Team Evans

The weather has been so nice that I decided to bust out some of the new summer clothes I just purchsed for the boys. I got each of them a pair of basketball shorts. Blake is still obsessed with balls. I should take a picture of him while he sleeps. He is completely surrounded by all sorts of balls. I saw these shirts and shorts and just had to get them. Carson put them on and started dancing around saying he loved how they felt. Carson loved that he and Tanner both had orange shorts and said they could be on the same team. He said Blake could be on a team with me because I was wearing blue jeans. For the most part these boys get along great. I am glad they will always have each other.

I love this picture because it's very typical of Tanner. He loves to watch whatever his big brothers are doing. Carson is very helpful with his brothers and Blake is well...Blake is two right now so we'll give him a break. He is quite the tease, loves to scream and scratch and yell, "Stop baby!" when Tanner is fussy. I still love him. Lots actually.

7 Month Old Tanner

Our little Tanner-man is 7 months old this week! He is one sweet boy. He lights up when anyone looks at him and gives him attention. He loves to laugh and smile and is generally the happiest little boy. For the past two weeks he has been a bit more mobile. He gets up on his hands and knees and scoots backwards. He loves to roll around to get to his desired destination.

His new trick! Tanner can sit up all by himself. We love watching him sit and play and then suddenly topple over. Just look at that little face. Can you say darling?? He reminds me so much of Carson.
Sunday evening he was rolling around and finally got all tuckered out and stopped to take a little rest. Why do I love babies sleeping on their tummies? I think it is so sweet and peaceful.

One more shot of our little chub master showing off his sitting skills. He is looking at his big brothers off to the side who are cheering for him. Oh how we love this boy. He is such a joy!

The past two nights we've been showing Tanner a little bit of tough love. For some reason over the last couple weeks he thinks he needs me to put his binky back in around 2 or 3 a.m. and then again around 5:30 a.m. He also gets a bit frustrated that he ends up on his tummy. No more for this mama. He can work it out. I finally told Matt I would purchase him earplugs if he wanted and I didn't care if he woke everyone up, but I was done getting up. I thought for sure Tanner would scream his little guts out. 5:45 a.m. rolls around and sure enough he woke up and I just let him cry. He only cried for about 20 mintues and then fell back asleep for 2 hours. Yesterday he woke up early from his nap and I could hear him talking, playing, crying, etc. on and off and he finally fell asleep. When I went in to get him he had his binky in. He's figuring out how to do that himself. Hallelujah! I am grateful for good sleepers.

Two can play this game

Let's call Blake our "spirited" child. He's always very busy and often doing something he shouldn't be doing. Since transitioning him to a twin sized bed getting him to stay in his bed or in his room has been a challenge. I started locking the door and when I heard him banging and playing I'd go in an put him back on his bed. Well, the other day he just wasn't having it. I finally gave up on putting him back in bed and figured if he was quietly playing in his room that was fine. After his "quiet time" was over I went in to get him. Blake was smiling and happy. Blake was also naked. There were four pee spots on the carpet too. Fast forwarded to naptime the next day. I decided two can play this game! I changed his diaper before naptime and added some ducktape to reinforce and secure his diaper in place. Glad he thought it was funny.

Now he looks like a nicely wrapped Christmas package. He stood up and wanted it off and I just smiled.
Needless to say there were no pee accidents this time around. If he figures out how to remove the ducktape I already have other ideas. Blake, don't even think about it.

Blake & good 'ol Charlie Brown

Blake looked like he was in a trance watching Charlie Brown. Very still, mouth hanging open, etc. My favorite is when he looks over at us out of the corner of his eye and then answers no to my question. Seriously, this kid drives me crazy sometimes, but he sure is sweet and darn funny too!

For the love

Blake has a small obsession with balls. Okay, not a small one. He is always carrying around a ball. He's great and throwing and catching too for how little he is. At night he is surrounded by all the balls in our house (about six or seven) and he knows if one is missing. Last night Matt put Blake to bed, but Blake kept crying and crying. Matt was walking around the house trying to figure out what Blake could be crying for. He found the ball above in the kitchen. He took it back to Blake and that was that. It will be interesting to see as Blake gets older if he is an athlete. Maybe this is a sign of things to come.

Pajama Day!

Last week Carson's preschool class had a pajama day. He was so excited to wear the pajamas he just got for Christmas. He asked if he could bring his blanket and new pillow pet. I told him he had to choose one or the other. He said, "Mom, I'm telling the truth. Ms. Chris told me I could bring both." I still told him to choose one. He decided on his Buddy. Sure enough we pull up to preschool and everyone has their blanket and pillow pet. I felt bad. Carson didn't say anything and ran into school. I ran back to the house and brought him back his turtle pillow pet. He was one happy boy.

It's play time!

