And It Was All "Lellow"

Thought you might want to see the newest addition to the Dean family. No, not Baby Levi (he's not made his appearance yet, although I am 37 weeks, technically full term now!). I'm talking about our "new to us" car that replaced the Honda I wrecked (& totalled) over the holidays. Thankfully no one was seriously hurt--just the cars didn't fair too well.

Well, since then, Ryan and I had been on the search to replace our trustworthy Honda Accord. We were getting discouraged by too many encounters with sketchy used car dealers and misleading Craigslist ads. We're cash-only car folk (thanks to Dave Ramsey!) so we had limited options. Thankfully, Ryan posted on Facebook that he was looking to buy a car if anyone had one to sell, to which our good friend Jason Harwell responded.

Turns out his car was just what Ryan was looking for (he's a sucker for a sporty hatch-back). It's a 2002 Mazda Protege5. The only catch (at first) was that it is yellow, and I do mean very yellow as you can tell. I must admit, it grows on you, and really, it is a perfect youth pastor car! Ryan had to make the treck to his old stomping ground (Athens, GA) to purchase it, but we think it was worth the drive.

Perhaps the best thing about purchasing this car is that Evan learned to recognize his first color-"lellow" as he calls it. He begs to ride in it each time we leave the house, and he calls out every yellow vehicle he sees when we're out and about. Who knew our new car would be a teaching tool!

Can you say Type A?

It's fun watching your child blossom into a little person. Although Evan looks just like his daddy, lately he's been showing signs that he's got his mommy's genes too. If you know me at all, you're probably aware that I like things to be organized and as orderly as possible. I'm a planner and derive a lot of satisfaction from checking off my to-do lists. Whenever I pretend to be spontaneous, it hardly every goes well!

Lately, we've found Evan arranging things in his room and in the house in an orderly fashion. Whenever he gets things lined up just so, he yells, "yay!" excitedly at his accomplishment. I think now my husband Ryan better understands that I was born this way and can't help it (just as he was born a free spirit). Hopefully Evan will be able to manage his Type A tendencies to where they are a gift not a burden (a lifelong process for me as a recovering perfectionist!).

See below for some evidence of Evan's orderliness:

Exhibit A: Arranging similar sized books

Exhibit B: Fridge Magnets

Exhibit C: Zoo animals all facing the same direction-He got mad at Daddy for placing them backwards!

Moving on Up

It's hard to believe, but Levi's E.T.A. is just four weeks away, so we've been busy preparing for him. Part of that process has been getting Evan's new room ready. Today was a big day because he took his first nap in his big boy bed! It truly is a big boy bed, as you can tell from the pics. It's the same antique bed that my dad refinished when I was young. Don't worry, he has a guard rail to keep him safely on the bed!

At first he wasn't sure about me leaving him in the bed alone at naptime today, but once we got a few more of his stuffed furry friends to accompany him (besides just his loveys) he felt much better. My little boy is growing up-it's bittersweet!

Check out his new room below. We got most of the decor from Target and Ikea. All that's left to do is for mommy to paint some pictures of a car & a truck to hang on the wall (I think that might be a post-baby project at this point!).