is almost not a baby and...I just wanted to, ok!). We snuggled up on her ladybug pillow pet and I began to rub her back. She sweetly threw an arm around my neck and pulled me in to whisper, "Wuv you, Mommy." She started rubbing my head and cheek with a smile. She loves to show us that she cares and make us smile. It is just another determining factor proving that Evelyn has almost completely transitioned into a big, huge, independent, conversational, inquisitive BIG GIRL! She is going potty regularly, washing her hands, drinking out of a big girl cup at dinner and constantly making us laugh with the millions of questions she has. I have to say I'm pretty darn proud! It's an awesome feeling when I try and teach her something that she's totally into, like new songs, dance moves or just a neat game. I have to say, this parenting thing is alright.

Tumb-uhh-ween

2011-03-01T18:40:00.000-08:00

Evelyn has jumped full swing into her Tumbling class. She loves the rush of the gym atmosphere, the other toddlers, all the free space and of course the awesome equipment they have. She is always asking to go, "Tumb-uhh-ween?" I'm positive we're going to keep up with this so we went ahead and bought some official tumbling gear...
(Ignore the frown due to the unwanted picture being taken)

This day, Evelyn was mistaken for royalty when another girl came in saying, "Look, mom! A princess!"

The class usually goes something like this-running back and forth on a white line, doing random walks/jumpes (ie frog hop, crab walk), then an obstacle course consisting of a somersault, jumping into or over something, crawling in or under something, the balance beam and doing a back bend on this sweet pillow thing they have. Then they do different jumps on the trampoline, sometimes jump off onto a target and then have 10 minutes of free time. It's awesome! Even the parents have a blast on the trampolines.

Last week, Evelyn successfully made it across the 12 foot balance beam on her own (only falling off 2 or 3 times). Her teachers were very impressed, claiming they rarely see a child her age make it so far. Overall, I think she has great form and I definitely think this may be her thing. Go, Evey Girl!! Mommy's proud :)

Our Month In Pictures

2011-02-23T06:36:00.000-08:00

Princess Evelyn all ready for tumbling

She is her Mother's Daughter

Relaxing :)

Found you!!

And here is a new pic of Salvy

Evelyn's Chris Farley impression

Now That's What I Call A Weekend

2011-02-21T13:01:00.001-08:00

Where should we start?

I finished this school week strongly getting 3 A's and 1 B on the four tests I took in 7 days. I was ready to celebrate! But my body had other plans... Jared and I ended up having a 24hour stomach virus.

If you remember my post from last week, I mentioned Evelyn's rising and falling fever that lasted all of last week causing her to miss daycare Monday-Wednesday. It was then followed by a barky, wet cough. She seemed fine through the weekend while Jared and I were ill until Saturday night when her cuddly/cranky mood came back.

She slept through the night fine but remained sluggish all day Sunday. I thought all was well until last night when our weekend sickness took a severe turn for the worse.

After hearing Evelyn whining I took her out of her crib she cried, "Bewwy. Hurts." before throwing up all over me. Since my hair and basically my entire torso were drenched in throw up, Evelyn and I took a quick shower. She was silly and giggling int he tub but began to whine again once we go out. Thankfully we were in the bathroom and she made it to the toilet. The remainder of our night was spent sleeping for an hour or two in various places that were clean. Getting cold wash cloths for Evelyn, glasses of Pedialyte, clean clothes, poopy diapers. I did several loads of laundry throughout the night because at one point we only had one pillowcase and one blanket clean-both of which Evelyn was using. She ended up getting sick 10 times throughout the night and finally slept from 2am-5am.

After a visit to the Doctor we were told Evelyn has a bacterial infection that our Doctor explained would cure itself in a day or two as long as she was well hydrated. After another dose of Pedialyte and almost a whole 6" Subway sub (by request) she is FINALLY sound asleep in a clean, warm bed. (In clean pajamas with a clean body which hasn't happened for 24hours!) I have one load of blankets left to fold and we are all clean and back to normal. In just enough time for me to get a quick nap, too. Thank goodness for no school today!!

Genes

2011-02-15T17:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight while making dinner Evelyn and I sat on the kitchen floor playing with her ABC magnets. I noticed she was sitting in the EXACT same stance as me- half way cheerleader sit with the right leg pointing out and the left leg straight forward. It was pretty funny once I realized!

Other things I've noticed Evelyn inherited from me...

-Bags under her eyes when she's sick
-Walking loudly on her heels...what some would call stomping
-Tapping her foot while standing, for no particular reason
-Great rhythm

and we're waiting to find out if she has the Cumpata thumb. I tried to check the other night but I guess I'll just have to wait until she can give us the thumbs up on her own! I'll keep ya posted ;)

Mendota Disaster Part II

2011-02-13T16:04:00.000-08:00

Last month, a bar downtown started on fire but fortunately only suffered internal damage.

This weekend, a 10 car train derailed only feet from our house. Jared even got to witness the entire thing! We've made several video updates throughout the weekend but are less than thrilled that our front yard has turned into a tourist site. There were people out there only seconds after it happened! I couldn't believe it. Cars were pulled over, people were in the street with cameras and camcorders. All the surrounding roads had to be blocked off, but of course, the intersection directly in front of our house is open, excluding the entrance to our one way street which is blocked on both ends meaning we physically have to remove barricades to leave our home. Not fun. Another un-fun part of this madness was that the men worked a straight 24hours after the wreck happened. Needless to say, the night was basically sleepless with sounds of, "Boom...scraaaaaapeeee....eeeen, eeeen, eeeen". (That last sound was a tractor reversing if anyone was confused). And still, 2 days later there are still people pulling over, trudging through our yard and basically acting completely obnoxious while TONS of semi's, tractors and police clean up the wreckage. I only wish Riley could have been here. He would have been PUMPED!!! Here is a clip...

More un-fun weekend news....Evelyn, who has not been sick ALL year has contracted some kind of strange illness. She has had an on-again, off-again 102.6 degree fever since Friday afternoon. She'll be fine one minute, on fire the next, whiny and cuddly then completely independent. Repeat 230498 times, and that was our weekend! Oh, with no sleep thanks to the train wreck of a yard we now have (pun intended!) Thankfully she has remained cool since after nap today but is still going to miss her Valentine's Day party tomorrow to be safe. :( We have our own little party planned so we'll hopefully make up for it!

All In a Days Work

2011-02-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

This morning, Evelyn and I were laying in bed when she let out some gas. With a smile she giggled, "Toot." I asked if she had and she explained, "Yes! Daddy toot....'lot." How observant.

After daycare, I was getting in a quick work out on my exercise ball. Evelyn asked, "Doing?" To which I replied, "I'm exercising." When it was her turn with the ball she attempted to do several mock exercises so I asked her what she was doing. "Umm....apple-sizing."

Before bed, we went for a ride to visit our friend's new baby. I started the car and hadn't even hit the gas when Evelyn shouted, "Wait! Seatbelt, Daddy. Now."

Totally, Dude

2011-02-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

Today on my way out the door I came across a boat with three passengers-Evelyn, Crush (of Finding Nemo) and Crush's baby. When I asked where they were headed they replied, "Umm....the EAC dude."

Snow Day

2011-02-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

This morning we woke up to find ourselves bombarded in our house with no means of escape. But once we walked into the garage we realized we could just open the garage door. We also realized that the snow was 2 feet taller than Evelyn!

She's not close enough to tell in this picture but once we got out there it was like 5 feet tall! That is Jared's car in the background. Since we live across from a vacant lot our drifts were pretty intense. The back door had snow up to the handle and the front porch was completely full to the railing. It was madness! Evelyn enjoyed walking through the snow for a while but once we reached where the sidewalk once was, it was a little too much for her.

Since we were stuck inside all day we made a huge pot of chlli, corn bread and pink rice krispie treats. Evelyn also had an art show for us. She would would draw a picture and present them announcing their titles, such as....
"Nemo"

"Fresh Feets" (Translation- "The Fresh Beats")

"Birds"

And her famous masterpiece, "Swohm-ee" (Salami)

Personally, I think these pictures are definitely professional enough to end up in the "Works of Art" drawer at Aunt Karen's :)

The Great Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

What a day!! It began by watching the insane Chicagoians on Fox News. Filling up 2 grocery carts at a time and freaking out about the snow. I know it's bad, but seriously? You need 2 grocery carts? If anything we'll be stuck inside for a few days max. It's not like we'll have to break a window and dig ourselves out to live. It's like a Y2K flashback. "Fill up your bathtubs! We may run out of water!" But seriously, it did get bad.

My school (for the first time in history!) granted us a snow day. They decided to close at 1:30 but the Anatomy and Biology labs were open until 3. I have a lab due Friday that we will also be tested on Friday so I decided to stay and take my chances. After successfully rocking the lab in only 45minutes I decided to head home. My first few steps outside I realized the snow was already up to the tops of my boots-not a good sign! The drive home was fairly easy. I did fine but the van in front of me was swerving like a mad man so I just kind of kept my distance. I safely made it into town where I stopped to drop off notes to a friend only one block away. All went smoothly until I was headed out of her driveway. Another car came flying down the alley so I pulled to the right, flew over an ice hill and was immediately stuck-more bad news! Thirty minutes later 3 innocent bystanders successfully shoved me out. Phew! I headed home to make dinner and was MORE than satisfied after slipping into my fleece pajama pants. Minutes later I heard a blood curdling cry. A few weeks ago Evelyn had smashed her finger in the bathroom door and her nail was then rotten and yellow. Well the blood curdling cry was due to Jared shutting the bathroom door on the exact same finger. I ran to look and the finger nail was completely gone! Evelyn's finger was gushing blood, pouring down her arm and on my shirt sleeve. I freaked out and screamed to Jared it was terrible! I rinsed it under the sink and grabbed a clean washcloth, held it down on Evelyn's finger and lifted it above her head. I was trying to keep my grasp on her hand and calm her down at the same time. It was terrifying and very traumatic for her once she saw the blood. Ten minutes later we turned on Toy Story 3 and she slowly but surely settled down. What a freakin night!

It all came to a great end when Jared got the phone call that, for the first time in Oberweis history, they were called off work! We made a pallet, snuggled up and watched some "Clue's Clue's". Towards the end of the show Evelyn turned around, smiled and threw her arm around my neck for a big hug. Even when I have what seems like the worst day ever it's an unbelievable feeling to come home to someone who loves you more than anything in the world (besides fruit snacks!)

From The Mouth of Evelyn

2011-01-31T17:33:00.000-08:00

While being told to sit down at the dinner table- "I had enough!"

At daycare earlier when two men were in the basement fixing the telephone- "Men in nair...Hi men!" (in nair=in there)

When wanting a paci before bed- "Daddy, paci? Pink one."

And her new famous line in response to questions such as, "Evelyn, would you like some more juice?"-- "Yep,sure" or "Yep, 'ink so." (think so)

Gotta love toddler lingo :)

Our Weekend In Pictures

2011-01-30T17:30:00.000-08:00

Friday Evelyn spent the day with Yaya and experienced how tiring it is to care for a baby.

She also snuggled up with her porcelain puppy.

Saturday we had lunch at the Olive Garden with Grandma Jo. And for someone who said they weren't hungry she seemed to enjoy almost her entire full order of chicken alfredo, a big salad and a breadstick :) I'm glad! Surprisingly, the only thing Evelyn was interested in eating was the salad! She ate two whole plates and a breadstick. We had such a relaxing lunch. Grandma was full of conversation and Evelyn was on her best behavior. Grandma Jo was pleased when they presented her with her surprise birthday dessert-she ate the entire chocolate dessert cup :) We all had such a blast! And when we were ready to leave, Evelyn gave Grandma a sweet kiss and said, "Bye, Jo. Love ya." Grandma was in heaven!

On the way home we picked up a huge bag of hand-me-downs...here is Evelyn's favorite new shirt.

