Question...

Why do we find it necessary to name our child's stuffed animals and dolls? Seriously. We have Mr. Elephante, Petey the Peacock, Leo the Lion, Clarence the Cow, and my personal favorite, Lola the French Poodle (I find the need to sing Copa Cabana every time we play with Lola). So, why did WE name these animals? Why didn't we wait for her to name them? It's just a mystery to me. Well, we're off to find another doll to name!

Just so you know, I will have a Christmas update in the next day or so. Lots of Christmas pictures!

Merry Christmas!

Give Aways??

Okay, most of you know that I am new to the grand world of the internet. But I am learning, and I am loving! Did you know that people give things away on their blogs. Check this out. This lady at Musings of a Housewife is giving away 4 brand new diaper bags. Pretty cool, huh?
http://musingsofahousewife.typepad.com/musings_of_a_housewife/2007/12/lands-end-givea.html

Pretty soon I am going to have to figure out how to link with one word or a phrase. That is too fancy for me right now! Anyone know how to do it? Can you explain it to me simply?

A Very Busy Week

It has been crazy around here! We are a very busy family! And of course it is a very busy time of year!

So I thought I would catch you up on things that are happening at the Mandura home.

1. Weird Weather! Today is the first official day of winter and it is (get ready...) a balmy 57 degrees! Crazy right?

2. Big Diapers! We went from a size 2 to a size 3 in diapers. Just another sign my baby is getting bigger. (tear!)

3. Daisy Mae! Miss Evalie has been noticing Daisy a lot more. She watches the dog, and this morning she was petting her. We were all (yes all 4 of us) laying in bed enjoying the Saturday morning. Daisy laid down next to Evalie, and Evie reached over to pet her. She sat there for about 10 minutes just running her hands through Daisy's fur. I think she liked the texture. Daisy sat still for it, and was very good! And, of course, I washed Evalie's hands afterward. No doggy germs for the baby. On the same note: Does anyone know someone who wants a dog. Daisy is very good, but we aren't giving her the attention she needs. Sadly, she is not my baby anymore. I feel like a terrible doggy mom!

4. Christmas Cards! I finally sent out Christmas Cards. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Last year I didn't send any! I guess I was too busy being excited about being pregnant. But these turned out cute, I really like them. We still have a few that need to be sent out, but we don't have addresses for. But I am officially checking that one off my list.

5. Christmas Shopping! My Christmas shopping is 95% done! That's right. It is two days before Christmas and I still have shopping to do. We don't really do a whole lot, I don't like to put the emphasis on gifts. But I LOVE to give gifts. So I put a lot of thought and effort into them. So that is why I am not completely done. Also, we had a car incident last night. And Alex is shopping right now. So I can't finish until later tonight. Depending on how long it takes him. Just one negative of having one car. (The positives outweigh the negatives though!)

6. Santa Claus! While Evalie and I were out shopping yesterday we...

...saw Santa. Which I debated on, but how cute is her smile! I didn't want to buy a picture for (get this) $$$$$14.99! (ONE picture! a 5x7! Yikes!!!!) But the nice elf lady said that I could just take her picture with my digital. Yes, I carry the camera in the diaper bag, just in case! The nice elf lady said that this Santa would let me take the picture, but the other Santa would not. I asked if the Santas got a percentage of the picture profit, thinking that's why the other Santa wouldn't let you. The elf lady said, No. The other Santa is just crabby! Ha! A crabby Santa at Christmas time. The irony.

This Santa was really nice though. When I saw him, I was a little shocked. I said, "Hey, your beard is real!" He just smiled real big and said, "Of course, I'm Santa!" So that was Evalie's first Santa experience.

7. The Cup! Miss Evalie is not great with taking a bottle, but Alex and I need a way for her to drink milk without me. So we have been experimenting and getting frustrated (all 3 of us). But I think we got it! Daddy has been giving her milk out of a cup (aka the bottle lid-which is funny because the first one we tried actually had holes in the lid and we didn't know it. The milk went everywhere!). So Evalie likes the cup. And even though she wears a majority of it, she is at least getting some. And she is not getting mad about it.

