She's a walker! Just shy of 15 months and she's finally walking! And running...and climbing...and jumping...and dancing :) She may have taken her sweet time with those first steps, but she is definitely catching up for lost time now. She is moving and moving fast! We went from a baby who would eagerly sit on my hip or in the stroller, to a little ball of energy and determination that she is going to walk EVERYWHERE. She got to follow me around The Loft while I was shopping the other day and got the biggest kick out of it. At first she just stood there like her feet were glued to the floor and as soon as I told her it was okay, she took off. Laughing and moving those little chubby legs as fast as she could grabbing at anything and everything shiny and sparkly. Boy was she mad when she eventually had to be strapped back in her stroller because she was trying to run out the door back into the mall! She reminds me so much of her brother at this age! She never stops!
I've definitely neglected the blog these last couple of months. We've been busy getting back in the groove of things with school starting back up and flag football and gymnastics. And sadly, I've hardly touched my "real" camera. But before you panic, please know my kids' lives have been fully documented with the help of my handy dandy iphone and, of course, Instagram. ;)
Last night, on a whim, I decided to grab my big girl camera and head outside to watch the kids play. And I am so glad I did because look at all these great moments that I would have lost. My memory is terrible...most days I can hardly remember the last time I showered (did I really just say that out loud?) so remembering every little detail of how Emily looks when she says "gwee? well, I will have to rely on my camera to preserve those memories. This was such a great reminder to me that it just takes a few minutes (all of these pictures were taken within 15 mins) a day to capture these sweet memories for my kids.
Oh and did I mention we got a dog? Her name is Maggie and we love her so much, but more on that later...
I've definitely neglected the blog these last couple of months. We've been busy getting back in the groove of things with school starting back up and flag football and gymnastics. And sadly, I've hardly touched my "real" camera. But before you panic, please know my kids' lives have been fully documented with the help of my handy dandy iphone and, of course, Instagram. ;)
Last night, on a whim, I decided to grab my big girl camera and head outside to watch the kids play. And I am so glad I did because look at all these great moments that I would have lost. My memory is terrible...most days I can hardly remember the last time I showered (did I really just say that out loud?) so remembering every little detail of how Emily looks when she says "gwee? well, I will have to rely on my camera to preserve those memories. This was such a great reminder to me that it just takes a few minutes (all of these pictures were taken within 15 mins) a day to capture these sweet memories for my kids.
Oh and did I mention we got a dog? Her name is Maggie and we love her so much, but more on that later...
Hi. My name is Juli and I'm an addict. An, insta-addict.
And since publishing every little detail of our everyday lives is probably not the smartest thing to do...I've made my instagram account private, just for friends and family. So, if you fall into one of those categories, request to follow me and I'll approve you. And then you'll be able to see what Emily eats every morning for breakfast and just how messy our house really gets and other super exciting things like that. ;) You can follow us here or search for julievans on instagram.
[instapress userid="julievans" piccount="20"]
And since publishing every little detail of our everyday lives is probably not the smartest thing to do...I've made my instagram account private, just for friends and family. So, if you fall into one of those categories, request to follow me and I'll approve you. And then you'll be able to see what Emily eats every morning for breakfast and just how messy our house really gets and other super exciting things like that. ;) You can follow us here or search for julievans on instagram.
[instapress userid="julievans" piccount="20"]
Our little blog has been neglected...but for good reason :) We moved! And we celebrated two little birthdays...Em is ONE and Sis is FOUR! We unpacked. And now we are settling in. I finally feel like I can breathe again. The kids are enjoying the lazy days of summer and I'm enjoying decorating the house and making it our own. And since I have only pulled out my camera twice since the big move (gasp!), I don't have a lot of pics to update. But, I do have these two sweet pics of Sis on her birthday, enjoying her special birthday pancakes. I dread the day when she stops making this "sweet face".
You did it, Bubba!
We are so very proud of you and the big kid you have become. You have learned so much this year and you've made so many great friends. And you've worked so hard! All with a huge smile on your face, always keeping us laughing. You make life so much fun!
I can't believe my little baby that I sent off to kindergarten last fall is now a BIG FIRST GRADER! Let's get this summer started!
We love you so much, Bub!
I feel like the only pictures I get of Emily these days are of her crawling away. And there is a good reason for it, I suppose.
The girl is on the move! She never stops! She figured out this crawling business and has taken off. And she's so fast too. She can be half way up the stairs in the amount of time it takes me to throw away a diaper! True story. Rest assured, we know have baby gates up at all times. This little monkey is on a mission and reminds me so much of her big brother. He was such a busy little boy and was constantly out smarting me when it came to getting into mischief.
She has also learned a few tricks recently. She started doing what we call "are you sweet?". You ask her if she's sweet and she pulls up one shoulder and presses her cheek to it and then squints her eyes. It's so ridiculously sweet! Apparently this is what I do when I talk to her some times and she just started doing it back. I never actually noticed that I was doing it until she started to mimic me. Sweet girl!
We've also been working on some baby signs. So far she can do the signs for "milk" and "more" and we are working on "eat", "mommy", "please", and "all done". She gets so proud of herself when she does one too and then will clap for herself.
She will be 11 months old in 3 days. Slow down little one. You're growing up too fast.
This is Sissy right before her Spring Performance last week at MDO. She was SO excited to get up on stage and perform her little songs for us. Being the little sister, she has become quite good at sitting in the audience and cheering on her big brother. But this was her day. Her day to shine and to show us what a big girl she is. We loved watching her do all the little hand motions that went along with the song "My God Is So Big". She really did such a great job and we were so proud of her.
