Terry having fun at work

We just returned from a long weekend at home - my bro, dad and Terry's sis had yet to meet Evie. But now the whole fam has and we're back... There are pictures from our trip coming up and some from around here since there has been lotza rain. But for now, since I came back with the flu (yuck. oh Terry said this morning that I sounded like Liv Tyler due to the enlarged tonsils making my voice softer), I thought I'd do a post on Terry.

Terry is pretty good about bringing the camera to events and youth group, catching all the fun stuff he does with the kids...

On youtube there's some commercials with Chuck Norris endorsing Mike Huckabee and they're pretty funny, one in particular where the two of them go back and forth kind of building the other up. My favorite line is when Mike says that when Chuck does a push up he's not pushing himself up, he's pushing the earth away. These first two pictures remind me of that line b/c Terry's doing group push ups.

What nice form he has.

This was a group building event for the high school leaders of a junior high camp that's coming up this summer. Check out Terry's concentration and strength in action. All that weight lifting is really paying off.

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This is a game played at the final junior high youth group of the year. It didn't end up working but the kids had fun anyway. There were 3 groups that picked someone to duct tape to the wall of "the building" (a previous restaurant that had a fire and is consequently owned by 4 members of our church and thus where youth group is held). The kids stood on chairs while they were taped up and then the chairs were removed to see who would stay on the wall the longest. I wasn't there, but Terry said no one stayed on the wall. This game has worked in the past though.

Terry explaining things.

Probably laughing at the kids falling down.

something right

So, it was a little early but since we are going home this weekend we had Evie's 2mos appt today. I was really looking forward to seeing the numbers as to how much she's grown. When she was born she was 7 lbs 5 oz, then 2 weeks later was up to 8 lbs. Now, at 7.5 wks, she is 10 lbs 13 oz. =) I'm doing something right.

Mondays

Noah is trying out the big boy mower.

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We tried out a new place this Monday not far from here. We were hoping for some trails and a beach but ended up having to hang out on the dock. We spent our time throwing rocks.

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Noah is throwing a rock up in the air. These had quite an unpredictable flight pattern.

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Don't I look so cool winding up to skip that rock? Yeah...

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Evie spent her time asleep.

my girl

I don't know what to say for these next 3...My girl is quite cute. And she's getting so good at smiling and cooing.

Tummy time. She does sooooooo much better with this than Noah ever did. Noah would scream and scream and SCREAM. Evie's just chil.

I'm new to infant girl world - still a little used to boy world. But these little outfits are super! They're a dress and at the same time a onesie. How convenient.

the finicky boy

My boy is so silly. He is so perfecting and exact and picky. For instance, when he plays in the pool he doesn't want to get his hands wet. What happens when this inevitable thing happens (b/c he's in a pool of water!)? He wipes them on the house. Nor does he like his cars to get wet (again, in the pool...) so what does he do? He whines (ah ah ah) and waves them at me indicating he wants me to dry them off. I did once, the first time, but now make him use his own shorts. He's the same at the table - if he gets anything on his hands, it must come off now. Grass on his feet - oh no.

But here's the thing I don't understand. If he doesn't like getting dirty, why doesn't a wet or dirty diaper bother him? He really could walk around all day in a dirty diaper and not care. But to get his hands wet he freaks out. I just don't get it. I would like to get the potty training under way, but he has absolutely NO interest. I guess it's diapers until he's 14.

So anyway, the pictures below are another example of how finicky he is. I was in the guest bedroom on the computer and he was bored and decided to get out the mother's day stuff he and Terry had been working on and have yet to complete =). I don't know what it is, but there's markers and crayons involved. So I went and asked Terry if it was okay for him to do it and when I go back in there after a while and he's done, this is what I found:

See how the markers and pencils are all lined up in a perfect row?

But what a pretty picture.
Here's the boy watching tv - his FAVORITE thing to do.

barely fits

Here is Noah at about 5-6 months with the same toy I just got out again for Evie. I thought we'd check out how much he's grown!

Here is Noah playing with the toys he was previously too small to get at, which is of great interest to Evie.

Check out that kid! He's huge!!!

