Mabel through the Ages

Before I start, I'd like to thank Charlie for reminding me why blogging is a bad idea for moms with young children. Charlie, the angel, screamed the entire time I tried to post today. It has taken me about 2 hours to bring you this amazing post. And just so you know, I was trying to appease him, but nothing has worked, so if you have any ideas on why an 8 month old would scream for 2 hours, let me know. Okay, I'm sure everyone is thinking, he just wants my attention. Well if he would just let me post quickly, I'd give it to him. All right, I really just needed to vent, so thanks for reading.


Mabel had a birthday on Saturday. She turned the big 3.0! Happy birthday to our princess. She requested a princess castle cake and I did my best. We had some friends over to help eat cake and break in the new toys. Here are some pictures of Mabel through the ages. The pictures start with her birthday and then they are in no particular order since I am computer and blogging challenged. Make sure to watch the second video, it's my fave! Time flies.

Adapting

I think we might fit in with these southerners just fine. Last night Randy was talking to me and what word slipped out of his mouth that caused Randy to stop talking and turn a slight shade of pink as my mouth dropped open in shock and horror? You might have to shield sensitive eyes as you read. Randy said the F word, I kid you not. FIXIN'!!! FIXIN'!!! It was mostly shocking. He tried to defend himself, but I don't know if I can ever forgive him. What has the world come to when a nice boy from a dirty river town in Iowa starts dropping F bombs in casual conversation? We just may have to talk with our bishop, and seeing as the bishop is from Utah, I know he will understand the seriousness of the situation.

On a side note, I visited the dentist last week and had a tooth pulled. I think we are adapting nicely to our new environment. So far, no one from Tennessee reads this blog. Just know that we tease because we love. At least, that's why my mom told me my brothers teased me. Hmmmmm......

Growing Boy

Charlie had a doctor appointment on Friday. He has not been to the doctor since he was 3 months old because when Randy changed jobs we had to wait for new insurance to kick in. He is now 7 months old. Charlie is off the charts in height measuring 29 1/2 inches tall. He is 19 lbs. 11oz. and in the 75 percentile for weight. My poor baby had to get 4 shots to make up for lost times. So he did not enjoy the Hola Festival we went to Saturday as he had a fever and his legs were pretty sore.

Hola Festival

Saturday we went to the Hola Festival in downtown Knoxville. I thought it would be pretty small because it was in Market Square which is not a very big area. It was HUGE!!! It was a big celebration of Hispanic countries and cultures. I LOOOOOVE Hispanic cuture!!! It was way fun. They had booths set up from maybe 15 different countries and you could get a pretend passport and go to the different booths and have it stamped. They had booths with displays and information about the country and then they had separate booths that were selling foods from the country. Mmmmmmmm, especially being pregnant, it was actually tons of delicious smelling food. Mexican food is my favorite so I was definitely in heaven.

The kids area was especially amazing. After spending (cough) a little more money than we hoped at the fair, this festival was great. We paid $1 for Mabel to get a bracelet and then she could do anything she wanted in the kids area. She made a bug house, Mexican paper flowers, a guitar, painted a maraca, and got to ride a little merry-go-round. She had a blast. So did Randy and I. Randy was disappointed in the Paraguay booth, it was run by a high school student. He is planning to volunteer next year to do it. I think it would be really fun for him. A lot of the booths were run by families from the country. Did I mention how delicious the food was?!

Here is Randy helping Mabel make her bug house. Home Depot sponsored the festival in case you were wondering what a bug house has to do with Hispanic culture!

Tennessee Valley Fair

We finally went out and did some fun things this week. Way to go us! On Thursday we went to the fair. Not as impressive as the Texas or Iowa state fairs, but just as fun for us. We pet some animals, played at the science center, did the ride thing and of course the food thing. I was very impressed with Mabel this year. She is so timid in public but this year she was willing to pet all the animals, no fear there. She also rode some pretty impressive rides. For a girl who was too scared to wear a ladybug costume for Halloween last year, she seems to have come a long way.

Randy refused even the tiniest bite of my delicious elephant ear.

Charlie having fun with the goats.

Mabel introduced all the animals to her bear, Bella.

Mabel's Announcement

This is how I originally planned to make our announcement, but I let it slip last time. So here it is.

We are Here

No, we have not fallen off the face of the earth. As far as I know we are still living in the back hills of East Tennessee. It seems so overwhelming when you get behind on your posts, but I will catch you up as good and short as I can. Oh, and I went to get my camera, and it has disappeared. So, hopefully later I can just throw on a bunch of pictures and call it good.

We have successfully moved into our new house (see previous post for a picture). We moved in on August 15th. I was sure we would be all settled in by now, HAH! Maybe a year from now. We have a lot more space, I am just horrible at organizing and finding spots for everything. It's nice though, we really do love our house and our yard. Randy's new nickname is (thanks Analisa!) Handy Randy. No, not because I am pregnant with our third child, (true story I am due April 16th), but because he is always finding ways to improve our home and reasons to use his vast supply of tools. He has installed a counter top in our laundry room, hung shelves in closets, hung curtains, installed blinds, put up towel racks and a shelf in our bathroom, and all sorts of fun guy stuff I suppose. He has also planted tooooooooons of grass for our yard and is endlessly watering every night. He is also #1 in his fantasy football league. What a husband!!!

What have I been up to? I spent a lot of time in the bathroom and on the couch the last couple weeks. Nausea, fatigue, vomiting, didn't I just do this? Yes, the answer is yes, I did just do this. I spent four months of bliss not being pregnant, and now... well anyway, I am about 10 weeks now and thanks goodness by some miracle I have been feeling pretty good the last few days. We have the cutest neighbors, you might call our street retirement lane, it has lots of cute old folk on it. Well, one of my neighbors told me to call her 'Ganny', she's 83 I think, she is going to teach me how to sew. I'm soooo excited. I bought some patterns and fabric and am ready to go.

Charlie just woke up from his nap and is yelling so I have to hurry now. Kay, Charlie is the best eater EVER! He loves to eat baby food. Even if he makes a face like it's completely disgusting, he opens his mouth and wants more or he'll scream at you. He is a roley poley and is starting to get around just by rolling all over the place. No signs of crawling yet, but he is super cute anyway.

Mabel has been going to preschool once a week for 3 weeks now. 3 other women from church and I rotate teaching 4 kids once a week for 2 hours. Mabel loves school, though the other moms tell me she won't say a word when she's at their houses. She does talk people, she's starting to talk nonstop actually, but she is a shy little booger and I am trying to get her to open up. I think preschool will be good for her. Mabel and Charlie are becoming good friends. Charlie lights up whenever Mable talks to him and she can get him to giggle pretty easy. It is so sweet to watch them love each other. Yes, occasionally Mabel accidentally pushes a play chalkboard onto his head giving him a goose egg on his head, and then he might accidentally drop a really hard plastic elmo on her head during bath time and give her an equally large bump and bruise, but it's all love I tell you. Kay Charlie is mad now, so I'll post pictures when I find the camera.