Buying and selling houses is just never fun. It stresses me out! Mama bear needs a home for her baby bears. Something about moving just hits a cord in me, it's so emotional.
This is the first time that we have attempted to by a pre-owned home. We've dealt with builders and with selling our own homes, but never with another family who is just as emotional charged.
The reason I feel sick is because I just emailed off our "best and final" offer. There is another offer that we have been told is better than our's, but for whatever reason they asked that we put our offer in writing. We have been told, in so many words, that the other offer is higher and is not contingent on selling another home. But they still want our offer in writing. I'm so confused, frustrated, tired.
I like this home, but it is not perfect. There are things that I wish were different, but it is the best option for what is available right now. Sure we could wait it out and hope that a better home comes up for sale. But I'm tired. I don't want to be packing up and moving the baby bears again. I don't want to live in an apartment or rental house. I don't want to store all of our belongings all summer. I want to be settled.
It's hard to hold out any hope after being told our offer is not as good as the other. But we don't have options. Crossing my fingers that they pick us, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
This is the first time that we have attempted to by a pre-owned home. We've dealt with builders and with selling our own homes, but never with another family who is just as emotional charged.
The reason I feel sick is because I just emailed off our "best and final" offer. There is another offer that we have been told is better than our's, but for whatever reason they asked that we put our offer in writing. We have been told, in so many words, that the other offer is higher and is not contingent on selling another home. But they still want our offer in writing. I'm so confused, frustrated, tired.
I like this home, but it is not perfect. There are things that I wish were different, but it is the best option for what is available right now. Sure we could wait it out and hope that a better home comes up for sale. But I'm tired. I don't want to be packing up and moving the baby bears again. I don't want to live in an apartment or rental house. I don't want to store all of our belongings all summer. I want to be settled.
It's hard to hold out any hope after being told our offer is not as good as the other. But we don't have options. Crossing my fingers that they pick us, but I'm not going to hold my breath.
When Nick goes out of town overnight, Luke gets to be the "man of the house". This means (according to him) that he gets to sleep in my bed, so I'm not scared, of course. :)
Last night he went to sleep at his usual bedtime of 8pm. He fell right to sleep, in my bed. He did not wake up until his usual time of about 7am. He usually wakes up pretty happy and ready to start the day. Today, that was definitely not the case. He was so cranky!
He didn't want to watch My Little Pony with Sis. That's a girl show.
He didn't want to take his lunch to school. He hates sandwiches.
He refused to walk down to the bus stop. Instead, he hid behind a bush in the front yard.
He cried. He protested. He told me I am "so mean".
He ended up missing the bus. A first.
He cried in the car on the way to school. He said that everyone thinks he's a jerk.
Before he got out of the car, he apologized. He said he was sorry he missed the bus. He said he thought the bus driver would wait on him. He looked at me with his big brown eyes and tear streaked face and it just broke my heart.
What went wrong this morning? Why did something as simple as taking his lunch spark such a huge meltdown? Is he stressed about the move? Is he stressed that Nick has not been home as much? Is something going on at school? What am I missing?
Last night he went to sleep at his usual bedtime of 8pm. He fell right to sleep, in my bed. He did not wake up until his usual time of about 7am. He usually wakes up pretty happy and ready to start the day. Today, that was definitely not the case. He was so cranky!
He didn't want to watch My Little Pony with Sis. That's a girl show.
He didn't want to take his lunch to school. He hates sandwiches.
He refused to walk down to the bus stop. Instead, he hid behind a bush in the front yard.
He cried. He protested. He told me I am "so mean".
He ended up missing the bus. A first.
He cried in the car on the way to school. He said that everyone thinks he's a jerk.
Before he got out of the car, he apologized. He said he was sorry he missed the bus. He said he thought the bus driver would wait on him. He looked at me with his big brown eyes and tear streaked face and it just broke my heart.
What went wrong this morning? Why did something as simple as taking his lunch spark such a huge meltdown? Is he stressed about the move? Is he stressed that Nick has not been home as much? Is something going on at school? What am I missing?
Moving again.
This past year has been full of growing for our little family. Growing in number as we added our precious Emily to the family. Growing in faith as we trusted in our Lord and took on a challenge that most definitely took us outside of our comfort zone. Growing as a couple as we learned to rely more on each other. Growing as a wife as I learned that despite my own reluctance, my sweet husband knows what I need and what I want and always has my best interest at heart. Growing as a mommy as I learned what it means to truly do it all. No more Nana or Aunt LaLa's or Aunt Mamy's. No date nights. Just us. 100% us. And...I found my confidence as a mom.
Something else happened as well. I realized that I could be happy anywhere as long as I have my family. My kids and my husband are my greatest source of happiness, satisfaction, and inspiration.
This past year has been full of growing for our little family. Growing in number as we added our precious Emily to the family. Growing in faith as we trusted in our Lord and took on a challenge that most definitely took us outside of our comfort zone. Growing as a couple as we learned to rely more on each other. Growing as a wife as I learned that despite my own reluctance, my sweet husband knows what I need and what I want and always has my best interest at heart. Growing as a mommy as I learned what it means to truly do it all. No more Nana or Aunt LaLa's or Aunt Mamy's. No date nights. Just us. 100% us. And...I found my confidence as a mom.
Something else happened as well. I realized that I could be happy anywhere as long as I have my family. My kids and my husband are my greatest source of happiness, satisfaction, and inspiration.
