Shuttle Woes

So the shuttle Endeavor launched for the last time this week. That means there is only one left to go.

And so here I sit, a sorry excuse for an Aerospace Engineer. I mean, what was I thinking waiting until the last minute to try and see one of these things? I hang my head in shame.

I had considered buying tickets for the launch that just happened, and maybe taking the train (?) for like, a billion hours to get there. Doctor said I couldn't fly at that point in my pregnancy. Guess it's a good idea that I didn't, since I doubt it would have been good idea to try to get to Florida 3 days before my scheduled 'pluck the baby out' appointment.

So now, I'm waiting for the final date to be determined, currently they say it will be mid-July. I'm hoping it gets pushed back a little longer so I can figure out how to get down there with two kids. Even if I can't get viewing tickets, I will be able to see the shuttle from any beach down there, and I have tons of family I can visit.

Maybe my friend Becky will come with me. :)

Sonograms and Such

As if today, I have 20 days until my due date (and only 17) days until my scheduled c-section unless I go in to labor before then. I can't believe the time has gone by so quickly. And lately Evan has really been getting in to a routine, and I notice more and more the things he can do by himself. Which makes me think, oh my gosh what were we thinking? :) But I can't wait to hold a brand new baby, and for Evan to be a big brother. I think he is pretty excited too.

We still don't know if I am carrying a boy or a girl, but here is a 3-D picture taken two weeks ago. One thing is for sure, this child is definitely a sibling of Evan (compare to the pic at the top of this blog).

 

Patiently waiting. 

Winter Hibernation

Back in February I went outside with Evan to play. It was freezing cold but he just couldn't take being cooped up any longer, and to be honest neither of us minds the cold. So as I wandered around the yard, I noticed that there were a lot of glaring reminders that we had obviously hibernated over the winter, completely ignoring the yard and such. Of course, instead of cleaning these things up, I went and got my camera.

(Bear in mind that we also are both working, both going to school, raising a toddler, percolating a new one, and trying to build a custom bathroom in our basement from scratch by ourselves, lest you think that we are just lazy bodies.)

So first we have a Happy Birthday banner.

From Evan's second birthday party.

In September.

Then we have the tiki torches, that I had just recently taken out of the ground from their circle around the brown patch of grass that used to be the pool (at least we remembered to take that down).

Pumpkins, from, well yes, Halloween. Some still have faces drawn on them, others have been mostly eaten by wildlife.

 
















A gigantic tree felled during the snow storm (this still remains, anyone fancy a go with our chainsaw?)

Ah, the ever telling Christmas tree, that made it no farther then the side yard, instead of the woods where it is supposed to dry out so that when we throw it in the hobo barrel to burn it makes a fantastic fireball later in the year.

And finally, some left over reminders of Christmas.

Now I can say that most of these things have since been taken care of.


Most.

Ah, how time flies.

I mean to post these pictures a while ago, and I swear I'm going to make a scrapbook of stuff like this, but well, uh, lord only knows when I will get to that. But first, these two pictures stood out to me, a difference of how Evan fit in his car seat.

Here he is as an almost newborn baby

You know this size, when you travel somewhere for 2 hours, and they don't make a peep, and you can't see them because the seat is turned around (and you haven't bought that snazzy Eddie Bauer mirror yet) and then you get there and you are sure they have broken their neck.

Like this

Holy moly are they bendy. But I guess being squished in your belly is a feat unto itself. Anyways, I also took a picture of Evan when he was well grown out of this carrier (though to be fair he probably was in it for too long regardless because we didn't realize exactly what the weight requirement was. Whoops.

Evan is about 9 months old in this picture.

In other big and small size news, let's talk about socks. Since I was one of the last one of my friends to have kids, we got lots and lots of hand me down clothes. Which is great, but funny when you come across something that you aren't sure where it came from. Evan was apparently given a pair of white socks with green trim (ankelet style). Which were a little bit big for him, but they fit well enough. I also wear a lot of anklet socks, and mine I definitely have to stretch on. So here is a picture of them together, one for a small toddler, and one for a grown adult woman.

So trying to buy him more manly socks, I got some tube like socks for him, just like Daddy's. The difference is a little bit different.

