Make it go away...

So, last night Cody got sprayed by a skunk. What a terrible experience. I'll tell you what--in close proximity, fresh skunk spray does not smell like what you think it smells like. It smells much, much, worse. Much worse. Unfortunately, the skunk sprayed directly underneath our bedroom window, so the smell simultaneously entered the house through the front door (thank you Cody) and the back windows.

Mike did a wonderful job of washing Cody with laundry detergent--which apparently works really well because Cody smells very pleasantly of Dreft now. I think the skunk might have sprayed more at him than on him, but he absolutely brought it into the house with him. I left all the doors and windows open today, and have been obsessively spraying febreeze in the air, but I think we're just going to have to be patient.

Did I mention that this happened around 12:30 last night? Or that it's really hard to sleep in a house that smells like fresh skunk ick? Yep. Good times in the Smith house. Luckily, Evan slept peacefully through it all, and his room is odorless. Maybe we should've slept in there!

Also, I know I'm being overly dramatic...but keep in mind that I am pregnant and

1) am allowed to be dramatic, and

2) everything smells terrible to me anyway, let alone things that actually do smell terrible. Of which I am keenly aware of.

I wish I had taken a picture of Cody and his pathetic self during his rigorous 30 minute bath last night, but I couldn't find the camera. Of course!

Now broadcasting from...

...our new computer! Oh i'm so happy. Right now, I am typing on a keyboard that has all of it's keys. Crazy, I know. We were a little worried about getting a new computer, with Evan's grabby little fingers around, but our setup seems to be safe and mildly Evan-proof so we are quite pleased with ourselves.

More importantly, a lot has been going on around here! First, we had Evan's 2nd birthday, during which great fun was had by all. We had some friends over, and Evan had some friends over, and we ate lots of cake.

mmm. Hot dogs and strawberries. Best birthday ever!

When we asked Evan what his favorite part of the day was, he said blowing out the candles (more or less).

Mike got him a little tool set, which he has been playing with non-stop since he got it. He especially likes to "fix" all his tractors and trucks, and he even knows which tool is which! Daddy's little helper. He is pretty much over the moon with all his new birthday toys.

Also, my girlfriend Jeanine came to visit and we had a blast. We got fabulous haircuts and spent a lot of time shopping, so it was a good trip. We (and Evan) spent a wonderful day at the beach, and the water was warm enough to swim in--Evan loved jumping in the waves and he made a bunch of friends there. I think we're getting spoiled with this warm beach business.

In other news...we're going to have another baby! It's due February 24, and Evan says he wants a baby sister. I don't think he knows what that means though, because when we ask him if he wants a girl or a boy he says "boy". We will be happy with whatever we have, but we are definitely excited to find out--we have an ultrasound scheduled for September 25. I'm feeling like myself again (although slightly larger), and things are good in the Smith Household!

Probably only mildy amusing to others...

This morning Evan and I had to bring Mike's gas mask to work for him because he had forgotten it. I think that's hilarious. I would imagine most non-military wives occasionally have to deliver a forgotten lunch or paperwork or something, but not me. Nope, my husband forgets his gas mask. I love it!

Potty time?

The other day, this innocent looking little boy took off his diaper and pooped on the floor. It was pretty funny, mostly because it wasn't messy, but I think it's time to work on this potty training business. He refuses to sit on the potty most of the time, but yesterday I let him run around diaper-less in the backyard until he peed on himself. He seemed pretty concerned about it and was all about sitting on the potty--for a little bit. I don't see this going well, but I figure if he knows when he has to go, it's worth a try, right? Wish us luck.

Hello!

So, I haven't posted for a while. I know. Two reasons: we've been keeping busy (which is good) and I haven't been taking pictures (which is unfortunate, but goes hand-in-hand with keeping busy). Two things I have taken pictures of recently though, are the things that have been taking up all my free time (a.k.a., when Evan's sleeping).