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At the lake yesterday Noah found a new use for his cool vacuum/mower: chasing ducks and geese. You'd think he's be scared of the geese like I am, especially since they're sitting on their eggs and they're extra mean (the hissing and wing waving and chasing), but he's not. He's making sure they know who God put in charge of animals by chasing them with his mower. I didn't have my camera with me but it was pretty funny as I'm sure you can imagine.

this morning at our place

Noah got new pajamas last week due to the warmer weather - you know, his winter footie ones were making him sweat. I'd go in to get him and his hair would be all wet. Smells nice =). Yeah right. He's such a boy - even his bed already smells like one and he's only 3. So this morning he got up too early and hence cranky and didn't want to take the cool dinasaur pj's off. No big deal. So he got in a little pj play time.

Noah is sitting on his new play table. It previously belonged to Terry's cousins and since they no longer needed it, they gave it to us. Terry took 5 inches off the legs and it's the perfect play height. So the fouton that was previously where the table is now is now behind our couch until we can figure something else out.

Noah playing on the fouton. So cute.

Even cuter.

Daddy's home after working out and making a couple phone calls. Noah likes to help mommy cook and prefers to use these tongs. Today they were useful for picking up our cell phones. Evie would have found it more interesting if it wasn't time for a nap...and she could see that far. =)

mowing - like father like son

Today was Terry's day off and even though the lawn really needs to be mowed more than once a week down here, it only gets done on Terry's day off b/c he doesn't have that kind of time! It's a good way to get Noah out of the house and get in some practice.

The new vacuum/mower

Like father, like son

The side of the house

Evie and I hung out in the shaded porch

A friend jogging by stopped to visit and we had him take our picture

true to life

Yesterday Terry preached for both services. Since we were all dressed up (except for me since I changed already) we took some family pictures!

This is the most true to life one we got out of all of the ones we took. =)

A shot of Evie's cute dress that I got at a garage sale!

Noah's Bible

So yesterday afternoon Noah found this little Bible of Terry's and decided it was "Noah's Bible." He proceeded to bring it with him on our afternoon of errands. He brought it in the laundry mat, the church, Pamida and the grocery store. It got wet when we were walking back to the van in the rain at Pamida when he tripped and fell and dropped it on the ground. I got him in the car and he said, "Clean it" over and over, meaning the Bible. So this morning before he could finish his breakfast he had to go find Noah's Bible and when he did, he lined it up with his plate and cup (notice how everything is in a perfect line? that's my perfecting boy). I thought it was quite cute.

Noah is not forgotten

I had to wake Noah up from this nap or else he would have had a difficult time sleeping that night. I felt bad doing it but at least I got a cute picture out of it. He really was sleeping.

Noah playing on what he calls "the eyes."

Drinking his juice at the park.

vacuuming

Today Noah begged me to "vacuum race" and since the house needed it, I agreed.


The other week Terry bought Noah this neat lawn mower toy at a garage sale for $.50 (see 2nd picture) and he calls it his vacuum. I guess he's vacuumed a lot more with me than he's cut the grass with daddy b/c even though it's a lawn mower, he still thinks it's a vacuum. Whenever I vacuum, he likes to follow me around and pretend he's vacuuming too with one of his other push toys. He likes to brush his hair too when I'm getting ready in the morning... Guess he spends a little too much time with his mommy. =)

How we got Evie in on the vacuuming action.

Here's Noah cleaning Evie's room with his lawn mower. The purpose of this picture is to show the cool door that Terry's dad put in. There used to be a plain wall there. Our bedroom is around the corner from that door and so to feed Evie in the middle of the night would have meant a long walk around her room to the other side where the door is - also where I'm standing to take this picture.

Here is the view from the laundry room door (behind me). The door on the left is our room and the door on the right is Evie's 2nd new door that Jerry put in. Pretty neato! Now I can use this door in the middle of the night instead of the other one.

lazy Sunday

As a "newly" married couple (4 yrs this summer), it's amazing how much stuff is just gifted to you. Or maybe it's b/c our parents are so good at giving. The umbrella is from Terry's dad. I never thought we'd use the thing, but Sunday we found we did need it. It was quite hot in the back yard and remembering we still had the thing, Terry got it out and put it in the table we got from who knows where, and shaded us and the swimmer diapered boy. It was so nice to be outside and not in front of the tv.

