Too Much for One Night

I'm just getting used to my little man crawling all over the place, and now I have to deal with lowering the crib mattress! Yesterday, Evan got onto all four's next to Chris' legs, and actually pulled himself up...and went OVER Chris' legs! Of course, Chris decides to move the mattress last night. I didn't think he needed to do it right away, trying to put off the inevitable, so we decided against it thinking we had at least a few more days before facing the task. Tonight Chris walks into his room to find Evan standing up and holding onto the side of the crib! Chris went immediately into moving the mattress, and I couldn't say anything because my little man is growing up!

Saying Bye-Bye

When Chris dropped Evan off at the babysitter's house today, Evan looked at Chris and waved goodbye! He's always had "busy" hands, but not to say bye. Chris looked at him and said, "Bye, Evan!" Evan looked back at him, opened and closed his hands, and then turned to look at his hands like he knew there was something cool that he had just done. I love watching him grown and learn things!

Another cool thing that he has started, is playing peek-a-boo with us. We have always played this game with him, but tonight he was the one who initiated the game! I put him down for a nap, and he took the blanket and pulled it up above his head. He then pulled it down really quickly in front of my face, and smiled a big smile! The fun thing is that he did it to me 4 times!

It is so much fun being able to watch him grow up and do the things that we do. It does make me think about how much he copies us and learns from watching us.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. Fathers, do not
embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.~Col. 3:20

I hope that I can continue to remember this verse, and apply it to both Chris and I. I need to remember that I can either encourage or discourage my child by my actions and words, and to be careful what I say and do to make a positive impact in his life.

Evan's Reflection

Evan has two adorable picture frames hung in his room. One is a picture of his name with some cute animals, his birthday, and glitter. This was gift from our friend Shelley. The other is a picture of the "Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, drawn by our friend Margaret.

For the last month or so, Evan goes bonkers with excitement when we walk into his room looking for these pictures! I thought it was only the caterpillar picture that he was excited about, but to see the look of pure joy when he sees both of these pictures is just fascinating to watch!

Well, I thought he did this because he just liked the pictures (which is true, but I don't think it's the only reason). Yesterday, he got so excited about looking at the pictures and when I took him to see and touch them, I noticed that he was looking for his reflection in the frames! Then he'd put his forehead against the glass...then look up to see if his reflection was still there, smile...and put his forehead against it again! It was adorable!

Wish I Could Move Like This!

My friend Judy told me to check this video out on YouTube, and I thought it was so completely amazing that I should share!
Enjoy!

Sick Baby

I have just spent 4 1/2 days taking care of a sick baby. I have missed 2 days of work, slept for a total of 19 hours in 4 nights (which sounds like a lot, but I promise I need like 10 hours a night!), and spent even more hours in the rocking chair. My poor baby had a cold and two ear infections.

Evan made it 8 1/2 months before his first ear infection (& even then he had one in each ear). He's actually been a really good sick baby. I can't complain if he wants me to hold him all the time and take care of him! Besides having the infections, he started with a small cold. It's this cold that is the hardest to cope with because it sounds like my baby can't breathe with all the phlegm in his throat, as well as the coughing. Haha, I also never knew how much snot a baby could produce, and where you can find it...

It's actually been pretty nice staying home with him these past 2 days. It's given me an insight into what it might be like to stay home next year. I am really enjoying the time that I'm getting to spend with him. But then again, did I expect anything less?! It definitely helps me think of what it could be like next year...Please continue to pray for this decision, though, because I am nowhere near making a decision!

Ok, it's official!

(this is not their baby, just a picture from google)

Nick and Alia are having a baby! I wouldn't have said anything, but they told us that we could tell people, and I just can't hold it in anymore! Also, Nick wrote it on Facebook, so I figured I could mention the good news as well!

Chris and I just want to say congratulations to both Nick and Alia. We love you two so very much, and we are excited that we get to be a part of your family. Also, we are thankful to be a part this amazing occasion. We hope that we can be there for you two in every way that you need. Thanks for being such a blessing in our lives! We love you both and can't wait to meet the newest addition to the family!

They are due on July 20th.

American Idol

So Chris and I are watching the debut of American Idol (we try to pick the winner every year from the beginning), and a girl shows up in a bikini...

I made some comment about how her hair looked blonde in one camera shot, and then dark brown in another shot, and Chris really looked at me and said, "I didn't notice her hair..." Ok, did I mention that she's wearing a BIKINI??!!

I just thought it was a funny moment.

______________

Here is an article that I found based on my above observations of bikini girl's hair color:

Explaining Bikini Girl’s Hair Color

By Edward Wyatt

Hair color might have been the last thing that many viewers noticed about Bikini Girl during her appearance on the eighth season premiere of Fox’s “American Idol” on Tuesday. But close watchers of the crowd shots that opened the eighth season premiere of the biggest show on television might have noticed that Bikini Girl, also known as Katrina Darrell of Chino Hills, Calif., had blond hair when she joined thousands of other “Idol” aspirants in the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. in July.

