Big Sister in training

It warms my heart to see little Eve so excited for the new baby. We have been working with her on being gentle with babies, being quiet when baby naps etc. And it is sinking in, because she is all about her baby doll! That doll is never out of her sight, she drags it everywhere, and is always tending to it. She loves to cook in her kitchen and make meals for the baby as well.

She never leaves it unattended, just yesterday I could hear her feeding her baby "hear baby, want bottle? You so hungry?" etc..then I hear "uh oh! come on baby, come on!" and Apparently she had to use the bathroom, because I peaked in the room to find her dancing around dragging the baby bed with her to the potty so it wouldn't interrupt the baby's feeding haha, I hope she is as attentive with little man we have coming in July.

She is so proud, I think she's going to be a great big sister!

winter...really?

This winter has been great! It has been the most mild *knock on wood* that we have experienced out East. It hasn't been unusual to find yourself with a gorgeous day of 60 degrees (sometimes higher) in February. Bliss! We are really enjoying being able to have a few days at the park on an exceptionally wonderful winter day :)

My heart breaks for the skiiers missing out on snow out here...not that much, and apparently not Eve either :) Bring on the spring! 

Baby #2

Last Friday we had the privilege of having our much anticipated anatomy scan sonogram for baby #2! I have been dying to know what little thing is in there, I was convinced from the beginning that it was another girl, as was Eve. I didn't pay too much attention to that as I thought Eve was a boy, so clearly my maternal intuition is a little flawed. The pregnancy is pretty much the same as the last one, with small exceptions such as being more sensitive to food, especially sweets. I have gotten much bigger faster this time around, as is normal with a second baby right? 

The appointment took a very long time, this little thing is really shy I guess, the baby was in the fetal position really tight for quite a while and no matter how much walking and wiggling around I did, there was no budging! So the ultrasound tech had me drink and few containers of apple juice in hopes that the sugar would get the baby moving. And it worked after a short while, and we were able to get some darling pictures.

Well I won't post the "official" picture, but there is DEFINITELY a boy in there! I knew I spotted the "parts" before the technician was ready to reveal the gender, but I kept quiet. When she finally broke the news, Braden threw his hands up and leaped out of the chair exclaiming "yes!!!!!" It was quite adorable, and he has been just beaming ever since. So now he knows he has a little buddy to go camping, hunting etc with. 

But the real enthusiasm came from Braden's grandfather Ralph on his dad's side. He has been asking me for his grandson since Braden and I started dating! He wants to know that the Edwards name will be carried on, and so far Braden being the only grandson of his bearing children, this sort of falls on us for now :) When we told him the good news, he just screamed for joy like I have never heard him before.

Personally, I am absolutely thrilled it's a boy. As a girl would have been convenient, having the experience and most things for a girl already, a boy is so exciting and intimidating. I mainly grew up with brothers, so I know what to expect so a certain degree...maybe that's why I am so nervous? 

I don't remember crying when we discovered Eve was a girl, I was thrilled and excited obviously, having a little lady join us. But this time, I cried, maybe the hormones are just more intense with a boy, but I was thoroughly surprised in the best way. 

I know I have much to learn about raising a boy, but I am really looking forward to this adventure!

(I love this picture of him doing his little GQ pose with his finger on his chin, so funny )

(Look at HIM with his huge mouth wide open.) 

So I am trading in the baby hair bows, and bringing in the bow ties!

Welcome to the family little man!

2 already?!

My little lady is 2, can you believe it? She is really blossoming and growing up much quicker than I would like. It's such a bitter sweet experience, parenting. You love the sweet moments, to see their accomplishments and growth, see their personality really develop. But the bitter is, well, the more independent they get, they less they need you. And in this case, she lets you know haha. "No mommy, I'll do it", "I do it meself!", "NO HELP!", are some of the common things you hear around our house. She needs me less and less, but every once in a while she asks for me to help, or needs her mommy, and that makes me happy:) I also see so much of my own personality in her, it makes us "butt heads" occasionally, I guess that falls into the bitter end of things?

Overall reflecting on the past year has made me realize how much happens in the first 2 years! To think not too long ago she was a tiny little newborn, it is so hard to believe.

Personality wise she hasn't changed much, she still has all that fire we love so much! It makes it challenging with a feisty 2 year old, but in the long run I think that passion will serve her well. When she's happy, she is so sweet, loving and cheerful. But let me tell you, when she is mad, she gets MAD. Oddly, there isn't much of a middle ground, she goes from really happy to really mad in a matter of seconds, depending on the situation. She says the funniest things when she's mad, she says things like "You no do that again!" " NOT NICE!" "Cut it!" (Cut it out)

Her verbal development is really taking off. She is such a little sponge, she picks up so many new things so quickly now. She now has a few slang phrases, (which we are working on cutting out) but for the most part she can express anything she wants. All day all you hear is "What happened?" "What's that?" "Why it do that?" "Why?Why?' But she has finally got a grasp on her manners :) I love hearing her say her please and thank yous, oh the small things make you happy! And she can now sing along so some songs, she only knows every third word or so, but it's sweet to hear her try. The current favorites are I am a Child of God, Search Ponder and Pray, I Love to see the Temple, Twinkle Twinkle little star, and Popcorn Popping.
And she loves to watch TV now, curses! She is most interested in Disney and Leap Frog at the moment.

Well she is still a picky eater, still working on that. We hide healthy things in every way we can, but we are mostly hoping this fades. So we do what we can, just waiting it out. She's been a steady 24-25 lbs for about 8 months now, is that normal? She is really active, so I'm sure that is a major contributor.

We love our little lady! Even through the terrible 2's, we still just love her! Never change Eve, you are just as perfect as the day we first met you :)

The BIG 2 birthday party

We had a small little celebration for our little princess, and she picked the theme "Pink", I was slightly surprised at the choice, I thought I would get the obvious answer which would have been either dogs, princess, or Dora. Those are her 3 current obsessions, along with babies. But she was firm about wanting a pink birthday, so we went with it. It was a convenient party to do with Valentine's day around the corner, everywhere you look is pink :)

I chose to just do cupcakes instead of a real cake for the little ones, way less mess and hassle! 

We just had a few light sweets, and we had a waffle buffet, Eve's all time favorite food! It was great for both the parents and kiddos, enough variety and very little mess :)

Luckily I had my angels April and Candace there to help, they made all the waffles and the different syrup flavors, they are the best!

And of course she got her own special little cake :) Won't do the edible pearls again, hard for little people to chew through...