Happy Holidays!

I'm writing you from my phone today, as I have a sleeping exhausted baby on my stomach. Evelynn is getting her bottom teeth. She is growing up entirely too fast. I never truly understood that saying/comment until I watched my almost ten month old started getting little ivory razors in her mouth. And sliding off the bed on her stomach. And openly defying me when I tell her no all while smiling at me and breaking my attempt to hold my "Mommy" face. Watching her run away from her Dad in a hallway game of chase me, giggling all the way. Playing peek a boo with her grandpa while sitting on the counter, smiling behind the corner of a tea towel. Being comforted by her grandma and running up to her excitedly when she comes in the door. It is all going by too fast indeed.
I'm starting to feel the desire to have another baby, I don't know if its Evie growing up too fast or my biological clock screaming at me or my worry we will have trouble and it will take another year to get pregnant. Either way I've been starting to plot the end of nursing Evelynn. Its not easy at all! I'm not very good at it. Any tips at all are appreciated! I'm about as good as I was kicking her out of bed, which I still haven't done.
I'm excited for Christmas. I'm not sure Evie will be as excited as I want her to be. But I'm super happy to spend time with our family and extended family. I hope all your holidays are great!
Love (Christmas),
Carrie
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Early's late if you make tomorrow yesterday.

We have new friends.  Nurse Carol introduced us.  Its fabulous because they have a kid, a small kid, like ours.  They are our first friends who have a kid.  Want to know why its so great?  Because they get it.  They don't wince when our kid power vomits on their pretty sofa and carpet.  They aren't embarrassed whenever my kid screams out of turn at a restaurant or church.  Or smears food all over herself and anything she can touch.  Or when she plays musical laps.  Oh or when she stands in their kid's carseat and swings from it and slobbers all over the toys hanging from it, in fact they protect her head and catch her when she falls.  They laugh and cheer her on.  There are toys for her to play at when we go to their house, we have adult conversation, and we have baby conversation, and we don't feel bad about it.
Don't get us wrong, we love our childless friends, we wouldn't be here without them, but it man it is such a difference to have friends that have a kid and get it.  They get the anxiety, they get if you call at the last minute and say you are running late or you aren't going to make it at all.  They get that it can be easier to come to your house because someone is in a mood and you don't think that you can put that kid in the car seat.
You also get GREAT tips from your friends with kids.  You share ideas and shortcuts and most importantly FOOD.  Haha.
But honestly, I'm not knocking our childless friends.  I can't wait until they have kids too.  And seriously we couldn't have gotten so good at raising a kid without them, they were here in the beginning to hold her, make us food, and cheer us on.  And they will continue to be here for her.  I just wanted to give a little shout out to our new friends, who we are having a great time with.  Even after we give our death plague to them.

Love (our friends with babies),
Carrie

Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.

I'm not the person you want to sit next to in church, if you are serious about church.  I crack jokes, comment on the message, and generally act like a twelve year old.  I'm not sure why I do it, because I like church and I listen to the message, I just think everyone needs my rolling commentary apparently, like an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Apparently my daughter has inherited that trait.  She hollers out "WOW" and "WOAH" at completely inappropriate times.  Sings louder than everyone.  Crawls under the pews.  Tries to deface Bibles.  Pulls out every piece of paper from the racks.  Generally everything she can to appear like a heathen in the eyes of the Lord.  But she is cute so she gets away with it. 

Some of you have wondered, and yes, we are still cos-sleeping.  It is working really well for us, and I can't tell you how comforting it is for both her and I to have each other there.  I've tried multiple times to kick her out and it hasn't gone well for either of us.  So we will keep at it, at least until she can talk me out of sleeping in her own bed every night.  Ha.

Evie has a new toy my parents bought her, its a fat overstuffed cat.  My brother named him Spencer Catt (a play on Spencer Pratt, the reality douche) and of course she loves it and is dragging it around everywhere.  She also got down the SHHHHH noise, so she points at it and says "SHHHHHH" which cracks me up.

We have to get her a new car seat because she is too long for hers.  We will probably get it on Friday.  I don't know what kind to get though.  Of course every review I read says you should get the three hundred dollar one, but who can afford that?  I just had my parents buy new tires for my car, which I'm slowly working off.  I can't believe how expensive tires are!!!  We really needed them before the winter, I would be a nervous wreck without them and driving with Evie.

I don't say it enough, but I am truly blessed to be able to stay home with Evelynn. I can't imagine putting her in daycare everyday.  I know I give Seth a lot of crap about working so hard and so late, but I need to remember he's doing it so that I can stay home and try to teach my kid to leave the bibles out of her mouth.  Evie and I are two lucky ladies for sure. 

Well I'd better get ready for the Advent Tea at church tonite.  Evie and I are going to practice NOT being a heathen so we don't embarass her grandma.  :-)

Love (my heathen baby),
Carrie

If you believe everything you read, better not read.

