What I haven't accomplished (plus a few photos)

My Christmas photos are still on my camera.

The tree is still up.

None of the kids' presents have been put away.

Thank you notes have not been made.

Our Christmas cards have not been mailed.

And I am not stressing about it.

We had a lovely Christmas Eve & Christmas Day and I am spending all my spare time with Mark and the kids. While I would like to have my to-do list completed & all my Christmas photos scrapped, it just didn't happen this year. I have made the choice to be okay with what I have accomplished, and focus on one new item from my list per day. Today's item was to pay bills (which I just finished). Tomorrow I will tackle my Christmas cards. Wednesday I plan on taking down the tree and putting the kids' toys away (which is technically two things, but having the toys sitting in the living room without a tree would look silly), and Thursday I would like to tackle the memory card on my camera.

Because my Christmas photos are still unedited, I want to share a few camera photos we've taken the last few days. I love the convenience of having a camera on Mark's android phone. The indoor photos tend to be a little grainy, but I would rather have grainy photos than no photos at all.

(you can click on each picture to make it larger)

On our way to the children's program at church on Christmas Eve.

While I did a bit of shopping at Baby Gap, Mark kept the kids entertained by trying on these adorable hats. I love looking through the photos on his camera and finding these gems!

After spending several hours at the mall today, Jack fell asleep within minutes on our drive home (clutching pup-pup, of course).

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas.

xoxo,
Erin.

Relaxing.

The kids and I are finally feeling better, and Evan has requested that we relax at home this week. The past two weeks have been super busy, so I'm not complaining about having some down time. We have been hanging out in our PJ's, playing the Wii, doing activities in his pre-school workbook, coloring, doing play-dough, and playing with the puppy.

Rocket is settling in & we are having fun getting to know him. I love photographing those big brown eyes:



After a second trip to the emergency room last Friday, Jack is finally feeling better. He is back to his smiling, laughing, happy boy I love.



I took this picture after I asked Jack "How big is Jack-Jack?"


"So big!"



Mark has one more day at the office before his vacation starts. The boys are so excited to have to him home for an extended period of time.



I really wanted a picture of Evan in his bear hat, but this was the best I could do:



One of Rocket's favorite toys is his Kong (thank you, Terri!). I usually put a small bone or treat int he bottom and he goes nuts trying to get it out:





Drawing volcanoes on the kitchen table with dry erase markers (one of the benefits of having a glass table). Evan loves anything having to do with volcanoes:





Evan loves taking Rocket for walks around the neighborhood. Teaching Rocket how to behave on a leash was a challenge at first, but he has gotten so much better the last few days.



I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Erin.

Visiting Santa and an Introduction.

The last 10 days have been completely crazy around here. Evan has been fighting a cold, Mark has had some major dental work done, and I am in the midst of a nasty cold right now. Jack has had the worst of the illnesses and he ended up in the emergency room Friday night with a high fever, ear infection, sinusitis, and asthma symptoms. On top of all that I decided to damage every electronic devise I own last week, which compounded my stress. I am so glad last week is over!

Evan pre-school had a meet and great with Santa Saturday morning. Jack was still really sick, so he and I stayed home while Mark took Evan to the school. Evan is not smiling in most of the photos, but I like how this one turned out:


Doesn't he look mischievous? I asked him what he asked Santa for Christmas, and he said "a boat with peoples and airplanes." Good thing Santa got that request four months ago when the Fisher-Price summer catalog came out!

Mark got his Christmas present a little early this year. He has been bugging me for months to get a dog, but I have firmly put my foot down. I have my hands full already with the kids, being room mom at Evan's school, my 0wn projects, plus all my family obligations. Last week he found an adorable 4 month old Cockalier that he wanted me to meet, and I finally caved in.

This is Rocket:











He is four months old and is a Cocker Spaniel/Cavalier King Charles Spaniel mix. We wanted a low maintenance, lovable, mellow dog that wouldn't require hours of attention or have so much energy that the kids couldn't play with him, and Rocket is a perfect match for our family. The kids adore him, and I love how easy he has been to potty train.

I hope everyone has a great week.

November 25 - December 6: In Photos

(Photo by Evan) Bundled up and ready for work.


Hanging out in front of the Christmas tree.


Learning to drink from a big-boy cup.


Decorating the Christmas tree with Ev. (He wanted all the ornaments with his name on them to be in one spot on the tree, so every morning I have to spread them out again.)


