The White Family Blog

John Watson's Dedication Video

2008-10-26T23:16:00.003-04:00

Due to technical difficulties it has been a while since I've been able to upload videos. Now that I finally got Vista talking to my Sony I'll hopefully be uploading more often.

I thought this was a good one to start with, granted it's two months old, but it was a good day.

White family mini-post

2008-09-15T23:05:00.004-04:00

Ok, so obviously it goes without saying that we're a little slow with the blog updates these days. Here is a mini-post covering the last month or so. And yes, I realize I still need to go back and cover June and July.

The White kids are ready to hunker down for the Dawgs this fall (or in this case for some free Chick-fil-a chicken strips on Labor Day).

Dad and JW hanging out in front of what is clearly the coolest balloon at the Callaway Gardens hot air balloon expo.

Mary E is ready for her first day of 4 year old preschool.

Maggie B (and Dora) also are excited to start schoool.

Hopefully I'll have time to upload some more photos and a few videos soon. Until then just imagine what your life would be like with a 4 year old princess, a 21 month old clown, and a 6 month old who is one laid back little dude, and you'll have a good idea what our life is like right now.

Spring in review

2008-05-30T22:25:00.015-04:00

Ok, so its been quite a while since we've updated the blog. But as you can imagine things are pretty darn busy around the White House these days. Here's a pictorial review of what the Whites have been up to since the last post on March 14:

Stonebridge Easter Egg hunt at Laurel Park.

Maggie Beth is not so interested in hunting for eggs.

Maggie B in her handmade Easter bonnet.

Silly girl Easter parade.

Easter morning picture in matching bunny outfits (John Watson is not so thrilled about this).

The closest semblance to a family picture we could manage on Easter.

Maggie B shows a little leg (actually a lot of cute chunky leg).

Princess sisters...as prissy as they want to be.

John Watson visits with Grandpa and Uncle Frank.

That's about as compact as 26 inches of baby can curl up.

Mary E swinging Pitfall style at a gymnsastics birthday party for her buddy Reagan.

Maggie B gets into the action on the parallel bars (she stuck the dismount).

Mmmmmm....cake.

Nap time for the boys.

Princess Mary Evelyne tries on her new Belle dress, hand-made by her Uncle Toby. (This photo makes her father have a nervous breakdown thinking about his girl going to prom in 14 years).

Maggie Beth even got her own mini-version of the Belle dress.

The two glamour girls.

Mary Evelyne shows off the pink hairdo she got at the Taste of Marietta.

Mary Evelyne celebrates her 4th with a Martin party.

Mmmmmm.....more cake.

A princess ballet birthday party for Mary E and her friends (she's actually hiding behind the bunny ballerina on the far right).

This party was over the top girly...princess costumes, ballet dancing, craft wands, pink cupcakes, and even fingernail painting...yikes.

Mary Evelyne shows off her form during dress rehearsal for her ballet recital.

No, Y-M-C-A was not part of the routine. (I think that the most beautiful girl with such perfect form ought to be on the front row...don't you?)

That's me getting ready for a 5k at Callaway Gardens (on Mother's Day morning), admiring all the bikes, and thinking that maybe I could handle the Duathlon with Josh and Jen.

Here I am approaching the finish of the 5k, at which point I know that I couldn't handle the Duathlon and feeling sorry for Josh and Jen who have an 18 mile bike ride and another 5k ahead of them. (Not to brag, but I did finish first in my age group...granted, it was me an one other guy...but I smoked him).

Our 18 month old sipping on her juice box and shooting a sassy look.

A photo from the actual recital (hopefully I can upload the full video soon).

Jen and Maggie B wait for the star of the show after the recital.

John Watson and Pops enjoyed the show, too. (By the way, that little spiky cow-lick arrangement on top of his head...it's permanent...it has earned him the nickname Spike)

The Diva and her flowers.

John Watson flashes his good morning grin. (I told you...the spike is permanent).

Bubby is entertained by Sissy. This scene is repeated often, usually ending with us extracting Maggie B off of her brother after she gets too excited and rowdy with him.

Well, that's a brief look at Spring around the White House. Hopefully I'll get some video loaded soon. And there are stories that need to be told as well. Summer doesn't seem like its going to be any slower, so let's cross our fingers that we can make some time to post. Bottom line: God is good all the time, and we are blessed and humbled by His love for us, even if we don't have time to show everyone.

A few more JW pictures

2008-03-14T10:56:00.006-04:00

Here are a few more pictures from John Watson's first day:

John Watson meets the original Watson. Grandpa is as proud as they come.

Pops looks over his long, tall boy.

Mary Evelyne gets her first look, and its love at first sight.

Maggie B wants to love on her Bubby.

The big sisters perfrom a thorough inspection.

Mary E finally gets to hold her Bubby.

Maggie B wants a turn.

John Watson cuddles with his Aunt Bussie.

John Watson's first blog spotting

2008-03-13T11:46:00.004-04:00

Hey all:

This is just going to be a quick and simple post of some pictures from early this morning when John Watson was born. Some quick stats: he was born at 2:15 am on 3/13/08, weighed in at 9 lb. 5 oz.and 22 1/4 inches long, and as you can see from the pictures has lots of dark brown, almost black hair. Check out the big hands and feet, he's a big ole' boy! And Katie is doing wonderful, and already looking like she never had a 10 pound baby in her tummy.

More details will come later, so stay tuned.

