pictures, pictures, pictures - thats all i have time for right now!

YEAH! JAMES IS FINALLY HERE!

James David Evans was born this morning, 5:33am November 1st 2007 @ 7 pounds 9 ounces and 21.5 inches long. Stephanie did an unbelievable job and achieved her goal of a completely natural child birth. I love my family so much! Here are the first few pictures...

pregnancy portraits!

Grandpa Ross and Grandmother Nikki put together this wonderful photo shoot at their home studio a few weekends ago. These shots came out great and will be treasured forever by our family. Ross Anderson is a professional photographer - you can check out more of his work here. I am very envious because I always wanted to be an outdoor sports photographer when I was younger. I try to pick up hints, tips, and skills from him whenever I can.

Special thanks to our dear family friend, Dianne Morrison, who did hair, makeup, styling, and hair air. She is a professional hair and makeup artist working closely with Ross on his photo shoots.

new furniture and JDs room updated

YAY! After two long months of waiting our new furniture from Unfinished Furniture Magamart finally arrived. The finish looks great and I can't say enough good things about this company. All the furniture if VERY economically priced and is made from solid wood like oak, pine, and aspen. No MDF or furniture that falls apart at the sight of water here! You can get a great deal on this stuff if you are willing to finish it yourself. Anyhoo, here are several of the pieces... a dresser, bed, and bedside table. I love the distressed finish.

This allowed us to move our old furniture into the new baby room - check it out:



Notice my old dresser there with the changing station on top of it and Stephanie's old bedside table beside the rocker. Everything is coming together! We still have one book / magazine rack thing to hang on the wall and some pictures to put up but that will be IT! The baby room is almost complete...

Also, we went ahead and got the pack and play thanks to the advice of my mother and the fear that JD may arrive earlier than scheduled like myself. I like that this thing is a play pen, a changing station, AND a bassinet all in one! The only problem is that it will not roll or fit through our doorways. Hmmmmmm.

Hiking At Beaman Park

This weekend, grandpa to be, David Evans (my dad) and I traveled to a newly created outdoor recreation area in Northwest Davidson County called Beaman Park.

"Beaman Park lies on the Highland Rim, just outside of the Nashville Basin, in the northwest edge of Davidson County. Its terrain features steep, forested slopes, with drier ridge tops and elevations just under 1000 feet. Deep hollows contain pristine springs and streams. Most of the park is drained by Little Marrowbone Creek on the north and Bull Run Creek on the south. The surface geology exhibits limestone, cherty limestone, shale, siltstone and a unique mudstone that is often a beautiful yellow or rust color. Many of the creek beds and rock outcroppings are Chattanooga black shale."

This place basically has two very nice trail systems, one following the high ridge lines and the other following a creek up through Henry Hollow. The creek trail was the most scenic in my opinion with wicked shale outcrops being carved by water rushing down from the ridges. This place could probably get a little dangerous in a huge downpour. Anyway - everyone had a blast hiking especially Lucy!

another day another wonderful gift

Due to our loving family and dear friends, baby presents have been arriving daily. Today, something really special and dear to me was on our doorstep - an out of print 1966 copy of "Henry the Explorer" by Mark Taylor. I am super excited because this was probably my favorite ALL TIME children's book (and series) growing up.

The book is touted, by more professional book reviewers than me, as such:

"The adventures of Laird Angus McAngus and Henry continue. An excellent book for children who are matter of fact, independent thinkers and problem solvers. Henry identifies himself as an explorer: prepares, follows his plan, willingly ventures into the unknown, positively asserts that the improbable will certainly happen. The illustrations in this set of books are wonderful. Each book takes place in a different season (illustrated in the spread where the mailman is walking along the road as Henry starts out on his adventures). A wonderful story that can be enjoyed for years."

How awesome is THAT! MANY THANKS TO MY MOM (Linda Evans) for this incredible gift!

Oh yeah - Lucy says she is ready to eat the book as soon as she can :)

first post ever

so far, we have been diligently training our dog so that she knows how to properly deal with toddlers: