cute

Is there anything as cute as little Evelyn {7 weeks} in a stocking cap?

Perhaps three kids in stocking caps!!

Or, maybe three cousins in hats!!

I guess any way you look at it, kids in hats are just CUTE!!

Blessing Day

On November 30, 2008 Evelyn was given a name and a blessing by her father.

The day was wonderful, the kind of day that make me pause again and give thanks for the many blessings in my life.

KC, Megan and Evelyn

My three beautiful children, Stella, Sam and Evelyn.

The family that gathered for the event. We are thankful for their support and love.

The cousins (Andros) gathered in their matching outfits that Nana made for them. Of course, Evie couldn't stand or sit to pose for this photo, so she is being held by her mama!

Haircut

Yesterday afternoon as I sat feeding Evelyn, Stella and Sam were running wildly around the house (as they are prone to do when I am occupied). As Stella ran by I noticed a big chunk of short hair right by her face. "What happened to your HAIR?" I said in shock. She quickly covered it up and said, "nothing." I begin to inspecting and then I asked, "Did you CUT your hair?" She looked at me with shock, as though I might be a genius for having figured this out.

Here she is with her chunk of short hair.

She finally admitted her actions and I asked where she did it. In the guest room of course, where I had been wrapping presents and left some scissors out (yes, I take some responsibility as well).

When she took me up to show me the scene of the crime, this is what we saw....



So much for growing her hair long!

Brotherly Love

Evelyn 2 weeks

Sammy has gotten very good at "loving" baby Evie. He likes to give her kisses and rub her head. He tries to say her name and it comes out in two different ways.

One version sounds like baby "Heavenly."

The other version is baby "Eledin"

Both ways sound absolutely adorable coming out of his little mouth. He has become a very fuent speaker and talks in full sentences all the time now. He will come and sit by me while I feed Evelyn and say, "Baby Eledin drinks mommy milk and Sammy drinks fridge milk." He is trying to figure out all the differences between he and baby. He also tells me, " I a boy and Stella and baby Heavenly are girls."

I could go on with all of the things he is learning and saying...but I won't.

Lost

Friday, Nov. 7, 2008

Lost: One tooth

Found: By the tooth fairy

Received: A monetary donation from said fairy....

Saturday morning found us awakened very early by one very excited Stella, proudly showing off her treasure!!!

(this tooth has been on the verge off falling out for months...)

First Days

4 days

4 days

3 days

2 days old

As our 7th day together is here, we have spent every moment together. We are learning about each other and falling more in love each day. Your brother and sister adore you and beg to hold and kiss you. Daddy is home with us and taking care of our family.

We are spending our time nursing, cuddling, nursing, diapering, nursing, sleeping, nursing and growing.

Arrival

Evelyn Tessa



Wed. October 29, 2009 (Grandpa's birthday)
9:52 p.m
7lb. 1 0z.
20 1/2 in.

She is beautiful and we are in love.

Autumn Enjoyment

Stella and Sam harvesting the pumpkins in our yard. An abundant supply of mini pumpkins to decorate our house. We've yet to achieve KC's goal of growing a "giant" pumpkin...


KC and kids with caramel apples that we made for Family Night. Delicious!!! Since the making of those apples, there is one very pregnant mommy in our house that CAN'T stop thinking about caramel apples....

Momentums

I'll start this post with a little story, that happened years ago, sometime after learning to drive but before being married...

I am one of SIX children and we all lived at home together for a period of time before we began dispersing. Most Saturdays we spent some quality time cleaning the house and preparing for the Sabbath. It was a busy, crazy day as you can imagine with all of us home and working to some degree or another.

One time during the cleaning and organizing, my dad told us to go through stuff and see what we could pass on or get rid of. He said, "just pick out your favorite MOMENTUMS to save." WHAT? Momentums? After a couple of giggles on our part (our duty, as teenagers) we said, "Do you mean MEMENTOS?" Yes, yes he did...

Over the years that has taken on fond memories and as I de-junk and organize my house, I make sure to save my most special MOMENTUMS and I ALWAYS think of that story about my dad.

These shells are "momentums" that we gathered at the Oregon Coast last summer. They sit in my kitchen windowsill and they bring peaceful times to mind. They remind me of hours on the beach with family. They remind me that my kids will have MOMENTUMS too and we are building those MOMENTS right now!

Sam

Sam had his birthday a month ago and I am just now downloading the pics. He loved having family over for his party and eating cake and opening packages.