See! Well, here she is drinking from the bottle with no nipple, but you get the idea!

8. Hard Work! Because of the Christmas season, and because we are going out of town next week, we had a lot to do this week. So we have all been working hard. This is how Evalie and Daddy work!

Alex really has been working hard, he just took a little break with his daughter. We still have a lot of work left to do, but it will get done I'm sure.

9. The Best! Evalie started laughing this week. It is seriously the best thing in the world! This is one of the times we wish we had a video camera, but she probably wouldn't laugh on camera anyway. She is all smiles and laughs when it's just Momma and Daddy, but when I bring out the camera or we call a Grandma, she quiets down. She is funny that way! Still it is great to hear her laugh. And see her smile. And cuddle with her. And...Who needs presents, I've got mine already!

So that was our crazy week, with some other stuff like laundry and diaper changes thrown in there! And the craziness continues...

Because Evalie Loves You!

Adventures in Poop 2 or Evalie: 1 Momma: 0

Welcome to another episode of Adventures in Poop

In this episode we find our Princess early in the morning, awake and lying in bed with the King and Queen. The Queen decided to change the royal diaper because is was soaked with royal pee from the night before. At this time of the morning the Queen was quite tired. Partially because of the hour, partially because the Princess did not sleep well. Because the Queen was so tired, she was moving a bit too slow. The Queen took off the wet royal diaper and was just ready to put on a clean diaper, when the princess decided to poop. The royal poop went all over the royal pjs and a little bit on the Queen. The royal pjs were the kind that only snap up one leg. The royal poop went down the leg that had no snaps. The Queen was very excited about this (sarcasm here) because it was so easy to clean up (more sarcasm!). Thankfully the King was able to help clean up the royal mess. And the Kingdom went back to its normal day.

The End

Getting Elfy!

Evalie's Auntie Mel did this for Evie and her two cousins. Camden is on the left, Jerzie is in the middle and Evie is on the right.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1450226178

You can check out my family's too. I think the picture of my brother with his mouth open is hilarious!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1441676846

And don't forget Evalie's own. The link is on a previous post!

Hey, do your own and send it to me. I think these are hilarious and I would love to share in your holiday spirit!

An Ornament For Your Tree!

My Baby Is A Praise Baby

As I was playing on the internet today, I found an offer for a Praise Baby freebie. Not familiar with Praise Baby? Think Baby Einstein with praise and worship music. I am a big fan!

I Have 2 Things To Say...

The first thing is...

We are sick!

Alex and I are both not feeling well. We both have a terrible head cold, and neither of us seem to be getting better.

I have to say, I love being a mom. And I hate being sick. But I REALLY hate being sick and being a mom at the same time. Before if I got sick, I could just lounge around, do nothing, and take as much medication as I want. But now I have this little baby to take care of. So we have been lounging around together, but all I can think about is keeping Evalie healthy. I am keeping myself hydrated so that Evie will stay hydrated. And because Evalie is very alert during the day, I have little time to take naps. Thankfully she has been sleeping well at night, so I can too. Although last night I woke up in the middle of the night all on my own. Yuck!

Well, we are hoping that we will get over this soon. And we are praying that Evalie doesn't get it at all. I will be very sad if my baby gets sick because of me!

And the second thing is...

(disclaimer: this is a bunch of rambling that no one may really care about!)

I have some Momma sadness!

On Monday my sick self decided to spend some time in Evalie's room organizing. A few weeks ago, I had gotten all her 3-6 months clothes out because she was going to be 3 months. She had been wearing some 3-6 mos clothes already. I am not naive to the fact that my child is larger than a normal 3 month old.

So Monday I was going through her 6-9 month clothes and getting them ready for when she will need them in a few months. Much to my shock and amazement, she is already smack in the middle of the weight guide (I don't know what they call it) for the 6-9 month clothes. So apparently we skipped the 3-6 month bracket! Sadness!

