Week 11

With these first four pictures, I was going for what I thought would be a cool rotating effect ... didn't go so well.

Ruthie and Evie. Approx. 5 weeks apart on any given day. So cute in their unplanned, yet matching purple outfits.

In this post, there are pictures of Evie and her first bottle. She was the picture of flexibility, getting her first bottle amidst company. We might be having formula issues, but am hoping that maybe there is just a learning curve with formula and then her body will be adjusted. Just one bottle a day ...

There is also a picture of Matt and his first apple pie. We've enjoyed another one since. So, maybe that's why I am still not wearing many of my pre-Evie clothes.

And I simply love the last pictures of Simon and Lorena. With his little laptop and her purse they look so grown-up. They are 6 weeks apart in age (Simon is older).

More of Evie and Simon

These pictures of my brother Scott show his raw emotion over the Cowboy's defeat in Sunday's play-off game. Matt was sitting near Scott in a chair, strumming the guitar. Scott commented that he was jealous of Matt's indifference. I think Matt was more indifferent because we didn't watch the entire game. For part of the game, we were driving, and Matt was just listening to the game on the radio. So, it was easier to not be as engaged. Besides, we kept stopping the game to talk about pies...long story. Maybe I can explain later.


Isn't Evie the cutest, with her little, balled up fists? I often see Simon trying to open up her hands.























More raw emotion from Scott.


















Evie on her blanket for "tummy time." Matt was keeping her entertained by doing push-ups next to her. Appropriate, since she had on her "I Love Daddy" bib.


I think sometimes, what exactly do I do all day? I really don't sit. I've only recently began reading fiction again, and only because I discovered I can do that and ride an exercise bike at the same time. So, I think, what exactly do I do? And then, I realized...I change sheets. I had a day the other day where I felt like all I did, all day, was change sheets. Given, Evie's are easy to change, but, oh, how often they need changing.

I emailed a friend today that I realized yesterday at 5, that while I had given two baths that day, I myself was neither showered or dressed. Sad, but at least that isn't everyday's story. And I know that there will be a time when I yearn for these days of diapers, spit-up, and other child offerings. I am really happy with my kiddos, and if need be, please remind me.

I wrote a couple of cards to people today, and I kept thinking of the scripture from Nehemiah, "The joy of the Lord is my strength." Lots of truth in that short statement.

Simon helped me sort through digital pictures today and send some to Snapfish (our first time!) We came across a picture of my mom's mom, and Simon gushed, "Oh, that's my (pause as he though) Grandma....She helps me eat crackers with Alex." Sweet.

So, I called my dad today and he asked me how Simon was progressing with toilet training. We've had #1 covered for months now, but #2 hasn't come as easy. I'm thinking Dad might have been stuck with one of Simon's 'sleep accidents' last weekend ... otherwise I can't figure out why he would ask :) He had some good thoughts on what to do to help Simon, though.

Currently, we are withholding all children videos and public television from Simon, not as punishment, but as a REWARD for when he does have a success. However, I am feeling a little punished by the absence of a quiet praise baby dvd for Simon while I try and nurse or calm Evie down. I think I spent no less than 3 hours in the hall bath with Simon yesterday, hoping for success. We resorted to a 'popcorn party with raisins' (FIBER) and to various calisthenics, hoping to kick up the success opportunities, but... I was destined for lessons in patience insntead.

Simon saw something in the kitchen while he was helping me, I think it was knives or scissors. Simon said, "That's danger. That's what Pops said. He's Ken. He's my friend."

Simon was helping me make hummus on Monday and I said, "We need garlic." I went to get the garlic and then saw that Simon had already pulled out the garlic press. "We need this," Simon said. "For spagettys." Then I said, "Okay, now we need Cumin and salt." "IT'S IN THE PANTRY," Simon said very loudly and excitedly as he ran for the pantry...."It's in there somewhere..."

When I went to the pantry, Simon had been sidetracked with his toy recorder we keep in there. (Weird, I know, but I tell him to go to the pantry when he 'needs to be loud.' so he can talk/yell/play his recorder. He looked at me and said, "I need to be loud."

You might be wondering how well hummus went over with SImon. Well, I am in the market for a recipe, but the one we tried was okay. Simon got a little down in his belly, as we would hold the crackers and pretzels in ransom until he did eat a bite.

Matt and I are fairly exhausted these days. Here is evidence of that:
The other day Matt said, "I need hangers. How do I get some?" Now, normally, that would sound rude to some, but really, it wasn't. I think Matt was just thinking aloud. And, normally, I would comment that I would get some for him, but for some reason, I was also so tired and genuinely wanted to tell him how to get some. I replied, "Can you go through the clothes in the closet and find some hangers that used to have clothes but are now empty." I'm pretty sure that is verbatim and I KNOW it sounds like the whole dialogue was kind of testy, but it wasn't! I only remember the conversation because it was SO COMICAL. After I said what I said, I realized how silly it sounded, to really explain to an adult how to find hangers, and Matt and just laughed and laughed. This is proof we are sleep-deprived.

