Evan's Birthday Party

Evan's first birthday party was Saturday. Just like Cooper on his first birthday, she got her very own birthday cake, and the rest of us shared one. After a bath, she opened presents. Evan got a lot of good loot: clothes, a see and say, some books, and a four wheeler. I didn't expect her to catch on so quickly to the four wheeler, but in no time, she found the button and was off! Thanks to our families for making her first birthday so special. We'll party again in a couple of weeks for Cooper's third birthday!

Evan is ONE

Evan is celebrating her first birthday today. I am both delighted and heartbroken. Delighted because I am enjoying seeing her grow and change every single day. I am heartbroken because my baby is changing every day and she's no longer a baby.

I knew I was pregnant with Evan long before a pregnancy test told me I was. I don't remember the exact number of tests I took before I got a positive result, but I think it was close to ten. Cooper was 14 months old at the time. I know my family thought we were crazy to have our kids so close together, but I wanted for my kids something that I never had - a sibling close to my age. My brother and sister are 7 and 11 years older than me. There's a similar age difference between Blake and his brother and sister.

I gave Blake a high five when we did Evan's ultrasound and found out we were having a girl. It took some convincing to get Blake to name her Evan, but after a while, it just sounded right. Now, I couldn't imagine another name.

I had a c-section, and when she was delivered, she came out screaming and grabbed the suction tube. She was so beautiful, so much hair, so bright-eyed and alert. I am excited to see how beautiful she will grow to be on the inside and the kind of person she will become. Who will she be friends with? Where will she go to college? What will be her hobbies? Who will she marry?

My wish for my baby girl on her birthday - a long, happy life. That's all any of us can wish for.

Ode to Oxy Clean

If you have kids, you know about Oxy Clean. If you don't have kids, but perhaps have a dirty old man, you know about Oxy Clean. Generally speaking, if you do laundry, you know about Oxy Clean. But on the off chance you haven't heard of it, here is my ode to this wonderful product.

I am not a salesperson, but I would go on TV with my fat ass and everything and talk about how great Oxy Clean is. It takes out grass stain, blood, and mystery goo from Coop's and Evan's clothes. About the only thing it hasn't been effective on so far is paint, but it did make it less noticeable.

I go through a 64 ounce refill bottle for stain pre-treating every couple of weeks, and I use a scoop of the powder in every load. Love love love the stuff.

Not sure why I spend so much time trying to get stains out of my kids clothes - most of their clothes come from Target. But, by golly, I want them to have a neat appearance! Even if they are just going to the babysitter!

OMG. Has my life really come to this? Have I really just spent the last five minutes writing about a laundry product? Again I say, OMG.

Not So Good Thing

Cooper just peed in his underwear. He lasted all of what, 5 minutes? Oh well, we'll try again tomorrow.

Good Things

Some good things have happened for us since Friday.

Cooper's Good News: We went to Cooper's allergy doctor on Friday, and guess what! Coop has outgrown his wheat allergy! Yeah! Do you know how many foods have wheat in them? What a nightmare. So glad he can finally have bread, noodles, crackers - you get the idea.

Evan's Good News: We have a serious toddler on our hands. Over the weekend, Evan started walking, and hasn't slowed down since. She walks with a wide stance, tiny steps, her hands in the air, and a smile on her face. We may be in trouble, though - she is so fast for only getting the hang of it a couple of days ago!

One more good thing before I go... Cooper just came in with underwear on, and he was excited about it! Pooping and peeing on the potty has been a tough thing for Cooper to get interest in - who has time to stop to go to the bathroom when you are as busy as he is? Really, when you look at it from a 2 year old's perspective, it makes sense to poop and pee in your pants.

Evan comes off the baby formula next week, so if we got to be done with Cooper's pull ups and Evan's formula in one week, it would feel like we got a major raise (which Blake and I did, btw, and a bonus too - that's more good news)!

Reconnecting

Blogging and Facebook are two totally indulgent outlets for me. Not that I don't LOVE my life, but sometimes it is nice to express myself and to do somthing that doesn't involve wiping butts, doing laundry, washing bottles or breaking up fights between Coop and Evan.

The greatest result of blogging is not necessarily what I thought it would be. I started a blog so I could document everything that happens with my family so my kids can see one day what we were doing when they were growing up. Obviously, this blog will have value in that way. But what is so great is that I have reconnected with old friends. Friends I haven't talked to in years. Friends that I have never forgotten and often thought about, but had totally lost touch with. Friends that I conspired with, partied with, laughed and cried with in college.

Kay and Betsi, I look forward to reading your blogs and catching up on what's happening in your lives. I love checking for comments on our blogs! I am so glad that I have reconnected with the two of you. You may never know how much value reconnecting has for me. I've been up here in the sticks for so long that I had almost forgotten what it was like to have friends with similar backgrounds, interests and experiences.

Frogs in a Jar

Look very closely. Coop captured dozens of frogs tonight and put them in a jar. He had so much fun and was so proud of himself. Evan watched from the (still dirty) window. Then she cooled off over the air conditioning vent.

Wish I Were In Bed Right Now

Evan took about a half hour nap from 9:00 to 9:30, so I am screwed until about midnight. So, thought this situation called for another blog post. Two posts in one day. Somebody stop me, I am out of control.

Some random thoughts and pictures...

I still haven't washed the window on the front door.

I am so mad at Google AdSense. Is my blog not good enough? My application has been in review for what now, like forever?

Why are children so fascinated with remote controls? A few hundred dollars in toys litters the living room floor, and Evan wants to play with the remote.














I love, love, love wet slobbery kisses from my children!














Finally, a picture of Cooper smiling! Is it bad that he is smiling because he just picked up a rock an threw it in to the crowd at the baseball game?