Evalie does fit into all of her 3-6 month clothes still. She just also fits into her 6-9 months also. So, I am sad because my little girl is growing up. She is getting so big! So fast! I am sad because I know that she is not going to be a baby for very much longer. I just have to focus on the fun things that are to come. Even though I am sad that she is growing up, I am excited that she is growing up! Does that make sense?

Well, that's all I have to say today!

Our Pretty Little Niece

This is our niece Olivia. These are her beautiful Christmas pictures!

Evalie's Christmas Pictures

We took Evalie to get Christmas pictures last week. Here are a few of our favorites.




If you would like to see all of the pictures we took, let me know, and I will e-mail you the link.

The Fussynoggins

I have been a little addicted to the internet lately. I am enjoying ebay immensely. I was really scared of it for a long time, but now I am having a lot of fun just looking at items and bidding. I haven't won anything because I am too cheap to bid very high. But I am on the look out for cloth diapers and a certain video game that Alex discovered over Thanksgiving (thanks Dad and Addison!)

I have also discovered the joy of reading other people's blogs. There are a few random ones that I really enjoy. One one blog I found a link to a site that gave you your Grinch name. And in the spirit of the holiday I thought it would be fun to find out what the Mandura's would be named were they Grinches.

So I would like to introduce to you the Fussynoggins:

Alex: Frownyfrown

Jenn: Bleakgrinch

Evalie: Crabbygrump

And from the Fussynoggins we say to you

Have a crappy Christmas!

But of course we are not the Fussynoggins. We are very un-Grinch like. In fact, Bleakgrinch and Crabbygrump are going Christmas shopping today! Yay!!!!

I truly enjoy giving gifts to others all through the year. And especially at Christmas time.

Alex and I were discussing this on the way home last night (we got to go to our Church District Christmas party last night. Good food, great music, lots of laughter, and a wonderful time of fellowship with friends and co-workers that we don't see very often. Alex had a time of devotion for the group. It was a wonderful evening.) We were discussing how we were going to approach Santa in our Christmas celebration with Evalie. Even though it is not an issue now, in a few years she will be old enough to understand the concept of Santa. I think (And Alex agrees) that it is important to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas, and not put the emphasis on Santa and giving gifts.

The spirit of Santa is real, the legend that has been passed down has factual roots. Saint Nicholas was a real man, a real man who did bring gifts to little girls and boys. He saw the poor children and wanted to give them presents to make them happy. And he did this because 2000 years ago, God saw His poor children and wanted to bring them joy. So He sent us a gift. A tiny gift in the package of a baby. A present that would bring joy for 2000 years and so many more to come. And that is what the focus should be on this and every Christmas season.

Alex used me as an example in his sermon last week. He said how much I enjoy giving gifts. I spend time thinking about what I am going to give, looking for it, putting it together, sometimes making the gift. And the best part of giving a gift is watching the person I have lovingly put the gift together for open it up. I love to see the happiness on the person's face. I think that they know I have put together the gift just for them.

Alex then compared that to the joy that God gets from watching us open His present that He put together just for us. How much joy He must get from knowing Jesus, His gift to us that first Christmas. It makes me smile. I have joy that I have Jesus in my heart. And that makes God happy too.

So, we are in fact NOT the Fussynoggins. And we do NOT wish you a crappy Christmas. We in fact wish you a very merry Christmas. And as you go shopping and wrap presents, please remember the true meaning, the first Gift that was given on Christmas day.

Finally!

Our tree is finally decorated. The house is finally decorated. I finally feel like I am in the Christmas spirit.

I put up 4 trees this year. Our family tree in the living room. A tree decorated with Christmas cookie cutters in the kitchen. A small tree that just has bulbs on it (this one is my favorite I think) in the living room. And Miss Evalie has a tree in her room. I found some bulbs at Target that are hot pink and turquoise with glitter on them. They match her room beautifully. Evie really likes looking at the lights.

