No Escaping

Everleigh thinks that keys are magic, and that any key (real or fake) can get you out of anywhere, so long as the key touches the door. See below:

Sometimes it's more fun to say "Screw It"

Today is one of those days. After a week of feeling super stressed about how behind I am at work and simultaneously dealing with Everleigh being sick and not getting any sleep etc, I've decided today to go into in straight up "screw it" mode.

I admittedly felt distracted by the loud conversation in the conference room right by my office, and spent 10 minutes trying to get Pandora to work so I could block it out with some sweet tunes. For some reason, Pandora wouldn't load. So I went to Quiet Company page hoping to find some downloads. Have you heard of Quiet Company? They are fantastic. But anyways...that didn't pan out (but I took some time to buy their new album!). Then I settled on streaming NPR's All Songs Considered. Which satisfied my urge to hear something other than loud voices talking about vocational rehab.

Then I tried to open my online folder to get the client assessment done I need to do. And instead found myself blogging. You know what? It's Friday. It's beautiful out, and I am so far behind that I basically feel like just enjoying life and getting to it this weekend.

Hope everyone else is having as much fun dodging responsibility today!!!

PS: I promise to put up some fun/cute pics of Miss Ev soon. Maybe one of her wiping her runny nose off on my lip? I know. Disgusting but true.

Ok, here's a quick pic:

Room Dates

Since Scott and I are still pretty new to this whole "being married and having a little one and still trying to maintain a relationship" thing, it's taken some real work to make time for each other.

Obviously, we consider Everleigh to be our greatest work of art to date, and we love staying up and talking about her --catching the other one up on adorable things she did that day, or just simply saying over and over "isn't she awesome?" or "how about when she does this or that?".  But no matter how fun that is, there also need to be some moments that are about us individually and about our relationship.

We've taken to setting the time aside after Ev falls asleep to enjoy what we call a Room Date. We turn on the baby monitor and maybe enjoy a glass of wine while watching an old movie and chit-chatting. We try to make it as date-like as possible, and it's been such a good way to reconnect at the end of a busy day. I've always thought great conversation was the biggest turn-on :) Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of evenings where I fall asleep reading while Scott is downstairs painting or where we take our frustrations out on each other...but it's nice to have our own special thing we can ask for when we know we need some face-time. Wanna have a room date?

Anyone have unique ways they've kept the flame alive with their spouse or significant other post-baby?

E

Busy Bees

I'm not going to lie--I've been too overwhelmingly busy to be a good blogger lately. Please forgive me :)

Here are some random things I've been doing and/or thinking about:

--Christmas shopping. I'm a procrastinator by nature, and have spent many a Christmas Eve frantically shopping with all the angry old ladies and husband, or gotten to December 1st and thought, "how am I supposed to afford Christmas this year?". So I decided to do it right this time and have been buying little items with just about every pay check so I will be more prepared this year :) I'll give a sneak peek of some of Ev's gifts soon!

--Moving. UGGGGHHHH. Can I just say for the record that I hate hate hate hate hate moving? Especially in the dead of a Missouri winter? And yet, here we find ourselves. For the past 2 years we've lived in an adorable and brand new townhouse in the city with a sweet view of downtown. In exchange for reduced rent, Scott has been doing all the maintenance on the units. But we just found out the developers are going a different direction with management, and we can basically move when our lease is up January 1st or stay and pay like 40% more a month in rent. Yuck. So we've been house/apartment/townhouse shopping for cute rentals that fit in our budget and keep us close- to/in the city. This is not easy. We've been spoiled by our adorable 2 bedroom 2 1/2 bath space with a brand new kitchen. Everything looks painfully small or icky or just downright depressing. But it's not the time for us to buy with Scott still in school--plus we have plans of moving in the next few years and getting the heck out of MO...we're thinking maybe Austin? Time shall tell. Anyways, so I've been obsessively looking for rentals and touring places and trying to picture us there and I'm about worn slick. If anyone has good ideas, let me know :)

--Halloween. Ev is a bumble bee this year, and has the cutest little costume! I'm so excited about letting her run around and see all the "babies" (her name for all children under the age of 12) in their costumes. Isn't it funny how kids really make holidays magical again? I'm already excited about cooling my awesomely awesome Thanksgiving turkey and decorating for Christmas. Except that we might have everything boxed up by then. Sigh. We shall see.

