Oh, the Places You'll Go!!!

Congratulations!

Today is your day

You're off to Great Places! 

You're off and away

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decided where to go.

~Dr. Seuss

Not long ago I found this pin (though I can't find it now) to have each of your child's teachers sign this book and then give it to them for high school graduation.  I instantly fell in love with the idea! And being the fact that Dalton was in the midst of his Kindergarten year I felt as if it was a project I could tackle! I'm proud to announce that yes I...Tiffany Evans actually went through with it too! Let's hope I can keep it up for the next 12 years...and do it for Sophie as well!

Today is the last day of Kindergarten for Dalton {Insert Big, Big tears}.  It's been a great year.  A learning experience for all of us.  I'm proud of the him and the way he has grown through out this year.  He was the kid crying everyday for the first month of school when I dropped him off...but now he's the big kid who has his seatbelt unbuckled and out the car door before I barely have time to tell him goodbye.  He was the kid who could care less about learning letters and numbers and writing his name...but the smile on his face when he wrote to 100 for the first time and got an Applebee's gift card from his teacher was priceless. He's sounding out words and reading to his sister, counting everything from the fish in the pond to the days of the month.  He's officially a BIG kid and so excited about what first grade has to offer!

I'm so excited to watch him morph through the years and see all the places he'll go!!!

Fall Fun and I'm Super Mom (not)

This past weekend was really kind of a short one.  I had like half a day to get the house clean, get ready for a garage sale and spend some quality time with the kiddos since Sunday involved a long all day trip to the Central part of the state for a family baby shower.  So I got up went to work for a few hours came home and Dalton and I worked on sorting through all of his toys to get ready for the garage sale.  We successfully cut the toy population in half after decided which toys he had outgrown and were ready to pass on and the ones that had broken peices and could be thrown away.  Whew...that took us all afternoon lets just say that kid is LOVED.  So now the toy boxes are ready for Christmas and his birthday 10 days later.  By that time it was late and time for dinner.  Somehow it became 9 o'clock and the promise of a family movie night was pretty distant in my mind.  Sophie was in bed and Rocky was heading that way.  Dalton was begging to carve pumpkins and since Rocky was going to bed I thought it'd be perfect time for some one on one time with my little man. 

I handed him some spoons to clean out the pumpkin while I cleaned the kitchen.  It did a great job, no complaining and very little guts left for me :)

I was pretty impressed with my mad carving skills and even went to bed telling Rocky I bet he was jealous that he didn't get in on that quality time.

 The next morning before Sophie and I hoped in the car Dalton and I painted our toast...I'd seen this on pinterest and thought he might find it fun. 

Just mix a few drops of food coloring into a cup of milk and use paint brushes to paint it on. I've seen people post that they popped these into the broiler, I just put them in the toaster and I forgot to take an after pic but once it's toasted it really enhances the color. Def. will do it again.

After a long day in the car and a fun baby shower Soph and I were suprised when we got home to this

Dalton and Rocky carved 5 pumpkins so pretty much take that mom you thought you were cool...

Hope you all had a fun Halloween weekend.



It's Just A House...Right?

Friday at 6 p.m. we finally take possession of our new house! Finally I say...but I'm not quite ready to let go of our home. I've been doing really well packing away...getting excited where my decorations will be put at the new house...which closet my stockpile will take over...how I'll decorate the kids rooms and the excitement of my new big bath tub. I said I was doing fine...I was until I looked at this.

The measurements of Dalton's height that we've made sure to mark on every birthday...As I was packing away his room...taking down his wall decals...removing the curtains I made...I sat down and cried for like 10 minutes. I know it's just a room and just a house...but it's also a part of our family. (Remember I'm woman I can be sappy) I can barely tell you what Dalton's room looked like when we bought our home 6 1/2 years ago...but I can tell you I started working on that room to make it a nursery about 2 weeks before I found out I was pregnant. We sanded floors, refinished them...painted the room in neutral colors and awaited the birth of our first child...it was ready about 5 months before he was due. I remember running into his room at every sound, nursing him the creaky rocker, pulling out all of his toys for him to play with before he knew what playing was. I remember keeping his room spotless...I wanted it to look just perfect. Right now it's spotless again and that makes me sad. While I'm excited for the adventures of his new room (and yes I'll probably still be arguing with him to clean it) I'm gonna miss all the memories this room brings. The measurements have now been painted over...but you better believe the first thing I do is find the perfect place in his closet to put them back up!