He had his two year well check up. He is healthy and growing and did quite well at his appointment. He was 36 1/2in. tall which keeps him above the 90% still and the BIG news was that he finally crawled out of the 25% for weight and came in at 29 lbs. which put him all the way in the 50%. He is STILL long and lean!

Also, remember this CRAZY hair? We have loved it all summer and received many comments on how BLONDE he is, some have said it kind of glows (mostly because his skin is so brown and his eyes are so dark). His daddy called him his "surfer dude" but with the change of seasons also came a haircut.

This is Sam sporting his new "do". I cut it (don't look too closely) and I tried to leave it a little longer because it is so cute. It cuts down on the maintenance--it takes a long time to comb "bedhead" out with all that long hair.

If You Give A Mommy A Minute

This photo of me as I approach 34 weeks, is included for a friend, who asked...

If You Give A Mommy A Minute (alone)

If you give a mommy a minute (alone) she might decide to get on the computer and do some exploring on Facebook.

Once the mommy gets on Facebook, she might remember her dear friend Danena, whom she has long since lost contact with but still thinks about.

While she is there in the quiet, she will probably try ONE MORE time to Google her friend and see if she has any more luck than the last few times.

Once she hits enter, a name and address will pop up for her friend and that will make her so excited that she will grab the phone and call her, RIGHT THEN!

While calling, she might be a little nervous, because it has been AT LEAST 8 years since she has talked to her friend.

When Danena answers, the sound of her voice will take the mommy right back in time to when they USED to talk all the time.

During their talk, they will discover all of the NEW things that they have in common, nowadays, such as 4 year olds and 2 year olds and pregnancy.

This talking will then bring back all the fun times that they had together. The shopping, and double dates, movie nights, cookie making, wedding planning etc.

The mommy will feel so happy that she looked up her old friend, that she will decide to pull out some photos and reminisce.

She will decide that these photos and memories deserve a spot on her blog and THAT will lead her RIGHT BACK to her computer during her

NEXT QUIET MOMENT (alone)

School Time

Last week we started Preschool. I say "we" because we are in our second year of doing a Co-Op Preschool. Last year we had 5 kids, including Stella and this year we have grown to 7 kids. Stella has been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks, ever since the neighbor kids started boarding the school bus. She looks forward to the days when she will ride a school bus. From her bedroom window she can watch the busses in the neighborhood come and go and she keeps track of which friends are home from school.
We had school at our house last week. I'm not sure, but I think that I have as much fun as she does! I love to plan and prep for the two days of learning and fun and see the kids smiling little faces when they accomplish their "projects". Of course, we used glitter, because I am such a fan!
They had fun getting to know each other again, and meet new kids and make new friends. It is amazing how much they have grown up since last year.

This is Stella during school, thrilled with the hat that she made and giggling with her friends. You can't beat a happy face like that!

As fun as it is at our house, she has been thrilled this week to go to someone else's house. We look forward to another great Preschool year.

Accomplishment

We have planted a garden that is big enough to feed three families!! We eat all that we can, take it to neighbors and then usually still have produce rotting on the ground. This year I finally followed though on my thoughts to PRESERVE or can some of our goods.

I have done some canning in the past, with my mom to show me how. I have never attempted on my own, at our house, to bottle anything. I learned from an Enrichment class how to bottle tomatoes and so began the process.

I picked a 4 gallon bucket of tomatoes one day and put them in my sink so that I would be forced to do SOMETHING with them. KC was a great sport and we stood together at the sink and peeled tomatoes two different nights after the kids were in bed. As we stood there one night, he said, " It feels like we're in an episode of Frontier House!"

Now, while we don't really expect a filming crew to show up tomorrow and document our back to basic living, I did have to agree with him. Though people have been doing this for decades, and we certainly aren't the only people to be doing this now, we felt rather pioneer-ish. It was pioneering for US.

I feel a good sense of accomplishment as I put those bottles on my storage shelves and know that we did it! Bits of my garden, in bottles, on my shelves for use all winter long. Also, REAL admiration for those before us, who preserved ALL of their food for the winter!

The funniest thing

Today was lawn mowing day. It takes me about an hour to get the job done. Luckily for me, it has cooled down enough that it is not a terrible task. The kids play in the yard while I mow and the dog, Sherman, follows me around hoping I'll stop and play fetch with him.