Cuddling before bed. Notice the stethoscope around his neck... it's one of his "things" right now. He loves to wear his stethoscope, goggles, eye glasses, Mr. Potato Head glasses, and hats.


Jack's buddy, Dion, on Thanksgiving day.


Well hello, Jack! I love his goofy smile :-)


Making silly faces at the dinner table.


More silly faces between bites of homemade mac and cheese.


Love this not-so-little guy so, so much. He is starting to hide from the camera, or give me his goofy grin, so this was a pleasant surprise when I dumped my memory card tonight.

Evan is fighting a nasty cold right now and is super grumpy, which is making Jack grumpy, which is making me grumpy! We had a low-key day today, and will probably do the same tomorrow. Evan has enrichment at school on Wednesday that he doesn't want to miss, so I'm hoping he starts to feel better tomorrow.

Goodnight!

As of right now

Eating - frosted mini-wheats

Drinking - ice water

Last Night's Dinner - leftover turkey and mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving

Listening To - The Band Perry

Reading - The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult

Doing - cleaning out the play room and getting the Christmas tree decorated

Creating - my December Daily album and Christmas cards

Next Crafty Thing I Want To Explore - using photoshop actions (like the one I used on Jack's photo below this post)

Waiting On - the rest of the Christmas presents I ordered to arrive

Anticipating - tonight's episode of Glee!

Exited About - spending Christmas with just Mark and the kids (and not having to fly anywhere)

Super Thankful For - my two beautiful boys

Watching - Special Agent Oso with the boys

Last Movie Watched - Iron Man 2 on pay-per-view

Next Movie To See - Love and Other Drugs

What I'm Wearing - snowman pajamas pants and a Northrop Grumman t-shirt

To-Do, At This Very Second - get Evan another bowl of cereal

Favorite Photo -

{Evan's interest in books and reading has really taken off lately. He is using his Tag a lot, and is progressing nicely through his Bob Books. I love this photo because of how Evan is sitting... how can that be comfortable?!? But he stayed in this position for almost an hour while reading his Tag books.}

This week.

Jack has been fighting a bad case of bronchiolitis for the past 5 or 6 days, which has put my Thanksgiving plans and preparations on hold. He is on medication and is finally feeling better, but isn't back to his usual spunky self just yet.



This photo was taken the day Mark took him to urgent care. His eyes were so red and puffy and he was just miserable. We spent today relaxing, watching a movie, and trying to get this little guy better. We want him healthy for the holiday on Thursday!

. . .

Karla Dudley is releasing a new kit on Thursday, and I will have a sneak peek for you tomorrow evening. Her new kit is GORGEOUS! You won't be disappointed!

E

Projects & Sick Boys.

With the holidays quickly approaching I am busy making Christmas presents, shopping, creating menus, and checking off things from my to-do list. Here's a peek at one of the projects I'm working on:


{Supplies: Patterned paper, vellum, word strip, and staples: Karla Dudley Designs. "Happy" tag and white photo frame: Katie Pertiet.}

Mark, Evan, and Jack are all sick, so I've been playing nurse-maid for the past few days. Poor Jack has been coughing in his crib for the past hour. I am checking on him regularly, and his cough doesn't seem to effect his sleep, but he sounds horrible. Mark has a cough, too, and Ev has a tummy ache and a mild fever. I must have a super immune system because I don't have any symptoms at all. So I get to wait on my boys until they are better :-)

Have a great week :-)

Erin.

Right now

He:



Taught himself how to read and surprised us with his new skill last week. Mark and I were reading books to him before bed and he started sounding out the words. I grabbed one of his Bob Books, and he read it cover to cover with minimal help from us. Mark and I were speechless! He has read books 1-4 of his Bob Books, and we are going to start book 5 tomorrow before his afternoon rest.

Is thriving in his pre-school classroom and going to school is one of his favorite things every week. He loves being the snack helper and the line leader, and talks about his friends from school constantly.



Has been keeping track of the Mustangs we see while driving to and from school, to the grocery store, etc. He is up to 31... and loves it when we spot a red one just like Grandpa's Mustang.

