Updated pictures

Also got an updated family picture that I like. Look at those cute kids!!

Baby Katelyn

My talented sister-in-law took these pictures of Katelyn. I LOVE how they turned out!!

Thanks Kayla!! If anyone is looking for a photographer in the Blackfoot area check this out http://www.paisleystudios.com/.

Baby Katelyn

Baby Katelyn made her arrival yesterday afternoon. 8 lbs. 2 oz. 21 inches long.
We didn't know what we were going to have. The surprise was fun, but Luke was disappointed. What little boy doesn't want a brother?
He had his heart set on naming the baby Buzz Lightyear.

Abby was just so excited to meet "Mommy's Baby."

I am sure she will be quite the little helper with the baby.

Poor Katelyn was pretty bruised and swollen from coming out facing the wrong direction, but we are so blessed to have her here.

A few pictures you might be interested in

I told myself I would post during harvest. The great news is that we are done with harvest, but the bad news is I never did post. So I thought I would do it this morning. Typed a big long explanation of the past couple of months, had some computer issues and lost it. Now I am too lazy to type it again so you get a couple of pictures instead.

The kids:

My fridge:
Look closely.
Twenty weeks!!

The post you've all been waiting for

I know that I do not post often. There are several reasons for this, but the main one is pictures. I like to read posts with pictures, but by the time I hook up my camera and upload the pictures that I have taken the last two months, I feel like I should go through and pick out which ones to print. This takes me forever and since I haven't printed pictures since July, it could take all day. By the time I get all of this done and get around to posting I have already talked to most of the five people that even read my blog so it is old news. So today I have decided to post without pictures to please those people that keep reminding me how long it has been since I posted.

Our favorite time of year is over. The weather has warmed up and the ground has dried out. Doug is back to being busy and I find myself getting excited at the thought of November. I've never been an outside person. I would be much more content to stay inside with a good book, but my kids love to go outside and I feel guilty if I don't take them outside several times a day. When I am outside I see all of the things that I need to do. Paint the porch, mow the lawn, plant the garden, clean out the flower beds, etc. None of these are things I enjoy. Needless to say--Spring is not my favorite time of year.

Now I am done whining and I can share my exciting news.There is a task that I have been dreading for the last three and a half years--putting it off because I didn't want to face it--POTTY TRAINING. Doug thinks that my conversations on this topic are weird so if you don't want to hear the details, stop reading now. I have talked to a lot of Mom's about this, asking advice and tips. The funniest thing for me has been how Mom's that have potty trained one child have all of the answers while the seasoned Mom's with six-eight-or even ten kids say 'every kid is different, what worked for one kid didn't work for another and every kid was ready at a different time.' It is as if those Mom's who have done a lot of potty training don't have to sound like experts, while those who haven't done much feel like they have to sound like they have all of the answers to prove themselves or something. Anyway, Luke had his birthday 3 weeks ago and it seemed the perfect opportunity to tell him he was a big boy and we were done with diapers. Up until this point he had only gone on the potty one time ever, but quite honestly I got sick of the amount I was spending having two kids in diapers. The first week we went without diapers we had zero success. I mean none. I would make him sit on the potty every 30 minutes all day long and he never went. It was so frustrating because I knew he needed to go, in fact he would go up to five hours dry and he would just sit and sit and sit on the potty. It was like he was afraid to go. After a week with no headway at all, I called my mom, she suggested I put marshmallows in the toilet and have him try to hit them. This worked, not for that reason, but because he wanted marshmallows. The next day we started using marshmallows as a reward if he would go and he went the first time. It was like all he needed was the right motivation. We had been using M&M's before. What kind of a kid likes marshmallows better than M&M's? At any rate it worked.
Now when I say he went I mean he was sitting on the potty but absolutely none got in the toilet. I still made a huge deal about it and he went the whole day sitting on the potty but never getting it in the toilet. He would start crying if I suggested he try to get it in the toilet, but that only lasted a day. Now he is doing really well and has filled up his sticker chart and earned a toy and I can join the ranks of Mom's that have potty trained one child and have all of the answers.

