Saturday was Evangeline's first dance recital. I'm not gonna lie, I had been looking forward to this for months. Years, really. I took dance for 15 years from Mary Alpha and loved every minute of it. I knew before I ever had a girl that dance was something that I wanted my daughters to have an opportunity to participate in.
Evangeline has been taking all year from Ms. Amy. I really wasn't sure what she was going to do because I never could get much out of her at home except for a few "p.a.'s" I asked her one time if she played with her friends at dance and she said, "Ms. Amy says NO PLAYING," so I knew that they didn't "play."
We geared up for the day by watching an old home video of me at my first dance recital. I have to be honest, I was better in my first recital than she (but I was also an entire year older and only had to learn one dance, whereas she had two).
I remember from my dancing days that there always seemed to be a kid on the end of the row who really didn't seem to know what they were doing. That was kinda Evangeline. But, she was the youngest in her class by far! Most kids were four, and some were even five already. She left the stage in not one-but BOTH- numbers! The first time she exited my mom and I were both in the audience softly repeating, "get back on stage, Evangeline, get back on stage!" The entire theater filled with 1,000 people got a good laugh out of her at least. And, when the little girl next to her lost a shoe, what did Evangeline do? She ran to go tell the teacher. In the middle of the dance. And everyone laughed, again.
I got glimpses of my little girl's personality that I really liked during the whole recital experience. She is not shy at all when it comes to talking to adults or even children her age. She was BFFs with all the little girls in her class. If they're all sitting together, Evangeline just crowds her way up in the middle of the group, something I would have never done as a child.
She's also stubborn. One little friend Evangeline talked about all year was "Remily." Come to find out Remily's name is actually "Rivaly." Rivaly's mom told me she overheard a conversation between the two of them that went something like this, Ev, "Your name is Remily." Rivaly, "No, it's Riv-VA-ly, silly." Ev, "NO, it's Remily!" Riv, "Rivaly," Ev, "REMILY." You get the picture. Evangeline did finally accept the fact that her name was in fact Rivaly, but interestingly never corrected Rivaly for calling her "Evangeleen."
She loves her brother. Right before she was to go on stage, she turned to me with a serious look and said, "Is Trey here?" She wanted him to watch her dance! He's the only person she specifically asked about. Also, when she got a present, she wanted to know why Trey didn't have one.
She's loving and generous. She got her first ever medal and the moment she ran off stage she said, "Look, Mommy! I got this for YOU!" Melted my heart that she'd want me to have her special medal.
All things considered, I was so proud of my special little dancer on Saturday. She really was the cutest one on the whole stage, even if she didn't have the best moves!
Showing posts with label Evangeline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Evangeline. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Mistaken Identities
Evangeline is really good with names. Like, really really good. I'm pretty sure that there are adults at our church who could identify fewer people by name than Evangeline can and she's two. Not knocking FBC Marion in any way. It's a super sweet congregation with tons of fellowship and love for one another. And, Evangeline knows almost everyone.
So, it was only a matter of time before she started calling Drew, "Brother Drew." I think it's hilarious. Drew hates it. She also calls him just plain ole "Drew" but in a condescending kinda voice that sounds a lot like me. Not sure where she picked up on that. :)
In slightly related news, I was brushing Evangeline's teeth earlier and she started to have a total meltdown. As in screaming and trying to bite me. I looked down and was using Trey's toothbrush. Ooops! Now she knows how it feels as I've chased her around the house with my toothbrush in her mouth on more than one occasion.
Trey just said, "Edy" very clearly. I'm thrilled. Drew, not as much. He could definitely do without that cat and isn't crazy about how big of cat lovers his two children are turning into. They have Snowden in there blood, after all.
So, it was only a matter of time before she started calling Drew, "Brother Drew." I think it's hilarious. Drew hates it. She also calls him just plain ole "Drew" but in a condescending kinda voice that sounds a lot like me. Not sure where she picked up on that. :)
In slightly related news, I was brushing Evangeline's teeth earlier and she started to have a total meltdown. As in screaming and trying to bite me. I looked down and was using Trey's toothbrush. Ooops! Now she knows how it feels as I've chased her around the house with my toothbrush in her mouth on more than one occasion.
Trey just said, "Edy" very clearly. I'm thrilled. Drew, not as much. He could definitely do without that cat and isn't crazy about how big of cat lovers his two children are turning into. They have Snowden in there blood, after all.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Outsmarted
Happy Mother's Day! Today we ate lunch at McAlister's for the third week in a row. Since learning that both ministers and children eat free on Sundays, we have been going there a lot! And today mothers got a free dessert! So our family (us plus Drew's parents and sister's family) ended up getting two free adult meals, three free kids meals, and three free desserts. We (or Drew's dad) paid for four adult meals. Pretty good deal!
All was well with Evangeline until she saw my mom's free cheesecake. Without doubt, Ev's favorite food is cake. She's never had cheesecake before, but it looked an awful lot like cake, and had the word cake in it, so she wanted some. But, she wasn't done with her mac and cheese. Unlike cousin Elizabeth, Evangeline rarely eats all her food.
We told Evangeline that she could have a bite of cake when she ate some more of her mac and cheese. And then the power struggle began. For a good ten minutes the four of us (me, my mom, Drew's mom, and Kelly) held firm: no cake until a bite of mac and cheese. Ev cried. Whined. Pouted. Pushed away her bowl.
Then Drew came back to the table with a piece of cheesecake and immediately gave her a bite. I was horrified! Drew is more stubborn than Evangeline (and anyone else I know!) and he always wins the "finish eating this before that" battle at suppertime. WHAT was he thinking?
After her first bite, Ev immediately wanted, "more, please." Drew said, "take one bite of macaroni." She quickly shoved some in her mouth. Another bite of cheesecake. Now, two bites of macaroni. Before we knew it, half her mac and cheese was gone!
So, who outsmarted whom?
All was well with Evangeline until she saw my mom's free cheesecake. Without doubt, Ev's favorite food is cake. She's never had cheesecake before, but it looked an awful lot like cake, and had the word cake in it, so she wanted some. But, she wasn't done with her mac and cheese. Unlike cousin Elizabeth, Evangeline rarely eats all her food.
We told Evangeline that she could have a bite of cake when she ate some more of her mac and cheese. And then the power struggle began. For a good ten minutes the four of us (me, my mom, Drew's mom, and Kelly) held firm: no cake until a bite of mac and cheese. Ev cried. Whined. Pouted. Pushed away her bowl.
Then Drew came back to the table with a piece of cheesecake and immediately gave her a bite. I was horrified! Drew is more stubborn than Evangeline (and anyone else I know!) and he always wins the "finish eating this before that" battle at suppertime. WHAT was he thinking?
After her first bite, Ev immediately wanted, "more, please." Drew said, "take one bite of macaroni." She quickly shoved some in her mouth. Another bite of cheesecake. Now, two bites of macaroni. Before we knew it, half her mac and cheese was gone!
So, who outsmarted whom?
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Cuddle-Free Zone
Every day I am amazed at the differences in my two children. Evangeline was walking at one year almost as well as she does now. While Trey took his first steps two months ago, he still won't take more than about six steps at a time before he decides he'd rather just crawl. I'm pretty sure that Trey says more words at almost one than Evangeline did when she was his age. He can clearly say Mama, Dada, Blue Bell, ball, Edy, and his favorite, "Uh oh." I've also heard him say "Hey" and "Thank you" a few times. Who knows when he'll catch on to "Evangeline."
Their sleep behaviors are what make me laugh the most. Trey is a snuggler. He loves his monkey blanket more than anything. We just set up his "Scout" that he technically got for Christmas today, so I placed it in bed with him tonight (the first time he's ever had a stuffed animal in bed with him other than the monkey blanket). He snuggled right up to it, with his arm curled around his monkey blanket. So sweet.
Evangeline, in contrast, does NOT like stuffed animals in bed with her. Earlier tonight she was playing and put a few baby dolls in her bed and covered them up. When Daddy tucked her in he left the baby dolls in bed. A few minutes later we heard her crying. I sneaked up to her door to listen and heard her say, "Get out, baby!" followed by a loud THUD. Her bed is a cuddle-free zone for sure!
Drew just asked what I was blogging about. I told him "the differences in our children." He pointed out that one's a boy and one's a girl. Thanks, honey! I'm sure that the gender difference will become a factor in the years to come as well!
Their sleep behaviors are what make me laugh the most. Trey is a snuggler. He loves his monkey blanket more than anything. We just set up his "Scout" that he technically got for Christmas today, so I placed it in bed with him tonight (the first time he's ever had a stuffed animal in bed with him other than the monkey blanket). He snuggled right up to it, with his arm curled around his monkey blanket. So sweet.
Evangeline, in contrast, does NOT like stuffed animals in bed with her. Earlier tonight she was playing and put a few baby dolls in her bed and covered them up. When Daddy tucked her in he left the baby dolls in bed. A few minutes later we heard her crying. I sneaked up to her door to listen and heard her say, "Get out, baby!" followed by a loud THUD. Her bed is a cuddle-free zone for sure!
Drew just asked what I was blogging about. I told him "the differences in our children." He pointed out that one's a boy and one's a girl. Thanks, honey! I'm sure that the gender difference will become a factor in the years to come as well!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Don't Eat My Cheesepuffs!
