extra busy

Just wanted everyone to know that I've been, and will continue to be, very busy for the next week! I've been down in the Springs visiting with friends and this upcoming week is getting ready for Evan's birthday on Thursday!! I promise there will be tons of pictures to come - we've gone to 2 different zoos in the last 4 days, seen a whole lot of people and the birthday hasn't even come yet!! Scot did have his boards today and he felt they went well - we'll find out scores in about 6-8 weeks. Praise God they're done!!! I'll try to post sometime this week (before the birthday celebration), but don't get your hopes up.

early can be good

Evan has been waking up at the early hour of 6 these last 3 days, we don't know why and he will not go back to sleep no matter what. He's had his sleep and he's done. That's it. And while I liked the 7 to 8 wake up call better, I'm finding the silver lining of the situation to be very silver indeed.

• I wake up to the chirping of the birds outside my window now. Also, I'm guessing, this chirping is part of the reason Evan is waking earlier.
• There is something almost reverent about the early morning sun.
• It's not as hot when I go on my morning walk.
• Evan is in a fantastic mood and goes down for his morning nap a little earlier.
• I get more done.
  
• I feel so rejuvenated knowing I'm up before most people (as long as I'm in bed by 10, that is)
• We get to see Scot more when we're up that early.
• I get to open the sliding glass door earlier to let in more of the cool air before it gets hot out.
• On market days - like today - the zoo (aka: Walmart) is dead at 7:45. And what I mean by dead is that there are less than 20 cars in the parking lot and I get a front row spot and everyone is just starting their shift so they're all happy and because there are only 20 or so people in the entire super center, i don't really have to see anybody as i zip in and out of isles. This makes me very very happy.

I hope this encourages you all to find the good in slightly less than appealing situations. Because believe me - I would very much like to sleep in until 8.

First Father's Day

So even though was unofficially Scot's first Father's Day - this year is 100% legit and we celebrated Eskestrand style! Scot wanted his favorite Oatmeal Breakfast this morning, the recipe will be on my cooking blog tomorrow, and for his lunch, he wanted a picnic and a hike. So I gathered all his favorite lunch items and we had a feast out at Waterton Canyon and then walked for about 2 hours. This, of course, is after we took an hour morning walk before getting ready for church! We're both a bit tired - haha. Tonight for dinner, he just wants to go light and have deluxe smoothies. I said - "ok, I think we can handle that!" I was all prepared to make some gourmet-ish type meal, but no, my dear husband wanted a picnic and a smoothie. Sweet!!

Here are some pictures from our early morning walk and then the photo shoot I made them do this afternoon - some are 'played' with - you'll see what I mean. Enjoy!

excitment at our house

Today has been a busy day! But let me back up a bit.

Evan is turning one in less than 2 weeks and it dawned on me that I need to start looking for a forward facing car seat. I asked around and most everyone had the same answer. Britax. Huh? I had never heard of it before and I figured it was some really high end car seat that we couldn't afford. I was right. It's also one of the safest car seats around. Now I realize that all car seats have to meet the same requirements, but this one went above and beyond the base level. But in all it's goodness, we still couldn't swing the bottom line. Scot suggested that I look on Craigs List. I was very hesitant as you never know who you're buying from, and generally speaking with car seats like this, they're really old. All of that adds up to a no-go for me. But I looked anyways. And thank the Lord that I did. Up in Fort Collins lives a family that I'm very thankful for. They bought the Britax Regent about 9 months ago for the Grama's car. It was used off and on for about 6 months. They're moving and Grama no longer needs it. They sold it to us for a mere 1/3 of the original price!! PRAISE THE LORD for people who can afford to buy expensive car seats and only use it off and on for 6 months!! We are blessed.