Me and Evie taking refuge from the hot sun prior to the umbrella brainwave.

first smiles

what more can I say?

how they grow

4.20.08

5.6.08

Only a couple of weeks separate these two photos. It's amazing how much Evie has changed - notice the reduction in orange tint.

Noah loves to hold her except he says, "Carry you?" when he wants to. He also likes having his pictures taken.

Evangeline's birth

Evangeline's birth was quite interesting. Since so few have heard it besides the fam, I thought I'd share.

After a very careful pregnancy (checks every week for the last 3 months for fear of premature labor), we were finally having weekly checks simply b/c we were nearing the end of the pregnancy which is normal. My due date was Saturday March 29. That day came and went (so much for a weak cervix!) and we started wondering if we were going to have to be induced with terrible Pitocin like with Noah (the doctors were itching to put me through this torture so they could be in control). However, we had been praying for a long time that I would be able to have a natural birth.

On Monday, March 31, we went to our doc, for another appt after a sleepless night (the previous 2 nights had also been sleepless b/c I had a very difficult time sleeping while I was pregnant). I was EXHAUSTED. The doctor said I was still 3 cm dilated like I had been for the previous 3-4 weeks and they could induce that day if I wanted. We declined and said we'd come back Thursday and if I still hadn't started they would induce the following Monday. We were happy with that and went to Walmart to do our monthly BIG shopping trip for my menu.

We were nearly finished when I began having contractions after a trip to the ladies room. We grabbed the bananas, peppers and apples and headed to the check-out while timing contractions. They were about 5 minutes apart. I went to sit down while Terry paid and I thought, this sure feels familiar, not like the practice contractions. Ladies, you know what I mean.

We planned to have some subs and then head home but decided to wait it out in Subway to determine if these contractions were the real thing. Terry got a sub and scarfed it while timing for me - still about 5 minutes apart but getting stronger.

--It was so funny to watch him watch me. He was like totally throwing the groceries onto the check-out conveyer belt and recording my contractions in his palm pilot. He was too excited to even finish his sandwhich.--

We decided we'd better head to the hospital. We checked in at 12:14pm and Evangeline Kristina was born at 1:24pm! Yeah, a little intense. It was going so quickly, and hence painfully, that I wanted an epidural. They got it in but I never received the meds for whatever reason. She was born like 5 minutes later.

So, contractions started in Walmart at like 1115 and she was born just about 2 hours later!

I have to give God praise b/c He totally had us in His hands. #1 We were already in town and if we had headed back to home, Evie would have been born in the van. #2 I was exhausted and so God gave me a very quick labor. #3 Noah was already being watched by Terry's aunt. #4 I didn't have to be induced! #5 I am sleeping better.

Praise God.

glow bug

Evangeline is already a month old and like her older brother, she had jaundice that just didn't want to quit. In order to hasten the biliruben out of her skin we were prescribed phototherapy, or a bili-blanket. It was HUGE and loud and really didn't do anything. We used it for about a week before we were told we could stop. And now her jaundice is down all by itself. The highest level was 15, then last week 12.1 and this week 7.9! She's not completely orange free, but a lot better!

The "Look"

The movie Zoolander is a favorite around here and for any of you who have seen it you might know what the "look" is about. For those who haven't seen it, the main character Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) is a famous male model who is learning that there is more to life than being really really ridiculously good looking and sets out to find out what that might be. He rose to fame with his hair that looks better with styling gel in it than under a hat and his trademark looks. The funny thing is that each of his different looks is the same as the rest. He just puckers his mouth real tight and gets his picture taken. At the end of the movie he reveals his new look, Blue Steel, which it is so amazing that it saves the Prime Minister of Malaysia. The thing is that the new look is just the same as the old ones.

Evie already has this skill down.

Introducing The 4 Bears blog

Since we moved away from home almost a year ago, it's been a challenge to keep family and friends updated on our lives. I've tried MySpace and didn't like it and Facebook and do like it, but too few of our friends are there. So my solution is a blog where I can post pictures and tell stories of the 4 Bears' lives.

More to come! I hope to hear from all of you!