We had an eventful lunch today. As the kids were eating and I was cooking green beans, suddenly giant flames began to shoot from underneath the pan. At least 10 inches. I panicked. I know exactly where our fire extinguisher was in Henleyfield, but in the short 2 seconds I considered trying to put the fire out myself, I couldn't recall where ours was. My only thought was to get my babies out of that house ASAP.
So, I gathered up the kids and the dog, thought briefly about the cat and remembered she was already outside, and hurried out the back door. Drew was over at the church hanging out with Mr. Ray Cantrell who just so happens to be a firefighter. Pretty lucky, I thought. He is even driving his Marion Fire and Rescue Truck today.
After what seemed like FOREVER, Drew picked up the phone and I instructed him to "come home right now." One good thing about having Drew work so close by is that he IS so close. I've called him home on numerous occasions to inspect injuries, unstick my van, etc, but I think this is the first fire I called him to put out. I was also thinking about Ray.
Drew ran home fast, followed close behind by Ray. As they flew by, Evangeline shouted to Mr. Ray, "Don't eat my cheespuffs!!!!" Someone needs to straighten out her priorities. :)
The flames had died down by the time they got to the house and I was thankful that there was at least a tiny bit of smoke so they didn't think I was totally crazy. Turns out I just need to clean my grease trap. And I will, cause other than the cheespuff comment, that was no fun!
P.S. Evangeline ended up feeding her cheespuffs to Blue Bell anyway. Guess she was saving them for her?
So, I gathered up the kids and the dog, thought briefly about the cat and remembered she was already outside, and hurried out the back door. Drew was over at the church hanging out with Mr. Ray Cantrell who just so happens to be a firefighter. Pretty lucky, I thought. He is even driving his Marion Fire and Rescue Truck today.
After what seemed like FOREVER, Drew picked up the phone and I instructed him to "come home right now." One good thing about having Drew work so close by is that he IS so close. I've called him home on numerous occasions to inspect injuries, unstick my van, etc, but I think this is the first fire I called him to put out. I was also thinking about Ray.
Drew ran home fast, followed close behind by Ray. As they flew by, Evangeline shouted to Mr. Ray, "Don't eat my cheespuffs!!!!" Someone needs to straighten out her priorities. :)
The flames had died down by the time they got to the house and I was thankful that there was at least a tiny bit of smoke so they didn't think I was totally crazy. Turns out I just need to clean my grease trap. And I will, cause other than the cheespuff comment, that was no fun!
P.S. Evangeline ended up feeding her cheespuffs to Blue Bell anyway. Guess she was saving them for her?
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Jackson Trip
We had a really great weekend visiting my dad (Granddaddy Snow Snow, or otherwise know as simply "Snow Snow" or "No No" or even "Nos Snow") at his condo in Jackson. Our primary purpose in going was to attend the first ever Speaker of the House/Lieutenant Governor's Easter Egg Hunt, but we also wanted to squeeze in a few fun things, as well.
Friday evening me, my mom, and my kids headed to Jackson. We met dad at Jason's Deli and I was reminded of how much I like that place. It always makes me think of Waco, and my friends Dayna and Kevin (who just moved to China!) for some reason. I guess we ate there a lot. I liked it because it was Weight Watchers friendly. Trey liked it because there were crackers on the salad bar. Evangeline, of course, liked the ice cream.
I had a pretty rough night at the condo, which was to be expected. I just don't enjoy sharing a room with either of my children ever. Trey was in the pack n play next to me and coughed and fidgeted ALL NIGHT LONG. I eventually moved to the couch, then back to the bedroom b/c Trey was crying and I had to nurse, then to tuck Evangeline back in, then back to the couch, back to tuck Evangeline in, back to the bedroom. That's what I mean by 'rough night.' I heard Evangeline and my mom up pretty early and then later discovered that Evangeline had escaped her pack n play in the office (which was also to be expected) and was kinda roaming around my dad's condo.
Both kids enjoyed exploring the place, so much so that I was eager to get them outta there as quickly as possible! Dad and I took the kids to the zoo, while mom ran a few errands. My dad has a zoo pass, so we hope to go there a lot this summer. This time last year my mom and I took Evangeline to the zoo. I have to say that I had a much easier time this year. Last year I was eight months pregnant and walking around took a lot out of me. It was much easier now that the baby is out!
Evangeline had fun, but did seem to act a little afraid of some of the animals. Mainly the monkeys. She also did not like the Tamirs and the Wart Hogs (they weren't quite wart hogs, but they were some kinda hoggy things). Maybe they just got too close to the fence for her and she's afraid they would get her? She LOVED the alligators and was thrilled to see four baby gators swimming in the pond. She also really liked the flamingos.
Trey was super easy going. He enjoyed looking at the turtles and the giraffes the best. It was so funny seeing his face when he first saw the giraffe.
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Poor Evangeline tripped over Snow Snow's foot and got her first real scraped knee. And, eleven hours later, it is still a big deal. She freaked out at bath time when it got wet. Poor baby.
We met Carrie for lunch at Mazzio's which was fun except that I was not going to pay $9.99 for a buffet when all I wanted was two pieces of pizza even if it did come with a drink and even if Evangeline did get to eat free. So, I ordered a small pizza for $6.00. No problem except that it took forever for them to bring it to me. Being on a diet is miserable to start with but being on a diet and having to sit and watch other people eat pizza while patiently waiting for your food is really bad. My mom was finished and ready to go before mine ever came. :( The price I pay to diet. I told my mom that I got a Bravo star at Weight Watchers for going to Christy's wedding last week and not eating any cake and she said that she'd MUCH rather have a piece of wedding cake than a Bravo star. Supportive, huh?
We were afraid that the wait at Mazzio's would make us late for the egg hunt, but we showed up in plenty of time. It was a very nice event with fun jumps, face painting, an Easter bunny, real bunnies to take pictures with, and yummy snacks. Evangeline loved holding the little bunny and Trey enjoyed his first ever cupcake (or the icing, at least).
When it came time to hunt the eggs, Evangeline was a little bratty. She went around picking up the eggs, opening them, and then if she didn't want what was inside, she just threw it back down. I eventually figured out that she was specifically looking for eggs that contained skittles.
My children blessed me with a quiet ride on the way home and we arrived just in time for our Sunday school grill-out party that was, yes, at our house. I am super thankful to my wonderful wonderful wonderful (hi, honey!) husband who got everything ready while I was gone. When I asked him if we could go to Jackson, he was practically giddy responding yes. He enjoyed the weekend by having a Friday night steak and then playing tennis with Corrie Saturday morning.
I had so much fun having our friends over! I am very thankful for all the friendships we have made here in Marion! I am already looking forward to the next time we all get together for Italian night!
Praying for a good night's sleep tonight! At least Trey is down the hall and both my kids are pretty worn out.
Friday evening me, my mom, and my kids headed to Jackson. We met dad at Jason's Deli and I was reminded of how much I like that place. It always makes me think of Waco, and my friends Dayna and Kevin (who just moved to China!) for some reason. I guess we ate there a lot. I liked it because it was Weight Watchers friendly. Trey liked it because there were crackers on the salad bar. Evangeline, of course, liked the ice cream.
I had a pretty rough night at the condo, which was to be expected. I just don't enjoy sharing a room with either of my children ever. Trey was in the pack n play next to me and coughed and fidgeted ALL NIGHT LONG. I eventually moved to the couch, then back to the bedroom b/c Trey was crying and I had to nurse, then to tuck Evangeline back in, then back to the couch, back to tuck Evangeline in, back to the bedroom. That's what I mean by 'rough night.' I heard Evangeline and my mom up pretty early and then later discovered that Evangeline had escaped her pack n play in the office (which was also to be expected) and was kinda roaming around my dad's condo.
Both kids enjoyed exploring the place, so much so that I was eager to get them outta there as quickly as possible! Dad and I took the kids to the zoo, while mom ran a few errands. My dad has a zoo pass, so we hope to go there a lot this summer. This time last year my mom and I took Evangeline to the zoo. I have to say that I had a much easier time this year. Last year I was eight months pregnant and walking around took a lot out of me. It was much easier now that the baby is out!
Evangeline had fun, but did seem to act a little afraid of some of the animals. Mainly the monkeys. She also did not like the Tamirs and the Wart Hogs (they weren't quite wart hogs, but they were some kinda hoggy things). Maybe they just got too close to the fence for her and she's afraid they would get her? She LOVED the alligators and was thrilled to see four baby gators swimming in the pond. She also really liked the flamingos.
Trey was super easy going. He enjoyed looking at the turtles and the giraffes the best. It was so funny seeing his face when he first saw the giraffe.
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Poor Evangeline tripped over Snow Snow's foot and got her first real scraped knee. And, eleven hours later, it is still a big deal. She freaked out at bath time when it got wet. Poor baby.
We met Carrie for lunch at Mazzio's which was fun except that I was not going to pay $9.99 for a buffet when all I wanted was two pieces of pizza even if it did come with a drink and even if Evangeline did get to eat free. So, I ordered a small pizza for $6.00. No problem except that it took forever for them to bring it to me. Being on a diet is miserable to start with but being on a diet and having to sit and watch other people eat pizza while patiently waiting for your food is really bad. My mom was finished and ready to go before mine ever came. :( The price I pay to diet. I told my mom that I got a Bravo star at Weight Watchers for going to Christy's wedding last week and not eating any cake and she said that she'd MUCH rather have a piece of wedding cake than a Bravo star. Supportive, huh?
