belly.

Ooooh she had a cute belly.

I was so so so not this cute preggo.

Wait.

That's probably because I'm not this cute NONpreggo.

Not much is more fun than making someone happy with photos. Love that our friends are having babies (and that they blame Ev... tee hee hee). I have so many things I should be doing right now. Why is traveling with a small fry so very very taxing? And involve so many many things? Holy cow. It's been a week here, peeps, and it's only Tuesday.

xoxoxox.

whoosh.

Where oh where has the past month gone?
I always have the best intentions of...
oh...
keeping up.
documenting.
remembering.
capturing.
But I always seem to fail at that. Prepare for an epic post ahead. Full of photos, most of which were previewed on facebook.

Went to Wisconsin and Chicago over Memorial day for Mara's stunningly beautifully perfect wedding. Started in Racine with my parents to get Ev adjusted into hotel living for 2 days.
Learned that Ev loves the Dairy State, particularly Rocky Road ice cream (seen above) and fried cheese curds. Ev also loves Wisconsin weather and hanging out with the grandparents.

We then headed to Chicago for the very beautiful wedding of one of my very dearest friends. Took Ev to the Shedd, which would've worked better had he not gotten up at 5 that morning. That might be my least favorite part of traveling with a little.

Had a ridiculous amount of fun. Mara's wedding meant all of us girls were together, and I got to catch up with some of the best people I know. Ev got to meet everyone and ran around the hotel lobby making friends with every 20-something girl there. Mike's sister met us so that we could go to Mara's wedding solo-- our first night out in almost a year? Did I really just say that? Wow. It was such a wonderful night... it was gorgeous and intimate and hilarious (at the right times) and genuine and SO very Mara + James. I took so few photos (good thing I'm not a wedding photographer. hee.), and just enjoyed being there.
(Aren't they perfect?!)
Have some very funny photos of Mike dancing-- but those are nowhere to be found at the current moment. I have to say that I maybe love my husband the very most at weddings-- he usually comes off as so reserved, but weddings... not so much. He's the most fun. Ever. Love him, even when I can't keep up with him.

It was then back to the Ray for something I didn't expect to have. Fortuitous. Amazing. All of my best friends from high school all together in the same place at the same time. One in town to give a physics scholarship-- as she is the only physicist to graduate from my high school. Impressive, right? The rest of us are pretty smart too, I swear. Hee.

So, so, so many laughs were had-- immediate reconnection, just like the old days. It was the best feeling. And this one just makes me smile so big. Mamas + babies. But really, aren't we still 17 and laughing at everything and anything? Hmmm. Maybe we still are?

... and then we were back home and playing soccer and being HOT and then my Megs came for a visit. Ostensibly, she came to see Taylor Swift with me-- which was AMAZING, and we got carded (twice) which made me feel young (which was good, given that we raised the average age there a good 10 years, I swear). Tay put on a great show, but the best part of Meg's visit was Meg. There is nothing like having an old friend in your home and just BEING together. Made my heart happy. And Ev? Well, Ev loved his Meh-Meh. In fact, still looks up at random blonde women and asks, Meh-Meh? And then looks infuriated like, oh, geez, just another impostor. Sheesh.

We did our very best to wear Megs out with trips to the pool and forcing her to take pictures of the baby. FORCING. Really. The one above is one of my favorites of Ev. Ever. I love his crazy crazy hair covered in 10 tons of SPF 70. If he'd just keep his cute hat on...

See, it's a way cute hat.

And she's a way cute Meh-Meh, who we get to see again next month. Seriously. How spoiled have I been this summer?!?

Did I mention that Meg happened to be here the weekend of our soccer championship? There were times when I wondered if Mike and I were crazy to choose to play together this spring. But the longer we played, the happier I was-- it was our time together, to do something we both love, albeit one that he does WAY better than I do. He was by far and away the best player on our team-- he made us work as a team. However, we had to play without him our final game due to an errant red card. Mikey's first red card in 26 years of playing. ... but in overtime, with penalty kicks-- we won! The Champions of the old folks, we are.

He's funny, right? Ha. The refs appreciated his shirt.

... then our Meh-Meh left, but this lovely mark did not:

... do not accidentally block Eddie's shot, or you will be marked for a good week afterwards. In fact, I am still carrying said bruise 8 days later. I'm awesome like that.

And then you have this past weekend-- Jeff and Natalie's wedding in Charleston. The 5 hour down drive there was not the most fun ever, as the small one does not believe in being in the car. But the rehearsal dinner location made up for the drive in spades and gave me my all-time favorite photo I've ever taken. All due to the light and the water and the cute subject, nothing at all due to me, of this I am certain.

