A Mini Concert

Yesterday Lane put on a mini concert. He is singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and playing his acoustic guitar. I think it's cute that he put a hat on as part of the production. This video is short, but so sweet.

Preschool, Potty Training and Peek-a-Boo!

Over the past month I've been researching and scouting out preschools for Lane to attend this September. Today my search ended. I found a great school for our soon to be preschooler. The class is at a local church that offers classes in grades preK-fifth. This morning I had the opportunity to sit in on a class and tour the facilities. I'm happy with the place, people and curriculum. I feel the school is a good fit for Lane. He will have class two mornings per week. His day will consist of activities such as; phonics/writing, art/music, numbers, language development, story/game time and more! When I returned home and told Lane about his new school he said "preschool now." I love that he is so excited to go to school!

In potty training news...
I'm happy to say that Lane is consistently going on the potty and staying dry during the day. He wears a pull-up during nap time and bedtime, which will eventually be phased out. I'm so proud of him, he is doing a great job at this whole big boy business.

And finally here is Evie with a little fun...




PEEK-A-BOO!!!!

The Garden Chronicles, Feb. 21, 2009

Today we completed the layout for the garden beds. We have decided on four beds, two of the beds are 4x6 feet and two are 2x6 feet.
Justin did most of the digging and measuring. Lane, Evelyn and I helped.



We also did a little exploring in the yard and woods. Here are a couple things that stopped me in my tracks.




Lane found a few worms and had a hard time saying goodbye to them when we were done. Evelyn enjoyed her time outdoors. she crawled around feeling the texture of grass, bark, flowers and whatever she found interesting. At one point she even tasted some of these things, but soon after spit them out.
Even though we are still in the beginning prep stages of this garden, I feel we are making progress. It was wonderful to spend quality time together as a family all working together. We all enjoyed the afternoon of sunshine, nature and family.

The Garden Chronicles, Feb. 15, 2009

Bliss {Breaking Ground on a New Project}
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

I've decided to do a series of blogs documenting our experience in creating our first garden. This is where I begin, February 15, 2009.

The soil: wet, clay, dark, red, could form into a ball. May have to mix in some top soil or organic matter.

It felt good to feel the dirt in my hands. Got a sense of connectedness to the earth. Loved the basic simplicity of interacting with the natural resources. And feeling the sun on my skin is always a welcome comfort. I was only outside for a short time but felt a bit of renewal and rejuvenation. I'm also feeling that gardening will be a peaceful experience and I'm excited to begin this small undertaking. Another note; the birds sounded lovely, playful and full of joy. And that sunshine is the ultimate bliss.

A New Play Group

Evelyn, Lane and I have joined a play meet-up group. Today was our first event, Mommy and Me Fitness. We had so much fun running, jumping, crawling, singing, playing with hoola hoops, balls and tunnels. It was a great class that allowed the children an opportunity to follow direction, socialize/interact with other children and exercise. It was also nice to chat with some of the moms. Everyone was friendly and all the children were so well behaved. It took Lane a few minutes to warm up, but once he did he was having a non-stop riot. I was impressed with Lane's ability to listen, follow direction and patiently wait his turn. Evelyn couldn't have been any sweeter or cuter. She hung out in her stroller for the first part of the class just peacefully observing, a few of the kids went up to her and identified her as a baby and pointed to her as she reached out and tried to hug them. Once she was out of her stroller, she crawled around and kept up with the rest of the 1 /1/2-2 1/2 year olds. At one point in time she went up to another small girl and gave her a big hug which was followed by a collective "awe" from all the mothers. We look forward to joining the class again and participating in the upcoming events.

Happy Valentine's Day

Project 365 Day 69, Happy Valentine's Day
Originally uploaded by ewhitakerphoto

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day filled with lots of love and sweet things.

At the Playground

We spent a couple of hours at the playground today. It was a beautiful day. The children had so much fun and they were good and tired when we got home. They took nice long naps :) I shot a couple videos while at the playground today. Just a warning some may find these videos boring, but I cannot help myself. Evelyn's sweet little face while swinging just melts my heart. And Lane so proud and excited. I'm hopelessly in love!

Published

Two of my photos are published at Now Public, an online news sharing community.

Here are the links to the news stories:

Coroner Warns That Car Seats Can Kill Sleeping Babies

Israel approves Gaza's first export: Valentine's Day flowers


Scroll to the end of the photo slides to find my photos :)

Hope everyone is having a great Friday the 13th!

Her First Steps

Evelyn Ann has taken her first steps. She took three steps in a row towards me. Such a joy to witness and participate in this milestone event. I am so proud of her. She looks so cute toddling around.

Spring is in the Air

This weekend was absolutely beautiful! Saturday and Sunday were full of sunshine and temperatures in the mid to high sixties! We spent most of our time outside soaking up the sunshine. I happily discovered that we have an awesome playground/park less than three miles from our home. We spent part of our Saturday and Sunday mornings there. The kids love it and I'm strongly considering making a trip to the park a daily event.


We finally had time to get some yard work done. Justin trimmed the Crape Myrtle tree while Lane and I stacked the fallen branches, climbed a tree, found a ladybug and enjoyed being outside.




After two warm sun shining days it feels like spring is in the air.

Evelyn's 12 Month Check-Up

Today Evelyn had her 12 month well baby check up. She weighed in at 23lbs and 31" she is in the 95th percentile for height, which means she is taller than 95% of baby girls her age.

She received two shots and had blood taken from her toe.

But as you can see from this video, she is perfectly fine :) She loves this zebra and has become very good at getting on and off by herself.

The One Word Project

I've decided to take part in the One Word Project, a monthly challenge presented by Shutter Sisters. Starting in February each month will have a word as its theme and the challenge is to shoot with that word in mind then upload your photos to the Shutter Sisters pool on flickr. We get to choose our own word for February and I chose Bliss.

bliss |blis|
noun
perfect happiness; great joy.

I chose bliss because I feel bliss everyday. Sometimes it's felt more than others but nonetheless it's present everyday in my life. How wonderful to dedicate a month to my blissful experiences and end up with tangible reminders of how blessed I truly am.

My images will be posted on my flickr page if anyone is interested.