Crayrays

Evan loves his crayrays (AKA crayons, markers, paints, etc.). Learning his colors is a work in progress. I keep saying he is color blind, but he now refers to Farley as Black Fluffy and Corky as Brown Fluffy. Also, every once in a while he will ask for his red blanket or his brown blanket, but if you hold up any given color of crayon he will most likely say green or blue. He also loves stamps and stickers. He has a stamp that his buddy James gave him about 6 months ago and every time he uses it he says, "Thank you James!!!". He also doesn't like getting too messy, so I always have to have baby wipes nearby in case he gets marker on his hand, which is a borderline emergency in Evan's eyes. When he starts yelling "towel", I come with a wipee in hand!!! On a separate note, it's so funny how kids expect you to always have certain things on hand for them. The other day at church, he turns to me and says nonchalantly while motioning to my purse, "where's my crayrays?" As if I don't have enough things I need to cram in there when leaving the house, now I gotta have crayrays on hand too? Sheesh.

I DO Exist

Since I am always the one behind the camera, here is a rare picture of Drew and I. I think I only have one other one since he has been home from the hospital!!! Thanks to my girlfriend Tammy for having her husband take it. It was so nice to see my Jacksonville friends when I was in town last. Tammy and I have been friends since college, which has been much longer than I would like to admit!!!

What's Better Then...

What's better then a beautiful, sunny, 70 degree day in February?

Enjoying your first ice cream cone on the front lawn, of course!

And having your little brother watch on in jealousy, isn't too bad either.

Followed by a much needed, nice warm bath.

You can't really beat an afternoon like that!

Collages

I am learning how to make collages. I think it's such a cute way of displaying a group of photos. And you know me, I never just take one photo. I know you have seen these pictures already on a previous post, but I was just playing around with it and I thought I would post my first official homemade collage. I am doing a friend's maternity shots this weekend, so I am sure I will be playing around with this much more in the near future.

I Like My Babies...

Some guys like their wives barefoot and pregnant. Thank goodness, that's not Paul. I like my babies barefoot and bald. I can never seem to get socks to stay on my little man, no matter how cold it is outside. So he is usually barefoot and covered with a blanket. And I couldn't love his big ole bald head any more!

Serious Work

Feeding the gogies (AKA birds) is serious work, a job that Evan certainly doesn't take lightly. We do it almost every day. Luckily we have a pond across the street from our house, and Meema has one in her backyard. Here Evan is at Meema's house feeding the gogies.

Happy Valentine's Day

Love, Evan, Drew and Charlie

Job Hazzard

No one told us this was a part of the job? Behold, Evan's new hobby: putting toys, books, pillows and blankets on top of Daddy when he gets home from work. I suppose this is what Florida kids do in the winter. Summertime, bury Daddy in the sand. Winter, do what you have to do to stay entertained. I think Paul secretly likes it, it gives him an excuse to lay down on the floor. Except for the occasional book in the face, it looks quite relaxing.

Valentines for Evan's Valentines

Evan LOVES his teachers, so we made them Valentines today. They of course had to include pictures of who else, EVAN!!! I know I am somewhat obsessed with pictures of (one of )my favorite little guy(s), and perhaps it's a tad odd to think everyone else shares my obsession. But that didn't stop me from taking these adorable pictures and attaching them to Ms. B and Ms. Lee's Valentine's Day present. He loves them so much, and so do I, for keeping him safe and teaching him so much.

Evan Went Poopoo in the Potty

this picture doesn't have to do with going potty, but he sort of looks like he's pushing something here....huh?

Doing the "yay, I just poo pooed on the potty, dance"

I couldn't think of any better title for this post. I tried to think of something creative, but just simply couldn't. And since I have said the above sentence about 100 times today to Evan and other family and friends, to let Evan see how excited I was about it, I thought it just may be fitting. He is now wearing big boy Diego underwear. I am not officially starting potty boot camp. But we are officially starting the first stage, which is getting aquainted with the potty and with big boy underwear. I think where most people go wrong (listen to me, I sound like an expert on the subject already!) is they force the issue before the child is ready and then it can take months, even years to become potty trained. I know Evan isn't ready to be completely potty trained. He is the oldest in his class, and the teachers don't have time to offer the potty every 20 minutes. I don't have time to offer the potty every 20 minutes. And Evan is still intimidated by the whole process, and not completely aware of when he needs to go. He still wakes up from naps wet and has to this day never told me when he has to go pee pee. BUT, today he told me he had to poop, and he poo pooed on the potty, and (accidentally) pee peed. So in celebration, Mommy made some bragging phone calls while Evan ate a cupcake! He kept showing Drew his big boy underwear, he is so proud. So stage 1 is underway. Tomorrow, we may be back to square one, but with Evan a little less intimidated by the potty? One can hope.

Weighing In At.....

12 lbs 1 oz, and 23 3/4 inches tall.... is my second born Drew Edward Starstrom. I hear 12 lbs is the lucky number they have to hit before they sleep through the night. Let's hope this is the case!!!