Ready or Not Here We Come...Kindergarten

And just who's idea was it to let this little boy grow up anyway? Tuesday we took him to Kindergarten roundup KINDERGARTEN PEOPLE!!!! He did fabulous! We walked in one of the teachers asked if he'd go with her while his parents filled out paper work and.he.went.WILLINGLY! He passed his testing that they did with him only forgetting to put the O (his favorite letter) in his name and was confused on his address...I'm pretty sure he gave them his phone number. But letters numbers counting standing on one foot...they say he's ready. I know he is...but am I? Am I really ready to say I have a "big kid"? A kid that wears a backpack to school everyday and can choose to eat a school lunch or take a lunch...a kid that will bring home homework and learn naughty things from his friends. Nope I don't think I'm ready. I mean August it will be kindergarten, then 1st grade, middle school, high school and then he'll be moving away!!! Ok maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself! All I know is that I'm gonna love and cuddle and snuggle with him all I can until he goes to school and realizes his mom isn't cool anymore.

Things My Kid Says...

Dalton is rather interesting to listen to. He repeats everything he hears which can be good and not so good. These are just a few from last night...

"Mom wouldn't it be great if I never did anymore sins?"

"Can I pray while I go poop?"

Proud mama moment and then he follows it up with this earlier this morning...

"G's grandpa is weird"

Me "How do you know that have you met him?"

"No but he was in the shower with G's grandma"

Greeeeeeeeeeattttt!

5 years

How can it be that they've gone by soooo fast. Sleepless nights with you...teething...first words...potty training they're all just a memory. (sniff sniff) You, Dalton Lyle make me so proud to be your mommy! You are no longer a baby, a toddler, even a preschooler, your a little-big kid. You count everything...know your letters...and even ask me how to spell words (mostly girls names...sigh). Your vocabulary amazes me everyday and they questions you ask make me realize you know more about this crazy world than I give you credit for. You love to work on projects with daddy and take things apart to see how they work. If there was a demolition derby for little kids you'd be the first to sign up cause that's one of your favorite things right now. You're all boy kiddo and I love that.

Your teachers tell me all the time that even on a bad day you're smile can make the day a little brighter (and I totally agree). That smile is extremely contagious and I hope you keep your positive outlook forever. You are friends with everyone and that's awesome. I have this feeling you'll get your heart broke a few times over the years...just because you're such a nice kid. Keep it that way...it'll pay off in the long run!

This year when you found out you'd have a little brother or sister you were very excited...asking almost daily how much longer until the baby gets here. Ever since we've brought your sister home you've been a great help and most mornings I don't know how the three of us would get where we needed to be without your help. I know sometimes you probably wish that all of the attention was on you again...but you share it well. I can tell you love your sister so unconditionally and it makes my heart melt that you feel the need to hold her multiple times a day...read her books and just play with her. She loves you too!

Happy Birthday bud! Keep being that same awesome kid you've always been. And please don't mind that I'll probably cry when we sing you Happy Birthday tonight...and at your birthday party this weekend and when you start kindergarten in August...let's just say...get used to my tears

Merry Christmas!!!

Wishing you all a VERY Merry Christmas! Thank you for sticking around and reading the blog.

We are very busy this weekend as I know most of you all are...but this evening we get to do something very very special. Rocky Sophie and I will be portraying Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus at our church's Christmas Eve service. I have been so excited every since they asked us to do this...and now I'm a little nervous. After that we will be heading to my mom's for gift giving and junk food eating. Tomorrow we'll hang out at our house all day...playing with the new things we got and having family time...then Sunday we're headed to the in laws where the extended family will join us for a day of holiday fun.

Merry Christmas Everyone...we'll see ya next week!

Christmas Card Out-takes

Pictures...Pictures...Pictures

Dear Donna,

I have been slacking in the picture department :(...so let's play catch up shall we?!?!?

December 5th, 2010-The surprise Birthday party was a success! I even kept it a surprise :)

Dalton's Christmas Program

One of my favorite Ornaments on our tree

Look who's 4 months old!



