Ladies of the House

Eva is sound asleep and I am enjoying the quiet of the house. Les left tonight for his first of two summer army commitments. In total, he will be gone just over six weeks - two weeks now, a return home for a week, and another month away.

Thinking back, it is amazing how things have changed. In the past, I can remember feelings of emptiness and lonliness while he was gone. While we were dating, I was the one to leave for Spain or a semester in Minnesota. I was not used to being the one left behind. The time was usually filled with work, hobbies, and nights with the girls and it always passed quicker than I anticipated.

This time, my feelings are completely different. Left with a house to keep up, a busy toddler, and two part time jobs, I feel more anxiety about keeping my head afloat than I do sadness. Thankfully my pregnancy is progressing and I am much less tired than I was in the first trimester. I do feel a little sad though, more for Eva than anything. While Les and I understand the idea of duty and obligation, she only knows that Daddy is not home. On the sunny side, he is only away for a brief time and is a short drive from home. He could be across the world for an extended time in a dangerous scenario. It's all about perspective...

Dells Get-away

We recently made a little escape up to the Dells. We tried out a time share deal where we were given some vacation perks in exchange for hearing their sales pitch. Unfortunately, the weather was not that great and we weren't huge fans of our lodging. But, we made the most of it. Beautiful weather greeted us on our last day and we took in some of the tourist attractions. Here are some pictures from our visit to Timbavi Wildlife Park and Mount Olympus. Les ride the camel to Eva's pure delight!

Eva imitates the "arms-up" motion she saw some girls do on an amusement park ride.

We had a lot of fun with the mother and baby giraffe. They loved the food we had and stretched their long tongues for a lick.

Eva plays Goldilocks and has porridge with the three bears. This set-up has been around for years and we have some old pictures of me doing the same thing as a little girl.

After a hot, fun-filled day at the parks, Eva and mom cuddle on a lawn chair.

5 Experiences You Can Only Get in the Country

Only in the country can you....

#5 - enjoy views of wildlife...in our case it's all the stray cats roaming around

#4 - revel in the natural scenery out the back windows...recently they have included our neighbors' underwear out on the clothes line

#3 - get a call from the sheriff's department complaining that your horse is tearing up neighbors' yards (okay - this was actually my dad's experience and the horse wasn't his).

#2 - be stranded over the weekend because the snow plows don't make your road a priority

And #1 - my motivation for creating this blog entry...

#1 - lay awake all night listening to the sounds of a distressed cow in labor. (It's no wonder why I'm so tired today).

You, Part Deux

Two more funny stories about Eva's use of the word you. If you didn't catch it earlier, she calls herself you. So, if she wants a juice, she'll say either "you juice" or "juice you."

#1 So, last night we were grilling out with Ryan. We were having Eva's favorite food: corn on the cob. She watched me butter her corn and then proceeded to stick her fork in the butter and copy my motions. All the while, she was happily saying "fork you" over and over.... only her r's aren't quite right... so you can imagine what this sounded like.... Ryan and Les were dying over this one.

#2 Then later, the three of us were playing cards and this conversation ensued:

Les: For the baby, I like the names _____, _____, and ______.

Lindsay: I'm open to your suggestions, but I just don't like those names.

Les (to Ryan): I've come to terms with the fact that she'll pick the names again.

Lindsay: Well, I am the one who is home with the kids the most. So, I say their names alot more than you do.

Ryan: And yet, Eva still thinks her name is you.

(Les high fives Ryan after that one and I can't help but laugh.) We've still got plenty of time to agree on names we like...

Wednesday Surprise

I surprised Eva today with a trip to Henry Vilas Zoo and a visit with Sue and Steve. We left in the morning and Eva enjoyed watching Shrek on the new DVD player in the car. We ate a picnic lunch with Sue and Steve and visited the zoo's animals, park, and carousel. After a busy afternoon of keeping up with a 4-year-old, Eva conked out for the whole car ride home and continued her nap at home (along with mom). Sue and Eva smile for the camera

Eva and Steve are "joeys" in a giant kangaroo's pouch

Eva the archaeologist

We enjoyed two carousel rides - a clear favorite at the zoo

Next Wednesday's Surprise: a day with Beth at the park and pool

Happy Father's Day!