Loves spending time with Jack, but still has a hard time when Jack takes his toys or gets in his way. We have been talking a lot about appropriate ways to show frustration, anger, and jealousy (and the inappropriate ways to shows those emotions, too), and he is getting much better above using his words rather than whining or stomping off to his bedroom. Having a baby brother can be a challenge, and I understand that Ev needs his space, but taking that frustration out on Jack isn't acceptable. Now he will come up to me and say "Mommy! I am so frustrated right now! Jack keeps taking my toys!" or "Mommy! I don't like that Jack is bugging me! He is making me upset!" And we go from there. Usually Evan has his toys lined up a certain way, or he is playing a game and Godzilla, I mean Jack, walks/crawls/stomps through his stuff and Frustrated Evan emerges. Evan has made a lot of progress in this area, and I am so very proud of him. I think having the ability to recognize emotions and express them to me, without whacking Jack, is impressive for a four year old.

Continues to make me laugh.

Loves to give hugs.

Has started called Mark and me "mom" and "dad", not "mommy" and "daddy".

Is my crazy, loud, spunky, opinionated, sweet 4.5 year old, and I love him to pieces.

He:

Loves to mimic words and sounds, and is learning new words rapidly. Today he said "please" for the first time and Mark and I started clapping and praising him. He responded by saying "bubble", "purple", and "elbow". He likes words that are two syllables and somewhat repetitive in their sounds. He can say "Evan", "Daaaaaaddy", "eyes", "nose", "toes", "shoe", "sock", "airplane", "door", and "happy", and I'm sure I am forgetting some words. I love how well his language is developing.



Loves to wear things: Evan's green construction goggles, his pretend stethoscope, and my glasses are all favorites of his.

Is walking most of the time now. He still has a significant pronation, but hopefully his orthotics will help correct that. He loves his shoes and if I put a pair on him while we are in the house, he does laps around the couch.



Has many, many nicknames: Jacky, Jacky-boy, Jack-a-roo, Jack-Jack, Jack-a-boo, and Bug-a-boo are a few of my favorites.



Stills adores Pup-pup, but he also loves his hippo, penguin, giraffe, and little pup-pup, too. He loves to hug them while walking around the house, one tucked under each arm. They give him some cushion when he falls down, too, which has saved him from a bruise or two while he's learning to walk.

Loves to be tickled, play peek-a-boo, and push his shopping cart around our play room.

Likes crawling into my lap to give me hugs and kisses when I am sitting on the floor playing with him. When I ask for a kiss he usually smiles and leans his forehead in so I can kiss him there.

They:

Get along most of the time. I try to give both of them their space, and allow Evan to escape to the kitchen or his room if he needs a break, but I also encourage them to work out their disagreements.

Are very loud during meal time. I must say "quiet down, please" 100 times per day. They aren't being naughty... just loud. Talking, squealing, laughing, giggling, and making boy noises, of course :-)





Make my heart happy.

Feeling Thankful.

Thankful for my little boy who is learning how to read.

Thankful for how cuddly and snugly my Jack-Jack is.

Thankful for my husband & how hard he works both at the office and at home.

Thankful that I have two boys who love to crawl into my lap and have me read to them.

Thankful for parents who love and support my family.

Thankful I have friends I can scrap with, laugh with, and hang out with.

Thankful for my happy little life.

Halloween 2010

We had a wonderful day on Sunday as we celebrated Halloween with some family friends. For the last two months Evan has talked non-stop about his Police Officer costume, and he was super excited to finally get to wear it trick-or-treating. I found an adorable puppy costume at Gymboree for Jack, who loved going door to door with the bid kids. He wasn't interested in holding his treat bucket or collecting candy, but he loved walking from house to house & smiling at the adults passing out candy.



















I love this picture of the boys. This was taken at a local park & it was the first time I had two fully mobile kids to look after. I realized that I can't be in two places at once & keeping track of both Ev and Jack was hard! Luckily Evan likes to play with Jack, so they were together for some of the time.



Evan had a spirit day at school today & had to wear his spirit shirt for the spirit assembly. He loves spirit day & talked my ear off about it on the drive home.






And this little guy loves going to school and dropping off/picking up Evan. He smiles at Mrs. Metz, talks to the other kids, and loves to walk the halls while we wait.

Karla Dudley is releasing a new kit tomorrow called Our Story (sold at Design House Digital). The papers are so beautiful & I love the flower sitckers and brushes.


(Supplies - Patterned paper: Our Story. White stitching: Digi Essentials. Tape: Digi Essentials 3
"Everyday" brush: Our Story. Flower sticker: Our Story. Vellum flowers: Our Story. Font: Georgia.)

Good night!