And lastly, after a Saturday night slumber party with my cousin Kristen, my Aunt Lori, Uncle John and cousin Katie came to pick her up and we had a nice lunch at a Mexican joint in town. It was a great weekend but we are more than ready for bed tonight. And so is Evelyn after a very bubbly bath.

Bieber Fever

2011-01-26T17:30:00.000-08:00

The greatest day ever! I burnt 734 calories at the Y, had a great day at school, aced a Math quiz and spent the evening quietly playing with my love. After a beef stew dinner date for 2 (Daddy was catching up on some sleep) Ehhnin and I enjoyed a splash-filled, finger-painting bath and snuggled up to watch Nemo before our bedtime routine.

We still rock before bed time and this is a moment I cherish. But tonight Evelyn had other plans. She started by asking me what foods I like...

Evelyn: Strawburries?
Mommy: Yep.
Evelyn: Me, too. Otdogs?
Mommy: Yep.
Evelyn: Me, too. Nanas?

...and you get the picture. After remaining quiet for what seemed like years I'm sure, she began singing under her breath, "Rooooock, baby, tops. Wiiiind, bwows, rock. Craaaaadle, fall. Doooown, baby, all." But here's where it became a hysterical duo of laughter...after another bout of silence I heard a whisper of, "Babe-uh, babe-uh, babe-uh oooooh. Babe-uh, babe-uh, babe-uh oooooh!" That's right, my 22-month-old was singing Justin Bieber!

Breaking News!

2011-01-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

We have now gone through 2 consecutive days of Evelyn going tinkle AND poopy on the potty! The first day she said, "Mommy, potty". After a few minutes in the bathroom (alone-by request) she emerged screaming, "Yay, Ehhnin did it!" Imagine my surprise when I entered the bathroom only to find #2 in the potty!! If you would have walked in my house you would've thought I had just won a million dollars I was so happy! Later in the night she requested to use the restroom again where she proceeded to go tinkle. The next morning it was the same thing-poops AND pees in the potty! She even went all day through daycare with a dry diaper. Hopefully this is it! Cross your fingers.

Evelyn has also taken an interest in two other hobbies aside from bathroom use.....

1) Finger painting with this AWESOME Crayola "finger paint" that is honestly just colored soap...

2) And just kickin back, rockin some tunes...

Yes, sir

2011-01-22T15:44:00.001-08:00

I was right! The day finally came...Last night, Evelyn woke up from a bad dream so I brought her into our bed for some snuggling. After about 2 seconds she rolled to the side, climbed down and quickly walked out of our room, turned the corner into her own room and pointed to her bed. She didn't want to sleep with us!? :(

This afternoon I caught her in some mischief and said, "Evelyn, what are you doing?" She replied, "Ummmm....ahh-choo-we" (Um...actually). Seriously? What is this junior high all of a sudden? Her other new line is heard when she is asked to pick up...

Mommy: "Evelyn, can you put your books away please."
Evelyn: "Yes, sir." Complete with scowling face and head bowed in anger. It's a riot!

Her wit and one-liners amaze me! She is quite the performer!

Big Girl

2011-01-19T16:40:00.001-08:00

Apparently Evelyn snapped her fingers and decided to be a big girl overnight. This morning she went #1 & #2 in the big girl potty and was THRILLED to get 2 extra stickers for it. I had quick thoughts of no more poopy diaper changes and felt as if I had won the lottery! Better than that even!

After dinner, I asked her to open the cabinet our TV sits on. I was expecting her to look at me saying, "Huh?" but she gently tugged on each knob until she found the right one.

Then when we were playing before bed, she put Buzz Light Year in her school bus and said, "See ya Wednesday, Buzz". Plain as day! She has been rattling off some good 3-4 word sentences these days. While it is great to communicate with her to know her needs (and wants!) it is bittersweet. I'm realizing how big she really is getting and it kills me. I feel like every time I rock her it will be my last. She's growing up too fast.

Here is proof-we're playing our favorite game, telephone...

These Are A Few of Ev's Favorite Things

2011-01-10T17:13:00.000-08:00

As you may know we have begun potty training in the Kern household. So far, so good! Evelyn has gone from going once in the morning to going 2 or 3 times a day. She loves to sit on the potty, legs crossed, flipping through the pages of a book. And quite honestly, I think she'd stay there all day if we'd let her! Here is a clip of her reading her new favorite book, "No More Monkey's Jumping On The Bed".

Another new favorite of Evelyn's is shortly responding, "Sure, sure, sure!" to most questions asked.

And her last new favorite is being videotaped. She is constantly asking, "Pitcher, Mommy? Tape, Mommy?" And she loves to watch herself afterwards, giggling at her own dance moves and responses. Here is an after dinner interview...

The New Year

2011-01-05T06:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Jared and I celebrated by going to a fancy dinner, dressed to kill, then attending a party at a friends house. It was a great night!

Before leaving for dinner we had a mock countdown with Evelyn. She was pumped!

As you can see, Evelyn continued her own countdown...

Our New Year has gotten off to a great start! And there are a few NEW things going on in our house.

Evelyn has become open to (and even secretly enjoys) going on the big girl potty. She has only gone a few times but is fully open to the idea of sitting on the potty which is a great start. We made "Do Not Disturb" signs for the door, so she puts those on, sits on the potty and reads her 2 special books that are only for in the bathroom. So far it's going great and she has been a good sport! She is aware of the urge, telling us "poop" for both, but would rather hide in her room somewhere and go potty in her diaper than sit on the potty. Cross your fingers that it will happen soon!

With this New Year came a new favorite movie-a full on Toy Story 3 addiction. After watching it once she was hooked! She has been working hard all week to memorize the characters names-she found a little pamphlet in the DVD case with a picture of Woody (her favorite) and the gang. She would ask me who they are, I would run through the names a few times then she would go somewhere else to study. After a day or two she knows em all! Which she should, considering we watch the movie at least once a day.

Evelyn also acquired a new skill during this New Year-how to bargain! And let me tell you, it's not the greatest skill a toddler could possess. When waking from a nap yesterday I said, "Evelyn, do you want to go on the big girl potty then watch Woody!?" She replied, "No, no, no, Mommy (while waving her finger in my face). Woody first." Whoa. I'll stick to making the schedule, Ev, you just follow.

Lastly, we've used all of our Target gift cards from Jared's Christmas tips and a few we received from family to do a little renovating here.
To replace our cluttered toy box we got this shelf and it rocks!

We then moved Evelyn's dresser into her closet along with her old toy box that is now full of the gazillion stuffed animals we have. All of this reorganizing makes her room looks SO much bigger.

Since all of my pants were in piles on the floor of her closet, we then got this for the bedroom (my pants are in the boxes).

And to replace the big, boxy desk that no one uses in the living room we got this beautiful console table that I LOVE!!

Happy New Year!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T05:46:00.001-08:00

This Christmas was by far my favorite. Evelyn was totally into opening presents, we got to see most of our family and, besides Evelyn's Christmas Eve blowout that ended halfway up Grandma Rainbow's white satin curtains, it was perfect!

Evelyn definitely had the Holiday spirit in her this year, chanting Frosty the Snowman & Jingle Bells daily. She loved twirling in her Christmas dress, opening presents and shouting Ho Ho Ho. And especially loved all the cookies and goodies that have taken over the cabinets of this home via Jared's customers.

Here is our Christmas in pictures and videos...

Opening presents on Christmas Eve

After the Christmas Eve blowout...

Evelyn, Daddy & Grandma Jill playing with the new zoo.

Evelyn & Yaya grooving to Disco Mickey...

Sowwy Santa

2010-12-23T19:51:00.000-08:00

Today was a big day for Evelyn! During a visit to the mall we played in the mall playground, saw the puppies, ate lunch with a few friends, picked up a ridiculously fat cat

And even ran into Santa. Our friend, Emma (or "Elmo" to Evelyn), decided to jump in the pic.

All of this excitement resulted in a nap on the car ride home...which caused a second wind...which then caused a further delay in any future napping...

What A Weekend!

2010-12-22T06:26:00.000-08:00

I know it's Wednesday but I've been too lazy to blog!

We had such a great weekend! We dogsat two of the sweetest, most loving dogs around! While we were there....

Yaya got her first taste of Guitar Hero & was instantly hooked-but for some reason she was under the impression that the harder you thrust your hips at the screen the more notes you hit....

Evelyn played backup on Guitar Hero

We ate some hotdogs...

And we finished up the trip with some snuggling...

Once we were home, we spent the evening resting. When Evelyn woke up there was a hair on her pacifier. She said, "Eww. 'Gusting." (disgusting). After I removed the hair she smiled and says to me, "Gwacias, Mommy." Thank you Dora, for that heart melting moment :)

Girl's Night!

2010-12-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

In celebration of my last day of the Fall semester, my girlfriends Krissy & Chelsea came over for a Girl's Night. We ate Chinese, drank some wine and did pedicures. Evelyn even got to join in the fun!

Here she is checking to make sure I'm doing a satisfactory job.

Looks good, now back to ordering a Scentsy.....

Baby Love

2010-12-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

Evelyn definitely has the natural mothering skills in her. I snapped these quick pictures today as I watched her (for 45minutes) tenderly care for her young.

Here she has carefully wrapper her baby up in her bouncy chair and shoved a bottle next to her cute little face in case she becomes fussy. She then sat alongside her to say "Coo coo coo." But in the picture she is saying, "Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese."

And here she is feeding her other baby a waffle in a bowl. Notice the concentration on Evelyn's face. (It sounded like the baby REALLY enjoyed it with all off the "mmm's" and "nummy's" I was hearing).

After feeding the babies she pushed them in their swing for a few minutes before screaming, "Pee u!!! Gwoss!" She then swooped the baby up saying, "Change it" and trotted off to her room to place the baby on the changing table for a new diaper. After this, each baby got a nice bath and was put in bed. Oh, after Evelyn read them all a book! Man!! She has our bedtime routine down...only she forgot to brush baby's teeth :/

Catching On

2010-12-13T16:40:00.000-08:00

I always knew Evelyn paid attention, but I never realized how close! She has caught on to....

1) How to sincerely apologize- Last week at daycare Evelyn reportedly hit her friend, Ava. Since the girls were the only 2 attending daycare, Shelly explained it was pretty quiet during lunch due to the tension. Suddenly the silence was broken when Evelyn turned to Ava and said, "Ava. My sowwy. You." (Ava, I'm sorry. Love you)

2) Fib- Mommy: What did you have for snack?
Evelyn: Cwackers.
Mommy: Crackers!?
Evelyn: Noooo!

3) How to discipline- When Aunt Jen's dog, Oliver, acts up Evelyn is the first to say, "No, no no Ohh-vuhr. Go!"

4) How to order take out- After Jared ordered a pepperoni & cheese pizza the other night, we later overheard Evelyn on her play phone ordering, "Pepper. Cheese. Pizza. Pwease."

4) And lastly, how to eavesdrop- This afternoon we overheard the neighbor kids squabbling outside the living room window. Evelyn looks to me and says, "Mommy. Hear dat? Boys." Then she pointed to the window (which had the shade drawn) and said, "[Open] dat. Pwease." She was totally trying to spy on the neighbors argument. 20months and already a gossip queen!

The Big (Scary) Day!

2010-12-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Today was Evelyn's tear duct surgery.

Unfortunately, Jared could not take off work so my best friend, Krissy, stayed the night with me to go with in the morning. We woke up bright and early at 5:15am to get ready but waited to get Evelyn in her coat until the last minute so she could sleep as long as possible. To our surprise she was chipper and talkative as ever on the ride to the hospital. She enjoyed her time waiting in the lobby talking to other patients. She was performing at her very best and when asked her age she sweetly replied, "Seven". They got a kick out of that!