We were afraid that the wait at Mazzio's would make us late for the egg hunt, but we showed up in plenty of time. It was a very nice event with fun jumps, face painting, an Easter bunny, real bunnies to take pictures with, and yummy snacks. Evangeline loved holding the little bunny and Trey enjoyed his first ever cupcake (or the icing, at least).
When it came time to hunt the eggs, Evangeline was a little bratty. She went around picking up the eggs, opening them, and then if she didn't want what was inside, she just threw it back down. I eventually figured out that she was specifically looking for eggs that contained skittles.
My children blessed me with a quiet ride on the way home and we arrived just in time for our Sunday school grill-out party that was, yes, at our house. I am super thankful to my wonderful wonderful wonderful (hi, honey!) husband who got everything ready while I was gone. When I asked him if we could go to Jackson, he was practically giddy responding yes. He enjoyed the weekend by having a Friday night steak and then playing tennis with Corrie Saturday morning.
I had so much fun having our friends over! I am very thankful for all the friendships we have made here in Marion! I am already looking forward to the next time we all get together for Italian night!
Praying for a good night's sleep tonight! At least Trey is down the hall and both my kids are pretty worn out.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Things that make me SMH
I have a confession. I am not very up-to-date on the latest text/FB lingo. For a while I would see people make a comment followed by "smh," such as, "Just went outside and it's still raining. SMH." I always intepreted that to mean, "Just went outside and it's still raining smmmmuh" cause I had no clue what smh stood for. Finally, I googled it and aha, it means "shaking my head." Makes sense. Hopefully I have enlightened someone who has also been wondering what that means!
Living with a two year old there are a lot of things that she does that cause me to "shake my head." For the past three days she has been asking to wear her "kitty shirt." Technically, her kitty shirt is a Valentine's shirt, but since it's still February (til tomorrow! Happy Leap Year) we have continued wearing it. The past three days I've had to explain that she couldn't wear the kitty shirt because it was dirty. Yesterday I did laundry, so today I said, "Evangeline! Guess what! You get to wear your kitty shirt today." She burst into tears and said, "kitty shirt DIRTY! No No DIRTY." I finally got her to calm down so that I could explain that I washed it and it was now CLEAN! SMH....
Often we have a breakdown in communication, but sometimes the things Evangeline says are perfectly clear and I'm just not listening. At lunch today she said, "Mama! Blue Bell spaghetti nose!" I turned around to see that, yep, Blue Bell did in fact have a piece of spaghetti on her nose. That's what you get for begging too close to a toddler as she eats. The other day Evangeline kept telling me she wanted a "goldfish bowl." I had no clue what she was asking for but later discovered she wanted a bowl of goldfish. One would think that would've been obvious, but she's never referred to goldfish as "goldfish" (it use to just be "shish") and never asked for a bowl of them before. SMH...
The only person in our house more stubborn that Evangeline is her Daddy. I overheard a conversation the other night as they read her Dora Birthday book. Drew: Say, "We did it!" Ev: "I did it!" Drew: "No, WE did it." Ev: I did it! Drew: YOU didn't do it! WE did it. Ev: I did it. (Repeat about 10 times). Drew finally won that battle. SMH....
He also reported to me a battle over peas and meatloaf. Evangeline wanted, "more meat" but Drew told her she had to first eat a pea. She kept pretending to eat a pea. Then, she would put the pea in her mouth, spit it out, and squish it on the table. Finally Drew made her eat a pea. Then, she ate several more peas and no longer wanted any meatloaf! SMH...
Everytime Evangeline sees a capital "E" she says, "Dr. Wilson!" The only thing I can figure out is that she remembers seeing an eye chart in his office. We are going there today for Trey's nine month check-up. Our conversation this morning went something like this" Me: Today we are going to go see Dr. Wilson for Trey! Ev: No! Scary shot! Me: No, you won't need a scary shot! Ev: Sucker? SMH... I am going to notice if they have one of those eye charts, though.
Last night I made a cake for Bible study. I noticed Drew helping himself to a big piece and "got on to him" for eating my Bible study cake. He said that he thought I made it just because. Just because what? Just because I started Weight Watchers this week and decided I'd celebrate by making a cake? Drew said he didn't know it was for Bible study and really didn't care; He was eating a piece anyway. SMH.... By the way, I saved him a piece afterwards and no one cared that a chunk was missing!
I celebrated that Trey is getting his first two teeth this week. No clue why I celebrated because I should've known that it meant several nights of him getting up screaming at 2:00. It's kind of sweet though how he cuddles up next to me. It makes me miss him waking in the middle of the night to nurse (just a little bit). SMH.....
Living with a two year old there are a lot of things that she does that cause me to "shake my head." For the past three days she has been asking to wear her "kitty shirt." Technically, her kitty shirt is a Valentine's shirt, but since it's still February (til tomorrow! Happy Leap Year) we have continued wearing it. The past three days I've had to explain that she couldn't wear the kitty shirt because it was dirty. Yesterday I did laundry, so today I said, "Evangeline! Guess what! You get to wear your kitty shirt today." She burst into tears and said, "kitty shirt DIRTY! No No DIRTY." I finally got her to calm down so that I could explain that I washed it and it was now CLEAN! SMH....
Often we have a breakdown in communication, but sometimes the things Evangeline says are perfectly clear and I'm just not listening. At lunch today she said, "Mama! Blue Bell spaghetti nose!" I turned around to see that, yep, Blue Bell did in fact have a piece of spaghetti on her nose. That's what you get for begging too close to a toddler as she eats. The other day Evangeline kept telling me she wanted a "goldfish bowl." I had no clue what she was asking for but later discovered she wanted a bowl of goldfish. One would think that would've been obvious, but she's never referred to goldfish as "goldfish" (it use to just be "shish") and never asked for a bowl of them before. SMH...
The only person in our house more stubborn that Evangeline is her Daddy. I overheard a conversation the other night as they read her Dora Birthday book. Drew: Say, "We did it!" Ev: "I did it!" Drew: "No, WE did it." Ev: I did it! Drew: YOU didn't do it! WE did it. Ev: I did it. (Repeat about 10 times). Drew finally won that battle. SMH....
He also reported to me a battle over peas and meatloaf. Evangeline wanted, "more meat" but Drew told her she had to first eat a pea. She kept pretending to eat a pea. Then, she would put the pea in her mouth, spit it out, and squish it on the table. Finally Drew made her eat a pea. Then, she ate several more peas and no longer wanted any meatloaf! SMH...
Everytime Evangeline sees a capital "E" she says, "Dr. Wilson!" The only thing I can figure out is that she remembers seeing an eye chart in his office. We are going there today for Trey's nine month check-up. Our conversation this morning went something like this" Me: Today we are going to go see Dr. Wilson for Trey! Ev: No! Scary shot! Me: No, you won't need a scary shot! Ev: Sucker? SMH... I am going to notice if they have one of those eye charts, though.
Last night I made a cake for Bible study. I noticed Drew helping himself to a big piece and "got on to him" for eating my Bible study cake. He said that he thought I made it just because. Just because what? Just because I started Weight Watchers this week and decided I'd celebrate by making a cake? Drew said he didn't know it was for Bible study and really didn't care; He was eating a piece anyway. SMH.... By the way, I saved him a piece afterwards and no one cared that a chunk was missing!
I celebrated that Trey is getting his first two teeth this week. No clue why I celebrated because I should've known that it meant several nights of him getting up screaming at 2:00. It's kind of sweet though how he cuddles up next to me. It makes me miss him waking in the middle of the night to nurse (just a little bit). SMH.....
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Unattended- Poor Trey
For about six weeks now I have been able to let Evangeline and Trey play together in the living room while doing a few things in other parts of the house. Our couches are arranged in such a way that Trey can't escape a confined area and we have a baby gate at the door. For the most part, they have played together well. Evangeline frequently asks if she can, "Play Trey" as soon as she wakes up from her naps. I'll occasionally hear a teeny bit of fighting over a toy (which basically means that Evangeline has snatched something that is HERS out of Trey's mouth) but they have done pretty well for the few minutes at a time that I've left them playing. Until recently.
A couple of days ago I heard Trey crying and went in there to discover that he was chewing on Genesis Chapter 18 from my Bible. Arg. I felt like both a bad mother and a bad Christian. Another time Trey was screaming and Evangeline had him pinned down and was hitting him on the back with a Hello Kitty McDonald's toy. Not sure what that was about, but he did not like it! Well, yesterday I heard Trey let out a LOUD scream and found Evangeline pulling him into the closet by the head. She likes the closet and wanted him to play in there with her, I guess. When I said, "Evangeline!" she just dropped him! Poor baby!
Today was the worst. I was in the bathroom getting ready for church when I heard Trey start wailing loudly. I can definitely tell the difference now between a "she took my toy" yell and a "help me mommy!!!" yell. This was a "help me mommy!" yell and a loud one, at that. Evangeline had unplugged the lamp and had the cord wrapped TWICE around Trey's neck! Thankfully she hadn't pulled it too tight! I'm even more thankful that God gave Trey a good set of lungs!
Drew said he was surprised at all the trouble they get into, what with the few things I have to do other than watch them. I'm worried that our days of leaving them both unattended in the same room have passed for at least a few more months. It's funny/sad because now if I put Trey in the living room with her he'll just sit at the baby gate and cry for me. Poor Trey. One day he'll be able to defend himself. I really don't think she means to hurt him....... She just wants to play! Poor Trey.