--Work-a-thon. My job ebbs and flows, and lately I've been pretty overwhelmingly busy. Which is good, but stressful. I've sat in on so many meetings in the past month, I feel like I could run a meeting in my sleep! Speaking of which...

--Sleeping. Ev has magically slipped into the realm of "sleeping through the night" now after almost 17 months of constant waking. It's now the norm for her to sleep from 9-midnight and the midnight to 5AM. Sometimes 9-5. The bags under my eyes may be permanent though...

--Reading. I've been taking some time most nights after Ev's asleep to read FOR FUN again, which I've dearly missed. My first book? The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir. Awesome. But also pretty devastating. I must really love tragedy.

Well folks, that's about it. I've been really busy but also felt a sort of personal awakening...like I'm blowing the dust off some old brain cells and reengaging in the intellectual world again, which has been nice. Sorry for neglecting the blog. It's not you, it's me:) More soon, I promise!

E

Everleigh's Film Debut

Today Ev and I took part in an infomercial shoot ("there's gotta be a better way!")...but no really, we did. The shoot was for a product called Treadders, which are slippers/shoes for babies and toddlers. They have a leather bottom and denim or corduroy top. They're washable and fun for kids to play in. Plus the elastic tops make it easy for grown ups to get them on and hard for curious babies to get off.

Yeah yeah, they're great ;) How did we end up in this infomercial? Basically we're amazing and highly scouted. Oh, and Scott has a friend who shoots infomercials for national ads and needed a baby about Ev's age and a mother/hand model. So that's really why. Plus all that other stuff I said about how awesome we are.

I was a little worried when the shoot overlapped part of her nap time, but she did really well and let me change her outfit a few times and take the shoes off and on and have her walk the same way a few times, etc. What a good girl.

And I even had a small role of putting the shoes on her and hand-modeling some of the features :)

At the end of the day, she got her first paycheck (which I will use for something fun for her) and got to keep her very own little Treadders.

How fun! Once it's edited and such I'll post a copy of it on here so you guys can cheer us on while we do our thing  :)

PS: Can you believe tomorrow's Friday? It seems like the week just started to me for some reason. Have a good weekend everyone!

Everleigh's Night On the Town

If you read my blog, you know how much us Folk's love our First Friday's :) This month was no different, as we wandered out into the gorgeous fall evening to see some art and party in the Crossroads. This Friday's First Friday was a little less busy than some we've seen...and we loved having a little less crowd to navigate through. We met up with some good friends and their darling daughter, Mia, who Ev thinks is the bees knees. Here are some things we saw!

Scotti strolling Ev down 18th street

People enjoying the coffee and snacks at YJ's on 18th

The adorable little shop where we found Evie's piggy bank shirt

Robot Luv shirt from local designer. Everleigh kissed the piggy and we just knew it was meant for her :)

We met up with our friends Mike and Jen, and their daughter Mia

Ev was dying to escape the stroller and run around with Mia :)

A colorful piece I liked at the Blue Gallery

The cutest snow cone trailer in town

Yummy! The girls tried the Lemon Prickly Pear

HammerPress--home to the coolest band posters and cards 

Everleigh was amazed by this street performer

And she couldn't take her eyes off these paintings at the Leedy

Then we joined a street dance party and watched some hip hop dancers do their thing while Ev and Mia played with chalk and boogied past hula hoopers

Everleigh's first hula-hooping experience

By the time we got home, Everleigh and I were equally wiped out! It was a lovely night...one I'll miss when Winter swoops in.

Dear Everleigh (16 Months!)

Oh Everleigh, Everleigh. I just have to shake my head and laugh as I write this, because your personality just gets bigger and bigger each month, and this month you've continued to establish yourself as a real character.

This month felt a little more settled, as we all adjusted to the shedule shift that took place when Daddy when back to school. What it meant for you? Essentially a little less one-on-one time with Daddy, a LOT more one-on-one time with Mommy, mixed in with some additional hang time with Grandpa ("Pappa") and one day a week at your daycare (which you lovingly call "schoo!"). At first, you were excited about school and playing with all new toys. Then you figured out it meant you wouldn't see Mommy all day (til 3), and cried and cried when I dropped you off, which made me sad.

