The Tab{lloyd}

It was Halloween. My very original kids came up with their costume ideas. Evelyn, who was on a bit of a "'Lizard' of Oz" kick wanted to be the Wicked Witch of the West and then she and Max decided we needed a Winkie guard. I came up with the flying monkey (because we had a monkey costume that has now been worn by all three :) At one point, there was going to be a Wizard and Wicked Witch of the East. It just didn't happen.

Right before Halloween, Grandma and Grandpa Lloyd came to visit. We took no pictures but we had a great time. The very next weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Buttars came to visit. It was fun to have so many visitors and very spontaneous as well...especially that they came within a week of each other! We are so glad, though, and it was wonderful for the kids to be with their grandparents in our home.

Which brings us halfway through November. When we lost everything on our computer and I spent forever searching for old backup discs and such to restore as many pictures as possible. It was a little traumatizing but in the end I was able to find a lot and my iPhoto is very organized.

Evelyn with her friend Valentina.

We had family photos taken. In October! They are fun and crazy.
I think I'll save them for the next post.

The first weekend in December, Jason and I went to Les Miserables in Chicago. I finished the novel (unabridged...since a lot of people randomly bring that up when I mention it :) on Thanksgiving. I started it this summer and finally got through it. It was really good, don't get me wrong, but my friend Julie described it well as being "very...wordy..." (you have to say that very...slowly...) In the end, it was definitely worth reading and I appreciated the play much more. Although there was so much I felt was missing after knowing more of the background of the characters. I especially grew very fond of Fantine's story even though it was the very most heart-wrenching and miserable. In the play, she seems to be hinted at. I sobbed through her entire segment of the play...and the book. And Gavroche. Love that kid. It was amazing and I'm so grateful Jason and I were able to see it together.

Then something huge happened. I turned 30!!! Which was really great since I've been telling people I'm 30 for a least a few months. I don't quite find the need to exaggerate my age anymore...I may be happy to stay at 30. In any case, I'm very glad to be "in my 30's".

Sadly and surprisingly, there are really not many more pictures than the ones displayed to account for the past 3 months. We're just trying to get through the day to day. I've been trying to keep up with swimming which means no shower/make-up pretty much ever. As much as I shouldn't care about posting pictures of myself in such a condition, I do.

Oh, shoot! How did that lazy lounging picture find it's way onto my blog. How embarrassing.

Do you know who this is? I didn't- but I was labeled with a new doppleganger on my birthday by the waitress at our restaurant. Her name is Annie something but she's known as St. Vincent and is an Indie musician.
Besides being compared to Audrey Hepburn- which is really more of a wish that happens to be mentioned by the kindest of people- I think this is the most accurate comparison yet. The most flattering anyway.

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Just as I looked forward to hitting my 30 year mark, I'm anxious to reach 30 weeks with this pregnancy. We (I'm including the baby here...hopefully not just me) had a huge growth spurt between about 22 and 28 weeks and I'm ready to be "in my 30's" to account for the size of this belly. December is breezing by and after Christmas, although January is always slow, this baby will be the next event!!! Evelyn walks around with some sort of dolly or teddy bear stuffed in her shirt every day. She wants to deliver my baby and tells me everyday that my belly is huge. The baby is certainly ready to "fall out" and she wants to catch it. I think all of us think the baby is a girl, but we are excited to find out.

I'm hoping the next post will be Christmas, but in reality it is likely to be Christmas/New Baby/Spring Break combined. :) Just kidding, I'm sure the baby will get it's own mention on the blog.

Evelyn turned 4 on October 3rd!

She had a fun morning at preschool, dinner at her favorite restaurant, Puccini's, and a

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" cake.

Here are some pictures and a video of sweet Evie for her special day.

Bitty got a Halloween costume, some jammies, and diapers.
Evelyn now loves to get her dressed in the morning and ready for bed at night.

With her rainbow cake...which doesn't look as cool on the outside but I didn't get a picture of the inside.
You have probably seen them and made one yourself. It was really fun to make and I was a little proud.

I recorded a cute birthday video of Evelyn that won't upload for some reason.

She even sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on it.

I will keep trying.

This is a really great video of Evelyn reading a book to Jude...you don't want to skip this!