Cowboy

"Where are my cow boots Mom?" "HeeHaw"

The Stationary Life

Evan Pics

Netflix

Netflix makes me addicted to television shows. You can just watch one after another and it makes the shows so much more enjoyable. My current addiction is Smallville. I think it is in in 7th season now. It is such a fun show to watch with all the special effects and super powers. I also love the music. If you are a fellow Netflixer, put Smallville in you queue. It is one of our favorite shows.

Sitting Up

Evan is sitting up by himself. All of the sudden yesterday he decided he could do it. I can't just sit him up and walk away because he will tip over. If someone bumps him he would certainly tip over but he can just sit and play for a good length of time. Also, does everyone know he is ticklish? He giggles all the time ... when I change his clothes, his diapers, kiss him, rub his back. He squirms almost everywhere you touch him because it tickles. He has a fun little personality already. I love that he enjoys to laugh.

Funny Boy

"I slept great in my bed last night Daddy. Then Mom moved me into your bed. It was amazing." If Maddeck wakes up early because Evan is crying I just move him into our bed so he can catch a few extra ZZZZZs. I think he likes waking up for the morning with his Dad.

Sweet Sleep & More

Evan has been doing awesome sleeping through the night the last few days. He has been sleeping past six o'clock! Which in turn, means I have been getting at least 8 hours of sleep the last few nights. Yippee!! He now goes to bed for the night at 8:00 PM and Kyle gives him a bottle at 10:00ish. We call it the dream feed because he is practically asleep while he eats and doesn't even open his eyes. He goes right to sleep after this feeding and doesn't wake up until morning.

Maddeck said some funny things yesterday that I thought I should post. Evan spit up on Maddeck's arm and he said "Oooohhh yucky Evan ... that's not a good deal!" Then he was talking about his uncle Jordan's girlfriend and he said "I like Lauren. She is a sweetheart."

Grandma Cindi came over this past weekend and spent the night. It was great to have her and she got to spend some nice quality time with her grandsons. She took some cute pictures of the boys in the new t-shirts she gave them. Check them out below. Maddeck and Evan each got two dollars in Valentine's day money. I am pretty sure I am going to let Maddo buy two new matchbox cars with his money. Cars (and all transportation toys) are his favorite.

Cool fact: By 5 months, your baby's weight has approximately doubled from his birth weight. If he kept this up, by age 10 he'd be 10 feet tall and weigh over 200 pounds!

Give me a H-E-A-D

Laura K. had the idea to make custom shirts with letters on them and take some pictures of the kids. We took these pictures of Maddeck and Evan with their cousins Ella and Romy on the beach in Mexico. We framed them and gave it to my Dad for his birthday this week. We couldn't get a picture with all of them looking at once, but we got a great collection of pictures to frame as a group. Look how banged up Maddeck's knees are! Poor little guy fell four times while running around the resort.

Sweet brothers!

My blog is my scrapbook

I made one scapbook in my life and it was expensive and time consuming. I am also a perfectionist at times so it does not suit my personality at all to scrapbook. I blog. Try it. It is a digital scapbook that doesn't need stickers, glue, or expensive paper. It also doesn't take up space on your hard drive or bookshelf.

Visit with the Gordons

Max, Beki, Brighton, and Asher stopped in for a short visit on their drive back to North Dakota this weekend. Max just returned from another deployment to Iraq. Beki and I went to an antique mall in Cashmere to grab a coffee and browse. I have enjoyed looking at antiques for many years now, although I never buy anything because it just isn't my style. I guess I can't say "never" because I bought four cups while we were out this time. The price was right and they add a little fun to my kitchen. I think my friend Courtney may have rubbed off on me but I get all giddy and excited when I can drink coffee with a friend in a fun cup. I enjoy holding a unique cup filled with coffee and visiting. It is just so much fun. Beki and I enjoyed tea in the antique cups Saturday evening. Max and Kyle stayed up late playing computer games. Men and women are so different!! It was a short visit, but it was nice to reconnect. We hadn't seen them since last

June.

Family Update

Evan - Just had his four month well baby check and everything went well. His shots haven't seemed to bother him at all this time which is encouraging. The doctor and nurses commented on how social he is for his age and very engaging. He weighs 17 lbs 4 oz. (79 Percentile), 25 1/2 Inches long (50 Percentile), 17 head cir. (50-75 percentile). He is healthy now after fighting the sniffles over the past four days. He is sleeping better all the time which makes his wake times more fun. He is starting to grab objects and play more on his own.

Maddeck - Will be celebrating his 3rd birthday on March 4th. We have been so busy we haven't had time to make birthday party plans yet. He drew a face today on his chalkboard, complete with two eyes, a mouth, a nose, and "crazy" hair, which is a new milestone. He is deliberate in his drawing instead of just scribbles. His vocabulary is growing as well. In Mexico we watched some Fox News and without our knowing he learned who the president is. We don't have TV at home so I think he was pretty tuned in when it was on a few times in our hotel room.

Kyle - His job is still up the air. We are prayerful. He is co-leading our small group every Thursday night which has been fruitful. He is putting together a plan for our family to read through the bible in a year together. I am excited. I can't stick to things without a schedule and a plan. He is an amazing husband and leader.

Laura - I love my family and have been so filled with thankfulness lately. We love our church and have so many Godly examples surrounding us in our day to day lives. I especially feel blessed for the time I spend with other ladies who have come alongside me and lead me and encourage me in the Lord. My cousin Misty Strong also sent me a devotional book that has been an easy way for me to spend alone time with the Lord lately in prayer. (Thanks Misty!!)

Pizza & Lessons

Maddeck and I made pizza. He helped me roll out the dough (sort of) and put on the toppings. It was fun. I would have done it myself to save time and energy but Kyle pointed out recently how much Maddeck loves to help with things. I realized I need to take more opportunities to instruct him. It is lazy for me to do everything myself when I could be teaching my son at the same time. A parenting lesson learned for me and a new skilled learned for Maddeck.
I also had to include another pic of my boys in their hoodies. Even though Maddeck and Evan are still tiny, I somehow feel safe knowing someday they will be men. I pray they will be mature and loving men with a heart to serve Christ. I look forward to a day when my boys come home to visit us and they give me a big "manly" hug. It will be so cool. I know I ALWAYS say this but I have to say it again - I love my boys so much! They are such a gift.

Group Photos

Head Family
Strong Family

Mexico Group (left to right) - Jordan, Olivia, & Grace McDevitt, Maddeck, Kyle, Laura, & Evan Strong, Ella, Brian, Laura, & Romy Head, Jordan, Jim, & Rosie Head, Pete & Sarah Gengler, George & Jane Irwin, & Elisa Head

We're Home

After 9 beautiful and warm days in sunny Mexico we are home. It was a great vacation and came at the perfect time for us. We were really needing some time away to get our minds off of the economic crisis (Kyle is a financial advisor ... uggghhh) and have some fun. Our only regrets are that Kyle and I were unable to spend time together on the trip and we were foolish enough to save money rather than upgrade to a balcony hotel room. If we had upgraded, we would have been able to spend our evenings on the balcony visiting rather than tiptoeing around the hotel room trying our best to keep the boys asleep. It was a huge disappointment for us and a complete oversight when planning our vacation. Other than that, it was fantastic. We had fun with all of our family and our friends and especially with the kiddos. Maddeck LOVED the pool and enjoyed his time with his two cousins and his friend Grace and all of our family and other friends.

Below are a few pictures from the trip. We took over 200 pictures on our camera ... yikes! A little overboard, but better than not taking enough in my opinion. I also included one video of Maddeck dancing.

Auntie Sarah is pregnant and Maddeck has firmly decided that he would like a boy cousin rather than another girl. I would have to agree. Pete and Sarah would like to be surprised so we won't know what they are having until the end of July when their tiny one is born. We are hoping for a boy so Maddeck and Evan can experience the joy of playing with a boy cousin someday. I am sure Ella and Romy are pulling for a girl so they can experience another girl cousin (they only have one and she is much older than them). It was fun to visit and talk about the new baby while we were in Mexico.

It is cold at home but it is nice to be back so the boys can get back to life as usual. As with most getaways, we would have enjoyed even more time away but are SO thankful for the privilege it is to even be able to go on a vacation. It is such a luxury that we do not intend to take for granted. Thank you Lord for your provision in giving us more than we need.