I couldn't make it through a lot of mornings without this kid! I wish I had a big brother like him.

Ok...so it's probably not the exact amount of pictures I'm behind on but It's a good start anyway! I'll try to do better this week...promise!

Wordless Wednesday-3 months (ok...so a week late)

Wordless Wednesday-Mother Son Date Night

October...well it's been fun!

The Month of October has just flown by (yes I know there is still a week left). On the 9th this little angel turned 2 months old! She's really something these days. We're starting to see bits of her personality. She smiles, oh her smiles are beautiful. She loves it when her brother sings Jesus Loves Me to her. We're tried other songs but that's the one that will calm her down. She's awake almost all evening long now and we turn in for bed at 9...she'll sleep until 2 we get up and she eats and we watch whatever tv show we dvr'd the night before and go back to bed til 6. She's getting bigger at her 2 month check up she weighed 9 lbs 5 oz and was 22 1.2 inches long. People still think she's a month younger than she is...she's just a petite lil thing :)

The 9th was also Rocky and I's 6th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by riding the hog...I haven't been on the back of that thing in over a year I was missing my throttle therapy. We did a ride for our old high school's FBLA Champions for Babies for the March of Dimes. It was a quick 100 mile ride but for a great cause and we look forward to doing it again next year.

This kid right here...well he's pretty much AMAZING!!! And his teacher told us the same thing last night at our first Parent / Teacher Conference. She said that Dalton is the happiest kid and gets along with everyone, and that the kid is always smiling even when he's in timeout. Luckily he's not there often but it does happen. We have a bit of an attention span issue during learning time but we already knew that. So if you have any fun ideas/ways you keep your kids interested in learning do share.

I love when these two are snuggled together. Dalton adores his sister and I think she's taken a liking to him too!

My sleep deprived random ramblings...

I have been back to work since Monday and haven't figured out just yet if I'm coming or going. Getting two kids ready every morning driving them to two different locations and making sure I get to Sonic for my Route 44 energizer every morning then running to get both after work...and getting home and wanting nothing more than to give them both lots of attention has me wondering where in the world the day has gone. We haven't eaten dinner before 7 one night this week which equals Dalton not being in bed on time either. Like 45 minutes late every night. Then it's time to feed Sophie had her off to Rocky and attempt to get some sort of cleaning done. Cleaning ha yeah right...just the bare minimum has been accomplished so if you come over please do not look at my floors...the toilets or the piles of dust on everything...there.is.no.time.to.clean!!!

It's fall premier week on tv too! My poor DVR is plumb full...I promise DVR I'll get to you...you're just not that important right now (besides Vampire Diaries...I make time for you during that 1 a.m. feeding). Have I mentioned how much I love Vampire stuff lately! Those vamps from Mystic Falls are just as hot as Edward :)

Uh what else is going on?...Oh my son continues to crack me up every day. I know this is sooo not funny but last night he was mad at me for making him eat and called me a "butt-ear"...oh the lovely things he learns from school. I've never heard him call anyone a mean name before and couldn't help but laugh at him...probably not the most appropriate response but oh well :)

Oh and one last thing before I end this randomness I've totally failed at 30 Day Shred...I'm going to have to find time to get it in though...It's just gonna take me a few more days to get used to this crazy schedule.

1 Month!!!

Princess Sophie is one month old today!!! Where oh where has the last month gone. Oh ya feeding, burping, changing diapers, gazing at the beautiful little girl, playing dress up, putting bows in her hair, but most certainly not sleeping! She is only getting up once at night to eat and then goes right back to sleep (most nights, unless she just wants me to hold her and talk to her and I'm alright with that). She has changed so much. Our little 5 lb 11oz princess who got down to 5 lb 6 oz last week was 7 lbs 4 oz and I'm excited to see what she weighs next week. She's outgrown all of her premie clothes and some newborn clothes.

Her brother still adores her and I think that having a sibling is the best gift we've ever given him. He talks to her, tries to play with her, reads her books, and gives lots and lots of kisses. These two melt my heart every day!

I must return to work in just over a week. It's killing me!!!! I have only been away from Sophie for a walk or bike ride with Dalton. We have been together just about every minute of everyday for the last month. But I guess I've got to do what I've got to do :(

I have officially lost all of my pregnancy weight!!! Woohoo!!! However I was overweight to begin with sooo....enter the 30 Day Shred!!! Jill is going to help me jump start back into a fitness routine and hopefully jump start my 30 to 40 pound weight loss! Wish me luck!!!

Coversations between a brother and sister

Dalton pretty much loves his baby sister...Thank goodness!!! He even likes to share his wisdom with her :) So a new update we'll be doing on this here blog is conversations between and brother and sister. Here are the first two.

This morning while I'm putting on my shoes and Dalton and Sophie are next to me.

Dalton "Sophie God can wash away your skin"

Yesterday while putting her in the carseat and she's crying.

Dalton "Mom I don't think she's very comfortable" "Don't worry Sophie I wasn't comfortable when I was a baby too"

Lol...I'm so excited to hear these coversations for the rest of my life!

A Birth Story...Princess Sophie Lyn

On Monday, August 9th at 4:46 p.m. we became a family of four and Rocky and I became the parents of the most beautiful little girl Sophie Lyn Evans. 5 lbs 11 oz 20 inches long.

So...Sunday August 8th I hit that 37 week mark in my pregnancy...I had Dalton at 37 weeks exactly so I made sure we were all ready to meet our new little bundle of joy. That night when we went to bed I told Rocky I had this feeling I should have probably shaved my legs to which his reply was something like quit thinking about going into labor your gonna cause yourself to have this baby.

Monday 8-9-10 at 5:30 in the morning I guess I had thought myself into labor cause my water broke. I wasn't feeling any contractions yet so I showered...Rocky's folks came in and got Dalton and we arrived at the hospital at around 6:30. Still not really feeling and contractions the nurse checked me and I was only dilated to a 1 1/2. This was not what I was hoping for...you see when I got to the hospital to have Dalton I was already a 7!!! Rocky and I spent the morning walking the halls...sitting on the birthing ball and the contractions were increasing but still not very regular and not really all that painful...just uncomfortable. When the nurse checked me at noon I was at a.....2!!!! So my doctor decided we should probably start some pitocin and get things moving...and boy did they move...contractions started coming fast and furious at that point...I tried to stay as strong as possible and only used a little pain medication in my IV that wore off after an hour...which relaxed my body enough to let me get fully dilated...and after a few pushes...I hear my husband announced so excitedly "It's a girl"!!!! I really am still in shock we have a daughter...remember I was convinced it was a boy.

Words cannot explain the completeness I feel for our little family now. She fits in perfectly it's like she was always meant to be here. Dalton is doing an amazing job as a big brother...he hasn't been too jealous...he just wants to be by her side holding her hand and giving her kisses all the time.

Remember all those worries I had about sharing my time with two kids and Dalton feeling jealous...I actually think having 2 children has made me a better mom. Really!!! I'm not worrying about my shows on TV or seeing what people are doing on facebook...I'm just focusing on spending time with my kids and husband. Dalton and I have decided that every night we will go for a bike ride or walk and just play in the back yard just the two of us. We started that tradition last night and we both loved it.

Oh and that husband of mine...can I tell you how amazingly awesome he is. This past week he has taken care of me and the kids...kept the laundry up...the dishes...cooking and letting me nap. I love him and fall more in love with him everyday seeing him interact with our children (we have 2 kids :) lol).

So...look forward to lots of new posts about these two adorable kids of mine! Thank you God for blessing me with this wonderful family!

'Round here

We've been real busy 'round here lately...OK so maybe busy is an understatement! Last Friday was my 10 year high school reunion. I'd love to post some pictures...but I didn't ask the classmates if it'd be alright :( However 8 of the 19 classmates showed up. YES there were only 19 of us...which was both awesome and horrible at the same time. We were very close...don't get me wrong we had our clicks within the 19 but we were like a big family so we fought just like brothers and sisters! I love those guys and I was so amazed at how we all got along just like we did 10 years ago...Nothing had really changed. I just hope we don't wait another 10 years to get together. I'll tell ya though...this preggo mama was not used to staying out til after midnight (did I mention I'm getting old) the next morning of course Dalton was up at the butt crack of dawn...so thankfully he decided he should watch Wizard of Boz (Oz) and mama fell asleep a few times!