In our house, December brings about an event that I try to get psyched up about, but about halfway thru the task, I crap out and wonder why in the hell I agree to do it every year.
And that event is our cookie plates.  First of all, it takes us forever to plan it.  Then it takes FOREVER to make all the cookies.  After that it takes us forever to deliver all the cookies.  And I really think most people don't even LIKE our cookie plates.  Besides Seth's family, they always eat them all and enjoy them.  And the people at Seth's work.  Most everyone else complains that we are making them fat, or these are the fifth cookie plate they have received, or that they don't like one of the cookies.  One year we had someone complain about the way we decorated the cookies (ok fine, that year I got a little spikey towards the end of decorating and started making inappropriate cookies, but they were FUNNY)
Anyway we have our cookie day scheduled on Saturday the 18th of this month.  Hopefully we tone it down this year, but Seth is super crazy about it.  He likes to do it because it reminds him of when he used to do it with his Grandma.  And like me, he is a food pusher, and likes to see other people enjoy the food he makes.
So anyway, since Ellen does 12 days of give away's, I guess I'll do 12 days of bitching about Christmas.  Ha.
You know what would make this all better?  Snow.

Love (pushing food),
Carrie

Only the mediocre are always at their best.

I've sat staring at this screen for a while now.  Well that's not true, I stared at the baby being destructive, but my hands were on the keys!
You have missed me right?  I've missed you.
Evelynn is walking, and destroying everything 29 inches high and within her reach.  I spend most of my day chasing her down trying to get tiny things out of her hands so she doesn't swallow it or destroy it.
She is so stubborn.  I'm not sure where she gets that.  I can move something out of her reach and she still goes after it. 
I have been struggling with the idea of "Santa" and if we want to introduce her to him and perpetuate the lie for the next eight or so years.  Seth says we are doing it.  I'm not going to NOT do it.  I am not hating on anyone that does it, I just...I guess when I found out, it made me sad, and then I was such a bitch, I was so upset about the lie that was Santa, that I ruined it for my brother.  Also Seth works so hard, and our parents worked so hard to save up for Christmas presents and to make Christmas special for us, I want her to know that, I want her to know how hard we work to make Christmas awesome.  Also Christmas is supposed to be about Jesus, and when she is old enough, I want her to focus on that,  not on Santa and his presents.  I'm back and forth, well actually my mind is made up, everyone just thinks I'm an uber bitch for denying her Santa, so I'm just going along with it, and maybe when she can understand I will explain it to her.
I caught myself though going along with it, because I wrapped all of her toys and labeled them "From Santa" and all her books and clothes "From Mommy and Daddy".  Shit!  I would have totally unwrapped everything (because we are cheap and just write on our wrapping paper with a red (festive, no?) sharpie) and done it again but I HATE wrapping and for some reason I get stuck doing it EVERY year.  Even wrapping up my own presents (which granted, I bought for myself, but still, its a little fucked up that I have to wrap them, but I know that a. Seth will never get around with it, and b. I don't want him going, wait, when did you buy a new cupcake pan?  We have a cupcake pan.  And then I would have to say, it's covered in rust and it was four dollars, and then that would digress into a conversation all about how four dollars adds up yada blah glub cheap cheap cheap...so I wrap them myself.) and his family's presents. 
Its hard to wrap presents with a kid.  At least my kid.  I made the mistake of letting her open my birthday presents from Seth's family and now she thinks ALL wrapping paper is for ripping, even the stuff I leave on the floor.
I'm a such a crap present wrapper.  I don't trim any of the edges, I eyeball the paper when I cut it so sometimes the entire back is showing and I don't have enough paper.  I save every single scrap and then try to make it work with other presents...
Do you guys wrap the presents you put into stockings?  We never had that as kids, but Seth's family does.  It seems like a good idea, I mean that way in case some one peeks or gets upset when you can see what the gifts are...or is the stocking wrapping enough?
I've missed my grandpa who recently passed away a lot this Christmas season.  He made a lot of my Christmas decorations, my favorite ones actually.  The 3D snowflakes on my tree and the white tree with reindeer that is just so classy.  He made these pins at Christmas and gave them out to everyone, my Dad finished them this year for him and we are handing them out around town at the Christmas festival in his hometown on Saturday.  This year I begged and inherited his train for the bottom of my Christmas tree.  It means a lot to me.  I loved decorating ours as a kid and I can't wait until Evie decorates ours.
I'm excited because I'm going to be cooking for my parents twice a week to help pay for the new tires on my vehicle.  I have tons of ideas, I just hope they like it!
Okay my loves, this is all the time I have to spare.  I have to wake up the sleeping Birdie and give her a bath before Seth gets home.

Love (cold days and warm baths),
Carrie