Here we go...

We have come to that part of having two kids when they begin to "germ-share"! Evelyn had a pretty yucky cold for the past couple of weeks. I think this is the longest she had ever been sick. Anyways.. she finally managed to pass it on to her brother before getting over it. Poor buddy isn't feeling so hot, but in true Matthew fashion, he is handling it pretty good. He is not as happy as he usually is and is really congested and snarfly. He really hates having his nose suctioned with the bulb syringe, too.. thankfully I haven't had to do it too often. Overall, tho, he is being a trooper!! Momma is trying not to get cabin fever and finding things for us to do. I can't wait for ALL of us to be healthy again here!!

Not too sick to pose for a cute picture!!

My two NASCAR fans... I heart them!

Moments like these...

.. I hope to remember always!!

Evelyn has known how to spell her name for a long time. She has been able to write many letters, but she has never written her name out correctly or as nicely as she did today. I was so excited and proud. Although sick, she was pretty excited too!!

My friend Jody and I were just talking the other day about how for the first couple of years of life there are SO many milestones that are met. These days Evelyn is developing beautifully and getting smarter but there aren't as many "big" moments as there were when she was younger.

I consider this one of those "big" moments. I love being her mom! Go baby girl, go!!

No Foolin'...

Four years ago today, April 1st, I found out I was pregnant with my sweet Evelyn Joy!!

I remember waking up at 4am and needing to use the bathroom. Even tho we had taken the month "off" from trying something nudged me to grab a pregnancy test out of the cupboard. At 4am! Half asleep and without my glasses on, I took the test. In previous testing, it would take forever to get a "not pregnant" indicator. But within a few seconds there was a reading:

I thought I was seeing things, so I went back into the bedroom, got my glasses, and came back for another look. I remember starting to shake and starting to cry. I went back into the bedroom and woke up Doug to tell him.... at 4 in the morning!! He still gives me a hard time about that! :)

Even tho April 1st is a day of joking.. I am SO thankful that there was no kidding around about this!

I love you, Evelyn Joy!

Spring Training

Yesterday Jody hung out with us and we went on a walk to enjoy the beautiful weather. We stopped by the baseball field near us and Jody gave Evelyn a quick lesson. You need to click on the pics to really see Evelyn's expressions.. they are pretty cute! And yes, she is in a pink skirt.. I can't get her to wear pants or shorts these days.. but that's another blog post!!!

Batter Up....

Heading to first base...

... and rounding First


Heading to second...


Rounding third....

..... and HOME!


Ending with a high-five!


They ran the bases I think 3 times before Evelyn, out of breath, said, "I'm done, Jody...!" She had fun, tho!

I must add that Jody walked to our house (about a mile away from hers) and did all this with Evelyn AFTER running I think 10 miles earlier in the day. She is a rock star.. and an amazing friend.


We love you Jody... you're the best!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top 'O the Day to Ya!! We went all out here at the Morris house today to celebrate our Irishness! ;)

It actually started yesterday, with Evelyn's friend Juliet coming over to play and make "green cookies" as they called them (they were sugar cookies with green frosting). They had lots of fun!



Moving on to today... but first, a flashback:

Here is Evelyn March 17th 2007.

Our friend Donna got this for her in Ireland!
See how huge that outfit on her?

This is Matthew today in the same outfit (remember they are almost exactly 3 year apart):

Um.... can we say BIG BOY? I put the onesie on him and couldn't even snap it! Crazy! SO SO Cute, but crazy!!

I tried to get some shots of them together, but trying to get a good picture of Evelyn lately is near to impossible! AND today, she said she didn't want to wear green. She, of course, wanted to wear pink. Whatever... I'm not really gonna fight that battle! I promise I didn't pinch her!


Evelyn wanted to try on the hat.. and guess what? It still fit. And looked pretty cute I might add!!


I decided to make a traditional St. Patty's meal and made Corned Beef and Cabbage for the VERY first time today. I had never eaten it, either, so I hoped it would be okay. I put potatoes and carrots in the bottom of the crock pot.. you just can't see them in the picture. I added the cabbage for the last hour or so of cooking. It IMMEDIATELY took me back to my childhood. My Grandma Bramer used to make cabbage quite a bit.. that smell is one you don't forget. I never had to eat it as a kid.. and I had never eaten it as an adult either.

It sure smelled yummy in the crock pot.. and it tasted SO good!! We were happy that Doug's aunt Mary could join us, too... we love hanging out with her! Evelyn even liked the corned beef! SUCCESS!

We also had green jello on the side (I forgot to get a picture of that!) For desert, Evelyn and I made chocolate chip and green M&M cookies. They were good, too!

I really enjoyed today!!

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

I am glad I went into nursing...

.. because I would have FAILED at beauty school!

Both Doug and I LOVE Evelyn's long hair.. it is healthy and beautiful. The only problem is that it gets knotted up pretty easily, due to her hands in it (usually during a meal!) or just her ratting around in her sleep. Other than that, it is something that we cherish.

Evelyn's hair has only been trimmed once in her life, last October. Just about one inch off, at Great Clips, which she really did NOT like (look in the October archive to see that post). Since then she has talked about another trim.. and that she wanted ME to do it. Sure I thought.. how hard could it be? We had talked about it yesterday and she said today was the day.

Well.. let's just say it was an EPIC FAIL!!

First of all, she was squirmmy, as usual. Second of all, I grabbed the not-so-sharp scissors. Third, and most important.. I really CANNOT cut a straight line. Period.

I also apparently am not a good judge on what "trim" means. From the first snip I knew I was in trouble. But I was committed, right? I should have just put down the scissors and stepped away. But NO... I kept going. And before long I just wanted to cry at the amount of hair that was on the floor.

Her pretty hair in the trash... *sigh*...

Totally uneven... splendid!

The back was worse!

Thankfully Evelyn said she LOVED it when I was "done". I didn't share her sentiments. It didn't look horrible.. but it wasn't long anymore and certainly was not even! I immediately ran to call my hairdresser and good friend Sallee to see if she could come and repair the damage. Thankfully she was able to come over this afternoon and give Evelyn a "real" haircut. Ev got to sit in her booster seat, ON the counter! AND Sallee brought a Cinderella dress up dress for Evelyn, too. She has SO much fun! Thank you Sallee.. you are the BEST!

She looks SO grown up!

Twirling to show me her "pretty" hair!

She is beautiful, don't ya think?

It was super hard to get her out of this get-up!!

It looks SO cute, even if it isn't long anymore. I know it will grow back if I want it to.. but I think the shoulder length could grow on me!!

No matter what length her hair is, one thing is certain: my hair cutting days are OVER!!

Fun Family Time

My aunt Bobbie (my dad's baby sister) and uncle Dave stopped by on Sunday. They were on their way thru town heading home to Tacoma. It was SO good to see them and introduce them to Matthew. We love them so much.. they are such good people. Salt of the earth kind of people. Bobbie reminds me of my dad a lot.. it feels good to be with her.. like I am with him in a way.

My mom, her husband and my sister and family came over to spend time with Bobbie and Dave, too. It was such a lovely day outside, which made for an even lovelier time together.

Aunt Bobbie

Uncle Dave. Babies and kids alike LOVE Dave.. he's a natural!

Wearing the kiddo's out playing outside!

My nephew Cole and Dave playing

"It's sunny!"

Evelyn "fixed" her headband. Nice.... ;)

Matthew and Grandma

My beautiful niece Regan

Evelyn with Grandma and Grandpa Doug

My sister, aunt and I

I love family time... and loved seeing my aunt and uncle. I miss you, dad... but don't worry, Bobbie loves us and keeps your love for us alive, too!!