THIRTEEN

Happy pants is 13 months old and just as sweet as ever!!  

 She took her first steps the week before New Years and is now full out walking about 80% of the time.

We even got some real live shoes and Evie Marelle is obsessed!  She must have inherited her Aunt Susu's love for shoes.

And maybe also her Mama's love for a good bag.  

 Evie Marelle is starting to look more like her Mama and act a bit like her Daddy. 

She loves cheese and is on a vegetable strike.

Baby girl plays so well on her own and just kind of wanders around the house piddling.

Sleep is still her strong suit.  We are currently fighting through some eye teeth and besides a few bad nights, she has done great!

The child loves to dance still and lives for her Daddy to walk through the front door.

She even calls me Dada :).

So far her words are--Mama, Dada, Day Day (David), ba-pa (backpack), book, bow, and baby.  Even though she CAN say these things, she chooses to grunt and point.  She loves her bows and pats her head when she wants you to put it in after a nap.  EM plays rough, loves to wrestle, and is surprisingly coordinated with a ball.  So far, I am guessing she will be a lefty, mainly because her right hand is 100% clean after a meal.  To be such a wild thing, she really has mellowed out lately and just kind of entertains herself.  What a blessing this baby is to us!!

Happy 13 months Sweet Girl!!

(2 new posts below)

Our Boy

I have always hoped for a little boy that wanted to run around town in some sort of costume or super hero cape.  Well, that is exactly what the Lord gave us.  This boy loves goggles, rain boots, hats, capes, and all kinds of dress-up gear.  His favorite holiday is Halloween and you can find him around town as Buzz Lightyear, Batman, or Spiderman.  It is a rare week that his Auburn jersey isn't worn for days at a time pulled over the outfit I have chosen for him.  He lives in his cowboy boots and has turned his pumpkin bucket into a drum major hat.  I love his sweet and fun nature!!

(Here he is conducting the band or as he likes to put it "protecting the band from the football men."  This is a daily occurance in our house and much more so now that he has an Auburn cape, whistle, and band hat.)

Christmas 2010

December was sort of trying for our little family.  Between battling the flu and the throw up bug, we somehow were able to pull ourselves together and enjoy this sweet time of year with our little guy and gal.  I loved watching David arrange and rearrange the nativity scene.  He somehow was able to separate the whole Santa thing from the fact that Jesus was born on Christmas Day.  I loved fielding all his precious questions.  He wondered how we would celebrate Jesus' birthday if he wasn't going to actually be there.  I attempted to explain the whole Jesus is everywhere concept---not sure how that went over exactly.  He fell in love with Rudolph and overcame his fear of Santa.  The following picture was possibly one of our proudest moments as parents thus far :).  (Those of you who have fearful or cautious children will understand, but you spend everyday trying to equip your little one to participate in life, rather than shirk away from new things.  After three years, this boy walked right up to Santa and sat in his lap.  I was ECSTATIC!)

Now Evie Marelle is not afraid of anything, but she is one and right on track to be terrified of strange men in red suits.

We filled the few days we were healthy with all kinds of fun festivities.  There was no shortage of family gatherings, photo sessions, tree gazing, or Christmas light hunting.  This boy loves some Santamation (a word I invented to describe holiday yard decor.)  My favorite new tradition was the live nativity scene at a nearby church in our community.  David was totally in his element, running from animal to animal.  It was hilarious to sit with him during the play--he was very concerned about not being able to see the myrrh.  And somehow the third wiseman missed his cue to enter stage left, which was followed by a 3 year old boy hollering, "I only see one, two wisemen.  Where is the third one!?  Where is the myrrh!!?"

Christmas Day was so sweet.  David was in awe of the fact he actually received what he had asked for--a balance bike--"even though he was a little bit mean."  Evie Marelle jumped right in and seemed way more interested in her actual gifts than I had anticipated.  I wish they could understand the real gift they have received from God Himself.  In due time...

I would have to say that the hilite of David's Christmas revolved around the Auburn marching band.  He is now the proud owner of an Auburn drum major cape (homemade by yours truly), a trumpet, and a homemade snare drum set (made from Domino's sugar cannisters, kudos to Nanny!).