Sigh. My boy. He's getting so so so so big. He was so patient at the dinner-- and consumed about 2 lbs of macaroni and cheese when it finally got around to the eating time. Jeff and Natalie were so gracious to have us there-- we had the best time. Live bluegrass, amazing food, and did I mention the perfection of the location? Oh, that's right. I did. I maybe did accidentally let Ev knock down a table of votive candles, but I'm pretty sure that was the only casualty of the night. Oh, and 47 trees were killed by Ev and mama occupying ourselves with the sensor-activated paper towel dispenser in the bathroom during the pre-dinner speeches. Other than that, all was well.

My boys. How much do I love them? Sigh.

We spent the next morning at the most fantastic park-- seriously, Charleston does it right. It was hot. HOT hot, and this is coming from a North Carolinian. We melted, but Ev had the best time running around and swinging. Mike and I looked at each other and wondered what we did before him-- he is SO MUCH FUN. And busy. Just a little busy... and we love it.

... I left Ev and Mike to nap during the 1.5 hour ceremony, which I think was a wise decision, given the duration I just listed. The ceremony was just lovely, and the reception was insane-- in a good way. The 300-ish people, however, sort of overwhelmed Ev and clearly made me forget I brought my camera. We ran around empty ballrooms and ate about 50 goat cheese stuffed artichoke hearts together and finally found a quiet corner to eat bunny grahams and read books with the other 16-month old there, whose diaper bag had gotten locked in the room where we were having dinner (NOT fun for that mama). We survived waiting for dinner to start til 7:30, but did almost lose it a few times during the speeches and first dances. That is a long time for a boy to wait to eat. Um, and a mama, to be honest. Thankfully, there was a dancefloor, and Ev busted a few moves during the waiting. Not surprisingly: he ate about 2 lbs of mac and cheese for dinner again. Hee. Whatever works to wash down those artichokes, right?

We sort of thought someone would sleep in after going to bed at 10:30, but we had a bright-eyed Ev at 7:30, ready to take on the day. So to the beach we went... which we weren't sure was going to be a huge hit. He's sometimes not the biggest fan of the pool, and shows no interest in the sandbox. Period. Ever. Oh how wrong we were-- he LOVED it.

He would've stayed all day, I swear to it. I have never seen him so enthralled by something as he was the ocean. It was the best. Made this beach-loving mama's heart happy. And then we headed home. And someone actually slept in the car, thank you beach. And now we're all still recovering before the next epic trip.

... I'm sleepy typing all of that. Maybe I should try to update more than once a month, eh? Sigh. So many things to work on as always.

Happy Wednesday, friends.

xoxoxox.

so very thankful

Thank you, sweet baby boy, for being the most hilarious, wonderful, spaghetti-covered baby a mama could ever want. I love you so. xoxoox.

to cut or not to cut

(forgive me the self-indulgent post ahead)

... my hair, that is.
I have my first haircut in an ummm yes uh huh year at the end of the week. One income + baby boy + different priorities = not so much able to make that one happen. To say that I haven't felt like I've looked like myself for about, oh, say, 22 months now would be an understatement. It would just be nice to not want to turn away from the mirror every time I see one and cringe/diet/do some tae bo/run and hide every time I see a photo of myself. I look at everyone else I know post-baby and I think... man. I wish I looked like that. all. the. time. Healthy, right? Ha.
So to take some (really) small step here...
Do I cut my hair back to the bob-ish-thing I had for about 7 years pre-Ev?
(because that's what I feel looks like me (looked?))
Or do I leave it long-ish?
(because man a ponytail is easy and Ev likes to pull it)

Decisions, decisions, eh?
xoxo.

cupid de mayo

We braved the madness of Cinco de Mayo tonight and met our darling preggo friends out for dinner with Ev, which is always dangerous since eliminating the afternoon nap. We waited at our table for just about ever before the food came. To avoid the inevitable meltdown from being stuck in a highchair for too long, I took him out before the bill came.

