The Princess Phase has Arrived!

Eve is officially in the Disney Princess Phase! She would watch "Beauty and the Beast" about 50 times a day, if I would let her! Just yesterday she said, "Mommy, I love Belle. I wish I could just jump in the TV sometimes." I asked, "Why would you want to jump in the TV?" She said, rather matter-of-factly, "So I could be with Belle. She's my friend."
Tonight she asked my help to get dressed up in her Cinderella ball gown. (Grammy got this for Eve's birthday and we just realized tonight that the skirt lights up! Fancy!) Once we got the dress on Eve said, "But, Mary God Mudder! Where are my glass slippers?" I must say that I very much appreciated being the Fairy Godmother tonight... It was certainly a step up from being the Beast yesterday! :)

Happy Father's Day!

To my dad: Sarah, Andrew and I are blessed beyond words to have you for a father! You're the best! I love you and can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks!
To Eve's daddy: Eve (and her yet-to-be-named baby sister) are blessed to have you! Thank you for taking the time to provide, play and love! We love you!!

Growing Up...

Eve is growing up way too fast for me! This week she got a new swingset (thanks to Ms. Beth thinking of us after she inherited one when she bought her new house). She saw it out the window after her nap and said, "Wook, Mommy! My bery own pwayground!!"
On Thursday, Grandad took us to the fair. Eve loved it!! She rode every ride for which she was tall enough with her friend from church, Jenna. She looked like such a big girl bravely walking up, climbing in and enjoying each ride.
Today Eve got her "big sister" bed. We moved the queen-sized bed into her room so that the twin-sized bed could go in the nursery. At first she was distraught thinking she was losing her old bed, but was excited when she saw the new blue bedding and the size of her new bed. She said, "Oh, Mommy! This bed is gonna be HUGE!" She also asked, "When my baby sister comes can she sleep in this bed with me?" I said, "I am sure when she is old enough the two of you will have many sleepovers in this bed!"

A Great Day with Graeter's!

Yesterday was the last day of our mini-vacation, but it was a fun one! After lunch, Eve, Sissy, Mamaw and I headed to Graeter's... only the absolute BEST ice cream parlor EVER!! Sarah and I had our usual for years... mint chocolate chip. Eve had plain vanilla and Mamaw tried a new dessert. It was very yummy, as always!!

Great American Ballpark

Last night Jay and I went to a Cincinnati Reds game against the Chicago Cubs (Jay's favorite team). We first enjoyed dinner at Don Pablos on the river then endured the long walk across the bridge from Newport, Kentucky, to the stadium in Cincinnati. We had a good view of the field (though not quite as good as Jay would have wanted) and the game was a pitchers' duel. Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs scored his 100th win as a starting pitcher and hit a homerun! Jay was excited and enjoyed the game. We watched the fireworks at the stadium from the bridge on our trek back to the car. It was a fun night!

Cincinnati Zoo

On Tuesday we came up to Northern Kentucky for a mini-vacation to kick off our summer. Jay and Micah promptly played golf when we arrived. Jay was the victor this time and Micah had to call Tim to tell him what a great golfer Jay is to fulfill his end of the wager.
Yesterday we went to the Florence Mall where Eve chose to make a blue teddy bear at Build-A-Bear. She chose a lovely pink tutu for the bear to wear, too. We had a yummy lunch with Finley and Kacey and bought some Great American Cookies for dessert. Eve and Finly also enjoyed riding the carousel together!
Today we went to the Cincinnati Zoo. It was Eve and Finley's first visit there! We saw lots of animals, but Eve's favorites were the cats at the cat house. We look forward to lots more fun tomorrow!!

Welcome Alayna Claire Tucker!

Jeff and Jennifer Tucker became the parents of a precious little girl on Saturday night. I was blessed to be there for it all!
Today, Eve and I, along with some friends, went to visit "Aunt" Jenn and her new baby at the hospital. Eve was amazed at her teeny-ness and ooohed and coohed and loved all over her. I know Eve will be a great big sister!
When we were getting ready to leave, Eve gave Aunt Jenn a hug and said, "Aunt Jenn, did that baby come out of your belly?" Jennifer said, "Yes, she did! See my belly is all squishy again now that she is out, not hard like it was at your birthday party last week." Eve then looked from Jennifer to the baby and back again, glanced and me then said to Jeff, "I fink I need to go now."
You could actually hear the wheels grinding in her little head as she processed that one. I can only imagine what she was thinking, but I know what I was thinking, "Yeah, you're right smart girl... I've gotta go through all this, too, in about four months... and our lives will be changed forever!"

Happy 3rd Birthday, Eve Lynn!

Today Eve had a wonderful Blue Cinderella birthday party at Grammy and Grandad's house. She was excited to have out-of-town family in and a couple of friends from church. Her favorite gift was the scooter from Mommy and Daddy. Eve is truly a blessed girl and we are very blessed to have her!!

Eve gets her wish!

