KONY 2012

I wanted to post about this in case any readers had not yet heard of this wonderful cause.  The group named "The Invisible Children" is on a campaign to stop one of the world's most dangerous war criminals.  Joseph Kony is one of the most evil men I have ever "known" about, and in a world that has known such evil men as Hitler, Stalin, Gaddafi, and Osama Bin Laden, that is saying a lot!  This man targets innocent children in Africa, enslaves them, brutally rapes them, and then puts weapons in their hands and forces them to murder.  I believe that while any human being is allowed to live and conduct such heinous crimes, we all lose a little of our humanity every day!  Please watch this video and see what you feel led to do to help with this cause.  The point of this video is that if we make Mr. Kony so famous throughout the world, he will have no place to hide and will be more easily caught and brought to justice.   

A Little Romance

My sweet husband planned a wonderful romantic evening for us on Friday night with dinner at a fancy restaurant and a show in uptown.  Our date started when Mommy got home from work and found some beautiful roses waiting for her.  They were some of the prettiest red roses she had ever seen.  After loving the kids and getting them settled in with Grandma for the evening and ordering them some pizza for dinner, Mommy and Daddy got all dressed up for their night on the town.  We haven't had a real date in a very long time so it was nice to get dressed up and enjoy a nice dinner without having to worry about begging kids to eat and cleaning up after them.  After dinner, we headed to the lovely Belk Theater/Blumenthal Performing Arts Center for a showing of "Jersey Boys," the Broadway show about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.  Yes, they did sing "Sherry."  It was a late night out and we enjoyed our special time together although we did miss our sweet baby boys. 

Discovery Place & Mummies of the World

We had been promising this trip to Evan for many months since we heard that the Mummies of the World exhibit was coming to Discovery Place in Charlotte.  This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the largest exhibition of mummies ever assembled.  Evan loves watching shows about mummies (both real and fiction) on television.  I'm not kidding.  One of his favorite movies is "The Mummy" which he and Mommy both love (and not for its less than stellar acting either).  We had heard so many people say how awesome this exhibit was and were so excited.  Evan had only been to this museum once when he was less than a year old, and he and Mommy saw the Norman Rockwell exhibit.  This exhibit far surpassed our expectations, and we had a wonderful time.  

The Mummies

This particular exhibit began in 2004 when 20 human mummies were found in a vault at a museum in Germany. The mummy collection that had been purchased by the museum in 1917 from a private collector was thought to have been lost during World War II.  The most interesting and touching part of the exhibit was a little 10 month old baby that was found in Peru.  It is over 6,000 years old, more than 3,000 years older than King Tut.  It is an example of a "natural" mummy.  The most amazing part of seeing this little mummified baby was how closely he resembled my own little 10 month old.  Most of the other mummies were dried out and looked like skin stretched over bone, but this little one still had his sweet baby chub on his little face, hands, and feet.  His sweet little chubby hands were clenched into fists, and you could see his little toenails and his head full of hair.  Even 6,000 years ago, I can imagine the devastation his parents must have felt to have lost this precious child.  Through the various technologies of today, scientists were able to determine the little child probably died of a heart defect.  

Another heartfelt exhibit was of a mother, father, and little one-year old boy who were found in a crypt in Hungary.  Through MRI, CT scanning, and even DNA testing, the scientists were able to determine that the family like many in their town died of the horrible Tuberculosis disease.  

Enjoying the Museum


Evan had to have some ice cream before going in, and of course, Grandma obliged. 



Evan conducts an experiment and watches these balls "float." 



He loved shooting his ball high into the air. 



He made Mommy lie on a bed of nails!  



Grandma enjoyed a fun weekend with her boys.



Evan loved this little rain forest!



And walking on this rope bridge. 



Evan loved the aquariums. 



And Brody loved the pretty fishies!





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Tap Tap..."Hi, fishies!"



"Wake up, fishies!"  



"Hi!"



Saying hello to his bear friends. 



Evan loves his planet!

Another Month of Preschool

Evan has had a busy few weeks at school with lots of fun events.  

Valentine's Day was a really fun day, and Evan brought home lots of treats in his Valentine box.  All the kids lined up to drop Valentines in all their friends' boxes.  Evan ended up with quite a few duplicates so I assume the process got a little chaotic!  

Daddy got to go to school with Evan for Doughnuts for Dads one morning.  He loved showing off his Dad, and of course, we think his Dad is the best!

Daddy and Evan enjoy some yummies at Doughnuts for Dads!

Putting on a show for the Dads. 

The boys in the class have a daily meeting in the building center.  Future architects...see their skyscraper!  

I think Evan's pal, Grant, has a crush on Madeline.  Her twin brother, Brendan, might have a little say in that though. 

Evan's favorite hobby....puzzles!

Evan and his pal, Alejandro, can build tall towers. 

Evan and Grant enjoy Dr. Seuss week.  

They had cupcakes for Dr. Seuss's birthday. 

Evan came home and told me they had cupcakes with blood on them.  Haha!  I think they were red and white like Cat in the Hat's hat.  

Reflections About My Almost 5 Year Old

I can’t believe my baby boy is almost 5!  With just a few weeks until his birthday, Mommy is in full planning mode for the big celebration.  Of course, he wants to invite all his new friends from his new school as well as a few special friends from his past.  As tradition, I have been wanting to write down some of our almost five year old's accomplishments from this past year so that I can remember the important details.  In many ways, he seems to have skipped over most of the early childhood years and went straight to the pre-teen years.  He is still a very loving and sweet boy, but he is so independent now.  Maybe this is the side-effect of becoming a big brother and “caretaker” to another little person.  He is such an awesome, caring big brother!

STATISTICS

HEIGHT:  42 inches

WEIGHT:  about 32 lbs. 

FAVORITE COLOR:  His favorite color has been green for the last year until the last week when he announced orange is his favorite color (again) because his new team color for T-ball is orange and his new favorite snack is oranges.  

FAVORITE TOYS:  Wii (Star Wars, Mario Cart, and baseball), Lego’s, Leapster, and Transformers and Star Wars action figures

FAVORITE CARTOONS:  Transformers, Team Umi Zoomi, and Bubble Guppies

FAVORITE FOODS:  steak, chicken nuggets, shrimp, carrots, oranges, and PB&J sandwiches

FAVORITE BEVERAGES:  milk, chocolate milk, sweet tea, orange juice, and ice cold water

Here are some of the accomplishments you have made this year, my sweet Evan:

Awesome Big Brother

Brody is so lucky to have you!  You have been such a loving big brother just like Mommy knew you would.  This last year brought such a big change in your life, but you accepted your new role like a champ.  You kiss and hug and play with your little brother like he is the most important person in your world.  I am so glad you love him so much, and I want you both to always love each other this much.  I love watching you play with your little brother.  Sometimes, you will hear baby brother waking up in the morning and will get up before we do and go into your little brother’s room and talk to him in his crib.  We can hear you over the monitor, and little brother sounds so happy to see you.  Then all of a sudden we’ll hear little brother start crying and then you are in our room.  You say, "He wasn't crying when I was in there."  Baby brother started crying because he couldn’t see his big brother anymore, and it made him so sad!  I think that is just the best example to show how much your little brother loves you.  Your favorite times to play with little brother are during and after bath time.  You love playing in the tub with little brother and teaching him to splash.  Little brother probably loves the water so much because of you.  On just a couple of occasions, little brother has started to slide down into the water, and you help Mommy or Daddy catch him.  Little brother is never scared, and I know that is because he feels safe with you.  I just love watching your relationship with your little brother grow!

Team Player

You have been playing team sports all year.  You played t-ball in the Spring and soccer in the Fall and loved it!  You are about to start another season of t-ball and are very excited to see all your old teammates again.  We love that you are building so many new friendships at school and in sports.

Pre-Kindergartner

This year you have really made leaps and bounds in your educational accomplishments.  Your new school and teachers are so wonderful with you and just think you are such a smart little man.  When we had parent teacher conferences recently, your teacher informed us you were ready for kindergarten and had accomplished all of the goals necessary for success.  You are signed up for kindergarten although we are still waiting to determine exactly what school you are going to attend. 

Mommy's Heart

There is no doubt about it.  You steal Mommy's heart everyday!

Daddy's Buddy

Man, you boys have the most fun together!  I'm a little jealous sometimes!

A Heart for Jesus

You still love attending church and also love reminding us to read your Bible stories at night.  You say some of the most profound things sometimes which show us that you are pondering the mysteries of your Creator and His love for you.  You ask me all the time what heaven is like and how you were sent to us from God.  You witnessed a baptism one Sunday at our church and were very curious about the whole experience and what it meant.  I think it is just a matter of time before your little heart is ready to fully comprehend and profess your faith and belief in Jesus. 

I love you with all my heart, Evan, and I always will!  There are no words to express what you mean to me so I hope that my actions as your mother speak louder than my words! 

Love,

Your Devoted Mother

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

(Quite possibly the cutest picture ever!)

Dear Dr. Seuss,

Thank you for all the wonderful books you gave us.  We love to read, and your books have always been some of our favorites.  We just love the silly stories and rhyming words.  Mommy has been a big fan for a very long time and already had a big collection of your books before us kids came along.  She found Brody an adorable onesie with "Red Fish Blue Fish" on it at our favorite store and thought it was perfect to wear to celebrate your special day.  You would have been 108 today and will continue to live on through your wonderful books and the smiles they bring to children's faces!  Evan and Mommy are going to see your movie, The Lorax, tomorrow and will be thinking of you. 

Love,
Two Little Readers

Cousin Love

Awww, Brody loves his sweet cousin Cate!  

Brody ~ 10 months and Cate ~ 8 months

So much love in that look!

Cate loves him too!

Love the way they reach for each other.