It had been pouring and finally stopped, so Ev and I walked around the little courtyard-y area at the restaurant. Every 20-something-year-old in the greater Triangle area apparently wanted to go to said Mexican restaurant in the middle of suburbia for some unknown reason and are all standing around out front waiting for tables. So while Ev and I are wandering around and looking at planes and waving at big trucks, a couple get into a fight-- you know the kind when you are 20 and everything is REALLYREALLYREALLY intense and important. The girl is trying her darndest to get her boyfriend to talk to her after she said some not very nice words to him (to which Ev said uhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhh), and finally just sits down on a bench looking oh-so-unhappy with him. Ev lets go of my hands, walks over to her, and proceeds to pat her leg and turn on the biggest smile I've ever seen. So I'm trying to pull him away, apologizing for him, and she's smiling and laughing at him, and said boyfriend realizes--ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I can use this one to my advantage, and comes over too. Mind you, during all of this, and with his oh so happy face, Ev has the world's stinkiest pants-- the diaper bag was stuck inside with Dad and I was not braving the 1292109382098231 margarita-ed people to get it. Stink stink stink. Ev hung out with them for a bit, sat on the bench next to his new bff, oh so very impressed with his life at that moment. Five minutes later, the couple is back together, his arm around her shoulders. Ev waved at them as we walked away, and I do say that little cupid de mayo looked quite proud of himself.

Funny, funny baby. I love him and his matchmaking ways.
xoxoxoxo.

not a ball.

When your ball isn't a ball, but actually an advocado, you learn this the hard way when you take a bite out of it.

xoxox.

love/notlove

Am borrowing my format from my sisser today.
She's my sisser, she won't mind.
Plus, it means I'm blogging. So she doubly won't mind.

Things I love:
I love Ev opening his Easter basket. I know the bunny photo is blurry, but I love his face....
... I love that he is such a boy, though, that as soon as the truck was located in the basket, he was off. Pushing the truck, crashing into things. All with his crazy nutty bedhead. I like that it looks like he has a halo when he's in the sun like that.
I love handing Ev an advocado at Kathy's house out of sheer here-just-take-this-and-be-busy-for-five-minutes-so-I-can-finish-this-ness having him take it, hold it, look at me and say baaaaaaaaaaalll, and then proceed rolling it around the floor, throwing it for the dogs, and carrying it home with us. Everytime he sees it on the table he smiles and says-- ball.
I love our new nighttime routine of going to the park and swinging before bedtime.
I love how Ev is obsessed with squirrels and tries to call them over to him the way we call Max-- patting his leg and sort of whistling for them.
I love Ev's singing in the car.
I love having some very dear people back in my life. I am very apt to get caught up in the here and now-- in college, I had only college friends. In grad school, grad school friends. It is very rare for me to be good at keeping in touch, at being a good friend, at holding on. I feel so. incredibly. blessed to have the girls who really saved me back in my life. The girls who were my life my senior year, who are still my heart. Blessed. Lucky. Happy.
I love/hate Ev's new game. When we would walk around the dining room table, we'd always tell him-- "don't bump your head!"-- to which he'd respond by grabbing his head and going "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." Now, however, he intentionally bumps his head into the wall, turns to us and grabs his head and says "ohhhhhhhh" and waits for us to say, "don't bump your head!" Hilarious, but probably resulting in some sort of head trauma, yes??
I love planning for spring/summer trips and knowing that we are going to see some people we very dearly miss very VERY soon.
I love e's blogging.

I do not love:
I do not love Ev's ongoing nonsleeping kick. I just pray that it is all due to that stinky last molar. But man... at 3:00 am, mama wants to be sleeping, baby boy.
I do not love that dinnertime's been a battle for the past 3 weeks or so. The boy who used to love to eat now just tosses everything overboard. Max doesn't help-- well, he does in that he keeps me from having to clean up too much-- but as soon as Ev sees him, the little head goes over the edge of the tray to his dawwwg, and he starts sending down the goods. He just likes... nothing lately. Any suggestions from Ev's adoring public?
Borrowing one directly from my sisser-- I do not love my crazy long hair. I am so not a long haired person. I like that I said that like it's a breed, like a cat. I am clearly not a Persian. I don't get what to DO with it.
I do not love a certain coworker's need to start off every Monday with a giant session of whining. It makes me crazy. It starts MY week off horribly. It makes me want to scream. But I don't. I listen and feel my stomach turning. But what do you do, right?
I do not love having to pay for the trips we're taking this summer. Hee.
I do not love that none of my clothes fit the same post-baby.
I really do not love dress shopping. It is the invention of the devil, as far as I am concerned. Yes, that fits there, but not there or there. Yes, that one makes me look pregnant. Yes, that one smashes my boobs down to my waist, which is awesome. Oh, you want me to resemble a beluga whale? Perfect. I've found about 18 that fit that request. HATE.
I do not love running. But would like someone to teach me how to love it.... because I just don't understand.

I think that's about enough for now, right?
Tee hee.
It's Wednesday. ALMOST the weekend. Hooray!
xoxoxo.