We need a little Christmas!

I didn't take many pics because I was too busy enjoying myself, but here's our Christmas this year:

I want barbies and ponies.

Lights at the Washington DC temple. Very beautiful.

Christmas Eve - matching jammies

Belle, Amanda, Kari, and Evee

Will, Belle, and Steve

 Tommy

Kari

We had a really nice Christmas this year. It was hard not being with the whole family, but my sister's kids came home from college and we had a really great time. We spent Christmas Eve at our house with the tradition of potato soup. Christmas Eve is really my favorite part ever since I was young. Then Will read the nativity story from the Bible with everyone acting it out for Belle's sake. I filmed it, but would hate to incriminate anyone by posting it. :) Belle was Mary, Steve was Joseph, Evee was baby Jesus, Tommy the donkey and Herod (or Harold as Will kep reading it - ha ha ha), Amanda the angel/wise man, Brenna and Kari sheperds/wise men. What good sports. It was fun. Then we opened jammies and watched A Christmas Carol. We dragged mattresses upstairs and had a big sleepover up in Belle's playroom. Good times. Lucky for me I'm the ony one who could sleep through Will's snoring. Then we did Santa at our house before we spent the day at Kari's where we opened the rest of the gifts and watched A Christmas Story. "You'll shoot your eye out!" Classic. We had a nice ham dinner by candlelight. It ended up being a really nice holiday.

Belle Moments

Splashing in puddles and spinning in the rain in December. How crazy is that? Will, Belle, and I were pretty soaked today. So we came home and made fudge and hot cocoa for dinner. Hmmm....I wonder why we all had upset tummies tonight? But it was sure worth it. I love December. It is the month of, as my former boss would say, the fudge diet. You cut out regular meals for fudge. You don't want to chalk up too many calories, so if you're going to sacrifice it's definitely not going to be the fudge! :)

Yesterday we were reminiscising funny things that Belle has said. Here are a couple that made me smile:
Tommy needed to use the bathroom, but Belle was in there washing her hands, so she told Tommy to "hold your bagina". Hmm...
Belle is the "stupid" police. It is probably the highest level of a swear word to her. If she overhears anyone saying stupid she makes them apologize to Jesus and Heavenly Father. So she started to say stupid one day when she was upset and stopped herself with a shocked look on her face. She was so worried and exclaimed, "I said stu! Tell Heavenly Father and Jesus I said stu!"
When we went to see Santa the other day there was a spot where you could write him a letter. They had a spot where you fill in the blank "I've been _______ all year." I asked Belle which one - good or bad. She looked nervous and whispered, "Bad." So I started to put the pen on the paper and she says, "No, tell him I've been good, I don't want him to know!" Since then we have really been really trying to enforce that she is good, just sometimes makes choices that aren't so good.
And then one last one. I was telling her this silly thing my dad used to say when I was a kid. Afterward there was a long pause from her. I said, "Isn't that funny?" She says, "No, Mom, that's not funny. That's just weird."

I love my silly girl. She makes me laugh. My life would certainly be dull without my Beanie in it!



Not so Lucky Charms

Belle is a special child in many ways. One of her great talents is making my blood boil. I sure love that girl, but when she gets in one of her moods, oh boy! She is a very strong willed child. Let me repeat that: a VERY strong willed child! She has days that are especially bad and will frequently end up in a rage attack. Yesterday was just one of those such days. When Will came home I was pretty much just a skeleton of myself. He told me to go out today. Will had homework to do, and Evie is a pretty easy baby, so I brought her a long and we did some Christmas shopping. Not the most intelligent thing to do to relax (for future reference). Well, in my head I imagined to myself coming home to a nice cleaned house, baking cookies with Belle, and enjoying the rest of our day. Wrong-o! Lucky Charms everywhere, and I do mean everywhere. Belle is nowhere to be seen and Will is sleeping blissfully on the couch. What the crap! The entire living room floor has Lucky Charms all over it (minus the marshmellows, of course). Then I glance in our bedroom. Even more Lucky Charms on the floor. And there sits the guilty culprit. "I was doing like they do on Monsters, Inc.!" she says. Really? I could have sworn it was a small trail to lead to the next room, not an entire BOX to carpet the floor. I told Belle, "But the little girl eats them up so there are none left." Belle, noting the expression on my face and in fear of getting in trouble, quickly starts shoveling them in her mouth. A mom can never really get a break anyway, right? :)

