family was in town, so we did the important things...like ate a lot of cupcakes.

I think I apologized to my sister 5 times for taking hostage the first portion of their Saturday morning with my cupcake excursions. She and my brother-in-law flew all the way from California to be with us and explore DC, yet I somehow slyly convinced them it was worth their time to visit 2 cupcake shops :) And apparently it was a big deal in my book, because that's pretty much all I busted my camera out for that day.

We did do a bit of touring around DC. It's hard for us sometimes because we've done everything a gabillion times that I'm afraid our enthusiasm for playing tour guide has dwindled a bit. BUT, it was sooo great to have Aunt Jordan and Uncle Luke around! They were quite the duo with our kiddos. They were the first thing Evelyn would ask for when she woke up in the morning. We are so excited because the next time we see them, we'll have a baby boy cousin!! We are so happy for them! Thanks Jay Jay & Wook for coming to visit us!

Evelyn, lately

Today I handed Evelyn a cup of water and without me prompting she said "pank (thank) you, mama." I was so impressed! I bent down and told her how much I loved her for using good manners.

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Last night Evelyn was talking to herself a bit in her crib, so I went in to give her one last squeeze and bedtime song before she conked out. As I reached back to shut the door, she called out "wuv ew, mama." My heart skipped.

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As she was on the potty, she looked up at me with a strained face and said "uhh! it no working!"And I busted up laughing.

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Lately Evelyn has developed a fear of the lawnmower. She woke up from her nap crying one afternoon because the noise was scoowah (scary). I explained to her that while lawnmowers were loud and that could be frightening, they weren't for Evelyn but they are for cutting grass. So now everytime we hear a lawnmower or leafblower, she explains to me "No scoowah, lawntutor. Lawntutor, it cut da gwass!" 

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The phrase most commonly said right now: "Lightning McQueen, cars go fast, McQueen sticks out his tongue." She is crushing hard on Lightning. Princess movies aren't our thing over here. We watched Tangled for the horsie, not for the beautiful Rapunzel or handsome Flynn Rider.

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My favorite Evelyn thing right now is our duet, singing "skinnamarink."

Evelyn, Dad & a Tent

Good word, aren't these photos of Evelyn beautiful?! Dad sure captured her well! When Jared said he wanted to take Evelyn on a daddy daughter campout that some men in our church were throwing together, I thought goooooodd luuuck! I totally did not think she was ready and I thought Jared was being way too optimistic and rather naive that she was going to fall asleep in the pack n play, in 40* nighttime weather, in a tent, with the laughter of other chatty little girls in the background, in the dark, and not develop a cough all throughout the wee morning hours like she had been the previous night. I was totally anticipating them barging through the door at 1am, defeated by the wilderness, but wouldn't ya know it - I was proved wrong! Evelyn thrived in the outdoors! Jared said Evelyn loved the canoe, throwing sticks in the water, the big campfire, went out like a light at 9pm and didn't make a peep til 6:30am.

I have to admit that my heart feels a bit bipolar when I look at these photos. On one hand I am so so proud of Evelyn for flowering into such a big girl. Especially camping in undies and not having one accident! And mostly just overjoyed that she and Dad got to form a tighter bond together. On the other hand, there isn't an ounce of baby left in her. I mean, the girl can handle a boat ore!

and the toilet shall unite us!

Haha, I don't even know where to begin this post. These past three days have been the most fun I've had in a long time and it's all because of a toilet.

On Tuesday the weather was crappy and I decided on a whim to give potty training a run for it's money because we were going to be stuck inside all day. To be honest, I had really low expectations, but knowing that potty training can be a beast, I decided to tackle it cold-turkey style. Evelyn got up that morning, we did away with the diaper, put the undies on and waited and waited. "Evelyn, if you have to go tinkles* tell mama and we'll go to the potty, ok?" I think I repeated that phrase every 2 minutes for the first part of the day. We had one accident. Then two. But the third time was the charm! By noon we were yippin' and hollarin' over that toilet seat, both peering into the bowl with excitement as Evelyn shouted "YAY!!" We clapped and jumped up and down and gave big hugs and kisses! Evelyn has always been an excited spirit, so to see her so energized was nothing surprising, but what was different was her sense of courage. This was probably the first time ever where I saw her exert sheer bravery, shedding her hesitancies behind and really trusting that she could do this. I could be there to help her through, but in the end it all came down to her. Yesterday was day #2. She had NO accidents. We even went to a friend's house and she didn't let her guard down. PRIDE, people! So proud of her!

