Reading to Ernie

Our neighbors brought over two new books for Evan. He was so excited he sat right down and shared them with his best buddy: Ernie.  This is just a bit of their reading time - they sat together for nearly 10 minutes in total.  I'm not sure if I'm more proud of Ernie for sitting patiently so long or for Evan's reading and sharing skills! 

Ernie Walk?

The sun is going down earlier and earlier, but we still try to sneak in walks for Ernie.  Evan hates to ride in the stroller for our walks, and he desperately wants to be the one to actually walk Ernie.  In the house that's great, but not so much outside.  We devised a good solution on a recent walk - attach two leashes to Ernie's collar!  The adult holds one and Evan gets the other.  Since Evan goes at the slowest pace, more often that not Ernie is the one pulling Evan.  Here's some video of us getting ready to go outside.

Twinkle

Twinkle, Twinkle!  It's the same tune as his favorite ABC song, so Evan caught on to this one quickly.  (Though for this recording he simply didn't want to sing the last line.)

ABC's?

The most frequently requested song in the house (or in the car or in the grocery store) is ABC's.  Evan's gotten really good at singing it!  LMNOP still trips him up a little, but it's getting better every day.  Here are two versions of him singing his letters. 

Pop

Music is big in our house now.  Evan loves all kinds of songs, and dances whenever he can.  This video was shot in June, but he still loves to sing it!

Curious George

Curious George came to town this week, and we went over to the JPJ to say hi. Evan brought his stuffed George, and sat happily through the show snuggled with it.

Football Day

We're ready for some Virginia football!  With a new coach and a new team, our house is hoping for some great games and wins this year.  Today was Meet the Team Day, where we got to run around the stadium and hang out with the team and coaches. 

Evan was super excited by the bouncy-house. Since he's just recently learned to jump, this was the coolest thing ever to him. Evan was the smallest one in there with a couple of bigger kids, but Evan held his own!  I think he could have happily stayed there all day.

The kids were given an orange and blue football at the stadium, and from the way Evan was clutching it, we never thought he'd put it down.  We knew we'd have to avoid CavMan, as Evan's not too keen on mascots.  Sure enough, as soon as he saw CavMan he started pulling us in the other direction.  It's funny because he loves photos of CavMan, but that doesn't translate.  We went over to pet the horse, Sabre, that the real CavMan rides into the stadium, and Evan was excited to stand in line.  He waited patiently until we got to the front of the line, and then - just when it was our turn, Evan let out an ear piercing scream of, "No No No!"  Oh well. 

Evan also got his first body paint at the Meet the Team Day.  He got a Virginia Sabre logo on his hand, and wore it proudly all afternoon.  We ran into his friend who was waiting in line for a player's autograph, and Evan told him all about the bouncy-house and his body paint.  Both boys were super excited for each others adventures.

Here's to a winning season!

Basketball Hoop!

Mommy went shopping (rummaging) this weekend and scored a great deal: this basketball hoop!  It's perfect for outside, and it's adjustable for many years of fun.  We tried to hide it for a couple hours as a surprise but Evan sniffed it out.  We now play basketball nearly every day, and he's pretty good!

Draft Day 2010

It's Draft Day!  Fantasy Football is in full swing, and Daddy and Evan sat down to evaluate all the players and pick their best team.  There are a lot of different stat sheets and schedules to look at, and Evan was a good buddy who made his choices clear.  It's going to be a great year!

My Pet Mouse

"Look, Ernie - I have a new pet mouse!  Let's run around the house together."

County Fair 2010

Wherever we are, we always go to the County Fair.  The Albemarle fair is smaller than some, but still a good time.  We spent a hot summer afternoon touring the tents and seeing award-winning photos, veggies, cakes, and sewing.  We practiced our farm animal noises (though we couldn't figure out what a llama says!?!?)  We had homemade peach popsicles, and rode the carousel.  It was lots of fun!

Booster Seat Day

Graduation time has come!  Evan wanted to get out of his high chair and sit in the "big chair", but he can barely see over the edge of the table.  So we got a booster!  He loves being truly at the table with the rest of us, and Ernie's happy because he's closer to the food...