naming babies and other thoughts

We are not good at naming babies.  I can't remember exactly when we settled on Hazel's name, but I think I was around 36 or 37 weeks.  I set a deadline for deciding on a name this time around because I wanted to tell our families over Christmas.  We get our moms a charm with the baby's initial for each grandchild, and I really wanted that to be part of the Christmas present.  And, now that the gift has been given and the name has been told...I can share it on the blog.

We have a list of about 15 girls names on my computer that I would add to every once in a while before we had Hazel.  (By the way, William is a fourth, so he was easy to name.)  Anyway, we have this list that we always try to pick a name from, but we can never decide on any from the list.  We narrow it down to about three names, and then we can't pick one.  Then, one day we hear another name (such as Hazel), and we just decided we like it and go with it.  So, that's what happened again.  We had it narrowed down to two names, but then we decided on a completely different one:

Eliza Grey

There are lots of reasons why we like it, but basically we like the meaning (pledged to God), it has a "Z" like Hazel, it has an "L" (which is a weird requirement that I have for all our kids' names...dont' know why), together the names represent two of our favorite books (Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice and Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings).  I realize that I am showing what a nerd I am with these reasons, but oh well.

Here are a few pics...me at 30 weeks.  I'm not sure why my belly is such a weird shape in this picture...

Here are some kiddo shots.  This is just so typical...William making gun noises with his transformers, Hazel with her necklace, putting on my chapstick like lipstick.  Boys and girls (at least my boy and girl) are such different creatures.  I love their differences.

merry christmas

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-all things were created through him and for him.  And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church.  He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross"

Colossians 1: 15-20

O Bright Morning Star, shine in our hearts this Christmas.

Awake our souls and break our chains, that we may fly to you.

O Age Old Gift sent down to earth, wrap us in your wings.

Gather up your scattered children, in comfort and in peace.

O Image of the Invisible God, firstborn from the dead,

Reconcile our hearts to you, and let us love you still.

done and done

The Green Arrow is ready to go.  After one last attempt to find a green arrow costume online (in a kid size), I just dove in and made it.  Okay, really I ordered a bunch of stuff off amazon and made a few little things to go with it.  I ordered a peter pan costume, a bow and arrow set, and a black super hero mask.  And yes, that is my pregnant belly in the bottom of the first picture...oops.

Here's the stuff I ordered:

 

I made a little belt and sash with a quiver attached for the arrows and a littler holster for the Green Arrow's knife.  I have no idea if Green Arrow has a knife, but it came with the bow and arrow, and I thought it would be cute to have a place to put it. I managed to get my belly out of the shot this time.

 Here it is all ready to be wrapped...except for the red gloves which finally came in the mail today and some red boots (which are actually just red socks, but hopefully they'll work).

On two completely unrelated notes, William was a shepherd in his Christmas play today.  I may have been taking a video with my phone while also taking pictures with my camera in true crazy mom style.  No shame here.  I couldn't resist his cute shepherd outfit.

And, please wish me luck as we attempt to potty train this little lady right after Christmas.  I put her in a pull-up for the first time last weekend, and she proceeded to tee-tee in the pull-up, take it off, throw it in the garbage, and put on a new pull-up.  Then she said, "I get a new diaper".  Besides having both legs in one leg of the pull-up, she pretty much did the whole thing herself.  So, we may not be any closer to using the potty, but at least she can change her own diapers now.  We used the "3-Day Method" with William, and it worked really well.  We'll see how round two goes in a few weeks.

the green arrow

We haven't made a big deal of Santa, but somehow William knows all about him.  And, he asked him for three very specific things when he went to see him.  The first two were things he had seen at target- the bat cave and the bat wing.  The third was a green arrow costume.  Apparently, the green arrow is one of batman's friends.  I'm new to this superhero stuff, so I had to google him.  Unfortunately, there does not seem to be anyone else in the world who wants to dress up like the green arrow, and you can't just order a costume on amazon.

At first I thought maybe he was confused, and actually wanted a green lantern costume...which is available pretty much anywhere.  I asked him what the green arrow's uniform looked like and he said, "he wears a green hat with a red feather and a green shirt and red gloves and red boots and a bow and arrow".