One final story. I am a Twilight fan. Not a crazy fan that goes and waits in line at midnight to buy the book or dresses up to go see the movie, but a fan that has seen the movies once and read the books a couple of times. Two weeks ago Abby came down with pink eye. The next day it moved to her other eye. A few days later Luke came down with it in one eye and then it moved to the next. Saturday Doug came home from work with one pink eye. Although Luke and Abby are over it now, I feel like I have my own little family of red-eyed Vampires. I should have taken pictures.

Enjoying our favorite time of year!!

Winter is the favorite time of year at our house. We love that we get to spend more time with Doug and more time together as a family. We had a great Christmas. It seemed to last for days, by the time we did stuff with both sides of the family. However, when it came time to take down the tree, Luke started crying and told me that he hadn't gotten a 'great big Lightning McQueen' yet. Good thing his birthday isn't too far away. I love this picture, but it is very deceptive. It makes it look like Abby didn't like Santa when really she sat there for quite awhile, while I tried to get Luke to sit on Santa's lap with her. He was throwing a fit and she got tired of it and that is when I took this picture.

She had a great birthday, but had just eaten and so she wasn't as in to her cake as I had hoped.

After Christmas we went bowling with my family. They had these great ramps that made it so easy for kids to bowl. He called it 'rolling balls'. Between that and the bumper pads Luke had a higher score than me.

For Christmas I bought Doug Jazz tickets to a couple of games. My mom kept the kids and we got to go to Utah and play for a couple of days. It was a great break.

And now we are back to playing in the snow and enjoying the winter. If only winter did not come with so many germs and sicknesses.

I hope they call me on a mission. . .and a new baby

We had a way exciting week in my family. Last Friday my little brother received a mission call to the Brasilia Brazil mission. We are very excited for you Mitchell (or 'biggest one' as Luke calls him) and know you will be a great missionary and a great example to Luke.

You will however, have to leave the girls alone for awhile.
Then, my little sister had her baby on Tuesday. We are so excited for her and her husband. They will be great parents.

Christmas Shopping

If you need anything to finish up your Christmas shopping, check out the catalog at www.discoverytoyslink.com/julievans. Tomorrow I will be putting in my last order before Christmas, let me know if you need anything.

Party

It's a Discovery Toys Party!
See what everyone is talking about!
Join Us. . .
for a fun-filled party where you can play and learn with our award-winning toys & games to enjoy with the children in your life. Discover ways to make learning a long-loving experience!

To fit everyone's busy schedule I will be holding an open house on two different days.
Stop by:
Thursday, November 5, 2009 from 4:00-8:00
or
Friday, November 6, 2009 from 1:00-4:00
AT MY HOUSE
Mark your calendar and bring a friend to see what everyone is talking about! You won't want to miss the opportunity to :

Start your Christmas Shopping!
Earn FREE Toys- Book a Fun Party!
www.discoverytoyslink.com/julievans

Discovery Toys

Yesterday I received a Walmart add in red and green. I guess that means Christmas will be here before you know it. I have not even started buying, but I have started looking. This year I have been looking for something different, something that you don't see in every toy store. I started looking at the discovery toys site and found that I loved their products so I have decided to become a consultant. I will be having an open house in a few weeks (now that harvest is almost over), but for now check out my website http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/julievans . Maybe you are like me and just want something different or want to encourage learning and discovery in the gifts you give. I'll let you know when I have the openhouse, but for now happy shopping.

Our summer in five pictures or less

Rather than try to play catch up with all of the things we have done this summer, I thought I would pick five pictures that I like and tell those stories.
Abby learned to pull herself up to standing. I can't believe it. She is only eight months old and doesn't seem big enough for that yet. You can kind of see her cute bedding. I'll have to take a picture later.

Luke got his 'big boy bed'. I was going to make him a quilt to go on it, but when we picked out the fabric it was more to make just the quilt than this whole bed set. Why is fabric so expensive?

On this day he put himself down for a nap after lunch. He does that a lot. Anyway when I went in to check on him he was holding Lightening McQueen, Mickey Mouse and Pongo. What did kids do for toys before Disney? He also put his sippie on the post at the end. He is getting to be so big.

Our friends gave us this slide.