After the mowing was done. I quickly washed the grass off my shoes and socks and then took them off and left them by the back door. The kids and I went back inside to get some breakfast going. We had been in only a few minutes when I see Sherman bolt across the yard with a white thing in his mouth.

I run out there to stop him, muttering "stupid dog" the whole way. I tell him "NO" and send him to his kennel to be punished and then retrieve my socks and shoes from under the trampoline (his favorite stashing spot).

When I came back inside Stella asked, "What did he get THIS time?"
I said, "Just my socks, and I got them back."
She replied, "Wanna send 'em to Goodwill?'
I said, " What, the socks?"
She looked at me completely serious and said, " NO, SHERMAN!"

I was so startled that laughed and replied, "Sometimes, I want to sweetie!"

Projects

I think it's official... I'm in nesting mode. I've been making list and checking them twice. All the projects that have been in need of doing (or finishing) since Sam was born are coming to the top.

We have moved into new houses during both of my other pregnancies, right around the half way point. It has always given me enough time to unpack the necessary things and hang a few things on the wall (20 weeks, I know, I'm slow). The remainder of the things--probably unnecessary have just gathered in the garage. Now, two years later I am pregnant and we are NOT moving. So, what better to do than take action on the garage. Three car garage, surely we should be able to park at least ONE car in there. I am glad to say we have reduced the amount of boxes by about 20, still a ways to go, but there is a light at the end of our tunnel--Oh wait, maybe it's the day light of the garage door--hmmm, never seen that before!

Also, I've been wanting to paint the family room, I'm tired of the flat paint and it's unwashability! I bought paint and showed it to Dear Hubby and he informed me that painting wasn't really on HIS list of projects and to have fun! Of course, on Saturday when I started painting and pulled out a step ladder, he wasn't about to let me climb on that thing....and he started painting all the edges, high and low. What a guy! He even let Stella have her MUCH desired turn at painting. He has far more patience than mommy does!

Birthday Boy

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Sam is our little man. The boy who melted my heart from the first moment I held him and we just stared into each other's eyes. He is a self proclaimed "mama's boy" and insists that I do most things for him. He loves to play and run. He gives the best hugs and kisses. He can be quick to be fiesty but equally as quick to say "torry".

I think that perhaps this slideshow was mostly for me. A moment to remember my baby and crawler and toddler and now TWO year old. Time to think about how quickly my babies are growing and how grateful I am for them.

Cheers for Sam on his birthday and may the coming year bring as many laughs, tears, and energy as the past ones.

HAPPY DAY MY LITTLE ONE!

Search and Find

The other day as I was showering, Sam was running around in my closet "entertaining" himself. Usually, this means making messes in my clothes and shoes....
After a few minutes he started calling, "Mama, Mama" and I (while washing my hair) would reply, "What?" This went on for a couple of minutes until the calls turned into whimpers from little man. I jumped out of the shower to go and "rescue" him, assuming that he had dumped a pile of clothes on himself or couldn't get a pair of shoes on.
Instead, I walk in and CAN'T see him anywhere....

CAN YOU FIND THE SAM IN THIS PICTURE??????

He had climbed onto this organizer and gotten stuck--I had to follow the whimpers to find him.

At the Beach

We made the trek to the Oregon Coast last week. It really only seems like a trek when traveling with kids (maybe just mine). This year we traveled with the GPS plugged in, which really made the trip nice and smooth, no harrowing moments on the freeways of Portland.

We were lucky enough to spend the week with the entire Andros family. Everyone made it this year! There was lots of great food, sand, cousins, games and late nights (not lots of sun). Last Christmas we all got wetsuits (because we do get completely wet and it IS COLD) and boogie boards. Those brave enough --and not pregnant--gave it a try and got beat around by the waves.

KC and kids playing in the waves.
Sammy loved his beach ball!

Stella loved the water and didn't seemed to mind the cold one bit!

KC and Megan at the bottom of the sand dunes.

Stella and Chloe at the tide pools, enjoying a happy cousin moment.

The Williams family on the first night at the beach at sunset.
All of the cousins gathered for pictures (not seen: all the parents trying to get their kids to smile and look at the camera at the same time)

summer

These two weren't interested in being pulled on the tube behind the jet ski, but they LOVED being pulled around on the grass!

Remember Sam's brown hair? Gone--bleach blonde now.

Anniversary

July 27th is the day KC and I were married, six years ago.
Not too long ago...it feels like just yesterday.
We had a nice evening together on Friday to celebrate and we talked about how fast the last six years have flown by. It feels like the fastest 6 years of my life!

