That's a Wrap!

This past weekend Gabe was playing quietly in his room..so we thought. He comes out into the family room with a proud grin on his face and says "Hey guess what, I made something. A story. All about Yoda!". You can read his masterpiece below. I especially love his observation that Yoda has "hand lightening". Team Star Wars Episode VII around here folks.

His handwriting is actually improving quite a bit. (no sarcasm). Gabe doesn't like to slow down to write legibly, but his teacher this year is a big stickler on handwriting (amen) so his chicken scratch is becoming  readable! Sorry buddy, my handwriting is nothing to write home about either. Punny.

In other Nulk news,  we are wrapping up September in fine form. I actually have some boxes packed for our big move 5 miles West into OUR NEW HOUSE!!! Every morning I wake up hoping the packing fairies came and packed my house up, but alas they just don't come! What's up with that? So I've had to start packing with my big helper Evie ;).  Because we have the pending move and Wyatt was Mr. Chill Pill, we've done extremely minimal (read: None) baby proofing. Now that were amidst another move (with junk everywhere), he's decided to transform overnight into Mobile Man with Power Crawling capabilities.

  WyWy's favorite things to do of late: play in dog water and spill entire contents of bowl. Slam all doors shut. Open all cabinets. Remove all magnets from fridge. Chase all balls around the house. Slam dryer door shut while I'm removing/folding clothes. Play with (pull out) all night lights. Get into Gabe's room. Pull Winston's ears/tail/face/eyes/jowls with total ecstasy. Crawl under things (the train table) and get stuck. Crawl towards kids swinging at the park. Crawl in the soccer field during practice and or games. Commandeer all electronic devices- iPhones are his Holy Grail.  Wave night night with both hands in the most adorable way. Try to rip off all glasses. Play "ball" with you. Grab floor lamps and attempt to crush himself with them. Giggle at animal noises- especially gorilla.

 This explains my recent lack of blogging. Pretty much the only safe place with him is the play room with the stairs barricaded. Or in his crib. Thankfully he's still a sweet lil napper- 2 solids a day. Soccer is a bit more challenging- he  only wants to sit in his stroller for so long and then starts fussing to crawl around. Lets just say, baby proofing will be a big priority when we move in the new place. We've already picked out hardware for the kitchen cabinets and built the baby gate.

I'll take my baby size Extra Large please. 

What Mom? I'm just petting him.

Hittin' the bottle early

This is while waiting in the car pick up line at Gabe's school. Mom can I have some of your lip gloss? 

 Team Diamonds. So far she's stopped chewing on her jersey during games, now she pulls it up over her head so the ball goes by her and she doesn't even see it. Little stinker. She's pretty good at dribbling the ball- when there's no one against her. She does not like the mob of girls out there.

 Swing time at Yellowjacket park.

 Daddy snuggles while eating a pizza crust.

 Evie LightYear. She's deciding between being Buzz or Cinderella for Halloween. It's a tough choice: Cinderella has light up shoes but Buzz has gloves and wings. Gabe wants to be a Knight with a light saber. Wyatt will wear something of Gabe's that's probably too big for him. #thridchild.

 We had a lovely lice scare at Evie's school. She didn't get it (so far) but I did a Nix treatment as a precaution. Made us feel itchy all day!

 When Daddy hold's Wyatt he gets doused with water and then a baby mohawk.

 Beautiful evening walk sunday night.

 Picnic at the park with Wyatt & Evie and some new friends yesterday!

Evie this morning at school drop off. She just looked ridiculously cute. I know I have a much higher volume of pics of Evie & Wyatt than Gabe. I'm just with the other two a lot more! Gabe's the big, busy first grader. He's doing great! Made the move to his new school seamlessly and already has new friends.

Alright Wyatt is napping so off to chores I must go. Hippety hop. Hopefully a closing date is lurking around the corner….;)

Soccer Saturdays

 Cuteness alert: Evie & her soccer team at their first game.  This Saturday marked the beginning of soccer games. Every saturday. For 10 weeks straight. I think at the end of the season i'll want a t-shirt that says: I Survived Soccer Season. But so far so good. In fact, after being at soccer games/fields (on opposite ends of the YMCA property) for 3 hrs straight Mike & I hopped (dragged all the children) into the van and just said to each other, "that was so much fun"! And it really was! Especially followed by a nice cold pumpkin beer and a nap. It might still be in the 90s here, but I will have fall!!