Helping Haiti

My heart is so touched today by my little four year old. We were talking about when my sister, Kari, went to Haiti. Belle was asking a lot of questions about it, so I explained to her about the earthquake and their living conditions. We watched some videos on youtube as well. When I told her about them living in tents and showed her pictures of their homes she said, "We need to go help them build new homes." As we talked more I thought maybe we could find some small way to help. I asked Belle what she thought we could do to help. She said, "Let's ask Jesus to help us. I'll say a prayer." She then prayed and asked Him to help the people there and to go be with them. She then asked Him to help us help them." After she saw one video with children she asked where there toys were. I told her that I didn't know if they had many toys anymore. She said, "I know. I can give them my toys." And started listing all the toys that she could give them, including a lot of her favorites. The barbies that were on her bed. Her Book of Mormon Stories. And she even said, "I can give them my shoes." If only everyone in the world could be like her. No one would ever go without. What an example to me. I love her good tender heart.

Defying Gravity

Yesterday Belle and I were singing the song "Defying Gravity", and I tried to explain to Belle what gravity is. It pulls things down. So today Belle says to me, "Boys are like gravity. Because boys aren't my best." How funny is that? Will's response - "You just keep thinking that until you're twenty four."



Today she asked me what an astronaut was. I showed her some rocket launches and explained it all to her. She proceeded to ask me why they do all that. So like Belle to not just be satisfied with learning about it, she wants to know the purpose behind it all, too. Now she has decided when she grows up she is going to be an astronaut so she can work on the moon.

An Autumn Walk

My beautiful little ladies

Today was a beautiful Autumn day, so we went for a walk/bike ride. Leaves were everywhere, and there was a crazy wind blowing those leaves in whirlwinds everywhere we went. It almost felt magical. I toted Evie behind Belle in her little pack, which she loves, and is my lifeline to get anything done around the house.

Her neck is finally strong enough to face out.

And Belle cruised along on her bike making racing noises or singing songs the whole way. Until we came upon the dogs, of course. She was barking right back at those pups!

Belle's "car" as she told me today.

Then when we came upon a big bunch of crispy leaves, what else where we supposed to do but crunch them? Belle stopped her bike and specifically got off just to run around and crunch them. A girl after my own heart!

I love my little girlies. I feel very blessed to have them....even noting the hole in Belle's wall today, I still wouldn't trade either of them for anything.

A Poop Story

So Belle, Evie, and I took a little trip to Walmart yesterday. After we left I realized I forgot something, so I flipped around. Evelette was mad and hungry, so I was going to nurse her in the parking lot before we went back in. I took her out of her carseat and held her up against me when I noticed poop all over my sweater. On my arm and hands. And my pants! What the...? Cue Evie with a big grin. Evie had exploded in her pants. It was all over her, and now all over me. I tried to take off her onesie and in the process smeared poop all up her face. It looked like someone painted her face poop green in one perfect stroke up her head. Luckily she closed her eyes! Poop covered her from head to toe. Yes, even her toe. A few thousand wet wipes later, we decided to head back home. Nothing was worth walking in the store smelling like that! It was one of those moments where you have to decide to laugh or cry. So Belle and I decided to giggle quite a bit about it. It was the most outrageous amount of poop I have ever seen come out of such a little person!

 But how can you be upset with a face like that anyway?

Precious Moments

So last night Belle, Evie, and I had a girl sleepover in my bed just for fun. Belle got afraid when it was time to turn the lights out, so I started singing some hymns and primary songs. Evie started fussing, and Belle asked if she could hold her. I laid Evie next to Beanie on her arm. She put the binki in her mouth and snuggled with her. I sang Families Can Be Together Forever when I heard Belle whisper to Evie, "I love you, Evie." Then as I got to the part in the song that says Families Can Be Together Forever I heard Belle whisper to Evie, "Forever and ever. Because Mom and Dad got married in the temple we can be together forever." Tears immediately sprang to my eyes. What a beautiful moment that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Beautiful Girls

I absolutely love my beautiful girls. Belle and I love to cook together. This morning we made a peach pie for Will. We're surprising him with it. Will LOVES pie. He would easily eat the whole thing himself. I let Belle do a lot of it. She is actually really good at cooking. This is her making the edges of the crust.

Evie is a doll. She already smiles at me and has since three weeks old. I love how she lights up and grins when I talk to her. She sometimes makes sounds trying to talk back. She even will make a sound like a little giggle when she smiles. Such a sweet little one!



Month of Visitors

So this morning I was doing the dishes as Will was getting ready for work. I quickly unloaded the dishwasher so he'd put his dirty breakfast dish in it. Well... he left it sitting on the counter. This spurred a fun debate. I let him know that it sure seemed like he expected me to rinse it off and put it in there. He told me he didn't expect me to do it.
And I said, "Well, if you don't do it, and you don't expect me to do it, who do you expect will." He laughed and said he'd do it when he got home from work. Well, we went on with the lovely banter as I continued to do the dishes and he continued to get ready for work.
He came back in the kitchen as I was scraping some concoction in the garbage. I looked down to notice it was Will's yesterday morning breakfast. Oh, this was too good to be true.
I looked up at him and said, "So you probably would have taken care of your dish when you got home from work this afternoon, right?"
"Yes," he says.
"Hmmm..." I say as I hold the dish I'm scraping up higher.
"What? I would have."
I lift the dish yet higher.
"Oh..."
We both started laughing. I love those victorious wins in an argument.

Will's birthday at Chesapeake Bay. Isn't he a hot 30 year old?

We've had a crazy busy, but fun, last month. When Evie was just six days old I ended up back in the hospital for three and a half days with a uterin infection. Then my dad and stepmom came out for a few days. We went to Fort McHenry with them, which was a great experience. That is where the War of 1812 ended and where the Star Spangled Banner was written. Very touching and it makes you feel so patriotic. How awesome it is to know that I live ten minutes from that piece of our history. It does make you feel more patriotic in general when you live so close to all our country's rich history. Then the day after they left Will's parents and our nephew came out for a visit. They stayed in our house with us, and boy do Darius and Belle fight like brother and sister! So funny. The first night they were here, they were so excited to see each other they stayed up until two in the morning playing in Belle's bunkbed. We played with them down at the creek near our house, and went and got some pictures taken with all three grandkids. They turned out great. Next, my mom came to visit for a week. That was really hard to let her go. I guess you never grow out of needing your mom. I miss her a lot. I kept trying to convince her to move out here. Maybe I will get her yet! ;) We went and explored Washington DC with her.

It was a rainy day, but still so fun.

And then today my sister-in-law Alisse is coming. So excited! It's been really fun having so many visitors. It's going to seem too quiet when they're all gone. You can tell we've been doing a ton of site seeing and driving all over the place navigating each other, because yesterday in the car Belle had a piece of paper and was telling me, "First turn left and then turn right." Funny thing was she was right. Then she said, "Now you're on 69." So funny. She was dead serious, too.

We also had two fun birthdays this last week. Belle and Will's. Belle had a spongebob birthday.

And for Will's we went to Annapolis and explored the history there and the bay.

Evie

Evelette Kathleen Flythe

September 1, 2010

5:10 AM

8 lbs 8 oz   21 1/4 inches

Belle seeing Evie for the first time at the hospital

I feel very fortunate and very blessed to have two such beautiful wonderful little girls. Our family has grown in size and in love.

King of the Day

Otterpops after our water fight.

Belle's "raisin toes" as she calls them. Her feet got soggy in all the water.

During lunch yesterday Will called and he was already having a rough day at work. So I asked Belle if she wanted to do something for Daddy. She said she wanted to make him a necklace. So we busted out the yarn and froot loops and made Daddy a necklace, a crown, a sign, and a decorated lemon (?). Everybody needs a decorated lemon, right? :) We made him king of the day. And then we ended our day with a bbq. Love the summer!

Go Orioles!

Baltimore Orioles

Friday night we went to a baseball game. Our whole Stake had a section. It was pretty fun. There were TONS of missionaries there, too. It was fun to see them all dressed up and intermingling with people. We overheard someone when we were walking into the stadium say something about a lot of Mormons being here. We wondered how they knew, until we walked around the corner and saw so many missionaries, and I think we do kinda stick out. It was funny.

I love Will and Tommy's expression in this one!

Belle actually loved the game. She held in there the whole time. I was really impressed. Though she did have a guy from our Stake playing games with her and feeding her funnel cakes. So that might have helped. :) This girl also loves to dance and there was lots of music there.

Wow, did I ever have some serious contractions that night at the game. I thought I might go into labor. We were timing the contractions. They were only Braxton Hicks, but they were definitely the hardest ones I've had. Will was sure hoping I was going to go in labor that night cuz he thought it would be a cool story. I do know it did do something, though. Holy cow has she moved down. So much pressure, too. I could only limp around at church today from the pain. Embarrassing. But I don't think she's going to quite make it to the due date!

Yesterday was an adventure as well. Will found a place where you could go pick your own produce. I had wished I brought my camera, cuz it was really cool at first. Belle just loved it! We had to keep her in check so she didn't pick too many berries or tomatoes. I think it got Will extra excited to do his gardening stuff (as if he wasn't already). But it was so incredibly hot that we were all so spent by the time we went left. We went swimming that night in Kari's pool. It was a good weekend.

Early Morning Sunshine!

Up and at 'em, bright and early! Actually I just had to get up and do one of my all night peeing sessions and couldn't get back to sleep. Luckily for me, this time it was already 6 in the morning before the no sleep bug hit me. It could have been so much earlier (like a few days ago 3-6:30 AM - no sleep). I guess it's getting me ready for no sleep when the baby comes. I think she'll be coming soon. She is locked and loaded (meaning she is in position) and pressing down something fierce. I didn't think it could feel this tender down there before the birth happened. Yowza! I've also already been having cramps and contractions on and off for the last few weeks, too. So oftenly, in fact, that when I do have them it's become a "whatever" because I've gotten used to it. Here's my prediction date - August 30th. It's a week and a half early, but it would be perfect because Will starts school on the 7th, and it would be nice for him to have a little time before that happens. And Kari is going back to Haiti to do more goodly deeds over there in September. So it would be helpful if she decided to make her grand appearance before then. Plus, my mom already has her tickets for the end of September, so it would be nice to be more healed up by then so we can play more. I'll be mad if she comes late! :)

I do feel very blessed oftenly. I only have to open my eyes and look all around me to see how very fortunate we are and how obviously Heavenly Father has blessed us. I love our home so much. It really does bring me joy. We've already started making friends in our new ward. And just two days ago, when we already figured he wasn't going to get either one, Will got offered two jobs within a couple of hours of each other. They were the ones he really wanted, too. They are both case manager positions. One is 32 hrs a week working with adults, plus benefits. The other is 8 hrs a week working with (his favorite) youth. I had hoped and prayed he would get those jobs if they were right for our family, and he sure did. Heavenly Father sure has been looking out for our every need. Will is so excited to start his jobs and go back to school, and that makes me happy.
Yesterday we had some friends over who have a little boy Belle's age and a little baby girl. Belle was so excited to see that baby. She just kept wanting to hold her. She then told me after they left that she wanted our baby to come out. She talks to my belly frequently. It's very cute. I hope her coaxing of the baby works! :) I'm terrified of being a mom again, but so excited at the same time. And how fun for Belle to be able to finally have a sibling!

Oh how I love food!

