and then...

After an OB appointment, I went home to make dinner. It was a my nightly routine for my third trimester: get home, feed and take the dogs out, start dinner, and drag my tired self to the couch to watch some Family Fued. Seriously, I watched SO much Family Fued those last few weeks of my pregnancy that I haven't really watched it since?! Well anyway, I got a text from Aaron, he was going to be late, someone took him out to lunch at work and he wasn't hungry. That left me with a double portion of tortellini. I ended up eating most of it. Ridiculous but true. And this is where Everett's birthday story starts. It's hard to believe it's been nearly a year since that night my water broke, since our little mister made his way into our hearts and lives, and a year since we just "became" parents.

pregnancy

I loved it. Really. Everett's been an easy baby since the womb. We found out I was pregnant on July 3rd. In the picture below we were actually at Chester County hospital to celebrate our newest little nephew, Philip Riggs, the day we found out!

I was sick for about the first 10 weeks, but nothing crazy. I was tired a lot during the first trimester because I was taking 2 grad classes and coaching girls soccer for the high school that I teach at. Add in the start of the school year, and I was exhausted. My second trimester was just as busy, but I had a lot more energy. I coached until mid-November because my girls won first place in the District and went on to the second round of the state playoffs. I was so proud of them- but utterly exhausted by the end of the season. When soccer ended, I finally looked pregnant and felt like I could enjoy it!

Getting back from Christmas break was difficult. I still had 8 weeks left until baby boy's due date and had lost all of my energy. Some days I barely made it home I was just that tired. Add in another weekend grad class (what was I thinking?) and I was really looking forward to March 8th! We had a ton of major winter storms that dropped a couple feet of snow on us. Those snow days provided some much needed relief from my daunting schedule; however, also provided some extra anxiety for me because I was trying to fit in as many days as possible before our little boy arrived. I wanted to take the rest of the school year off and needed to make it within 5 days of my due date!

Tuesday March 2nd was like any other day. I went to school and taught my kiddos with my super swollen ankles and belly. I remember having a discussion with a colleague telling him that I thought I'd go late.  haha Steve was probably looking at me thinking I was crazy! During our conversation I also realized that I had the exact number of days in needed take the remainder of the school year off. I guess I was nervous and wanted a few extra days incase of any other winter storms. I left school that day fully expecting to be back there teaching about Japan's economic miracle the next day. Little did I know...

exactly 2 weeks from today...

I will have a 1 year old. How is that possible? I really love this little boy:

So, in honor of Everett's upcoming birthday, the blog (like this is something new) will be all Everett all the time. Updates, pictures, and progression of our tiny newborn growing into a little boy!

dog bowls? don't mind if I do...

When I put Everett down, he's got one thing on his mind: dog bowls. I usually try to stop him, because there is typically water in one of them and dog crumbs in the other. This day he obviously got his way. He spent 20 minutes banging those aluminum bowls on our new kitchen floor. It's amazing what amuses him. I am just not buying him toys anymore. We played with an amazon box and a dog chain for 15 minutes tonight. Seriously. What a crazy kid  :)

doing it yourself

When Everett was new out of the womb he slept a lot and I consequently read a lot. DIY blogs to be exact(Young House Love, Bower Power, and Centsational Girl are my favorites). HGTV is also my favorite tv channel and I've watched way too many episodes of "get it sold" and other DIY shows! Since then, I've been inspired to finish some projects around the house. I am by no means as talented or creative as Sabrina Soto or these three blogger ladies, but I think (along with my handy husband) we can get some stuff done! So, here are some projects that we'd like to get done around the house and hope to complete in 2011. Some are easier and others more in depth, but either way I'll update you throughout the year when we finish!


1- Fix this light:
It has been an eyesore in my kitchen since we moved here, and despite the fact that I claimed it would be the "first thing I'd change" it is still there. So, for now, I simply want to paint the hideous thing black. Maybe one day we'll figure out how to get rid of it completely.

2- Repaint the dining room. When we moved in everything was white. I was liking red and so we painted 3 walls in the dining room a maroon/red color. I'm tired of the dark red and ready for something new, hence the repainting.

3. (Neatly) mount the television above our fireplace. Aaron and I decided that we don't use our nice big tv enough (currently located in his man cave). We are going to mount the tv above the fireplace, cut out the drywall and run the wires behind the wall to one neat and tidy outlet. Fingers crossed that all works out.

4. Get rid of the Tiffany's-esque chandelier that hangs in an awkward place in our living room. Replace it with either a plate or new lighting of some sort. While we're at it, paint the ceiling where Aaron had to patch a leak last year.

5. Update the ceiling fan in our bedroom. It's a little outdated and does not match our bedroom. I am going to paint the blades white and spray paint the nasty gold a more muted silver color. I also want to replace the glass around the lightbulbs.

6. Rearrange the furniture in the living room. We've lived in our house for almost 3 years now and I am getting the itch to change things up. Mounting the tv above the fireplace will free up some room to move things around and change up our current design!

7. Add some wall art to our master bedroom/bathroom. I have been looking forever for things to liven up the walls, but to no avail. I'll see what I can come up with here...etsy? make my own?

8. Update our upstairs bathroom light fixtures. We need to replace our builder beauties in our master and hall bathrooms. They are gold and nasty and I'm on the lookout for some new chic lighting to update the spaces.


So there you have it. Our 2011 project list. Any major 2011 projects for you and yours?

Blog stalking

I am all about blog stalking. I mean really, who isn't? I just had a conversation last night with a friend who said there are times that she sees someone at church or out and thinks to herself "hmm why do I know all about that person"... haha and it ends up it's simply from their blog! If you're like me it's interesting to read blogs and get a peek into their lives and it's even more interesting that after reading peoples blogs regularly the way you feel like you really know them?! Craziness. So anyway, I was looking at my blog stats and realized that I get hundreds of people stalking reading my blog. I'm totally cool with that, but it'd be nice if you left a comment or became a follower, because really, I'd like to know who I'm sharing our life with, ya know?

Blog stalk on my friends, just leave a comment every once in a while ;)

snow day



Everett's initial reaction to the snow... he hates it and the snowsuit



I really hate this mom...

sled= no more crying (thanks mimi!)



licking the snowflakes and probably snot... eww

sweet face

took a little while- but eventually he loved it!



baby steps

our christmas can be summed up with this picture...

the year of everett...

2010 has been a pretty awesome, incredible, life changing year for us. It's funny to reflect on the year and all the ways that life is different after just 365 days. This time last year I looked like this:

large bellied, swollen ankles, and unsure of what the year would hold. Today, I can say with certainty that this was the best year of my 27 so far. It hasn't been without growing pains, learning, tears of joy and frustration; however, it has been the best. It's hard to put into words the amount of joy that Everett has brought to our family.We have learned what it means to really sacrifice for someone else, to find joy in simple everyday things, and to just truly be grateful for the Lord's blessings and provisions. Here's to hoping that 2011 will be even half as awesome.