Blan Family Movie Night

Of course Nate had to sit on top of me instead of next to me.

And when I moved to a more comfortable position, he still found a way to sit on me. I'm sure I'll long for him to sit with me some day, but these days it gets a little old!

He liked his milkshake so much that he went scrounging for our end-of-the-shake slush. Yuck!

Finally! Sitting under a blanket NEXT to me for the end of the movie.

We hosted our first ever Blan family movie night Tuesday night, complete with popcorn made with Mom's at least 20-year old air popper that Nate LOVES, cookies n' cream milkshakes made with homemade oreos, and Toy Story. We filled up the living room with our air mattress and blankets so we could stretch out. Nate didn't love the movie, but he watched most of it, even in spite of it skipping and messing up a lot. (Always test run your library rentals!)

Stephen, always the photographer (and a great one!), took several pictures. Next time I'll know to shower and put on some makeup first. It was the end of a humid 90 degree day spent mostly outside and finished off standing next to an oven that I'm convinced lets out more heat than it keeps in, and it shows.

Unfortunately, Evie didn't participate this time. We started after she was in bed. Sorry, Ev!

"Nate really never blinks!"

Peeking through the fence to see the dog next door.

Working a puzzle - one of Nate's favorites pastimes these days.

And swinging - another one of his favorites!

We were with some friends last Saturday evening, and after studying Nate all evening a friend's little girl ran up to her mom and said, "Mom, Nate really never blinks!" When he was a baby we used to say he never blinked, but we'd kind of forgotten about it. I guess we're just used to his huge blue eyes gazing at us now. But, he really never blinks. It's confirmed!

You can click here or scroll down a few posts to see those huge non-blinking blue eyes up close!

Miss Ev

Pretty in pink!

That same old stoic look we used to know so well.

Singing into the microphone. She really gets a kick out of it!

Evie is 11 months old! We have lots of little nicknames for her, and Miss Ev is one that Stephen says a lot. All of a sudden she's moving all over the place - not crawling, but pulling herself with her arms. We've never really had a mobile baby since Nate didn't crawl until right before he walked at 15 months, so this is new territory for us. It's great to see her getting around! And there's really not much for her to get into, except for whatever Nate is playing with. She's already learning how to push his buttons!

Cheerios with Joe

We've seen a lot of our friend Joe the last few weeks. I normally watch him every other week, but it's been more frequent than that. He's four months older than Evie, so it's not quite a taste of what having three kids would be like, especially since I get to give him back at the end of the day. Anyway, we've had beautiful weather on the days he's been here, so we've played outside A LOT! These are some pictures of a day last week when he was here. After naps we had a cheerio picnic outside on the patio.

Also, I didn't plan it, but you can see my newest project in the background between Nate and Evie - cilantro and basil plants. They're doing great, and I've really enjoyed going out and snipping off just as much as I need without buying a whole big bunch that goes to waste. I don't know why I didn't start growing herbs a long time ago. I might have to add something new soon!

Baby Bird

Evie is a good eater most of the time, and when she's really excited to be eating she opens her mouth extra wide and waits for it. She looks kind of a like a baby bird waiting for the worm in these pictures!

Pictures!

Problem solved! We've completely reorganized our photo storage system, something that we've needed to do for a couple years. We suddenly ran out of space because we got a new camera (!!), and our new picture files take up a lot more space than the pictures from our older camera. So, to justify the purchase I guess we'll have to take even more pictures of these sweet kids and post them for everyone to see. Hope you can handle it! We'll start out with some favorites of sweet Nate.

Uncle Bill

With Uncle Bill at an American Cancer Society Relay For Life rally 

in Milford, OH in 2008 

(Aunt Jane, thanks for taking this picture.)

One obvious thing that stinks about living far away from family (especially with small children who have somewhat inhibited our pack-up-and-go days) is that it makes being there when you want to be there most really difficult. My Uncle Bill, my dad's brother, ended his battle with cancer last Saturday morning. My heart aches for my Aunt Jane and for my cousins, Mark, Greg, Jeff, and Chris. We're praying for you guys, and wishing you great comfort. I'll miss him. 