When we arrived to her room they had a tiger print kids gown, tons of Christmas stickers and a beanie baby waiting on her bed. She happily slipped on the gown, stuck on a few stickers and was parading around the room making everyone laugh. When it came time for her medicine she calmly sat and drank it. After about 15 minutes it began to kick in. She was contently sitting on a chair when suddenly she lost control and, in what appeared to be slow motion, slipped to the ground. There she sat, hysterically laughing for a good few minutes. After scraping her off the ground, I brought her onto the bed to sit with me. She began to babble nonsense words and laugh simultaneously. When it was time for her to be wheeled into the operating room all you could see was a bed of white and a tiny smiling face on the pillow.

Only 15minutes later I was reassured with cries of "Mommy!" and heavy sobs-she had made it! Listening to this for 10minutes was REALLY making me antsy to see my little sweets. She was so relieved to be in my arms again and continued to cry and scream (loudly!) for a good 15-20minutes. The nurse came in to check on her and mentioned food which immediately perked Evelyn right up. While we waited for her tray we gave her some treats we had brought. Overall, she ate two pancakes, a piece of toast, a package of fruit snacks, half a tiny box of nerds, a few Teddy Grahams and two cups of apple juice. Wow. During this feast her nurse would come in every so often to check her vitals. Everyone, including myself, was impressed by how willingly she agreed to everything. While eating her feast, she was asked to let them put the heartrate monitor on her finger. She must smiled and stuck her finger out while still holding on to her fork. They slipped it on, she kept eating, they took it off, Evelyn said thank you.

Overall, the procedure went perfect. Evelyn did great and the entire staff enjoyed her. Several people popped in throughout our time there to say how adorable she was or how much fun she was. And everyone, including myself, was impressed by how good she was.

Once we arrived home Evelyn was pretty fussy. Until she saw what Daddy had waiting for her.

Then we watched a few shows before Evelyn fell asleep....for FOUR hours. After she woke up we had dinner (she ate great!), had a visit from our neighbors and went to bed at our regular time. I'm so proud of my little Bug! She did awesome!!

Here is a shot of her recovering...

Sweet Memories

2010-11-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

Evelyn had a hard time going to bed tonight. After about 10minutes in her crib I heard desperate cries of, "Oh no! Aww mann!" I decided to investigate. When walking in I realized Evelyn had somehow (by accident I'm sure) dropped her paci outside of her crib. She was a little worked up and over tired so I decided to take her out for a snuggle. As we laid in bed together, curled up under a fleece blanket, her nose nuzzled into my neck, I rubbed her back and stroked her curly, clean hair that smelled of Johson's baby shampoo. My mouth was resting on her soft little cheek as her plasticy pacifier breath blew in my face. And to top it off, she had her little arm wrapped tightly around my neck, stroking my back to comfort me, too. These are the moments, smells and feelings I will never forget. I could cuddle like this forever!

***

I had to share this! Tonight Yaya asked Evelyn to count and she counted alright....to SEVEN!!! And she's only 19months!

Thanksgiving/Black Friday

2010-11-27T09:49:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was such a blast this year! Evelyn is finally old enough to be one of the clan and enjoyed every minute of it with the big kids this year. She particularly took a liking to the two girls, Paige and Renee. She followed Nay Nay around most of the time and the next morning was asking about Paige. It was heavenly!

Due to no nap at all Thanksgiving Day, Evelyn was a little on the crabby side come dinner time. We spent dinner in the dining room alone where it was quiet enough for her to concentrate on eating. During our solo dinner Evelyn glanced up at the table seeing a picture of Aunt Cheryl and Grandpa Eli. She got a huge grin and said, "Li" (Eli). We've educated her with stories and pictures of Grandpa to keep the memory going. But the truth is, I'm just not used to him not being here on Holidays and this sweet little memory brought me to tears. We dearly love and miss you, Grandpa.

**

This year was my first Black Friday EVER! I've been researching products, their original prices vs Black Friday prices, and even went the extra mile to craziness-studying store maps to know exactly where to go for my purchases. I was so excited I could barely sleep! The plan was leave at 3:30am, get there by 4am and stand like crazy people waiting by the stuff we wanted.

Around 10pm, while trying to sleep, I got several phone calls from Jared's cousin, Angie. I finally answered to her excitedly shouting, "Walmart opens at midnight!" Thank God she called! I immediately dialed my best friend and shopping buddy, Chelsea, to alert her that the plans had changed! We stayed up until 11pm and left for Walmart. Arriving at 11:30, we quickly found the first item on our list, the Shark steam mop. Since the crazier people were already there we had a feeling we weren't going to get close enough to them to get one. Fortunately, we made friends with 2 other girls and mapped out our game plan. At 12:01 the tape was cut and we were free to grab! Our attack went just as planned-the 1st girl pushed her way through to the mops and we all formed a line following her. She finally pushed to the front and just kept handing em back til we all had one! It was SO MUCH FUN! As soon as we had our mops, I directed Chelsea to push the cart while shouting, "RUN!!!!" We took off like crazy people, taking short cuts through the empty aisles. The Black Friday deals were all in the main aisles so this way we weren't stuck in the bumper to bumper traffic.

When we finally got to the second item we wanted Chelsea continued to push the cart through the main aisle while I ran back and forth, cutting through aisles to get the things we wanted. Finally, we went to the DVD section. Talk about madness! The DVD's were torn through and the stands they were on looked rough. All the DVD's were gone but there was one remaining on the floor close to a rack-Ice Age! The only movie I wanted! So we grabbed it! We made it out by 12:10 with all 5 items we came for!!

1) Shark Steam mop $36
2) Food processer $3
3) Ice Age $1.98
4) Rubbermaid 40-piece tupperware set $9
5) $4 jammies

After checking out immediately-there were no lines by this time-we headed to the car with smiles of victory. After putting everything in the trunk we decided to go back in for round 2. It was so much fun watching the crazy people running and arguing, spilling stuff as they ran around corners. We ended up looking around some more and I did find one more thing. A pop-up tent for Evelyn. I couldn't wait the next day so I ended up just giving it to her early and we played in it for hours! We made beds inside, brought our baby dolls, brushed each others hair, and once it was night we turned off all the lights in the house and snuggled up inside to read some books by flashlight before bed. It was great!

Here is Evelyn in the mouth of the tent.

And here's a side view-it's 7x4 feet!

I am definitely going to be an annual Black Friday shopper after this. I loved the madness!!

Santa

2010-11-23T05:50:00.000-08:00

The past few days I've been noticing how in tune Evelyn is with her environment. The other night she was in bed and I walked past her room and sneezed. I was startled when she then yelled, "Mommy!" She recognizes my sneeze, Jared's cough, etc.

Then this morning Evelyn was dragging out all of the DVD cases (Fun!!). She of course brought the Finding Nemo case to me and began pointing out the characters. First, she recognized Dori, then Gill, and finally she found Nemo at the bottom of the page. I spotted Nemo's father, Marlin, and decided to ask and see if she recognizes the difference between Nemo and his father. She immediately answered, "Nemo Daddy". I was pretty impressed considering they're practically identical (minus Nemo's lucky fin).

**

I also wanted to share a story from over the weekend.

Saturday we visited a store where Santa was making an appearance. Evelyn's bottom lip immediately began quivering at the first sight of him. She was saying, "Gah-wee" (Scary). I asked her if she wanted to sit on his lap and she of course said no. So I thought I'd demonstrate by sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what I want for Christmas. This seemed to help a little bit but after he presented her with a candy cane everything went smoothly. She told him her name, Ehh-nin, and what she wanted for Christmas, candy, and how old she is, 2. She even gave him a hug on our way out. Overall, I think she did great! Definitely an improvement from her last run in with Kris Kringle....

Suh-salts

2010-11-21T18:07:00.000-08:00

Evelyn's imagination and personality never cease to amaze me and at this age of 19 months she can only be described as a downright good time!

Tonight before bed the three of us were playing in the living room when Evelyn did a somersault. She then declared it was my turn, then Jared's, then hers, then mine, etc. So we created a waiting line and took turns watching each other do somersaults and applauding each others victory. When Jared and I were finally somersaulted out, Evelyn began recruiting new playmates. It went something like this.....

"Doh-uh. Suh-salt. Yayyy!" (her Dora doll)
"O-bot. Suh-salt. Yayyy!" (a snow globe that apparently resembles a robot)
"Monica. Suh-salt. Yayyy!" (her harmonica)

I could barely contain the hysterical laughter! If you were there I guarantee you would have felt the same.

A few months ago I would have rather run to the store or do errands and miscellaneous shopping trips on my own, but these days the more the merrier. Evelyn is great at walking alongside me, helping point stuff out (you wouldn't believe the eye on this kid!), and is so enthusiastic about helping and being a member of the clan. And as I stated earlier, she is seriously a blast to hang out with! I'm loving this stage and would be completely happy to stay like this forever :)

In other news, since Jared's obsessive sweating has finally ruined my gorgeous, white down comforter, we decided to get ourselves an early Christmas present and buy new bedding and a new wall hanging with our 30% off Kohls coupon and $40 in Kohls cash. After 4 hours, 2 returns, and several incompetent, frustrating employees, we finally scored this beautiful, modern bedspread and picture.

Weekend Project

2010-11-16T19:11:00.000-08:00

I've been studying like a dog and am feeling very confident going into this next lecture test. Since I only go to school Monday through Thursday my weekend is almost here!

Friday will be spent cleaning the house and preparing tons of delicious Tasetfully Simple appetizers for my Purse Party. Then I'll hopefully nap with Ev and enjoy my Ladies Night Out!!!

Thankfully, our weekend isn't too busy which is perfect because I'm taking on a new project this weekend.

Teaching Evelyn to smile with a little less cheeeeeeese!

Two Cousins

2010-11-12T05:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (Thursday) Evelyn and I headed to Montgomery to spend the day with Aunt Rachel, Uncle Sal, and cousin Sal Jr.

Evelyn and Sal were SO excited to see each other! They greeted each other with smiles and hugs and had such a great time playing together. It was so funny listening to the little conversations and giggles resulting from it. At one point, they were just chasing each other through the house in fits of hysterical, adorable laughter.

While we were there we walked a few blocks away to a park where the kids amazed us with their skills! Evelyn and Sal both successfully made it over the balance beam multiple times and went down the HUGE slide alone! They both even took a try at the jungle gym. And they got pretty high up there! I was amazed! Evelyn never seizes to amaze me at the park. It seems like each time we go there she gets more and more daring.

My favorite part of the night was watching the 2 cousins walk home hand in hand. They were inseparable!! Once we announced it was time to head home you would have thought it was the end of the world! Both kids made their bodies limp, collapsing to the floor. As I was putting on her jacket Evelyn struggled to get it off as Sal lay in the doorway, blocking our exit. It was pretty cute. Overall they had a great time which was proven by the mulch in their hair, dirt on their faces and Evelyn's pink pants which mysteriously turned black. Something about seeing two cousins together is just magical. They enjoy every minute with each other so much!

Playing Taxi.

Cutest pic EVER :)

Going to the park.

Dare devils!!

Christmas??

2010-11-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

Today was my last day of school for the week! No school tomorrow for Veteran's Day so I have a four day weekend this weekend and next weekend for Thanksgiving. Nice!! I've decided that this year I'm going to make my first Black Friday shopping trip. I plan to head to Target first for my Shark Steam mop (originally $130, on sale for 49.99!) and hopefully score some good toys for Evelyn for Christmas.

Which brings me to the point of what in the heck I should get her! God knows the girl doesn't need anymore clothes and has so many toys I don't know what to do with them in this little house! So far on our list we have a Disney Princess tea party set, a children's digital camera, and a Crayola doodle art thing that I forgot the name of. I was also looking in to getting her a Fisher-Price Spark Art Eisal. If anyone has suggestions please post a comment!! Thanks!

Bad News :(

2010-11-08T17:12:00.000-08:00

A great morning was turned into a horrible evening tonight.

