Onederful.

I can't believe it is already here. One year of our life with Evan. I've got until 11:48 tonight until he officially turns a year old, and I'm soaking up every last second of baby.

Choosing a simple way to describe Evan comes easy. If I had to pick two words to sum up all that he is, I would pick sweet and bubbly.

The boy is like sticky sugar. You just want to eat him up and can't get enough of him. He loves to love, and I haven't met a person yet who doesn't comment on his loving personality.

James likes to say his smile takes up his entire face. I believe that is the truth. With that bald head and chubby cheeks, his big smiles completes the package. I think he knows it. It is very rare not to see him smiling.


Lately, I've found myself wondering just how fast one year could pass. I look at my boys and ask myself how it is possible for them to grow so quickly.

Other times, I think that it couldn't possibly be just one year since Evan completed our family.

It feels like forever that he's been here with us.


His kisses are like candy. Delicious. And I bet the boy gets kissed no less than 500 times a day.

Lately, he's started to get a little sass when it comes to giving out a kiss. Somehow, he learned how to shake his head no and he knows just what that gesture means. Lean in for a kiss, and he will look at you with a big grin and tell you no.

I think he just likes to get a reaction out of whoever is asking for a smooch. Most of the time, he gives right in and lets you kiss those cheeks or that little button nose that looks so much like his brother's.



While his looks mimic the sibling that came before him, he's got a personality all of his own. My two boys couldn't be different.

Evan loves to be around people. In fact, he's happiest when we are out and about. He's more than willing to let a room of ladies pass him around, love on him and spoil him rotten.

Easy going Evan.

He's content with whatever he's got - a ball, a block or a cell phone.

Most of all, a cell phone. He loves to talk on the phone. He knows just how to use one and "talks" all day long. His first reaction when getting a phone in his hand - well, he puts it right to his ear and says hi.

He's a social butterfly my youngest babe.




He loves people, and people love him. I get stopped in stores, restaurants, the gym, and just about any other place by men and women of all ages who comment on his big smile, adorable laugh and who just want to touch him.

I can't blame them.

There's just something about him.

The girls at the gym say he must be an old soul. I have to agree. There's something behind those eyes that make you wonder where he's been and what he's thinking about.

From the moment he was born, we noticed his hands. They look just like James' Great Aunt Cora, who passed away shortly after Lane was born. We can't help but think the two of them must have held hands at one time. We like to think she, along with all the other great grandparents, taught him so much more before we could teach him.

Because he's smart. Just so smart.

For months now, he's been able to recognize and use the signs for eat, more and all done. If he's hungry, he'll tell you he wants to eat. If your tickling his belly and stop, he'll tell you more. Just last night, I asked Lane if he was all done eating dinner, only to look over and find Evan using the sign for done as I spoke the word to Lane.

Signs aren't the only thing he's catching on to quickly. Aside from mama, he can say the word more, when he wants more, and all done, when he's done.

He loves climbing the stairs so the only smart thing to do was teach him how to go down. So, we did. He caught on in just a few days. Now, he knows if he wants to get off the couch or the bed, his bottom must go first.

Maybe he's so smart because he's got his best friend teaching him everything he knows.


To say Evan loves Lane would be an understatement. His face lights up when Lane comes near him. If he wakes up before Lane, he'll crawl all over the house calling out and looking for him.

He loves to touch him and be near him. He mimics a lot of what Lane does and always wants to be right in the middle of what Lane's got going on.

This causes some unhappiness on Lane's part. It also causes a lot of bangs and bruises on Evan's forehead.




Good thing Evan's growing up so fast. He's recently started putting up a little fight when Lane tries to snatch something away from him. He's getting strong and isn't backing down as easily as he once did.

At twelve months old, he's wearing size 18 month clothing. Just last week, I put him in a pair of pajamas Lane wore when Evan was born.

That's alright with me. There's just more of him to love.


Love him I do.

When I hear him beep, beep and meep, meep in the middle of the night, I jump out of bed and make my way to his room to snuggle him up. I grab the one and only item in this house that is his and only his - a duck lovey that my friend Frances gave to me for Lane - and we crawl into the chair in his room to kiss and cuddle until he falls back to sleep.