A couple of days ago I heard Trey crying and went in there to discover that he was chewing on Genesis Chapter 18 from my Bible. Arg. I felt like both a bad mother and a bad Christian. Another time Trey was screaming and Evangeline had him pinned down and was hitting him on the back with a Hello Kitty McDonald's toy. Not sure what that was about, but he did not like it! Well, yesterday I heard Trey let out a LOUD scream and found Evangeline pulling him into the closet by the head. She likes the closet and wanted him to play in there with her, I guess. When I said, "Evangeline!" she just dropped him! Poor baby!
Today was the worst. I was in the bathroom getting ready for church when I heard Trey start wailing loudly. I can definitely tell the difference now between a "she took my toy" yell and a "help me mommy!!!" yell. This was a "help me mommy!" yell and a loud one, at that. Evangeline had unplugged the lamp and had the cord wrapped TWICE around Trey's neck! Thankfully she hadn't pulled it too tight! I'm even more thankful that God gave Trey a good set of lungs!
Drew said he was surprised at all the trouble they get into, what with the few things I have to do other than watch them. I'm worried that our days of leaving them both unattended in the same room have passed for at least a few more months. It's funny/sad because now if I put Trey in the living room with her he'll just sit at the baby gate and cry for me. Poor Trey. One day he'll be able to defend himself. I really don't think she means to hurt him....... She just wants to play! Poor Trey.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Evangeline's Birth Story
In honor of Evangeline's birthday, I'm copying and pasting her birth story (written by Drew) onto my blog:
The Longest, Happiest Day of My Life
I recently started watching 24. My Dad has all the seasons on DVD. He's a huge fan. I really like it, too, and I'm part way through season 3. But one thing I'll always remember is the way the episodes started in season one: "I'm federal agent Jack Bauer, and this is the longest day of my life." I won't ruin the ending for you, but it's definitely bittersweet... probably more bitter than sweet.
Well, the longest day of my life so far was yesterday. It, too, was bittersweet... but definitely more sweet than bitter.
We arrived at the hospital about 5:10am after a restless night in a local motel. We settled into a delivery room, and they started inducing labor around 6:45. She started having regular contractions, and they started the epidural at 7:45. They broke her water at 8:00, and we were off to the races. So far so good. No pain. She was doing great.
Things seemed to be progressing just fine. There was only one little hang-up, something that the doctor and nurses were uneasy about. Every time she had a contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop. She'd started out on her back, so they moved her to her side and put her on oxygen. Then, the heart monitor wasn't picking up correctly, so they used a different kind. Then, the baby's heart rate looked good for a while, until it started dropping again, so they turned her over on her other side. The whole time, she's doing great. No pain. Everything on my wife's end was great. Like I said, she was progressing just fine. It was just one of those things you think you've fixed, and then five minutes later, you find out it's not fixed.
Fast-forward a little bit. It's noon. Monitor keeps skipping, just not picking up right. So, the doctor comes in to switch monitors yet again. As he's doing it, she mentions that her right leg is really numb and she can't even move it. He tells her the meds from the epidural are pooling in her right side and that she needs to lay on her left side. We had been monitoring the heart rate ourselves for the last 45 minutes are so, and we really thought the issue had been resolved. Well, it wasn't. After they put her on her left side, every time she had a contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop AFTER the contraction... and stay down in the 90s... for over a minute. At that point, I took it upon myself to turn the computer screen away from my wife, who didn't need the extra stress of watching the heart rate herself.
The doctor probably wasn't gone for 10 minutes when he came back. I guess it was about 12:15. He said, in so many words, that if she were already pushing, we'd go ahead and have the baby that way, but since she was still a long way from pushing, we needed to have a C-section. It would just be too much stress on the baby to keep doing what we were doing.
That's where the "bitter" part is for us. My wife really didn't want to have a C-section. But with so much stress on the baby, it was the obvious choice.
Well, I just asked the doctor, "Doc, how long before y'all do the section?" He told me it'd be about 45 minutes. So, I said, "I'm starving, and I've got to get a bite of something to eat." He said, "Well, just hurry." And I told my wife, "Don't you let them wheel you out of here unless I'm back in the room with you. Fight 'em, if you have to." So, I hustle down to the hospital cafeteria, get one chicken breast fillet and a piece of cornbread, take one bite of the chicken, and my phone rings. It's my sister-in-law telling me I needed to get back upstairs. They had gotten there right after they told us we need to have a section. In fact, I had passed them on the way to the cafeteria. Anyway, I put the whole piece of chicken in my mouth and took off, leaving my Dad holding my plate. He understood.
I got back in what I thought was just the nick of time, only to play the waiting game for 15 more minutes. They took my wife as soon as I got back, and they ushered me into the recovery room to get robed up.
In the meantime, my wife had about 8 different people doing things to prep her for the C-section. She was definitely experiencing information overload. She was having to sign stuff left and right. It wasn't an "emergency" situation, at least that's not the impression they gave us initially, but it sure felt like an emergency, the way they were rushing everything. All the while, she's still having contractions and is still on oxygen. They told her they were going to start the incision, but if she could feel it, they would have to put her under general anesthesia. If they had to use general anesthesia, I wouldn't be able to come in. And the whole time, I'm totally in the dark; don't have a clue what's going on.
Here's the deal, when they said I had 45 minutes, they meant 45 minutes until I'd be holding my baby. I thought they meant 45 minutes until they started the procedure. You can see where I got confused, I hope. Now, the truth is, it was more like 30 minutes before I was holding my baby, but that's getting the cart before the horse.
This whole time, I'm a total wreck. I'm mad, because I think they're not going to let me be in there with my wife. I'm extra mad, because nobody's telling me anything. Until finally, a nurse walks into where I am and tells me I can come in now. I walk into a room, and it looks like a scene from a movie or something. The doctor looks up, scalpel in hand, smiles, and says, "Oh, there you are." They put me behind the curtain with my wife's head and arms (looked like she was being crucified on a table). She's got the shakes so bad it looks like she's having detox withrawals. Actually, it was the meds from the epidural. I don't really remember much except that I was VERY supportive and VERY encouraging. Just had to throw that in there.
I'm up there with my wife's head, and she says, "Ow, it feels like somebody's standing on my chest." I say, "Well, the doctor's not that big; he may be!" Also about that time, about 3/4 of the way into the procedure, the anesthesiologist says, "Would you like to have something for those shakes?" My wife just about came off the table when he said that, like, "Why didn't you ask me that 15 minutes ago?" And it's never a good thing when you look around and see your anesthesiologist messing with his iPhone while you're having surgery!
About that time, we heard someone say, "Oh, there's the head." Someone else said, "That's alot of hair." Then, a minute later, we heard something like a suction cup. I actually didn't hear it, but my wife did. Later, we found out they had to use a vacuum to get the baby out. I'm not sure if it was an Oreck or a Bissel. A minute later we heard a short cry, then silence for what seemed like an eternity. Actually, it was only about 3 seconds, but it seemed like forever. Then, the baby started really crying.
They brought the baby around the curtain for us to see, but at this point, they'd not said whether it was a boy baby or a girl baby. We were praying hard that it was a girl baby... because that's what it was supposed to be, and the whole nursery is pink! And sure enough, it was a girl baby. We both breathed a sigh of relief. And the anesthesiologist was polite enough to lay down his iPhone and take a picture of the three of us.
They let me take lots of pictures in the OR. She weighed 8lbs 2oz, and was 21 inches long. My dad's cousin said it was the first time in history that a baby was taller than it's father.
I asked my wife if she wanted me to stay with her or go with the baby to the nursery. She wanted me to go with the baby, so I did, while they stitched her up, which took a REALLY... LONG... TIME.
The details are fuzzy, but I remember getting to hold my little girl and carry her down the hall to the waiting room to meet my parents, my wife's parents, my wife's sister, and our next door neighbors, who were awfully sweet to drive up to see us.
I just kind of hung out in the nursery for the next 45 minutes or so, while they finished working on my wife. She FINALLY made it to the recovery room, but it was still about another 30 minutes before my wife got to see the baby again. My wife stayed in recovery for about 2 hours total. She was in terrible pain and was terribly thirsty. I, of course, came to her rescue by bringing her diet coke and water. With the pain, though, I wasn't so helpful.
Fast forward again. It's about 4:00pm. We got settled into a postpartum room, and that's where we've been ever since, for over 30 hours. Our baby is healthy and beautiful. She's got a head full of brown hair with blond highlights. She's perfect, and that's really all I can say. She is perfect.
God has blessed us so tremendously. My wife and I shared our first good cry a few hours ago, just looking at our baby girl and thinking about how blessed we are. We came into the hospital expecting a very long day of labor, but by 1:00pm we had our little girl. My wife and I are looking forward to watching her and helping her grow up into a smart, beautiful, godly woman.
Well, the longest day of my life so far was yesterday. It, too, was bittersweet... but definitely more sweet than bitter.
We arrived at the hospital about 5:10am after a restless night in a local motel. We settled into a delivery room, and they started inducing labor around 6:45. She started having regular contractions, and they started the epidural at 7:45. They broke her water at 8:00, and we were off to the races. So far so good. No pain. She was doing great.