I was also sent a link to a parody of Carrie Underwood's song, "Jesus take the wheel." If you want a laugh, google, "Cletus take the Reel." I think it is either on youtube or godtube, but if you google it, you'll get a link. If it is not funny, then it is further proof that we are sleep-deprived, because we thought it was pretty funny.

More proof is that we have, on several occasions, had conversations about pies. Matt decided it would be great if every meal could be in pie form and we have begun a creative banter for ideas. My completely sane and rational idea would be discarded by Matt, though he would love my suggestions that I thought were outrageous. For example:
Amy: "Okay, how about a pie with a yeasty crust, kind of like a Sister Schubert's roll. The inside would be a mixture of sweet potato casserole, ham, and green bean casserole." (keep in mind I was not serious)
Matt: "Yeah, that sounds good! You're getting good at this. Now, we would need to take the sweet potatoes, green beans, and ham and make some kind of paste with it."
Matt: "Okay, I have a great one. Cornbread crust with pinto beans and orange inside. All together, in a paste. The oranges would add a different flavor to it. Oh wait, what about this...Tortilla crust, and the inside would be avocados and oranges."
Amy: "That sounds disgusting."
Matt: "No, no, you have no imagination. What about a healthy crust made out of mashed up avocadoes and potatoes and flour, and the inside could be a layer of bananas, followed by some potatoes, then a layer of black beans, and then repeat the layers, with sour cream on top."
Amy: "Okay, okay, I have one. What about a healthy crust made with whole wheat flour. Then, for the filling, I cut up apples and cook them just a little with brown sugar, splenda, and cinnamon and ..."
Matt: interrupting, "No, that sounds like apple pie."
....And what would be wrong with a sensible pie?

So, we have, on one occasion, completely missed our exit on the highway and driven WAY OFF of our route, because we were distracted by this crazy pie banter. What you have read is merely an excerpt of many, many conversations centered around pie possibilities.

I posted this blog a bit ago, but am going to add this 'live' update....This just in, as Matt just walked in from the grocery store. (He and Simon stopped by Kroger enroute home from church)
Simon walked in the door, bearing a bouquet of flowers for me...
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Matt: "Look what I bought."
I admit, I'm thinking, ice-cream.
Amy: "What?"
Matt: shows amy a can of apple pie filling in a can.
Matt exclaims, "I'm going to make a pie! I'm thinking about maybe making it tonight if we have all the right ingredients."
Amy looks skeptical, as it is 9:15 p.m.
Matt: "What? I'm going to bed at midnight now. It's my new schedule. I"m taking advantage of more daytime now."
Amy: "I'm confused. Apple Pie. So conventional. Beside, we don't have any crusts."
Matt: "I'm going to make the crust from scratch. I'm experimenting with the crust, then I'll work on the filling."
Matt is at this point looking at a cookbook as I type this right now.
Amy: "So, you're really going to make a pie."
Matt: "Thinking about it."
Matt is now taking off Simon's shoes and directing him in his bed routine while in his spare seconds trying to find a recipe for pie crusts. This is so odd.

What is wrong with us? We are so tired yet keep doing more than we need to. Example: Matt and his pies. Example: I am trying to organize our closet and ordered this weird thing to help fold clothes more neatly. I think our thought filter is a little off.

Don't forget to google, "Cletus take the Reel." So much sleep needed here.

Ooh, now Matt is looking at the cookbook again, trying to find pies.
Matt: "Why can't I find pies?"
Amy: "Here, let me help." (looking in index) "Here they are. Lattice.."
Matt: interrupts, "Lattice, that's what I want."
Amy: "Um, okay,"
We find the recipe, apparently there is a whole sections of pies and tarts.
Matt: upon seeing recipe, "Oh, this is easy." not sure why he said that, except that maybe b/c there were only a few ingredients listed. "What's shortening?"
Matt:"Oh, this looks hard. There's so much written down. Oh, we have one of those!"
Amy: "What do we have?"
Matt: "A pastry blender."
Time passes.
Matt: "This is so easy. All right, I'm going to make one."
Matt: "I'm going to exercise while it bakes." ironic

"Laugh Aloud" and "Make You Smile" Pix from Week 10

So, I'm pretty sure those first two pictures would bring a smile to most faces!

I love this outfit on her! This is from Aunt KayKay and is so cute. I like the quote under the sheep, "Keep Them Counting." The coordinating pants have the cutest pockets on the front.



So, cute, the little tongue sticking out again.





Wow, Evie's brown hair looks almost red in this picture.