So I've decided it's a good things I'm pregnant right now because it hides more easily all that I've been eating. I've become a bake-aholic and Will is a cooker, too. Yesterday Will made the best homemade pancake syrup ever. It was almond and butter flavored. Wow, I could have forgone the pancakes and just had the syrup. Yummy. Today he made really yummy wheat crackers, too. Can you tell I'm pregnant? My blog today is about food. :)
Well, also fun stuff, two days ago we went to the ocean. I love the ocean. One of my favorite things to do ever. I have never lived so close to the ocean before. Belle was so funny. She loved to get right up to the water, crouch down, and run away when it would get up to her feet. Or she would run up to it and throw a glob of sand in it, and run away, as if the ocean was going to punish her for throwing sand in. That girl makes me smile. I wanted to go in, but I didn't think it was such a smart idea where I'm at in the pregnancy (36 weeks). She's already dropped and just about ready to bust out! But I did go in up to my knees. And Will, of course, was right out there. Him and Tommy were wanting to go body surfing, but the water was really high that day and big waves, so the lifeguard made them come in closer. Then we went on the boardwalk. Such a cute little town. Good times.

                                    
Yesterday was dubsed jammie day by Will. So Belle decided that meant she could spend the day in only undies. We were lazy bums. But it was nice just to hang out all together.

Our New Home

I guess it's time for posting again. We have moved to Maryland, and we are in our new home. We have been extraordinarily blessed. We have a cute home, which I adore. It has such a good feeling in it, too. I wake up every morning before Belle and Will get up to make us some breakfast, and the peaceful feeling in my home is so wonderful. I look out the window and see my yard which has such a nice country feel to it. All around me I see evidences of the goodness of my loving Heavenly Father, and I thank Him every morning to be able to wake up in this home which brings me so much joy. It feels like a home for our family. I can already tell this will be a place of great spiritual strength to our family and one of joy. We will grow and laugh together here. We have already enjoyed it immensely. Will is VERY excited to finally have a garden. He dreams about it and talks about it everyday. He has great plans. We came here with not very much, but Heavenly Father has blessed us one hundred fold. We have our mattress off the floor for the first time since January. (Loving that!) And we have furnished a lot of our home for free. We have felt very guided in many of our endeavors out here. I don't have many pics to post of the home yet, but I will share some of our life here, and as we are a little more settled in, I will post more.

Bubbles! This is the front/side yard. You can see my spray painting of frames and such in the background

Belle loved washing the bubbles off the porch so much that she sprayed everything. (including Will)

She loves her new bunkbed. By the way, she totally posed this herself. :)

35 weeks in front of the DC temple. Can you believe this is our temple now? Can't wait to go inside!

Our life is good!

No more laundry mat!!!

Today we bug bombed our house (yet again), and the apartment next door. Yes, we are leaving in eight days, but some nights I feel like I'm going to go beserko when the cockroaches start creeping out. And Will is not here (works the 4-12 shift), and I am left with the revolting duty of chasing them down and smashing them myself. YUCK! So Will decided we need a little sanity for the week before we leave. The bombs don't seem to totally get rid of those buggers, but it helps. It at least slows them down making them easier to catch! Anyway, while the bomb was going off we went to Burger King. Belle played for about an hour and a half. Afterward we asked her if she had fun playing with the friends she made in there. She said, "I was playing with some chocolate friends." She has decided, I guess, that darker skin must mean you're flavored. Will and I laughed. We both just love our silly little girl.

Belle trying not to fall asleep at the laundry mat.

This is my last week at the laundry mat, our new place has a washer and dryer. Time to celebrate! Woot woot! I'm very excited, and I feel very blessed.

Packing Up

More packing madness that fills our everyday:

Belle is loving all the boxes

Well, it is official. We have a moving date and, hallelujah, a home to move into. We feel so blessed and excited. Thank you to Kari and the girls for scoping out homes for us and for finding this one for us. We get to actually have a house instead of an apartment this time. I am ecstatic. I told Belle she could jump up and down on the floor all she wants in our new house. She liked that idea. Will is liking the idea of being able to work out non-silent style and listen to his music as loud as he wants without me freaking out about everybody else hearing it. I'm excited to not have to worry about the neighbors caring if the baby cries all night. I'm so excited to have a yard for the little monkeys to play in. Belle liked that, too. We are ALL looking forward to a roach free home. Best part of all! :) 

Will packing everything up so the cockroaches have no more hiding places. Notice the roach spray in the sink.