Things seemed to be progressing just fine. There was only one little hang-up, something that the doctor and nurses were uneasy about. Every time she had a contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop. She'd started out on her back, so they moved her to her side and put her on oxygen. Then, the heart monitor wasn't picking up correctly, so they used a different kind. Then, the baby's heart rate looked good for a while, until it started dropping again, so they turned her over on her other side. The whole time, she's doing great. No pain. Everything on my wife's end was great. Like I said, she was progressing just fine. It was just one of those things you think you've fixed, and then five minutes later, you find out it's not fixed.
Fast-forward a little bit. It's noon. Monitor keeps skipping, just not picking up right. So, the doctor comes in to switch monitors yet again. As he's doing it, she mentions that her right leg is really numb and she can't even move it. He tells her the meds from the epidural are pooling in her right side and that she needs to lay on her left side. We had been monitoring the heart rate ourselves for the last 45 minutes are so, and we really thought the issue had been resolved. Well, it wasn't. After they put her on her left side, every time she had a contraction, the baby's heart rate would drop AFTER the contraction... and stay down in the 90s... for over a minute. At that point, I took it upon myself to turn the computer screen away from my wife, who didn't need the extra stress of watching the heart rate herself.
The doctor probably wasn't gone for 10 minutes when he came back. I guess it was about 12:15. He said, in so many words, that if she were already pushing, we'd go ahead and have the baby that way, but since she was still a long way from pushing, we needed to have a C-section. It would just be too much stress on the baby to keep doing what we were doing.
That's where the "bitter" part is for us. My wife really didn't want to have a C-section. But with so much stress on the baby, it was the obvious choice.
Well, I just asked the doctor, "Doc, how long before y'all do the section?" He told me it'd be about 45 minutes. So, I said, "I'm starving, and I've got to get a bite of something to eat." He said, "Well, just hurry." And I told my wife, "Don't you let them wheel you out of here unless I'm back in the room with you. Fight 'em, if you have to." So, I hustle down to the hospital cafeteria, get one chicken breast fillet and a piece of cornbread, take one bite of the chicken, and my phone rings. It's my sister-in-law telling me I needed to get back upstairs. They had gotten there right after they told us we need to have a section. In fact, I had passed them on the way to the cafeteria. Anyway, I put the whole piece of chicken in my mouth and took off, leaving my Dad holding my plate. He understood.
I got back in what I thought was just the nick of time, only to play the waiting game for 15 more minutes. They took my wife as soon as I got back, and they ushered me into the recovery room to get robed up.
In the meantime, my wife had about 8 different people doing things to prep her for the C-section. She was definitely experiencing information overload. She was having to sign stuff left and right. It wasn't an "emergency" situation, at least that's not the impression they gave us initially, but it sure felt like an emergency, the way they were rushing everything. All the while, she's still having contractions and is still on oxygen. They told her they were going to start the incision, but if she could feel it, they would have to put her under general anesthesia. If they had to use general anesthesia, I wouldn't be able to come in. And the whole time, I'm totally in the dark; don't have a clue what's going on.
Here's the deal, when they said I had 45 minutes, they meant 45 minutes until I'd be holding my baby. I thought they meant 45 minutes until they started the procedure. You can see where I got confused, I hope. Now, the truth is, it was more like 30 minutes before I was holding my baby, but that's getting the cart before the horse.
This whole time, I'm a total wreck. I'm mad, because I think they're not going to let me be in there with my wife. I'm extra mad, because nobody's telling me anything. Until finally, a nurse walks into where I am and tells me I can come in now. I walk into a room, and it looks like a scene from a movie or something. The doctor looks up, scalpel in hand, smiles, and says, "Oh, there you are." They put me behind the curtain with my wife's head and arms (looked like she was being crucified on a table). She's got the shakes so bad it looks like she's having detox withrawals. Actually, it was the meds from the epidural. I don't really remember much except that I was VERY supportive and VERY encouraging. Just had to throw that in there.
I'm up there with my wife's head, and she says, "Ow, it feels like somebody's standing on my chest." I say, "Well, the doctor's not that big; he may be!" Also about that time, about 3/4 of the way into the procedure, the anesthesiologist says, "Would you like to have something for those shakes?" My wife just about came off the table when he said that, like, "Why didn't you ask me that 15 minutes ago?" And it's never a good thing when you look around and see your anesthesiologist messing with his iPhone while you're having surgery!
About that time, we heard someone say, "Oh, there's the head." Someone else said, "That's alot of hair." Then, a minute later, we heard something like a suction cup. I actually didn't hear it, but my wife did. Later, we found out they had to use a vacuum to get the baby out. I'm not sure if it was an Oreck or a Bissel. A minute later we heard a short cry, then silence for what seemed like an eternity. Actually, it was only about 3 seconds, but it seemed like forever. Then, the baby started really crying.
They brought the baby around the curtain for us to see, but at this point, they'd not said whether it was a boy baby or a girl baby. We were praying hard that it was a girl baby... because that's what it was supposed to be, and the whole nursery is pink! And sure enough, it was a girl baby. We both breathed a sigh of relief. And the anesthesiologist was polite enough to lay down his iPhone and take a picture of the three of us.
They let me take lots of pictures in the OR. She weighed 8lbs 2oz, and was 21 inches long. My dad's cousin said it was the first time in history that a baby was taller than it's father.
I asked my wife if she wanted me to stay with her or go with the baby to the nursery. She wanted me to go with the baby, so I did, while they stitched her up, which took a REALLY... LONG... TIME.
The details are fuzzy, but I remember getting to hold my little girl and carry her down the hall to the waiting room to meet my parents, my wife's parents, my wife's sister, and our next door neighbors, who were awfully sweet to drive up to see us.
I just kind of hung out in the nursery for the next 45 minutes or so, while they finished working on my wife. She FINALLY made it to the recovery room, but it was still about another 30 minutes before my wife got to see the baby again. My wife stayed in recovery for about 2 hours total. She was in terrible pain and was terribly thirsty. I, of course, came to her rescue by bringing her diet coke and water. With the pain, though, I wasn't so helpful.
Fast forward again. It's about 4:00pm. We got settled into a postpartum room, and that's where we've been ever since, for over 30 hours. Our baby is healthy and beautiful. She's got a head full of brown hair with blond highlights. She's perfect, and that's really all I can say. She is perfect.
God has blessed us so tremendously. My wife and I shared our first good cry a few hours ago, just looking at our baby girl and thinking about how blessed we are. We came into the hospital expecting a very long day of labor, but by 1:00pm we had our little girl. My wife and I are looking forward to watching her and helping her grow up into a smart, beautiful, godly woman.
Happy Birthday Evangeline
January 25th- one month after Christmas, the day after my sister Katie's birthday, and the day I first became a mommy! When I think about Evangeline's birth the thing I always remember is how excited I was. And now, two years later, I see things that remind me of her birth and I still get a little excited. For example, the NFC Championship the other night reminded me of how we watched the Saints beat the Vikings in the hotel room in Hattiesburg the night before she was born. I was excited about everything- giving birth, staying in the hospital, but most of all about meeting my daughter. It was a big day! The biggest moment of my life!
I am so very grateful to have our sweet Evangeline. She truly is a sweet and friendly kid! She's good at remembering people just like her daddy and always wants to know where everyone is and what they are doing. We've recently started letting her say some of her own prayers at night. Drew will say "Thank you God for ______" and she fills in the blank. She always remembers to thank God for Mommy, Blue Bell, and Trey. Sometimes she thanks God for other animals like my sister's dog Nestle, and my parent's dog, Fred. She usually thanks God for cake, too! (Can't blame her). Evangeline's "busy-ness" has slowed down a little bit, just in time for Trey's to pick up I'm afraid. She's still into a lot of stuff and has no fear. The fearlessness worries me a little bit because I'm pretty sure she'd go anywhere with anyone! She climbed into someone else's car after Bible study yesterday and was trying to strap herself in. When I approached her she said, "Bye, Mommy!" I'm sure that it would've been fun to hang out with Cora and her Mommy, too! Ha! She still loves cows, cheerleaders, "Bak Bak" (chicken nuggets), baths, and Wonder Pets, but new interests include watching Dora the Explorer, tending to her baby dolls, and Bible Time. She loves giving both eskimo and butterfly kisses to Daddy, Mommy, Trey, and sometimes Blue Bell! She'd kiss Edy, too, if the cat would let her.
There was a time (back in the fall of '08 and winter of '09) that I seriously wondered if I would ever be able to have children. It was a horrible time in my life. I was in agony and crying to God everyday that we could get pregnant and have a baby. Last night as I struggled bathing TWO babies all I could think was, "Thank you thank you Lord!" How blessed am I!
I was trying to remember what we did last year for Evangeline's actual birthday. I know that we went to Sears to get her portraits made after school. It was the first "hard" portrait session of many because Evangeline could walk and wanted to run all over the studio (something she still hasn't gotten past). We went to eat somewhere afterwards, but I can't remember where. Maybe I'll check FB Timeline to see! This morning we met Kelly (still very pregnant!), Micah, and Elizabeth at Chick-Fil-A. What a perfect place to play. Evangeline is just the right size for the play area and will climb up and go down the slide with no problems. We had a surprise visit from another (long-distant) cousin, Ethan, too! After lunch, a visit with Poppy (who couldn't find a thing on their menu he'd actually want to eat), and a birthday balloon, we headed home. We did a mini birthday celebration with the top to her birthday cake with Daddy and Trey. Evangeline only got a little upset by the candles this time. The fire reminds her of the "scary fireworks" from New Year's. We also gave her one of her birthday presents: a tricycle I bought at a yard sale for $5.00. Are we bad parents? We figured she could test this one out and if she likes it a lot, we'd get her a new one later. We did get her a few other things too including a Dora bath doll that was on the Clearance rack at Wal-mart.