Yesterday afternoon Jay, Eve and I watched a wriggling, kicking baby on the ultrasound screen. After checking all the vital "stuff" and letting us know everything was looking good the technician told us that Eve's wish for a baby sister would come true. It's a GIRL!!
We are blessed and happy to have a healthy growing girl who obviously already responds to her big sister's voice and presence with twists and kicks. Now comes the major task... to gently break Eve into the notion that her baby sister will not be named Mary. We are feverishly working to decide on her name so that Eve can get used to it... I am not sure how understanding she will be that we will not be using her chosen name, but I know she already loves her sister no matter the name (and Mommy and Daddy do, too)!

Happy Mother's Day!

I am blessed by all the wonderful loving mothers in my life (most importantly my own) and blessed over and over again by the gift of being a mother myself!

Mary or Moses?

I haven't really had too much to report on lately, which is good, I suppose. After 4 months of constantly feeling nauseous and living on Phenagren and hourly snacks, I am finally feeling much better. For the past couple of weeks I have been feeling the tiny thumps from our "little teeny baby." It really is all different the second time around... for instance my elation at the first tiny flutters turns to a little bit of dread as all the flutters will turn to contractions before all is said and done. :)
Next week we will get to find out what this "little teeny baby" is and I couldn't be more excited! I am ready to plan and prepare for this little one and I'm ready to give "it" an identity.
Eve fully believes the baby is a girl, though she will now at least admit that it might be a boy. I recently asked her what she thinks we should name the baby... she chose Mary for a girl and Moses for a boy. While I like her train of thought on the Bible names, I'm not sure we will go in either direction.
Anyone want to venture a guess on this baby's gender before we find out?!?! Check out my poll and vote!

Happy Easter

We have had a great Easter weekend! Mamaw and PawPaw came for a visit and brought Eve's Easter dress. Mamaw certainly outdid herself on the lavender creation... as usual. Yesterday we had fun at the egg hunt at church. Eve and Zak found lots of eggs. This morning Eve was surprised to see that the Easter bunny had come. Her favorite gift was the big lolli-pop. After church we finished the festivities by having lunch with Grammy and Grandad. We hope your holiday was just as blessed as ours!!

How would you reach the moon?

One Wednesday night a couple of weeks ago we were on our way home from church when we had this conversation.
Eve: Mommy, I see the moon up in the sky!
Me: Yeah! Me, too!
Eve: I want to go up to the moon. But, how can we get there?
Me: Well, we can't. You have to go in a rocket to get to the moon. Only astronauts can fly to the moon. Do you want to be an astronaut when you grow up?
Eve: No.
Me: Yeah, I think you would make a good teacher.
Jay: Or doctor or lawyer.
Me: Or actress! What do you want to be when you grow up, Eve?
Eve: (pause to think) Um, I fink I'll be a tree.
Me: (trying to stifle my giggles) Well, that would be nice.
Jay: Who made the trees?
Eve: God.
Me: What would you do if you were a tree?
Eve: Reach up to the sky!
Thus Eve proved you don't have to be an astronaut to reach up to the moon.

The Fall, The Fools and The Flu!

This story goes all the way back to last Friday when Jay and I picked Eve up from the sitter and we learned about THE FALL. (We were returning from my check-up at which we got a free impromptu ultrasound... Mom and baby are doing great!) Well, when we arrived, Eve was crawling through the kitchen to meet us and Mrs. Jennifer said, "She can't or won't walk." Eve had been doing some "twirling weally fast" on the ceramic tile floor, had fallen and hurt her knee. Since that moment she wouldn't put weight on her left leg or walk, though crawling didn't seem to bother it. The three of us headed home where Jay and I proceeded to check out her knee and try to assess the situation. After lots of tears and constant refusal to stand or walk, we (or rather I) decided to take her up to Primary Care and have it checked out. They took us right back and X-Rayed her knee. (I wasn't allowed in the room, but did run into the ultrasound guy we had just seen in secret only an hour earlier.) The X-Ray showed that nothing was broken, though she still refused to stand or walk for the doctor and had some tenderness when the doctor examined it. We were advised to give her Motrin and watch it through the weekend.
On Saturday morning we hoped Eve would just forget about the whole knee thing. (Though she continued her refusal to walk all Friday evening at the M.E.S. Spring Swing.) Unfortunately, she hadn't forgotten and after waking up promptly informed she couldn't stand up in bed, nor could she walk. The crawling went on all morning! (Jay was beside himself with frustration at the over-dramatizing of his two-year-old, but started to believe something might really be wrong after a while.) Grammy and Grandad came by later in the morning with toys and encouraging words to urge Eve into walking, but she would only stubbornly stand or hop on one foot. Finally, Grammy said, "Eve, Grammy has to go, but if you will get up and walk to me right now I will take you to Dairy Queen." After a few moments of debate, Eve stood up and limped over to Grammy. So, Grammy, Grandad and Eve left for the DQ leaving Mommy and Daddy feeling like THE FOOLS.
On Sunday morning Eve woke up feeling bad with a high fever. We let it go for a few days, hoping it was just a virus that would run its course. (I desperately wanted to avoid the doctor's office and the risk of getting any other illnesses.) After three solid days of fever and once a chesty cough developed today, we decided it was time to go to the doctor. That's where we learned that Eve has THE FLU. Fortunately we are nearing the end of it. Unfortunately, pregnant women can't take any preventative medications. So, I am holding my breath hoping to remain well. Mom says that sometimes God spares mommies from getting illnesses that their children have. I pray He thinks of me this week!