Now we've got it down pat, and on your school day you get all excited. You even learned to kind-of say your teacher's name (Fkadu), which is further evidence to me that you are a genius. You and I wrote a song to sing in the car on the way to school and it goes like this, "school, school, school--school, school, school. I'm gonna have adventures there. School, school, school--school, school, school. And see my friends and teacher there." It's brilliant ;) and you love it.

Here's what else you've been up to this month:

Gobbity Gobbity--your name for Yo Gabba Gabba, which you love. You mostly love the songs and watching the kids dance, and sometimes you try to dance with them or walk up to the TV and kiss the "babies" (your new name for all kids under the age of 10).

Peeeeaaasse?--You learned to ask "please" when you want something, and you quickly learned that saying "please" really increases your odds of getting what you asked for. You can also say "Thank you", which is equally heart-warming.

Eyeth Eyeth Baby--girlfriend, if you love one thing right now in this world, it is ICE. After stumbling on it in a glass of Mommy's water, you became hooked. Now it seems to be all you think about. You request it by name, and even though your "c" sound is a little lispy, it's adorable. "eyeth? eyeth? Peeeeaas?" you ask. And I typically give in and give you some because it's absolutely precious.

Spinning--you've been really into spinning lately. Sometimes you'll spin around and around, and Daddy will count as you go. Your highest spin count in a row is 10.

New words--this month you really blossomed by regularly using words like "awesome", "alright!", and "let's GO!" I hate to say it, but my high school and college cheerleading days must be coming through in my parenting style based on the words you've selected :)

Big Girl--this month you started going down slides by yourself at the park. And I don't just mean the baby slides. I mean even the big, tall scary tube slides. You are very cautious, which makes me proud. but you like to go down by yourself, and every time you do, I tell you what a big girl you are and give you a high five.

Mommy's Girl--the more we get to know your personality, the more Daddy keeps saying you are so much like me. At first I didn't see it as much, but after he pointed it out, I started to see how you are so determined and goal-driven, and unwilling to give up. I think these are all great qualities, and hope to point you in the right direction so they don't create problems for you later on. Oh, and you're also beautiful and smart and cool as heck, which I have to go ahead and pat myself on the back for too (haha).

Walks and Rides--I try to take you on a walk every day (while the Missouri weather holds up). You think it's so neat to see all the squirrles and birds and leaves. On our walks, you always want to hold something in your hand--a rock you found, a leaf, an acorn. At some point in the walk you typically try to eat this object too, so I have to watch, but it makes you so happy to have a little gem from nature, I just have to smile. Also, we scored this free kid caddy seat thing that attaches to bikes to pull little ones. We need a new hitch for it still, but for now, you love to sit in the seat and have one of us pull you around in the driveway. Now when we get close to home from running errands or whatever, you'll say, "ride? ride? RIDE? Peeeeaaaase?"

Laughing Babies--it's no secret that you're not a big laugher. At first this made me a little sad....like, "why isn't little everleigh happier and more lighthearted?" But then it was pointed out to me that although I tend to have a sunny disposition, I don't really laugh out loud much either (unless I'm watching Conan, Bored to Death, or Larry David in action). I'm trying to fix this and get a little more laugter going on in front of you so you know it's okay to cut loose with a belly laugh whenever you want. Last night, we watched the YouTube clips of the roller skating Evion babies, and a clip of a baby laughing hysterically to his dad ripping up paper. You got way into it and laughed like you've never laughed before. Note to self--think if funnier things to do for Everleigh, like ripping up paper.

So that's your world right now, little lady. And as always, things will change. We have a move coming up in December or January, and between now and then we have all kinds of Fall adventures like pumpkin patches, Halloween, Christmas shopping, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years. Since you were just a little thing last year, I'm so excited that this year you'll know what's happening and you can get excited about the holidays!

I feel so lucky to be your Mommy, and I'm humbled daily by your love.