After waking up at 6am, Evelyn and I did some laundry, I finished a little homework, we danced, and ate eggies and pancakes n even made a trip to the store!! I love my Monday mornings where I get a few more hours to spend with her.

But it all went downhill after a follow up appointment for Evelyn's cough. She was prescribed two medications-1 for the cough and 1 for the ear infection our Dr noticed in her right ear. And after this, we discussed the fact that Evelyn's left eye has been watery/boogery since birth. We've done massaging, eye drops, nasal sprays, etc and nothing has seemed to work. So today our Dr referred us to an eye surgeon and we have a pre-op appointment this Friday. Evelyn will have to be given anesthesia and put under the knife. It will be a short, out-patient surgery but what mother wouldn't be worried! I'm just so nervous they will OD her or she will be the one out of a million they mess up on. It's so nerve racking. I will definitely have to take a muscle relaxer before this appointment or I will be out of control. Jared will not be going with us because we can't afford for him to take the day off but I will have 2 very close girlfriends going with me. Please keep us in your prayers. I unfortunately inherited Grandma Jo's nerves so I will defiantly not be sleeping til it's over!!

On the up side, tonight I taught Evelyn to drive her cars up and down my back and legs. And I mean, she really hit the right spots! It felt great. Hey, I'm a mom. This is as close to the spa as I'll probably ever come! Don't judge me haha :)

Sunday Funday

2010-11-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

This morning while building a fort we were greeted with a surprise visit from our great friend, Rob, who recently moved to North Carolina. Evelyn is his biggest fan!! For about 6months after he left she was calling everyone, even females, Rob. Too funny. During the visit she showed him fort and multiple other toys and tricks, but for the majority of the visit she was cozied up with her favorite Uncle, Rob :)

After parting with Rob, I threw together white chicken chilli in the crock pot for the first time. The rest of the afternoon was lazily spent on the couch. No notes, no housework. It was great! (But rare!) Come dinnertime I was worried I would have to prepare a second meal for Evelyn. But to my surprise she was a HUGE fan of the chilli and especially loved the cornbread. It was delicious and we have plenty left over for lunch tomorrow. Yum!!

Tonight I also got my run on for the first time in a few months. I was jogging strong during the Summer, my 1.5 mile route every night, but once school came I'm so tired after getting Evelyn to bed and doing some studying that I just haven't had it in me. I've been battling with weight loss since Evelyn was born. I go in shifts of great work out and exercise, to eating tons of junk food and being a bum. I've realized that my break in exercise is basically my mind set. Every time I've ever began an exercising regimen I usually give up. It's really not hard to keep it up but I guess I usually quit because I have every other time and figure it's coming regardless. I'm going to try my hardest to stick with it this time. I feel so much better and usually see results quickly. Pray for me to stay strong!!!

Stick-uhhs

2010-11-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

What a morning!!

We got a recorded call from our Dr's office at the beginning of the week that said, "Friday." And hung up. So I assumed Evelyn had a wellness check up at our regular scheduled time, Friday at 10am. We ALWAYS schedule at 10am. So on our way, I called and asked what time our appointment was. They said, "Your appointment was at 9:15, you'll have to reschedule." I explained that my daughter was scheduled for a wellness check but has developed a barking cough. They said they were booked. Nice. So we turned around, and 15minutes later received a call that they would see us. So we again turned around (annoying!).

After waiting for 45minutes, we were seen by the Doctor. Evelyn is still weighing 24pounds and is still very advanced our Dr explained. Then it was time. We stripped her down and she was enjoying her naked freedom when the Nurse walked in. Duhn duhn duhn!!! I barely held her arms down and pow pow! Two shots. Evelyn screamed and began to cry until I held up 2 Dora band-aides to which she replied, "Ooh! Stick-uhhs!" with a giant smile. And that was it! She happily got dressed and trotted out to the waiting room to show Yaya her cool stickuhhs.

Our Dr informed us to begin using our nebulizer and humidifier again and if the coughing continued, to call them on Monday. On the way home I was wondering, "how am I going to pull of the neb treatments!?" Tonight I demonstrated how COOL! the nebulizer was and Evelyn wanted to try. After a few minutes she was disinterested. Then suddenly I got an idea!

That's right! A Dum Dum sucker stuck in the side of the nebulizer. Pretty clever if you ask me!

Icky

2010-11-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

After Evelyn having a fever/diarrhea Sunday and Monday, Jared and I both woke up feeling icky yesterday. After school, Evelyn's daycare kept her two extra hours so Mommy could take a much needed nap. Thankfully, yesterday was also Jared's Grandpa's 94th Birthday Celebration! I decided to stay home and take advantage of a few hours alone while Jared and Ev enjoyed the festivities with family. I ended up taking another short nap while they were gone and was glad to see they returned home with chicken noodle soup and mashed potatoes for me :) After taking an Airborne pill*, I ended up sleeping for 20hours and not attending school this morning. I did contact my teachers to assure this was ok and they were more than happy to let me rest. And I was more than happy to hear from my A&P teacher that I still have an 82, a low B. Which can definitely be brought back up to an A. After resting all day (Evelyn did attend daycare), I am feeling 100% and am prepared to do tons of studying tonight.

As for Evelyn, she is clearly feeling 100% as well. She proved this by walking the entire 3 blocks to Jared's mom's office this afternoon. There, she proceeded to color tons of pictures and even took a few calls for the office! After a yummy dinner of pork chops, white rice, and broccoli/cauliflower/and carrots in cheese sauce, she enjoyed a very splashy bath. While in the bath, she layed on her stomach and swam, saying, "Swimmin. Fwoggie." Where does she learn these things? I don't ever recall seeing a swimming frog on any shows or anything with her. She just must be a natural genius!!

**If you haven't hear of Airborne pills, they're a new over the counter cold remedy. You fill a glass with 6oz of water, drop the Airborne in, and it dissolves similar to Alka Seltzer. I've used them once already this year when feeling a flu coming on and I swear by them. They totally help!! You should check them out. They're about $8 at CVS. Probably cheaper somewhere else, CVS is a rip!!! But it's worth it. They'll last.

The Overachieving Blues

2010-11-01T17:03:00.000-07:00

Besides a small nervous breakdown on my part, today was a good day!!

After waking up every half hour throughout the night, Evelyn slept in until 9am this morning. When she woke her 102 degree fever from the previous night had gone down to 100. Due to her high fever, she was unable to attend daycare and spent the morning with Yaya. It was hard leaving her this morning but duty calls!!

First thing this morning I got the results of my second Lecture test. A big, fat F! I have NEVER gotten an F in my life! So needless to say, my A just went down to a low C. On top of that, I took my third Lab Practical this morning and I'm pretty sure I got a C. The Lab grade I blame on myself. I've had a little too much fun these past few weeks with Evelyn and didn't dedicate enough time to studying the Lab. As for the Lecture test, I knew I was going to bomb it. I've talked to tutors, peers, my teachers, and for some reason I just did not get it...AT ALL!! Fortunately, I talked to a good friend who just received her RN and she assured me she has never been asked the function of a motor neuron junction since she received her RN. Phew!

In preparation for our new, upcoming Lecture chapter, I have dedicated my evening to reading ahead, checking out some pictures, and browsing over the power point notes. After getting down on myself this morning I've decided to keep my head up and go full steam ahead trying to still earn my A. Hopefully it works out!! I know I've got a lot on my plate- a full-time course load, a full time parenting job, and an OCD cleaning problem!! I know it's a lot, but I still want to get my A's and I know I have the smarts, the strength, and the will power to do it. If not, C's get degrees! Haha.

After returning home from school, I was greeted by a gigantic hug from Evelyn! After she told me about her day with Yaya we had a snack and played house. Because she didn't eat all day, she got to pick out dinner-"roni" (mac n cheese) and left over ham. After an extra bubbly bath Ev picked out a movie (Finding Nemo, of course!) and willingly headed to bed. No temp and no fight at bedtime is a very sweet ending. Now it's time to hit the books before bed!!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend!! We...

Got to visit my nephew, Sal.

Practice riding a trikey.

Got to Trick-or-Treat for the first time. At every house, Evelyn would knock on the door, say "Tweat!", take a piece of candy, say thank you, then immediately turn around and run to the next house. She got it down pretty fast!! (You can't see her banana or cute, coiled tail in these pics :(

Even Mommy and Daddy had fun at a Halloween party the night before. Jareds sweet dance moves stole the show but he unfortunately lost the costume competition to Pee Wee Herman :(

Our Family Is Gangsta

2010-10-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

WHAT a weekend! Saturday night, we used Evelyn as a decoy and had Pa (Jared's dad) come babysit while we "ran some errands". Those "errands" were decorating the local Elks club for his surprise 60th birthday party!!! It was amazing! It was The Three Stooges theme with a cake showcasing a beautiful Three Stooges logo with Pa's head superemposed over Curly. Priceless! It said Happy Birthday to our favorite stooge! And said "Nyuk nyuk nyuk" and "soitenly" on the sides. It was hilarious! We had great food, our whole family, and a DJ with karaoke.

Evelyn got the party started (of course!) with her sweet dance moves and by the time she was ready to go home she could barely stand. I of course had to karaoke my signature song-Proud Mary by Tina Turner, and also did a few songs with Jared and hsi cousins. The night was a total success and so much fun! Towards the end of the night, it was only Jared, his sister Jennifer, her boyfriend Chris, and I dancing to anything we requested the DJ to play. It was mainly Tupac and other gangsta music! Hilarious!!

Speakin of gangsta's, meet the newest member of our family.

Nothin like rollin down the street, rockin Dora, and sippin on Juicy Juice.

PS Evelyn insisted she be buckled in. Safety first!

The ER-Our Second Home

2010-10-20T18:08:00.000-07:00

That's right!! Another ER trip tonight. Apparently, while I was at school, Evelyn fell and hit her chin, which caused her to bite her tongue, which caused her tongue to bleed "Alot. Like for the past 2hours," Jared says. He made it seem like it was just a bitten tongue, but when I came home form school to see my 19month olds blood soaked t-shirt, it was clearly another story. She was a hot mess! Red faced from crying, dirty blood-stained cheeks with tear streaks on them, and of course her bloody pacifier smearing bright red blood all over her chin and nose. After waiting in the ER for an entire hour, we were finally seen by the Doctor. It took 1 Doctor, 1 Nurse, and both parents to hold this girly down while the Doc looked at her tongue. He decided that since the gash wasn't a cm in diameter and not very deep, we should try a popsicle to see if the bleeding subsides. It didn't! So we waited some more, had another popsicle, and it was still bleeding (for 6 hours now). The Dr then decided to sedate her and stitch her tongue which we were NOT looking forward to. After another hour of waiting, the Nurse called our name for her to be sedated. We were so glad to show her that the bleeding had subsided. They decided to try one more popsicle to make sure it wouldn't bleed from food or water, which it did not. So, now sedation and no stitches, just a 48hour liquid diet which I would gladly take over the alternative. Phew! I was SO scared for her!

So.....5hours, 3 popsicles, and 2 t-shirts later, we were finally ready to go!! After some Dora chicken noodle soup and a bath she is now sound asleep in her clean, fresh sheets and blankets. Goodnight!!!!

More Pumpkin Patch Fun!!

2010-10-18T18:43:00.000-07:00

What a fun night! Jared, Evelyn, my brother, Garrett, and I all headed to Pa and Yaya's for a delicious dinner of roast beef, roasted garlic potatoes, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, corn, and fresh baked apple pie for dessert. Before dinner, Jared, Evelyn, and I headed to a local pumpkin patch. We picked pumpkins, hung out with some friendly goats, swung, and played in a playhouse (we skipped the haunted house this time!) It was such a great time and we ended up running into some friends of ours while there. After dinner, we had some old-fashioned pumpkin carving lessons from Yaya. Our pumpkins turned out great and boy did it bring back memories! I haven't carved a pumpkin for years!! Here are the results...

