Merry Christmas!

Mark & I are home from the West side, and the craziness of a cross-country move begins! We will be taking down photos, art, and bookshelves tomorrow, and the packers arrive on Monday. If I don't update for a bit that's why...

The next time I write we will probably be in Ohio!

Erin.

Graduation

Mark is an official Washington State University graduate. I am so proud of him!

The day started out a bit rocky as one of the apartments on the second floor of our building had a pipe burst and flooded the apartment below them (right next to us). Luckily we only had minor damage in our kitchen, and we were able to attend the ceremony as planned.

I want to thank everyone who attended Mark's graduation party yesterday. It was great to see everyone & spend time together before we leave for Ohio.

I will post some photos and details of the graduation later this week. Mark and I are wrapping Christmas gifts and cleaning up from the party... we sure made a mess yesterday!

Erin.

Pneumonia

Yes, our little Jack *probably* has Pneumonia. I feel so bad for him! His coughing has gotten worse last couple of days, so we took him to the doctor this afternoon & Dr. Adkins heard fluid in his lungs. He is now on antibiotics for the next five days. I hope he is feeling better by the time all our company comes on Friday... I know there are some grandparents, aunts, and uncles that can't wait to play with him!

Despite being sick he is still in a good mood during the day:

... right after nap. I love his bed head!

It has been cold here (it's 2 degrees right now), so we are stuck indoors most of the time. Evan loves doing play-doh and when he's in a super feisty mood it tends to help him focus.

7 months old.

Now that Jack is sitting up well on his own, the boys are taking some baths together. Evan is a very protective big brother!

My three boys. (Evan - 3.5. Jack - 7 months.)

I can tell Jack doesn't feel good in this photo. He still smiles a lot, but he's not quite himself. I really hope the medication kicks in soon so we get our super happy guy back.

This one was taken the week of Thanksgiving at my parent's house. Evan was outside driving his race car around & Mark was under orders to take a few photos. Thanks babe... they turned out great!!

And can I tell you how excited I am about Mark's graduation on Saturday?!?

-Erin.

New Month, New House, & New Challenges

NEW MONTH

Am I the only one who can't believe it is December already? This year has gone by so fast for me. Jack is already 7 months old, Evan is learning new things everyday (he greeted me today by saying "hola mommy"; I guess he has learned something from watching Handy Manny!), and Mark is 11 days from graduating. We are less than a month away from Christmas and our move, and I have so many to-do lists going it's ridiculous.

But... I love December & Christmas, and I am determined not to let our life changes get in the way of celebrating this season. I pulled out all our Christmas/winter books today so I can read them to the kids before bed. I also ordered Evan a Playmobil police advent calendar that should be here any day (we will start it a few days late this year, but that's o.k. by me), and I have big plans to bake Christmas cookies and pumpkin bread very soon.

Mark's graduation is another event this December, and of course I have more planning to do for that. Mark wants an ice-cream cake from Dairy Queen, and I am making a few new recipes that I would like to try out before next Saturday. My parents, Mark's parents, our siblings, extended family, and friends are going to join us after the ceremony to celebrate Mark's achievements, and say goodbye at the same time. We are going to miss our family and friends so, so much.

NEW HOUSE

Our trip to Cincinnati last week was successful, and we have found a great house & we feel a little acquainted with the city. We don't have freeways here in Pullman, so the maze of on ramps, exits, connections, freeways that lead to more freeways, and merging freeways is going to be a challenge the first few months. I have gotten used to going 25 MPH everywhere :-) At least once when we are visiting our family on the West side my sister reminds me to speed up because I'm creeping along on a road that is 40 MPH, and I'm happily doing 25.

Back to the house... it was built in 1900, it's been completely remodeled, and it has a yard! That last part I am so excited about. We are going to get a sand box & a swing set, and spend a lot of time outside next summer. The boys are still sharing a room, but they have a lot more space, plus we will have a big play room for them down stairs. We also have a living room, a studio for me, and a nice master bedroom.

NEW CHALLENGES

Jack has been our little non-sleeper for the last week or so. He decided half way through our trip that he didn't like the pack 'n play, and started fighting us before nap time and bed time. He has a cough, which I think is waking him up at night, but it has gotten worse the last couple of days. I took him to the doctor yesterday, and he does have a mild cold. He also got a few shots yesterday (5 shots and one oral vaccine), so he has been really tough to get to bed tonight. I wish I could help him more. I feel so bad that he is sick and crabby, but nothing I'm doing seems to ease his discomfort. Hopefully this will work itself out and he will be back to his normal, happy self soon.

I am anticipating a somewhat sleepless night based on how many times Jack has been up already tonight (4), so I better wrap this up and go to bed. But... I can't post without showing off my two little ones:

{@ the Pacific Science Center on 11/28/09. Evan loves the car ride outside the center. It was a great way to end our trip to Seattle.}

{Another photo of Jack in his sock-monkey outfit. I can't seem to get enough of my little monkey :-)

Halloween Costumes 2009.

During one of our flights last week I pulled out my laptop and created a digital scrapbook page using photos of the boys in their Halloween costumes. I am not very good about creating theme pages, and one of my goals this year was to create more Christmas, Birthday, Halloween, Easter, etc. layouts to put in our albums.

