Overwhelmed

There are some days that I feel like I am on top of my "to do" list. And then there are days where I feel that I have accomplished nothing, those days leave me feeling very discouraged. There are so many things that I would love to do, but a lot of them require time alone and away from my girls and my husband. So they just get pushed to the side and left for another time. I know that the most important things in life for right now are God and family, and so that is where I will focus my time and energy. Everything else can wait, there will be more days to come. Our blog is one of those areas that seems to get pushed to the side. I would love to be able to update it once a week, but it just doesn't seem to happen. So I am done feeling guilty about it. When I have some time, I will do what I can. But it isn't going to happen as often as I or you would like. So here are some things that we have been up to in the last month. We hope you enjoy hearing about them, we had lots of fun doing them:)

We were able to go to the State Fair the first saturday that it was open. We got there early in the morning just as the animals were getting up. Evie really enjoyed seeing the animals that she always reads about, and hearing the noises that they make. We were able to not have to take a stroller, it makes moving around much easier, and you can get up real close to everything. Andy carried Evie around, she really enjoyed being up so she could see everything. I carried Cari and she slept almost the whole time, she only really woke up to eat. We went to the little people's farm and Evie just loved walking around and doing the different activities. She also enjoyed stretching her legs. We tasted some good food, enjoyed some cool weather and did lots of people watching:)

This last weekend, we went up to Andy's grandma's house in Staples, MN. We went up there on saturday morning and came home on monday morning. The weather was just great except that it was very windy. We stopped along the way to feed Cari, and Evie and Andy had a great time looking for rocks. Evie just loves different rocks and loves to hold on to them. She will often find the biggest and prettiest rock. While we were at grandma's we went for a picnic. It was a cool evening and the wind didn't seem to be as bad where we were. We had hotdogs, baked beans, potato salad, and watermelon. YUM! Cari was such a good girl while we were there, she even took a little nap in her carseat. Evie enjoyed throwing rocks into the river and we even got to see Andy catch a fish! We enjoyed our time with grandma so much and hope to be able to go visit again someday.

Most of our days and weeks are spent watching our girls grow up, and it is happening way too fast. Evie will be turning 2 at the end of the month, everyday she says something that just makes us smile. Life is so simple for her, and everything is new and different. If only it could be that way for us. It is so fun to watch her discover the world around her, by the way, did I tell you that she loves rocks. She found this one at my parents house and she didn't want to let it go. I think that someday soon she is going to make one of them her pet. At least we won't have to feed it:)

Thank you God for our children, we are so blessed.

Cari Anne Bailey

This time I have a really good excuse for not blogging sooner, we are now a family of four!!!!! Cari Anne Bailey was born on June 18th at 11:38 pm. She weighed 8lbs 1oz and was 21 inches long. She looks just like me in my baby pictures and has a ton of hair!!! Lots more than her sister Evie did when she was born. Evie just loves her little sister and always wants to give her kisses:) We will just wait and see what happens in the next couple of weeks and months. She gets a little upset when I don't spend enough time with her, but over all has been a very good girl.

We haven't been up to much else, just spending lots of time with family. Both grandmas have been over and helped out so much. My mom came over the monday after Cari was born and cooked us a lot of food, what a wonderful blessing to have my mom so close to help us out. She has also taken Evie overnight when Andy was out of town and I took Cari to her doctors appointment. Evie is always asking if she can go to grandma's house. We got her a pool and so did my mom, she just loves going out and splashing around. She loves it so much that she has a fit when it is time to be done in the pool. It is amazing how much Evie grew up when we brought Cari home, she isn't my little baby anymore. She is turing into such a big girl!

Cari has been a really good baby, all she does right now is eat, sleep and poop. I have been getting some sleep and am feeling great for just having had a baby. It feels great just getting rid of the baby weight, I feel like I can breathe and eat again:)!!!

Well I posted just a few pictures, hope you enjoy them. I will try to post sooner next time, but we'll just see what happens:)

What have we been up to?

Well, I guess that I should have a good excuse for not blogging in a while, but I don't. We have been staying close to home because of the gas prices and to get ready for the baby. We have also done a few things around the townhouse lately, We replanted the hedge in the back(so much better), painted the inside of the garage, and put a screen door on the front. I think that the new door has been my favorite. Now we get a little bit of light from that side of the house and Evie loves to stand at the door and watch for birdies and tractors.