So Wednesday I finally finished! And Evalie got to put the angel on the tree. With Daddy's help of course! I think she did a great job.

I thought she would be a little more interested in the sparkly angel than she was, but oh well. The pictures are still cute.

Oh, FYI...I took Evalie to be weighed because I was curious. Our 3 month old is 17 lbs and 2 oz! And she is 25 1/2 inches long. Yikes our girl is getting big!

On Monday we went to the mall with some friends. Mostly to hang out and look at random shoppers. Our friends took our picture by the giant tree in the mall. The picture actually turned out nicely. I just wish Evalie was looking at the camera.

I am excited that Christmas is here!

Adventures in Poop!

About 6 weeks ago, my sister and I were comparing poop stories. Hers was a story about her almost 2-year-old and mine happened (that time) to be about Daisy, our dog. I commented that we should write a book and call it "Adventures in Poop." I personally think it is a great name. I often repeat that phrase to myself when I am indeed involved in a poop related adventure. This is often as you can imagine. I think the phrase "Adventures in Poop" makes me smile and it makes the adventure itself a little less gross and a little more funny (funnier?). So last night we had an adventure...

Adventures in Poop

Starring: Princess Evalie

A long time ago (actually early this morning around 4:30) in a land far, far away (actually in a pack and play in our bedroom), Princess Evalie awoke from her beauty sleep. Even though the night was not over, the Princess was very happy to be awake and thought that the King and Queen should be awake as well. The Princess cooed and made lots of happy noises until the Queen was awake (the King stays asleep through this entire story). Suddenly Princess Evalie made a noise that was unlike any other. It was loud and reminded the Queen of the noises that the King makes. The Princess continued to make these scary and also funny noises for quite a while. Finally the Princess was finished filling her royal diaper. And the Queen got up from the bed to change her. Unfortunately the Queen made a frightful discovery. The Princess had leaked through her royal PJ's. So the Queen had to change not only a diaper, but pajamas and sheets too.

Chapter Two

The Princess repeated the first chapter later in the morning. But this time it was on the King and Queens bed. So the Queen had to change those sheets too. But the King was awake in Chapter two and got to change the royal diaper and the royal PJs this time!

THE END

Picture note: Evalie had her first professional pictures taken today. They are super cute. Hopefully I will be able to post some in a couple of weeks.

Tree note: The Christmas decorations in the Mandura house have been out for four days now. They are spread all around the house. The tree is half put together and lights are everywhere. Hopefully everything will be done this evening. For my sanity's sake. It is good that Evalie is not crawling yet. Or I would be in BIG trouble.

Sorry, no pictures today. Maybe later this week!

3 Months Old!

Our Miss Evalie is 3 months old today! These 3 months have flown by, she is growing up so fast. This week has been a pretty big learning week for Evalie. Maybe after the excitement of the Thanksgiving festivities, after we got back to "normal" life, she thought she would learn something new.
This week she has started grabbing for her toys. She grabs hold and does not let go very easily. Her favorites are a light up rattle, and rings that we have everywhere. We have lots of toys though. And she really likes them all. We have a toy girl!

Another thing she started doing is actually something she started to do again. For a while she was "talking" to us a lot. Then she learned how to blow bubbles. That was all she would do. We would try to get her to talk, but we only got bubbles. So, this week, Miss Evalie started talking again. It is so much fun to sit and have a conversation with her. She is very animated. Her face lights up and she makes the funniest expressions. She really gets into her stories. She must take after her Daddy!

Miss Evalie has also started NOT smiling for the camera. She will be all smiles and then we bring the camera out and NOTHING! That is not a fun thing. So we leave you with this unsmiley, but cute non-the-less, picture of our 3 month old baby princess.

For Those of You Wondering...

My new haircut! I love it, which is rare for me. It is very easy to do, and I feel young and sassy. Thanks Em!