Evan's New Car

One of Evan's Christmas gifts was a Cozy Coupe. It's a total hit! The moment we took it out of the box, Evan jumped in - well before the wheels or door was on. He then proceeded to "help" daddy put it together, anxiously awaiting his first opportunity for a ride. Now that it's all ready, he's got a parking space all picked out (dining room corner) and considers the hall his personal freeway. He's getting out of the car pretty much only to eat and sleep, and is sharing his new space with all his favorite toys. He can't wait for all this snow to melt so he can drive it up and down the driveway! Soon he'll be motoring right along - look out, Charlottesville!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We've had a great day.

We went to church last night - a family service at 4 complete with puppets, kid-friendly instruments, glow-sticks (instead of candles) and animal noises to tell the story of Baby Jesus. Evan thought church should be like this every week! Lasagna was ready when we got home, and we left cookies out for Santa.

True to his word, Santa brought Evan just what he was wishing for - a basketball and a football! He also brought a chair for the living room - it's just Evan's size, and how did he know the right colors to match the rest of the furniture? Other gifts came too and were a huge hit - books recorded with Grandparents' voices, a play cell phone, a big red car, and much, much more! Evan was more than pooped by the 10am nap, but coming down after the nap was like Christmas again - he had forgotten all the new things that had arrived.

Thanks, everyone, for making this a wonderful Christmas. We hope you had a beautiful holiday too!

Visiting Santa

It's never too late for Santa to work his magic, so we went for a visit this morning. The line at the mall wasn't too long, and Evan was all dressed up. He was a complete champ! (The 18month old behind us wasn't nearly so brave when his turn came.) Evan sat politely for the photo op, told Santa what he was hoping for (basket- and footballs), and left with a wave. He must have known that nice little boys get rewarded on Christmas morning!

Christmas Message from Santa

Evan got a very special Christmas message from Santa. Watch it here.

The Blizzard of '09: Day 3

8:30am: Brave Mike's going to trying to go to work. Cross your fingers!
9:15: I see a snowplow coming down my street! While that's good for the street, it's not good for Mike - he's in the street - right in the path of the plow!
9:16: Mike starts to back up - down a one lane trough of snow. Careful!
9:19: Um, why isn't the plow moving?
9:21: Um, why isn't Mike moving?
9:30: The plow driver is now out and digging out the plow with a shovel. That's not good.
9:32: Mike's digging the auto out with a shovel. Crystal comes out to help.
10:30: The plow is backing away, slowly, as if in fear of our poor little street. Really not good.
10:35: Crystal & Mike are backing the auto back into the driveway.
10:35: The plow left a 3ft wall of snow at the end of our road. Gee, thanks.
10:50: Mike and the neighbors are trying to dig just two tire tracks worth of snow out of the pile so we can get our autos out.
11:20: Free! Mike's free! ...until the plow comes back.

The Blizzard of 09: Day 2 continued

The snow started falling at 4pm on Friday... and didn't stop until near midnight on Saturday. The current estimate? 27 whopping inches. That's more than this Wisconsinite can ever remember seeing in one storm! Quite impressive.

But it's fun to play in the snow! Ernie finally ventured out of the path, but quickly returned to the safety of the tromped-down snow.

The Blizzard of 09: Day 2

Ernie and Evan had a good time, until Ernie knocked Evan over, face first. Then it wasn't so much fun. But we discovered that snow is fun to throw, and to eat. This winter wonderland thing isn't bad! (Though it's sad that mommy is missing some ingredients for cookies...)

The Blizzard of 09: Day 1

The weathermen were right - snow was on the way. Reports started with 5 inches, and quickly changed to 12, then 18. We're now 32 hours into the storm, and have a total of 17 inches outside - and the snow is still falling!

Ernie flat out refused to go outside until Mike had cleared a substantial path this morning. (Unfortunately you can't see that path any more!) Smart dog, because it was cold, and probably more so on his naked belly. Once he had a path though, he was raring to go. He wanted so badly to run through the whole snowy yard, but since the snow was up to his ears, couldn't bring himself to do it. Case in point - about 3/4 of the way through this video, see Ernie burying his head in the snow as if to test it's firmness.

Evan, on the other hand, couldn't wait to get outside this morning. We had some snow about a week ago so this wasn't his first, but it's still a new sensation. What fun! He walked up and down the path, and patted and pushed at the mountain of snow. (I think he's finally realized the value of mittens!) We narrowly missed getting dumped on by a load of snow falling off the roof, thanks to some fancy footwork. We'll see what tomorrow brings - maybe daddy will help us with a snowman or snow angel... if we can open the door!

Ball?

Hey - there's a tree in the living room! Evan woke up this morning to discover our Christmas tree. (There are only 1/5 of the ornaments on it, and most of those ornaments are on the top 1/3 of the tree - we're not taking any chances!) He was curious about all the decorations and lights, but the "balls" on the tree were what caught his eye the most. I wonder how long they'll last...

Happy Holidays, everyone!

SNOW!

It's snowing in VA! Big, fat flakes of heavy, wet, white snow. Evan was very interested in the snow, and wanted to stay out and play for hours. We only ended up with a few small inches, but it's definitely snow, which is not a typical sight in VA.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Since a 1-month old Evan slept through his first Thanksgiving, we dubbed today his first REAL Thanksgiving. He got all dressed up, and mommy's cousins came down from DC to spend the day. We had a full turkey and mashed potatoes and cranberries and pies - Evan tried it all. His favorites were the turkey, rolls, and apple pie. What a happy boy! We are so thankful for him.

Love you mommy! Smooch!!

Yummy Peas

Remember back when a video was posted of Evan spitting out peas? We alternated peas and bananas to see if he'd take to the veggie, and it was a definite no-go. Oh, how times have changed.

At dinner tonight we had a concoction of spaghetti noodles, eggs, bacon, and peas with Italian dressing and parmesan cheese. It was good! Evan's favorite part? The peas! He picked every single pea off his plate, avoiding the bacon and eggs and noodles, until he had eaten what he wanted. What a kid. (Ernie liked the eggs best.)

Fall Leaves

It's a beautiful crisp fall day in Virginia! That's the perfect time to help Evan discover leaves and walking in the grass. Our little man is doing very well at walking on uneven surfaces. He wasn't too sure about sitting in the cool grass, but once he realized he could play with the leaves, being outside wasn't so bad after all. Pretty soon he'll be a big helper and raking right alongside us!

Vacuum Toy

Grandma Barb came for a visit and took Evan toy shopping. He fell in love with the popcorn vacuum and had to bring it home. It's a ton of fun to play with, though Ernie doesn't like it much (at all). He'll get used to it though. Evan sure hopes so, because it's so much fun to push around the house! Thanks, Grandma Barb!

A Walking Pro

Evan's a walking pro now. He has been toddling around for weeks, gaining confidence, and he's finally got it. He no longer needs to hold on to the wall, and his balance is great. Look out Ernie and world - here he comes!

Dancing to DMB

Even at just 1 year of age, Evan definitely likes DMB. Party on, little guy!

Trick or Treat

Charlottesville has a great tradition of Trick or Treating on the Lawn. The Lawn is the main area on campus, like Bascom Hill in Wi - but flatter and lined by student and faculty living quarters. On Halloween all the residents open their doors to trick or treating children of all ages.

Evan dressed up as a duck for Halloween. It's one of his favorite animals and quack is a favorite word! He was a hit at the Lawn, with his little feet and poofy tail. Mommy and Daddy benefited from most of the candy, but we all had a great time. Happy Halloween!

Birthday Party

We celebrated Evan's first birthday this weekend. It's hard to believe he's 1 already! Family and some of Evan's favorite friends were on hand to help celebrate. He got awesome toys - trains, trucks, balls, and more - and excellent snacks. It was a Hippo party, so of course we had Hippo cakes! A small blue one for Evan, and big grey one for us. The whole day was a "smashing" success!

Haircut Time

It was finally time - Evan got his first haircut this afternoon. His curls were so cute we wanted them to stay forever, but his bangs were in his eyes, so off we went. Evan was an awesome guy in the chair! He didn't cry at all, and was mostly curious about the other people in the salon. The scissors, water bottle, and even the clippers didn't phase him at all. He definitely looks spiffy now, just in time for his first birthday!






Before












After

Apple Picking & Pumpkin Hunting

Carter's Mountain Apple Orchard is a Charlottesville staple. We picked a cold and windy day to visit, but had a great time. After driving up the mountain, we got our bags and hiked out through the trees. Evan was very intrigued to see apples in the trees, and clamored for a piece of his favorite fruit. The first apple he touched went right in his mouth, and wow was it good! Having fresh juice all over and a happy little man chased away all the cold. After filling our bags with enough apples to make pies and muffins for months, we also bought apple donuts, apple cider, and apple butter! Yum.

Next stop was the pumpkin patch. Evan was very curious as to what bright and hard things were nearly as tall as he was. One little man in one big pumpkin patch... The smaller pumpkins were just his size. It's going to be fun to carve them for Halloween!

Daddy's Office

During halftime of the game we went to Daddy's office to warm up and stretch our legs. Evan decided to be like Daddy and try his hand at allocating seats in the stadium. No promises on anyone's special requests, but the verdict is: working in the ticket office is fun!

Tailgate

Saturdays in October are made for tailgaiting! Mrs. R brings the chicken, Mrs. S brings the coleslaw, mommy brings dessert, and my friends are there to play with. I'm really getting used to this fun! Come on, Hoos!

Steps!

Evan's standing tall and balancing all on his own! He's taking his very first steps too! They're very tentative, and he'd much rather be touching something for security, but occasionally, he's venturing out to taking a step. Go, go, little man!

Tickle Laughs

There's nothing better than baby laughter, and luckily Evan is frequently happy to oblige. He's got a couple tickle spots that always get him, including (strangely) on his collarbones. Keep on laughing, my little boy!

Mommy's Home

"Mommy went to New Mexico, and I got this shirt!" It's great to have mommy home!!

USNA

On the way home from Philadelphia, we stopped in Annapolis. It was great to be back! We passed mommy & daddy's first Maryland apartment, walked down City Dock, had lunch in the Market House, and visited the US Naval Academy where Evan got to meet a lot of mommy & daddy's friends. He really got a kick out of the statue of Bill the Goat. We tried to teach him the cheer: Go Navy - Beat Army!

Slider

Will Evan be a future Hall of Fame baseball player? Here he's demonstrating his sliding catch on the living room floor with a tennis ball. Nice catch!

Football

Evan's first live football game was today! He had a great tailgate with the Hunt family and was a perfect football buddy for daddy. Here's hoping for a good season.

That's What Little Boys Are Made Of

Hey, look - my puppy has a tail! I wonder what it does...

Shoes

After 10 months of going barefoot, shoes might take some getting used to! How do they work? Why are they heavy? What's this sharp stuff that holds the straps on? Can I chew on the straps? Hmm.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of Fall Semester at school. Evan wore new shoes and was all smiles to see his friends and teachers again. It's going to be a great year!

A Masterpiece

We painted today! Evan had the day off of school as the teachers prepare for tomorrow's first day of fall semester, so we painted apple picture for our teachers. It was messy, but fun! And the teachers loved their works of art!