Bartok the Magnificent

2008-03-09T17:28:00.003-04:00

Mary Evelyne has fallen in love with the old school, little-remembered non-Disney princess movie Anastasia. It happened to be on the free movies on Comcast On Demand for about a month in January and then it went off. She has been in withdrawal, so her Mama and Pops found it for her at Target this weekend. It is funny hearing her talk about the story, which actually involves the Romanov dynasty in Russia. She is particularly enthralled with a little bat character in the movie, Bartok, who is Rasputin's sidekick. The picture above is from a little spin-off move from Anastasia starring Bartok (as if Anastasia weren't obscure enough). He is a white vampire bat, but because he does not fit Mary Evelyne's expectations of what a bat looks like, she refuses to call him a bat and refers to him as the "piglyish, rabbityish guy". Yes, she has decided he looks like a mix between a pig and a rabbit and no matter how much her Daddy argues with her, she won't give in to the idea that he is actually a bat. Way to stick to your guns Mary E, even if you're wrong. Just like your mother!

Randomness

2008-02-28T22:31:00.018-05:00

Okay, so I don't normally blog about myself, but my wife says I have been tagged and I must compile a list of 10 random things about me. And since I don't consider it wise policy to go around disagreeing with women who are 9 months pregnant, here goes nothing:

1) I suppose I should start with number 1, as in 1/1, as in my birthday: January first. Yes, I'm a New Year's baby, which is only mildly random. But what makes it especially random is that I was born on my father's birthday. Random related anecdote: My mother goes into labor New Years Eve, arrives at the hospital, doctor asks if she wants him to speed things up "so you can get the tax write off for this year?" Needless to say, she passed up the offer and I was born a few hours later on my Dad's birthday. (And did I mention that my Dad turned 58 the day I was born; he's 87 and still going strong).

2) I sweat from the left side of my face when I eat...profusely when it is something spicy, salty or sour. This nifty biological defect makes a fun party trick and was developed courtesy of a benign tumor that was removed from the parotid gland (the largest saliva gland) on the left side of my face, just below my ear, when I was 6 years old. As my face healed from the surgery, the nerves that go to my saliva glands crossed with the ones from my sweat glands, and thus the left side of my face sweats and turns red when I eat. Many years after developing this talent I found out it actually has a name: Frey's syndrome. I'm not kiddin', look it up.

3) I have a dishwasher problem...I cannot tolerate when one is not loaded properly. I promise I am not OCD. This odd condition comes from my youth, when my primary evening chore was loading the dishwasher. From that nightly routine I was instilled with an innate drive to maximize the ergonomics of any dishwasher so as to never leave any dishes remaining in the sink or any dish in a position within the washer which might prevent it or the other dishes from getting completely washed. Be warned, if I see you have loaded the dishwasher improperly, I will go behind you and redo it.

4) Although I now hold two degrees from UGA and have a mild obsession with the gridiron Dawgs (I admit it, I subscribe to the Dawgvent) my most common recurring childhood nightmare was of me being chased through a Scooby-Doo-style haunted mansion by none other than - you guessed it- Uga.

5) Five...that's my lucky number...or 25 (5x5) will do equally as well. Not sure exactly how it came about, but I seem to remember it having something to do with the number 25 jersey I wore as a JV basketball player at MHS. That exact jersey had been worn previously by Steven Goolsby, perhaps the best Blue Devil baller never to live up to his full potential, and I considered myself lucky that I got his old jersey. I try to remember each morning I place 5 quarters in my pocket. I'm not superstitious, it doesn't ruin my day if I forget, but it sure comes in handy when I need a Coke Zero at the courthouse.

6) I aspire to be Automatic for the People. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to go see Weaver. Weaver D's is the finest, most authentic soul food eatery ever established. Dexter Weaver is my friend, he fed me lots of fried pork chops and collard greens during my time in Athens. I was on his meal plan - 20 meals, $100 bucks - every semester of undergrad. The first time I took my wife out to eat - Weavers (she had to pass the collards test if we were going to keep things moving). He catered our rehearsal dinner and his big, shiny, black, bald head is in the frame for a large portion of the video from our wedding ceremony.

7) I am a wheel hog. I love to drive. I do not love to ride shotgun. I despise riding in the back seat. I particularly enjoy driving on long road trips or around places I have never been. I truly believe if I were not an attorney, I would be a long distance trucker.

8) I am a history dork. No really, a huge history dork. The last three books I've read: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abe Lincoln; David McCullough's 1776, and Clarence Thomas' autobiography. Next up on my list: Augustus: Rome's First Emperor. I own Ken Burn's Civil War documentary on DVD, got his WWII documentary for Christmas, and am constantly checking eBay to see if anyone is selling his Jazz documentary at a reasonable price.

9) On a related note: I am all about some public broadcasting. My wife can testify. I think she probably can't remember the last time she got in my car and it wasn't on NPR. I'm a PBS fiend because of Ken Burn's stuff, Frontline and many other programs. I think my attraction to NPR is because I remember what it was like to read good, intelligent journalism during my J-school days in Athens. But I don't have time to read it now, so NPR is the next best thing: its like someone reading the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal to you while you commute.