This past Father's Day I was reminded of holidays in Arizona. Les has been saying for a while "we need to find some friends in Platteville." And, just as he ordered, our family spent Father's day in the company of friends. First stop, a walk and a trip to the park. After lunch we headed to the pool. Both places we ran into other young families in town. Then, the Bjork's stopped over with Ali for awhile. We enjoyed a gourmet Pizza Hut supper before Les and I headed out for the night to a party of one my coworkers. All in all, it was a great day. Les and Eva dine together

After many weeks and much patience...a finished deck to enjoy! Along with this, Les got a new workbench and backyard game of Ladder Ball.

Eva and Les spent some time together today while I worked out. I arrived home to find them out driving around the yard on the lawn mower. Both were all smiles!

A bike helmet for Eva

We're hoping to take advantage of the space we enjoy in the country. We've begun taking bike rides in the country. The many hills make a great workout for mom and dad. And, with Eva in a trailer behind dad, we're almost a match in abilities. I bought a bike helmet for Eva's safety. She loved wearing it for the first time last night. It was only after taking these shots that dad informed me I put it on backwards. Look! No hands!

All ready for a ride in the trailer.

Time for back blogging!

I mentioned earlier that our family took a "divide and conquer" approach to early summer vacations. My mom and I headed down to Peoria to spend Jenny's final weekend in Peoria with her. We stayed at the luxurious Embassy Suites and enjoyed shopping, swimming, movies, and eating. Here we are pictured in the hotel lobby

Grandma H gratefully took Eva for the weekend. It sounds like their weekend involved parks, swimming, a birthday party, and lots of time with aunts and cousins. The Quad Cities worked out as the perfect meeting spot. Laura, Abby, and Camryn joined Grandma on her drive up from Wapello.

Baby Camryn - still getting in lots of beauty rest

"Grandma's Girls"

And, Les headed up with many men to do those things that "men" do. I've heard lots of talk about boats, bass, and beer. At this time I don't have any pictures from that trip. I believe Les posted some on his Facebook account.

Changes

Les and I have been thinking for some time about enrolling Eva in a childcare center next year. We have been fortunate to have had her in loving, safe home environments for the past couple of years. She's getting to be such a busy body these days that we thought it might be time for a change. We added our name to the local University's center and were thrilled to get a call last Friday about an open spot for her. Today we visited the center on a tour: A glimpse of the exterior building along with the outdoor play area and "track"

This is the "Blue Room" where Eva will be next year along with other 2-year-olds. We met her teacher, Mr. Aaron and liked him immediately. In addition to him, two other college students staff the room so there is always lots of adult and child interaction.

Our family was all smiles walking out. (Although I think Eva would have preferred to stay and play with all of the toys). We feel so fortunate to have the access to such a place. There are so many opportunities to support young children's growth and development.

Play on Words

This coming weekend will be a big one for our family. We're heading in lots of different directions! Les will be heading to Balsam Lake for a fishing trip. I will be heading to Peoria for a girl's weekend. And, Eva will go to Grandma H's for the weekend. Grandpa H will be stopping in to pick up Les on the way. In preparation, Les was prepping Eva on names tonight in the car.

Les: Eva, can you say Grandma Deb?

Eva: "Ramma Dub-Dub."

(Laughter. She loves to sing lots of "dub-dubs" in the tub.)

Les: Eva, can you say Grandpa Don?

Eva: "Pa Pa Dum Dum."

(At this point Les is peeled over, laughing hysterically. Thank God I was driving.)

We still have a little work to go.... or, maybe they'll like their new names.

Hey, guess what!

I'm going to be a.... New arrival due January, 2009!!

Arbor Day!

A local nursery was giving away White Spruce trees in honor of Arbor Day. Eva and I stopped out to pick one up on the way to daycare one morning. We planted it on the West side of our house along with our other Spruces. Eva helps to plant the tree

She loves to be a helper. Here she is putting the bucket back after we watered our tree.

So proud of her good deed. At the time of this picture she is 21 months. I plan to take more pictures of the two as they grow over the years.