Simon and his books! So glad he enjoys books -- Simon was so cute today when I asked him to clean up his eggs. He'd walked into the living room and somehow a collection of egg 'particles' from breakfast fell from him and I gave him an idea of how to clean it up. (I was thinking picking up the pieces using a tissue would be a good idea.) Simon came back with his empty milk glass from breakfast and put all of the pieces in it...then he said, "I got to put this in the trash." Great idea. The only drawback was that he didn't empty it that well of the particles b/c when he filled it up with water, I saw lots of murkiness in his water... ;) I sent him back into the kitchen to put up something else and he whispered as he walked to the kitchen, "That would be good (of me)." He's not always that eager to please. However, he has cute ways of saying no. He used to say, "I can't like that." Now he just lets me know that whatever I am requesting wouldn't make him happy (as if that is the goal of parenting.) He might say, "I'm not happy to do that." On the reverse side, he is often heard saying, "I'm happy to do that." "I'm happy to see my friend."



Also cute saying of SImon, often posed as he looks at books, "What it do?" Aw, our little rapper.



I'm noticing that SImon is distinguishing more between boys and girls. Not in the way that you might expect, mostly in their clothing and eating habits (as he perceives.) For example, at breakfast today he announced that the eggs and biscuits (homemade, mind you!) were his favorite breakfast. "These are my favorite breakfast. Eggs and biscuits with jellyfish (grape)." "Not girls." So, I asked, what are girl's favorite? "All the girls like the oatmeal for breakfast. All the girls. It's their favorite." He asked yesterday, "Is Nina coming over? Is my Nina friend coming over?" Simon has such a good memory as he rarely gets to see his little friend Lorena, maybe twice since Evie's come around, during my appointments or brief drop-ins...anyway, that's a bunny trail just to show how good his memory is of pleasant events. Simon said, "I need my Nina friend. She's a good girl." I asked what made her a good girl. He said, "She wears a pink shirt and purple." So, all the good girls wear pink and purple, and all girls love oatmeal. It's their favorite.

Evie is waking up more! She has this cute habit of shaking her little legs. When she is in the crib sometime, trying to resist a nap, I might go in there and she'll just start 'dancing' by kicking her arms and flailing her arms. She's all smiles and gurgles and has this look of expectancy in her face, like she is so proud of herself and is just waiting for us to praise her. It's really cute. In the first picture posted of her on the red chair, her leg is a blur because it was just dancing away.

Simon woke up kind of cranky this morning and wanted to go back to bed. Well, that was fine with me, I turned his light back off at his request and let him know he could join Evie and I in the living room when he wanted and then we'd have breakfast. He came dragging in a little later, shielding his eyes from the bright sun (back window/doors), and asked, "MOMMY, CAN YOU TURN IT OFF? CAN YOU TURN THAT LIGHT OFF?" The sun? Wow, he must think I am really powerful.


After breakfast he told me, "I've got to go to someone's house." We had some friends over last night and I think he was sad they weren't here. I wish I'd snapped a picture of the kids last night. There are two adorable twins (boy and girl) about to turn 2 and an older sister who is about 4 months older than Simon. Anyway, I think he wondered where they were and needed to go to someone's house.


Today he was playing with his plastic frogs and put some aside for his dad. I asked, "Who are those for?" He said, "Those are for my dad. Those are his frogs." Then he kept playing and I heard him kind of whisper in a loving tone, "Matt." I asked, "What did you say?" Simon said, "Matt. He's my dad."

We are planning to take Simon to all-night prayer tonight. It's been awhile since we tried to take him. Usually we plan for him to be at his grandparents when we have Fri. Night Prayer. We tried it once, with him in his playpen by himself in a room and he was too scared for that too work. Then we have tried at least once to bring him a blanket and see if he would just fall asleep in the big meeting room, like the older kids, and that DID NOT WORK. It was too much for him to be still at that age. But, it's been awhile since we tried that, so I think it might work this time. I can rub his little back and maybe he'll drift off to sleep. Or maybe not, we'll see. I told him this morning about how we would be going to GFA tonight and he would get to sleep there. At first he said, "Oh, that sounds like fun." Then later he told me we couldn't sleep at the big building in the dark rooms because it was scary and we have to sleep at home not in the big building. I explained that this time he would get to stay with us and he is excited once again. And he said the cutest thing when he found out he could stay in the big room with all the mommies and daddies, he said, "Oh, that sounds like that will help me be good." By good, I think he means, not scared and it is so cute to hear him expressing his thoughts!

These pictures are of Simon getting himself some water. I heard cabinets opening yesterday and I went to see what Simon was doing. He was standing on the stool, and he looked at me and said, "Mama, I need a drink." So, he put water in it and tried to put the lid on it...so cute. He couldn't get the lid on so he just stood over the glass and of course, certain laws of gravity prevented him from drinking the water in the position, without a straw. It was really funny to watch. And then I helped him :)

Simon in his cute apron and chef's hat!


Simon was excited to mail some cookies to our dear friends who moved to New Mexico. We tried a yummy shortbread recipe that used semi-sweet chocolate. Yummy. Of the 3 dozen cookies our recipe made, only 2 dozen made it to New Mexico!