This afternoon we're meeting my mom at Sears for two year old birthday pics. Keeping my fingers crossed for at least one good birthday shot! Happy Birthday sweet Evangeline! Mommy loves you!
I am so very grateful to have our sweet Evangeline. She truly is a sweet and friendly kid! She's good at remembering people just like her daddy and always wants to know where everyone is and what they are doing. We've recently started letting her say some of her own prayers at night. Drew will say "Thank you God for ______" and she fills in the blank. She always remembers to thank God for Mommy, Blue Bell, and Trey. Sometimes she thanks God for other animals like my sister's dog Nestle, and my parent's dog, Fred. She usually thanks God for cake, too! (Can't blame her). Evangeline's "busy-ness" has slowed down a little bit, just in time for Trey's to pick up I'm afraid. She's still into a lot of stuff and has no fear. The fearlessness worries me a little bit because I'm pretty sure she'd go anywhere with anyone! She climbed into someone else's car after Bible study yesterday and was trying to strap herself in. When I approached her she said, "Bye, Mommy!" I'm sure that it would've been fun to hang out with Cora and her Mommy, too! Ha! She still loves cows, cheerleaders, "Bak Bak" (chicken nuggets), baths, and Wonder Pets, but new interests include watching Dora the Explorer, tending to her baby dolls, and Bible Time. She loves giving both eskimo and butterfly kisses to Daddy, Mommy, Trey, and sometimes Blue Bell! She'd kiss Edy, too, if the cat would let her.
There was a time (back in the fall of '08 and winter of '09) that I seriously wondered if I would ever be able to have children. It was a horrible time in my life. I was in agony and crying to God everyday that we could get pregnant and have a baby. Last night as I struggled bathing TWO babies all I could think was, "Thank you thank you Lord!" How blessed am I!
I was trying to remember what we did last year for Evangeline's actual birthday. I know that we went to Sears to get her portraits made after school. It was the first "hard" portrait session of many because Evangeline could walk and wanted to run all over the studio (something she still hasn't gotten past). We went to eat somewhere afterwards, but I can't remember where. Maybe I'll check FB Timeline to see! This morning we met Kelly (still very pregnant!), Micah, and Elizabeth at Chick-Fil-A. What a perfect place to play. Evangeline is just the right size for the play area and will climb up and go down the slide with no problems. We had a surprise visit from another (long-distant) cousin, Ethan, too! After lunch, a visit with Poppy (who couldn't find a thing on their menu he'd actually want to eat), and a birthday balloon, we headed home. We did a mini birthday celebration with the top to her birthday cake with Daddy and Trey. Evangeline only got a little upset by the candles this time. The fire reminds her of the "scary fireworks" from New Year's. We also gave her one of her birthday presents: a tricycle I bought at a yard sale for $5.00. Are we bad parents? We figured she could test this one out and if she likes it a lot, we'd get her a new one later. We did get her a few other things too including a Dora bath doll that was on the Clearance rack at Wal-mart.
This afternoon we're meeting my mom at Sears for two year old birthday pics. Keeping my fingers crossed for at least one good birthday shot! Happy Birthday sweet Evangeline! Mommy loves you!
Friday, January 20, 2012
How to remove sharpie from a baby doll
Evangeline "decorated" both herself and her baby doll (the brand new one she got for Christmas!) with a blue sharpie. I have NO clue where the sharpie came from and how she got her hands on it. She can spot a "color" a mile away though. Thank goodness her brother was taking a nap in his room at the time! Frustrated because I was in the middle of doing the dishes from her birthday cake, I googled "how to remove sharpie" and came across a website with "8 ways to remove permanent marker."
- Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
- WD-40
- Anti-bacterial hand gel
- Hairspray
- Cooking spray
- Nail polish remover
- Bleach (depending on the surface)
- Goof Off
Having previously taught Science, I decided that I would turn this into a little experiment (and blog about it along the way).
Problem: Which product: anti-bacterial hand gel, hairspray, cooking spray, or nail polish remover best removes sharpie from the surface of a baby doll's head.
Hypothesis: I believe the nail polish remover will best remove the permanent marker stains from Evangeline's baby doll.
Procedure:
Step #1: Divide baby doll's head into four equal portions.
Step#2: Place hand sanitizer on one portion of the baby doll. Scrub for 1 minute.
Step #3: Spray one section of baby doll with hairspray. Scrub for 1 minute.
Step #4: Spray one section of baby doll with cooking spray. Scrub for 1 minute.
Step #5: Use nail polish remover on one section of baby doll. Scrub for 1 minute.
Step#6: Compare the results of each section.
Results:
The hand sanitizer appears to have done the best job. Next best was the nail polish remover, then the cooking spray and lastly the hairspray. The hairspray made little difference at all. The hand sanitizer still left behind some blue, so the poor baby doll will never be the same.
Conclusion: Keep all permanent writing utensils away from near-two year olds because there isn't really a magical solution to getting out the stains. My hypothesis was wrong: The hand-sanitizer is your best bet. Also, it may be a good idea to immediately apply the materials instead of first stopping to blog about it. I will keep scrubbing the rest of the doll with hand-sanitizer and hopefully it will look decent.
Extension: If I were to repeat this experiment (which I hopefully won't have to!) I could try different brands of hairspray, cooking spray, and hand-sanitizer. I used the Bath & Body Works Caribbean Escape brand of hand sanitizer, which made the baby smell really good, but may not have been as effective as Purel. And, I'm pretty sure my nail polish remover was several years old, so this could have cut down on its effectiveness. After the experiment concluded I tried some bleach, windex, carpet cleaner, and spray n wash, and none of those made a difference.
P.S. I have NO clue how to get the picture at the top to rotate. Any blog-savy people able to help?
Friday, November 25, 2011
Whatnot Black Friday
This is my version of "Whatnot Wednesday" except that it is occuring on Friday. Is that allowed?
*Yesterday we spent Thanksgiving afternoon at Aunt Pat's and dinner at my mom's. Evangeline's favorite part was seeing all of Uncle Mike's cows. Speaking of cows, she has discovered that our manger scene has a cow in it. I caught her "feeding" the cow earlier with a spoon.
*She also liked playing with my parent's new cat, Denny. Denny is super sweet and very tolerant of her, until she tried to turn his head all the way around.
*While I was taking a bath, I had Evangeline watching Sesame Street in her highchair and coloring in her coloring book. When I returned to the kitchen to check on her, she'd broken a small piece of crayon off and shoved it up her nose. Oops. She kept saying "nose, nose." Thankfully she was able to blow (not suck!) it out.
*I really didn't want to have to wake up Drew to tell him we needed to go to the Emergency Room. He is still tired from waiting 3 hours at Best Buy last night so that we could NOT buy a small TV and Blu-Ray player. It's okay, we didn't need either. They were purchases we considered when moving and decided we'd wait til Black Friday to buy.
*Drew's also still a little ill at me b/c I have lost my house keys. Or Evangeline lost them. Either way they're lost. I had to call him last night when he was almost at Best Buy to come home and let us in. Then, he hid a hide-a-key for me but didn't tell me where he hid it! We came home from shopping today and spent 15 minutes hunting it! (It was in my van, which is really smart!)
*Trey is running a fever that I REALLY hope is teething related. Poor baby! It was 100.5 earlier.
*I made asparagus casserole, a turkey cheese ball, and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. The sweet potatoes finally finished cooking today. They were very soupy and no one ate them last night. Everyone in my family said they didn't like sweet potatoes. I asked my mom why we made them then and she said for Sammy and Katie (neither of whom were there last night!). I had some not-as-soupy sweet potatoes for lunch today and they were really good!
*Evangeline just yelled STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!! at a chair.
*Tonight we are going to the Meridian Wildcats game! I am excited! Also excited to hear about the PRC/Picayune game tonight!
*Evangeline doesn't understand the concept of "fake fruit." She climbed on my mom's Thanksgiving table last night to get some plastic grapes and ran behind the counter at Yoo Yoo's today for some plastic oranges.
*I asked Drew earlier, "Do you remember when it was just us? Wasn't that kinda nice?" He said, "I remember when it was just me." Sweet, huh?
It has been a long day already!
*Yesterday we spent Thanksgiving afternoon at Aunt Pat's and dinner at my mom's. Evangeline's favorite part was seeing all of Uncle Mike's cows. Speaking of cows, she has discovered that our manger scene has a cow in it. I caught her "feeding" the cow earlier with a spoon.
*She also liked playing with my parent's new cat, Denny. Denny is super sweet and very tolerant of her, until she tried to turn his head all the way around.
*While I was taking a bath, I had Evangeline watching Sesame Street in her highchair and coloring in her coloring book. When I returned to the kitchen to check on her, she'd broken a small piece of crayon off and shoved it up her nose. Oops. She kept saying "nose, nose." Thankfully she was able to blow (not suck!) it out.
*I really didn't want to have to wake up Drew to tell him we needed to go to the Emergency Room. He is still tired from waiting 3 hours at Best Buy last night so that we could NOT buy a small TV and Blu-Ray player. It's okay, we didn't need either. They were purchases we considered when moving and decided we'd wait til Black Friday to buy.