Here he is, courtesy of google:




Last week at church, they asked the kids what their favorite Christmas present ever was, and William said his green arrow costume.  So, I guess I'll be making a green arrow costume.  I'll try to post some pictures when it's finished.

instasaturday

Here are a few Instagrams from this week. We had to have a bubble bath one night- instant cure for grumpies! Haz thinks boots and a diaper are all you need to wear and she's trying to instill the same values in her doll. Both kids love mexican food...I asked Haz if she wanted a soft or crunchy taco on the way to the restaurant, and she said, "I want rice". I'm pretty sure she could eat her weight in rice, chips, and salsa. Have a happy weekend!

get your crafty on

I really like to make things, but I basically have no time in which to do it.  Unless you count cutting out skin cancers and changing diapers as making things.  I think it drives HJ crazy that I'm always working on some crafting project when we have a thousand other things going on, but it is so relaxing to me to work on a project.  So, I make some time to craft here and there despite the craziness of our schedules.  My latest little project was a hat for Hazel.  I used the pattern linked at the bottom for the hat, and I just freestyled her "h" onto the side.  For those who are interested, I made 2 short strings by chaining what looked like a good amount for the "h" and then I sewed it onto the hat with matching green thread...very complicated.

I showed it to Hazel, and she said, "don't want it".  Oh well, she prefers to wear her bicycle helmet around the house instead of her cute new hat.

 

Earflap pattern source (I used the child size instead of toddler because my kids have big heads):
http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2012/09/crochet-owl-hat-pattern-in-newborn.html

weekend update

We attempted some family pictures this weekend at Shelby Farms.  I can't say it was a great success, as we did not get any of the whole family with us all looking at the camera, but we go some cute ones of the kids.  Thanks to the Kempes for their awesome photography skills:)  Hazel was amazed by Ingrid's gold shoes...I think she is giving her some pointers on fashion in the cousins picture.  Williams and Shepherd were more interested in fruit snacks and pine needles than their apparel.

InstaFriday

Since I'm on a roll here, I thought I'd post again...twice in one week! I'm trying out blogger on my phone while I wait at the doctor's office, so we'll see how it goes. Despite the fact that I've neglected the old blog, I have actually caught on to Instagram. You can find me @emijoned, where I do actually post pictures of the kiddos pretty regularly. I'm also on pinterest...which is an immense waste of time but super addicting!

One year later...

Long time, no blog.  I'm not sure how I let a year go by with no blogging, but I'm sure it could happen again. Somehow, the Haze has turned 2 this week, and it hit me that I really need to record some of the things these kiddos are doing so I can remember them.  I'm not even going to try to go back over the last year, but here are a few recent pictures and some updates:

Hazel is her usual spunky, sweet self.  She is all over the place.  We have been really struggling with bedtime lately...we are spoiled to having good sleepers, but we tried to move Haz into William's room about a month ago.  It has basically been a disaster.  She is thrilled to be in there, but it takes her about 2 hours to go to sleep every night.  It is definitely wearing us out...and we would love any suggestions on how to improve the situation.

She talks constantly, at least at home.  Apparently, she doesn't say much at school.  Here are a few of the things she has told us lately:

On driving home from trick or treating: "Bye, bye, Halloween!"

To me on the way to school, while I was singing: "Don't sing, mommy." Thanks, Hazey!

When I tried to get her to put the diaper back on her doll: "No, baby goes pee pee in the potty".  She then took the doll and put her on the potty...too bad she doesn't actually want to go to the potty herself.

Hazel loves her stickers, coloring, shoes (the girl has style), and learning her letters and numbers.  She is also pretty fond of her big brother!

William has gone from chubby toddler to boy overnight it seems.  He is very into superheroes, knights, and basically anything that fights "the bad guys".  Lately, he has been playing with his little soldiers, cowboys, and native americans (which he calls samaritans).  He is basically in costume most of the time we are at the house...either a transformer, a knight, batman, a construction worker, or some type of sports player.  Every once in a while he throws in farmer or train conductor.  He is loving preschool, although he insists they don't learn anything at school...they just play.

 

As you can see, we are expecting baby number three in March!  Baby girl does not have a name yet, but William has offered some really great suggestions, including coo-koo, lee-lee, and toot.  Very original.  So, if anyone has any awesome girl names, just send them our way!

Here is our best attempt at a family picture at Haz's birthday party.  Three out of four ain't bad:)