10) I am the first male in my family for many generations not to serve in the military. My dad served in the Army during WWII and drove tanks all over Europe; his dad, my Papaw, served in the Army in WWI (and lived to be 99 years old and tell me about it); my mom's brother, my Uncle Dan was the Captain of an aircraft carrier, the USS Kittyhawk; and my brother flew A-6 bombers for the Navy. The only school I ever considered as a serious alternative to UGA was the Naval Academy. Once I met Katie in Athens, she made it clear she was not signing up for military service from day one of our relationship, but I still sometimes struggle with the idea that I probably will never serve my country in the military.

OK, so that was a lot longer than I thought. I guess I need to blog about myself more often.

Well, the only sucker I can think of who hasn't been tagged is my homeboy Sweetchuck. If I think of some other's I'll edit this and tag 'em up.

Done Been Tagged

2008-02-27T21:44:00.003-05:00

Ruth Allen has tagged me (Katie) to list 10 random things about myself that will probably make you question your friendship with me, so here it goes:

1. I have two gross habits (Daniel would probably say I have more): biting my nails and cleaning between my toes. My three year old has been doing both for about a year now with no prompting whatsoever.

2. I am fluent in French (well maybe not quite fluent anymore) and taught highschool French right out of college at Paulding County Highschool.

3. I took piano for 12 years and can now play about 4 songs.

4. I do a weird number thing in my head that is very elaborate and pointless. I have no idea when it started or where I got it. I look at digital numbers, like the ones on a digital clock and count each dash. So, if it is 12:00, there are 19 dashes total. Then, I take the dashes in 19 (which is 8) then in 8 (7) then in 7 (3) then in 3 (5), then in 5 (5). It ends when the number equals the number of dashes (like 5 has 5 dashes). I can now do this process in a matter of seconds. See, I told you that you might not be friends with me after this.

5. I broke up with Daniel the day before our first Valentine's day that we were dating. I think it only lasted a couple of weeks and then we got back together for good. I don't even remember why we broke up now.

6. I have come to realize, especially after having kids, that I really don't like pets. We gave our dog Nellie to Daniel's aunt after Maggie Beth was born and it was like a burden was lifted from my shoulders.

7. My highschool cheerleading squad won the state cheerleading competition my senior year. I can still do the majority of the routine or I will proudly show you the video if you want to see it. I do an exceptional job of the routine pregnant.

8. I am fairly prideful about the fact that I have never had a cavity. Every time I go to the dentist Daniel teases me that I will have one because I generally only brush my teeth once a day and I never floss.

9. I weigh alot more than people think I do.

10. I don't like to see movies or read books twice. This drives my husband, who loves to watch his favorite movies over and over, crazy.

I tag Daniel, Kristi Kay, and Shireen.

Fashion Diva

2008-01-27T19:52:00.000-05:00

From the Sunday, January 27th, 2008 Marietta Daily Journal "Lifestyle" (aka Society column) Section:

"Fashion spotlight of the week: Nothing is prettier than a mother who is expecting. And when this one showed up in a simple black sheath and turned her back, she gave new meaning to "expecting" - the strand of pearls she wore was tied with a beautiful, cream satin ribbon - a little surprise that enhanced the simplistic elegance of the look - Katie White of Marietta."

OK, so I am more than flattered that Mrs. Litchfield decided to make me her fasion spotlight of the week (a weekly tradition here in the Marietta society column). It was very sweet and really made me feel so good in the midst of this third pregnancy in as many years, but Daniel and I seriously could not stop laughing since we know the extent of my "wardrobe" and the events leading up to that fashion appearance that night.

So I am almost 8 months pregnant and I have one nice maternity dress that wore out its welcome around Marietta events over Christmas. So, I had two non-maternity dresses that were stretchy and "sort-of" fit (sort-of used very loosesly here). I actually chose the other one and was getting myself ready while also getting the girls ready to go stay at their Mema's (all moms know what level of chaos I am not fully describing here). I send Daniel down with the girls to get them loaded into the car and notice this dress has a hole, yes a large hole in the side (probably where I had forced the zipper over my belly). So, dress #2 is my only option at this point. This dress was purchased at Ross in Paulding County in 2002 when I had to chaperone the Paulding County Highschool prom. This would be the "sheath" that was described. As for the "pearls", which were purchased several years ago at Target, I almost threw them away last year because I got ink all over them while they were on my dresser and a pen leaked, but I finally threw them in some jewelry cleaner and it mostly came off.

I tried to use the article to convince Daniel that I need a larger wardrobe budget to keep up my appearances in Marietta, but he says apparently my current wardrobe is working just fine. Oh well, keep an eye on me Marietta, today I was in fleece pants and a 1998 AOPi t-shirt.

I guess Mary Evelyne gets her fashion sense from me.

SNOW!

2008-01-27T19:30:00.001-05:00

One of Mary Evelyne's wishes all winter was that it would snow. When Christmas came and went without snow she would say "It's just not going to snow this year." She knows by heart the two things you need for snow (at least this is the best Mommie could come up with, probably not meteorlogically correct): rain and cold. So, when we left her babysitters after work that Thursday afternoon and flakes were coming down, she started yelling "my wish came true, my wish came true". The only problem is that Mommie was about 7 1/2 months pregnant and baby sister has just learned to walk, not a good combo for playing in the wet snow. So, Daddy came home and saved the day and played in the snow. But, Mary Evelyne's sweats didn't hold up too well making snow angels and throwing snow balls (notice the change in clothes that night). We due to get another dose on Saturday and Daniel was absolutely insistent that she have a waterproof coat, gloves and snow boots. We got home from something Friday night around 9pm and he went back out to Target and returned with the most hideous maroon boots for $4.88. He was hilarious and meant that his girl would be ready for the snow, even if she only needed the coat and boots for that one day. Here's some pics of their fun in the snow. Unfortunately, she insisted on knocking the snow woman down before they came in, so she was short-lived.