If I didn't talk about duck then I'd be leaving out a big aspect of our little boy's first year of life. He loves that duck. He can't go to bed without him. He holds him close to his face and holds duck's foot in his hand. He's rubbed those feet so much they are worn and tattered.

During the day, he'll make his way to his room just to pull duck out of his crib. He'll crawl around the house with duck by his side - talking to him, hugging him, smiling at him.

Oh, I just love him so much.

To think that a year ago I wondered how I'd find room in my heart to love another boy saddens me now. It only took a second to realize what a fool I was. The moment he was born, my heart doubled in size.

When I think about my life before Evan, I'm reminded of a line from one of my favorite songs:

"I never knew the best was yet to come."

I thought my life was complete. I thought I had everything I ever needed. I thought my heart was full of love and laughter.

It was.

Evan just made it even better.



Happy first birthday Evan Abram.

I love you.

Snow day.

Until we get some our annual dusting of snow in these parts, I decided to bring a little bit of winter weather to our house. Lately, Lane's been requesting a "project" to work on each evening. Since I love to craft, color and create, I'm more than happy to find ways to keep his little hands and mind occupied.

For this project, we decided to make snow globes. Using objects I had on hand and a few purchased pieces, we crafted a little holiday cheer and will be giving these to some of our friends who help us out on a regular basis - the girls in the childcare room at the gym, our neighbor across the street, our pediatrician and some of the doctors at our walk-in clinic.

We plan to spend today making cookies and tomorrow handing out our treats.

We started with a few Ball canning jars I had around the house and some cheap ornaments I purchased at Target.

For our first step, I placed a dab of glue on the lid and let Lane place the ornament on top of the glue.

Next, wait for glue to totally dry. For Lane, this was the hardest part.


Once the glue has dried, you can begin putting together your globes. Add some distilled water to your jar.

Then, add a drop of liquid glycerin to the water. This will keep the glitter from sticking to the jar.


Add as much glitter as your three year old heart can handle.


Place the lid on the jar.


Mama then closes the jar tightly before moving on to the next step.



Shake. Shake. Shake.

If your my child, you will want to have a little taste of the glitter next.

Then move to a towel to dry for the night.

Little brothers must sit contently and watch this project. Until - big brother gives him a special little globe made just for him. Then, his job is to smile and enjoy the fun.


When all your globes are complete, clean up. If your lucky, you will have some help.

Our Trees.

Saturday night, both boys went to bed early. By 7:00 the house was quiet. I turned off all the lights and brought out all the presents to wrap by the light of our tree. Papa came down around 7:30 and joined me. He rested on the couch and chatted with me while I did all the wrapping.


I really love the style of our tree. Our house doesn't have a good spot for a tree. The best spot I can find is in our tiny dining room. We move the table around a bit and put the tree in the corner in front of a window.

James and I like to keep our tree simple. Oh, and a real tree is a must. We love the smell.

Our first few Christmases together, we didn't get a tree. We lived in a small townhouse and didn't bother. Our first year in our Cape Cod, we decided to get one. We both agreed to keep it simple: white lights, minimal decorations. That first year, our tree consisted of lights, some cranberry garland, and pinecones I collected from a nearby park.

We might not have gotten a tree the next year. I don't remember.

The year Lane was born, I spiced up our simple tree with a few birds. I thought they went nicely with our "natural" theme. I'm pretty sure I didn't collect any pinecones that year - having just given birth and all.

The next year, I added a few more birds to the collection.

Last year, we didn't get a tree. The Sunday before Evan was born, my mom was over. I ran to Kroger to pick up a few items and saw a little tree in a pot. I brought it home, decorated it with our cranberry garland and placed it on our mantel.

A few days later, Evan was born.


This year's tree has a few more birds. No pinecones. No cranberry garland - so little hands don't put little cranberries in his little mouth. A few strands of white lights.

I think it is lovely.

Oh, and the bottom half is naked. See above regarding little hands.

So far, the boys don't seem to mess with the tree. Lane does like to plug it in though.

For those of you who think it might be mean not to let Lane decorate the tree, don't worry. This year, I got him his own little tree - just for his room.


He loved decorating it. Or decoration it, as he says. I bought a few small ornaments, which I adore. All are knit animals that are dressed for winter. I think I'll probably find something to do with them once the holidays are over but it is still cold outside.

