Sprig Toys!

OK - these toys are great! I'm not huge into natural toys, but I do prefer wood to plastic. These aren't exactly wooden, but they are 100% recycled natural materials, and they are so cute! We got them as a gift and I've now saved their website for future purchases. Evan loves them and they have quickly become his favorite toys! You should check them out!

Father's Day

Along with our trip back from Dayton on Saturday, we enjoyed free music at a nearby park. We got home, raced inside to throw things in a cooler for a picnic dinner, and raced back out! It was totally worth it!








When asked what his favorite part of being a dad was, Scot said: Two things. The first being that I get to teach them and help grow them into godly men. And second, I get to just watch them experience the world.

What a priceless answer.

Sunday was lazy after we got home from church. I did make a nice meal for Scot - his choice - and Strawberry Rhubarb pie per his request. But mostly it was just hanging out and enjoying the last day before orientation started.

But now it's Monday and I'm into my routine. I think I would go crazy without a routine to fall into.

Dayton

Scot and I took a quick 3.5 hr drive this past weekend to visit friends in Dayton and boy did we have a great time!! Amy and Daron helped with youth group when I lived in VA and now they have 5 precious and beautiful girls! Tina (who has known me since birth and now also has a family of her own) was there, too! It was a weekend of sweet fellowship, good food, lots of laughter, kids running around, a grand fire fly hunt, a wonderful breakfast and a trip to the Air Force Museum where we saw planes and jets galore! We all had a blast!

The ladies enjoying the view: 10 little kids running around getting wet and having a ball!


Since moving, Evan has refused to go down slides. He has finally (and thankfully) gotten over that!

Happy Momma


We thankfully brought an extra pair of shorts.


First time with Fireflies! He went nuts and loved them!


"Go? Go?"

Building Blocks and Milestones

Evan has been changing so much in the last few weeks. I want to just have a constant video stream going so I don't forget anything!

He is stating to put more and more words together, his vocab is exploding, and he's making connections like never before. Scot and I have to pick our jaws up off the floor at least once a day now at things he's doing. Just some snippets:

• He is now building things on his own
• He is playing pretend (ie: he puts the stuffed animals to bed, he pretends to be a dog, he has his moose play the piano, he bites part of his bread out and tells me it's either a car or boat and then proceeds to make the sounds)
• He's matching things and recognizing likeness

There are a lot of smaller things, too, but those are the biggies right now.

Having Moose play his piano


His blocks

Get Ready to Smile

There was no way I could just pick one smiling picture for you all to see. And what's the use of technology unless you use it, right? So here are 7 of my favorite shots from the other day.

Flowers are in bloom!

Low and behold - I have a patch of Tiger Lilies in the front! I'm so excited!


The Hydrangea are starting to come out, too!

Hair cuts!

For the last year, I've been growing my hair out in anticipation of a humid climate. I did this so I could pull it back -- well, it worked. The only problem was that I was only pulling it back and I just felt blah. So Saturday, the boys were down and the house was quiet and I ran to get the scissors. So this is after the initial cut -- I'm sure I'll snip here and there over the next couple weeks to get it just so, but for now, I'm so much happier! I cut a solid 3 inches off - but not a lot of layers like last time because I have the humidity to deal with still.

Evan got his hair cut, too! Number 7 on the poodle clippers do the trick for him!

In Honor of the World Cup

This post is for my dad and brother - so they have hard proof that we are exposing our son to the wonderful game of soccer. :)

Neighbor-friend, Collin, joined in on the fun but was more interested in eating his cookie than kicking the ball.

I'm back...

...on the food blog, too! I've added just a couple more recipes in the last week, but I plan on adding all the news one I'm about to create!

These Days

This past week has gone at a lovely pace for me. Not too fast, not too slow.

I love it.

Now to figure out how to keep it like this an not get too crazy busy!

I've gotten out and walked around our cute neighborhood trying to finally start loosing this baby weight. I've started tracking Drew's naps so I feel more in the loop instead of winging it by looking at the clock and thinking to myself "yeah, I think you're fussing because you're tired." I've had a very successful grocery trip without Scot to help. Evan though Scot is starting to study up, we've worked out a very nice happy medium where we get to hang as a family, and as a couple, and he gets his studying in, too. We had our neighbors/friends over last night for games, and we ended up talking for 3 hours and playing a game for only about 45 minutes! It was great. The Lord is good.

Today was a special day. I even blew dry my hair for the occasion and then regretted it. The humidity is so bad that my hair actually looks better curly than strait (at least that's what Scot says.), so until it's a little longer to pull off the wave that's in it no matter the drying technique or product, or I cut it, I guess curly it stays. Today was the day we decided to get our annual summer pictures done. I know. Not officially summer yet -- but Scot starts orientation (gone all day long) on the 21st...so getting a technical 'summer' photo shoot was out. She here is the result:

The newest addition is the one of the far right in case you were wondering. :)

In other news: the boys are great, I'm realizing that the Lord is blessing me with 2 happy and laid back boys, I'm gearing up to being a full-time single mom, we found a church (which helps me settle in more), my Morning Glories are really taking off, we discovered the Little Heights Learning Center and love it, and life is starting to return to its normal busy pace.

An early morning moment that Scot captured. He loved that you could only see Evan's feet.

My smiley boy still only has 11 teeth! And no, I don't think another one is going to pop in the next 2 weeks. He's going to turn 2 with only 11 little chompers!

Morning Glories!

1 Month

oops! I guess I forgot to post his first month picture!

2 Months

Drew is now 2 months old! I measured him this morning and he is a solid 22 inches long and I'm guessing about 13 lbs. He is in 0-3 month clothes and #1 diapers. This little outfit here was something Evan wore when he was 5 and 6 months old...how crazy is that? And no, I'm not just saying that, here are pictures to prove it!

5 months old

5.5 months old

6 months old

Guess that's the difference between a 3rd% child and a 50th% one!

out for a walk

Drew-boy -- 8 weeks old (don't worry, the monthly pictures are coming, he's just not technically 2 months yet...)

Evan loves to pick up sticks while we walk around the neighborhood. If you look close enough, you'll see that both fists are full of little twigs and his Nalgene is just hooked to his index finger!


My Morning Glories are starting to take shape and fill out! My mint, too, is almost all revived!

Meet the Trucks

Today, we had an adventure!

After hitting the over-priced Farmer's Market near our house and leaving empty handed, we headed to a little township about 30 minutes away to explore the Meet the Trucks event.

There were over a dozen trucks: Fire trucks, construction trucks, ambulances, police cars, S.W.A.T. trucks, garbage trucks...a heaven of sorts for little boys. Little boys who don't mind noise, that is. The thing with all these trucks was that you could stand in line to climb in, put your hands on the wheel, and honk the horn. It was great fun for those behind the wheel, but not for Evan. It was hard enough getting this picture:



We ended up finding this little truck that he actually wanted to get into and play around in. But the fire truck that he loves so much in miniature form scared him in real life. Maybe next year will be different.



We also let him have some cotton candy. He was hilarious. I don't think he liked how it just melted in his mouth, but he went back for more!



He loved sticking his head in all the holes for the trucks and buses, though!




The whole event took place in this massive park by the water with a fantastic park. So what did we do for the last 30 minutes of our stay to see the trucks? You guessed it! We played on the playground! He had a blast (minus the initial scare of all the honking) and we loved seeing him enjoy himself so much.

Related?

I think just maybe.