Big Boy Room Revealed!

Evan's new room is done! He loves it. (View progress here, and here.) There's plenty of space to play, lots of shelves and bins for toys, and sports balls all over the walls. The big bed is super comfy, and perfect for sharing good book and snuggle time. He's all grown up...

New Furniture Assembly

Progress on Ev's new room continues.  The UPS man seems to be getting tired of delivering the huge boxes of heavy furniture to the house, but Evan is giddy with joy to open them and help in the construction.

Spring Flowers... and Snow

Was I just saying how gorgeous it's been outside?  We've had perfectly lovely weather since February, and all the flowers have popped up. 

Then of course just the next week, we had a freak snowstorm!  Weird weather.  But if you can't play sports outside, you might as well make a snowman! 

Bounce N Play

We went to a friend's birthday party today at the Bounce N Play.  They have lots of fun stuff - air baseball, huge bouncy houses, slides and clubhouses, dress up toys, and a room of only windows to paint on.  For the party we had pizza and cupcakes with lots of friends from school.  It was a long and fun morning.

Ernie - no hands!

The other morning, Evan and Mike were playing upstairs, and Evan closed the door to "lock them in."  Mommy wasn't home, so Mike asked, "Who's going to get us out?  Can Ernie help?"  Astutely, Evan looked him right in the eye and answered, "No daddy, Ernie not have hands."  How very observant!

When Evan was looking for someone to play with last night, he immediately turned to his buddy, Ernie. Unfortunately, he again realized he didn't have hands, so playing cars together wouldn't be as easy as Evan hoped. 

Big Day: A Movie, a Date, Lacrosse, and Baseball

It's the Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, and there are activities all over the downtown Mall for everyone interested in reading.  This morning there was a Cat in the Hat movie and parade, and Evan made a date with his friend Caroline to attend.  Caroline brought along a great drum for the parade, and they made lots of noise marching down the street to the movie theatre.  Inside, we got a free book, heard from the Cat in the Hat himself, and watched a fun show.

After the movie, the kids went on a "date."  We strolled down the street to explore a tiny but delicious Crepe restaurant just off main street.  Unprompted, they held hands and walked arm in arm the whole way there!

Following a much needed nap, we ventured out to the UVA lacrosse game.  Ev had a great time using his little chair (just like mommy's, only smaller!), cheering, and making the highschool girls laugh at his giggles.  From seeing him at the game, some would be willing to bet he's going to be a lacrosse player when he gets big...  

 ...until we came home and he wanted to play baseball!  It's all the rage in our backyard.  We haven't even been to a game live and in person yet, but it's the only thing Evan wants to do every day after school.  He's really quite good!  Of course I can't get it on camera, but he can hit a homerun right out of the park and run the bases like nobody's business.  We're working on proper form and slowly learning the rules.  We haven't figured out if Evan will be a righty or lefty, but Mike's enjoying teaching him both.

We were all exhausted after the long but oh-so-fun day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We made green cookies over the weekend (thanks, Gramma K for sending the fun supplies), and Ev was decked out in his green shamrock shirt (plus his new super cool Kohl's flame sunglasses - yes, Kohl's finally opened in Charlottesville!!) for school.  What a cute little leprechaun! 

Bed with Friends

While Ev continues to wait patiently for his big room, he's making the most of his last days in the little room and his little bed until baby comes.  He's taken a real interest in having his best friends sleep with him, and is very particular about the layout.  Everyone has to have their head on the pillow, be tucked in to their chin, and be kissed goodnight.  Of course, we're happy to oblige!

The crowd is growing!! 

New Bedroom Prep

With the new-baby date looming quickly (est May 5), it's high time we get Ev in his big boy bedroom.  Today we started with the paint.  I've been agonizing over the paint and decor for weeks, trying to figure out what will last (we don't want to have to paint every year!) and what will be flexible enough to go with all his future interests.  I finally settled on a Pottery Barn quilt, and luckily for me (since I was feeling decorating-challenged), it came with a specific swatch of paint to buy!  The boys started taping and priming this morning, and Mike'll put the color on in a couple days.  Of course, Evan was right there to help! 

Can you guess who did what taping?

Ev was sorely disappointed that he couldn't sleep in his new room right away, and it was tough to explain that not only did we not have the furniture all assembled yet but the room smelled like paint fumes.  He's asking about it constantly, "I sleep in my big room, mommy?

As soon as we have the full room done, you can see the whole thing, but we're not giving it away just yet!

Newspaper

Mr. Helper is so proud to get the paper all by himself in the morning...pants or not. 

Ippy Dippy Spider

Or, the SpiderMan song.  He thinks they're one and the same.

Brownie Making

Ev is a great kitchen helper.  Today we made some yummy brownies, and he was right there to help.  The best part?  Licking the spatula, of course!  Delish. 

 And while we waited for them to bake, the boys had a little Sesame Street watching party on the floor. Anyone see the resemblance?? 

First Dentist Appointment

Some people say children should go to the dentist at 6 months, others not until 4 years.  We split the difference and took Ev when he was just a little over 2.  I was prepared for anything - a meltdown, a total refusal to get into the chair and let someone see his teeth...  But it wasn't any trouble at all.  In fact, we struggled to leave since there were new toys and a fish tank to explore in the waiting room.  The dental assistant talked about good oral hygiene with us, and Ev hopped right up in the big chair for a quick exam.  He got to wear super cool Spiderman sunglasses, and the dentist sang fun songs while checking out his teeth.  He left with an excellent bill of health.  Way to go!