Spring Soccer

Maisie finished her first (and maybe only) soccer season and it was a lot of fun to set up our chairs, eat our packed snacks and cheer on our little Maisie Moo every Saturday morning. She's a naturally cautious kid, so she was weary to get in the action because she was either afraid she would get hurt or she would hurt someone else (it got to the point that Austin decided to pay her .25 cents for every time she touched that ball haha). We tried to reassure her that with the proper gear she most likely wouldn't get hurt, but after facing some tough competitors and seeing a couple teammates get hit in the face, point blank and at a velocity that even the toughest adult would probably sob in pain, she decided that maybe soccer isn't a good fit for her. She finished the season strong and improved, but she decided that piano lessons would probably be something she enjoys more. I am proud of her for trying and sticking out a whole season!

p.s I love the evolution of the grass color in these pictures from early April to the end of May.

Seal Fur Mustaches

Seal fur mustaches are not some hipster fad or to the best of my knowledge an actual product (at least let's hope not), but instead it's the title of a regrettable, traumatizing yet hilarious true event that took place 20-ish years ago to myself and my sister, Katie.


Nearly all of our childhood summers were spent in Huntington Beach, California where my family would ride a fleet of beach cruisers to the waves. This is where we got unbelievably tanned by the sun and consumed our favorite food, Zack's Strips, by the boat full. I was probably ten and Katie, eight and on this particular day we had borrowed my grandpa's beach shovel and were busy digging as deep of a trench as we could. We strategically mapped out where to dig so it would be perfectly situated where the tide could just barely reach the rim, so with every wave the cool ocean water slowly began filling it. I really don't know what the point of this was seeing how we could have just gone into the ocean, but maybe a sandy hot-but-not-really-hot tub was what we were after? Who knows. Anyway, on this day the ocean was churning out all sorts of interesting plant life. Huge bundles of kelp were floating in and with it this tan velvety seaweed. Our makeshift "hot tub" became our storing place for all the kelp heaps and interesting seaweed specimens along with a handful of sand crabs and assorted seashells. Upon further examination we discovered that the tan velvety seaweed was extremely soft and it stuck to our wet skin just like a window cling. It started out with sticking the seaweed to our hands, then feet and legs, then we started sticking them on all over our stomaches and back trying to achieve Sasquatch status. Anyone who knows me and my sister, knows we tend to take things just a hair* too far, so it wasn't long until the seaweed made its way to our upper lips and eyebrows where we talked in our most haughty gentleman voices and raising our impressively masculine brows a la Clark Gable "And you, Miss, are no lady." After a few hours, our mom called us in for another sunscreen bath and as we stood there getting our shoulders rubbed with the white goop, eyes to the waves, we spotted something alarming. It was a body. A bloated body rolling in with the surf. Our first reaction was to run towards it- to save it maybe? When we got about 20 feet away we realized it wasn't a human, but a massive dead seal. So we turned around and ran for the shore. After a few minutes of watching the the lifeless creature slowly roll through the waves and onto the sand, Katie and I began to inspect its bloated carcass. No bite marks, nothing alarming, except interestingly enough it was balding... molting? Its fur peeling off its decaying flesh. Massive bald spots with what little tan fur that was left hanging off of it. It took a couple minutes, but then like a ton of bricks, we were hit with the very unsettling realization that the "seaweed" we had been playing around with for hours and putting on our faces (!!) was not in fact seaweed, but patches of fur from a dead rotten seal. My skin began to crawl and I itched my arms, wishing I could've scraped my skin off. Katie ran for some water that had no evidence of seal fur (NESF) and began "washing" herself off. Then after a few dry heaves and maybe some disgusted tears, we refused to touch the water the remainder of the day. We sat in the sand, unable to eat anything (even strips proved to be unappetizing when you've been clad in freshly peeled fur from a not so fresh seal). So we sat the rest of the day waiting to get back to the house to take ten (thousand) scalding hot showers.

We were back at the beach the next day and luckily the seal had been disposed of and the water and beach area were clear of "tan velvety seaweed". We played in the water and swam like nothing traumatizing had happened, but I don't think we ever trusted seaweed again... at least not enough to put on our faces.

*or should I say fur? hahaha

Easter 2018

This years Easter cuteness and sibling matchery (not a word, but you get the jist) brought to you by The Gap (not a sponsor, but I wish they were). Sidenote: Does "The Gap" still go by "The Gap" or is it more hip and 2018 to go by just plain ol' Gap? 

These pictures were taken today, one week post Easter, after church because we moved on Easter weekend- it was insane and terrible and overall the worst and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but we are settling in nicely and the kids are happy with the new house and yard here so I'm calling it a win. Evan has officially been kicked out of our room and has his own set up not too far away from ours, but I am already feeling more rested than I have been in awhile (thank goodness). Room sharing with a baby is nice while nursing, but I feel like both mother and baby become keenly aware and especially sound sensitive to each other, so it wasn't the most fruitful of sleep these last couple months. 

Maybe this Easter wasn't the most ideal of circumstances- spending most of Easter unpacking isn't fun, but it's pretty much done now. We will make up for it next year hopefully! 

Evan at 8 months

Evan is bursting with pride at his new found skill of furniture cruising. He has been able to pull himself up for a bit now, but he would just stand in one spot until finally plopping back to the ground, but now he pulls himself up and walks up and down the length of our large sectional couch or the entertainment center. He is also starting to crawl in the traditional way (up on his knees) but he will still army crawl when he wants to speed things along. Oh, and he can get back into a sitting position from a crawling or laying down position.

He was a bit constipated this day and so he laid down to do his business.

He has tried so many new foods, including egg yolk, bits of banana, avocado (his favorite), cheese and a teeny bite of ice cream (that was all Austin).

We moved over the weekend so now Evan has his own room and has been sleeping in his crib in the nursery for all naps and at bedtime. It has been a little harder on me now that I have to completely wake up in order to walk to his room, nurse him in the chair and put him back down (and repeat this at least twice a night), but I can tell he has been sleeping better. He is still quite the milk monster mainly at night, but will still nurse 4-5 times throughout the day as well even with eating real meals.

He has started to wave "bye bye" when he takes naps or goes to bed.

He loves babies and especially his own little baby reflection. He wakes up from his naps and stares at his mirror and giggles.

His grumpy face that he recently started making complete with nostril flares and snorts

Evan at 7 months

Poor little boy wasn't feeling good the day this picture was taken, but still so smiley.

Evan is almost 8 months old (8 months old tomorrow actually- whyyyyyyy?! 😩). He is a very active baby. He's also deliciously chunky (and solid- my goodness he's heavy to lug around) and did I mention cute? He's darling in all sense of the word. Here's a quick rundown of Evan at 7 months.

-Officially taking all naps in crib- still taking 2 REALLY good naps and 1 shorter one.

-Goes to bed around 8pm in his crib and usually stays asleep until 1:30am for his first feeding.

His red cheeks when he sleeps.

-Army crawls everywhere and FAST. He can maneuver himself from a sitting position into crawling smoothly (no more head dives into the carpet). He is trying soo hard to get up onto his knees and its just a matter of time before he masters that- the boy is a fast learner! Also, he can hold onto the couch in a standing position without any help for a couple minutes before plopping down.

-Evan is such a busy body- anything he can pick up to taste, examine, look under, turn, pull, scratch, hit and explore and he's all over that. He manages to see the one thing he knows isn't a toy or a toy he isn't allowed to play with (Ellie's barbies or toys that are too little) and b-lines right to it.

-Is officially at the stage where he finds any and all microscopic hairs, fuzz, lint, papers etc. and tries to eat them. I have already had to fish a princess sticker and a elastic pony tail out of his mouth (can you tell her has older sisters?)

Firsts this month: first time sitting in the seat of a cart (above), first time signing milk, first time pulling to a standing position without any help (below).

Blurry morning light, but Austin had put Evan in his bassinet (which we don't use any more) while he sorted some laundry and found Evan like this. We are really lucky he didn't throw himself overboard. Oh and this facial expression right here? It's his "I'm stuck" face.

-New foods this month: peas, green beans, egg yolks, blueberry and sweet potato puffs, applesauce, rice cereal, bananas, carrots, and whole milk yogurt. He will make sour faces when eating, but still willingly eats bite after bite. 👍🏻Also, he used a sippy cup for the first time- he just let the water run down his chin and soaked his clothes, but that's all apart of the fun right? 

Evan's favorite spot.

Loves: crawling over to the heater vent and feeling the warm air (picture above), white noise, his high chair complete with puffs that he can eat and play with, crawling and pulling himself into your lap, trying to pull to a standing position without any help (he's so determined), his mama (total mama's boy 😍), playing with Ellie's face and hair while she's doing head/hand stands, hanging upside down, "falling" off the couch (he likes to sit on the edge and fling himself over while I catch him), dancing with Maisie or just being on her lap when she gets home from school, still loves his bouncer and swing but I think his swinging days are almost over- case and point:

This child!!

Evan is still our date crasher every week, but those days are probably coming to an end now that he's eating solid food and doesn't appreciate his carseat like he once did, but we will enjoy having him along while we still can.

I sometimes have to remind myself that I have a boy, I know that must seem so silly since it's been over a year since we found out he would be joining our family, but I still find it so novel! His manly voice/cry, his sturdiness and inquisitiveness and oh man, those cankles! Plus just seeing how much the girls adore him. They STILL want to hold him every day and he loves it. Ellie still says almost every day "I love Eban (she stuggles with the "v" sound haha) I love having a baby boy!" The way she nuzzles him and talks with him is the cutest thing ever. Maisie is so patient and loving and always willing to preoccupy him. Also both girls are troopers when Evan gets fistfuls of their hair- they never yell and just sweetly help him let go. I know that I had hesitations about having a boy, but that mother-son bond? It's so good.

Grandpa Lloyd

My Grandpa Lloyd passed away last night. My last living grandparent has left this mortal life. He was a good man, music lover, hard worker and the definition of delightful company- The man never met a stranger. I'm convinced that there's a special mansion for him in heaven for his devoted service and the selfless love he showed to my Grandma throughout their marriage. When I speak with others about grandparents I am usually met with the notion that grandparents were distant relationships and reliable birthday checks, but my Grandpa was always hands on in my life and I feel very blessed that he was. He was instrumental in my learning to ride a bike and years later, to drive a car. He never turned down a bike ride, a good rollercoaster or a day at the beach. Growing up he took me to dentist (or doctors) appointments, attended school activities (especially choir concerts), took me out on special breakfasts and lunch dates and made it a point to be involved in my life. He was a joyous and lively spirit housed in a body that never seemed to age (until recently). I miss him, but I imagine that being reunited with his true love was a wonderful sight. Save me some popcorn and a can of Coke Grandpa! Til we meet again.