When she appeared in front of the judges, however, her hair was brown. That is because, although it is not represented in the episode, the judges usually are not at the arena auditions — rather, singers who pass an initial appearance in front of the show’s producers are invited back to appear before Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and, new this year, Kara DioGuardi.

Sometimes those later auditions follow the initial round closely; in this case, however, it was September before the quartet of judges made it back to Phoenix, giving Ms. Darrell plenty of time to wash that color right out of her hair.

Praise Him, Praise Him, All the Little Children!

Hurray! I saw my student today at school! He is definitely going to have some scars along the right side of his face, and he is missing some teeth, but he looked SO much better than what I expected! And the best news, is that he was a little quieter than normal, but he didn't look like he had lost his normal exuberance for life. He is such a happy kid, and I am happy to see him back.

Heartache

I found out at school today that one of my students was in a motorcycle accident over Christmas break. He was riding on the back with someone, and fell off the back. Without seeming callous, half of his face was taken off, and he is missing the right side teeth...I know this sounds terrible, but I could not think of any other way to describe it...

Aside from being a terrible accident, I feel such a heartache for this child because I actually got a chance to know him. He was in my Drum Club at Cooper. I will remember him as such a happy, energetic, excited young man. He had (still has) his whole life ahead of him as a happy child, but he will no longer be the same. He will spend the rest of his life with what happened 2 weeks ago.

It is hard for me to imagine this as a mother. What is his mother going through right now? I cannot imagine. If anything happened to my son like that, I would be in anguish for him. As a mother, I want to shield my family from anything that would hurt him. Not to mention, going through this as a young child.

I can only pray that he and his family will eventually find something good from this accident. God told me in His word, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."~Romans 8:28

Please pray for my student Justin and his family, as well as the teachers and students at Cooper while we deal with this. Thank you so much.

Please Pray for Me

I have been faced with making the decision of whether or not to stay home next year...and I don't know what I'm going to do! I've wanted to stay home for the past year or so, but it just hasn't worked out financially. I think we'd be able to make it work without me working now, but I just don't want to stop working and then have to go back to work the next year. I mean, the extra money will always help, so I just want to make a good choice for our family.

There are pros and cons to each decision, so I just pray that God would direct me into the path that he wants me to go. I also pray that it would be a clear choice and that I would feel peace about whatever ends up happening.

Baby News!

Last night, Chris and I met up with Nick and Alia for dinner at Wings N' Things (it's our Favorite place to go). They had asked us the night before if we wanted to go, but Evan was tired from not sleeping at all during the day. But they called us again yesterday and wanted to go eat. I could tell something was up...

After greeting each other and making small talk for a few minutes, Alia says, "We got a few pictures developed in Utah from Christmas. Would you like to see them?" We said yes, and as we open the pocket of pictures, staring us in the face are 3 ultrasound pictures of the (2nd!) cutest baby in the world!!

We were soooo excited to hear the good news! Actually, I had figured it out before we went to eat (or at least had a hunch that I hoped was right!), so we took a bottle of cranberry sparkling cider from our wedding with us, just in case. So when we got the awesome news, we plopped that bottle on the table! I think they thought that was really funny!

She just finished her 1st trimester, and says that she is starting to feel much better. There were some complications that their doctor was watching (a hemorrhage), but it has been totally absorbed by her body now! Praise God!!

I only hope that Chris and I can be a blessing to them during this time and help out in any way we can. I hope that they enjoy this experience, and are as excited as we are about meeting our niece/nephew!

By the way, she is due July 20th.

I Have a Sweetheart

Yes, Chris is my sweetheart, but I'm actually referring to Evan here (I'll brag on my man in a second!). I was feeding Evan tonight, and gave him the spoon when we were finished to give him something to chew on while I cleaned up. He put the spoon in his mouth, and then tried to feed me with it! He thought it was fun to try and put it in my mouth, then his! He's done this once before with a Tylenol bottle that I let him chew on, but it was just so cute tonight!

Now to brag about my other sweetheart! A long time ago, Chris and I decided to fix up the garage since we don't really have room for some of that stuff in our house. Chris got sooooo excited after we got it finished! He's been spending time out there fixing up the garage, and it has spilled over into housework, too! He's been awesome! He even cleaned out the dryer vent for me! April talks about how her husband rocks...so I'd like to echo her thoughts and say that my husband ROCKS! I love you, honey!

I'm not "Ba" anymore!

Up until now, Evan has interchanged the syllable "Ba" and "Da" for both Chris and I. When he was about 6 months old, he called Chris "Dada" about 5 times one night, and a few times the next morning, but hasn't said it since. So we've been either "Ba" or "Da" for the last few weeks. I must also mention that anything he sees is also "Ba"...

I have been cleaning and doing laundry all morning while Chris played with Evan and worked on his crawling (he likes to go backwards...). When I was ready to take a break, I walked around the stairs, and when Evan saw me he got very excited, and out pops, "Mama!" It was an amazing feeling and I'm still on Cloud 9!