New, In-house Photographer

It's me!!!  Actually, I would love to get a nice camera and take the time to learn how to use it, but that is not in the cards for me at the moment... one day. :)  Instead of me, over the last few days Evan has found an interest in taking pictures.  He has always liked looking at them and watching videos on the computer or on a phone, but this week we let him go behind the camera.  I have to say, I was pretty impressed.  He did very good for his first few shots!  I guess getting a camera for him to use, so he does not break mine could be in our fairly near future... Christmas maybe?  So, here is the work of our little artist... in his words...

Daddy listening to 'ear hings' and doing school

Beast

'Puppy' sitting by Molly's bottle

That's me!

My foot

Molly's bouncer

Mommy and Molly getting Molly's bottle

Molly's toys

Molly's paci

Magnet on the fridge

The fan

The couch

Molly drinking her 'milk'

Mommy's and Molly's and Evan's feet

the TV

Looking out the window

Long Time Coming...

I have to admit that I have honestly been overwhelmed by the idea of the blog lately.  I just cannot bring myself to catch up on almost a year of posts that are in the works, but still waiting in the wings.  So, instead of catching up I am just going to start here.  I will try to go back and catch up- there is so much great stuff to share- but for now, I am going to try to take the pressure off of myself and just share this moment. :)


I cannot believe it is already September!!  This year has seemed to fly by.  This week has been great- we got a small break from the insane heat that has plagued our summer.  We have missed out on 2 heat records, which I am a little peeved about after suffering for 3 full months.  But, life has been good, albeit indoors. :)  

Daily life is fairly routine... the kids and I get out each week to see friends-sometimes a few times a week, I have started trying to get myself healthy after 2 kiddos and hit the gym 4-5 times a week, Page is working diligently at his job and going to school, Evan goes nonstop all day & is quite the character & Molly is into EVERYTHING.  So, there is not much down time in life, but that seems to be our norm for the time being.  We do pretty well at handling it... most of the time. :)


Family update (in random thought mode):
Page is always on the move.  I have to say that he amazes me.  He puts in long hours at work (not including the crazy drive he has most days) and usually still has a good attitude when he gets home.  He is doing 9+ hour semesters in grad school trying to get his degree finished next August, and somehow has the ability to do class & study effectively because he has been blessed with good grades.  Then if all of that were not enough, he is the best husband and father that our family could ask for.  He helps me with the kids and around the house & makes time to spend with me when we can.  I know he is not Superman, but in my eyes (and the eyes of our kids) he is pretty darn close. :)


I have been trying to care for the home-front.  There are lots of things that go undone, but I have the blessing of having special time with my kids each day, which makes the piled dishes in the sink more bearable.  I have found some group exercise classes that I love... that phrase has never been true of me before (exercise and love don't really go together in my head).  A friend and I have been taking care of the Sunday School ministry at our church for a little over a year now, and we just revamped quite a bit, so that was exhausting, but very beneficial.  I really and truly enjoy being a Mom and though it is not always easy, have been trying to recognize that God has given me these children to raise & I want to be there for as much of it when they are young as I can.  


Some pictures of times that make the tough moments totally worth it...

Evan is now about 3 1/2 years old.  He loves to run, and be outside & squirt anything with a water bottle.  He is more testy now than he was at 2, and his favorite question is 'Why?'  He is extremely curious about how things work and what is inside of everything.  He loves to draw & has lately started drawing people (you know, the limbed face kind).  He will help with anything and does not want help with much.. he is a big boy, after-all.  Evan loves his sister and he loves Page and I.  If we have not said it that day, he will turn to me and say, "Mommy, I love you... I haven't gotten to say 'I love you' today."  He has a soft side that likes to dance & paint his toenails dark blue, but is balanced by his desire to yell, jump, crash cars & run... all boy!  He loves hearing stories and has memorized several that are on a CD some of his Sunday School teachers gave him.  Pretty much every day I can see him learning and processing a new concept.  Lately, he wants to understand God... how is he in Heaven with Grandma, but also in the car with us... why can't we see him or hear him talking, but we have his words in the Bible.  Granted, these are hard concepts, but putting them into toddler-speak adds a whole new dimension to difficult.

I got a pedicure and Evan thought he needed to have painted toes also... the results.

As a reward at the end of a sticker chart, Evan could pick a toy at the store... his choice- Angry Birds! :)

Making avocado 'Smooves' while wearing his 'chef hat' aka a coffee filter.

Molly will be 10 months old tomorrow.  She got her second tooth today & is chewing on everything!!  Of course, she is my oral child.  Evan rarely put things in his mouth & she is the opposite.  She loves her pacifier and her thumb will do the job if it is not around.  She hated baby food and we had to go straight to solids.  We are able to give some mushy foods now, but they are still not her favorites.  Molly took longer to get started moving than Evan, but when she started, she took off!! She went from barely reaching toward pulling up to full cruising in about 4 days.  Now, she will either crawl or army crawl where she wants to go and then stand and cruise if there is something to hold onto. She is much more daring than her brother and much more of a screamer. :)  She makes her wishes known.  She also does so through signing.  She signs 'more' and 'all done' and will point toward what she wants.  Her faces are very animated and she babbles a ton.  She has about 8-10 sounds that she makes regularly and loves to laugh at herself when she is 'talking'.  Molly is so adorable, it just makes me smile thinking about it.  I know I am biased but she is pretty amazing. :)

Who me?  I wasn't bothering the cat!

Good MORNING!! (Well, afternoon since it was nap time.)

Again... pretty darn cute!!

Just because I thought it is funny, I took pictures of both of my kids the other night.  This was the same night, at the same time.  I was surprised to see that they were sleeping in basically the same position.  You can't tell that Evan's legs are bent, but they are under the blanket.  My sweet kids seem to be alike in random ways that I don't usually notice. :)

So, I hope to make this blogging thing a more regular occurance... maybe I will put it on the calendar to at least do once a month. :)  We shall see! :)