Close up on Evelyns and my Dora pumpkin.

And here are some pics from the Pumpkin Patch...
Evelyn and Ellie.

Evelyn kissing the goat (aka, puppy).

And YES!!! ALL of Evelyn's hair is in one pony!! :( She is growing too fast!!

Punkin Patch

2010-10-17T11:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday we headed to Sterling IL to visit a "punkin" patch with some great friends of ours. It was a first for us! We had such a blast! We bought 2 wristbands for $5 a piece (Evelyn was free-score!), and with this we rode a hay rack ride, walked through a corn maze, picked punkins, played in a corn-filled playground, visited a petting zoo, jumped in a bounce house, got our face painted, and visited a haunted house that the workers explained was "not scary, it's for kids". Evelyn did great walking through the ghouls and goblins and the blood streaked walls, but once we hit the strobe lights, it was a different story! The remaining 5minutes (that felt like 5hours!) was filled with piercing screams and shouts of, "I saw-wee, I saw-wee!" It was so heart breaking. But once we made it out, it was nothing a piping hot, fresh baked apple cider donut couldn't cure!

Here are some pics of the Punkin Patch-
Evelyn and Ellia. Jared says, "this is so dumb. Why would you put your face in the side of his face?" We were dying laughing! And I love Evelyn's expression.

Even the big kids had fun!

Playing in the corn playground.

Punkins!

Daddy's girls :)

Me and my peeps.

Duckies

2010-10-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

We almost went two consecutive napless days in this house! :( Yesterday, Evelyn woke up at 5am from a bad dream, fell back asleep at 7am, and we both slept til 10! I haven't slept that long in years. It felt weird. Since we woke up 2 hours before her regular nap time, I figured we'd see how it goes without one since napping any later would result in waking up at dinner time, then not being tired at bedtime, etc. So I made plan B. We went grocery shopping and Evelyn slept a half hour on the way and a half hour on the way back. So it was fine.

Today was a different story! At naptime, I laid Evelyn down in her crib and told Jared who was also sleeping (he's working nights) that I was running some errands. An HOUR later, I returned to find Evelyn giggling and jumping in her crib. I laid her down and waited a little longer but I could tell she still had tons of energy stored up. To get rid of it, we drove to the lake and did tons of fun stuff. Including....

Running up a "mountain", as Evelyn calls it.

A little swinging and sliding.

Posed for a few pics.

And fed the duckies.

After walking around the ENTIRE lake (over 2miles and Evelyn seriously ran most of the way!), she was more than worn out but still wouldn't shut her eye! Not even to her lullaby CD I had playing in the car. But finally, she was lulled to sleep by some ACDC and slept for a good 2hours! And is now, quietly in her crib. Phew! Back on track.

Another Tiring Weekend

2010-10-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

What an eventful weekend!

Friday
We attended a my cousin Jessica Noffsinger's Sweet 16 Birthday party in Buffalo Grove with tons of family, great pizza and pasta, and thankfully the kids made it out of the bounce house alive!! It collapsed like 4 times with hysterical, traumatized children inside!! Evelyn spent the entire night wandering around hand in hand with her cousin Sal :) :) :) :) They had such a good time together and we all enjoyed watching them hug and kiss and enjoy each others company! Everytime they would separate Baby Sal would yell, "Eehhhnnn!!" (Evelyn!)

Saturday
I scored a new Coach bag at a purse party, made and decorated 48cupcakes for our friends surprise birthday party and Jared and I hired a babysitter and hit the town with some great friends.

Sunday
This morning we slept in until 9am and while Daddy napped Evey girl and I went out for lunch and stopped at the lake to chase some ducks and play on the playground. Evelyn had a great time watching the "duckies" and it was hysterical to watch. She also ran down a hill for the first time. HUH-LARIOUS!!!
We finished up the day with a nap, left over spaghetti, oven baked chicken, and mashed potatoes for dinner and another trip to the lake with Daddy.

Relaxing in our pj's now and SO ready for bed. I can't wait to spend two whole days with my baby!!! (I have a 5day weekend, Thursday-Tuesday off!!)

Genes

2010-10-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

Well it's certainly been made clear that Evelyn has inherited my hilarious personality and it is seriously working out for her :) She cracks me up! Yesterday, we went to the hospital (we thought Ev had a uti, but it's just a rash..AGAIN!). While walking in I let Evelyn hit the handicap button to automatically open the door. 2 hours later, we walked out and she saw a handicap sign and said, "Button!" I can't believe she remembered! Then in the car she sang, "E. F. G." Jared sings the alphabet and has her repeat every letter but this is the first I've heard her repeat it without being asked.

She has recently begun associating children with their parents. Every time I mention my friend Amy, she says, "Hunter? Ash-wee?" (Her 2 kids).

And has learned to express her desire for a clean diaper by laying herself down on the floor, legs spread eagle in the air, and yells, "Change it!" Hysterical!!!

She has clearly inherited this great memory from her mother who scored another 94% on her 2nd Lab Practical!!! And just so you get a taste of what I do everyday at school, I have some fabulous pictures to share! (And speaking of taste, I hope you're not eating right now :/ )

Mmm. Human brain!

That's right! Nasty people try rinsing dissected cat parts down the sink.

Oh, No!

2010-10-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

What a weekend!! We were off early Friday morning for a trip to my school, the mall, then a shopping trip in Naperville for my girlfriend Chelsea and I while Evelyn stayed at Papa Ike's for some swinging, trampoline jumping, and tons more fun!

Saturday was spent cleaning the house bright and early and 4 long hours in the A&P lab, followed by a hysterically fun dinner with Gary's parents, my step brothers, and my Mom and Gare. During dinner, Evelyn expressed no desire for the delicious lasagna, not even for cake! When changing her pajamas I noticed she was very warm, and after taking her temp realized it was 100.3! She fell asleep in the car and slept til about midnight when she woke up screaming and came into bed with us. She woke up several times in the night crying, sweating, and vomiting. We went through three sets of sheets, 2 comforters, and 1 outfit for Mommy (uck!). She would wake up crying with a fever (102.3 was the highest!), vomit, then cry herself back to sleep. She has never thrown up before and it was very traumatic. After every time she would cry, "I Saw-wee, I saw-wee! Oh, no! Mess!" It was the most pathetic thing I had ever seen and I've never felt more terrible for someone. After tons of cuddling and lots of Pedialyte she finally got two hours of sleep.

This morning she woke up feeling giddy but would revert into crying fits here and there. After a tipid bath to break her fever, her and Daddy slept most of the day away she finally had a good helping of chicken and "fwies" (by request). We finished the night by watching Finding Nemo for the first time (we are all huge fans) and a long rock before bed. I'm happy to report she is fast asleep and staying home from daycare tomorrow to sleep in with Yaya. Hopefully we're back to normal! If not, we're definitely enjoying the extra cuddle time :)

Saaaay...

2010-09-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Today, Evelyn.....

-Learned to sing "Bitsy Bitsy Mider".

-Made a fashion statement.

-Worked on her biceps.

-And after all this hard work, she decided to go back for seconds at dinner time.

She also learned to mock us. While laying on the changing table, she said to us, "Saaaaay....bike." She gave us her own pop quiz to know how it feels to be put on the spot. After throwing her head back in laughter, she continued to say "Saaaay...Mike" for the remainder of the night. SO funny!

Dough-uh-bull!

2010-09-26T17:33:00.001-07:00

What an eventful weekend! Sunday was a great finish, ending with a very clean house, 5 loads of laundry done, lots of snuggling on the couch, and a delicious spaghetti dinner that was much enjoyed by Evelyn. One thing she did not enjoy was seeing Mommy and Daddy snuggling on the couch. First, we were given a HUGE smile...suddenly followed by stomping and screams of "Mommy! Mommy!" Once the snuggling was broken up, Evelyn was nowhere to be found. She didn't want anything to do with me, but how dare I give someone else attention! :)

We made up for the snuggling incident by presenting her with her new Winter coat today! We recently picked up a pink Osh Kosh coat from Kohl's that I wasn't crazy about. It was cute, but just not my style. And personally, I feel it didn't have much room to grow into. But Evelyn was a huge fan! She has worn the coat around a few times at home, saying, "Aww, cute!" But today, was a different story. She forgot she even had that pink coat when I brought home her new grey, pink, and green checkered DORA Winter jacket! She squealed in delight proclaiming the jacket was, "Dough-uh-bull!" (adorable). After trying it on, I was very pleased with the fit and Evelyn loved it all around. She refused to take it off for a good half hour. And even wore my Winter boots to get the full effect!

Dance Fever

2010-09-25T18:58:00.001-07:00

Well, today was a busy day! We packed up and went to Yaya's bright and early to join in her garage sale and unexpectedly made a nice little chunk of cash from selling my old home decor, millions of hooded sweatshirts, a few old pairs of jeans, and tons of shoes/boots. It was more than I had anticipated so we were happy. I even took a break to drive to about 5 different garage sales only scoring a few Fall tops for Evelyn.

After the sale, Evelyn and Jared headed home for a nap and I went to volunteer at REGAP (Retired Greyhounds As Pets) for my community service project for ALH class. Since they were having an auction today, my work consisted of selling $400 worth of raffle tickets...in the rain!, feeding and walking dogs, and acting as Vanna White's double showcasing all the great merchandise that was for sale. I also single-handedly dismantled a wire fence held down by about 25 metal stakes (FUN!!) It was a great experience and the dogs are so friendly and fun!!

Once the auction was over, the fam and I headed over to Jared's sisters house for pizza. Who knew it would turn into a 2hour dance party. Evelyn was bustin out moves I've never seen before. We danced to everything from Bob Marley to Tupac and she loved them all. Her favorite dance move of the night was definitely running through the 6 person train! We had such a great time and Evelyn was asleep before her head hit the pillow. Now that Daddy's off making another rap CD, I'm home alone watching a movie on the couch....in peace and quiet!

Recent Conversations With Evelyn

2010-09-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

While changing her diaper....
Evelyn: Oh no. Sheddy.
Me: What about Shelly?
Evelyn: Hit.
Me: You hit Shelly?
Evelyn: Yes.....saw-wee!

While playing with fake food, Evelyn holds up an apple.
Me: What's that?
Evelyn: Grapes.....Noooo! Apple! (Fake laugh while covering mouth)

During supper.
Me: Do you love your mommy?
Evelyn: No. Pa.....raisins.

While lying on the couch with Evelyn.
Me: You're silly!
Evelyn: No!!!
Me: Yes! (while breathing right in her face)
Evelyn: Eeeww! Stinky!

Well, she definitely inherited my humor! (And Grandma Jo's brutal honesty!) And it couldn't be funnier!

Sing A Long Songs

2010-09-15T14:32:00.000-07:00

Awwww yeahhh! I got an A on my first Lab Practical and I plan to keep the A's comin! So happy to get the great news today! Psychology-not so much. Got a C on my first test :( Sure, I can remember every square inch of the entire human body! But critical thinking? Not my forte.

Anywho...Evelyn's new favorite past time is singing all the songs she knows. So I'd like to sing a little diddy for you, Evelyn style:

Tinkle, tinkle. Wonder. Are!

That's right! 17months and she can basically sing an entire song. My little baby genius. She also sings, "Keen up! Keen up!" which she learned from her babysitter, Shelly, while picking up toys. I love to hear her angelic little voice singing.

Her second favorite past time would have to be laying on the floor to "cudder" and kick her feet :)

Sandwich Fair 2010

2010-09-13T19:44:00.001-07:00

Finally, the Sandwich Fair! The last of the 3 carnivals that pass through our area each summer. No more carousals, corn dogs, or carnies. Although the Sandwich Fair is my favorite of all. This year the weather was perfect and on our way in someone gave us free admission passes saving us 18bucks! What a great way to start the trip. For a very reasonable price we....