And we got Luke this pool. He loves to go swimming and now that it is getting cooler he is sad that I won't let him go.

Abby has learned to crawl. In this picture she is not actually crawling, but I like that it shows how excited Luke is to have her to play with and how excited she is to finally be able to chase after him. She will chase him from room to room. It has made her so much more content. She doesn't think she has to be held all the time.

Make Sure

Everyone make sure to check Wendy's blog since she finally put it on there.

A long time

I know that I never post. I love to read other people's blogs, but my computer/Internet is so slow that checking my email is all I have patience for most days. These pictures are like 2 months old, but they are the most recent ones I have uploaded onto my computer--I guess they are better than nothing.

We finally broke down and took the side off of the crib. We just weren't ready for Luke to be able to get up in the middle of the night. Some days it has been a real challenge, but we aren't the only ones that are miserable. Luke was heart broken when he realized we weren't putting the rail back on.

Sorry this picture is side ways. He did finally calm down that night when I laid down by him. In the next week or two we are going to try to transition to a real bed because Abby is out growing the bassinet and needs the crib. Luke has a really hard time with change. Wish us luck.

These are the most recent pictures I have of Abby. These were at Grandma's house with her cousin Landon. He is 3 1/2 months older than her and can get around much better.

Poor Abby is stuck just watching.

Other than this we are just here. Our garden looks 50 times better than last year. But that doesn't take much. Luke likes to play outside in his little pool. Again no pictures.We have gone swimming and to the zoo this summer. I haven't put those pictures up yet either. Just wanted everyone to know we are still here and having fun.

Special warning from the FDA and AAoP

In an effort to reduce childhood obesity, the FDA and the American Academy of Pediatrics have recommended that all babies be introduced to the grossest food possible first. Eating will be so disagreeable that they will hate food forever and avoid obesity and eating disorders. It works. Abby was not very impressed with Baby Rice Cereal.

She loves drinking out of a cup though.

Luke is my biggest helper. Whenever I ask him what Abby wants he says a drink. Maybe he can understand her better than I can.

She may have thought the rice cereal was bad but. . .

It was nothing compared to the mushy, unflavored vegetables.

( You can't tell in these pictures. But her little bib says "BYU-Idaho Baby" the alumni assoc. sent it when she was born. I think it is so cute.)

As for me, I'll have a piece of cheesecake please.

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Shelley said I needed to update my blog more, but I don't have a lot to say so this is kind of random. Having a little boy is a whole new world for me. Growing up I had lots of sisters. We liked Barbies, dolls, and dress up. We didn't play ball. We didn't play in the dirt. We didn't get the most excitement in our life from scaring people. Luke is so fun to have around, but he is definitely forcing me to do things that I don't normally do. We play hide and seek on a daily basis. We play cars and build towers, just to knock them down (I don't understand this, but Doug does it too so it must be a guy thing). He is way better than me at catching, throwing, and hitting the ball--any ball. But he also makes me realize how blessed I am. In this picture he was sharing his car with Abby. He kept setting it on her tummy. For him this is a really big deal. He has a problem with sharing and he loves red race cars (because they look like Lightening McQueen). So giving it to her was so hard for him. He loves Abby. It was so cute.

I included these next pictures that I took to show how precious Abby is too.

The other day Luke wanted to help me do dishes but the water kept running down his sleeve so we just gave up and took his shirt off.

I realized that he just liked the bubbles so I let him have a bubble bath and he loved that even more.

We had a wonderful Easter. Don't they look precious in their Easter clothes?

Luke was very concerned when he was up and dressed and Abby was still in bed.He kept getting her church shoes and laying them on top of her. That is what he is holding in this picture.
Best dressed cowboy around. . .but you still can't make me smile for the camera.
Hope everyone's Easter was great.

More Birthday

I stole these pictures off of Mary Lynn's blog of Luke's birthday because her Megan shares a birthday with Luke.

Megan got a fishing pole from Grandma and Grandpa. Luke thought it was the very coolest thing ever. Look at his little face. Megan was nice and let him play with it.


Even when he would go under the water, he loved the slide.

I just had to add this picture of Daddy 'babysitting'.