Mischevious Eve says "I"

Hi friends!

Where did August go? I feel like we just said goodbye to Lylas preschool teachers and she has orientation this Wednesday for her new class! I don't need any reminders that Kindergarten is next year, I WILL be the mom crying in the parking lot. Ugh!

Evie Jayne seems to have joined her peers in their terrible twos (: its funny as a mom not to dread the naughtiness... I actually am a little proud of her when she is determined to do things her way! She knows that she needs to obey John and I but its pretty awesome that she has come far enough to have a mind of her own. We saw her neurologist this week whose welcoming words were "wow, who would have thunk???" Its amazing we are weeks away from her second birthday. Between emptying drawers, crawling out of her highchair, emptying my closet of shoes and just plain driving Lyla crazy by getting 'this close' to anything she is playing with, she has earned the nicknames Mischevious Eve or Devious Eve (: love this kid!

Secondly I really feel like her speech is picking up which is good. She still doesn't really pronounce words like she should but she I attempting to make many more sounds. When I tell her "I love you" and annunciate my words she replies by nodding wide eyed and saying "I" (: one out of three words works for this mom!

I finally figured out how to blog from my phone which should make my posts more frequent, and I'm thinking I can send pics straight from here also! Bear with me while I work out the kinks and find the spell check (:

AND Evies magazine debut is September 1st, so be looking for some big news (:

Love you friends! Thanks for praying for us and loving us for the past 2 years. I feel like I have been sharing Evies story a lot lately and I couldn't feel more blessed than to have her with us, and to have the amazing network of friends and family supporting her that we have.

Getting ready for school:

evie's first prayer...

Hi Friends,

Evie woke up early today so John brought her into bed with us. She sat between us and played for a while, then grabbed my hand. I felt her pull John and I's hands together, her holding one of each... she bowed her head, closed her eyes, said something softly along the lines of "lala ma na da a" and nodded her head. We hold hands together whenever we pray as a family, and this was so very obviously Evie praying. Considering she doesn't talk much I was in awe of her little act of worship this morning. I can't wait to hear her prayers when I can understand the words, yet this spoke to my heart more than any sermon. Wow, I love this kid (:

Love you too friends (:

Speedy Elsaesser!

Hey Friends!

WOW I haven't taken a blogging break for this long in a while... sometimes life just catches up with us. The past few weeks have been crazy busy... John and I seem to do stressful things all in a matter of months. For instance, the year Lyla was born, I finished my first and last year of teaching, John switched jobs twice, we bought a house, I quit my job to stay home, and John started nursing school.

This week we looked deeper new homes, had several showings, I got in a fender bender, worked with insurance to get my car fixed (ugh!), dropped my phone in the pool, got our whole house painted, sewed six baby slings for friends, made decorations for and attended my high school reunion... in addition to eye appointments, dentist appointments, swimming lessons, two birthday parties, our normal time at the gym and trying to fit in a little sleep! I'm not trying to make excuses... but, well, actually I am (:

Speedy Elsaesser, AKA Evie Jayne, is trucking along in her walker! She is getting better at pushing it and taking steps simultaneously which is a goal. When she started (in the video you can see) she would push... step... push... step, now she is doing both more smoothly. Pretty exciting for everyone. She is also pulling herself up to stand and is getting back down on her own. BIG STEP! She has been maneuvering her way up for about a week but was unable to get back down (she doesn't like to bend her knees) but she's finally getting it. Just another sign that her legs are getting stronger.

Another big step is that John or I can stand in front of her and hold her hands and she will take a few steps. She is less comfortable with this but will do it and loves the praise she gets when she makes it!

This week is looking much more laid-back (I hope) so hopefully we can get some R&R. I haven't convinced Lyla that napping is "cool"... but can usually convince her to watch a movie so Eve and I can take a break. I really need to dig into God's word and spend some time in prayer. These busy weeks burn me out spritually and I find myself much more quick to get frustrated and just not be quite as enjoyable to be around... a little God time should straighten that out (:

Love you friends! I promise it won't be another 2 weeks before I'm back (: