babbles

ladies and gentlemen......she speaks.

pics

handsome beauty

shirtless wonder

christmas day

santa in coatesville

playing and loving

first cold....

first snow....

bundled

longwood

beauty

ornament

Last year, I believe, my mom gave me this ornament that had adorned her Christmas tree for 30 some years. It was my first ornament. It now hangs on our family Christmas tree. And though it taunts me as it reminds me of my ever increasing age, I love it because of it's age and it's timelessness.

christmas

sooo.....the lack of time, funds and organization on my part has made me decide not to send out christmas cards this year. i only hope that our friends don't stop sending them to us next year thinking we didn't send them one this year. oh well.

here are the pictures i was going to use for the cards. as you can see, all of the below pictures would not be able to fit on one photo christmas card. i just couldn't decide which ones to use! why do kids have to be so darn cute?!?! merry christmas!!!!!!

training

ah, the infamous potty. something that a 3 year old could be afraid of....seriously, where does our poop go when we flush? a good question, if you ask me.

potty training was non existent for some time in our house. we thought we would have eli try during the summer. he was peeing before his bath every night and his diapers were somewhat dry in the morning. so we tried potty training with him and boy, did he rebel. did NOT want to even TRY to go in the potty. when presented with pull ups, at the mere sight of them he ran away, screaming with fear. and so started the wait.

we thought we would wait and try again in a few weeks....same thing happened again. and so we just thought we would wait until he was ready.

after thanksgiving, he was ready. he went two weeks with only 1 peeing and 1 pooping accident. it was like an early christmas miracle! i thought potty training would be a very tough experience for both Eli and us as parents. within the two weeks of him being trained, he would go potty all by himself, most of the time without us even noticing. we would just hear the flush.

how did this all become so easy?!?!!! i am one lucky mama for SURE!

but now i have to find out if it is healthy for a 3 year old to only go potty 3 times a day....man, can that kid hold his pee!

pov

Children are so imaginative. Eli's imagination makes me laugh and marvel on a daily basis. It is amazing to me that imagination is hard wired into anyone. I am not very imaginative. Chad is uber imaginative. He takes nothing and makes something extraordinary with it. I think that is where Eli gets it.

Not that this is hugely imaginative, but I thought it was cute. We have this DVD box set of Christmas DVD's that we have taken out recently since Christmas is right around the corner.

Eli likes to look at the DVD's we have and this box set is no exception. He opened it and looked at the DVD's inside.

Immediately, he puts the DVD's down and proceeds to 'scratch' like a DJ.

He knows what a DJ does because his Daddy used to be heavy into that and he has seen it done on television. I have seen that box set before and never had made that connection. But of course Eli did.

Crazy kid.

updates

Wow, I have not been updating our blog very often. As some of you may know, I am in the process of beginning to start a photography business and needless to say, it has been a bit busy for me and my family. It keeps me up later in the night, editing photos and learning through online tutorials. Plus, I have been waking up at 5am to work out in the morning, which makes me a tired mama. Excuses, excuses....

Anyway, here are some updates on us:

Evangeline: She is now over 6 months old! I cannot believe it!! She sits up very well and loves her sippy cup. Just the mere sight of her cup and she goes into a frenzy trying to grab it and drink.

She is on solid foods now and eats very well and opens her mouth super wide. She smiles and laughs so much and is really such an easy baby. Like her brother, she is a VERY early riser, most mornings before 6am.


At her 6 month appointment, I was told she has a mild case of torticollis which is when the muscle of one side of a baby's neck is tighter than the other and causes the head to tilt to one side. She has been to one physical therapy appointment so far and it went well. It looks like the condition was caused by the way she was positioned in my uterus, according to the therapist. She gave us lots of stretching and strengthening exercises to do at home with Evie and she has been doing fine with them so far.

Elijah: He turned 3 in October! WOW! For his birthday, we had him and Evangeline dedicated at church and then came back home to an Eagles themed family birthday party. He even wore his Eagles uniform Halloween costume. SPeaking of Halloween, he was a DeSean Jackson and would say so whoever asked. Evie was a Ladybug.

Eli loves preschool. His teacher said he was a quiet boy and when I heard that, I almost fell over in shock. This just proves he is a different boy there than he is with us.

He loves to play in the gym at school. He is still doing soccer through USTC and next session he will be without Daddy on the field. Our boy is moving up! We shall see how that goes. He loves, loves, loves Evie. He kisses her and holds her and loves to have her ride on his shoulders. She loves it too and just laughs and laughs.

Chad: Chad's business is slowly, but steadily building which is a blessing. He is such a hard worker. I beg him to take a day off here or there, but he always brutally rebuffs me. He also does the laundry now (since his office is right next door to the washer) and gets up with the kids every weekday morning at the crack of dawn so that I can exercise. What a wonderful man. Of course he stands to benefit a little from my losing weight too. haha. He has a men's bible study on Thursday nights which he really loves. We still have our Friday DVR night which consists of ice cream and Flash Forward/Biggest Loser or a Netflix movie.

Me: As I said before, I am just trying to learn more about photography and building my portfolio. I will probably launch in January or February. My exercising is going well and I am down to pre-Evie weight, but not quite at pre-Eli weight. Besides being exhausted, I feel good and very blessed. I use that word a lot, blessed. But it truly depicts how I feel 100% of the time.

cup

Evangeline is a growing up fast! She has never had a bottle before, but she loves her cup! Well, it is actually Eli's cup, but she doesn't care. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a drinker!

family

I haven't posted in a while....things have been hectic to say the least. But click here to see some beautiful pictures that my friend took of our family. She is precious and I am so thankful to have her in my life. Now my children can look back at these and will know they actually did have a mom growing up. :)

wonderfully

Eli's 3rd birthday was today....12:13am to be exact. Wow. 3 years ago today I was in the hospital, just Eli and I cuddling in my hospital room, listening to a woman give birth loudly in the room next door. 7 pounds, 1 ounce, he was skinny as rail and still is to this day. What a little man I have.