So back to the busy day. I found out yesterday that today was the best day to pick the car seat up. I called a friend to see if her or her daughter wanted to accompany me up and low and behold, the daughter Marie, did! So right after rush hour this morning, we made the 75 minute drive back to my Alma Mantra. I had contacted one of three favorite professors, Roze, and we were able to meet up and chat for about an hour with her 2 and a half year old, Eleanor. We played on the grass it was tons of fun to catch up. Then, we went and ambushed a second of the three favorite profs, William. He taught all my Old English classes. Seriously, I could do a whole post on William - he's that interesting with all his wit and charm. Professor three was not in, so we headed to the famous Oval for a picnic lunch. Back at the car - I had a ticket waiting for me. Ugh! I thought it was a lot I could park in, that's what the map said. But no, it was just one row in that lot I was allowed to park in. Anyways, once I got home, I made a phone call and got it dismissed due to my mom brain.

After lunch, Marie and I spent over an hour walking Old Town, popping in and out of cute little shops. The Cupboard was a favorite as well as 10,000 Villages - if there's one by you, you should go. They are amazing! Anyways, that was pretty much my day. The drive up and back was gorgeous with the mountains to look at. Traffic wasn't bad at all (another HUGE praise) and Evan was a trooper the entire time!!

Enjoy the pictures!!


My companions for the day trip. The lovely Marie and my 'baby'


With Roze, my Shakespearean and Brit Lit prof


William. Yes, he's wearing pre-colonial garb. And yes, he always has/does. Sometimes the vest is black, though. That's the only variation.


My little man after a picnic lunch....

new things in short

I liked Kjerste's idea of a short list to keep you all up to date on the happenings around here when I'm too busy to write a long post. Here's mine.


Woof-woof. A new 'word' Evan says.

Eyes. Not only what we look out of, but also Evan's newest word and also the first where he pronounces everything perfectly.

Soup and salad. What I served for dinner tonight. Also, the newest recipes on my other blog.

Carseats. What I'm looking into and researching since Evan is ready to do an about face in the back seat. Any suggestions?

Stressed. The word that perfectly describes my husband now that boards are less than 2 weeks away. Can't. Wait. For. Boards. To. Be. Over.

Pink. The color of my shoulders from being out at the park today with a bunch of other moms and kids.

Farmer's Tan. What Evan has even though I come close to giving him a bath of sun screen every time we go out.

10 dollars. What I spent on a new swim suit - tankini style - in the 75% off section at Target.

Content. My over all feeling at this moment right now. My kitchen is clean. My son is bathed and in bed. The house is quiet. I'm having some much appreciated down time. Nuf said.

Being a Tourist

Evan and I went down to Colorado Springs yesterday and had a blast being a typical tourist with grammy, grandude, and our friend's, the Hughes'! We went to Garden of the Gods and had lunch at the trading post. We walked in Old Colorado City and window shopped. Since we had already done one nap in the stroller, we decided to head home to my folks while they all went off to explore the wonderful world of Manitou Springs and climb a little of the incline! But we all had a great time around the dinner table swapping stories and just having a blast. Here are a few pictures!

Summertime

Summertime is officially here when you're out on a picnic blanket in the sun with friends and there's watermelon around!

blackberry cobbler recipe

Some of you have asked for it - so here it is! Enjoy!

thank goodness for Vicks and Motrin

Evan is teething. This presents itself in the form of a fever. That's it. No runny nose, no fussing, just a hot head. This is all fine to me. I'm not one to freak out if his temp goes over 99.9, but when it gets to mid 104 like it did last night, I started to get a little worried.

All we keep in the house is Tylenol. It's what you're allowed to have when you're pregnant, and so I figured it was the safest thing for a baby to have, right? Maybe. But does it work the best? Not for us! I went out and picked some Motrin up last night and within 30 minutes his fever was starting to drop. By 10 when we went to bed, it was down to a mere 100.1. I was very happy. I had also rubbed Vicks on his feet to bring the fever down from his head. I don't know where I heard this, but I swear it works! When I woke up to give him more medicine in the middle of the night (3 am) he was still at 100.1 - but this morning, he was back up to 103.2. I pulled out the Vicks and rubbed a good layer on his feet, and then put shoes and socks on. His fever started to drop almost immediately and then when I gave him the Motrin when it was time, it dropped even more!! I know it sounds weird, but it works. Vicks. Try it. It's my hero. My son has a 100.2 temp right now and I'm sure it'll continue to go down. If not, we're headed to the ER and I don't quite like that idea.

