Drive in Fun

We went for our first (of many, we decided last night) drive-in experience last night. The first movie was Brave and the second was The Avengers. Evalee was so excited to be there around all the other kids. She ran around like a crazy girl while we waited for it to get dark. I had never been to a drive in, so I was excited too. Once it was time to settle down for the movie, Evalee was enamored. She sat so well through the whole movie. She kept calling the main character Jessy because she was a girl with red hair that rode a horse, so I'm not sure if she thought perhaps it was a Toy Story spin off or what. She had no problems at all staying awake even through the movie started at bedtime. In fact, when it ended around 11, she was ready to run around and go  back to the swings. We moved into the car for The Avengers and us girls fell asleep after the first hour and Daddy watched the rest. My allergies were acting up so I was a little sniffly and grumpy by the end, but if we make believe I wasn't so grumbly on towards 1 a.m. it was a fantastic night. Next year we'll have to talk some more people to come up with us and bring more food (and pillows!)

So Easily Persuaded...

This week Evalee has followed her peers' lead twice in doing things we've been trying to get her to do. Our neighbors have a granddaughter that lived there for the first year or so of Eva's life, moved away for a little while, and is now moved back. She's a year older than Evalee and they are both smitten with one another. Natalie loves to come to our yard to swing on our swings, and Evalee loves to run to their garage to drive their Barbie car. Sometimes, they even play together. But on Saturday, Evalee got invited over to swim in the blow up pool that they have next door. It was close to bedtime and I didn't know if she'd even get in, but we changed her into her suit to give it a try. All she needed was Natalie's sweet beckoning from the pool and in she went. She splashed, she got wet above her knees, I was impressed. She could have played there all night, but eventually it started getting dark and very close to bedtime so we got out of the pool. Evalee sobbed the whole way home. Hopefully we'll catch an opportunity to swim again soon!

Then again Sunday night we went to our first drive in movie. We had to get there early to get a good spot, so we had time to kill before it got dark. Luckily, they had train rides, swings, sand, and a few other things for kids to play with. Evalee rode the train 3-4 times (the lady running it said we were lucky it wasn't busy because normally kids only have time to ride it once) and then watched the older kids on the swings. Not wanting to be outdone, she too decided to swing like a big kid. Once she started going, she had a great time.

So now we're just waiting for a visit from cousin Alex to show her how awesome it is to pee on the potty... :)

Father's Day with the Kershaws

The day after the wedding we packed up and headed to Peoria to spend Father's Day with the Kershaw family. I was not feeling well -- mostly from not drinkng enough water the day before (I think). So, I ended up taking a nap once we got to Peoria while everyone else went down to play in the pool. It seems as though Eva eventually warmed up to the idea of swimming, at least for a bit. We also got to meet the new addition to the family, Bailey, Trevor and Ashley's dog. I was seriously lacking in the picture taking category and did not get a single picture of the the kids with the dog, but they were very excited to see her. Maybe too excited. Eva was a bit out of sorts from the chaos, but all in all it was a successful afternoon.

New Big Girl Bed

We have been slowly changing Evalee's room to accommodate our new baby room. As luck would have it, my mom's boss had some bedroom furniture she wanted to find a good home for and we were more than happy to take it off her hands.

Unfortunately, she seems to be missing her old bed/getting jealous of the new room already. Ever since I unpacked some of the baby stuff and we set up the crib in the new room, Evalee's been playing in there several times every day. I'm hoping she's getting it out of her system now and the jealousy will subside by October!

We didn't have time to put sheets on before the maiden nap.

Putting her baby to bed.

Getting together a little ambience for her baby with the swing music.

Playing in the exersaucer again. Ridiculous.

She was so, so excited to see her new Toy Story bed.

She kept saying, "Woo-Woo!! (Woody)"

Her new desk and hutch (the hardware is a work in progress.

Her new dresser.

Little Miss Flower Girl

The magical weekend of Abby and Ian's wedding descended upon us. I was so excited for my best friend's big day and yet had so much anxiety about my overactive toddler's flower girl duties. Travis had to work the night of the rehearsal, so Evalee and I drove down Friday afternoon and got settled into the hotel room before the rehearsal. The wedding site was gorgeous -- on the front lawn of Monmouth College. We rehearsed, Evalee ran around like a mad woman (thus beginning my stress a bit, as we were surrounded by large rocks and highways), and then we were off to dinner. As luck would have it, Evalee had perhaps one of her most energetic spurts ever as we gathered at the country club for dinner. She darted in between people and out to the greens (even stole someone's golf club and tried to make off with his cart. He assured me that he thought it was cute) as I wistfully counted down the seconds until Travis would arrive to help me keep her corralled. She decided to pass on dinner and instead ate lots and lots of ice out of a cup, entertaining our table companions and making me rub my forehead in disapproval.  The energy spurt didn't stop there, of course, and it was well after 11 p.m. before we finally convinced her to sleep. We didn't get the greatest night's sleep, as Eva slept in the King sized bed with us and took to head butting or kicking her sister in my belly all night long. We were exasperated before the day even began.

I then left Travis and Eva to get my hair done with the rest of the bridesmaids. We had fun talking and being girls. It was so good to be with Abby and Amanda for an entire day again -- it felt like going home.  The bridesmaids then spent the day in a house rented on campus, getting ready and taking pictures. Travis and Eva joined us in hopes of napping upstairs, but that of course did not happen. We got some fun pictures in while the effects of Eva's lack of sleep slowly started to kick in. And then the rain came.

We could all see the nasty black clouds coming at us in the distance, but we all made believe that they wouldn't mean much. Perhaps we'd get a shower and then it'd be nice and cool for the ceremony. Meanwhile, the red flashing "storm warning" on a fellow bridesmaid's phone and an anxious call to the weather center at the station revealed otherwise. We made a break for the building nearby the wedding to wait the rain out. That's when Grandma, Grandpa, and the iPad arrived to help us out with our little ball of impatience, thank goodness. Once we realized the rain was not going to let up in time for the ceremony, the wedding was moved inside. It was chaos for a while, but then in the end the wedding went on. By some stroke of miracle Evalee walked down the aisle all the way to me on the stage and stayed with me for a few minutes before quietly leaving to sit with our family. The wedding was almost as beautiful as the bride.

While the wedding was underway, the college staff was trying desperately to piece the reception tent back together from the wave of storms that came through. The tent had blown side ways, crashing all the decorations off the tables and simply making a mess of things. They did a great job putting Humpty Dumpty back together again, and everyone began to settle in for dinner with the next round of clouds showed up. This time we were directed into two nearby buildings. I, being pregnant and very, very low on blood sugar, opted to take my chances and fill a plate with food before following the distressed crowd inside. We watched in horror as the storm blew through. Luckily, Ian picked some amazing and dedicated guys to be groomsmen who braved the downpour to run gifts inside, save the cake, and bring the waiting crowds some beer :). Dinner ended up being served in the cafeteria, so we made due by pushing tables together and scraping up some decorations from the wedding. People were wet and laughing and having a good time. It was not at all what Abby had planned for their big day, but it was beautiful in a whole new way.

Unfortunately with all the craziness of the day, my picture taking was lacking. Here are a few of the ones we managed to snap:

Making Abby and Ian's card with careful precision.

The rehearsal

Two of my favorite people in the world.

Miss Pouty Pants

This hands-on-the-hips attitude accurately describes her that day.