Eve's New HairDo

Here are some pics of Eve's new hairdo. She asked for a haircut because her long hair was starting to get in the way and she doesn't like to keep it pulled back. She wanted it short like Dad's but Mom made her settle for Dora. She seems much happier with her little bob and the spunkyness of it fits her personality.

SnowBunny Eve

Today we got a great little snowstorm. It snowed all most of the night and day, but because the snow is so light, its only about 6 inches. We finally made it out this afternoon, to Eve's delight. She had a great time, and had to be offered a candycane in order to come inside when I knew she was cold. Here are some pics and a short video of her discovering the snow again.

My Little Dishwasher

It so nice at this age that Eve wants to help do everything that I do. Here she is trying to help wash dishes. I think she just wants to play in the water.

Meeting Santa

On Thanksgiving, Eve watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and was so excited to see Santa at the end. She waved to the tv and squealed with excitement when she announced to everyone that he had finally arrived. So on Sat. when one of the local towns was having a time to meet Santa, we took her. We were a little nervous that she would be upset, like last year, but as we prepped her for the big moment, we knew she would be ok. She practiced telling him her name and what she wants for Christmas (a Mr. Potatoe Head). It was a very cold night and she was getting cold, but was so happy to meet Santa. She spook loudly to him and didn't really want to get off his lap, but still eagerly obeyed and got her orange they were giving to the kids. It was a nice night and she can't wait to maybe see Santa again when he comes to our town in a few weeks.

Playing in the Leaves

State Fair

Here are some fun pictures from last month at the Kansas State Fair. We went to celebrate Tyler's Birthday. Eve had a great time. One of her favorite things was going through some RVs and seeing the "mini houses".

Trying to milk the pretend cow

On the Merry-Go-Round

On the giant slide with Daddy - They actually got airborne

Pig Farmers

It's a ....

So thanks everyne who voted in our little pole. It seems like most of you were right on guessing that baby #2 is a GIRL! We are very excited that Eve can be blessed with a sister to share her life with. I think when the tech lady told her it was a girl she didn't quite understand that we weren't just theorizing and maybe it still hasn't sunk in. I guess now me and Tyler will have to start thinking about names. Eve has had one for the baby the whole time and we are strongly considering using her name and letting her name her sister, but are not sure yet. I guess you will have to wait until after shes born to see if we went with Eve's name or not.

Finally An Update

So, I am definitly embarassed that I let our blog go for so long without an update. June was such a busy month with Eve's 2nd birthday and then wheat harvest. And then we got the exciting news that we were finally expecting baby #2 and with it came the hardest sickest 12 weeks of my life. I was definitly sick about 5 times worse than I ever was with Eve and I was running on survival mode for July and Aug especially. In Sept. thing started to slowly get better and I can say that know I feel back to normal. We are excited that we now made it past the 1/2 way mark (well maybe) and are going on Wed. to have an ultrasound and find out what we are having. And we are taking Eve with us and can't wait to see her face when she finds out if its a brother or sister, although she has always said sister. And I think we all kinda hope she is right because we hope (God willing) that we can have more children and it will be fun for her to have a sister. So please everyone take a quick second to vote in our little pole to quess what we are having.

And here are some quick summer pics to show what Eve was up to.

Fun with Visitors

Last Week we were so lucky to have my dad and grandmother come from PA for a visit. It was my grandmother's first visit to KS and I hope she had as much fun as we did. We took them to a ranch rodeo where we saw local cowboys from local feedlots compete and we were interviewed and I was even quoted in the newspaper. We also spent time at the farm and showed them the great expanse of the land around here. It was a great time and we have a week here to prepare for our next visitor, my mom who is coming next week for mine and Eve's birthday.

Country Girl

I love taking Eve to just go and try new experiences and see whats around us. Well last weekend we went to our local 4-H animal show. The kids were showing all their different animals. We saw goats, sheep, cows, and horses. Eve loved seeing all the animals by was a little nervous to really touch most of them. She slowly warmed up to the horses and enjoyed getting to sit on one of them. But she wasn't so happy with the sheep. They were all getting sheared and prepped when we got there and made a lot of noise. Now whenever you ask her about sheep all she says is "Sheep are so so loud".