After the first of the year we decided to get the exersaucer out for Tanner to play in. I always laugh because the other boys are so interested in it for a couple days like they are remembering their own play time in it. Tanner has been loving it. In the past few weeks he has really started moving things around and figuring out how everything works.

Blake playing by Tanner and showing us his cute belly. The exersaucer plays music and Blake loves to dance to it. We've got to get it on video. Hilarious really. I'm not sure where this kid learned his moves.

Big Helpers

These pictures were taken the first week of December. Carson saw a picture of a boy he knew on a blog and he was holding his new little brother feeding him a bottle. Up until that point Carson hadn't shown a whole lot of interest in holding Tanner or helping feed him. He will hold him for a few mintues before his arms are tired.

I am so glad these boys have each other. I hope they are always great friends.

Park Day

While I was at a baby shower the other day Matt took the older boys to the park. Looks like they had lots of fun with their dad. Blake is much more fun at the park these days. He pretty good at not wandering off and can play on most park equipment without falling off and killing himself. Whew!

Tanner - 6 Months

January 17, 2011 marked Tanner's half birthday. Hard to believe our little man is already 6 months old. Carson and Blake joined me for his appointment which is always a little hectic. Dr. Salek told me we have another very happy and very chubby baby on our hands.

Tanner's Stats:

• Weight: 16.2 (25%) Ha! Look at the kid. Nothing about him says 25%.
• Height: 26 1/2 (54%)
• Head: 43 3/4 (50%)

Carson and Blake both wanted to be up with Tanner during his exam. Carson always hides under the table when they start giving shots. Tanner did great. Didn't even cry when he got his three shots. What a champ!

A few things about Tanner:

• is a binky baby
• always has his hands clasped together very tightly in front of his chest
• loves to smile and is generally very happy
• laughs and laughs when you take off his clothes or wipe his neck
• eating rice cereal, peaches, bananas, mangos (not his favorite), pears, apples, yogurt
• is starting to get up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth
• still enjoys his swing
• great at playing in his exersaucer
• absolutely loves attention
  

Rub-a-dub-dub

Rub-a-dub-dub three boys in the tub. I love comparing similar pictures of my boys. I think they definitely look like brothers, but have their differences too. Tanner took his very first officially bath in the tub. Up until now I've been giving him baths while he lays on the bathroom counter. His major poop blowout this evening forced me to take the plunge and let him experience the real deal.

Tanner (6 months) 1.23.2011

Blake (6 months) 4.10.2009

Carson (6 weeks) 11.24.2005

Too bad I can't find one of Carson around 6 months of age! Let's just state the obvious...we make chubby babies. Love those rolls!

Santa Baby

This picture was too cute not to post! Tanner at the Windrift Ward Christmas party. What a sweet and happy baby!

Holly Jolly Christmas

Christmas 2010 was lots of fun with the ages of our kids. Carson was so excited for Santa this year. Blake actually opened his own presents. Tanner was obviously way too little to know what's going on, but I love having a baby at Christmas time. We kept with tradition and the older boys each got four gifts from us (need, want, wear, read) and one gift from Santa.

Blake

• Need - socks & Buzz Lightyear cup
• Want - a basketball hoop for the tub
• Wear - Christmas jammies with matching slippers
• Read - Leapfrog magnetic letters
• Santa - Radio Flyer tricycle (a total hit!)

Matt opening his gift from the boys - Autobot Transformer cufflinks. Carson was really good about keeping this a secret from his dad and was excited to see him wear them to church.

Carson

• Need - socks & Spiderman cup (Carson was not happy about his socks being too big)
• Want - Legos! Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle
• Wear - Christmas jammies with matching slippers
• Read - Britanica Science Library books (absolutely amazing!)
• Santa - Legos! Harry Potter Quidditch Match
  

Tanner - one day Tanner will complain about not getting anything for Christmas. Sorry buddy! What do you get a baby who already has loads of stuff from his older brothers. This year you were super easy and didn't mind. Love you for that chubs.

• Santa - carseat toy
  
  

Grandma Renie & Papa Jack sent money for us to buy the boys something. I was anxious to get something for outside. They already have too many toys filling up the closet! These Plasma Cars were a big hit with both of them. Blake is still figuring out how to ride them, but runs right out the door first thing when we get to Grandma and Papa's house.


As for me and Matt...this year we got a kitchen and bathroom makeover. We both love it. It is something we have talked about doing for some time. It makes our house feel like a different place and matches much better with the rest of our house now. We went from painted white cabinets to dark wood. I love the extra storage space, love the new appliances and love the look and feel of it. I'm sure we'll be in this house for several more years to enjoy it!

Welcome 2011

Why not start of the blog this year with an updated picture of me and my favorite guy. We were driving somewhere this weekend and during our conversation I realized again how lucky I am to be married to Matt. I'm glad he's mine. I'm glad he loves me. I'm glad he gets who I am. I'm glad he makes me want to be a better person. I only need a couple things in life to be truly happy and he is definitely one of them.