Template design by me :-)

{Patterned Paper: Katie Pertiet Spot Dots Number 10 & 13. Sewn frames: Katie Pertiet Stitched Up Frames No. 1. Scallop Border: Katie Pertiet Scallop Strip Masks. Staple: Anna Aspnes Yesterday & Today Elements.}

The three hour time difference is still lingering & my sleep schedule is not back to normal yet. I'm hoping to sleep well tonight and have a relaxing day tomorrow. Goodnight!

Jack Photos & Other Stuff.

If you get a chance, head over to Terri Beloit's Blog & check out the adorable photos she took of my little guy :-)

We got back from Cincinnati last night & we have a house!! It is 110 years old (but with a new furnace & hot water tank), brand new kitchen cabinets/counters & appliances, paint, and carpet. It's got a lot of charm and cool old features, but the inside is in perfect condition. We are so excited to start this new adventure!

If you are waiting on an e-mail from me, I will get to it this afternoon. Traveling is exhausting, and I have fallen behind on my e-mail, among other things.

Mark is driving back to Pullman today to work until Thanksgiving, but Jack, Evan, and I will be at my folks' for the rest of the week. So if you need to contact me, e-mail is best!

And because this post is full of randomness, I also wanted to mention that I won a spot in the Big Picture Class "Reclaiming My Time". Thank you Big Picture for giving me this opportunity!

Have a great Monday :-)

Our Week in Photos.

Blogging comes in waves for me. Some days or weeks I am super excited about it... others, not so much. The last couple of weeks I haven't been in the mood, but I think the blogging bug has finally come back!

We've been busy the last couple of weeks with family in town, mid-terms (Mark), pre-school (Evan), snow, online classes (me), and growing like a weed (Jack):

On Saturday we hosted a mini family reunion with some of Mark's extended family. Thank you Tami, Danielle, Travis, Michelle, Alex, Zoe, Mandy, Aiden, and Tegan for spending your Saturday with us!

I don't think Jack likes his sock monkey hat very much...

Pullman got a nice dusting of snow Friday afternoon. It was about four, so it was getting dark really fast and I didn't get many great photos of Evan and Jack in the snow because it was so dark, but I like this one.

Another Evan-squeezing-the-crap-out-of-his-brother photo. Good thing Jack is a happy baby and doesn't mind being squished :-)

6 months old and sitting up on his own.

Evan and I went to a WSU men's basketball exhibition game last Monday with Cindy and Ray. Evan was so good and really got into clapping and cheering for the cougs during the second half. The skittles and juice I bought him during half time must have kicked in! At one point during the first half, LCSC had missed a bunch of shots in a row and Evan turned to me and said: "Mom, are they trying to miss?" It was super cute!

This little one got his fourth tooth yesterday (upper left). He now has three teeth on the left side of his mouth (one upper, two lower), and only one tooth on the right (lower).

Tomorrow we have a lunch date and I have a ton of laundry to finish before we take off Wednesday for the west side. Mark and I will be in Ohio Thursday through Sunday looking for houses and touring pre-schools. I think I've been in denial about this move up to this point, but the moment I step out of the plane and I am in Kentucky should be a reality check. I just hope I can survive being away from my kids for four days. My poor parents are going to get 500 phone calls during that time as I check to make sure my babies are okay!

Thanks mom and dad for taking our beautiful children for four days... we owe you :-)

Sweet Baby Jack

One of the photos I took recently (and posted here) has quickly become one of my favorites. I watched "The Good Wife" and created this layout tonight:

{Background Paper: Katie Pertiet Roughed Up Shabby Photo Mats. Journaling Block: Katie Pertiet Sampler Pack. Chipboard Alpha: Katie Pertiet Chunky White Chipboard Alphabet. Staples: Classic Curled Photo Frames No. 1 Scalloped Border Brush: Funky Stitching & Scalloped Brushes by Crystal}

I am working on Ali Edwards' Yesterday & Today class, and busy scanning 26 old photos for our lesson this week. I love doing creative stuff every night :-)

Mark is studying for a statistics exam he has on Friday, and working everyday, too. He is super busy, too, but almost done with school! Only 5 weeks left.

Evan has a day off tomorrow from pre-school in because of Veteran's Day, so I have scheduled a play date with one of his classmates. His latest obsession is playing airplanes on the Wii. That kid loves playing video games, which means I get the job of controlling his obsession. I get a lot of "Mommy, don't tell me no! Tell me yes!" Poor kid thinks I'm mean because I only allow him 30 - 45 minutes of Wii per day.

Jack is almost sitting up on his own (without falling over), and is still a fantastic sleeper. He laughs all the time & loves to be held, but still hates all solid foods. He spits them out turns his head away from them. We keep trying new things, but so far he doesn't like anything we have offered him.

That's it for us! Have a great Wednesday, friends.

Because they make me happy.

{Evan @ 3.5 years old. Jack @ 6 months.}

I will be back later this week with a layout and some family updates.

Peace.

Happy Halloween!

I know I'm a little late, but we had a great Halloween & I know the Grandparents want a photo:

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.