Noteworthy?

Well, it has been awhile since I have blogged about anything really noteworthy (other than the baby, of course) so I thought it was about time I wrote a little something. (Though, I am not sure any of this is really major... just catching up a bit on Eve.)
Lately Eve's taste in food has changed. She turns her nose at things she has eaten all her life like bananas and asks for seconds on things I consider yucky like lima beans and black eyed peas. The other night she made her own creation out of cheese pizza and pineapples. She was really proud of herself and really liked it!
Eve's playtime is starting to change, too. She spends lots of time pretending with babies or cooking and still loves to dress up. A couple of evenings ago she spent nearly an hour in her room alone reading book after book. It was sweet!
The Puricellis were in town visiting last weekend so we took a moment to try to get a cousin photo. This is the best we could do!
What will we do with more babies in the mix by this time next year?!?! The days of our sweet photo sessions when Eve and Zak were little are long gone, I'm afraid! But, I'm sure Grammy and Grandad wouldn't have it any other way!! :)

ANOTHER Stark will be born!

We are excited to announce the impending arrival of our second child. He or she is due the first week of October and we couldn't be happier! Eve is certain the baby is her "sweet baby sister." Only time will tell if she is right or if a brother is on his way. Jay and I are just pleased to have a healthy start to the pregnancy and look forward to preparing for the arrival this fall. Our family has been so blessed by the addition of Eve, we are humbled God is blessing us again!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Christmas continued!

Since our plans to visit extended family in Alabama over the Christmas holiday fell through, Eve has been recently blessed with packages on the doorstep. She gets really excited when she sees them saying, "Mommy, is that package for me?"
Aunt Debby and family sent a fun package with baking supplies, cute books and a stuffed animal elephant in January. Who knew Eve could love a big red mixing bowl so much?!? She uses it for a variety of purposes including but not limited to making soup with plastic food, piling books, and storing plastic treasures and jewelry.
This past weekend Eve got a package from "Other Mamaw." (This is what she calls my grandmother. The name came about one night when everyone was visiting for her birthday and she was headed for bed. She was telling everyone "night, night" and got confused with the multiple "Mamaws and PawPaws.") Other Mamaw and PawPaw sent lots of presents right up Eve's alley. They sent markers, pencils, colors, coloring books, sticker books, paper, stickers, and more!! (A girl after my own heart!) She loved opening all the gifts and was especially impressed by the blue wrapping paper! Tonight on the phone she thanked Other Mamaw and told her she liked her presents. She ended the conversation with, "Well, the thing is, Other Mamaw is good. Bye! Love you!"

Normal?

Tonight feels strange. It is quiet in our house, but for a new reason. Tim, Emily and Zak have gone home. I am so happy their power is back and they are able to sleep in their own beds. I know they are ecstatic! But, I can't help feeling a little sad. Eve and Zak both cried when we told them tonight. We really had a fun week amidst all the craziness. I am glad they get to be home. I am glad my own house is straightened and well-lit. But, I just don't feel "normal" yet.
We head back to school tomorrow... just about the only district in the entire area. It is bitterweet in a way. It's a huge blessing that our city has power and water and everyday life can continue, but it feels almost unfair that so many others are still without daily necessecities and aren't even beginning to think of daily routines. With counties still in shambles around us, I just don't see how we can have a "normal" school day tomorrow.
I guess everyone reacts differently in times of crisis. I guess I worked so hard to act normal for Eve, to provide meals for my family, to accomodate our loved ones, to think one step ahead of the next bad thing to occur, that I didn't take the time to feel. Now it is all just hitting me at once... as I type online and watch the Super Bowl in my warm, lighted home alone with my own family and vaccumed carpets I think, "Whoa! Did all this really happen to us?" It is a let-down in a way after all the excitement of the week. Wild was "normal" for a short while, so actual "normal" seems unfamiliar.
BUT... I am NOT complaining!!
Only One was responsible for seeing us through to today and He deserves all the glory for those 21+ things from the week for which I am truly thankful! If "normal" means God watching over me and my family no matter the circumstance... I hope every day is a "normal" day!!

Item No. 21...

For which I am thankful tonight:
21. Sarah and Philip! After the power went out again this afternoon and Tim and Emily left for a weekend in Memphis, we decided it was time to evacuate, too. Once we decided to leave, Jay and I rushed around the house gathering any leftover food, some clothes, toiletries and a few toys for Eve. We called to see if Sarah and Philip would take in a few weary travelling house guests. Of course they were ready and willing for us to come so we made the trip to Bowling Green in time for a hot meal at Logan's Roadhouse. Just when we thought we couldn't be blessed anymore...