Potty training has been the best thing for our relationship. We've been struggling lately to really mesh together, and this toilet thing united us! It has felt so incredibly rewarding to be her cheerleader, to share in something like this together. And it has been so fun. Last night right before bed, Evelyn said she had to use the potty. We quickly scurried to the toilet and sat her down. As soon as she started to tinkle, she cocked her head up at me; her eyes grew wide, and a smile stretched from ear to ear. Her lips parted to make way for words to utter... and with ebb and flow fluctuation she exclaimed "..oooOOOoo ccaaAANNNdddyyyy!" I burst into laughter immediately. She was reminding me of Rumpelstiltskin turning hair into gold, except the hair was urine and the gold was candy :) Much less fairytale-esque. She hopped off the toilet, and was rewarded with two jellybeans. This girl is spunky! You are rockin' it, Evy Rae! 

*i've never liked two words: pee and panties

bum squish is the best kind of squish, unless you're not a baby, then bum squish is the worst kind of squish

Aside from his dumbo ears, Warner's chubby chubby bum cheeks are my favorite.
It's the one thing I look forward to about diaper changing time, when I can cup that bum in the palm of my hand and jiggle the heck out of that thing. Creepy, no? But I can't get enough of the squish!!

The other day when I was doing the dinner dishes, Jared started chuckling from the other room and called for me to take a look. I peered over the counter, and the big dubster was up on all 4's, rocking like crawling was going to be his business in no time! Talk about a shot to a mother's heart! Jared was ecstatic, egging him on, assisting Warner in his efforts to become more mobile and independent. I, on the other hand, scolded Jared for wanting him to move along because a) the moment Warner starts crawling my life is going to get more difficult and b) I'm not ready to give up my baby! At 7 months, this kid still falls asleep on me like a newborn.  He's magic! He started sitting up independently 2 weeks ago, and that has actually been helpful. But crawling!!! Put it off, my son. Just stay firmly planted and let more of that squish build up in your thighs. Don't worry about my squish accumulating; your sister is the energizer bunny and gives me plenty of exercise throughout the day :)

a drive up north, and sorts around the district

We had such a fabulous time in Gettysburg. Actually, I don't think I can say fabulous because what happened here is very un-fabulous, with all the carnage and tragedy and what not, but we did find ourselves leaving more educated and better patriots than when we arrived, so that's always nice. And Evelyn enjoyed riding in Grandpa's shoulders for a majority of the day, while Warner obviously was thrilled about being snuggled in Grandma's arms.

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I do love the charm of the district. I'm a sucker for old turn of the century buildings with porticos, mansard roofs, and colorful worn brick. 

Now that Grandma and Grandpa have gone, we're getting in to the groove of real life again. Which kinda stinks, but the fact that the trees are swaying with green leaves now helps to brighten the mood. I've already got so many summer trips up my sleeve, it's insane!

when grandma and grandpa come to town!

For the past week now, we've had Grandma and Grandpa Oakden (or as Evelyn says "Banga" and "Paca".... don't know how she arrived at that pronunciation but it's unique and cute nonetheless) visiting us! With Grandma and Grandpa never having been to DC before, we played tourist yet again with them and visited some of our favorite must-see sites. The weather could not have been more perfect for our outings. Whenever we have guests come and stay with us, it makes me regain a greater appreciation for where we live. There is so much to do and see here.

The kids have been in heaven having two extra pair of hands to dote on them. I never seem to mind being far from our families until our families come to us and then I realize what we're missing out on by not living close by. Our kids have two sets of fabulous grandparents!