This is Evan's quilt that I just finished. It's supposed to be twin size, but I think it's probably full--it's huge! This is my first quilt, and I am quite pleased with the outcome. I used Heather Ross' Mendocino, Lizzy House's Red Letter Day, Kona Cotton backing, and Warm & Natural batting. The Kona Cotton is a pretty heavy weight, and with the size of the quilt, it is heavy! I figured out how to use the free-motion foot on my sewing machine and quilted it myself, which was physically exhausting. I don't think i'll be making a quilt this big again any time soon--but I'm so glad I did. Also, since Mike insists on having the AC on full blast and is always hot--and i'm always cold--it has made a good addition to our couch and i've already gotten some use out of it.

This is my February Lady Sweater (not my name, just the name of the pattern) which I knit on size 8 needles with 5 (i think?) hanks of Cascade 220 wool. I had a hard time getting a good picture, and I haven't gotten a picture of me actually wearing it, but thats all that was really hard about the sweater--i loved knitting it. I've even gotten a chance to wear it (in July! Crazy!) and I couldn't have been more pleased. I knit every day, but I've mostly been knitting small things like socks and scarves, etc., so I don't talk about them much. I'm just so pleased with both of these projects that I thought I would take my chance to be publicly proud of myself for a little bit.

Thank you for indulging me.

As for my lack of photos of Evan--good news! I'm taking him to get pictures taken on Thursday. He never slows down for me to take pictures, so hopefully Sears can do the job for me. Wish us luck!

However, I was just looking at some older pictures of Evan, and thought I would share some of him from last year at this time.

Little guy. And here are the only two pictures I've taken in the last month.

Evan loves to get into my closet and tear everything out--usually he comes out with shoes. I was impressed that he was able to get these on and walk around in them!

Revere Beach

We recently went out to the beach, and we all had a wonderful time! It's been hard for us to truly enjoy the beaches here beacause it's hard to find where the good ones are, and many of them are private or run by the cities--some beaches charge $25 just to park there! Ridiculous. Plus, we're used to fabulous Oregon beaches. So, we went to Revere Beach, which is in Boston, and everyone says is dirty. We just wanted to go to the beach.


It was wonderful. We must have picked the perfect day to go! We went on a Monday, so it wasn't crowded at all, and it was 80 degrees and sunny. Beautiful!

Evan loved playing in the sand, naturally, and Mike and I loved laying in the sun. I don't believe i've ever been to a beach where you could actually lay in the sun and be warm and toasty.
The water wasn't warm, but it wasn't numbingly cold either, so we considered that a plus. Evan definitely enjoyed splashing in the water. It was such an enjoyable day. Extra bonuses: free parking and clean bathrooms. Plus, we got to eat lobster rolls.

This only took us about 30 minutes to get to from our house. There are so many day trips to take around here, and we've been really lucky to be able to live here. Not that we want to stay here much longer...we're getting ready to move on! Now if only Mike could get his orders...waiting patiently!

Sun at long last

I'm pretty sure it has been raining here for a month straight, and now it's finally sunny! I am so pleased. It's not humid yet either, which is a big bonus. We've been spending almost all of our time for the last couple days out in the sunshine and I think Evan is really greatful to be able to get out and run off some energy. From our house we can walk all the way to the fence that goes around the base and watch airplanes take off. We went on such a long walk yesterday that we ended up having to carry Evan and his short little legs. It's a long walk for Evan, but he loves those airplanes!

We finally got him to say "plane" yesterday. He's been calling airplanes "goo-goo" for months now, and considering that a plane flies over our house about every five minutes, he's had plenty of opportunities to learn the word. I think he just liked "goo-goo" better. I can't believe how many words he has, and they're getting a lot clearer too. He's pretty fun to have a conversation with.

This morning we went to our favorite playground in Billerica (which is also one of the biggest I've seen) and spent some quality time in the sandbox. This sandbox is huge, and there are Tonka trucks and other sand toys that are always there--needless to say, Evan loves it. Last time we went, he spent two hours straight sitting in the sandbox being industrious with construction equipment. Today wasn't much different, but he took a few breaks to go climb around and go down the slides and whatnot.

This picture's from about a month ago. I think the only pictures I'm going to have of Evan in the near future are when he's playing with this "diggers"--otherwise he doesn't stay still long enough!

By the way, this little girl is our neighbor Riley, whom Evan calls "honey". I think he's smitten. I can see why--she's just as rough and tumble as he is!