Love letter

Dear Evelyn Rue,

I love you.

You are by and far the most perfect baby imaginable.

I wasn't so keen on babies after dealing with your crazy colicky sister (who for the record is the best little girl in all the land, she was just a sad little babe for the first few months)

but you little lady have made me a believer of baby hunger.

I think that you knew I have a hard time after having babies, 

not really physically, but emotionally (your mama gets the deep dark blues).

So you came out an angel.

A beautiful angel.

You've nursed like a champ from day one.

You've been sleeping 8-10 hours stretches for pretty much the last 3 months of your life.

You only cry if you need something and even then are the easiest to sooth. 

Just a quick snuggle and you are mellow yellow in mere moments.
Remember how we got in a terrible car accident when you were just 3 weeks old and totaled our car?
 Probably not bc you slept through it.
See what I mean... angel baby.

You love to talk and smile and sit and watch your sister play.

And you let me kiss you all day long with not so much as a squeal.

By the way, you taste like pure heaven.

Everything with you has been a sweet sweet dream and I fall more in love with being your mama every minute.

Thanks miss Rue for letting us lalalove you.

xoxoxo but mostly a lot of o's:)

P.S. happy four months. Now stop. Please.

happy happy happy

Right now, this very moment, is happy.

Most moments are, but for some reason right now i feel it so strongly.

First off I am eating a grilled cheese sandwich as I type 

so it already can't get much better.

Except that it is.

Evvy is taking a little snooze.

Lo and I just got done making a little

'we love daddy' banner.

Plus I made my first ever batch of peanutbutter blossom cookies.

And according to Lolo, 

'these are so delicious mom! We did so great, I can't beeelieve I did this!!!' 

followed by some serious highfiving, per her request.

That girl is definite best friend material.

Next Lo will have quiet time and I will get to have a few moments alone with the wee one to nurse and snuggle and talk to her in the most obnoxious baby talk that I didn't even know I was capable of. 

She'll smile, I'll melt, and she'll spit up on me and I will still want to nibble her face clean off.

Then the best thing of all will happen,

my honeybabydarling will walk through the front door exhausted but equally as thrilled bc folks, 

he is finished with finals.

Boo-ya 3rd year of dental school.

See you never sucka.

And a big thanks for giving us our daddy and loverboy back.

Sooo anyway, things are happy happy happy round this place.

Hope you are too:)

A Salute to Lo

I feel confident in saying that Loreli is the silliest little girl I've ever given birth to:)

She says the funniest stuff and does the goofiest, 

yet totally logical to a 3 year old, things.

For example today she was given some OJ to drink at a friend's house, 

and she comes in and says,

'Why is my juice furry?'

And by furry she meant pulpy.

Once she said to Kings after he tripped and stumbled a bit,

'Wo you better check yourself before you wreck yourself.'

Seriously, hilarious.

Kings + Lolo = bf's for life

She honestly believes she is a tiger. 

When she plays in public with other children she has to be reminded to act like a little girl. 

aka, don't growl but use words, don't lick, don't claw, 

and please for the love of everything get up and walk.

And please please please don't make another one of your friends cry because you have a terrifying roar.

As fate would have it she has sucked us into this feline world of hers.

It is just common in our house for her to answer to 'tiger', cory to answer to 'cheetah', and I to 'leopard'. 

Evvy is a lucky one and gets to be a 'baby tiger'. 

High honors there.

This is Zella and Lo. 

They were tigers in the circus...

Like all little girls she has been adamant about dressing herself.

98% of the time her uniform consists of leggings, a skirt, a shirt, cardigan and socks...and the socks must be folded down.

Every once in a while she adds a little spice,

like a monkey hat:)

And matching is not mandatory as you can see.

The girl is obsessed with holidays and birthdays.

Every single one is so joyous for her. 

She is lost without something to celebrate since Easter is over.

So we are making 'aunt Traci coming to visit' our next official celebration.

We only have one more month to wait.

That is a birthday hat she was going to wear to her besty Marley's b-day party.

