Eva Joy is 3!

Eva had fun celebrating her birthday with Grandma Christy, Grandpa Cole, Great Grandma Donna, Aunt Liss and Alaina! It was great to have them stay with us for the weekend. One of Eva's favorite things is going to see movies so we all went to the theater and saw Rango (which I don't really recommend) and then went and got pizza afterward. I spent my morning making this Ariel cake, which was fun to do, especially seeing Eva get excited about it and putting the sprinkles on it herself. It was hard work though! Eva was thrilled to get an Ariel barbie, Woody ("he's a cowboy doll," she says) and some pretty new dresses.

What a big girl she is getting to be. She likes to do art, ski, ride her bike, talk and sing to Charlie. We love you Eva and all of the spice you add to our lives. Happy Birthday!

P.S. The close up photos are pre-mullett days. I just love them and had to add that cute smile to her birthday post!

A sad, sad tale about a pony tail

Last week Eva was playing at the neighbor, Jonette's house next door and I was having a quiet moment with Charlie. That is why I found it strange to find Jonette on my doorstep, without Eva. She was laughing to herself and said, "I don't know whether to laugh or to cry, but Eva just cut her hair." And I just started sobbing. (A little dramatic, I know, but she's my little girl who doesn't have much hair anyway!) So I went over to find that Eva and her friends had a pair of scissors on the trampoline. Thank goodness it was only hair that was cut. Yikes! It wasn't as bad as I had envisioned, but check out the sweet mullett she gave herself:

Since there was nothing I could do, I decided to just laugh about it and be glad that she: 1) didn't seriously hurt herself, 2) she won't be going to school where kids will make fun of her, and 3)fsimply because she doesn't care one bit. Thank goodness Liss came to town 2 days later to fix the do. I didn't know whether to do a short pixie cut or to just let this one side that was cut catch up to the rest. Liss ended up cutting bangs and now we do a nice comb-over and part it on the opposite side with a big flower covering it up. You can hardly tell when it is all in place!

The little guy, 5 months

Eva Skis Bogus

A few weekends ago we took Eva skiing for her first time at Bogus Basin. She did so good! Eric took her on the "Magic Carpet" and they skied down together and wow, does that girl like speed! They did it about a dozen times before she was tired. I didn't get the chance to do it with her so we've got to go back soon!

Halloween

I'm a little late I know, but I'm late for everything these days. We found this tiger costume at a kids consignment store and when I put it on Eva I almost peed my pants. Everyone in the store was looking at me wondering why I was laughing so hard. Am I the only one that thinks it is hilarious? And her friend Mikaylas costume couldn't have matched better. They looked so cute together and had fun at the trunk-or-treat. After getting 2 pieces of candy Eva stopped, trying anxiously to get a wrapper open. Why keep going when you have a candy right here? Mikaylas mom, Carina Dewitt, took these cute photos of them. (more photos by her to come).
And for the little guy...

He was toothpaste this year, wearing the same costume at 6 weeks old that Eva wore when she was 7 months. Cute aint he?

Life with 2

Wow! I don't know how you women with multiple children ever have time to sit down and blog! Actually, how do you have time to sit down at all? Life with 2 kiddos is intense and exhausting, yet wonderfully fun and rewarding. Our day begins with a sleepy mom and baby in bed trying to get some last few moments of shut-eye. Then the Eva girl awakens and marches right in, immediately wanting to hold Charlie, burp Charlie, kiss Charlie, and lick Charlie. There is no doubt she loves her little brother and thankfully hasn't shown any resentment towards him at all for swaying some of our attention his way. As I pry my eyelids open, I encourage her to be gentle and then pull a pillow next to her so that she can hold her brother. Although I could fall back into a sound sleep in 2 seconds, I do love watching this sweet moment with my kids. It sure feels strange to say "kids". I have to say that everything has been 10 times easier the second time around. I don't know if it is just because Charlie is such an easy going baby, or if I just have more confidence in my mothering abilities, or both. I am definitely more relaxed and confident though. I remember being worried our first nights home with Eva that she would be afraid of the dark. So I put a dim light on in her room. Silly, huh?

I think Charlie loves his sister too. Today I was putting my makeup on with Charlie lying on my bed. He started to get fussy and in walked Eva. "It's okay Charwie,"she said while patting his head. I said, "Why don't you read Charlie some books and sing him some songs?," hoping to buy some more time getting ready and keep her from roughing him up. So she did. It was a nice medley of all of the songs she knows, which is Eva style and she even did Ring Around the Rosies while holding his hands. I was a bit surprised when Charlie did stop crying and intently watched her. Hah! Here is benefit of having two! I am loving my tiring days with these little ones that need me almost every moment. I am also loving my zombie nights because they are so quiet and peaceful with my darling little Charlie boy. You never knew you could love a little someone so much...

Our Charlie Cole is here

Charles Cole Ballou, "Charlie," was born on Saturday, September 18th at 2:30 in the afternoon weighing 7 lbs 5 oz! We are in love with this little guy. He fits in our family well and is so sweet.

He came when we weren't really expecting it. I was still feeling great with no labor pains at all so I assumed it was going to be another week or so. Then early that morning mild contractions started and they became more and more regular. So we went to the hospital expecting them to send us home. Well... I had him 3 hours later. Everything went very quickly and smooth and we had a great experience overall.

Right now we think he is a pretty good mix of Eric and I with light brown hair, dark eyes that are still puffy and lots of peach fuzz. One of my first thoughts when seeing him for the first time was, wow, he's big! He came out with little rolls and chub on his cheeks. It's kinda nice having a chubby baby! Eva was so tiny and skinny (4 lbs 12 oz) we worried she was going to break. This is a rough and tough little guy, like my Mom put it.

Eva is still adjusting to having a new baby brother at home and is learning to be gentle. She likes to give him kisses and put toys in his crib. "Here you go, Charwie."

I am so grateful for family and that they have taken the time to travel and stay with us. They have been a huge help with Eva, the house, filling our fridge with food and making sure I get some sleep. Thanks everybody!