Won some prizes.

Had a snack.

Saw Yaya's blue ribbon cherry tomatoes.

Rode a train.

Fed lots of hungry animals! (The cup of food they give you for $1 seriously goes a long way)

And even got to ride a pony!

What a great way to end a weekend of hard work! Although it did pay off! Today I took my first lab practical and I'm pretty sure I got an A. Out of 100 questions there were only 5 I was not positive on. I get the results Wednesday and will be posting!!

Bedtime Play

2010-09-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

In a short half hour before bed tonight, I realized how in depth Evelyn's thinking really is. We were reading a book about a father and son (Go To Bed by Mercer Mayer). During the book, I stopped and asked Evelyn, which one is the Daddy? She pointed right to the Dad. Later in the book the mother appears. Evelyn pointed to her and said Mommy. I guess I didn't realize how well she associates words with meanings.

After reading the book five times, Evelyn began to play with her kitchen set. She picked up a skillet and put it on the stove. She then grabbed a can of vegetable soup and said, "Water" while running the can under her play faucet. Next, she poured the pretend contents into the skillet, put the can away and said, "Back", stirred the skillet contents, then brought the skillet to her nose, sniffed, and said "Hot". She EVEN understands that food can be spicy. What a genius.

Tonight before bed I also got a priceless picture of Evelyn and Daddy playing in her room.

My Love Bug

2010-09-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Things I love about my Love Bug:

1) Hearing her heels pound through the house as she runs to greet me with "Mommy!" and a big bear hug when I get home.
2) Her killer dance moves.
3) That she says, "hands up!" while holding her arms up when I change her shirt.
4) The fact that she can self feed. Major points there!
5) Her baby mullet.
6) That she always feels the need to verbalize the current weather. ie "Rainin", "windy", "ucky", etc.
7) When we walk into someone's house that is less than immaculate, she shakes her head no while saying, "Mess".
8) When I turn her songs down in the car she snaps her fingers at me while saying, "Mon! Mon!" (c'mon!)
9) She calls my parents Yaya and Pa...outside.
10) And how every night before bed she lays her head on my shoulder and says, "You!" Her version of Love you.

Seriously? Could it get any better than this!!

What A Start!

2010-09-03T17:14:00.000-07:00

What a productive day! By 9am Evelyn and I had dusted, cleaned all the mirrors, scrubbed the heck out of the bathtub/toilet/vanity, and vacuumed and mopped all the floors. So basically we cleaned the house from top to bottom, including 3 loads of laundry and 1 load of bathroom/kitchen rugs. What a day! Due to my assertive day of housework, I needed some rest myself. So, during Evelyn's nap time, I made a quick trip to Old Navy, scoring Evelyn 3 pairs of sale priced jeans and a few miscellaneous fall pieces.

Upon arriving home, I was shocked to hear that Evelyn learned to say, "Love my Dad!" Also, while watching Cake Boss, I quietly mentioned the word cake to which Evelyn jumped off the couch singing, "Birthday! Birthday!" Trying to teach her the song went something like this-
Mommy: Happy..
Evelyn: Happy..
Mommy: Birthday..
Evelyn: Birf-day..
Mommy: to you!
Evelyn: to.......CAKE! CAKEEEEE!!

To top off the perfect day, we spent some time lazily playing in the living room before our delicious, home-cooked meal of oven baked chicken thighs, green beans, and Parmesan pasta-all for under $9! What a productive, money-saving day! Bring it on Labor Day weekend, we're ready for you!

New Things Learned

2010-08-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

A few things learned this weekend:

Evelyn learned"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", Mommy learned Evelyn knows the words to about 10songs.
Evelyn learned how to do a somersault,Daddy learned when to guide her over to complete the somersault
Evelyn learned "help you" means she needs help,Mommy learned "help you" means NOW!
Evelyn learned her last name is "Kern!", Daddy learned how to turn her last name into a rap song she can sing along with

She is quit the musically inclined child. She loves playing the piano, using only her index to play! Loves to sing, and even started a band with us: Mommy on the harmonica, Evelyn on the maracas and Daddy on the mic.

The Fake Sleeping Monologues

2010-08-27T18:49:00.000-07:00

Daddy: (fake sleeping)
Evelyn: Seep-in!
Mommy: (falls "fake" asleep)
Evelyn: Mommy! Seep-in! Ha ha.
Evelyn: (collapses onto Mommy and fake snores)
Once Daddy woke up, Evelyn would hop off the couch, run over and push him back into sleeping position.

Repeat 248 times and you have our night!

Following this fun theatrical performance, we went for a family bike ride after borrowing a bike trailer from our friends Andy and Laura. Evelyn loved the ride, proclaiming "Windy! Tree! Puppy! Car!" etc. Occasionally mixing in a "Whoa!" at the slightest bump or, "Mommy, fast!" when the pace was slowing down. Overall, it was a great ride and I'm pretty sure Evelyn enjoyed it judging by her behavior once arriving home-upon being taken out of the trailer and set on the garage floor she immediately climbed back in, simultaneously exclaiming, "Ride!"

Great night of family fun. :)

Evelyn the Brute

2010-08-25T15:03:00.001-07:00

Well! We found out today that Evelyn is the mean, bully girl at her daycare :( Everyday so far she has hit someone, one day hitting every single child who attends. I've watched it myself-This morning when I dropped her off, she began to play in a toy house outside. Another little girl simply opened the shutter and all I saw was Evelyn's little arm flail out the window to repeatedly hit her in the face. There are 3 other children the same age as Evelyn who go to this daycare, and none of them are as abusive as she. It makes me feel like a bad mother having her be the mean girl. I've tried time-outs, swatted back, and taken away toys but she still has this possessiveness that makes her hit constantly.

Fortunately, this afternoon on the drive to Yaya's house, she of course won my heart back. How you ask? Oh, just playing the harmonica to Single Ladies by Beyonce with a killer dance routine to follow!

Evelyn all ready for daycare this morning! And almost 34 inches tall! But not too happy for this picture. (She didn't want to stand up.)

Mommy at school today!!!

Proud to Be the One Liner Queen

2010-08-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

So far, the school year is going great! Evelyn loves her new daycare and we've got our morning routine down. This semester I am leaving two hours earlier than last and I was dreading losing those few hours with her. So, I've been waking up a half hour early to be dressed and ready by the time she wakes up. I'm loving this time in the morning! I wouldn't miss it for the world. Because I'm going to school earlier, she is waking up from her nap as I get home and we have a good 4 1/2 hours before bed.

When I picked her up today, we took a 2mile walk and stopped at a nearby park on the way home. I can't believe how much Evelyn has grown this summer! She was going down slides she never tried before, could climb up the purple tube onto the higher level, and even attempted the bridge NO handed! It was a blast to watch and she was definitely proud!

Later in the night, she was taking a bath and again made herself proud. She was playing with a toy when suddenly she began to repeatedly say, "Ready. Set. Goooo!" I don't ever remember saying that in front of her. It's SO funny the little things they pick up on. She has been coming up with some pretty good one liners lately!

Beyonce Jr.

2010-08-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

My little one man band has proved to have a few favorite songs:

1)"Doo doo doo Dora"=Dora the Explorer Theme Song
2)"Lou Lou Lou"=Skip To My Lou
3)"Juice Juice Table"=A song we have on Cd 'I spilled my juice, juice, juice, on the kitchen table"
All sang while tapping a foot or slapping a knee, and sometimes even accompanied by a harmonica.

She also has shown her increasing personality. This week she has learned to fake limp while saying "owwie" with each pathetic step, knock on the front door, pause, then yell "come in!", and a hilarious conversation she just had with Jared and I while playing in the living room.

Evelyn Kern on falling off her rocking horse-
Evelyn: Ok
Mommy: Are you ok?
Evelyn: Yes! Saw-wee!"

This girl cracks us up all day long!

First Day Back :(

2010-08-18T17:20:00.001-07:00

So today was the big day! The first day of fall semester. I started the morning bright and early at 6am for a cool, morning jog. After showering, doing the dishes, and straightening up the house, I woke up baby butt and we got to hang for a good half hour. After cleanin' her up and getting her dressed it was unfortunately time to go to Shelly's. Shelly is our neighbor across the street and a very dear friend who has taken Evelyn under her wing in her daycare. I asked, "Do you want to go to Shelly's?" Upon hearing her name Evelyn squealed in delight. She then drug her diaper bag and lunch box from the kitchen chair to the front door where she proceeded to knock on the door yelling, "Sheddy! Sheddy!" for a good ten minutes. Once we arrived she ran right in hugging Shelly, jumped on a bike, and refused to pay any attention to me, let alone give me a goodbye smooch. Well.....I'm glad that was easy for her! Because I was a mess on my way to school. I just miss her so much! Thankfully I'm so busy at school I don't have much time to wallow in my self despair.

After school I could not WAIT to see my baby girl! I rushed home, bursting through Shelly's front door, similarly to Kramer from Seinfeld. When I finally spotted my sweetie pie I could not believe what I saw. She turned around and ran to hug Shelly. I gotta admit I was a little jealous. Here I am crying and feeling guilty that she's at daycare and she doesn't even want to come home. I'm glad she has such a great time. It really makes my decision to go to school easier. One day she will understand that I had to spend this time away from her to better all of our lives. But for now, she could apparently care less!

Summer Lovin

2010-08-17T05:39:00.000-07:00

Sadly, our summer is over! Momma starts school bright and early at 8am tomorrow morning! We have done so many fun things this summer. I know Evelyn has had the time of her short little life, but I'm still not ready to let her go. These past 2 1/2months I've spent with her were great and I know I'm going to have a hard time my first day back to school.

In preparation we have all the laundry done, a very clean house, and my bookbag packed. Evelyn is excited to spend the days with Dom, our neighbor boy across the street where she is starting daycare tomorrow. We spent our last summer night playing outside with the neighbors. Dom and Evelyn went on an house long Mustang ride that was absolutely adorable and the weather was perfect!

I'm going to miss these summer nights :(

After the Mustang ride, Evelyn and I laid in bed together, something we normally do not do. I just wanted to soak up my last few moments with her. We were laying there, trying to sleep as Evelyn was poking me for signs of life saying, "Mommy. Mommy. Mommy." Suddenly, she rolled over, put her arm around my neck for a hug and said, "Mommy. You." You=I Love you in Evelyn language. It was one of the greatest moments of my life. Love my sweet little gal :)

Wisconsin Vacation 2010

2010-08-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

We're finally back from vacation! 5 days was starting to feel like forever when you're sleeping on a flat, fold out mattress and never really feel clean from the river. But we had the time of our lives! Evelyn LOVED the boat and river and we all had a great time. Our days mostly consisted of breakfast, a ride on the boat, lunch, nap, spending the evening out on the boat swimming/fishing, dinner, and more relaxing. One evening was spent driving around looking at the beautiful homes on the lake. These people are lucky!
Saturday night Jared and I went to the local bar while Evelyn and "Pa", as she calls him, stayed in for some snuggling. At first, we weren't having too much fun in this bar full of over dressed, over make-uped cougars, but once karaoke began everyone was having fun! Imagine a bar full of 30 people all screaming Bon Jovi as a mildly challenged man in a goofy hat sang on the mic. It was just so much fun!!!
Sunday, the guys fished while Evelyn and I headed into town for some sightseeing and lunch.
Unfortunately, once arriving home, we had to make a trip to the ER. Evelyn has a double ear infection and rash from the lake. :( Poor kid.
Overall, I think Evelyn loved the boat and the beach and probably would have stayed forever. We all had so much fun! But let me tell ya, it is nice to be at home sleeping in my own blankets with a clean shower and my own couch. There's no place like home!

Stop!

