Saturday, September 26, 2009

He's finally here!

Elijah Mark Sewall joined our family this morning, September 26th, at 8:58 am.  Labor and delivery went well, and Mama and baby are both doing great.  He weighed in at 9 lbs even, and he is 20.5 inches long.  He is nursing efficiently and frequently, and he has charmed the hospital staff already.  We plan to go home sometime tomorrow.  More later when I'm not writing from a hospital tray table that is about 10 inches too high! 




Wednesday, September 23, 2009

"Password Protected"

Just FYI,  I am considering password protecting our blog in the next few weeks for safety and security purposes.  (Because our last name and our kids names are pretty prominent here, I am wondering if the whole world needs to have access.)  Please let me know if you read this blog and would like the password.  I "stalk" lots of people's blogs ... friends of friends of friends ... so I won't find you creepy or weird if I happen not to know you and you read our blog.  Just let me know how you stumbled upon us!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Consumable Blessings

A few weeks ago, our Small Group from church threw us a "Consumables Baby Shower."  All the gifts were consumable ... diapers, baby soap, wipes, etc.  It was just perfect for a third baby.  We are so blessed to have such sweet friends!

First Day of School -- 2009


Ella and Easton both started two day a week preschool last week. So far, all seems to be going well! Ella has a couple of buddies who were classmates last year with her again. She loves going and shares all the gossip about school with me when she gets home. Easton doesn't say much about anything, but as his class just happened to end up all boys, they probably just jump off stuff and get dirty. :)

Oh, and Mama loves a few hours off, too!

Just Another Day in Paradise ...

If you're at all familiar with country music, you probably know the song “Just Another Day in Paradise.” That song is sort of our theme around here. The bottom line of the song and our lives is that the day to day is chaotic, stressful, unpredictable, and often, hysterically funny. While blogs can often present people's lives from major event to major event, real life is lived in the nitty gritty when there doesn't seem to be much worth writing about or photographing. Fortunately, we have been able to embrace this reality and try to enjoy as much of this sweet time we have with our kids while they are little … and then some days we would like to drop them off at the neighbors' and ride off into sunset! This post is about the nitty gritty ...

People often think we're nuts when they see how close in age our kids are, even more so when they see we're about to have another baby. I won't lie: the first year of having two kids 15 months apart was unbelievably hard. I cried … a lot. But we are now reaping the rewards of persisting through that time as our older kids are now 3 and 2. They are the best of friends. They have the same perception of silly, and they can make each other laugh in ways neither Evan or I can replicate. The bath photos are from one of those nights when they were both cracking up so hard they could hardly breathe.

The rest of the photos are other everyday kind of events around here: Saturday morning breakfast in pajamas, elaborate Play Doh creations with Daddy, Wednesday afternoon baking with Nana … oh, and Easton getting stuck in the playground at Chik Fil A and Evan having to retrieve him. (I am SO glad I happened to have my camera in my purse for that one!)

None of it's glamorous, and none of it will make the cover of People magazine. But it's our sweet, blessed, God given little world … and we wouldn't change a bit of it … most days.















































Cybernesting

I have officially passed the two month mark of being delinquent on our blog. I don't have any great excuses other than being hugely pregnant and chasing a 3 year old and 2 year old all day. It occurred to me that I should probably get caught up before we post to announce the new baby's arrival any day now. So, here are a couple of updates! I'll add some pics from the kiddos first day of preschool soon …

Enjoy!!

Easton Turns 2!

On August 8th, Easton turned 2. It's hard to believe our little guy is no longer a toddler! Our gift to Easton this year was a starter train set; he is still getting the hang of it, but he is all boy and into anything with wheels. We celebrated with a lunchtime party with Uncle Lyle, Annie, and cousin Jack in from Atlanta; GloMom visiting from Arkansas; and Pops and Nana. As Easton is still allergic to eggs and milk, our birthday dessert was a sorbet bar. Nothing says “Happy Birthday” like two candles in Mango sorbet!

(I didn't get many photos – not even one of our family's baby linebacker, Jack.)




































Friday, September 11, 2009

Beach Trip 2009

In July, we spent a full week in Ocean Isle, NC with Pops and Nana, Uncle Rick and Nonnie, the Mitchell's (including friend and nanny-extraordinare, Jes), and the Michael's. We all crowded into a six bedroom condo for seven days of sun, sand, food, and general vacationing. Some highlights included game playing with the cousins, watching a baby sea turtle trek across the beach to the ocean, The Children's Museum in Wilmington, some super hero action and bedtime stories in a tent led by Jes, and LOTS of sand and water time.

Ella loved time with her cousins, and Easton proved to be the ocean lover. He was dubbed “Aqua Man” by the end of the week. We love that he enjoys the ocean, but a fearless two year old in the surf is a bit nerve-wracking!

(Sorry there are so many pictures. This blog is the only thing resembling a scrapbook my kids will ever get from their mother, so this is all-inclusive!)