The baby's room is coming along nicely. My dear husband has painted and these past two weeks sanded and refinished the hardwood floors. They look amazing!!! I'm so very lucky to have married such a handy man. I told him last night I think I probably take his talents for granted. It's nothing for me to ask for a new outlet or tile somewhere and he can do it!

I think Big Brother likes the baby's room!

This is from the 4th of July. Look at how studly my little man is getting. I just know when we bring this baby home he's going to age overnight. :( I'm stealing as many kisses and hugs and snuggle time with this guy! I want to make sure he always knows that I love him so much...words cannot express the feelings I have for this kid.

This week is fair week so that means I'll be sitting in my air conditioned trailer at the fair grounds most of the week broadcasting live for the radio. I love this week so much. I love talking to 4-H'ers who have worked so hard on their projects...projects that most adults can't tackle!

We're officially 33 weeks now...in just a few short weeks we'll be changing the name of this blog...will it be Dalton and Eli's or Dalton and Sophie's mommy? I can't stand the anticipation any longer!!!!

Ugh...

Can I just whine a minute??? Please...pretty pretty please???

It's hot...like 96 degrees and it feels like 103!!!! My feet are swelling...so not attractive and uncomfortable. My back is killing me from my stomach stretching so far forward. My baby doesn't kick...it pushes as hard as possible against that growing stomach. I'm soooooooooo tired of wearing a bra...however I don't think the people at work would appreciate the girls hanging all over the place. More? Ok! I didn't sunscreen my legs or forehead Sunday when we spent ALL DAY at the water park...so ya naturally my sunburn on the tops of my legs really hurts...I'm turning green from all the Aloe I've been applying. The third trimester is kicking my butt...I'm so freaking exhausted!!! Seriously I've been in bed by 8:30-9 every night since Saturday :( My 4 year old has taken being sarcastic to a whole new level...honestly I think his goal in life is too try and be as cute as possible while being extremely sarcastic all at the same time.

Come on 9 1/2 more weeks I'm ready to feel "normal' (whatever that is ) again and meet that new baby!

THEN, there's the whole remodeling thing we decided to do with only 11 weeks til due date! Haven't mentioned that yet have I? Oh yeah so we're remodeling some space to make a new master bedroom suite...and giving the baby our room. So...painting is done in the new master and we won't start working on the bathroom part until fall or winter...but we still need to move into it so that we can paint and set up the nursery...oh and Rocky thinks he'll refinish the hardwoods in there too! I sure hope we can get this all done!!!

Ok...I'll quit whining now. Thanks for listening er reading :)

Mommy Guilt...It's normal...right?

Let me start off by saying that I am 100% already completely in love with our new baby and can't wait to meet him or her...however I'm having a slight feeling of mommy guilt.

Guilt for...turning my little boys world upside down...for making him share his mommy and daddy. He's been our #1 for the last 4 1/2 years...and honestly besides his father he is my best friends. (Yes I totally think a 4 year old can be you're best friend). We have so much special time just the two of us...our car ride conversations every morning and afternoon...our trips to the library...playing in the yard...our bedtime snuggle time...our Mommy Dalton days...when daddy's working on the weekends...I could go on and on and on! He's my little man and I'm just feeling a little guilty that he will have to share me.

Now I know that he wont stay little forever and he'll probably find someone else to call his best friend but I've truly treasured every moment that we've had just the three of us!

I also know that him having a sibling is probably one of the greatest gifts we as parents could possibly give him...I know I wouldn't trade my siblings for anything.

Ok...maybe I'm rambling now...I think I'm just really starting to get a little stressed and anxious for the new member of our family to arrive and we still have about 10 Weeks to go :(

Here's a few of the cutest quotes from my little man:

"The firefighters are going to be jealous of me when I get big and drive the fire truck"

At bed time last night "I'm sorry mommy for arguing with you"...Me"Honey we're not arguing" Dalton "I argued at dinner when I didn't want to eat"

At 3 a.m. he wakes me up because he needs to know what time it is (I think he's getting interested in learning to tell time)

Those are just a few off the top of my head the kid entertains me daily!

Oh and that new baby...we got to take a peak at it this week...it's measuring perfectly except it's legs are 2 weeks ahead...while watching it also reached down and scratched it's butt!

I totally think Dalton's going to have a baby brother :)

Please Don't turn me in for child labor :)