To puppy or not to puppy?

Evan is obsessed with dogs. Patrick has been wanting to get one since before we even got a house. I, on the other hand, think I have enough poop to worry about with two kids in diapers. We were getting ready to go somewhere, and this little dog ran up to our drive and started playing with Evan. What do you think, should we get a puppy?

Lack of blogging

I don't know if our internet connection is super slow or what, but it seriously takes forever for me to upload pictures on my blog. I hate it! By the time I get a few pictures up, they are out of order and I'm so frustrated that I don't even want to write anything to go with them. So....that's my excuse for not blogging. I know it's a lame one, but truth be told when both my kids are finally asleep at the same time, the last thing I want to do is sit in frustration on the computer. Sorry all. I'll try to be better.

About time for an update

Here's a little taste of what has been happening at the Mann's:

Halloween .....finally

I've been reconverted to PINK!

New Pictures

Okay, I know I have been terrible at updating my blog. It takes me forever to upload pictures. Maybe that means we need a new computer. Anyway, if you want to see some cute pictures of my new baby girl and my sweet little boy, we just had some taken. You can check some of them out at Katiewellsphotography.com.

My little angel.......not so little anymore

I can't believe how big our little boy is getting! He is still the light of our lives and the best thing that has ever happened to me and Patrick. We love him so much! I told Patrick the other day, that I wish he could stay little forever. Patrick thought that was an odd wish, but I can't help the way I feel. Someday, he will grow up and he will no longer need me to hold his hand. He won't run to the door to greet his daddy when he comes home. He won't need us to tuck him in at night and pick him up in the morning. Nothing gives me more joy than having my little boy reach for my hand to help him walk on rough terrain (which is the only time he actually wants to hold hands). He's already so independent! I am going to be so sad, when he doesn't need me anymore. My sister in-law told me that little boys need their mom's when they are boys, but they eventually grow up and they attach to their wives and start their own families. Of course, I want that for my little guy, but I never really thought about how true that statement is. I imagined that Evan would always need me, and that we will always be close. Unfortunately, it's not likely to be that way. Men call their mother's every once in a while, to check in. They don't call them everyday because they just miss them and want to talk, (at least not any of the men I know). Someday, I'm going to be the check-in call. Oh how sad that is for me! Evan is my world. I can't imagine not being the most important person in his life anymore. I guess it's a little premature for me to be feeling this way. Hopefully, I can feel this way now and I won't be completely devastated when he is ready to go to school or even worse, ready to move out on his own.

These are just a few random pictures of my little guy. I want to document every thing I can about my little one year old, before I forget what it was like to get to be with him everyday.
We went to a friend's wedding the other day. After chasing him back and forth through the hotel hallways, he finally found some pretty girls to play with. He was very impressed by them, and I believe they were very impressed by him.
They chased him around and played with him half the night. It was so cute! Evan was in heaven.
He is playing hard to get....running as fast as he can and laughing all the while.
There's nothing Evan enjoys more than the pool with daddy. He is fearless!
Evan already floats on his back (with a little support) and blows bubbles in the water. Swimming lessons, schwimming lessons....who needs em?
Okay maybe we do. Patrick put Evan on the deck so he could jump back into the pool. Evan b-lined if for the hot tub and jumped in. I had to run over and fish him out. He was completely submerged. It didn't phase him though. As soon as he stopped choking, he jumped back into the pool and kept on playing.
Evan loves his daddy so much. When he hears the garage door, he stops whatever he is doing and runs to the stairs to give his daddy a hug and kiss.
sometimes.....he gives several kisses in a row. After kissing his daddy about ten times, I decided to run and get the camera so I could get a shot of it.
Evan is photogenic, even in sleep. He looked so peaceful during his nap, I went to get the camera. As soon as I got ready to take the shot, he started to smile. I thought he was awake, but he wasn't, just smiling for the camera. :)

He is already tech savvy. He knows how to work his DVD player, and my cell phone. Never thought I would have a one year old sending text messages. What's the world coming to?
A little big for a bath in the sink, but he wanted to be part of my doing the dishes. We had a blast.
Priceless........

I finally found something I can create! I am crafty after all. :) I had to steal this image from my friend's blog because I thought it was so funny.