Simply said, the kid loves chapstick.

She'll put on 6 different kinds at once.

It's a greasy mess but when she is bored,

her go to activity is a 'chapstick partay!'

Above photo from months ago when we were in Maine and she was having a party in the backseat, unsupervised.

Yes that is red chapstick all over her happy face.

Lastly, bags.

If there is a bag, or container for that matter, that is empty, 

she will fill it. 

It's like a game.

Leave a bag and in 10 minutes look to see what Lo has put inside.

I found this little gem when cleaning up one night.

I call it 'nesting bags'. or stinking funny.

I could go on and on and on about her sweet imagination,

how she is the most considerate and emotionally aware child I've ever encountered, the best big sister and friend, has great hair,

 and has the best sense of humor, but I'll call it a night:)

I love this little girl and being her mama makes me feel lucky every single day.  

fresh start

I figure that since it's Spring and everything is all fresh and new, 

that I would use this moment in time to start fresh on this here bloggy blog.

If you are curious as to what we've been up to for that last 3 months...

get on instagram:)

So we begin.

Today is good Friday. 

And let me tell ya,

it has been a really good Friday.

I started out the day sleeping in with Evvy 

since some husband didn't have college today.

Ahhh yeahyeah!

Followed by my daily phone chat with my mama.

And then we hustled to get ready so we could spend some time outside 

because the sun was a shining and in the Scotialand there is but one rule...

WHEN THE SUN SHINES SOAK IT UP.

We ventured to point pleasant park aka the dog park. 

It is pure heaven for the Lo bc she lalaloves her some dogs.

And when you go to that park on the weekends 

you are bound to be greeted by countless muts:)

I feel bad for Evers. 

Everytime the wind would blow it would take her breath away. 

Poor thing doesn't know how to properly breath fresh air considering her life thus far has been lived indoors.

Lo can't seem to grasp saying the word shoulders.

She says shirtles.

It's stinkin adorable.

Here Cory is teaching Lo about buds on trees.

She also didn't grasp this concept and wanted to plant a bud to grow a tree...

This fuzzy little buddy was scurrying along side the path. 

Lolo let him be free so he could turn into a butterfly.

Do all caterpillars turn into butterflies? Did I lie to my daughter so I wouldn't have to take a bug home? Hmm.

And the ocean view. 

It's always beautiful.

Then add the cutest 3 year old and the hunkiest husband 

and the view will darn tootin take your breath away:)

Drum roll please

Even though we technically had 30 days to decide on her name, 

we thought that after 2 days

(and certain siblings starting to stake claims to the whole naming process...)

that we would just do it.

So here you are.

Evelyn Rue Murray.

lovingly known as Evvy Rue,

or baby sister,

or my personal favorite

the-cutest-baby-in-the-land-and-I-have-no-idea-who-she-looks-like.

It's a work in progress:)

baby monday

The Murrays will never celebrate New Year's Eve the same.

But we are cool wit dat.

Cause for us, it was baby Monday.

6 in the morning looked a little something like this.

and 8:52 in the a.m. looked a little like this.

No-name-YET Murray.

8 lbs 3 oz

21 1/4 inches long.

A head of dark hair.

and a body so soft you want to bury your face in her.

Heeeeaven this girl is.

And looking at MY family together...

makes me have to burst at the seams with joy.

Plus my mom is here and that just makes everything in the land even more perfect.

Excuse us while we ring in the new year by devouring this toots's perfect baby pinkness:)

Happy 2013!!!

next generation lion kinger

Today while playing Lo was just chatting with me 

and telling me all about Lion King.

Little does she know that about 20 years before it was her favorite movie,

it was mine.

So her quoting lines to me is more than my overinflated heart can handle.

This photo is while she was telling me, 

'Scar throws Simba's dad who is called Mufasa off the rocks and THEN the horses kill him. It's sad. I like that part.'

And my other favorite,

'The bird Zazu says, you two are gonna get married, and it's funny!'

My happiness meter is maxing out when it comes to this lady.