Christmas in January

2008-01-23T11:58:00.000-05:00

We are a month late getting our holiday photos and memories up on the blog, but we got a new computer and have finally gotten all the pics transferred over. Here's a smorgasbord (?) of White Family Christmas.

Us girls got matching PJs to wear on the Polar Express (see below).

The Whites all went up to North Carolina to the Hemlock Inn the weekend before Christmas to get away and ride the Polar Express to the "north pole". We all wore our PJs (yes, even Daniel), had hot chocolate, met Santa and got a special bell like in the movie. It was special to Daniel to take the girls to the Hemlock Inn because he grew up going there. I was a little skeptical because there are no TVs, playgrounds, etc. but the girls did great and had some good old fashioned fun running around, playing shuffleboard, and, oh yes, watching Cinderella on the portable DVD player. Daniel's parents have 8 grandchildren, Thomas who is 18 being the only boy, so all the girls had fun together. They serve the meals family style and it was good stuff.

We got back and did Christmas with my family Christmas Eve and with Daniel's family Christmas Day. I think we were done with Santa by 7am Christmas morning. We (Maggie Beth) start things early around here.

We also celebrated Uncle Joshy and Pops birthdays before Christmas at the Cheesecake Factory. If there were ever any doubt that our girls look like their grandparents, check this out...Mary Evelyne and Mama and Maggie Beth and Pops.

The Prima Ballerina

2007-12-15T08:08:00.000-05:00

Mary Evelyne has been taking ballet/tap class one night a week with other 3-4 year olds at Marietta First Methodist where she goes to pre-school. She had a Christmas Party/Mini-recital last Tuesday and mom, dad, Mama, and lil sis all came to watch.

Lots of Mary E's favorite friends are in her class, including :

Tasha,

Schuyler (on the left),

Mary Cobb,

and her second cousin Georgeanne.

(Group Hug)

It is pretty hilarious to see all those little gals running around in circles before class starts and wondering how the teachers ever get them to focus. But as you will see in the video, they do a good job of keeping the girls engaged and having fun.

Every time Mary Evelyne would hear Silent Night over the last few weeks, she would reveal little bits and pieces of her Christmas dance. We were so happy to finally see the full performance and those precious little ballerinas did not disappoint.

But the best part of the whole night was after the performance and the gift exchange when the teachers let the girls go get some snacks and go talk to their family and friends. They turned the music back on while all that was going on and when Silent Night started playing Mary Evelyne went out and did a completely unprompted solo performance. I'm thinking our little ballerina will be playing Clara in the Nutcracker before too long:

Birthday Cake and Bouncing Zebras

2007-12-14T22:31:00.000-05:00

Maggie Beth turned 1 on Nov. 29, and a couple of days later we celebrated at our house with family and friends. The biggest hits of the day as far as Maggie B was concerned were 1) her own little birthday cake, 2) the bouncy zebra. Both feature prominently in the video (one caveat, something on my computer is making the videos really choppy when I upload them, sorry for the annoyance). Enjoy:

Trick or Treat (a little late)

2007-12-14T16:28:00.000-05:00

It's only 11 days 'til Christmas and we're just now posting stuff from Halloween. That's pretty sad.

Maggie Beth couldn't really eat any candy, but, as you can see, that didn't stop her from being the cutest Mickey Mouse you've ever seen in your life.

Cinderella, meanwhile, could not locate one of her glass slippers (she must have lost it on the palace steps) so we had to use some old ones that didn't fit her very well. This caused some problems later, including Mary E not being able to spin very well with her buddy Zoe and not wanting to get out of the wagon to walk up to the houses because her feet hurt. After a few houses we decided she was going to end up with zero candy or blistered feet unless she switched to something more comfortable. So for most of the night, our Cinderella was actually sporting pink Crocs.

As you will see in the video, Maggie B would go into a trance everytime her Mickey costume got pulled over her ears, but we were able to fix that and she had a pretty fun night. Cinderella got lots of candy (especially her favorite, "Reece" cups) and most importantly, she got to see three of her best buddies, Zoe, Schuyler and Tasha (who you will see running and screaming down the street with Mary Evelyne at the end of the clip).

Nightly Escapades

2007-10-30T21:00:00.000-04:00

Yes, you get two blogs tonight....

Mary Evelyne has a nightly ritual. We tuck her in and crack her door and tell her not to leave her room (unless she has to go potty) or we will have to shut her door. Seems pretty straight forward, but she always comes up with one or two "valid" reasons to come out before the final straw. Sometimes we have left an item (shoes, phone, etc.) in her room, which is unacceptable for her. Sometimes she needs a water.

Most nights though she has something she just HAS to tell us. These urgent messages are always hilarious.

Tonight she comes wandering into our room with a small hair rubberband in her hand. She says, "Mommie, this rubberband just hopped onto my water bottle." I said, "Oh it, did? It just hopped on there all by itself?" She said, "Yes, it did" as she began to crack a smile. That put me over the edge and I started laughing and she started laughing and all of my parental strictness for the night went out the door. I'm still waiting for her to walk back out, although so far she is quiet.

A bonus nighttime nugget from Daniel: Last night Daniel did her stories. She told him that her heart was beating. He said "Oh, it is?" She said, "Yes, I think it is little baby Jesus trying to get out."

Fall School Pictures

2007-10-30T17:01:00.000-04:00

I'm sure it's highly illegal to publish these, but we just wanted those of you who live far away to be able to see them. And surely we're paying enough for them to justify blogging about them. I must congratulate Daniel on getting the girls to preschool dressed alike with their hair somewhat done and in one piece. I had court that morning, so he did most of the work that morning. He normally doesn't allow much orange in the household, but I convinced him it was more of a "burnt sienna" and that it went with the fall background. I think the photographers underestimated Maggie Beth's "stature" and kept putting her in Mary Evelyne's lap. They must not have realized MB only weighs about 8 lbs less than ME. It was a miracle everyone was not crying.

Saturday Morning Cartoons

2007-10-16T21:19:00.000-04:00

Rarely do the girls slow down enough at the same time to just "be", but this past Saturday morning they sat together for a few minutes and watched the Disney Channel.

It was our first cool night, so they were both wearing their footies. Yes, they look a little rough, but don't judge a girl first thing in the morning.

Now if only we could start this Saturday morning cartoon thing around 8am instead of about 6:30am. Maggie B had been up a while, so she was ready for some cereal bar after a few minutes.

She can sit up at the counter with us now in her booster seat. She loves eating her finger foods now and loves dropping half of it on the floor for us to pick up.

Delightful Dedication

2007-08-20T12:16:00.000-04:00

(Confession: my wonderful wife wrote this entry about Maggie Beth's dedication nearly a month ago (Aug. 20) and I have just now (Sept. 17) uploaded the pictures from that Sunday to post with it. I would like to have some good excuse besides "we were busy" but there really isn't one. Thanks for being patient.)

Our little Maggie Beth was dedicated on Sunday. We hated to wait until she was almost 9 months to do it (not to mention having outgrown both mine and Daniel's old Christening outfits), but we wanted Stonebridge to be in their new building. She was precious and we were really blessed by our family and church family that were there.

Daniel spoke a word over her (partly inspired by a post on Annie Downs' blog) from Zephaniah: "The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Maggie Beth truly is a delight.

Daniel also felt like the Lord was saying that even though she may be expected to follow her big sister, that she will be a follower of the Lord and that, like Andrew, she will lead by following. The congregation also spoke out words for her that included: joy, faith, confidence in Christ, daughter of Christ. This was the first baby dedication for Stonebridge and we are so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful body of Christ.

What I Learned this Summer

2007-08-03T08:50:00.000-04:00

Well, it's August already, and school is fast approaching, so Mary Evelyne is ready for a little show and tell about what she learned this summer:

Mary E and the Minnows

Things got started with a splash in June, when Mary Evelyne began swim lessons at the Cobb Aquatic Center. She was in the "Minnows" class with kids who aren't new to the pool and are ok to put their heads under water, but just need some fun exercises to help them learn the basics of swimming. She was probably the youngest in her class, but by far the most courageous and eager to try whatever the teacher was asking of them. You can't tell it from the video, but after just 6 classes she can now jump in from the side of the pool and swim with her head under water for 5 or 6 feet to the steps. And she doesn't want help, so don't ask her.

Future Gym Dawg in Training

In July it was time for gymnastics class. She had a fun group for this class, too, and really hammed it up with her buddies in between the various stations. You can see a couple of her good friends from that class on the video, one named Sarah Grace (in the pink leotard) and another one named Dorshini (sp?)(the little Indian girl).

I have to brag for a second on Cobb County, because both classes were offered through the County Parks and Rec Department and they were a fun, low-stress, affordable means to introduce her to these new activities. She and her cousin Hannah - who is down from Maryland for the summer - both took gymnastics classses through the County and had a great time (even though Hannah was in a more serious class of 6-7 year olds).

After each class, Mary Evelyne would be rewarded with a trip to the nearby Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robins. And every week, when presented with the choice of ice cream or donut, she always chose the sprinkle donut. Maybe that's what gave her the energy for the final performance on the video, shot last night after her final gymnastics lesson.

We hope you enjoy this peek into Mary Evelyne's summer, and keep an eye out for a video update on what Maggie Beth learned this summer, as well as some more "Deep Thoughts from Mary Evelyne." Enjoy:

Another heartbeat

2007-07-31T11:52:00.000-04:00

Well, today we officially saw the third heartbeat to join our family. We are expecting #3 on March 22, 2008 (my birthday). AHHHH! How did that happen? Maggie Beth is just barely 8 months old, so we weren't planning this so soon, but we are thrilled. I think today made it sink in a little for us. Please pray for us as I have never known exhaustion such as this, with two little ones running and crawling around. Daniel has been amazing, doing basically everything around the house, including getting me ginger ale with just the right amount of ice and other weird things I have requested. We'll keep you posted!

Kroger

2007-07-15T20:35:00.001-04:00

Going to the grocery store used to be so easy. Make a list, get what you need, buy a few treats along the way, stop and browse at items if you want. Not so much any more. Mary Evelyne and I went to Kroger this afternoon, in the middle of a summer storm at that. We didn't have much to get and they do have cookies and "car" buggies after all, so I thought it would be fine.

Well, once her pink frosted cookie was gone, she was ready to get out. She had her legs hanging out the side of the "car" and they kept hitting stuff on the aisle. She knocked one of her "crocs" with about a thousand "jibbitz" off (if you don't know what those are you must not have kids) and I let her get out of her car to retrieve it. That was a mistake because she had learned her key to freedom and continued to do it. So, finally I had to do the unthinkable....strap her in to her car.

That seemed to be working pretty well for another 5 minutes or so. We were more than 1/2 way finished when the inevitable "I have to go potty" moment arrived. I have never personally used the "potty" in Kroger, so it took us a little bit to locate it (all the way in the back between deli meat and milk) and I panicked that our newly potty-trained daughter might give that little car more than it bargained for. We found the potty, parked our buggy outside, ran in and ran back out. Uneventful other than the automatic flush toilet that scared the heck out of Mary Evelyne as she was in midstream.

Now I have to convince her to get back in the car, so I give her some groceries to "keep" for me in the passenger seat.

A few more minutes, we are almost finished, just finding the last few things, when over the loudspeaker I hear "If you are the owner of a red Dodge Caravan, your doors are open". The guy in the aisle with us says, "oh man, and it is raining too". Yep, you guessed it. I am the owner of a red Dodge Caravan and I know it is quite likely that my doors are in fact open. As I nonchalantly make my way to the front of Kroger, not wanting anyone to know it is my van that is open to the public for looting, I am silently questioning whether that was the best decision to announce over the loudspeaker to a grocery store full of who knows what that a car is completely wide open. I guess the damage could already have been done by then anyway, if anybody wanted a frog floatie, a sippy cup, The Fox and the Hound DVD, or a 4 day old iced coffee that wasn't so iced anymore. This Kroger is THE place to grocery shop in Marietta and I don't want to be seen making this manuveur, so I leave Mary Evelyne trapped in her "car" a few feet away, walk to the exit and hit my door buttons that close the car doors.

I think I pulled it off, but I'll never know. Of course on my way out, I see an old friend. I wondered if she made the connection when she saw me load up in my red Dodge Caravan and pull away.

Next time I'll send Daniel.

Margaret Elizabeth

2007-07-07T19:56:00.000-04:00

With all of Mary Evelyne's funny quotes, cute friends, and many talents it is often hard for her little sister to grab the spotlight from her. But make no mistake, Maggie Beth is a never-ending source of joy and entertainment in our house.

The girl hardly stops smiling, from the morning when she squeals with delight at her sister when she comes in to see her in her crib, all they way to bedtime when she laughs at Daddy's funny faces before her bath.

Maggie Beth looks more like her Mommie than her big sister, but she has her Daddy's blue eyes, and the same chubby thighs I had as a baby. She is seven months now and she's busy everyday rolling, grabbing, tummy crawling, bouncing in her bouncer, napping, eating sweet peas and sweet potatoes, making funny faces, and making her Mom, Dad and Big Sis smile.

I figured since Mary E has had her chance to make you smile with her two videos on this blog, it's about time I post one of Maggie B. So without further ado, here's Maggie Beth in her her You Tube debut:

Family Photo

2007-07-03T09:49:00.000-04:00

Sad to say, but this is our first family photo since Maggie Beth was born in November. Now if we could just get everyone to look at the camera at the same time.

Friends

2007-07-01T21:01:00.000-04:00

This past week has been a week to hang out with friends....Mary Evelyne's friends that is. She gets rather bored during the summer without some other 3 year old stimulation. The best part is that all of her friends are also in love with Maggie Beth (yet another plus of being the second child...see post below) so everybody benefits when we have these precious girls around. Here are some pics and some stories....

Tasha

This precious friend calls Mary Evelyne White something that sounds like "May Evyn Wipe". The funny thing is she calls her by her entire name almost every time. Tasha normally pretty much lets Mary Evelyne boss her around, but when Mary Evelyne got tired of singing (on the laundry baskets to Christmas music with spoon as microphones) before Tasha did, Tasha stood her ground and just kept on singing.

Tasha just turned three and had a princess party of her own. Unlike Mary Evelyne's mother, Tasha's mother, our dear Ms. Crystal, made (yes, made) princess skirts for all the little girls to wear. Mary Evelyne was right by Tasha's side the entire time. She made sure to tell her she loved her about 10 times during the party.

Schuyler

This brings us to Schuyler (pronounced Skyler), another dear friend. I guess you would say that Tasha, Schuyler and Mary Evelyne are the Three Musketeers. Schuyler (Mary Evelyne calls her Skye for short) also attended Tasha's party. As you can see, she has about 2 rings on each finger. This really impaired her ability to eat, play, etc. at the party, but she never took the rings off.

Skye and her little sister Zoe celebrated their birthdays the next day (yes, Mary E's social calendar was full last weekend). Mary Evelyne had fun, but I think Maggie B was the real hit.

The little girl she is sitting with is Nyriah (Tasha's niece) who is actually about 7 months older, but looks the same size. I have a big girl (Skye and her mom lovingly call her "Big Mama"). Little Zoe (Skye's sister) can't say Maggie B, so she calls her "Biggie B".

So, this weekend was a little more relaxed, but Mary Evelyne still needed her "friend" fix. We took Tasha to Riverstone's playgroup on Friday (too many kids to take pics - including our other Zoe "Miss Laura's Zoe", that handsome HenHen and our bud Charlie).

Saturday we took Schuyler to story time at the library.

