The Now

Evelynn had a ton of firsts over this holiday season. She has her first tooth (bottom left), she can go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting again, she can pull herself up to stand and shove those nasty puff things in her mouth like a pro. She reaches her arms out to be held and gives the most wonderful hugs. She's a happy girl, always so sweet and bubbly. She stares at Mads pretty much all day long, watching how she moves and plays, listening to her constant chatter and silly songs. She's studying her, learning from her and trying to imitate her. It's really amazing to watch them, a toddler teacher eager to show her pupil the way of their small world, and baby student so attentive, taking it all in like a sponge. I thought Madelynn grew fast, but it seems that Ev is growing at warp speed, from blob with hair to capable and HUGE overnight. She's the most beautiful baby I have ever seen.

Madelynn jumps high and leaps long. She's a talker, her mouth never stops running. She can poop on the potty when she wants to (which has only been twice so far), and put the correct amount of toothpaste on her brush. She counts to twenty, identifies all uppercase letters and is about halfway on lowercase. She cleans up her toys and can find a missing cell phone or remote control in seconds. She's so helpful with Ev, retrieving diapers and wipes to clean her butt, handing her toys that are out of her reach and giving a kiss when she looks a little cranky. She can put her clothes on (although she prefers to take them off), put on her shoes and coat, and clip her own hair. She loves candles that smell good, taking pictures and eating pretend birthday cake. She says "thank you" and "please", "you're so very welcome" and "excuse me." She's the most beautiful child I have ever seen.

Christmas Day

Half of the mess:

And out:

Christmas Eve

Before Santa came. She's opening gifts from Abue and Pappy.

And after she went to bed.

Holy crap, how crooked is my tree?? It doesn't look that bad in person.

Miss Ev and Mr Claus

Last year, we couldn't get Mads to sit on Santa's lap. She was terrified of the guy, and I didn't want to force it. This year, I tried to get her ready starting in November. We talked about Santa every day, we talked to him online, we watched movies about him, we love-loved that guy. When Jeffrey and I told Mads that we were going to see Santa, she was so excited. She talked about it all day long, "are we leaving yet? I want to see Santa! Tell him presents. See Santa?"

So we get to the mall and OMG there he is! Madelynn was jumping and pointing, "It's Santa!! It's Santa!!" We climb the stairs to see the big guy and...

Mads wouldn't go anywhere near him. Maybe next year.

And Ev? Well that girl just loves everyone.

Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

A tricycle beside a tree.

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Two pairs of Robeez

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Three Leapster games,

Two tiny shoes

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Four-thousand jumps an hour,

Three Leapfrog games,

Two mini shoez

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

FIIIIIVE SCREEEEEEN PRINT TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!

Four million jumps,

Three fun games,

Two Robeez shoes

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Six pop-up blocks,

FIVE SCREEN PRINT TEES!!!

Four hours to put together,

Three Leapfrog games,

Two little shoes

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Seven gates for Furry Frenzies,

Six plastic blocks,

FIVE SCREEN PRINT TEEEEEEEES!!!

Four jumps a second,

Three overpriced games,

Two baby shoes

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Eight lullabies,

Seven gates for hamsters,

Six pop-up faces,

FIVE CHILDREN'S PLACE TEES!!!

Four jumping jacks,

Three fun games,

Two pairs of pink

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Nine things to spill,

Eight lovely songs,

Seven plastic gates,

Six pop-up pals,

FIVE LONG SLEEEEVE TEEEEEES!!!

Four hours of jumping,

Three Leapster games,

Two bitty kicks

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Ten stacking cups,

Nine picnic items,

Eight soothing songs,

Seven gates of hell,

Six blocks on croc,

FIVE CLEARANCE TEES!!!

Four hours to put together,

Three game cartridges,

Two shoes per foot

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Eleven letters in Leapster Two,

Ten colorful cups,

Nine is easy to rhyme,

Eight, is that a seahorse?

Seven gates for Frenzies,

Six blocks to pop,

FIVE REALLY FUN TEES!!!

Four million jumps,

Three Froggy games,

Two little shoes

And a tricycle beside a tree.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me,

Twelve pictures of the ceiling,

Eleven letters because I cheated,

Ten plastic cups,

Nine items in the basket,

Eight lullabies,

Seven gates fell off already,

Six smiling blocks,

FIVE I LOOOVE THIS PART!!!

Four feet of space lost,

Three fun games,

Two freaking shoes

And a tricycle beside a tree.

There's more loot, however that wouldn't fit in my song. Next post, I promise!!

Happy Halfsies

Happy half birthday to you,

Happy half birthday, dear Evelynn,

Happy half birthday to you!

Mads was such a good big sister. She sat and watched Ev open her present, and even let her play with it for a good three minutes before she stole the plastic cake and ran away. And the toy, well it's probably the coolest birthday cake toy ever made. The candles light up and then you can actually blow them out.

Happy Halfsies, Ev!!

Madelynn's half birthday post here.

The Card 2010

I thought I was behind last year, but I'm cutting it way close this year. If I don't have these babies out by Monday, I might as well replace the tree with a creepy white bunny and call them Easter cards. I'm such a slacker.

Pssst... you can see the card from 2009 here.

Out of Season

Blueberries... they're out of season, so frozen it is. Fun fact about frozen berries, they're wet.

First Came Love

Then came marriage... and well, the rest of the song doesn't really fit but that's not the point. At exactly 11:30pm, I realized what day it was. It's our one year wedding anniversary and BOTH of us forgot about it. The only excuse I can come up with is stress. Holiday stress, blown-up Blazer stress, uncertainty of our future and "these kids are driving me crazy" stress. Add in the flying monkeys and a huge pile of laundry, it's not like you can blame us for pushing through this day like any other.

It is a little embarrassing though. Who forgets their first anniversary?

Happy Anniversary, Us. I'll put it on the calendar for next year.

Cookies

Madelynn's apron:

(I cut it out of a pillowcase, haha.)

Bundled

And not real happy about it.

This Sh*t is Bananas

And she loves it.

Happy Girl

Well she started happy, but then...

Why don't you tell us how you really feel about your big sister, Ev?

Chub-Chick laughing: