Cailyn and Evan

This post is an update on Cailyn and Evan, and everything that has to do with their little lives. Enjoy!!

Cailyn-29 months (almost)

Cailyn is a fiery, spunky little girl. She has all the sass and attitude in the world, but then a second later has the sweetest, most sincere heart. Within the last two months she has been potty-trained and been moved to a big-girl bed. Potty training went very well, but that can't be said for sleep training. Now that she has the freedom to get up, she is up repeatedly at night and loves to crawl into bed with mommy and daddy in the middle of the night. If it weren't so sweet snuggling with her, I'd put her back to bed every tim

e!

She also is obsessed with the cartoon character, Diego. She has a little plastic doll that we got from her dear friends, Emma and Abby, and she goes everywhere with this doll. She sleeps with him, takes him on adventures, occasionally bathes with him, and carries him throughout the house all day long. It is cute, but annoying. We've misplaced him a couple times, and that makes her obsessive need to carry him all day worse. I'm told this is just a phase...

Cailyn loves to watch cartoons, but I'm desperately trying to cut back on those. She loves t0 play outside, swim and play in water, and she loves her sandbox. She talks constantly and is almost always understandable (at least to the trained ear). She can count to about 14, has started saying her abc's, and knows all her colors and shapes. You can't always ask her directly what a color is or a

shape, because she loves to shrug her shoulders and say, "I don't know."

Cailyn is such a blessing to me, and I love when I get to spend special time with just her. She makes me laugh all the time, and I wish I could remember everything about the past 2 years. There are times that I wish that when we pass away, that the Lord would bless us with a special look back at our lives. I would love to look back at all of these times and remember what it felt like, and what Cailyn was like at this point. Just a thought...

Evan-6 1/2 months

What can I say about Evan? He is the sweetest little man, and such a momma's boy!! I just adore him and his cute little smile. I love the feeling of being needed by my babies. I spent the first year of Cailyn's life working, and so there were very few times that I felt needed by her. I felt like she was comforted by just about anyone, but not Evan! He wants me! And I love that!

In the past 2 months, I have been reminded of God's goodness. When we found out we were pregnant with a boy, we thought his name was going to be Brennan Madison. We both loved the name Brennan, but it means tear and sorrow. At house church one evening I started thinking about the little baby in my tummy and wondering if I really wanted to name him something that meant "tear and sorrow." Caleb had a dream/vision about 3 months into my pregnancy, where he felt the Lord tell him to name our son Evan. We didn't know we were having a boy, nor did either of us love the name Evan. I thought it was cute, but I have a cousin named that. Caleb had a friend from college that he lived with named Evan. So, we kind of ruled that out. That evening after house church I told Caleb that I was having second thoughts about Brennan, and he admitted he was too. So, we came back to Evan, which means "God is good." And his middle name, Thomas, is to honor Tom Miller for what a blessing and patriarch he is to the Miller and McNary family. I can say now, 2 months of being colic free, Evan is such a sweet reminder of God's goodness. I see Evan's smile and how he lights up when you talk to him, and I know that even through difficulty, God shows us His goodness.

Evan, of course, rolls over and sits up. He is starting to push up on his arms and legs at the same time, and I think that in the next month or so he will start crawling. His first tooth starting coming in on Memorial Day, May 30th. He was a cranky beast for about a day and a half. He has settled back down since then, so I think that his tooth has almost broken through and the pain is manageable. And, Evan is eating carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, and green beans. He likes them all about the same! He also sleeps through the night, about 9-7:15ish, and naps about 5 1/2 hours a day. The napping schedule started around 5 months, and the sleeping consistently through the night started around 6 months.

Anyways, these are my babies!! I love them dearly and am blessed to be home with them every day!

Another Resolution Forgotten

Okay, so last year (2010) I was resolved to start a blog. I did and it lasted for one month. There are absolutely no postings past January. So, I can say that I am part of the statistic that fails at their New Year's resolution within the first 6 weeks. So sad!!

Anyways, it is now nearly 18 months later, and I am encouraged to try again. Many things have changed. Perhaps the biggest change is that I have another baby, Evan, who is now 6 months old. I wish that I would have been blogging these past 18 months to remember and save all the memories and special things Cailyn has done, and to remember what I was thinking during the early months with Evan. Alas, that is not the case and I'm starting from this point.

Today is Tuesday, May 17, 2011. I have been with my husband, Caleb, for 9 years and have been married almost 5 of those years. We have a 28-month-old, Cailyn Joy, and we have a 6-month-old, Evan Thomas. We did finally move to our house on Oil Hill, and it is wonderful. We love our home and plan to be here for several more years. And perhaps the greatest thing that has happened in the past year (other than having another baby!) is that I am no longer a working mom, but a stay-at-home mommy! The desire to stay at home was one that I wasn't sure would ever be fulfilled, but God is good and faithful! He put that desire in my heart, and He was the one to bring it into fruition. Thank you, Jesus!

So, here is to another forgotten resolution...maybe starting it in May, instead of January 1st will make it more successful! Happy reading!

Idiocracy and Nesting...2 things with little in common

So, I'm starting to wonder if anyone reads this...I suppose I shouldn't be too concerned. I did choose to write this as one of my New Year's resolutions, and so far it is the only resolution I have stuck to. So, I guess I will consider this a partial success for 2010's resolutions!

Here are some of my musings/happenings from today:

At lunch today, my co-workers and I decided to discuss the movie Idiocracy. It was surprising that so many of us had seen this movie. What we came to realize was that this generation of students will be running the world soon, and our students are much like the imbeciles that are running America in the movie. One of the funnier comments from the movie (which I'm repeating for humor, and not to offend) is when the main character Luke Wilson is talking to some of the inhabitants of Earth and they refer to his understandable vernacular as "fag talk". The people that live on Earth in the movie talk in slang and are very stupid. And if you know some of our students, you might understand our worries and fears if these students should ever run America.

Today when I got home to Isaac and Alana's, I just felt tension everywhere. I was irritated, for no good reason, and Caleb was irritated too. Alana was tired because she couldn't sleep last night and she is in nesting mode. I don't know that I remember nesting, but if I did, I can assure you it is much easier to do without 3 other people and an extra dog in the house. Needless to say it is very difficult for her to nest.

We did find out today that we have a closing date of Jan. 29. So, it looks like we may be moving after all. We have decided to move back into our old house, and we are going to move our stuff out the day we close. I've convinced Caleb to set up our bedroom in the living room, because we don't have any furniture. I'm thinking we might look like hillbillies, but it's only for a week.

Anyways, it has been a long day, and I am longing for peace. I have just felt unsettled for too long, and I'm surprised by how accustomed I am to space and alone time. It will all be here before I know it, and I know I just have to be patient for it!

Here is our little girl-all grown up now! As of January 10th, Cailyn turned 1. They are so many things that she can do. Yet, I'm starting to feel overwhelmed about my responsibility for teaching her everything.

This is what Cailyn is up to these days:

1) At 11 months, Cailyn started walking. She picked it up really quickly, and is now practically running. Last week she learned how to walk backwards, and she thinks it is the funniest thing ever. She also tries to run in circles.

2) Cailyn's favorite word is dog, but most of the time the 'g' is silent. She also says mama and dada.

3) She eats mostly fruit, yogurt, and macaroni and cheese. We tried giving her milk when she turned 1, but she wasn't used to the taste. So, we've been mixing formula and milk together. In about a week, she will only drink milk, and I won't have to buy formula!!! Yeah!!

4) Cailyn loves to kiss and give hugs. Her favorite thing to kiss is Aunt Alana's tummy. We ask her where baby Isaiah is, and she lifts up Alana's shirt and kisses her belly. Alana is due on Feb. 11, and we are excited to see if the kissing will continue. My guess is the jealousy will be too much for her little heart.

5) Her favorite toy, as of right now, is baby dolls. She loves to carry dolls around. She is even willing to throw a fit to keep others from taking her babies. Two things about this are strange to me: first, it is crazy to me that God puts the desire to mother and take care of others at such a young age for little girls (for the most part, you don't see little boys carrying around baby dolls); and secondly, I am surprised how early children learn to take toys and not share with others. I'm hoping that we grow out of this at a young age, but I'm not counting on it.

Well, Cailyn does so many other things, but these are a few of the newer ones. We love her and she is such a blessing to us. We are excited to see what the next year holds for a little girl!

The Testing of My Faith

Buying a house is not an easy process!  We found out this week that we have to lower our price on the house we are selling, and that it could be February 6 before we close.  Every week we have found out something new and frustrating about this process.  At the beginning, it was simple things like we are going to close this week, or maybe it will be next week.  And this week we found out it could be another month and we are losing money.  

Throughout all of this, I've been reminded of God's goodness and faithfulness.  My "problems" with buying a house are so miniscule, but at times they consume my thoughts and prayers.  To some extent, I've been begging the Lord to make this all work out and to do what's best for me.  Yet, it has taken me the last 3 months to understand that the Lord is doing what's best for me and that through these trials he is teaching me, guiding my walk, and showing His love for me.  

A couple of nights ago at house church, I was reminded of a verse that Caleb is always sharing with me.  In James 1:5 it says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."  Three years ago when I was convinced we needed to move because we lived in a bad neighborhood, I would have never understood this testing.  I wouldn't have understood how it could be considered "pure joy".  But now, I consider myself blessed that my struggles, in my own mind, seem minor and trivial.  It has been a good process--without trying to buy a new house, I would have been robbed of time with Isaac and Alana before baby Isaiah comes, and so many other blessings that have come our way.  The Lord is good and knows what is best for us.

How blessed I am that I have the opportunity to buy a new house!  How blessed I am that I have family that will shelter my family in the cold!  Oh, how blessed I am...

The Purpose-Filled Blog

Over the last year, I have had a few friends that keep me updated on their lives with a blog. I love reading their blogs, and at times they bring me to tears and other times I feel encouraged and excited for them. So, as part of a my new year's resolution, I have decided to write a blog.

The purpose of my blog is to keep friends and family up-to-date on my family, specifically Cailyn. I am sadly aware of how unimportant Caleb and I are, in comparison to Cailyn of course. I also think that this will give me a template for thoughts and ramblings that I have, but don't necessarily share. My assumption in writing this is that I have something to say...now, let's see if that's correct.

God bless and happy new year!