Happy Birthday

To the One I Love

3 Months

Evelyn in three months old! (already)

She is about 12 1/2 lbs.
She is very long, almost too long for 3-6 mo. clothes.


She can grab at toys with her hands.
She tries to get some part of her hand into her mouth.


She is adored by Stella and Sam.

Stella loves to sit on the couch and hold her.

Evelyn really likes her Mam pacifier.

Evelyn loves to be held.

She likes to stand on mom's lap and "talk".

She coos and coos and smiles.

And, oh those dimples, I could just kiss them all day long!

She has VERY blue eyes and the lightest blond hair.

There is quite a lot of hair, but in pictures it just disappears.

Much to my delight, she is sleeping at least one 4 hour stretch at night!

A Little Bit of Heaven

This morning I was upstairs trying to fold a little laundry and make a path in the guest room (which has been neglected way too long). The kids were downstairs building a fort and playing happily.
I could hear happy noises and kind voices and knew that she was "mom" and he was "dad" and they were going shopping.
The kind of noises and voices that make me smile to myself as I work and maybe if I could whistle, I would have done that too...
And then I realized after a while that it had become quiet down there.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that made me jump to my feet and run down to see what was going on.
No one answered my calls, and I saw that the playroom door was shut--hmmm.
I opened the door expecting to find a terrible mess, or something "off limits" being used (like knives or scissors or my make-up).
To my pleasant surprise this was what I found...


My two biggest kids coloring happily together at their table, sharing and helping each other.
A PIECE OF HEAVEN, right here at my house.

Have I mentioned that I'm in love?

A New Year

What is the best way to start off a new year?

With a smile, of course!

Evelyn started smiling at the beginning of the month.

She is smiling more and more each day.

She smiles when she hears my voice or when we smile at her.

It is beautiful.

Have I mentioned that I'm in love?

Mama and the Milk Machine

A few short years ago, this handy Ameda Breast Pump and I were very good friends. In those days I was still teaching full time and had a baby. The pump and I spent many a recess huddled on the bathroom floor releasing my milk supply.

Nowadays, as I am able to stay at home with my babies, this pump sits in a closet gathering dust. Until last week when Evelyn had a cold and wasn't nursing well. The milk supply was building and so was my discomfort. I decided to pull "ole trusty" out and take advantage of it's capabilities.

Stella and her little friend (our neighbor boy) were quietly playing upstairs and I thought I had the perfect opportunity to "hook up." I quickly got both suctions on and working and was FINALLY feeling relief (of the milk). No sooner had the milk started down the bottles, than my kids started down the stairs....

I am standing at the kitchen counter all hooked up and rather exposed! I quickly turn my back to them and say, " Mom's busy, go back up and play for a minute." Hoping that they would quickly accommodate.

Stella runs in, undaunted, with her friend close behind and says, "NO, we want to WATCH!" With no free hands, there isn't much I can do except beg for them to go in the playroom, which they finally did. I finished my job and went on to the rest of my business, forgetting entirely about the incident.

Our little neighbor boy returned home and not ten minutes later I got a phone call from his mom (a friend of mine) who was laughing. He just told her, "Mom, Stella's mom has a machine that SUCKS milk out of her!!!"

You can learn a lot at the Williams house, and if you're lucky, I may even pull out my MILK MACHINE, but don't expect a demonstration!

Show and Tell

It's been windy here lately, really windy. The kind of windy that blows trampolines over the fence and toys into the neighbors yard and as it is the case at our house, broke the gate to our fence.

Dear Hubby temporarily rigged up a system that he thought would hold until the weather clears and he can work on it. He called this morning and told me it hadn't.

Well, what dog can resist the call of the wild? Not ours. He escaped through the broken fence during the night.

My kind neighbor called shortly after Dear Hubby had called and said, "Sherman is in your driveway!" Thanks neighbor. Unfortunately by the time I got shoes on, he was on the roam again...

In a rush to get Stella to preschool (as we always are) I had to load the van and go.

On the way, Stella moaned "Oh NO, I forgot my show and tell, but it's o.k. because I have something I can just tell."

I am wondering at this point, what treasure she might tell. Perhaps that I couldn't find my keys (again) or maybe that breakfast was a granola bar in the car...

She pipes up again and says, " I can tell the terrible news that the wind broke our fence and our dog is lost."

Thank you Sherman. Despite fact that you ran away, which wasn't good, you at least gave Stella something to share at school. (which I was told she shared quite dramatically, as the "worst show and tell EVER")

I am happy to report that we located Sherman a few blocks down and brought him safely home.

Entertaining

We have found many ways to entertain ourselves during the last few cold, snowy weeks.

Uncle Marcus showing off his "stunts"

Sammy follows suit and shows of his "stunt"! Rocking his horse with NO HANDS.

Lots of eating and playing with cousins.


Catching a few winks of sleep when we can.

Cuddling a sweet baby Evelyn.

Sleeping in front of the warm fire.

"Exercising" to keep in shape and burn off some extra energy.

(I guess they do pay attention to what I'm doing)

Taking care of our babies.

Reading books together.

Enjoying the Christmas season as a family!