Ready, Set, Jump!

Peach Picking

Late summer is when one of our favorite fruits is in season - peaches!  Chiles Peach Orchard in Crozet has tons of trees with different varieties of peaches, so we took a drive today to see what we could find.  The weather was ridiculously hot, but we were nearly the only ones out and it was breezy in the shade of the trees.

Right away Evan found the yummy ripe peaches.  He decided it was best to test the merchandise before buying, so he promptly ate a whole peach right there in the orchard - simply devoured it!  Since it was so good, we filled a whole bag to take home.

Chiles also makes everything peach: peach donuts, peach ice cream, peach cobbler mix, and peach juice.  We had some of each, and it was simply delicious.  We're looking forward to the rest of the summer filled with peaches! 

Grampa P Visit

Grampa P came to visit for the weekend. It was just a quick trip, but it was so good to see him!  Evan had a great time playing with him, running around the yard and playing "tackle" on the living room floor.  We went to the pool and out for ice cream.  Thanks for visiting! 

Summer Fun

Not much is better on a summer day than playing in the pool, watermelon, and ice cream sandwiches!  Happy lazy days of summer, everyone!  We hope you're having as much fun as we are. 

Big Boy Bed

Evan now has graduated to a big boy bed!  Read on for the story of this new development.  

While in Wisconsin, Evan decided he was no longer going to sleep in the port-a-crib.  When I put him to bed the first night and shut the door behind me, within 10 seconds I was startled to hear knocking on the door - from the inside!  He had immediately hopped over the edge and solidly refused to get back in.  He also refused to sleep by himself, so for half the nights of the trip mommy or daddy would lie on the floor with him until he fell asleep.  It was great snuggling, but oh-so difficult to gauge when he was asleep enough to escape the room!  He seemed to have a 6th sense for when you'd move and creep out of the room, no matter how deeply he was sleeping.  Then we'd have to start all over.  The other half of the nights mommy would simply give in and go to sleep on the floor with Evan for the whole night.  It was so sweet to cuddle, and highly amusing to wake to a little finger poking my ear or cheek and a tiny voice, usually whispering, occasionally yelling, "Mommy?  Way-uh (wake up), mommy!"

Stuffy & Doggie
demonstrate how fun it is
to sleep in a big bed.

We thought this might just be a strange-surrounding phenomenon, and hoped that since Evan has always loved his crib that we'd be golden again when we got home.  He'd recognize where he was, know the familiar sheets and lights and smells, and be happy in his crib once again.  We dressed Evan in jammies at the airport knowing it would be late when we arrived home and hoping we could simply lay him down without him waking up.  Fingers crossed...  We got off the flight and home at midnight, and attempted to put him in his crib... not a peep was heard!  Excellent!  I softly closed the door behind me with a sigh of satisfaction, and as I turned to go down the stairs, heard a loud thunk, immediately followed by the sound of tiny pounding feet and kicking at the door.  He had jumped right out of the crib!  I put him back in  to see what he'd do, and sure enough, he pole-vaulted right back out.  He was at least smart enough to hold on to the railing, fling his feet over, and drop down for a somewhat soft landing on his feet.  I made a nest of pillows and blankets, and we spent the night on the floor (again).  

Progress Updates

The next day, daddy brought up the tools and we converted Evan's crib to a toddler bed!  He was a little leery of it at first - he was OK sitting in it but definitely not sleeping in it.  The first week he continued to sleep on the floor.  The next week he allowed himself to be put to bed in the bed, but halfway though the night he'd pull out all the blankets and pillows to make a floor-nest again.  Finally, about 3 weeks in, he loves to climb in bed, pull up the blanket, and go right to sleep.  He stays in all night!  

It's amazing to see how his body is unconsciously learning to spin and roll and move less and less in his sleep. Back when he was littler, he'd move around and around the mattress. Now he wakes up in pretty much the same position he goes to sleep in, and his body seems to recognize the boundaries of the mattress even without a side railing.  It's fascinating how he learns and adapts.