 Here's how pictures can be deceiving- Evie looks like she's nailing soccer right here. In reality, I think this is the one time she actually kicked the ball during the game. Mike: Evie what was your favorite part of your soccer game? Evie: The snacks.

Haha we're just happy she went out on the field without crying. Little girl emotions are a thing. She doesn't quite understand the concept of the game and kept exclaiming "I can't get the ball with all these girls around me!" So her strategy was to stand back and chew on her jersey while watching all the other girls do the work. But she was FIRST in line for the post-game snacks. oh well, YOLO.

This guy. Proud member of the Blue Sharks. He did great! I think he was smiling the whole game and he loved it. It helps that two of his best buds are on the team with him. He did a good job hustling and even got in the fight for the ball a few times. He's also great at encouraging his teammates. Mike was hoarse after the game from all his yelling (self-appointed assistant coaching) and cheering.

Bless him. Halfway through Evie's game when Mike had already left with Gabe for his game, Wyatt starting crying (nap time) and Evie simultaneously realized Daddy and Gabe had left and started whining. So I had to walk Wyatt around while trying to calm Evie down (I sweat a lot). Finally after 15 mins of "strollering", Wyatt succumbed to exhaustion and took a solid 45 min nap amidst all the chaos. It pretty much rocked my world. Such a good baby.

Evie needs to learn how to relax.

Post soccer game swim. Mom, put me in the pool. And I hate these girly ladybugs

Ah, there we go.  We were the only brave souls at the pool- it's actually cooling down a bit. Or we're becoming total weenies. Probably the latter.

Wyatt in the camping (birthing) chair.  Sunday evening was delightful so we picked up a pizza and headed to the park to play soccer and picnic.

Wyatt really likes picking up balls and holding them near his forehead. Maybe he's practicing for future free-throws.

Evie's outfit choice for school  yesterday. Ballerina Cowgirl

Since being a sibling is a competitive sport, Gabe immediately wanted his picture taken too. He tied those shoes himself. Boo-frigging-yah. He also picks up all the dog poop in the backyard, so he's pretty much my favorite kid ever.

My passé.

That's all. This weekend Evie & Gabe have games at the exact same time so Mike & I have to split up and flip a coin for who gets Wyatt. We also should probably start packing up for our pending move. House has electricity now and should be getting flatwork done!

Labor Day 2015

 First "dipped" ice cream cones. This Dairy Queen just opened and you'd think they were giving away free iPhones with the crowds there. Evie finished her cone LIKE A BOSS. She needed no instruction. Short-attention span Gabe let a large portion of his drip down his cone. I sacrificed and helped him finish it.

 House is all bricked! They're working on removing the trash pile too.

 Evie + Wyatt well baby check ups. They're both still huge. And healthy.

 The bridge that connects Rockwall to Rowlett is exactly 2 miles long. I managed to sneak out one morning and go run it. Found the Army flag! I don't know why anyone would invest in sauna in TayHas. I felt like I ran in one. And sweated off 10 lbs. Yay for humidity! I got back sometime after 7 expecting everyone to be up and Nulkie to have bfast in full force. Ha! It was dark in the house and I heard the thumping of Nulk children feet and doors slamming while Nulkie was still sound asleep in our room. So i did what any kind, caring wife would do and sent the kids into our room to attack!

 We went to the pool all three days of Labor day weekend. I mean, why wouldn't we?

 This storage is MONEY! Can fit all soccer/pool/baby paraphernalia no problem. Ya'll can hate, but we're big fans of functionality. Team Odyssey right here.

 Here is our barn-door, pinterest-inspired baby gate for the new house. Reclaimed wood from pallets Nulkie commandeered from Tom Thumb.

 Unlike pinterest predicts, this took all weekend. Not "just a day" project. Yes it was pretty simple- but it required sanding, cutting, measuring, hardware-purchasing, staining and more sanding. All while keeping our kids happy and not dying from heat exhaustion in the garage. I personally think it came out super cute. It's very "Fixer Upper" style, which is basically my favorite. And I'm planning a pilgrimage to Waco sometime this year. And become BFFs with the Gaines family.   Thanks for the help (and almost all construction) Hubby!

