One Amazing Birthday!

WOW! I had the most wonderful birthday this year. It was amazing spending it with Evy, Durbin & the rest of my family. Evy & I watched the Barbie Channel (which she loves) & played with her new toys:) I never thought some of these baby toys would be so difficult to figure out:)

In the evening we went to Bellerive for dinner. (I always leave feeling like I'm going to burst...but it's sooo yummy)

I didn't really want gifts this year. I wanted to spend time with the ones I love. However, those loved ones gave me great presents, so I thank them:)

My brother, Melissa & Jack gave me my home depot needs, which I was so thankful for...it will come in so handy. My parents/in-laws gave us our vacation to the Virgin Islands where my parents will come along with Durbin, Evy & I in April-May. I definitely wouldn't leave Evy at home!!! I'm so excited to see her on the beach for the very first time.

Even though I told Durbin I didn't want anything, being the wonderful husband he is, he surprised me with gorgeous flowers. He signed the card "John" so I almost thought it was my brother:) LOL He also gave me a little box....The pictures don't do it justice....I absolutely love it. There is definitely some truth when they say diamonds are a girls best friend! This was in honor of my little girl!

KATE'S BIRTHDAY BASH

Kate finally hit the big 35 so we had to do a little celebrating! (meaning a few hours of course) Typical me, I left my camera on the table so there are a ton of pictures of people I don't know. I think it was actually you, Kate, who took those:) We had a great time on your birthday and hope you did too! It's so wonderful having you in our lives! I think next year we'll be too old for that "kind" of party so maybe a nice daytime tea party:) LOL

The Birthday Girl

Kate, Christy, Myself & Sarah

Andrea & I....she happens to be my tenant &

I didn't even recognize her:) haha

2011 New Year's Eve at Bellerive

On New Year's Eve Durbin, Evy and I went to Bellerive to celebrate with my parents and Jack. We had a blast! There is nothing better than spending New Years with your baby...where else would you want to be??!! Although we were home by 9:30 Evy stayed up til 1am in her jumparoo watching all the celebrations on TV. She had a blast! Once midnight struck I shed a little tear as I picked her up and thanked GOD for the best gift of 2010.....my precious little Evy! What a year 2010 had been! It seemed to come and go so quickly with so many wonderful things happening. It's crazy that it's already 2011, but Durbin and I are so excited to start this new year with our new little one! We don't plan on EVER spending a New Year's Eve without her....until she decides we're not cool enough for her:)

Here's some pictures from the evening....they speak for themselves!!

carriage ride at Bellerive

Grandpa Jack wanting to get Evy's face painted

Where's Jack???

Jack and Grandma Cathy

Some confetti for Evy:)

The Durbin's Night Out!

Durbin and I decided to go OUT (for just 3-4 hours) to see some of our great friends! Amazingly, the picture taking was at a minimum since we were chit-chatting the whole night:) However, here are a few pictures from out "night out!" It was great to see you all and missed those of you who couldn't make it. It was a Tuesday though so we understand:) haha

Grandpa Inkley's Birthday!

For my Dad's 60-something birthday we all went to Bellerive to celebrate! He had a wonderful time with the grandkids there. It was a little hard to get them to both sit on his lap at the same time, but we got it done....and it lasted for about 7 seconds:) It sure was great to see my Dad with his little girl and now his other "little" girl:) Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!

Catching up!

So, today I am going to try and "catch up" with what's been going on in our lives! It truly is amazing how having a baby adds 100 to-do things on your daily list:) I'm hoping to have things posted later today so keep your fingers crossed! Hope everyone is well!

The Name Game!

One of my best friends, Darryl, & I were talking about the naming of our children the other day & ironically I received a "babycenter" email about the top 100 names of 2010! It caused me to think....the naming of your children seems to been such a difficult decision. I'll never forget when the topic came up between me & Durbin. It was before I was even pregnant, maybe before we were even married. We mentioned the name Evelyn & it was set. There weren't name books, disagreements, etc. We agreed immediately & without reservation. Easy as pie...that is if we ever had a girl, right?:) We're SOOO happy we didn't pick a name within the top 50 or some popular/trendy name that will phase out! I never wanted my child to have a common name, moreorless be the 10th child in class with the same name! I wanted a classic, traditional, elegant name & apparently from what I hear & read...we got it! Yippy! (Now don't steal it Darryl...hahaha) And the best part is the name Evelyn means "LIFE!" I couldn't have asked for a better meaning!

I never would have thought I would've picked Evelyn, but I'm sure happy we did!!! I just love the name! Who would've thought it would be that easy.... surely not me:)

So, now a couple of my friends are going through the name game & I'm starting to realize just how hard it truly is to name a child. A name....something they will have for the rest of their life! It's such a special, yet difficult decision! If we have more kids.....I hope the second one will be as easy as the first. To all my friends out there going through this process.....I'd suggest drawing a name from a hat:) LOL

check out www.babycenter.com/top-baby-names-2010 to see all the names, their meanings & the trend of their popularity! It's pretty interesting.

Good luck ladies and gents:)

Evy's Breakfast with Santa at Bellerive!

For Evy's first Christmas, we went to Bellerive to have a late breakfast with Santa. It was such a great time seeing all the kids, who were so excited to see Santa & tell him what they wanted for Christmas! I just love how Bellerive always makes these events so meaningful to the kids. (It sure beats going to the mall) They get each and every kid a gift specifically for them. I can't imagine who did all that shopping, but it had to be one of best shopping excursions ever:)

Here are a few pictures of Evy and her special day....better late than never, right?!

Our Family

Daddy & Evy


Grandpa Jack & Grandma Cathy

Hmmmm....I'm exhausted:)