So, my last post was mid December. I'm a little behind. The holidays come and I'm always so excited to get things decorated, wrap gifts, attend all the family festivities, etc. The holidays go and I'm excited to get my house back in order and stay home for a week in my pajamas because I'm exhausted (and this year all of us were sick following Christmas - ugh!). A post with Christmas pictures is coming. Hopefully that will happen within a day or two. This year I am really going to try and keep our blog updated. This serves as my journal and I want to remember the little things. For example, Carson told Matt the other day, "I love you as fast as a bullet." I didn't know love was fast, but I know in Carson terms he was just trying ot tell Matt he loves him lots and it was sweet.

We've been busy! Here is a little update on each of the boys. Carson is currently obsessed with legos. I love to watch him play. He creates and plays for hours! I love when he says, "Mom, I'm playing...doesn't that make my brain so smart!" or "I love legos. We can make whatever creation our brain thinks of." or "Legos make my heart happy." His love and obssession leads to my obsession of buying legos. He's loving preschool with Ms. Chris. He is quite the fish being the youngest kid in his swim class by a year or two. He can freestyle, backstroke and is learning the breaststroke. Blake is our typical two year old - sassy and full of lots and lots of energy. I swear the kid runs in circle every evening just for the fun of it. He is loving bikes and is still in love with balls. Matt's favorite thing for Blake to say is, "Catch the ball." It comes out more like, "Ket da ball!" and he says it with speed and enthusiasm. He upgraded to a twin bed this past weekend. This may have been a bad decision. Oh well. You live and learn. He's our little monkey and has been climbing out of his crib, so something needed to happen. Tanner turned six months yesterday. Doctor visit photos and stats to come as well. The kid is an angel. We sure love him. He loves his binky, loves his rice cereal and baby food and giggles with delight when you remove his clothes. It cracks us up every time too. He rolls over to his tummy and scoots (but only backwards). One of his favorite activities is to sit and watch whatever Carson and Blake are doing. They provide most of his entertainment. He loves attention and he gets quite a bit from his older brothers.

We are looking forward to 2011 and hope to make the best of what comes our way.

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas!

From our family to yours...

We wish you a very Merry Christmas. May your holiday and new year be merry and bright!

Oh how sweet!

A cute friend of mine snapped some photos of the boys. Can you say darling? Seriously, how did I get so lucky. This picture makes me smile and laugh. Blake is striking his total GQ pose and looking all serious. He's got places to be. Hurry up and get these pictures done with already! Tanner is looking super chubby. Love those cheeks! How is he already five months old? Carson is holding up his baby brother, being such a great helper and looking absolutely sweet and handome in the process. He really is the sweetest and tenderhearted little boy I know. The minutes, days, weeks, months and years go by so quickly. I'm just enjoying this chapter of my life. Thanks to these three boys!

Introducting our elf, Jumpy!

Happy December! Today we started our Christmas advent calendar and countdown to Christmas. Santa has sent this elf that Carson lovingly named, Jumpy, to our house for the holiday season. He is Santa's special helper and keeps an eye on kids in the Evans household. He reports each evening to the North Pole and finds a new place to hide each morning for the boys to find. As you can tell by the look on Carson's face he is captivated by his magic and says he wants to be really good because Jumpy is always watching and listening.

I have a feeling we are going to have an extra special Christmas season this year. There is something truly magical about the Christmas season and watching my boys faces light up is priceless. Carson is now five and able to understand much more. He knows we celebrate the birth of our Savior. He points out the star on our tree and tells me it means Jesus is being born. He asks on a daily basis what the wisemen brought to Jesus. I know we can get wrapped up in lots of other things this time of year, but it's my hope we are able to have fun and also focus on the true meaning of Christmas and to have that spirit in our home.

O Christmas Tree!

I have been eagerly awaiting Thanksgiving so I could put up our Christmas tree. I just love our tree! So festive and whimsical. It makes me happy. The boys are loving the lights and Carson is trying extra hard to be good so Santa will stop by our house. He is such a great big brother. Sure these two fight, but Carson helps a lot and we appreciate all his does for his two little brothers.

P.S. I guess I could get a picture with them dressed nice, but oh well. I'll take another one with Tanner in it too and do better then!

Sick Boys

The Evans boys piled on our bed this morning. Everyone has been sick with coughs and runny noses since Thanksgiving morning. Feeling crummy, but oh so cute!

Tanner - 4 Months

Tanner A.K.A. World's Happiest Baby!

We sure love this little boy. He is as sweet as they come. He is now 4 months old - smiling, laughing, rolling over, great sleeper and just plain cute! He went in for his 4 month appointment and was 13 lb. 13 oz. and 25 inches long. I think Carson hit those numbers at 2 months. The boys love him. Blake calls him "bebe".