That's how cute they are.

Evan Eats.

I've been a real lazy mama lately. Truth be told - my kiddos have been eating way too much fast food.


I'm going to make it one of my New Year's resolutions to get back to better eating habits.

With that being said, one day last week, I picked up some Wendy's on the way home from picking up Lane at preschool.

Lane went down for a nap. Evan had a little snack.


He was not impressed with the chicken byproducts trying to pass as a chicken nugget.






He had more fun taking the nugget and placing it in and out of the box.

Bad mama for feeding my baby gunky food.

Good mama opportunity to let my baby practice some developmental skills.

Or so I told myself.

Here's my hint that I need to spend some time on Sunday nights preparing lunches for my boys.

Evan fed his nugget to the dog.



Hint taken.


And just to make you laugh....

Here's a picture of Evan later that day. We were all outside on the back deck watching some deer in our neighbor's yard. Giggie was going in and out of the dog door. Then he accidentally closed himself inside.

Gave me the perfect chance to take this awesome photo.

Oh no she didn't.

Let me tell you about some funny things I did on Tuesday. Tuesday mornings, Lane goes to school. That means Mama & Evan time. We usually hang around the house, play, cuddle and do some cleaning.

With a dishwasher full of clean dishes, a sink full of dirty dishes and a content baby in his room, I went to the kitchen to do a little work.

Now, I've got three years of mama experience under my belt. I know better. A quiet house - unless, of course, your babes are napping - usually indicates something naughty is taking place.

I made my way through the bottom shelf of the dishwasher and almost all the way through the top shelf when it hit me.

I didn't hear a peep coming from Evan's room.

What do you think I found when I went down the hall to check on him.



This is his favorite thing to do - take out all of his clothes and throw them on the floor.

It makes him very happy.

It makes me have to clean up a mess that was not a necessary mess.


I couldn't get mad at him. I've got no one to blame but myself.

Oh, but it gets even better.

Later that day, I set out to make a chicken pot pie.

I had the chicken part ready when I realized I didn't have any eggs to fulfill the pie part of our dinner.

James was home so I left the kids and rushed up the street to Publix to pick up some eggs.




I wore these shoes, which are not really shoes at all. They are slippers. However, I think they are cute enough to wear as shoes if need be.


Oh, is that a skirt I'm wearing over my jeans.


Why no. That would be my apron. Ran out of the house. Drove to Publix. Walked around the entire store getting eggs, something for dessert and milk for Evan - and did not even realize it until I got to the register. That's when the check-out girl commented on my outfit.




Thankfully she didn't say anything about my lack of make-up or my messy hair.

And that my friends is what happens after three beautiful years of being a mama.

You go out in public looking like this - and do it with a big old smile on your face.

Goofball.

For about a week, I could not figure out what was going on with the marker lids. I kept finding them all over the floor - or even better, in Evan's mouth.

For some reason, Lane stopped putting the tops back on his markers. Each day, as I picked up lids in the most random of places, I would explain to Lane that he must put the lids back on his markers. If he didn't, the markers would dry up and he would not be able to color with them even more.

Or worse - Giggie could choke on one.

Still - dried up markers and lids all over my house.


Then he busted out with this.

Which explains why I have marker lids all over my house.

He's a monster. A scary monster. He chases Evan.

You can't be upset with that.

Right?

Evan Eats.

It has been a while since I updated you on our little man's eating habits. His new favorite: lima beans.

Better known as mama beans around here.

A few weeks ago, I opened a can of lima beans to serve with dinner. As is his new custom, Lane asked, "What's that."

"Lima beans," I informed him.

"Oh, mama beans," he said. "I don't like those."

Which is also his new standard answer. And, yes, he does like them. He used to eat them all the time - back before he started asking what he was eating and just ate what I served him.


As for my other baby, he loves him some mama beans. On this particular night, he was having a yummy dinner of noodles, carrots from our crock pot roast and mama beans.

Notice how he picked out all the lima beans first. Then the carrots. I think he left most of the noodles. That's just filler food.


He did have to stop mid dinner to answer his hand phone. This poor baby always has someone calling him. He's just so busy - and popular.


MMMMM. Mama beans.

Do your kids eat them?