Things Pondered, Part 6

If I am being honest, this past year has been one of the most challenging years of parenting Evelyn. I have heard some say that 5 is a tough age.. and I would say for me, that is true. I have learned a lot about Evelyn, how she ticks, and how to communicate with her in a way that is helpful for both of us. She continues to amaze me with how smart she is and how creative she is. She continues to grow in her desire to learn about the world around her. She continues to push buttons and try my patience at times, too..haha! Overall, tho.. even tho it has been an interesting year, it has been another year with my baby girl, and for that I am thankful. She adds so much to my life.. to our family's life... and I love her more than words can say!

 Evelyn's birthday party was on the 8th, but that didn't stop us from celebrating our SIX year old on her actual birthday!!

She was pretty excited to FINALLY be six!

Since she got Matthew a monster truck for his birthday, he thought his sister needed one, too.. and he found her a PINK monster truck! There was some eye rolling and laughs, but she really did like it!!

It wouldn't be a birthday without cinnamon rolls!

Sadly the afternoon was not so fun as my sweet girl came down with a fever and really felt horrible, had bad cough and was really congested. She was still up for getting take out at her favorite place, Happy Panda (she loves the orange chicken!). We swung by Dairy Queen on our way home, where she was serenaded with the Happy Birthday song by the drive thru guy as he gave her the blizzard she asked for. We came home, watched "Toy Story 2" and she went to bed early, happy even tho she felt crummy.

Happy Birthday, my Evelyn Joy!


" ..and Mary treasured these things and pondered them in her heart" ~Luke 2:19

Rapunzel! Rupenzel!

For almost an entire year, Evelyn has wanted to have a "Rupunzel" birthday party. To be honest, I really was hoping she would change her mind, but in the end that truly is what she wanted AND it turned out to be such a fun party and a fun day to celebrate my sweet girl!

Doug did all of the kitchen decorating... and did a stellar job!

Evelyn didn't want to see it until it was all done. This is the moment she saw it.. priceless!!

My sister got her some "Rapunzel Hair" for her birthday. It ended up being too itchy for her to wear for very long, which made her sad. but it she loved the idea!

Ready to party!! 

For the party "activity", we had the girls paint lanterns, like the ones in the movie Tangled.

Party time! Evelyn was all smiles the entire time... such a fun time with her friends!

Doug read the Tangled storybook while the kids had a little snack. He is so good at stuff like this and mostly kept the kids' attention! HAHA!

GIFTS!! She was so blessed by lovely gifts from her friends!

CAKE TIME! Evelyn has been eying a Rapunzel cake at Safeway for almost as long as she has wanted to have a Rapunzel themed party. I usually make the cake, but I decided to just get the one she wanted, which turned out to be really cute.. and tasty!

All smiles when it was finished!! Love my girl!

So.. she got her first real "doll" from my mom and Grandpa Doug. I wondered if she would take to it or not, as she hasn't really been into them yet (although she thoroughly enjoys the American Girl catalog whenever it comes in the mail!). Well.. this was here at bedtime. She has never slept with anything else in bed with her except her "pony" and maybe one other stuffed animal. Until now. Her and her doll, appropriately named "Evelyn" (for real! It came with a book and everything!) went to bed with her.. and will probably be with her everywhere she goes from now on.. she LOVES it! Thanks, mom and Doug.. what a special gift!

It was a super fun day... and I know she will remember this party for a long time to come!!

My Matthew

Yesterday Matthew turned 3. THREE. I am trying hard to not get all choked up when I type that. My baby. My last baby. Is three. Sigh...

He still wakes up around 7AM, naps from 12-2ish, and is usually asleep by 7:45-8pm. He cracks us up as he "talks" himself to sleep at night, singing "Jesus Loves Me", the "Happy Birthday" song, the ABC song or just chatting to his beloved "Bear" (his stuffed white bear) about what is on his mind. Sometimes I think might be ready to not nap any longer, but thankfully he still asks to take one and is usually asleep in moments! I am enjoying "my time" (Evelyn is in school while he naps) while it lasts... I bet before he is 4 his naps will be no longer.

Matthew enjoys life. He is a happy and laid back kid. He is three, so he DOES get frustrated about silly things and DOES throw the occasional fit, but for the most part he is full of joy and "cited" about everything! He still loves "diggers", trucks, tractors, and hot wheels. He, like his sister, is a good little "player" and at least once a day he will say he wants to go "play by myself" and will do so for up to 20 minutes. He is my mover and groover, always on the go, but not to the point (yet!) where it is constant. He loves sports of all kinds, but football, soccer and basketball are his top 3 and there are few days where we are NOT kicking, throwing or shooting a ball.

He is always ready to watch a show (the kids watch 30min/day of TV so they REALLY look forward to it!). His favorite shows are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, and Little Einsteins.He sings the songs and intently watched the shows and always enjoys this time.

Even though he is almost as tall as Evelyn (seriously.. only 4 inches shorter) and weighs close to the same as her (1.5 lbs less to be exact!), he still seems so little to me because he is still growing in his verbal skills. . that and the fact that I don't want to believe he is getting bigger! I think that is what makes him so stinkin' cute and so easy to love... he is our baby boy.

This year he has made leaps and bounds with his talking. LEAPS AND BOUNDS! This time last year, he had very few words and was easily frustrated with not being able to communicate (as were we). We still have those moments when we have no idea what he is saying, but they are few and far between. Evelyn is always a great translator (seriously... it is so amazing how she can know what he is saying... that would be a great topic of a thesis or something!) but we need her less and less these days. We are so proud of him!!

To describe just how much joy he brings to me, to our family,  is pretty tough to do. He is full of life, love, and energy. He is kind, thoughtful, hilarious, and loves me with all his being. They say "boys love their momma". Yep... they do.

I am so blessed to be loved by this boy.

Matthew is THREE!!

Matthew had a lovely time celebrating being 3! Here are some of the highlights...

Woke up ON his birthday to find the kitchen decorated.. he was so "cited"!

TIME FOR GIFTS!

Monster truck from sissy

A full sized football!

BREAKFAST TIME!

Birthday cinnamon rolls... yummy!

Proud boy... blew out all the candles by himself!

DINNER....at Red Robin with Grandma and Grandpa Doug, of course!

They aren't in the picture, but he was looking at and pointing at the presents that my mom had brought for him... he could hardly stand it!

He enjoyed dinner.. can ya tell?

He did save room for dessert, tho! 

Love my boy!

Christmas Tree Time!

We usually get our tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Since we were traveling home from Idaho that day.. we had to go today. The forcast was for rain, but thankfully we had a break in the weather as we headed out.. and it didn't start to rain until we were leaving the tree farm. SO thankful for that!!

We went to Baggensto's this year instead of Hagg's, and we really liked their selection of trees. The ambiance of Hagg's wasn't there, but both Doug and I agree the trees were better for us. And... since it wasn't our usual two hour "experience".. we made it in and out in under and hour, before the rain came!

My little tree hunters. Evelyn was a little cold and grumpy and not in the mood to take pictures. Sigh...

A boy and his John Deere.. its a beautiful thing. Tyson, our "guide", was awesome!

Gosh.. I sure love him!

"Look, mommy... a "Charlie Brown Christmas" tree!! 

Our traditional tree "marker" photo! 

Look who found their smile.. on our way home? 

The final product:

I think this is my favorite tree since being in this house. Fits our big window perfectly.

Ready for Christmas! YAY!