Love always,

Momma

Photo-Booth Pics Over Time (Me & Scotti)

As I was writing the last post about our anniversary date and getting photo-booth pics at The Cashew (a tradition for us), I was compelled to post some of our other fantastic Cashew photo-booth moments.

It was so fun to remember those epic nights and check out our varying 'do's. It occurred to me that Scott almost looks like a different guy in some of these. Hilarious. Here goes!!!! Enjoy

Our earliest picture from the days where we were renovating and living in our little loft/gallery space on 18th Street in the Crossroads Art District. I was probably 25? Maybe 24.

Pre-baby. Just over 2 years ago. Not going to lie--we were pretty tanked in this one. It was the after party for the KCPT TV Dinner event,  which had an open bar. Ahh..the times we had. 

Our 2 year wedding anniversary last September. This was one of our first real dates post-baby and we had dinner at Lulu's and drinks at The Cashew. Check out my man's ability to grow a fierce beard!

Scott's 40th Birthday date earlier this year. We had dinner at Skies and then hit The Cashew for our pics :)

Our most recent--3 year anniversary. And get this--the booth did not work on our first try. The manager had to come out and fix it. He asked us, "how important ARE these pictures to you anyway?".  To which we replied, "super important". So he sighed and fixed it. Yay for us!

Pizza Party, Hot Date, and No Talking about Everleigh ;)

Sorry-let's get caught up. Scott and I celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary with Everleigh last tuesday (9/27) by going out for pizza at one of our local family favorites--Minsky's. We giggled and wrangled the kiddo over bites of Prime Cut (to.die.for.), and pretty much felt blown away that our lives have changed so much from when we first met. Seeing as how Everleigh is the ultimate expression of our love--in the form of an adorable, strong-willed little go-getter, it only felt right to have her there.

We ended the night with swinging at  Loose Park and a stroll through the beautiful rose garden (Everleigh loves the fountain at the center). Then it was bathtime/bedtime and Everleigh sandwiches all around (something Scott and I started when she was tiny--we yell out "Everleigh sandwich!" and both hug up on her at once. She thinks it's the best). It was a really special night for us as a family and we all went to bed with smiles on our faces and love in our hearts.

Then Scott and I dolled up and went out for a night on the town Saturday, while my parents stayed home with Ev at the house. We decided to go off the beaten path and hit some locally-owned spots that were new to us. Scott got a much needed hair cut, and I spent a little time getting cute...it was so nice to feel pretty and know for sure there wasn't a yogurt handprint on my back or a banana chunk in my hair ;)

We ate dinner at Lilly's on 17th, which is tucked away in this amazing little Westside neighborhood. The sun was setting as we dined outside under the glow of paper lanterns and candles. We went all out, enjoying shrimp with white wine sauce, petite filet (me) mashed potatoes and sweet peas, and a pork chop (Scott) with mashed and sweet peas. We topped the divine meal off with some kind of orgasmically amazing semi-sweet chocolate dessert.

3 years baby

Then we were off to Grunhaurs, a cool art deco place that feels like a secret spot for ex-pats to hang. We didn't know it was Octoberfest there, which was pretty fun...we had one cocktail and then went down the street to our old favorite, The Cashew. Every year for the past 4 years or so we've taken photobooth pics at the Cashew on our anniversary or birthdays. It's fun to look back at them later and see all the different hairdos, varrying degrees of chubiness, etc. Plus, who doesn't love a photobooth? Here's what we did:

Lastly, we ended the night with a stop at 1911 Main, a new jazz bar that was featuring live jazz that night. We sipped martinis and felt very fancy. It was SO good to take the time to really talk about our lives, what we're thinking about, where we're heading, and how far we've come. We started the night off with a "no talking about Everleigh" rule (simply because we talk about her all the time and we needed some time to reconnect), but ended it by totally breaking the rule and just shaking our heads in amazement about how great she is and how proud we are of her. Love, love, love.

Of course, we got home around midnight (possibly the latest we've ever stayed out since she was born?), to a crying baby (I could literally hear her saying "I want my mama" in a sad, whimper as I came in the door). But after the time away, it was so nice to snuggle her to sleep and think about what a lucky, lucky girl I am.