We are SOO done with cockroach phase of life. We have been obsessive packers. Taped all the boxes around every little opening and bagged all the Rubbermaid tupperwares so no passengers can hitch a ride with us. Last week I had one in my hair. YUCK! But our landlord sprayed and we bug bombed, and it is much better. We still see a few everyday, though. He is going to come spray again. So hopefully we don't bring a stitch of them along. We are going to bug bomb our house first thing when we move in, too, just in case! This is the most prepared we have ever been for a move. We pack and take care of other moving necessaties everyday, and so we have never been overburdened with work. Slowly and surely we are almost ready to go. Departure date - July 20th. Coming so soon.

What a cutie!

Well, wish us luck on our next journey!

Let Freedom Ring

Yesterday was a really special day for us. Independence Day is one of my top holidays, and it definitely did not disappoint this year. We started out in the morning with a fun run. It is dedicated to Parley P Pratt who was imprisoned in Columbia, Missouri for nothing other than his religious beliefs. He made a flag with the word "Liberty" on it. And on the 4th he busted out and ran down the streets. So some of the wards and businesses in Columbia put on this race every year in honor of it. It was neat to see so many people there. Over 250 people participated in it. Will ran the 4 mile. Belle ran the last few feet of it with him, and I manned the food table.

Will pre-race - already looking tired.

Belle ran around the corner to run the rest of the way in with Will.

Will is amazing. He has not run at all in a couple of years. He was just on crutches a month ago. And yet he went out and ran it. Boy is he sore today though! 

Later in the afternoon we went to some friends from the wards house for a party. They invited everyone in the ward up to their house, and they roasted a pig in a homemade oven they made out back. You can bet Will thought that was pretty cool. Everyone brought pot luck, and we talked and enjoyed ourselves. We swam in their pool, and they made homemade ice cream. Yummy! I got the hookup on the ice cream because I told Brother Egloff he sure knew how to make a pregnant woman happy. I have extreme ice cream cravings with this pregnancy. After ice cream they had a sound system set up and Brother Kitchen (who Belle loves, and has named her Ken doll after) was our DJ. So funny. We had a big dance for a couple of hrs. Will and I swing danced, but we couldn't do any of the cool moves because of my belly, but it was still fun. We also did a lot of line dancing. I felt out of the loop. Wow, the teens nowadays sure know a ton of fun line dances.

Funny dance a guy in our ward made up with some friends. Love Will grabbing his "belt buckle" there. :)

Belle and her cute little friend Laneia were dancing out, too.

Belle has become the boogy queen of America. This girl has out of nowhere developed some serious moves! Cute lady in our ward said, "That girl has just gotta dance. She feels it in her, and you can't take it out of her." Anyway, after dancing we laid out on the lawn and watched the fireworks show that the Egloffs put on for us. It was impressive! It was at least as good as the fireworks I use to watch the city put on when I was a kid. Oh, the glories of legalizing all kinds of fireworks in Missouri!

They played patriotic music through the whole thing, and the three of us just loved it. What a wonderful night. We enjoyed our evening with these people that we have come to love so much, and consider my secondary family now. 

As I watched these people that I have bonded with in such a short time, and laid there watching those fireworks, I learned something that I think Heavenly Father wanted me to understand. This was my home. Missouri is my home no matter where I go, I know that it will always be my hometown. I don't think I have ever felt that feeling before. A sense of belonging. A part of a community, a people, and a land in such a way that forever is a part of me no matter whatever else happens. And it didn't feel sad in that moment. I have wondered many times why Heavenly Father asked us to come here only to move on again so soon. Now I know. He told me my family would find joy here and we have. Our little family has grown and been strengthened and connected to each other like never before. We love this place. I am sad to leave these people that are forever a piece of me, but I feel less sad now knowing that it's okay to go, because this is my home. And because of that, I will be a part of all of it again. Because it is a part of me.