This was one of the funniest experiences I can remember in a long time. The little girl to the left tried to sit next to Skye during one story. Mary E was not having that, so she forcefully wedged herself between this girl and Schuyler.

The stories were centered around the 4th of July and America (a little over their heads) and at one point the story referred to something about pee-wee baseball. Well, Mary Evelyne and Schuyler thought the word "pee-wee" was hilarious and they started laughing hysterically when really that part of the story was not suppossed to be funny. A few minutes later the story talked about getting hot-dogs at the "Knights of Columbus" booth. Mary Evelyne says loudly "My Mama and Pops live in Columbus." Everyone looks at us strangely, except Skye who again laughs hysterically, which makes Mary E also laugh hysterically. Then, during the next book, Schuyler lets out a loud burp. The funny thing is that apparently, this phased neither of them. They didn't laugh or even acknowledge it, but just kept listening intently. The next part of "story time" was actually a projection movie. They both kept asking loudly "Why is the movie on the wall?" and watched more of the fascinating projector than they did of the movie.

Craft time was hilarious. We made these 4th of July headbands, but they both thought they were Indians and kept running around patting their mouths with their hands and making those Indian noises.

Finally, on our way out, we had to spend about 10 minutes at the water fountains, also a novelty for preschoolers. What a way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday.

I am telling you, these girls (plus some other dear ones) make up our world right now and we love it. It seems everywhere we look there are sisters to love our sisters. Girls just wanna have fun and we are having it!

These Are the Days

2007-06-21T22:22:00.000-04:00

This song describes how I feel about my life these days, soaking it all in....

These are days you’ll remember

Never before and never since, I promise

Will the whole world be warm as this

And as you feel it,

You’ll know it’s true

That you are blessed and lucky

It’s true that you

Are touched by something

That will grow and bloom in you

These are days that you’ll remember

When May is rushing over you

With desire to be part of the miracles

You see in every hour

You’ll know it’s true

That you are blessed and lucky

It’s true that you are touched

By something that will grow and bloom in you

These are the days you might fill

With laughter until you break

These days you might feel

A shaft of light

Make its way across your face

And when you do

Then you’ll know how it was meant to be

See the signs and know their meaning

It's true

Then you’ll know how it was meant to be

Hear the signs and know they’re speaking

To you, to you

Who's Ya Daddy?

2007-06-18T20:07:00.000-04:00

This is a day late and a dollar short (like most of my attempted undertakings these days) but I wanted to take a few minutes and honor my babies' Daddy with this post.

Daniel became a Dad at the age of 25. This is the young man who, while we were dating in college, told me that he would not even consider marriage until he had finished law school. So, three happy years of marriage later, at the beginning of OUR (not his) second year of law school, two pink lines changed our lives forever. I knew he was excited when he skipped the UGA v. Clemson game to go home and tell our parents (well, our moms actually knew already because we had to call them for help in deciphering the pregnancy test - seems law school students can see everything two ways). Daniel truly did 50% of everything involving Mary Evelyne because he had no choice. We both had to go to class, both had to pass, and both had to sleep at some point. Other moms we knew (which weren't many) laughed that he knew all of Mary Evelyne's outfits including the names of the brands, the best way to clip baby nails, and how to clean the breast pump parts. Now that is hands on.

I don't have it quite so good with Maggie Beth since I work part-time and Daniel works full time, but we have the "team" approach to parenting down to an art. Sometimes we make it through picking the girls up after work, cooking dinner, feeding everyone, cleaning up, bath time, bottles, stories, with less than 100 works spoken, but everyone playing their part, carrying out this not-so-seamless dance known as evenings in the White house. Middle of the night wakings and feedings have a system all their own, with unspoken, yet perfectly understood, rules about who gets up when and for how long.

These are things you don't think of looking for in a man when you are 20, eating at Weaver D's, hanging out at the Abbey pool, and riding around in your VW Cabrio telling your roommates how much you like it when it turns from winter to Spring because you like how your boyfriend's legs look in shorts. But, it is the hundreds of little things that I didn't know about Daniel until we had children that are most precious to me. Some of them I can't even put into words. Sometimes it's just a smile in the midst of our crazy days that says, "yes we are running around like crazy, so tired we could be asleep if given 3 minutes, a floor and a pillow, but I love you more than ever and I wouldn't have it any other way".

God knew that I would enjoy life so much more with Daniel by my side. He knew that our girls needed a man who loves Georgia football, the Civil War, Jesus Christ, head scratches, Disney princesses, family, and most of all, us. When we were dating, I always felt like I was the roller coaster and Daniel was just steady and easygoing. Now that there are 3 of us emotional girls, I think we are the teacups at Disney World (see below), spinning round and round, and Daniel is holding tightly to the little silver circle in the middle so we don't make ourselves sick!

Thanks for holding onto us Daddy! We love you!

Your girls.

P.S. Maggie Beth apologizes, but as of today, there are no photos in our possession of you and her. Oops! Poor second child.

Team blogging and Deep Thoughts from Mary E

2007-06-14T10:00:00.000-04:00

So while I was still in the process of putting the finishing touches on this here blog, it was apparently partially hi-jacked by my wife, seeing as she added her own post and unilaterally published the whole thing earlier than I had planned.
But I have to say that our working together on this is absolutely fine by me. I never could manage a sustained effort on my earlier attempts at blogging about the girls, so I imagine a team effort will work better.

Katie has been quite fascinated lately by the network of blogs that is now up and running among our many friends and family, which give us new insight into their daily lives, and I guess that's what sparked her interest in contributing here.

However, in typical Katie fashion, her involvement immediately made this site a much more intellectual and thoughtful experiment. I am much more apt to try and produce a blog with some good visuals and a little witty banter, a la the first-rate material found on the J Train blog (hard for me to admit that I'd like to model my site after an Auburn man's blog, but he is kin after all, so I'll own up to it). Katie, on the other hand, is a much deeper thinker than yours truly. She sees the big picture a lot better than me and is far better at expressing herself. If I tried to post on her level we'd probably end up with something akin to Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey.

And speaking of Deep Thoughts, here's a new recurring feature that I'm sure you will enjoy, Deep Thoughts from Mary Evelyne (sorry if some of y'all have heard some of these, but they are well worth repeating):

- from this morning, as she drank a bottled water from my bedside table: "Mommie, am I drinking your germs or Daddy's?"

- also from this morning, in response to my query as to whether she had flushed the potty after her pee-pee (keep in mind we have told her not to flush the toilet when Mommie, Daddy, or Lil Sis are in the tub/shower): "No, I didn't flush the potty because it will make the Lee's Crossing Pool too hot."

-and again from this morning (as Mommie sighs after letting Nellie out for the 3rd time this morning): "Mommie, it's hard to take care of two girls and a doggie."

- but, by far, our favorite of her recent quotes comes from a recent Sunday lunch (not long after we'd discussed God being in her heart after the prayer): "This chocolate milk is yummy...(thirty seconds later)..."God is in my heart"...(another fifteen seconds)..."I think that when I drink this chocolate milk it rains on God and Jesus in my heart"...(a few more seconds)..."and They like chocolate milk... "

That last one is an instant classic in my book.

Mary Evelyne puts on a show

2007-06-14T09:46:00.000-04:00

Below I've posted some highlights from Mary Evelyne's "end of the year" party for her class of 2 and 3 year olds at Marietta First Methodist pre-school. This was back in May and as you can see, she really put on quite a show. I challenge you to watch this video and not break a smile (I'm fairly certain it can't be done):

Not a creature was stirring....

2007-06-12T10:01:00.000-04:00

The house was so quiet last night. Maggie B had her bath and bottle and was in bed by 7. Mary E wanted to take a bath with her sister and help wash her, even though it was only 6:45, so we let her. We took our time reading princess stories and she got 4 instead of the usual 3. Even still, it was only 7:40 when we finished. Daniel was feeling bad with a headache and was asleep by 8pm. So, I had the house and the night to myself.

Summer TV is no good, so I watched old videos of the girls. I guess Daniel's recent YouTube kick made me want to see more. I wanted to see Mary Evelyne when she was Maggie Beth's age to remind me what she was like. How was she ever that small, not to mention so quiet?

I think the first child really does have such a different experience than those that follow. Up until watching those videos I had always sort of "felt sorry" for Maggie Beth, not getting as much undivided attention from her parents as Mary Evelyne got when she was a baby. For instance, we worked and worked with Mary Evelyne learning to sit up. Maggie Beth has just seemed to start sitting overnight. I guess we were a little distracted. I watched up quietly read her "The night before Christmas" on Christmas Eve when she was 8 months old. The whole family, including grandparents and Josh and Jen, sat watching me read it to her, every eye fixed on that little 8 month old. These days, it would have been me reading to Maggie Beth with Mary Evelyne acting it out in sequins and high heels.

Now I am starting to think that Maggie Beth is the lucky one. What she lacks in attention from us, she gets from Mary Evelyne. That child LOVES her sister. She is constantly reading to her, playing with her, this morning she was trying to teach her to say D..D...Dog and pointing to Nellie. Yes, Maggie Beth gets poked and pushed and squeezed and flashlights shined directly in her eyes, but she seems to love it all as she gazes up at her big sister in awe.

I guess the lesson I am trying to learn is to stop "feeling sorry" for any of us, and to realize that we each have a wonderful, special place in this family that God is creating every day, with every bath, every meal, every diaper changed. We are all growing up together, whether we are learning to sit, to poo-poo in the potty, or to learn to attend to so many little hearts at once.

Port Orleans Dragon Slide

2007-06-10T21:45:00.000-04:00

Blood curdling screams are not usually the sounds you want to hear from your three year old daughter. That is, unless, she's actually having the time of her life on the Dragon Slide at the Port Orleans Resort pool. This is one of our favorite clips from the Disney trip, and trust me, if you want the full effect, you need to turn up the volume on your computer.

Meet the Whites...all over again!

2007-06-07T16:11:00.001-04:00

Hello everyone, the White folks are back!

After a prolonged absence from the blogging world the White family has returned to these here internets. Some of you may remember Mary Evelyne's first foray into the blog-o-sphere, or Maggie Beth's shortlived debut. Some with really good memories might even recall the obscure Idlewyld blog.

So after much procrastination and some pestering by various friends and family, Daniel finally got down to the business of setting up this blog, where you can catch up with not just Mary E, and not just Maggie B, but both girls - in one spot. Heck we may even throw some news from and pictures of the parents, grandparents, etc.

Coming soon...

2007-04-03T12:27:00.000-04:00

Coming soon to this blog...all you ever wanted to know about the White family and their adventures.