2010-08-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

Evelyn's personality has been showing up more and more these past few weeks. It's great that she's learning how to show her emotions. She has a new mad face which consists of a cowered head and puckered lips, as well as a backwards walk away from me, into the other room when she is told to settle down/not do something. But the funniest are her demands. While driving in the car she will shout, "Stop! Stop! Gout! Peese!" This means she has had enough of this car ride and would like to get out (gout) please. This afternoon we were on our way back from Grandma Jo's house. My mom and I were talking while Evelyn was trying to take a nap. Suddenly, waving her index finger, she shouts, "STOP!" We immediately quit speaking and watched as she laid her head down, closing her eyes. Man! She told us!

Here are a few cute pics from today.

Playing piano w/Grandpa

Evelyn's 1st Nike's :)

She's A Cumpata!

2010-08-02T16:03:00.000-07:00

Evelyn has already taught herself to play Grandma Jo's spare harmonica she gave her a few weeks ago. We've only played with it a few times and she finally figured it out. And loves it! Just one more trick that makes her feel cool!

She has been enjoying her summer to the fullest, proven by her completely bruised shins, and we couldn't ask for a better one ourselves! Only one more week til family vaca!

YMCA

2010-07-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today we had some errands to run in Peru so we decided to meet up with my friend, Krissy, who is in town from Colorado and her nieces. After going to the mall to find Chelsea a dress, driving to my school to pick up my books and pay tuition, and absolutely NO nap, we met up at the YMCA for a swim. They have THE coolest kiddie pool! It has 2 different slides, a lazy river, a giant inner-tube slide, a built in splash park, and a few other things to play with. Evelyn had a blast! She loved the kiddie pool and requested to get in the big pool to be dunked. Best part about it, on Wednesdays the pool and all concessions are only a buck! What a steal for such an awesome park! After 3 1/3 long, LONG hours we finally went home. Evelyn fell asleep before I even buckled her car seat and slept until 6pm! After some dinner she's definitely showing no signs of tiredness. This is going to be a Stuart Little kind of night.*

**Stuart Little is the only movie we have found that she will sit still and actually enjoy with us. It's a little piece of Heaven :)

Here's a cute pic I got of her this afternoon. Some of you already got it in a text but I just love it!

Family

2010-07-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

Since we unfortunately don't get to see our family as much as we'd like to, I've saved all of our Christmas cards and we teach Evelyn who each person is. We haven't quizzed her in a while so I was surprised this afternoon when she brought me Jamie and Steve's Christmas card from the fridge, pointed right to him and said, "Steve!" I couldn't believe she remembered!
Pointing out Steve

Pointing out Jamie

New Things

2010-07-21T08:17:00.001-07:00

A few new things I have noticed Evelyn doing lately...

1) She has named one of her baby dolls "Som", after one of my girlfriends, Sam. Apparently, she knows Sam real well because she's always getting time outs!

2) I've noticed that when Evelyn is putting together a puzzle or stacking blocks she counts, "1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2,..." She truly is a baby genius! :) (kidding!)

3) Evelyn does not know how to play nice. Every play date we have she is always poking, pushing, or hitting kids. Time outs are just not working...she always goes back for more.

4) Perhaps the most obvious, Evelyn has learned to climb out of her crib! Yesterday at nap time I had just snuggled up on the couch with a bowl of Jell-o when I heard BOOM! I ran into Evelyn's room to find her casually walking around. She greeted me with, "Whoa! Fall!". Nice try kid, but you've been sleeping in that crib for 16months and have never fallen out before! After placing her back in bed I waited outside the door, peering in the crack, but she didn't attempt another escape...until later that night. At bedtime last night Jared, Sam, and I walked in once to find her hanging from the rail by her hands, feet dangling only inches from the ground. Second, we found her straddling the rail with one leg out. So, Daddy took action immediately and brought the crib down to it's lowest position. We then sat outside her room and watched as she grunted in an attempt to get her leg up on the side. After realizing this would not work, she then sat for 10 minutes rattling the railing like a monkey in the zoo before finally giving up. So problem solved!....for now. Until she's tall enough to get out again!

Can't blog without a pic :) Evelyn and our friends Aubry and Anthony going for a walk down the nature trail!

Mout!

2010-07-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Remember how I said Evelyn is finally understanding time out? Or "mout" as she calls it. Well, during a visit with Grandma Jo I realized she really does understand! For our time outs, she sits for 60 seconds in the corner, then gets up and says sorry.

At Grandma Jo's, Evelyn loves to play with the teddy bears from the pink and blue bedrooms. So Saturday she had drug them out to play. She walked with them to Grandma and said, "Baby. Nice." Then walked to the corner with the bear and shouted, "Mout!" while stuffing him in the corner. Then she pointed her finger saying, "No! No! No!", picked the bear up and said, "Saw-wee". Although it was hilarious, it made me feel horrible!! Poor, disciplined, child.

Two more photos from the day:

Evelyn (or should I say Renee jr :) ) remembered right where the chocolate covered raisins were!

And here is tired Evelyn trying to escape Great Grandma's hugs.

My Little Water Bug (Another New Post Below)

2010-07-15T10:49:00.001-07:00

This morning we had Evelyn's first swimming lesson! She loved the teachers and they were thoroughly impressed with her fearless technique. She showed them how she floats on her back, kicks on her belly, and dunked under water at least 5 times! Each time she surfaced with a HUGE smile on her face. She was so proud of herself and I was, too! She even learned how to blow bubbles in the water. Meanwhile, I got to spend the half hour treading in the water, watching from a distance. It was a fun, COOL workout.

After our lesson, we headed to McDonalds for Evelyn's first Happy Meal. She didn't care much for the food but was excited to perform for all of her enthusiastic audience members which included a young 18-year-old guy, an elderly couple, and a young mom with her 3 children ages 9-11. They were more than impressed by her speaking ability and loved recieving "Hi!"s and air kisses. But most of all, they enjoyed Evelyn' strong man performance. It was quite the site, 10 people hysterically laughing in McDonalds!

Creamy

2010-07-15T05:59:00.000-07:00

Last night Evelyn had her first real ice cream cone...or "creamy" as she says. It was a delicious treat on such a hot summer night and I'm pretty sure she enjoyed it. And her grandpa David and I enjoyed watching. I had a really cute video but it won't upload!!

***

Evelyn has learned what time out is. When she is put in time out, she now sits with her head down in shame and does not try to get up. I'm glad she caught on to that quick because she really listens when we say NO! now. What a good little girl :)

Puppies and Ice Cream

2010-07-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

Last night we were graced with the pleasure of having an old friend over for a few hours-our neighbors Pomeranian that recently moved to Morris. Evelyn had a blast! She was giggling while saying, "Puppy! Puppy!" But when we put him in her baby's bed she quickly changed her tone-"Down!" But overall, I'd say she enjoyed the visit.

Earlier in the day we enjoyed a visit to the town pool. Evelyn was stylin' in her Dora swimsuit, Dora life jacket, and we couldn't forget our Dora swimming doll! Her highlight of the visit was definitely the Strawberry Crunch Bar she received for good behavior :)

Cute....Not so Cute

2010-07-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

A few cute things that happened today and one very not cute thing that also happened today....

Cute
1) Evelyn earned a time out bright and early this morning at 8am after throwing her banana on the floor and telling me it was all gone (which I believed until I saw the mess on the floor). She was told "time out!" and sent to the time out corner. I was surprised when she sat still with her head cowered down in shame for the e entire 60 seconds.

She's beginning to understand! She also earned herself a time out yesterday for going behind the couches after being warned the first THREE times!! She got stuck and got totally busted!

2) While visiting my mom this afternoon, Evelyn was walking by and slapped my foot that was hanging off of the couch. I asked her "where are my toes?" She grabbed one of my little piggies with a wide grin on her face. She then walked up to Grandma and grabber her toes exclaiming "toes!" About 15 minutes later, the cat was laying on my lap when Evelyn came up, pointed to it's little foot, and yelled "toes!" She's a clever one :)

3) About a month ago, I showed Evelyn how to sign "more". Ever since, that is always how she asks for "more" of anything. I swear, this kid doesn't forget a thing!

Not so cute...

Tonight after a delicious dinner of ham and left over beans from Uncle Jim's 60th birthday (YUM!), Evelyn hopped in the tub for a bath. While I was lotioning her up, she was jamming her fingers down her throat gagging herself, something she hasn't done in a LONG time. I repeatedly told her "No. Ucky." And she found this quite funny. When I stood her up to pull her pants up, she again gagged herself, projectile vomitting ham and beans EVERYWHERE! Again, landing herself in time out. Not so cute. And no pictures necessary!

4th of July

2010-07-05T06:54:00.001-07:00

For Independence Day (also mine and Jareds 3year anniversary!) I hosted my first family party at my house. The menu consisted of burgers, brats, hotdogs, homemade potato salad, chips, fruit, green beans from my moms garden, baked beans, and a festively delicious cake I made. I also made a pitcher of vodka and lemonade that really got the party started! (Just kidding!) My garage was very festively decorated, as well as my child, and we all had a great time! Evelyn did great at the fireworks! As my girlfriend Laura's two-year old daughter was screaming/crying in fear Evelyn was jumping up and down yelling, "Cool! Cool!" It was quite the site. Overall, I think the day was perfect. Delicious food, great family, and laughs. God Bless America!!

Phillip's Park

2010-07-01T06:29:00.000-07:00

This morning was a disappointment when my car again would not start and we were forced to take it to be looked at (after having it jumped). But, after getting our 2009 rental Ford Escape and meeting up with our cousins for a fun filled day at Phillip's Park, our day began to look up. Evelyn loved eating with the big kids, feeling like on of them and looking at all the animals. And the big kids enjoyed chasing her around at the park. Since we haven't seen them for what seems like forever, I could not believe how much they have all changed! Especially Cole who seems like a man to me somehow! The day was a success but quickly turned south when we walked back to our cars to see Karen's back window smashed out.

Evelyn Homemaker

2010-06-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a busy day! Evelyn went across the street to play w/her friends while I dusted/vacuumed the house, cleaned her new baby station given to us by a friend, gathered up all of her "baby toys" for storage, and reorganized her new big girl toys. I spent the rest of the morning putting together her new kitchen set I recently got at Marshalls for 13bucks! WHAT a steal! It is a very nice, solid wood kitchen set. I believe it was on sale because the box was open and kind of beat up. We originally planned to save it for next Christmas, thinking she may be too young now. But we were proved wrong when my mom got her one for her house and she absolutely loved it! We watched for literally 45minutes while she put things in the cupboards and cooked delicious food. So we thought we'd try hers out. 2 1/2hours and 1 recruiter later (Jared's amazing dad who thankfully was not busy!!), it's a total hit! We're off to Target now to get some new play food and dishes!!

2010-06-21T19:52:00.000-07:00

We finally got to go see Great Grandma this summer!! Which included a short visit with Aunt Martha, Sarah, and Renee. The girls warmed up quick.

And enjoyed spending some time together playing.

And here's Grandma playing the harmonica for Evelyn before we left.

**
Near the end of our visit I found Grandma and Grandpa's 25th Anniversary picture. The color wasn't great and there was a couple in the background. So I took it to Walgreens, cropped it and enhanced the color and it looks amazing! I plan on sending a copy to all of the Cumpatas.

We're Back!!

2010-06-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

We finally have time to blog again. I decided to take a 3 week, double speed Chemistry class that has taken up ALL of my time so far this summer, so I haven't blogged in what feels like forever. The class was 5nights a week, 3 hours a night so as soon as I was finished my first priority was getting to know my daughter again who I feel like I spent no time with during those 3 weeks! I did end up getting a B which is good-although it did bring down my 3.65 GPA :(

Evelyn has grown so much in this short amount of time. She can basically identify anything and her vocabulary has definitely grown. She has started eating with utensils, is doing great on the potty, and is saying 3 word sentences such as, "I did it!", "Juice. You get it.", and "I see ya!". Last night I realized that on Father's Day last year I was nursing her, holding her in one arm. This year, she's hanging off both sides, drinking out of a cup, and walking around talking. time really does fly.