Goofy!

Eva is such a goofy little girl. She loves to have fun and entertain! Here are some recent pictures of our little turkey- Check out those cheeks!

"I picked out my outfit...all by myself"

HEAVEN!

Enjoying a cupcake at Crystal's baby shower. She has a lot in common with Elf...her favorite foods are anything with sugar: cookies, cake, chocolate, ice cream. We're doing our best to limit these, but she's so darn cute when she asks for them!

Breakfast at Eva's

I've had my work's FlipVideo camera to toy around with the past few days. Eva is a great subject to film. She loves the camera. We've made way too many videos! Here is our first venture together. Sadly, our computer takes forever to load, so videos may be few and far between. Enjoy!

Babies!

With the arrival of Spring comes these new babies:

Camryn Lee Bailey arrived April 5, 2008 in Burlington, Iowa. Proud parents are BJ and Laura Bailey (Les's sister and brother-in-law).

These new babies arrived at our farm today! We adopted four lambs (2 boys and 2 girls) from a nearby farm. These little friends will keep us busy during the upcoming months.
Eva assists me in bottle feeding the babies. She is a HUGE fan! She proudly showed them off to some neighbors who stopped by today. She loves being in their pen and laughs when they lick or smell her.

And finally, a prayer tonight for my coworker and good friend's granddaughter. Keera is Eva's age and has a virus that has settled in her heart. She is in Iowa City tonight under the care of a team of 7 doctors.

"You!"

Thinking back on how we talk to Eva regularly, I guess it's no wonder why she has this pronoun confused.

-Do you want to go to the park?
-Are you hungry?
-Did you wake up?

So now, whenever she is asked to talk about herself, she calls herself....(yep, you guessed it)...you!

-Q: Who's that in the picture (of Eva)? Response: You!
-Q: Who's toy is this? R: You!

We've enjoyed some good laughs over this one. And yes, we're trying to teach her to say "me" or "Eva."

Celebrating Easter

Eva and I enjoyed a week at home together leading up to Easter. We made cookies, had trial Easter egg hunts around the house, and read LOTS of books. The holiday brought a lot of fun times for us. Eva paints an Easter Egg at the library.
The Easter bunny brought Eva a kitchen!
Easter at Grandma and Granpa H's: Emma, Eva, and Katie enjoy their lunch.
Hunting for Easter eggs in full force

Amping up for St. Patrick's Day

We enjoyed a lazy day at home today. Eva is still showing signs of having a stomache flu but, for the most part, was her happy chipper self. We had visitors in and out of the house today. While talking about St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, I mentioned a "green shirt." On that cue, Eva went back to my room and came back with the shirt. She never ceases to amaze me! I put it on her and she had fun parading around the house in it. Eva in my green shirt

Eva is fascinated by glasses. Here she wears Ryan's while he has on an old pair of mine

Eva's "PaPa's"

This past week was a big one for both of Eva's Grandpa's. Grandpa H. underwent a surgery on Thursday. Les was able to get down to Iowa City to be with his family for the day while I held down the fort here. The surgery was successful and Granpda is resting at home. We had both planned to attend my dad's Retirement party on Saturday night but Eva got sick. Les stayed at home with her so that I could attend the event. The week turned out to be quite the balancing act.

A couple of shots from the Retirement Party:

My parents are attentive audience members during the program. Many friends and coworkers stepped up the microphone with great praise of my dad. Ryan, Jenny, and I put together a little poem and opened the program with it.
Later, we headed down to a pub to enjoy some libations with the retiree.

Nathan's Party

(I'm doing a bit of back blogging tonight. I tried to post these a couple times without luck.)

Last Saturday, we headed to Iowa to celebrate a very special young man's first birthday! Dave and Meg's son Nathan was the birthday boy. The party was started with the gift opening. Although he wasn't too interested in the presents, Natalie and Eva were eager to help out. We had dinner, cake, and some play time before heading for home.

The birthday boy squishes his cupcake.

Nathan smiles with his mom and dad

Eva carefully eyes the cake while Grandma holds her

Nathan, Natalie, Tate and Eva check out Nathan's new race track