Evan - 3.5 Years Old.

Evan has had a very eventful & somewhat trying fourth year. He is so spunky & outgoing, but has also had some behavior issues we have been working toward resolving. I wanted to create a layout documenting this time of transition & learning for both Evan and me:

Have a great Wednesday :-)

6 Months.

This little guy is turning six months old tomorrow. Happy half-year birthday Jack!

A Week in the Life.

One of the projects I have been wanting to tackle is a Week in the Life album. Ali Edwards does one (almost) every year, but I have been either a.)pregnant & really sick or b.)not in the creative mood when she has done it in the past. This year, she isn't creating the project, but my friend Karen & I are working on it this week. I wanted to share some of the photos I have taken so far:

{This little guy does not like solid foods at all... he usually takes a bite, shudders, then spits it all out. It's pretty hilarious to watch}

{Evan took this photo of me... I think he did a great job!}

{Saying good-bye to me at pre-school.}

{Working on Ali Edwards Yesterday & Today class. I finished my layout last night.}

Jack slept in his room & in his crib for the first time last night. He has been getting up 1-3 times per night for the last three weeks or so, but last night he slept from 7:30 pm -7:30 am without getting up once. I am a much nicer person when I get a solid chunk of sleep!

I need to pick up a little boy from pre-school soon & then Mark and I have a phone meeting with our relocation manager, so I better wrap this up. Have a great weekend!

What We Do.

I wanted to record a few of the things we do everyday & why I stay home with the boys:

[Supplies: Katie Pertiet Curled Journal Spots. Anna Aspnes CurvyCorner Stitched Blocks No. 01. Anna Aspnes LoadedLayers Element Templates No. 01. Ali Edwards Photography Word Art. Ali Edwards Circle Month Text Overlays. Crystal Wilkerson's Funky Florals Paper Pack.]

Evan is sounding congested & stuffed up tonight as he sleeps, so we will see if he makes it to pre-school tomorrow. He hasn't been this sick in a long, long time. I hope he can fight it off before we all get it.

Tomorrow I am going to start a Week In The Life project, on top of finishing my Me: The Abridged Version book, and work on Ali Edwards' Yesterday & Today class. I think I might be taking on too much, but I love being busy, so I'll get it all done eventually. 'Night!

A Dragon & A Tiger.

My sister works for Old Navy on the West side, and she got an amazing deal on the kid's costumes this year. Evan decided to be a dragon, and Abby thought the tiger costume would be great for Jack. When Jack was born, he screeched a lot & everyone said he sounded like a tiger cub, so I agreed the costume would be perfect for him.

I wanted to do a test run to make sure everything fit & that Evan would actually wear his costume. Last year he was a monkey & hated it, so I don't have any pictures! He wore it for about 20 minutes before crying and asking to take it off.

This year, he is much happier & seems to like that his dragon has wings and can fly:

I had a couple of extra minutes yesterday before Evan needed to be picked up from pre-school, and Jack was so cute while playing with him puppy on the couch:

It has been so much fun watching Evan & Jack interact & play together the last month to 6 weeks. Jack is starting to respond to Evan & laugh when Evan laughs. It is also nice that Evan can keep Jack entertained when I need to make dinner or check on the laundry. I am trying hard to cultivate a good relationship between the boys, built on love and respect:

And a couple photos just because I think he is cute :-)

Have a blessed Sunday, friends.

Carved Pumpkin.

After the kids went to bed last night, Mark worked on carving one of our pumpkins. I wasn't surprised when he decided to carve a motorcycle:

Tonight he is going to carve our other pumpkin... on this one he is carving an airplane dropping bombs. I am so, so outnumbered in my house! My ideas of spooky houses and ghosts were vetoed and replaced with motorcycles and bomb-dropping airplanes. Oh well... at least our hamster is a girl.

Tribute

On Monday morning I got a call from my Uncle Tom letting me know that my Great-Grandmother, Vivian, had passed away earlier that day. Vivian was diagnosed with cancer a little over a month ago, and had died peacefully in her home, just the way she wanted to.

My family was able to spend some time with her in July, and I cherish those memories now that she is gone. Evan and I also visited her in June of 2008, and I created a layout with one of the photos I took during that trip:

While I was writing the entries for the Me: The Abridged Version class I am taking, one the entries I wrote under V was Vivian:

My Great-Grandmother, Vivian, was diagnosed with cancer last month. She is 95 years old, and has already beat cancer before, but this time she has decided not to fight. She is at peace with dying, and the cancer is in a couple of tumors in her liver and intestines, so it's really too late to do anything anyway. I am having a hard time dealing with her illness, because she has always been around. It's hard to believe she was 71 when I was born.. not exactly a spring chicken! But she has always been a part of my life, and I am going to miss her terribly when she's gone. I know her passing is going to be really hard on my mom, too, because Vivian is the last link she has to my grandmother, who died when I was five. Grandma Stangle is so soft spoken, well liked, and one of the most caring people I know. She has lived an exceptional life, and I would be honored to be regarded the way Vivian is. In the past I have told Mark that Grandma Stangle is busier than I am. She worked in the hospital gift shop, played dominos and bridge at her retirement home, and helped with the dining room flower arrangements on Tuesday mornings. Her passing is going to touch the lives of many, many people.

I love you, Great-Grandma Stangle.

Pumpkin Patch 2009.

