Little Miss Sassy Pants

That's right. I don't have much to share this post about other things .... things have been quite normal and boring otherwise. But EVIE..... Evie is Little Miss Sassy Pants lately. For MONTHS we have been trying to get her to say "Yes" and she absolutely refuses and actually finds entertainment in saying "NO" every time. Anytime we ask a question (where we know she MEANS yes) the answer is always "NO!" If she really means "No" then it is a very stern and loud "No!" .... but if you know she means "Yes" it is just a little impish/mischievious "No!" She is he-double hockey sticks bent on NOT saying "Yes!" It has now become a bit of a game to her too. She gets this little smile on her face and just keeps yelling "No" when we ask her to say "Yes". We will ask her to say a long line of items .... Evie say MacKay, Evie say Oscar, Evie say Mom/Dad, Evie say Angus ... and then we try sneak in a "Evie, say Yes" and she isn't fooled for one second and belts out "NO!" She's something else.

She also is quite strong minded about what she wants to wear. I always heard these stories from Mommies when they were trying to rationalize what their kids were wearing on a particular day, that their KIDS picked out the outfit and they had no say in it. I always figured it was sorta cute, and that maybe the parents didn't try hard enough (which I quickly changed my tune on after having children myself), or that maybe they thought this hap-hazard outfit was actually cute themselves and just decided to blame it on the kid should someone else not approve.... sorta like a disclaimer. But I now know that they are completely and utterly telling the truth. The boys never really had much of an opinion on what they wanted to wear... sure here and there they demanded they didn't want to wear something specific and asked to wear something else.. or would fight over who got what shirt in the many "pairs" of shirts/outfits we have set for them. But Evie is quite clear on what she wants to wear many days. For example, last Thursday (when she has ECFE class) I had picked out a new outfit for her to wear which consisted of a pair of cute striped leggings and a Tshirt that matched with a long sleeved plain white shirt to layer under it considering summer is never going to come this year.... :) Well.... Miss Sassy Pants woke up with the idea that it was a tutu day. It just so happens that this outfit is supposed to go with a tulle layered skirt that we have for it, but it is just too big in the waist area to fit her right now ..... so I knew that wasn't going to work. She wouldn't stop saying "tutu ... tutu... tutu... tutu..." from the moment that I picked her out of the crib to the moment she finally "WON" and got her way. While I was changing her diaper and showing her the outfit she kept pointing at the many tutus that she has hanging on her dresser mirror - I now am second guessing whether or not THIS is the best place for them and may need to find a nice "tucked away" place where they aren't quite as accessible. She has quite a few... a few petti-skirt kinds (REALLY fluffy and huge), and a few simple tulle kinds. The colors in her outfit were pink, brown, white and lavender..... and SHE wanted to wear the green and aqua petti-skirt and was dead set that THAT is what she was going to wear. There was a bit of 'tug of war' going on for a while ... some tears .... some yelling (her) .... but I was finally able to coerce her into a simple lavender iridescent tutu that at least matched the colors she was wearing. She was just LOVING her outfit and ran out to the kitchen table where MacKay and Oscar were starting their breakfast to show off her fancy tutu she was wearing. And of course... all the people at ECFE just HAD to comment on how cute she looked as if this were totally the outfit planned for the day and you could almost tell she was revelling it in, as if to say "In your face, Mom!"

And this isn't just a one time thing here.... this goes on most days. Usually it is simple like just saying she doesn't want the shirt I picked out... or the pants... or whole outfit. Or wanting to wear her PJs the entire day vs getting changed every morning. I can already tell she is going to make Gma Chris very happy. Gma Chris had always told me that she wanted me to have a little girl.... as payback for what I did to her when I was younger. And I must say.... I was a little angel of a girl, just my teen years were a bit "challenging," to say the least. Even then I wasn't a bad kid, never got in any real trouble.... but MAN did I have a mouth on me and the attitude to make it lethal. So Gma Chris thoroughly enjoys hearing these stories I share about Evie lately .... and also revels in telling me over and over again how this is just the beginning.

Just some other general news.... Chris's birthday is coming up later this week. Planning on taking him out for some dinner and then meeting up with some parents from the boys' preschool class for some drinks after. And I'm hesitant to tell too much about this quite yet... but I'm excited (and SO nervous) as I have a phone interview coming up this Friday morning for a possible job opportunity. I'll keep you posted on how that all goes... but PLEASE send some positive vibes my way. I would love to get back out into the working world again sometime soon. What else? Currently Chris is outside roughing in the electric lines for our detached garage.... apparently he has it in his sights to finish that off by insulating, sheet rocking, and painting the place. Also adding heat for the winter months... and there is even a place/electric/wiring roughed in for a TV ..... guess he's trying to make his own "Garage Mahal." Don't get me wrong, that garage needed a good old fashioned douching and cleaning..... at least reorganizing.... but Chris always takes it to the extreme so this is what we're gonna have now I guess :) We also booked our night's stay (Groupon deal) at the Edgewater Water Park in Duluth. This will be the final "pay off" for the boys being potty trained - which AGAIN I have to say they have done (and continue to do) so well at. I was just even noticing today how they just march their little selves down the hall and go to the bathroom now,.... not even alerting me to it anymore. It's just like second nature to them now. I LOVE it. I also ran over to my friend Shawna's house this past weekend and took some pictures for her of her darling little Tucker who is now just 3 weeks old. I was so happy to hear from her that she likes the photos... and I will try to post some up here soon to show of my mad skills.... HA (that is totally kidding there). Nabbed some really good family photos as well, and some pictures of her older boys to boot. Lastly, I'm getting my butt in gear and getting out running. Most I've done so far is 3 miles.... and I can say that I ran most of those 3 miles. I have to take little breaks here and there, either related to the fact I can't breathe, or my muscles are getting angry with me.... but for the most part I'm running it all. I shouldn't have waited so long to get started as now I have to crunch in at least getting up to 10 -11 miles before the big race in June.... unnngh! WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Anyway, here are just some fun pictures..... more importantly some of Evie in her prized outfit. I can't wait til I get to share the pictures where NOTHING matches on her which will make this post, and these pictures, completely pale in comparison.

I just nabbed this photo off my phone... it was when we were at the MOA the other weekend and hit Lego Land for a bit. They LOVED the Lego Woody statue.

After taking pictures at the Williams'... I came home to find my entire family in a fort in the boys' room. Even Daddy was hiding in there and I could hear little giggles and whispers about being quiet as I was walking down the hall.... just some little faces peeking through the window daddy had made with their cardboard bricks....so super cute.

Brotherly love here..... MacKay feeding his strawberries to Oscar

Evie (and the boys) proudly wearing her preferred outfit.... complete with tutu. I love when I can get pictures of all three of them together. It's a rare thing...

Lastly..... the epitome of fashion here, and the prime example of how Evie likes to accessorize. Here she has added, onto her already complete outfit, a tutu (the one she wanted to wear to ECFE originally), Oscar's hat .... and one of MacKay's shoes. I should note.... if she has access to hats, she will wear them almost all day long.

Stay tuned for more outrageous Evie outfits.....