My life had never been so full, busy, happy and blessed as it has been during these years.

Our 6 years together have brought us many things.

Two career changes.
Two new letters behind KC's name (ATC & RN)
Two beautiful children
Two states lived in
Two houses
One newlywed apt. with a view!
One big, furry dog
Many new friends
Blessings too many to count!

He is the truest man I know. A more thoughtful person I could not find. He is my friend and Eternally my mate.

Happy Anniversary!

25 weeks

Here it is....documentation of my current status. I realized the other day that I have NO photos of me during this pregnancy. What need is there to take photos of me when I have TWO cute subjects to take pics of instead?

As I laid down the other night to sleep, the littlest Williams began it's usual stirring. Some nights it feels like "Baby Gone Wild" in there. Of course, little one usually begins the antics the minute I lay down to get some much needed rest. The wranglings in there typically result in me making ANOTHER trip to the bathroom.

Anyway, I was there thinking about all the commotion inside and started thinking of how nice it is. I LOVE to feel the baby and it gives me some time out of my otherwise busy mom life to think about our coming little one. I am grateful to have to children and to be pregnant. It is EXCITING! We are not finding out the gender this time and that is an additional little perk of excitement.

So, here I am, a little over half way. Definitely looking more pregnant than my first and second times, enjoying pregnancy and mommy hood. Thankful for my ALL of my babies and glad for all the blessings in my life.

(p.s. in 10 weeks or so, I may need reminding of my current comfortable and happy state)

conversation

Tonight at dinner, we began asking Stella about her swim lessons. She told us in detail with her big, blue eyes wide open, about all the things they have been doing.
Daddy says, "Who is in her class?"
Mommy replies, " Blank and blank, (two neighbor boys)"
Daddy asks, " Is she the only girl?"
Mommy replies, " No, there is one other little girl, I don't know who she is"
Daddy asks Stella, "Do you know who the other girl in your class is?"
Stella asks, "You mean the girl that sits next to me?"
Daddy, "Yes"
Stella, "No, I haven't meant her yet."
Daddy, " No you know her name?"
Stella, "I think it's probably Bambi." (said with a nod, because she is pretty sure)

Daddy and Mommy are trying to suppress the giggles as we are pretty sure, that's probably not her name.

Two

Sam will soon be two.

Yesterday morning he fought be to pick out his own shirt and short-mismatched of course.

Then he insisted on wearing his boots.

Finally, he found a stocking cap to wear on his head.

Soon, he was outside in the 100 degree temps. with his boots and hat, sweating up a storm.

Then he soaked himself with the hose, sloshing away in his wet boots.

After a while, I stripped him down and he went commando.

SAM WILL SOON BE TWO!

Mud Buddies

As I have previously mentioned, we have been working in our yard lately. We have cut up sod, had concrete poured, and now are working on some landscaping borders. It will all be very nice and decorative when it is done. But, in the meantime, it means lots of dirt! Dirt is one thing to be reckoned with and it alone is not so bad. When you mix water and two kids in with it, you have a BIG MESS! DAILY! Maybe several times DAILY!
I have always thought of myself as pretty laid back about messes and dirt, after all, it's a kid's right and job to play and make messes! Lately, I find myself about to pull my hair out about all the mud, everywhere. On the towels, on the tile, carpet, stairs, sheets, you name it, we've mudded it!
I finally think I have come to a compromise though. I have started just putting the kids in their swimsuits anytime they head to the back yard. Then, before they come back inside, I just hose them down--head to toe. I will admit, this is kind of rewarding for me as well. They squeal and giggle and promise they'll never play in the mud again. . .

I know the truth, they'll be back at it before lunch!
They are certainly taking their "kid responsibilities" seriously. They play hard, get dirty, pretend, eat Popsicles and enjoy life with the best!

I'm turning into. . .

Stella has been very excited lately to notice that when her hair is wet, it is getting "super" long. She is infatuated with the idea of having long hair like so and so --and she names off her many friends with long beautiful hair. Unfortunately, her hair has always been so fine and blonde that I have always kept it shorter to make it appear thicker.

Well, she informed me recently that she is growing her hair long! We'll give it a try.

Today she said, "Mom, pretty soon I will turn into Chloe!"

I, not understanding, said "What do you mean?"

Stella replied, "Well, my hair is getting longer and so I will turn into Chloe!"