*Drew's also still a little ill at me b/c I have lost my house keys. Or Evangeline lost them. Either way they're lost. I had to call him last night when he was almost at Best Buy to come home and let us in. Then, he hid a hide-a-key for me but didn't tell me where he hid it! We came home from shopping today and spent 15 minutes hunting it! (It was in my van, which is really smart!)
*Trey is running a fever that I REALLY hope is teething related. Poor baby! It was 100.5 earlier.
*I made asparagus casserole, a turkey cheese ball, and sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. The sweet potatoes finally finished cooking today. They were very soupy and no one ate them last night. Everyone in my family said they didn't like sweet potatoes. I asked my mom why we made them then and she said for Sammy and Katie (neither of whom were there last night!). I had some not-as-soupy sweet potatoes for lunch today and they were really good!
*Evangeline just yelled STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!! at a chair.
*Tonight we are going to the Meridian Wildcats game! I am excited! Also excited to hear about the PRC/Picayune game tonight!
*Evangeline doesn't understand the concept of "fake fruit." She climbed on my mom's Thanksgiving table last night to get some plastic grapes and ran behind the counter at Yoo Yoo's today for some plastic oranges.
*I asked Drew earlier, "Do you remember when it was just us? Wasn't that kinda nice?" He said, "I remember when it was just me." Sweet, huh?
It has been a long day already!
Monday, November 14, 2011
First Santa Sighting
While we were shopping in Gymboree, Santa Claus came in and paid us a visit. I have been nervous about how Evangeline would act towards Santa since her mega-meltdown with the Easter Bunny. But, she was SO happy to see him. And, he was the sweetest Santa ever! He was apparently bored because for some reason no one was there to visit him on a Monday morning in mid-November. So, he spent a lot of time talking to her and asking her if she was being good, etc. (Thankfully he didn't see her later pull off her shirt and stroll around topless all through JcPenney). Then, he gave her a sticker (which Evangeline later ate) and she said, "Bye Bye Santa." Keeping my fingers crossed for a good picture when she goes for an "official" visit closer to Christmas.
P.S. Trey slept through the entire Santa visit, but I'm sure he'll enjoy a visit with Santa soon enough.
P.S. Trey slept through the entire Santa visit, but I'm sure he'll enjoy a visit with Santa soon enough.
Good Memory
I am so impressed with how good Evangeline's memory is. Especially when it involves something fun! She still asks if we're going to see cows everytime I put her in the boots she wore to the petting zoo at the fair six weeks ago!
She kept pointing at one of my cabinets the other day and saying "Fru Ruh Ruh!" again and again. I had no clue what she wanted until I remembered that we had some fruit roll-ups in that cabinet from an activity from church and I had given her one once.
My dad and I took her to the Meridian High game Friday night and she went CRAZY walking in when she remembered this was the place that we saw cheerleaders. She loves her some cheerleaders and is so fascinated by them. We spent a whopping five minutes at the last football game we went to, so I was impressed that she even remembered the cheerleaders.
Yesterday we went to Oak Grove to eat with Drew's family. We were still in the parking lot and Evangeline noticed where we were at started saying, "Cah cah! Be Be! Ride! Mouse!" over and over again. She loves playing with Micah and Elizabeth and remembers that Poppy always takes them for a ride in a wheelchair. She also remembers playing with a mouse in a box in Poppy's office. She was so excited about going for a ride that she wouldn't even eat (not that she eats much anyway).
Today we went to Belk's to return something and before we even got close to where the play area was she started saying "slide? slide? slide?" No memories of the little boy who had pushed her off the slide, thankfully. I am glad that she is still at an age where I can say, "Yes, that's the slide that we played on Saturday. Say 'bye bye' slide" without a complete meltdown.
She kept pointing at one of my cabinets the other day and saying "Fru Ruh Ruh!" again and again. I had no clue what she wanted until I remembered that we had some fruit roll-ups in that cabinet from an activity from church and I had given her one once.
My dad and I took her to the Meridian High game Friday night and she went CRAZY walking in when she remembered this was the place that we saw cheerleaders. She loves her some cheerleaders and is so fascinated by them. We spent a whopping five minutes at the last football game we went to, so I was impressed that she even remembered the cheerleaders.
Yesterday we went to Oak Grove to eat with Drew's family. We were still in the parking lot and Evangeline noticed where we were at started saying, "Cah cah! Be Be! Ride! Mouse!" over and over again. She loves playing with Micah and Elizabeth and remembers that Poppy always takes them for a ride in a wheelchair. She also remembers playing with a mouse in a box in Poppy's office. She was so excited about going for a ride that she wouldn't even eat (not that she eats much anyway).
Today we went to Belk's to return something and before we even got close to where the play area was she started saying "slide? slide? slide?" No memories of the little boy who had pushed her off the slide, thankfully. I am glad that she is still at an age where I can say, "Yes, that's the slide that we played on Saturday. Say 'bye bye' slide" without a complete meltdown.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Cracking the Evangeline Code
That last blog post wore me out. So, here's for something a little less serious... This post is dedicated to anyone who sees my daughter on a regular basis and has to "crack the Evangeline code."
Evangeline's language development has really been fascinating to experience. When she first started talking she would emphasize one predominant sound in a word. For example, "Daddy" was "Dada." Edy- "E", Blue Bell- "Buh Buh." Now that her language development has progressed, she can say some pretty big words, such as "cheerleader" and "noodle." The fascinating thing is that the words she learned earliest, she still can't or won't say correctly. Blue Bell is STILL Buh Buh, yet she can say cheerleader? Here are some of Evangeline's words in case you should ever have a conversation with her.
Wub Wub- "Love Cub" or pacifier
Mok Mok- milk
Shh- Fish
Nak- Snack, or feed me please
Ih-ur- It hurts
Skuk- stuck, or "get me out!"
Choc Choc- chocolate, or "put some chocolate in my milk"
Be Be- Elizabeth
Cah Cah- Micah
Pay Pay- Wonder Pets, "or turn on the TV"
Ba- Bath
Ski Ski- Stinky
Can can- candy
Shin Shin- lotion
Cutter- Color, or "I really want to use this pen to write on something"
Ta Tide- Roll Tide
Da-shur- Yes Sir
Kay Kay- Aunt Katie
Keh Keh- Aunt Kelly
Mer Mer- Mrs. Mary
Bo Be- Brown Bear
Moon!- Goodnight Moon
Kinku- Thank You
Smore- Some more
Mou- mouse
Bybull- Bible
I know there are tons more that I just can't think of. It is so fun watching her grow and develop into a person who is almost capable of carrying on a conversation with me!
Evangeline's language development has really been fascinating to experience. When she first started talking she would emphasize one predominant sound in a word. For example, "Daddy" was "Dada." Edy- "E", Blue Bell- "Buh Buh." Now that her language development has progressed, she can say some pretty big words, such as "cheerleader" and "noodle." The fascinating thing is that the words she learned earliest, she still can't or won't say correctly. Blue Bell is STILL Buh Buh, yet she can say cheerleader? Here are some of Evangeline's words in case you should ever have a conversation with her.
Wub Wub- "Love Cub" or pacifier
Mok Mok- milk
Shh- Fish
Nak- Snack, or feed me please
Ih-ur- It hurts
Skuk- stuck, or "get me out!"
Choc Choc- chocolate, or "put some chocolate in my milk"
Be Be- Elizabeth
Cah Cah- Micah
Pay Pay- Wonder Pets, "or turn on the TV"
Ba- Bath
Ski Ski- Stinky
Can can- candy
Shin Shin- lotion
Cutter- Color, or "I really want to use this pen to write on something"
Ta Tide- Roll Tide
Da-shur- Yes Sir
Kay Kay- Aunt Katie
Keh Keh- Aunt Kelly
Mer Mer- Mrs. Mary
Bo Be- Brown Bear
Moon!- Goodnight Moon
Kinku- Thank You
Smore- Some more
Mou- mouse
Bybull- Bible
I know there are tons more that I just can't think of. It is so fun watching her grow and develop into a person who is almost capable of carrying on a conversation with me!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
What's going on at our house
Today has been one of those days where we haven't done anything but yet I'm still super tired! Evangeline spent the better half of her morning running things back to our master bathroom shower (aka "Drew's shower"). I finally followed her back there and discovered: an umbrella, pacifier, ear plugs, my diet coke (that I was still drinking on), her sippy cup, and a flashlight. That shower is like her very own clubhouse.
Other than toting stuff back to the shower, Evangeline's new favorite thing to do is "color." Anything that writes is a "color." This includes pens. She went nuts on Monday at Sam's wanting to "color!" while I was signing the receipt. Thankfully, the cashier gave Evangeline a pen and paper so she could color, too. Yesterday I let her "color" with a blue marker while I was working on a poster board for our Fall Fest. Big mistake. She still has some blue left on her after two baths. I would let the child color with her crayons if I could find any of them. I'm pretty sure she threw them down our vents. I have a fear that Ming Ming and about six of our pacifiers are down there, too. Really hoping I'm wrong and these things just "turn up." Yes, I have checked Drew's shower for them.
Trey turned five months old today and celebrated by finally being big enough to pick back at his big sister. He stole her paci right out of her mouth. She screamed and screamed and screamed! That is one way to make Evangeline VERY mad- steal her "Wub Wub." I know I shouldn't have, but I laughed really hard.