Wisconsin: Fourth of July Parade

Happy Independence Day!  While we were in Racine, we went to the 4th of July parade downtown.  Our great and oh-so-kind friends the Isaacsons saved us seats in a prime parade location, and on the shady side of the street to boot!  Evan was thrilled to hang out with Ella and Lily, and he quickly adopted their mom Holly as his new best friend.  We had a front row curbside seat to view what I think was Evan's first parade.  All in all, it was a blast.  Since it was the night after a concert, only Grandma and Mommy went with Evan, but Daddy was super helpful and drove us there.  We got dropped off a block from our seats and didn't have to fight for parking!  Yay!      

It was a pretty good parade!  Over 100 groups were entered, though there were very few true floats (I don't think the "bands on semitruck flatbeds" count as floats, do you?).  The Marines and several other military groups did the living-statue thing where a couple guys or gals essentially bathe in bronze paint then stand in the positions of a famous military monument or statue.  Here's the Iwo Jima one: it's really close to the real thing!  They had to be roasting in that paint, and I can't imagine the stiff back they had to have had at the end! 

There also wasn't much in the way of clowns, but there were plenty of doggies (which Evan loved), some people on bikes (also a big hit), and a couple stilt walkers.  There were couple a local college and football team mascots, which went over like a lead balloon on our side of the street.  Mascots continue to instill complete terror in our otherwise courageous little guy (see earlier photo of said terror here) - I hope he grows out of that soon, since Mommy loves mascots! 

The Racine Trolley made a parade appearance. I love that thing... Trolleys are just plain cool, and I have fond memories of riding it to Prom. 

Evan (aka Mr. Social) spent a lot of the parade saying hi to everyone who sat near us, passed by on the sidewalk, and all the parade participants. It was a long and very exciting morning, and we all were definitely ready for a nap when it was over.  Happy 4th of July!  

DMB fun

While we were home, Evan got to spend quality time with grandparents while mommy and daddy went to concerts.  We love visiting Alpine Valley, one of the best big concert locations around, and it's even better when enjoyed with friends!  Here are a few (somewhat illicit) shots from the Sunday night show. 

Paczesneys & Pariseaus

Wisconsin Visit: Madison

We spent a full day in Madison this trip. It was so good to see so many people!  We stopped at Olin Park for a good leg stretch/run and observed the city from across Lake Monona before heading downtown.  After a brief drive around campus to see all the new construction and walk down memory lane, we went to State Street Brats for lunch.

We've been initiating Evan into the ways of being a Badger for a long time now by frequently reading one of his favorite books, "Hello Bucky!"  It has paid off, because as soon as we walked into the restaurant, Evan shouted out, "Bucky!!!" at the carving on the bar.  He thought sitting in the big booth was awesome, and the fact that there was a life-size cow statue right out the window made it that much cooler.

The next stop was of course the University Book store, where Evan scored major points with all the college girls.  Right inside the front door is a wooden cut out of Bucky that you put your face in.  Evan squealed with joy, yelling "Hello Bucky!" and climbing right up to happily stick his face in the hole.  He then proceeded to lose major points with mommy as he ran happily through all the clothing racks attempting to pull off the hangar one of every shirt and testing one of every hat, pointing out each and every Bucky he saw.  There are a lot of them, it being a Badger store and all.  We did walk out with a new hat and shirt for Evan, who was pleased as punch.

While Evan took a brief car ride nap, we traveled to see some of Mommy's lifelong Racine & Madison friends.  Evan was in complete awe of the big 5 year olds, who were very kind to include him in their play and showed him how to walk up a slide.  He was also enthralled with the girls who are almost his age, and I think he would have taken PeeWee the dog home with him in an instant.  After a great dinner of burgers, corn, and watermelon and a fantastic group photo, it was time for jammies.  But just like any good bedtime with friends, all the kids got a second wind and started chasing each other through the house.  Evan tried mightily to catch the big kids, and ran happily around and around and around and around and around...  When we finally got loaded back in the car, he was asleep almost before we left the driveway.  Thanks again for a great visit, friends!  I hope we can see you again soon - we miss you tons!