I have been doing a little bit of nesting, buying really tiny diapers and washing really tiny clothes, doing lots of cleaning and cutting last minute hair for all the family. I am still working two days a week and have been very busy. I told a client the other day that I feel exhausted, and I haven't even had the baby yet! Not good. I now have one week to go(my due date is June 15th) and am very ready. I have been going to my appointments every week now and my midwife says that everything looks good. All we have to do now is just wait until the baby wants to be born:) My little brother Brian is graduating from high school today and so we have lots of family in town. My mom would love it if I would have the baby while they are all here, I told her I would get right on it:) I do still have to work next week and would like to finish working before I have the baby.

Evie is doing great and is growing up everyday:) She now has lots of words and usually will try to repeat whatever you say(which can be scary if you're not careful what you say). She had a few health concerns(not digesting her food real well or gaining much weight), so we took her to the chiropractor and she is on a few supplements which seem to be helping a lot. PTL! We talk to her a lot about the new baby, but I don't think that she has any clue what is going on. She will be a little confused when we bring the baby home, and then we will see what we are in for. She is such a little sweet heart and will grow up so fast when we have the baby, I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

Andy is doing great, working a lot and doing lots of playing with Evie so that I can rest and get some things done. They love to go up to the little park in our development. When I was in the garage last night I could hear them laughing together while they were playing at the park. So cute! His boss at work was able to keep him in town for the month of June(he does do some traveling and sometimes it is for a whole week), so at least he will be close when I need him.

I will do my best to update you all when we have the baby, with lots of picture too!

Here are some from the last couple of months.

Family shot

38 weeks pregnant

say cheese!

Lots of bubbles!

mommy, look what I can do!

Evie sitting in a chair that used to be daddy's.

going down the slide

look mommy, no pants!

Happy Easter

We hope that everyone had a great Easter weekend wherever you were. But the most important thing to remember is what an awesome God we have. He sent His only Son to die for us, but He didn't stay dead, He rose again three days later!!! And because of what He did, we can spend eternity with Him.

We had a wonerful Easter. We had a great service at church in the morning and then we went to my parents house for lunch. Before we ate, Evie got to have a little easter egg hunt. My mom hid eggs for her to find and filled them with some of her favorite treats, goldfish:) She had fun finding the eggs and enjoying the treat inside! We spent the afternoon taking naps and watching basketball, and then stopped by Andy's parents on our way home, to say hi and visit for a while. It was a very relaxing day.

This is Evie before the egg hunt with her basket.

Here she is finding her eggs.

A family picture:)

Hanging Out

It has been a long time since I have written anything. I can't say that we have been up to much but I guess I was just busy doing other things than writing on our blog.

We are all doing well. Andy has been working everyday although it has been cold some of the time. We are just so thankful that He was able to find full time work in the winter. I am still working two days at the salon as well as staying home with Evie. It certaintly keeps me busy. I am 25 weeks pregnant and everything is going pretty well. I have been having some contractions already and sometimes get really out of breath and feel faint. My mid-wife just said that I need to take it easy and not to push it too much. We wouldn't want the baby to come early!!

Evie is doing great, and growing up so fast. She isn't much bigger but she is learning lots of new words and has such a fun personality. She now enjoys playing in the nursery at church and has fun at playgroup with all the kids. She is getting to be a little more curious and is getting into lots of new things. But overall, she listens so well and is pretty well behaved. We'll just see what happens after the baby is born! We are going to be in for lots of new and different attitudes I'm sure. But I guess all you can do is just take it one day at a time.

I have posted a few picture of Evie from this last month. Nothing too exciting, just us hanging out at home. Enjoy!

Evie's Kitchen

About two weeks ago, we were given a kitchen from one of my clients. The night we brought it home Evie didn't want to go to bed. She loved playing with all the food and dishes. She ends up making a mess of the living room by throwing things everywhere, but it wouldn't be cooking if she didn't. Because she mostly plays with the kitchen now, we have been able to put some of her other toys away. We'll get them out later when she becomes a little more tired of the kitchen. Having some toys put away also makes some space for more adult things!

Evie hasn't really gotten any taller or bigger, but she certaintly is growing up. She is learning new words all the time. Just yesterday, she told me to put my socks "on". And she has also learned to say "please", which comes in very handy. She loves to read books, and does so all by herself, quite loudly too. Everyday we are amazed at what new thing she has learned. It is hard to believe how fast she has grown up!

Here are some pictures of Evie with her kitchen, and other funny pictures too!!(she loves pulling the pillows off the couch and laying on them:).