Chloe is her closest cousin, who has beautiful, curly, LONG, red hair. Which, apparently, Stella has been coveting!

So, here's to hoping Miss Stella has great hair growth and her mother can stay away from the scissors long enough for her hair to finally get LONGER!

Missing

Piles of laundry everywhere, fingerprints on walls, unmade beds, toys strewn about the house. . .
It appears that our MAID is missing in action!
I've been telling KC for years that he should really find a better maid cuz the current one just isn't getting the job done.
Well, by the way my house looks right now, it seems that she's finally up and left us for good.
SERIOUSLY!
And tragically, it would also appear that the gardener ran away with her!


I was going to post photos of my laundry piles, and the disaster area in our yard from our unfinished overhaul but I was afraid it would be too overwhelming for the faint of heart!

I'm Sorry

Sam is developing many new talents and skills and EMOTIONS. He has recently discovered that he can throw tantrums. They may or may not get him what he wants, but he continues to throw them anyway.

Today, I found him eating toothpaste out of the tube in my bathroom. I took it away and explained that it was "icky" to eat. He promptly threw himself down on the bathroom floor and kicked the shower door over and over again while squealing his dismay. I walked into the other room to continue the laundry and ignore his behavior.

Soon, I can hear him walking to find me, saying "Torry Mama, torry!" over and over until he gets to me. Once he found me, he said it again, kissed me, and patted my leg. I said, "I love you Sammy" and we were once again friends. . .

Scenes similar to this one happen multiple times a day around here! Tantrums and apologies, ( I guess I'm thankful that the apology is included)

Today, I was inspired by Brenda to write down a few of his precious sayings as I am afraid I will forget. (my memory is poor on good days and worse on bad :)

Dog, dog=any midsized hairy animal except cats who are "kitties"

torry=sorry

wub oo=I love you

Lella=Stella

DaddyAddyAddy=the greeting for dad when he comes home from work (said while Sam is running madly to greet him at the door)

cooookie=cookies which he points to the stove and asks for

canny=candy (his true food love)

wamelon=watermelon

fwy=fries

dink dink=drink

milt=milk

shoey=shoes

doggy=his special (pink and purple)stuffed dog that he sleeps with

baf=bath, he and Lella race to the tub

eggy=eggs, a favorite food

nigh nigh=said with a wave as he goes up the stairs to bed

pitty=pretty said when he is trying to put on MY makeup

toap=soap

I poopy=yes, he's done a job and he would like me to change it

toat=coat

bite=bike, he LOVES bike rides

My favorite is that when I get him out of bed in the morning, he is so glad to see me, he pats me on the back and says "mommy, wub you"

He is such a sweetheart!

Weekend In Photos

This post is dedicated to those who are interested in the events of last weekend.

On Saturday, Marcus graduated or "gradulated" (Stella's words) from Pasco High. We had a weekend of festivities with him and a lot of our family. Some weren't able to be here and I'm sure they are the ones who will be most interested in these photos.

First, we had cousins Chloe and Mitchell in town (with their parents) and that was a great thing! They found many ways to entertain themselves and the rest of us too.

We took advantage of time for photo ops before Marcus left for the festivities. Sam just couldn't get enough of the cap and cords. That is why he had to finally be held on the other side of Marcus.

The Class of 2008 walked over from the school and this was their entrance into the ceremony. I'm not sure why, but this was probably the most emotional part for me.

We sat at the top of the stadium. Close to the bathrooms and such.

They all filed into their seats and prepared for the ceremony. We were lucky because Marcus was in the front row and with my telephoto lens I was able to get some close up shots of him.

He was thrilled about that little detail :)

They read the names off pretty fast and had graduates coming from both sides of the stage. I've never seen a ceremony move so quickly!

This is Marcus with diploma in hand!

Here they are switching their tassells to the other side of their caps.

GRADUATES!!!

Marcus and Carter trying to look very cool for the camera.

Stella informed us that Carter is "her favorite friend" so I had to throw this photo in for posterity.

Sam stayed home with Dad, so I took just Stella and she enjoyed herself in more ways than one. She and Chloe found the streamers were a great way to entertain themselves while everyone else was visiting on the field.

I think she enjoyed her first opportunity to see a "GRADULATION"

All in all, a great weekend for our family!

We certainly are proud of Marcus and his accomplishment, of course, we know that he will be going on to even greater accomplishments in the future. I am glad for the good example that he shows my kids when they can see all of his hard work and determination to accomplish his goals.