Just looked outside and Blue Bell is chewing on another mouse. Edy and another cat are hanging out in the wood pile near the construction site behind our house. That little corner has become quite the popular kitty hang-out!
I just fed Evangeline some cake and peaches which are now ALL OVER THE FLOOR. Maybe I can persuade Blue Bell to give up the mouse for some cake???
Other than toting stuff back to the shower, Evangeline's new favorite thing to do is "color." Anything that writes is a "color." This includes pens. She went nuts on Monday at Sam's wanting to "color!" while I was signing the receipt. Thankfully, the cashier gave Evangeline a pen and paper so she could color, too. Yesterday I let her "color" with a blue marker while I was working on a poster board for our Fall Fest. Big mistake. She still has some blue left on her after two baths. I would let the child color with her crayons if I could find any of them. I'm pretty sure she threw them down our vents. I have a fear that Ming Ming and about six of our pacifiers are down there, too. Really hoping I'm wrong and these things just "turn up." Yes, I have checked Drew's shower for them.
Trey turned five months old today and celebrated by finally being big enough to pick back at his big sister. He stole her paci right out of her mouth. She screamed and screamed and screamed! That is one way to make Evangeline VERY mad- steal her "Wub Wub." I know I shouldn't have, but I laughed really hard.
Just looked outside and Blue Bell is chewing on another mouse. Edy and another cat are hanging out in the wood pile near the construction site behind our house. That little corner has become quite the popular kitty hang-out!
I just fed Evangeline some cake and peaches which are now ALL OVER THE FLOOR. Maybe I can persuade Blue Bell to give up the mouse for some cake???
Monday, October 24, 2011
Bath time
The first time we ever bathed Evangeline she was two days old and recently home from the hospital. She screamed and screamed and screamed. For starters, it was probably too cold for her. And I put way too much baby shampoo in her hair which took forever to wash out. Plus, at two days old, she just really didn't want to be bothered, something true of most newborns. We caught every minute of it on video and plan on showing her friends someday once she's in high school. :)
After about her fourth bath, however, she LOVED it, and has loved baths since. Drew and I have joked that if Evangeline could take a bath while watching Wonder Pets and eating french fries, she would be the happiest little girl in the world.
Last night, suddenly, and completely out of nowhere, Evangeline refused to take a bath. By "refused" I mean she threw an absolute screaming temper tantrum when I tried to set her in the tub. Huh? Totally uncharacteristic behavior of a child who I frequently find hanging out in the dry tub saying and signing "bath?"
WARNING: GROSS OUT MOMENT COMING. DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE GROSSED OUT! WARNING!!!!!
Saturday night during her bath Evangeline pooped in the tub. Told you it was gross. She was screaming "Poo Poo!!!!" and I quickly pulled her out and set her on her potty (which she has still not used though she enjoys sitting on it). Last night while refusing to get in the tub, she was also screaming "Poo Poo!" I thought (hopefully) "Oh! Maybe she has to go potty and doesn't want to poop in the tub again." Not the case. She kept looking around the tub for the poo poo and crying about it. So, I stopped trying to force her to take a bath and figured we'd try later. She doesn't HAVE to take a bath every night, I thought. The main reason she gets baths every night is because she so frequently asks to take one anyway.
This morning I left her unattended a little too long in her highchair with some applesauce. You can probably picture the scene that I discovered. The worst part was that she had quite a bit of applesauce in her hair. So, guess what time it was? Bath time! Well, she did it again! Screamed and screamed all about "poo poo" and "mama out!" I tried the potty. Nothing. I assured her that mommy had cleaned the tub. With bleach! If I had taken two baths in it then it was certainly clean! Reason doesn't work well with a toddler. I finally had to force her to at least stand in the tub while I washed out her hair (though w/o soap).
I am hopeful this is a short phase and she will forget about the poo poo soon. I am wondering (seriously) if she is OCD and wants to be clean and is grossed out by the poop. Tonight if she freaks out I am going to try to see if she will get in Drew's shower. If not, plan C is that I take her to my mom's tub. I miss my happy bathing girl!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Now I Know My ABC's
I realize that Evangeline is way too young to be learning her alphabet, but she has a neat little trick that she can now do. Show her the letter, "I," and ask what it is and she will say, "I." I've impressed quite a few people with that until I then showed her an "E" and she also says it's an "I." Not sure why "I" is her first letter, other than it is one that is in her name and we've been playing with the name puzzle I bought her for Christmas lately.
A little while ago I was listening as she played with her Leap Frog laptop. She pushed the "T" button and repeated "T, Ta, Tutull" Then the "O", "O, Ah, Oc Oc." Very sweet. I'm glad she likes learning and hope she stays that way!
A little while ago I was listening as she played with her Leap Frog laptop. She pushed the "T" button and repeated "T, Ta, Tutull" Then the "O", "O, Ah, Oc Oc." Very sweet. I'm glad she likes learning and hope she stays that way!
Cookies
Today Evangeline and I made sugar cookies together, our first official mother/daughter baking activity. At least, I decided to make them and Evangeline was happy to join in, as she likes anything that's messy, sticky, and tastes good.
Evangeline had a great time playing in the flour, licking the cookie cutters (we probably won't be sharing these cookies with anyone but family!), pretending the cookie cutters were bracelets, trying to sneak cookie dough when I wasn't watching, and throwing little bits of cookie dough on the floor. Overall, I'd say it was a successful mother/daughter baking experience and I look forward to many more! Maybe we'll even branch out and ice or decorate them next time!
I was inspired by several things. First, my sincere love of cookies. They really are my absolute favorite food. Especially iced sugar cookies from Jody's bakery in Hattiesburg. That's one thing I really enjoyed about giving birth at Forrest General: the promise of Jody's cookies from across the street shortly afterward. I had already eaten a frosted duck before learning that I was on a liquid diet following my c-section with Evangeline. Oops. I wonder, if we have any more kids, who will love me enough to drive down to Hburg and get me Jodys now that we live an hour and a half away?
I was also inspired by the yummy cookies I had at my sister-in-law Kelly's yesterday, though hers were made from scratch. Mine were from a Pillsbury buy-one-get-one-free special at Winn Dixie and I had used the other roll Sunday night at Kid's Rock to make little baskets to place baby Moses (a teddy graham wrapped in a fruit roll-up) in.
I wanted to go with a fall theme, so we made a pumpkin, cat, and moon. The moon was more because Evangeline really likes the moon right now because of always reading Goodnight Moon. I'm sad to say that our pumpkins look more like ovals and the cat is a big blob. The moon is pretty recognizable, though when my mom came over she asked if it was a ghost. I guess that would be more along the lines of fall. Evangeline had a great time playing in the flour, licking the cookie cutters (we probably won't be sharing these cookies with anyone but family!), pretending the cookie cutters were bracelets, trying to sneak cookie dough when I wasn't watching, and throwing little bits of cookie dough on the floor. Overall, I'd say it was a successful mother/daughter baking experience and I look forward to many more! Maybe we'll even branch out and ice or decorate them next time!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Close Calls
We've had several "that almost landed us at the ER" calls here lately. The first was about a week ago when Evangeline did a swan dive off of the couch into the coffee table. She hit the corner of the table with her forehead really hard. I was immediately on the scene, but was scared to move her at first. I slowly sat her up and as I did her eyeballs rolled back into her head and then she kind of had this glazed-over look to her. I really think she almost passed out! Scared to death, I shouted for Drew to come in there and by that point Evangeline was screaming her head off and had a huge knot. After a five minute struggle with the ice pack, she was her usual spunky self again. She did have a scratch on her head and I think had she bumped the corner at a different angle, she might have busted her head open. Praise the Lord it wasn't anything worse!
Last night Drew and I were in the living room and had left Evangeline un-attended in the kitchen (a RARE occurance) watching Wonder Pets on the laptop. We heard a big thud followed by a wail and soon discovered she had fallen out of the chair. I was afraid she had hit her face or head, but the injury appears to have been to one of her knees.
This morning I was doing laundry and I fell stepping down into the laundry room. I didn't hit the ground, but DID hit the washing machine with my arm. I had an immediate knot and could not move my arm for a good five minutes. I called Drew (good thing he's so close by) to come help me out for a few minutes. Evangeline had taken advantage of my injury and was helping herself to a bag of tortilla chips. Trey, thankfully, was asleep. I still have a knot and bruise on my arm, but it looks like I'll survive! Another Praise the Lord moment! In this clumsy family, we definitely are needing His protection a lot!
Last night Drew and I were in the living room and had left Evangeline un-attended in the kitchen (a RARE occurance) watching Wonder Pets on the laptop. We heard a big thud followed by a wail and soon discovered she had fallen out of the chair. I was afraid she had hit her face or head, but the injury appears to have been to one of her knees.
This morning I was doing laundry and I fell stepping down into the laundry room. I didn't hit the ground, but DID hit the washing machine with my arm. I had an immediate knot and could not move my arm for a good five minutes. I called Drew (good thing he's so close by) to come help me out for a few minutes. Evangeline had taken advantage of my injury and was helping herself to a bag of tortilla chips. Trey, thankfully, was asleep. I still have a knot and bruise on my arm, but it looks like I'll survive! Another Praise the Lord moment! In this clumsy family, we definitely are needing His protection a lot!
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