 We may or may not have run out of swimmy diapers and have been taking Wyatt to the pool in just his bathing suit. #Goingrogue. It's pretty easy to tell when he's about to drop some bombs over baghdad so we just keep a stiff eye out. So far no turds in the pool!

 Those Nulk children love to photobomb. This is waiting to head out to the pool. I think sunscreen application is my least favorite part of going to the pool. Lathering up my pale children is like trying to give a cat a bath. And I strongly dislike cats. The spray sunscreen is even worse- they act like I just poured acid all over their bodies. Wyatt starts screaming as soon as you walk towards him with the sunscreen tube. Sometimes Nulkie & I wait till 6pm and just go to the pool for 30 mins to avoid sunscreen application. Go ahead, judge away. No burns yet.  Only 2 weekends left till they close it. Which makes sense because it's still at daily high of 98 degrees. Better close it down before temps plummet to the frigid 80s!! <---- 3="" a="" all="" and="" are="" baby="" built="" day="" gate.="" great.="" had="" he="" homemade="" hope="" lawn="" made="" moving="" mowed="" much="" nbsp="" nulkie="" on="" p="" pizza.="" pleasant="" pretty="" rockstar.="" s="" sarcasm.="" the="" too="" waffles="" weekends="" you=""> 

Evinator

 This little pistol just turned four.  So I shall inundate you with pictures of her. When I look back at all she did during year 3, it was a pretty packed-to-the-max year for her. The biggest event for her was probably becoming a "Big Sister" with the arrival of Wyatt. She continually asks when I'm going to have another baby in my tummy and I say "not anytime soon" or "Wyatt is still a baby". There. For all you wisecrackers out there. Side note: Nulkie & I went on a  weekend getaway this summer (thanks Mom & Dad) to VT and did not come back preggo or with any Dakin Farm (sad). But we did come back with pewter candlesticks, my new love. Let it be known, there are no "announcements" to be made. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, we can move back to Evinator.

She was quite thrilled with Baby Brother, after overcoming the shock of his gender. Someone may have wanted a baby sister. And had a epic meltdown when she found out "it" was indeed a "he". She moved on eventually. I think the sparkly BIG SISTER shirt Grandma brought helped. It is purple with pink lettering, long sleeves and she wore it daily for a month after Wyatt's birth. Mind you, this was August in Colorado, but she didn't care. Try reasoning with her about that.

After "becoming a big sister", Evie used this as her life motto on what she could and could not do. For example, "Evie can you make your bed"? "Yes Mommy, I'm a big sister now and big sisters make their bed". Or Evie can you put your toys away? "No Mommy, big sister's don't pick up toys". She could make that philosophy work for any scenario.

The above pics were from Balloon Fiesta 2014 in ABQ with Nana & Gramps. Can't wait til Balloon Fiesta 2015!

We call Evie our "sheepdog". She's always wanting to take care of people, to help people or be in charge of people. Sometimes she's more concerned about others following the rules than what rules she herself is following. Did you get that? If Gabe isn't eating his dinner she's quick to point that out while her own dinner has yet to be touched. But don't bother her with the facts. She is my shadow at home, constantly asking, "Can I help you Mommy?". She's very good a picking up- she likes things organized. That's probably why she enjoys emptying the dishwasher and putting everything in it's proper place. Or putting away her clean laundry. I'm not even joking. She's actually very helpful! I hope she never outgrows this.  She gets around with her little white kitchen stool and loves to do things by herself. If someone puts something away incorrectly, she's quick to point out your error and have it fixed on the spot. This was amusing to Grandma when she was helping us after the arrival of Wyatt. Evie made sure to tell Grandma, "it's dinner, not supper" among other daily corrections.

She loves to be outside. And playing with (tormenting) her older bother. She wants SO badly to be able to do all that Gabe can do. She has started sounding out words so she can read "like Gabe". So far she's sounded out "big" and "hat".  She should be reading novels by next week. Right now her thing is to emphasize the beginning sound of a word and have you guess what she's saying. "Mommy, this weekend can we go to the Puh Puh PuH?" She expects me to guess "POOL" because that starts with a "puh" sound. It's cute sometimes, but other times we have NO IDEA what she's talking about. "Mommy, when is SSSSS?" Me:???? "Mom, I mean SSS-SOOOOCCCEERR" (insert Evie's you-should-know-this tone) . You get the idea.

She is a total FISH. After about 15 swim lessons, she's finally swimming without the ladybugs. We passed those on to Wyatt. Sorry bro. At least your bathing suits are masculine. Anyways, the last few weekends at the pool Evie has wanted to practice and practice and practice jumping off the side of the pool and swimming halfway across to you and then swim back. It's great. Except when her (jealous) big brother wants attention and cuts her off. Sometimes we have time out at the pool.  I wish I could have a mommy-time-out and sunbathe. Le sigh. But we are so blessed by our neighborhood pool. I was concerned about my sanity, the heat and all 3 kids alone this summer but the pool made it easy peasy. Maybe not easy, but tolerable with a hearty does of enjoyable. I'd load up the passé in the batmobile and head over there for a few hours every day. Usually there would be other kids to play with- so it was like a play date at a resort. I think we'll be renewing our membership there next summer.

Gotta have that pink noodle. The temps were a little chilly at Paradox Lake during our visit- but don't think that kept Evie & Gabe out of the water! They would stay in till they turned blue, go take hot outdoor showers and have some ramen or hot cocoa to warm up! Tough life for those Nulk children. Note in the above picture, the water is above the dock. The kids thought that was great!

At Great Grandma's house in Long Island. Evie LOVED the beach! Girl after my own heart. She asked to go to the beach from the second she woke up till bed. She was in the water constantly or helping look for shells.  Even with some jellyfish spottings, she still wanted to be in the water!

Here she is decorating her pink cupcakes on her birthday. I was trying to make fancy butterfly cupcakes but the humidity was not having it so gave up and let her decorate these. You know what? She was thrilled! Eat that Pinterest. Turns out just going simple is way more fun for you and your kids. Her favorite thing was to dump ALL of the toppings on the cupcakes, while taste-testing to make sure they were good.

For Evie's birthday, Nulkie & I snuck 20 pink balloons into her room while she was sleeping. She asked me the next day who put them there. I said, "Who do you think"?  Evie: "God! God must have put the balloons in my room"!!

Mary & I found Evie kid-sized infinity scarves and we had to get them for Evie. I mean seriously! Love her.

Butterfly-Bitty-baby-matching outfits for the win!

First day of Pre-K. I dropped her off with no tears (from her or me). She happily marched into her classroom and proudly put her pink lunchbox on the shelf and her backpack in her designated basket. When I picked her up she told me, "I don't want to leave yet." Whomp, whomp. That made me feel SUPER good about my mom-skills. Meanwhile other children have to be physically ripped from their mothers at drop off.
   After I pick up Evie we head over to Gabe's school for what I refer to as "THE LONG WAIT". Lets just say, the car pick-up line is a continual test of patience. It takes at least 15-12 mins to go through it, get Gabe in the car and exit the school parking lot. And Fifteen minutes is my fastest time. So Evie & I have some quality chat opportunity.

On School:
Me: what was your favorite part of school?
Evie: Music
Me: Why?
Eve: Cus i like singing!

Evie: There's a boy in my class that has a mad face when he comes in.
Me: Why does he have a mad face?
Evie: He has a mad face cuz he's a little scared.  And he calls Teacher, Teacher cuz he doesn't know their names. I call them Miss Martha and Miss Brittney cuz that's their names.

On Religion:
Evie: Where is God? Is He here right now?
Me: Yes, but you can't see Him
Evie: Oh, is He a cloud?
Me: No. Part of Him is called, The Holy Spirit. That's in your heart
Evie: Oh, that's why I can't see him. He's in my heart. If I went inside my body then I could see Him.

Sometimes it's really hard to explain theology to a 4 yr old.

First soccer outfit. NAILED IT. She is on the Diamonds and her first game is this Saturday.

Overall Evie is a total delight. She is super ticklish, fickle, wakes up happy (and early), and has the most magical belly laugh. She's always singing or mothering things and has a great sense of humor. We've yet to meet someone she couldn't charm. I think we've had three ladies offer to be her Surrogate Grandma since we've moved to Texas. We're so thankful to be her parents!