We have enjoyed our summer so far with picnics, a million trips to the park, pool, and Grandma Nancy's ginormous backyard. She has no fears at the pool! She loves to go under, and even stands in the kiddy pool bending over to put her face in the water! It's a riot! So we signed up for a mommy & me class which starts in July. We still have so much time to spend together this summer and I'm so grateful for that. We will hopefully be blogging regularly again. So look forward to seeing us!!!

Hop, Hop, Hop

2010-05-31T20:20:00.001-07:00

I mentioned how Evelyn recognizes Dora and the rest of her cast in my last post. Today, I realized she knows some of the words to the theme song! It seems like this happened overnight.

Her favorite CD has a song that goes, "C'mon and hop, hop, hop right in. Hop into the toad motel." She now requests it whenever we get into the car. As well as a song that goes "I spilled my juice, juice, juice on the kitchen table." She identifies this song as "juice!" It's pretty amazing how fast they learn! Well......I mean this is the only Cd we have ever listened to in the car for about a year now, but still!

Summer Fun

2010-05-26T06:47:00.001-07:00

We have definitely been enjoying the summer weather! We had our first trip to the lake and our first family picnic EVER...

And Evelyn took her first dip in the pool with some old friends of ours. We dunked her 4times and she never cried. In fact, she was lovin' it! Our friends have a dog that uses the pool steps to gracefully walk into the pool, swim a few laps, then float around on his own personal raft. Puppies and a giant bathtub!! Evelyn was in heaven. We stayed up two hours past her nap time but it was worth it. She had a blast and slept great and mommy got to relax in the pool and visit with some great friends.
Helloooo puppies!

Soaking her arms...

Fan Craze

2010-05-24T06:29:00.000-07:00

I knew Evelyn was a fan of Dora, but I never realized it had gotten this far. After purchasing a Dora bean bag chair from the Kelly/Eggers garage sale, I realized Evelyn could identify the main character of the show, "Doh-uh!" But yesterday, I realized she knew everyone in the whole darn show! When the Dora theme song came on last night she was yelling, "Doh-uh! Doh-uh!", "Bck-pock! Bck-pock!". She identified "mop" as map, and when told to say "Swiper no swiping," she repeatedly shouted, "Aww mann! Aww mann! Aww mann!" I never realized how much she really does pay attention. Here I thought she was mindlessly zoning out into the tv watching the colors but she really knows what's going on. And it's adorable :)

Tough

2010-05-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

Don't mess with this tough baby!

Or she'll be coming for you!

Money Well Spent

2010-05-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

We hit it big at the Kelly/Eggers garage sale! Evelyn scored a new blue rocking horse, a Dora bean bag chair, a zebra riding toy, a few DVDs and books, and a baby swing and bouncy seat for our future children....in 5 years!

Once we were home Evelyn was excited to show off her new toys to Daddy.

After the sale we split a Portillo's Italian beef with Grandma Jo and enjoyed the great weather. We had a good time. It's days like this that make me wish I lived closer. Days like this also make me miss my Grandpa Eli. Evelyn got so sit in his kit car for the first time today. He would have loved to see that. I have such vivid memories of going for rides in it when I was younger and just playing in it in the driveway. I'm glad Evelyn can enjoy it, too.

Nap, please.

2010-05-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

A few hours after Evelyn woke from her nap I felt a bad migraine setting in. I attempted to rest my eyes in silence on the living room couch for a few minutes. After about 5 seconds I heard Evelyn whining. I walked into her room and found her wedged between her crib rail and her miniature rocking chair she had pushed up against the side of her crib. When I walked in she reached up to her bed as if she had been trying to climb in. I laid her in there and she collapsed on her stomach and shut her eyes. I thought to myself, "Are ya kidding me!?" then quickly returned to my couch before she could change her mind. She didn't make a sound for an hour. The kid was asking for a nap! What could be better than that?

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-10T06:56:00.000-07:00

This was by far the best of my two Mother's Days. The morning began with Jared waking up first to change Evey Bug's diaper while I turned on the TV and got comfy. We all snuggled in bed for about 5 minutes and Jared couldn't contain himself any longer. He and Evelyn rushed out of the room returning with 2 cards and a present. Since we misplaced my camera a few weeks ago and I've been in agony not being able to take a picture every 30seconds, Jared and Ev got me a Nikon touch screen digital camera (like the one from the commercials with Ashton Kutcher). It has an awesome zoom and all kinds of neat features including built in photo shop. It also came with a very nice leather case and tons of accessories. After breakfast in the living room (not bed as I do not want to get crumbs in my freshly changed bed) we relaxed around the house until nap time. I relaxed anyways as the roles were reversed and Jared did the dishes and cleaning. After naptime, we drove to my parents where we exchanged gifts, played outside, and had a delicious roast. It was such a relaxing, family filled day. It couldn't have been better.

Three lovely ladies.

Evey's adorable outfit.

Me and Daddy.

Daddy using photo shop on the camera.

Mommy trying the photo shop. Doesn't he look great?

Here's Ev pushing around her baby.

2010-05-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

Today we had a small family party for my step-brother Garrett's birthday. Evelyn was delighted to eat cake but confused when the candles were lit and it wasn't placed in front of her. She also enjoyed shouting, "Birthday! Birthday!" in Garrett's honor.

Her favorite part of the day was definitely exploring outside with Grandpa.

Gary found this horse from an old playground at a garage sale and put it in his garden for Evelyn.

Another garage sale find!

Pretending to be asleep on the way home.

Vroom

2010-05-02T05:23:00.000-07:00

In potty news, I don't remember the last time Evelyn has gone on her big girl potty. It was just a phase...unfortunately. But she does understand the concept. Last week we put her in her new big girl carseat in a dry diaper. While we were strapping her in she said, 'potty'. By the time we got to the babysitters not even 5 minutes away, she had gone #2 in her diaper. There have been other times where she has pointed to the bathroom or says 'potty' so we try and put her on but she cries. Then pees when she stands up. So...we'll have to figure out another route in potty training.

Her vocabulary is growing by the second!! A few of the many new words are sock, shoe, duck, nose (and knows where it is), ucky, Mom (instead of mama), and please and thank you and knows when they are appropriate which is awesome. So many children don't have common courtesy anymore. So I'm glad she is polite. Another word is vroom. She says this while she vacuums....all. day. long. Levonne gave her a vacuum cleaner for her birthday and it is suddenly her favorite toy! Friday we even had to take it to Grandma Nancy's because she refused to give it up. She loves to think she is helping us and it is quite adorable to watch. She keeps her new house very tidy...

The Many Faces of Evelyn

2010-04-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Mischief—if I find her amongst a pile of food she has drug out of the pantry, she quickly throws her arms up and shouts, "oh no!" I understand her! Who could be doing this? I know it wasn't her.

Sorrow—when told she cannot dig things out of the trash her bottom lip quickly pouts out while she scrunches her nose trying with all her might to force tears.

Jubilation—she learned this week to sit on her bottom and use her feet to scoot herself down each stair. She quickly celebrates yelling, “Yay!” while wildly clapping her hands in celebration and forcing an adorable smile.

And last but not least, anger. If things don’t go her way, she now responds by pointing her finger and shouting, “No! No! No!” This is sometimes followed by a slap. I hope this attitude is just a phase!!!

Facing Forward

2010-04-26T05:57:00.001-07:00

Evelyn's finally turned around! We just got her a big girl carseat and she loves it. I feel like she's so big facing forward.

She became a little attached to the box that it came in so we decided to keep it and I created this humble little abode...

Complete with doorbell, flowerbeds outside the windows, and a "NO Solicitors" sign by the front door.

It's nothing compared to Riley and Renee's 3 bedrooom, 2bath deluxe ranch, but she likes it :)

**

As far as the big girl potty goes, she hasn't gone for a few days. Once I set her on it and she even cried. I thought she would stick to it but I guess it was only a phase :( We're still trying though!

Fresh Air: Does the Body Good

2010-04-13T19:22:00.000-07:00

Evelyn and I spent the entire afternoon outside today. Right after daycare we played with my girlfriend Amy and her kids who also happen to be our neighbors, went on a fast paced walk, then ran into a friend and took the kids to park where we played for just shy of 2hours. After this we had an outside dinner and walked back on home. She was asleep before I even covered her up. The fresh air did her little body good.

Being at the park made me realize how fast she is really growing. She was playing with all the kids while me and the other mothers discussed the kids. It was so much fun and made me feel like I was a part of the community, not just a kid. It was nice. I look forward to more days like these.

**

Evelyn did not pee on the potty once today. I guess yesterday was a fluke! I know she's so young, I just expected her to catch on and do it early like everything else. My little baby genius :)

Good News & Bad News

2010-04-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

Bad News:
Evelyn took a little spill landing directly on her adorable little face this morning. Here are the results:

The picture does not do her poor face justice-it looks awful in person!

Good News: (And very good news it is!)
We have officially began potty training. Our pediatrician wrote an article saying when your child is 1 everytime mommy or daddy has to go potty, take baby in and put him/her on their potty. By age 2, baby will have basically trained him/herself. So we started today! Evelyn has a totally awesome potty that plays music when you go in it and then plays congratulations music when you stand up from the potty. Today she went 5 times with only 2 barely wet diapers in between. This has GOT to be a world record. Hopefully she keeps it up because, if so, we just saved a lot of money on diapers!

Evil Knievil

2010-04-09T05:40:00.000-07:00

Evelyn has been testing her limits for the past few months. She is invincible...so she thinks. If sitting on the couch she thinks she can just walk over the edge to get down. With stairs, she just sticks her leg out like she can run right down them like us.

For her birthday she received a bike. You sit on it and use your legs to push yourself around. As for Evelyn, she mainly uses it to store miscellaneous things in the seat-pacifiers, books, cups, etc. But her favorite thing to use it for is her balancing act.

Evelyn's First Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Nona (what Evelyn calls my mom) has recently purchased Evelyn a shiny, new bouncy ball. She will be busy for hours tossing that baby along the hardwood floor in Nona's kitchen, quivering with laughter. This comes in handy when you're trying to get homework done, or the dishes, but definitely not during an Easter egg hunt.

Upon finding her first egg, Evelyn reached out her hand with delight. She gently studied the egg before yelling, "Ball!" and forcefully throwing the egg on the cement sidewalk. Jelly beans and sweet tarts scattered everywhere while Jared and I hurled over in hysterical laughter.

After finding each of her 7 eggs she would toss them in her adorable bunny Easter egg basket, fish around inside for a few minutes, and her hand would return with a previously found egg. Because she carried this process on for several minutes she only found a small percentage of the eggs. But it didn't matter to her, or us. We had such a great time! Each time she was pointed in the direction of a new egg you would see her face proudly light up once she laid eyes on it.

It was great to spend time with her cousins and we had a wonderful feast. Not to mention how stinkin' adorable Ev looked in her Easter dress :)

Go Low

2010-04-01T05:43:00.001-07:00

Here is Evelyn's audition for the new Ludacris video. I don't know who's been letting her watch BET (kidding!) but she choreographed her own moves.

Birthday Party #2

2010-03-31T05:36:00.000-07:00

The Cumpata birthday party was a success! It was great to see our Boyle cousins from Chicago and Uncle Jack from North Carolina.

With only a one hour nap under her belt Evelyn was surprisingly happy. Although she was unable to open any presents through the herd of cousins wanting to help (jk! she wasn't very interested anyways), she did enjoy all the children and her chocolate cake.

Birthday Party #1

2010-03-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

Evelyn's party was a blast! Jared's whole family made it, the cake was beautiful (thanks Nicole!), and she was never fussy!! Success!

Hangin with cousin Brynne.

Evelyn's amazingly beautiful cakes!

She was totally in to present opening!

Sweet new shades.

The after party.