Under construction

Due to an abundance of pictures and video, our computer has no more space for new pictures, therefore preventing me from posting new pictures. We're working hard to fix this problem, so please be patient with us while we completely reorganize our photo storage system. We expect to be up and running again soon ...

Eli

Nate and Eli

Playing on the steps at Elizabeth's house.

We were blessed to squeeze in some time with my cousins, and good friends, Chris and Carrie and their families during our quick trip to Kentucky (thanks to Elizabeth working hard to make it happen). Eli is Nate's third cousin, and unfortunately he and Nate have only seen each other a few times in their short lives. If we lived closer I'm sure they'd be good buddies! He's 4 months younger than Nate, but you wouldn't know it by looking at him. He's a tall boy! I think Carrie got some more cute pictures of them playing, so I'll post more later if I get them.

Engagement

Elizabeth and Matthew's engagement picture

I've failed to post about the most exciting thing that's happening in our family - my sister's upcoming wedding! She was surprised with a ring in February and the wedding date is set for June 12th. Nate never talks about his Ziza (Aunt Liza) anymore without including Maffew (Matthew). (It's actually "Ziza Maffew airplane?") We rode the Ziza Maffew airplane this past weekend, and went to Kentucky for some wedding dress shopping and an engagement party. We're excited and thankful to have Matthew joining the family!

Sweet Evie Girl

Stephen took these pictures of Evie the other day. They capture just a glimpse of our sweet baby girl. We're still trying to figure out who she looks like. We think she mostly favors Stephen and the Blans, but there must be some Iles in her too. When we were in Kentucky with my family last summer, when she was only six weeks old, my brother immediately thought she looked like my grandma Iles, my dad's mom. Another cousin said the same thing. Yesterday we had our friends Matt and Natalie over (Matt from Kentucky who I've grown up with), and he saw my dad in her. I really liked hearing that she might have pieces of my dad in her. My actual memories of him are few - most are in pictures - so I love that I can look at Evie and maybe, possibly, slightly see even the tiniest bit of him.

Bored

Just the three of them: Nate, Evie, and Dora (the Explorer)

Some of our days are labeled TV days - the days my children watch way too much TV because I run out of puzzles, books, toys, and the energy to be more creative. I think the warm weather is finally here to stay, so hopefully we'll be having fewer of these days!

9 Months

Reading one of our favorite books: "Pajama Time!"

Evie is actually 9 1/2 months old now. She's not nearly as serious about life as she used to be. We get lots of giggles and silliness now, and we can't get enough of it! She's still a big girl - 21 lbs and 29 inches tall (75th and 90th percentiles). She loves cheerios just as much as Nate does, so now they steal them from each other. Nate gets more laughs out of her than anyone. He still loves to hold her and hug her (a little too much sometimes), and unfortunately he really likes to take her toys and say "No no, Evie!" I can't believe how quickly we're approaching the big 1st birthday!

Granddad

Nate munching on popcorn, with Granddad and Evie

hanging out on the couch.

I'm a little late with this one. Stephen's dad came to visit the weekend of Stephen's marathon. Nate had a great time with him. He has always associated Granddad with his hat - taking it to him when he's not wearing it as if something is missing. Now he likes to wear it himself. We were SO glad he was able to come for the weekend!

Cowtown Marathon

Mile 8: Stephen stopped for a Gatorade and a picture.

Still smiling!

Mile 16: Nate is running to catch up in the background.

Waiting for Daddy to pass by. Nate has the Gatorade ready.

Clapping for runners as they go by.

Watching Stephen run off to the finish.