New Blog

I have been inspired by friend's cooking blogs and friends friends cooking blogs to start my own. Scot and I have been talking about me starting one for a while, and to be honest, I haven't because I've been nervous. But my friend Dana just started one of her own, and I thought, ok Sarah, that's it, you can do it!! So if you want to follow my cooking blog, please feel free. It's in the VERY new stage right now, so it'll be changing quite a bit over the next few days. BUT, I have a recipe there already!! I don't promise it'll always be fancy, that's not my style, but we do tend to eat healthy and we're on a budget, so you'll be getting recipes for quick (I have an almost 1 year old here), hearty, tasty and budget loving meals!! Enjoy!!

Butterfly Pavilion

Evan and I went to the Butterfly Pavilion today with my mom and some other moms from her church. It was great fun and we saw tons of butterflies. Here are just a few of my favorite shots! Enjoy.

priceless moments

To most people, the priceless moments in your life are just ordinary moments to them. And even though I know this is true, I wanted to share just three pictures that capture us in our ordinary, every day, priceless moments with Evan.



He's so close to walking all by himself, and yet I love it when he holds my hand because he's too scared to just let go and walk on his own.


This is what happens when you give him the spoon for one moment. One moment!


Those who know me well understand that this is a picture of pricelessness itself as I try very hard to have Evan fall asleep in his crib and not on my shoulder or in my arms. But, if being a mother has taught me anything, it's to be flexible and enjoy little moments like this when they happen...right before I put him in his crib.

daaw...

Evan is learning new words. One of them is dog, but of course, it comes out more like Daaw, no g. Anyways, we were at the park today and every time we passed a dog, Evan would point and say daaw three or four times. Well, we're home now and I thought it would be a good idea to show him pictures of dogs to cement 'dog' into his head. Thanks to Google images, this is easy. I typed dog into the search bar and hit the button. (We wouldn't have to do this if we had a dog book, but we don't have one, so google images is it) We went through about a dozen pictures of friendly looking dogs and each time I would point to the screen and say dog - emphasising the g sound, and Evan would smile, point and say Daaw. All of a sudden, this picture comes up and Evan looked at the screen, looked at me, and then proceeded to bury his face in my shoulder and cry. Good boy, he knows a scary dog when he sees one!!


I guess this is supposed to be the strongest dog in the world. He works with the Russian Army. Yeah...scary.

11 month stats

Height: 28 inches (4th %)
Weight: 19lbs (5th %)
Activity level: High
Vocal ability: Average
Walking: Not solo...yet, but we're so close!!














You may all remember this picture from his first month!! His stats then were: 20.5 inches, 8 lbs, 12 oz...such a little squirt! And the red knees, if you all remember, were from him scooting around on his tummy - his activity level even then was high!

dear ole dad

This past weekend was my dad's fortygarhyths birthday - although he would say he's still 21, just with 28 years experience! It was great fun, though, we all met up at Wash park and had a huge picnic. He and Scot threw the Frisbee a little and mom and Evan played a lot. We all had a great time of just hanging, eating good food, and laughing at old stories. The cool thing was that each time a god passed us, Evan would point and say Daw, Daw - so not quite a true word, but we get it. He does the same thing with ball - he'll point and call out, baw, baw.


Evan with Grammy and Grandude! He's such a happy kid...


Drinking out of a little straw!! I was so proud - he's only been able to do bigger straws!


Exploring, because after all, whats being at a park with out a little exploration?!


Our picnic area...so wonderful. I love Colorado.


With the birthday boy!


Evan got his first hair cut, too! It was growing a little too scraggly for my taste and since I was going to cute Scot's hair, I made an impulse decision and cute the little one's hair too. It was just 3 simple snips and a trim up in the back, but he looks so different. Still cute, just in a more little boy way instead of baby way. Just another way they grow up right under your nose!


The before picture of my long haired boys


Both with their hairs all cut!! Doesn't Evan look so cute?