Definitely had to stretch those a bit more.

What IS that on your face?

Tried and true, the quieter your child is, the more trouble they are likely getting in to.

Last Sunday I was on the computer and Evan (I thought) was playing in the other room. Then he shows up next to me, with black flecky stuff all over his mouth and his hands.

Panic thoughts go like this:

What is that?!
Did you eat something poisonous?
Why are  you smiling?
We don't have plants (because I cannot keep them alive inside) so how did you get dirt?
-I also had a passing thought of some kind of Oreo crust but again, we didn't have any of that.

I take his hand and follow him in to the kitchen. And I find this.

Yes, that's right, Evan opened up a tea bag that I had set out on the counter and ate some of the contents.

The kicker to this story? After I took his picture he proceeded to lick his fingers.

Yuck.

Classifications

Yesterday a stinkbug was discovered on the fridge. Evan is the enforcer, so he yelled "Stinkbug!", Daddy got the bug with a paper towel, and Evan flushed it down the toilet. Daddy was then wiping something that leaked out of the fridge, so Evan got a wipe and cleaned the side of the fridge where the bug had been.

Me: "Evan, you're the man!"

Evan: "I'm not the man, Daddy's the man"
         "I'm Evan".

Well, there you go.

Future Sight

My boy I believe has a sixth sense. Really he does. And he's had it for quite some time.

Without fail, if I even have a tiny little wavelength of a thought when I look at his mountain of toys and consider even for a second putting that particular toy in the attic because he hasn't played with it in eons and it's large and it takes up space.........

..............he plays with it. Usually within an hour or so, or the next day.

How he does this I will never know.

My little stinker. (Course if I say that to him he gets very indignant and says "I no stinker. I Evan."

Evan's Going to the Store, Doo Dah, Doo Dah ..........

Like father like son, Evan loves to go to the grocery store. It used to be the really nice store in town, Martin's, because they have the ride-in car grocery carts. You could put him down there, strap him in with a snack and a drink, and he was good to go. But oh no, now he discovered if we go to the a-little-less-than-nice Food Lion, they have miniature carts for the "Shoppers in Training".

I'm not going to lie, it is near impossible to push your own cart while he is off on his own with another, so I have to settle for following him in the little cart. Some notes:

- He wants me to put my purse in the cart
    (you can see where this is a problem when Matt takes him, where is your purse Daddy?)
- The cart is so small that once my purse is in, you can only fit one or two more things
- He is constantly stopping to look up at the advertisement posters hanging from the ceiling
- He also randomly stops in the middle of the aisle to dance to the music if he likes it

Here are some pics taken with Matt's phone, enjoy. :)

Evan's Birthday Party

Sorry I'm just posting pictures of his party now. Life has been busy for sure. We held the cookout on a beautiful sunny afternoon. They were many wonderful people who came, family and friends alike, and many children. I borrowed some more cozy coupes just for the occasion:

The toys were a big hit. As was the very yummy cake made by Sharnelle, there wasn't any left when the party was over.

Then, during all the kid's playing fun, Evan took a header in the driveway. Because his bangs are so long, I didn't notice for a few minutes that he had a huge scrape on his forehead. So between that and missing his nap, he actually passed out in my arms during the height of the party. Poor thing. You can see his boo boo here:

Fortunately, he woke up and recovered enough to open presents, eat cake, and play some more. Especially the piano. He looks like a little Schroeder.

A big thanks to all that attended. It was a wonderful time to share with family and friends. You can see the rest of the pictures here.

Until next year!

Braided Hair, scary slides, and elephants, oh my!

We managed to make it to the Maryland Renaissance Festival one time this year. Evan and I met up with family and friends there. It was a day of many first for him.

First ride on a pony (with Aunt Becca)........................

First ride on an elephant (with Aunt Jessie)........................

First ride on a scary slide (with Mommy)........................ 

For the record, that slide was WAY faster than I expected, and I'm pretty sure we caught air at least once.

I love the Renn Fest, and my favorite part believe it or not is not mac & cheese on a stick or fried cheese curds. It's the hair ladies, I love to get my hair done. Check out the hair that Becca and I had done......

You can see all of the pictures here.

Until next year..................