Pigtails

Kansas is by far the windiest place you could ever live. It doesn't help when I am trying to let Eve's hair grow, but it is constantly getting in her face and mouth. At least now it is long enough for ponytails and pigtails. I took these the other day and just thought they were too fun to not share.

Old Fashion Fun

Last week we had some really nice weather, not as hot as normal, but not cold either. I went to work finishing off my gardening work and restaining our deck. I tried to find some new things for Eve to enjoy. While I was working on the garden I let Eve do some of the fun things that my Grammy always had us do at her house. First she got to have some fun with water. Grammy always used dish washing tubs, but I didn't havc any so I just used a plastic container and some kitchen stuff. The first day she played in the water without getting in, but by the second day she just felt like she had to get in the water. Well, I didn't want to get out all her bathing suits yet, so she got to go in her birthday suit. She had a great time with the funnels and she loved using the ladle. The next day I worked more on the staining, so Eve wanted to help me paint, but there was no way I was going to let her use the stuff. So Grammy inspired me again and Eve got to work with a paintbrush and a big bowl of water. She would laugh and tell me all about the animals she was painting. I was able to get a lot done and she had lots of fun with new experiences.

First Movie

Last Thursday Eve got to go to her very first movie, Hannah Montana. We went to a 1:30 show and ended up being the only people in the theater. I know we all had a really great time. The movie was really a nice family movie and Eve got to stand up and dance to all the songs. At bed time that night, we heard her trying to sing one of the songs from the movie, Let's get crazy, to herself. She knew only a few words but seemed to make up her own.

Eve and Grandma Jan in their seats. Eve is on a movie booster.

Easter Eggs

I love dying Easter eggs. My mom always would boil tons of eggs to let all of us get a bunch and I remember we all tried so hard to make them just right. So I boiled a dozen eggs and tonight me and Eve took up the task. Tyler had to finish some spraying on the farm so he didn't help us, but we still had fun. I know that I could have let her be messier but without Tyler it would be hard for the mess to not just keep going. We listened to her favorite "Jesus" CD (Wee Sing Bible Songs), used the waxed crayons and all the stickers to decorate our eggs.

I hope everyone and their families have a wonderful and blessed Easter.

First Ponytail

Last week, I finally took the plunge and tried putting Eve's hair in a ponytail. She doesn't really like me brushing my hair and most of her hairstyles I do with just my fingers after the initail brushing. But she did manage to sit long enough for me to do a little brushing and pulling back. I know its a little thing, but she just looked so grown up and you could just see her.

Fun at the Dog Show

Last weekend, me and Eve took Saturday and decided to drive to a nearby dog show we had heard about on the radio. It was free to get in and I just knew she would love to see all the many different kinds of dogs. It was well worth and hour and a half drive to see the excitement on her face and her petting all the different dogs, although some were all ready to be showed and we couldn't touch those. We also found out that the big breeds of dogs were much nicer and friendlier that the little ones. It was a fun time and I know we will be going back next year.

Here she is with a Bernese Moutain Dog, just like our friends the Bearsleys are getting soon.

More Wedding Pics

The wedding was so much fun and we had so many great pics that I just wanted to include some more.

Gregg and Tiff's Wedding

So back on Feb. 28th, we went home to PA to see my best (and only) brother Gregg and his beloved Tiff get married. It was a busy and hectic time, but the wedding was such a blessed affair and a great time. Here are some pictures.

Me, Tiff, Kate and NatalieKate, Eve, and Avo (our grandmother)

Eve's turn down the aisle. She fell about 3 feet into it,

but got right up and kept going. She did great.

Their First Kiss, ever and as man and wife.Proud parents of the groom.

My Grammy always loves to bust a move, even in her wheelchair.

The very happy couple at the end of the night!