When I was a little girl, my parents would take my sister and me to the pumpkin patch every year. We would search for the perfect pumpkin, take it home, and watch my dad carve it. I love going to the pumpkin patch, so when I found some info online about a local farm & their Fall Festival (with a pumpkin patch!) I was super excited to take Evan & Jack. I have to say I was a little disappointed with the event. First of all, they charged an admission fee. To a pumpkin patch. Seriously? And it wasn't cheep! I paid for our family + Roy and my total was $17. And yes, they had a (tiny) hay bail maze & bounce house for the kids, and a live band, but still. Then the "pumpkin patch" was just a bunch of pumpkins placed in a field... not a real "patch". Yes, the tractor ride to the pumpkins was fun, but not worth the admission fee if you ask me. Also, when I was ready to pay for my pumpkins, they didn't use a scale to weigh them & charge per pound. The lady just looked at the pumpkins and said "$4 per pumpkin". And when Evan wanted to go in the bounce house, he got to play for about 2 minutes, and he was told his turn was over. So... $26 for two pumpkins, a maze, a 5 minute tractor ride, and 2 minutes in a bounce house. I guess I'm a little upset by the whole thing! The pumpkin patches around my parents house are free, they actually have a huge field of pumpkins to choose from (this one had maybe 30 or 40 pumpkins total), and lots of farm animals and activities for the kids to do. But, Evan had a blast and that's what matters.

It was freezing outside... maybe 42 degrees... so I didn't get as many photos as I would have liked. I was too busy trying to keep Jack warm and Evan from getting too cold!

Evan is fighting his first cold of the season so we are in today. I'm hoping he's better so he will be able to go to pre-school in the morning.

Making Memories Slice & two cards.

Last week I checked the Making Memories blog to see who won a contest they were holding, and I was so pleased to see I was one of the winners! I got to pick a Slice design card as my prize, so I chose the new Vintage Findings card. I wanted a card with a cute font & good assortment of everyday images. So far I am thrilled with this card! I also got to play with the new mirroring & shadow features, which just makes me love this little machine even more.

Tonight, though, I wanted to create some cards for a couple of people who have been very kind to Mark, me, and our family:

[Supplies: Cardstock (Stampin' Up!). Pattern Paper (Making Memories). Die-Cut flowers, oval, scallop frame (Vintage Findings Slice Card by Making Memories). Sentiment Stamp (Stampin' Up!). Ink (Stampin' Up!). Gems (Making Memories).]

[Supplies: Cardstock (Stampin' Up!). Border Punch (Martha Stewart). Pattern Paper: (Basic Grey). Die Cut (Vintage Findings Slice Cards by Making Memories). Gem (Making Memories).]

I hope to post photos from our trip to the pumpkin patch tomorrow. I'm off to bed. Goodnight!

Ten Things Right Now.

Jack turned five months old on September 27th, and I wanted to create an "about you" layout to summarize this time in his life. Ali Edwards' Ten Things Right Now layout was perfect:

It felt so good to start & finish it in one night. I have been working on so many time consuming projects that take multiple days or weeks, so having something complete at the end of the night was good for the "instant gratification" part of me.

Have a wonderful Friday, friends.

Wednesday.

I wish I could say we were doing a lot of really exciting things & that is my excuse for not posting, but it's really just the opposite.

We are in a good Monday/Wednesday/Friday pre-school routine with Evan.

Jack is taking two naps per day and sleeping through the night (most of the time).

Mark is working or at school until 5pm every day (and often heads back to the office at 8pm after we put the boys to bed).

I am doing endless amounts of laundry, paying bills, Christmas shopping, working on some online classes, taking tons of photos, & organizing the apartment to make our move easier.

See? Nothing too exciting.

Mark took Evan out for a bike ride tonight before dinner. He loves his Cars bike.

I love this photo of Jack. He usually wakes up from his naps with a big smile on his face & he loves to coo at his mama :-)

Tomorrow is a non pre-school day, so we'll be doing some grocery shopping, running to the post office, and hopefully getting outside for a bit if the weather cooperates. Fall is most definitely here to stay, which means less time outside and more time inside, playing the Wii & rediscovering toys that haven't been played with since last fall/winter.

Maybe tomorrow or Friday I will have some more exciting to post! Until then, have a great Thursday!

Autumn In Pullman.

Why is it that the days fly by during fall? I can't believe we are into October already. Mark has been in school for 6 weeks already (ten weeks to go!), and Evan has been in pre-school for 5 weeks. Jack turned 5 months lat week, and Evan was exactly 3.5 years old last Tuesday. We are in "school mode" for sure. I love that our days are more structured & we have a great routine. Mark is working hard in his classes and Evan is doing great, too. Our days are so busy, so that is my excuse for not blogging so much.

I wanted to document a little about Jack @ 5 months:

* Jack, you are the happiest little guy I know. You will go to anyone, you smile all the time, and you love to be held.

*You have been asserting yourself vocally lately, which can be both cute & ear-piercing at the same time. When you want to be picked up/moved/rolled over/sat up you usually growl really low (cute) or shriek really loudly (ear-piercing!).

*You are eating less often, but more per feeding. Usually around 7 ounces fills you up. You still don't spit up much, but you drool and chew on everything.

*You and Evan have had a lot of bonding time in the last month, especially since you've been on a great awake/nap/awake/nap/awake/bed schedule. You are so very alert during your awake periods, and Evan is thrilled to entertain you.

*Thank you, Jack, for being such a good baby. For being all smiles when you wake up in the morning, for cooing & giggling when I smile at you, and for being so go-with-the-flow. You are deeply loved.

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Yesterday we celebrated Mark's friend Roy's birthday at Taco Del Mar. Mark was teaching Evan how to wink:

Happy Birthday Roy!

Evan also had soccer practice yesterday:

Mark has nick-named him the "Dominator" because of how skilled he is on the field. Is it okay for me to say that I'm really proud of my little guy?!

Fall also means beautiful flowers:

Hot Cocoa:

Chocolate milk in a mug, just like mama's:

Long sleeve shirts & hugs:

And lots & lots of school work & projects:

Have a wonderful week, friends.