Locked Out

Picture this: We have a sliding glass door off of our kitchen that leads out to a deck. The deck is about 15 feet above the ground, with no stairs or exit. I was doing the dishes, when I got a bit chilled from the a/c. I decided to step outside and sit on the patio chair for a bit so that I could warm up in the sun. Just as I got comfortable, Evan decided he wanted to go back inside and play with the sliding door. "Wouldn't that be crazy if he locked me out?" I thought to myself. Well I must have jinxed myself. Before I could even get up from my chair, Evan had flipped the latch on the sliding glass door, into the locked position. Oh crap. What was I going to do? There I was, eight months pregnant, in the middle of hot summer day, trapped on a deck with no phone, no water, and no way of escape. To make matters worse, my one year old was locked in the house with no supervision.

I resisted the urge to panic, and tried to talk Evan into unlocking the door. Luckily for me, he thought we were playing some kind of game. He stayed right by the glass door and slapped the glass giggling, while I tried to coax him into flipping the latch the other way. No such luck. It didn't take long before I came to the realization that this plan was not going to work. About that same time, Evan realized I was not playing a game. He quickly became frustrated with me and the tears started pouring down his cheeks. I knew I had to find a way into the house and quick. My poor baby was locked in the house with no way to understand why his mom wasn't coming in!

I thought about shimmying down the pole, but scratched that plan as soon as I pictured myself trying to slide down a square post with a huge pregnant belly. No way. I wouldn't make it down without killing myself and the baby. Okay. Plan B. I could try to climb up on the railing and get up on the roof. Then what? Jump off the other side, which was just as high off the ground, if not higher. Okay. That's not going to work. Finally, I glimpse of hope. I noticed that my next door neighbor had a sprinkler running in his back yard. Okay. "I am saved," I thought. It's only a matter of time before he will have to come out and move the sprinkler. Then I could yell to him and he could go through the house and open the patio door for me. Perfect. Now I just had to wait. The question was, how long would one let a sprinkler run in one spot? Ten minutes? Twenty? Twenty minutes seemed like a lifetime with Evan at the door sobbing. But it was feasable. At least I knew I wasn't going to die of heat stroke, and Evan probably wouldn't get into too much mischief in that amount of time. Then the thought occurred to me, "What if he is like my mom." She lets her water flood her lawn for hours sometimes. His lawn had some pretty good dry spots. There was no way Evan would have the patience to wait, and my feet were starting to burn on the deck. I calmly said a prayer to myself, and before I could even say amen. I noticed that a neighbor across the canal had walked out onto his patio. Fortunately, it was my friend's parent's house. I couldn't remember her maiden name exactly, but I had an idea. I took a chance that the man might hear me and yelled, "Mr. Boguard." The man looked up from his grill, but I wasn't sure if he could hear me or not. His house is a good 50 yards or more away. I was afraid that he was going to walk into the house, before I had a chance to explain the urgency of my situation. I just kept yelling, "I'm locked out. Could you call Mandy?" Mandy lives a couple of streets away, but I figured it would be easier for her to come rescue me, than have her dad come. There is a canal, a railroad track, and a fence dividing our backyards. Even if he drove, it would take longer for him to get here than it would for Mandy.

It didn't look like he heard me. He just turned and walked into the house. I was screwed! I got down on my knees and tried to comfort my sobbing baby through the glass. My own tears were starting to flow. I was so scared for us both. Just as I was attempting to teach Evan to unlock the door from the other side of the glass again. I heard someone say my name. It was Mandy and her son! Her brother was the one on the balcony. He had heard me, and called Mandy. I don't know if I have ever been so happy to see a friend. She told me that the front door was locked. I gave her my garage code, and she ran to get inside. She came back a few seconds later, and exclaimed, "That door is locked too!" Why did I have to be so cautious? Thank goodness my wise husband had stashed a key, just in case I happened to lock myself out. What a good guy! I guess he knows me too well. Mandy was able to find the key, and ran in to save me. As soon as she let me through the door, I picked up my sobbing child and tried to console him. Poor little guy. He had no idea what happened. How blessed I was that Mandy's brother walked outside at that moment.!I don't think I will ever forget this experience. Hopefully, I'm smart enough not to let it happen again. LOL.

Fun visitors!!!

We were so lucky to have my aunt Trina, uncle Lee, cousin Jade, and her baby Tate come and see us! Tate and Evan had a blast in the pool, well at least Evan did. He kept spraying everyone with the hose and Tate wasn't sure what to think of him. Overall, I think they had a good time.

After Evan laid down and started kicking and splashing like a maniac, Tate decided it was safer to stay outside of the pool. Too funny! Look how cute my cousin Jade is with her prego belly. She had he baby just a few days later. I'm so glad I got to see her. She's so cute pregnant. :)