drying out & clearing out

Rain clouds gave way to sunshine on Saturday, so our yard sale was a go! Our neighborhood does a huge sale every year, lots of people participating and tons of shoppers.

We all had a bit of cabin fever, so I think the sale was less about clearing out our closets (though I am thrilled about that) than it was about getting outside.



We missed the cherry blossoms this year due to the week+ of rain. Every other year Evyn has gone over to our neighbor's yard to shake the petals off her cherry trees and make "pink snow." There were a few petals left this weekend - just a few.



"Aunt Chris" came the morning of the sale and played with the kids, gave Andrew his bath, and took Evyn shopping (big sister bought a stuffed bunny for Andrew, isn't she the sweetest?).



Our take for this year's yard sale season - here, and at Lori's house - was around $170. That was all kids clothing, so, not bad! And I still have bags to go to the consignment shop.




Afterward we enjoyed the sunshine, got ice cream from the ice cream truck, chased bubbles -- and took lots of allergy medicine. Yep, Evyn's allergies are still bad. So bad, the medicine has stopped working, so she is now on both Benadryl and Claratin. We've kept the house closed up & air conditioner on (how I miss opening windows to fresh spring air!) and she is doing OK, but we really NEED for her allergies to ease!

sibling love

Evyn adores her brother. After nearly two months, she still jumps at the chance to hold him, play with him, watch over him, or help with his bath. Only twice have I ever seen her display impatience with him - both times, she asked if she could turn the TV up because his fussing was drowning out Spongebob :)


What's more surprising is how much Andrew adores Evyn. She tends to get a little too- excited- when she's interacting with him. We're usually reminding her to talk a little quieter, or play a little more gently. But you know what? He eats it up.

If she's in the room, his eyes follow her everywhere. When she comes close, he smiles, even when he's tired. I've been trying to capture in pictures the special way he looks at his big sister, so far no luck, so you'll just have to take my word for it! Suffice it to say, it takes my breath away, to see this amazing bond already formed between the two of them.




Andrew is now almost exclusively a belly-sleeper. His pediatrician will not be pleased, but he is so much happier on his belly. And don't worry, he's not left in our bed like this unattended!

party weekend

Evyn's social calendar (ha) was full last weekend, she had birthday parties to attend both days.

On Saturday she went to Kayla's house (pictured below), and Sunday was Gabby's party at the dance studio. Side note, if you're in the Ephrata area, stop in at the Fun-est Toy Store. We almost always get our party gifts here - it's a great little shop!





Andrew's not quite the party animal yet - here he is displaying his two main pastimes, catnapping on my lap, and hanging out with me (I can play spider solitaire one-handed!!)





We're still guessing who Andrew (who is now 8 weeks old!) inherited his features from. Sometimes we're certain his eyes are Scott's, and other times they look just like mine. He looks a lot like Evyn did, and yet, very different! So far we know his nose is his fathers and his ears are mine, everything else is tbd.

here's the deal

some of you know, i am online daily. reading your blogs :)

99% of the time, i have andrew in my arms. little bugger sleeps great at night, but likes to catnap all day long. when he actually does sleep, i feel compelled to do more, um, productive things. like catching up on the piles of laundry, cooking dinner, or taking advantage of the small break in the weather to mow our foot-high lawn (that was yesterday's activity!).

so, pictures are coming.
i owe a lot of you an email- i'm sorry it's taking me so long!
i still haven't sent out (or assembled) andrew's birth announcements or photos.
and thank-you cards are overdue.
i will get there - eventually!

i can't say we are particularly 'busy,' in the truest sense of the word. just not able to keep up with things that require two hands!

*some family news while i am here*

-evyn has her kindergarten interviews tomorrow. keep your fingers crossed for me, that i don't cry ;)

-evyn's allergies haven't let up at all - despite the week of seemingly nonstop rain. i don't know if her allergies have gotten much worse, or, if pollen counts are way up this year. either way, she's on a steady stream of claritin, which doesn't work nearly as well as benadryl, but at least it doesn't turn her into a zombie child like benadryl does.

-evyn's second year of dance classes is almost over. her recital is in mid-june - it's HUGE. our school has use of hempfield high school's auditorium all weekend, and seats are expected to be filled for all shows.

-andrew is at 13.5 pounds! almost completely in 3-6 month outfits, and i'll be switching to sz 2 diapers soon.

-andrew has now had two bottles. his nursing habits are still a little rocky, so we won't be doing frequent bottles, but at least we know he'll take them - good to know, since we'll be needing a sitter next month when we go to evyn's dance recital!

-our neighborhood annual yard sale is this saturday. i've been looking forward to it for two months. looks like it will rain again this year - it does every year, without fail. not sure what i'm going to do yet, we might just skip it. bummer!

that's it - pictures soon!