Stephen ran in the Cowtown Marathon for his first marathon last Saturday. He's been training for months, so it's quite a relief that it's over. His dad came into town for the weekend, and he waited downtown at the finish line while I toted the kids around to a couple different points along the way to cheer him on. It turned out to be a beautiful day, with a high in the 50's and sunny, so it was easy (easier, I should say) to map out our route and catch up with Stephen along the way. We couldn't make it to the finish line because both kids were melting down by the end of mile 16, but it was a lot of fun to see as much as we did.

Stephen did great! He finished, which was his main goal, and his time was 4 hours, 44 minutes. He claims he'll never do it again, but I'm sure he'll change his mind before long.

A little late

Don't worry. No cookies were actually consumed by the baby in the taking of this picture.

Enjoying the cookie he decorated.

I never posted these pictures from Valentine's Day. These heart-shaped sugar cookies were a last minute idea - one that I ran out of energy for before completing. So, they didn't turn out quite like I'd intended, but Nate had a good time playing with the icing and decorating a couple of them. I took this picture of Evie with them because a sweet baby can make anything look good!

Little coffee addicts

Evie grabbing Stephen's coffee.

Evie's picture with the coffee reminded me of this one of Nate when he was 7 months old. I'm amazed by how much they look alike in their baby pictures since Nate favors me and Evie favors Stephen.

We love our coffee - especially these days when we're exhausted most of the time. And our kids are learning early that one of the greatest pleasures in life is a good cup of coffee. They can't keep their hands off of it!

Sweet electricity

On day #2 without electricity, our freezer started to thaw. We fired up the grill and started cooking a few things to keep them from spoiling.

When we make cookies we usually put half the dough in the freezer for another time. I wasn't about to let my cookie dough be wasted, so they baked on the grill. The grill taste wasn't too awful, and they were a nice treat during our "suffering."

We put Evie in the sun to warm up. By mid-afternoon of day #2 it was the same temperature inside and outside, but the sun was shining outside so it actually felt warmer out there. Crazy Texas weather! You can see how much of the snow had already melted.

Warming up water on the grill for tea in our Turkish teapot. Living without electricity brought back some great memories from Turkey, where going without electricity or water wasn't so unusual.

Nate drinking his hot tea and warming up.

About an hour after my last post about the snow, our electricity went out and stayed out for almost exactly 48 hours. Fort Worth had a record snowfall for a 24 hour period - about 12 inches - and I guess the power lines weren't prepared. Neither were we. I think we made the best of it though. We're thankful for our friends, Nathan and Lynsi, who offered their house as a place to warm up and take hot showers, and who would have forced us to spend the night if we weren't so stubborn.

Since I don't keep a freezer full of food we didn't lose much. We filled our coolers with snow and ice and saved our milk, cheese, and yogurt, and grilled some fish and cookies. The only major loss was a few weeks of baby food that I had in the freezer, and that's mostly a time loss anyway. And I think we're just a little bit more thankful for the small things - hot showers and warm beds - temporarily at least ...

Blizzard

The snow was really thick and easy to pick up,
so Nate grabbed handfuls of it and started throwing it.

Forming a snowball

"Snowmama" - Nate's first snowman. She's wearing my hat and scarf,
thus the name Snowmama.

It started snowing sometime in the night last night and hasn't stopped since. This is the most snow we've ever seen in Texas! Stephen's school didn't close, so when he got home he took Nate out to play. I wasn't brave enough to get Evie out in it earlier. They had a great time and froze their little (and big) hands off!

Computer Games

Entranced by the computer.

He could stay there all day!

We found some computer games online that are simple enough for Nate to play, and he LOVES them. We've learned the hard way that he can't play them before nap time or bed time though - too much stimulation or something, leading to meltdowns for the record books!

Eight Months Old

Preparing to clap ...

Yay!!

Evie turned eight months old this week! The most exciting new thing she does is clap. Last week when I was watching our little friend Joe (12 months), he would clap and Evie would copy him, and they went back and forth clapping. It was SO cute. She's definitely showing more personality these days, and is a little less serious than before. Such a sweet baby girl!