Eden, The Realist

I've been making inconsistent attempts at working out again at our local YMCA.

I say inconsistent because I have a 2 year old and a 3 month old that get cranky without naps and come down with colds at inopportune times.

But today! yes, today! We made it up there at 9:15 am!

I figure that's a pretty good accomplishment in my world.

Making it out the door with all of our gear is hard enough, let alone actually getting a decent work out in without the nursery workers having to come get me and tell me my child is screaming.

Yes, Eden is still dealing with separation anxiety apparently. She's decided that the YMCA nursery (as well as the church nursery, but that's another blog for another day) is the worst place on earth. We now only visit the Y if we know some of her friends are going to be there because that usually distracts her for about 20 minutes. Once I come to the rescue, she immediately becomes confused and preoccupied with the sweat dripping down my forehead.

Today she made it 30 minutes.

Me and the elliptical machine are becoming good friends.

So now she's getting used to "going to the Y." I try to get her warmed up to the idea as soon as she wakes up, that way it's not all shock, drama, and craziness when we pull up and she realizes she's nearing the dreaded nursery.

So on the drive there, I was going over the details of what was about to go down...

Me: "We're going to the Y and it's going to be so much fun! You'll have friends there and you can color and play with new toys! and Mama is going to work out while you play. ok?"

Eden: "ok!" (sure, it's all fine and dandy in the safety of the car)

Me: "You gotta be a good girl and play and have fun so that mama can go work out and get skinny! Is mama gonna get skinny?"

Eden: "ummmm. (long pause) No. Just sweaty."

Thank you, Eden, for a good laugh today. :) And probably a good reminder of what's REALLY going down!

A Taste of China

J & H, some of our awesome Chinese friends, had us over for dinner the other night and it was SO! GOOD! It was the first time we've had real homemade Chinese food since returning last year! They spent the summer in Chiner so they missed Salem's birth, but soon after they're return they dropped by, making them Salem's first Chinese acquaintances...with hopefully many more to come. We felt it was a notable moment in his life. :) They're busy coming up with an appropriate Chinese name for Salem so that his little friends when we go to the Big Chicken will have something to call him. (at least a name that they can pronounce anyway!)

They're sweet daughter, Anna, thought Salem was pretty cool but REALLY enjoys playing with Eden.

The boy is growing like a weed. crazy. He's coming in at 15 lbs now and outgrowing clothes that fit him for about a day.

And then there's Eden, turning 2 at the end of this month but already acting much like a 4 year old. She's Lil Miss Independent. One of her new favorite activities is rummaging through her drawers and finding new "outfits."

She keeps us laughing. And I guess like most 2 year olds, keeps us wondering what is going through her head...

Happy Birthday Pops!

The 30th is Pops' (brandon's dad) birthday!

We hope you have a great birthday Pops and eat lots of cake!

We love you.

(video note...at the end Eden says, "I watch see" because she wants to watch the video. She can't figure out which one she's supposed to say in certain situations, so she says both. :)

Sneaky

Do you see the little girl in that picture hiding between the crib and miniature kitchen set?

Yes. That's Eden. My daughter. My deceptive little toddler.

When all is quiet in her room (ie...no reading, screaming, dancing, jumping, or clanging of toys), we know she's gotten her NUK (pacifier) out of her crib.

We've successfully gotten her to only use it when she sleeps, but occasionally she'll reach between the slats and grab it out. She knows she's not supposed to have it when she's not sleeping, so she sits in the corner and sucks on it.

lil miss sneaky sneaky.

Texas, Our Texas!!

I know...us Texans often get accused of having a smidgen too much state pride.

But at least we're open and honest about it. Cuz, our state really is the coolest state.

:)

ok ok...I digress.

But really, lets discuss an interesting tidbit.

Are there versions of cars out there with other State editions? Is there an Ohio Minivan? Probably not. Who would buy one?

Wait! Don't go. I'm not being all down on your state. Promise.

I'm just fully Texan. And proud of it. I've got nothing against your state. :) Even if it's not shaped as cool as my state.

Yes this is a "My state is cooler than your state" blog post.

I digress......again.

So we spent the past week back in Texas with family and friends, letting them get well acquainted with Salem and catch up with Eden.

We took loads of pictures, which I'll soon post to our shutterfly link for you all to peruse through at whim...and to save us all the bother of looking through 37 pictures in one post.

So to make it snappy...

While in Texas...

...we ate some real Texas BBQ and loved every minute of it.

...we ate yummy Tex-Mex and filled our bellies with melted cheese.

(we saw family too, but we all know food is important in my life)

...we had Aunt Terri's mint brownies, which are absolutely heavenly.

(there, that one combined family and food!)

...we went swimming in Aunt Jeri's pool where Brandon cannonballed and got Gigi (April's grandmother) soaking wet. woops!

...Eden golfed 18 holes with Brandon and BonBon and Pops (brandon's parents).

...Salem experienced his first time of sleeping 5 and a half hours at night. woohoo!

...we saw loads of family (on both mine and Brandon's side) and were reminded again of how convenient it would be to live closer to them all one day. (sniff, sniff) We love you all!!!

...we visited the local zoo which was surprisingly cool! The best lion exhibit I've ever seen! Sadly, I was more enthralled than either of my children.

...had Donut Stop donuts twice. I could have had them a third time but the scale is not friendly to me in Texas. mmmm Donut Stop, I love you forever.

...we gained weight. :)

...Brandon preached his first Sunday morning sermon. He did fantastic! And only suffered mild retina damage from the blinding stage lights.

We arrived late yesterday evening, exhausted and thankful we don't have to fly again for several months. Turns out, Salem isn't so airplane savvy. He hated the descent, and wanted to let everyone on board know by screaming at the top of his lungs. And everyone around me chose to pass along their not-so-welcome advice and made snide remarks. oh well...I took it in stride. Because well, I had to, or I'd have gotten kicked off the plane if I'd responded the way I wanted to.

So we're back in NC (where there aren't any specially made state editions) :)

Brandon had his first day of class today for the Fall semester...just one year to go!

2 Months!

Sweet mini man, you are 2 months old today!

You are...

...very cuddly! You'd much rather sleep on mama and dada than in your bed.

...great at tolerating your sister's way of playing with you, even when it's playing dress up.

...smiling a precious little smile these days, even paired with a couple dimples!

...and handsome as ever as you're wiggling more and more these days!

Sweet Salem

Here's some of my favorite recent pics of Salem. :)

Experiencing his first "zerberts!"