In fact, we have decided to give up naps. Though we had a rocky start, it is going well now. BUT, if we happen to be out in the afternoon, he sometimes will fall asleep in the car. Sometimes he is easily awakened...other times, it is like waking the beast. But rarely there are times when nothing will wake him up. Those are the days of lots of activity....that was today.

With preschool in the morning that included yummy cupcakes (made with love by Eli and I) to share with his preschool friends, goodie bags to give out, a firetruck visit, then to Mom Mom's house for a few hours, it was a fun filled, packed day. And while putting forth my best efforts to keep him awake on the way home, including singing to him (which is like nails on a chalkboard I assure you) he ended up falling asleep within 3 minutes of reaching home. When I got him out of the car, he was done. Nothing was waking this kid. I put him inside the door on a chair and he didn't wake. I put him on the coffee table ottoman and tried to bribe him to wake up....to no avail. So this is what happened and I had to take some pictures.

He was sleeping so soundly, it was ridiculous....how can one sleep in THAT position on a coffee table for crying out loud? But as I was taking these pictures, I began to realize how big he has become and how fast that 3 years went. Looking at his sleeping face, so serene.

His hair....beautiful hair that many mistake for a girl's hair. Just because he has good hair genes (from yours truly!) AND it is long doesn't make him a girl. Newsflash, long hair on boys is in. But if it gets longer than his shoulders, we have a problem and I need an intervention.

I just could not stop looking at this beautiful face and marveling in God's creation. This little boy was wonderfully made by God and given to us to raise and for us to guide him to know Jesus as his Savior. This little boy is my joy. Happy 3rd birthday, joy of my life.

oldie

oldie, but goodie.....

nothing

Sooo, I don't really have much to say. I just feel like I haven't updated the blog in a while. I uploaded some older pics from my pocket camera and came across these. Evie was about 3 and a half months old, I believe. Anyway, hopefully my next post will be more exciting....

nieces

Welcome my twin nieces, Ava Marie and Olivia Anne....just when I thought my heart couldn't be filled with any more love.

loves

my loves right now.....

quaker oatmeal, weight control maple and brown sugar....and adding more brown sugar.....about double the amount of actual oatmeal

the way eli says the word together: too-gev-uh

how evie smiles at anything and everything, but especially at her daddy

waiting for cars to pass before dancing in the car....and probably looking like a bee flew in the window, but i don't care

watching movies on the elliptical....time flies....but not so much the movie 7 pounds....too sad....nothing worse than being a sweaty, exhausted mess AND crying while gasping for breath

listening to my husband make me laugh and watching him watch me crying in hysterics, with a sense of pride on his face

craigslist.....enough said

my new bible study on the book of James.....nothing rocks you back into step like "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."

back massages....HEAVEN ON EARTH!

how when wronged by someone, when they apologize, eli says: "its ok, i still love you."

the 2 and a half hours that we lost power today and played as a family, the 4 of us with no distractions like the computer, work, time itself......

turkey hill low fat chocolate chip cookie dough frozen yogurt...say that three times fast

this time of year + flannel sheets.....ahhhhhh

practicing: http://semblanceyours.blogspot.com/

my family....i love them....more than i should....more than my own life....but first and foremost God....He is the one that gave them to me.

4

Well, our little Evie Girl had her 4 month appointment last week. Here are her stats:

Weight: 15 pounds 2 ounces (85%)

Height: 24.75 inches (70%)

Her height was a little less than we expected as it dropped about 25 percent, but the doctor said that she will probably catch up next visit. But her weight is great and healthy. She seems to be pooping a little more frequently which is nice and helps me not to worry. She has some cradle cap which I will start to use baby oil during her bath to help calm. Right now, she is waking up about 2 times a night to nurse, but then after that she goes back to sleep fairly quickly.....and luckily I do too.

Just for fun, here are Eli's stats at 4 months:

Weight: 13 pounds 12 ounces (27%)

Height: 26 inches (81%)

As you can see, he was tall and thin and she is short and fat! Just kidding, of course.

My children are everything to me and they are both wrapped around my heart. And to see Eli just hug and kiss and want to hold Evie all of the time just completely melts my heart. He doesn't want to go downstairs in the morning without her, even getting upset and crying. If I am out with just Evie, the first thing Eli says to me when I get home is not 'Hi Mommy', but 'Where is Evie!?!!'. Of course I am loving it as much as possible now because as soon as she is mobile and can play with his toys, this love of his may change a bit and look more like the below picture.


Chad and I are also Eli's true loves. I cannot even count how many times he asks for hugs and kisses throughout the day, besides the times when I am just kissing his little handsome face all over. Before he falls asleep in the car, he wants me to hold his hand. What a sweetheart.

I am so freaking blessed, it is ridiculous and so undeserved.

new

my new photography blog........check it.

http://semblanceyours.blogspot.com/

I am taking a photography class starting in October so hopefully I can learn and grow. I also have two practice photoshoots scheduled; one later this month and one in October with my newborn twin neices! I am so excited to start practicing and learning!

morning

Often, Chad and I find ourselves with both children in our bed in the morning....a family bed. It is pure joy to me. Here are some funny pics of the kids I took the other morning. Evie's faces are funny. :)