Brusha, Brusha, Brusha

Evelyn has always been mesmerized by my toothbrush. She loves to watch us brush our teeth. Now we can do it together.


I can't wait to do more things together this summer-swimming, nice walks, going to the park, picnics. It's going to be great! We're already somewhat prepared for summer what with outfits bought last year and our new swimsuit.



Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen? She is kissing her stuffed animals, her new favorite past time. Now that she is walking like a champ we let her wander around the house freely and often find her in her bedroom hugging and kissing her stuffed animals while saying "baby".

Gimme Gimme Gimme

Transitioning to table food is going to be no problem in this house! Evelyn will eat anything and everything. Most nights she will eat puffs while I get her dinner ready, a whole jar of stage 3 baby food and then a helping of whatever we have for dinner-last night this was grilled chicken breast, mashed potatoes and sweet corn. And she will eat her fair share of the table food! It's funny how she just kind of lays back in her chair and eats so relaxed. She'll try any new food, too.


Here are the mangled remains of that dill pickle that she loved and chased after when I went to toss it.


Evelyn is as fond of bathtime as she is of anything edible. Here is my little circus monkey enjoying some bath time toys.

Too Good To Be True

Last night my girlfriend Sam and I had a craving for Buffalo Wild Wings and I had to return some things at Marshalls so we headed to Peru. Evelyn went down for a second nap at 2 so since it was 4pm I decided to transfer her to the carseat and head out. She woke up when I picked her up and told me about her dreams while I changed her diaper and put on her coat and hat. She happily played with her Elmo phone on the ride to Peru, not making a peep. We went into Marhsalls for a while then drove to Hobby Lobby real quick. She was happy to look at all the interesting things in the stores and talk to us while we walked around. At Buffalo Wild Wings we fed her dinner before we ate then threw her a little shredded cheese and some puffs to enjoy while we at dinner. She enjoyed the atmosphere, she almost broke her neck to look at the big screen, and made friends with a cute little baby boy who waved back and forth with her the whole night. At one point some little girls behind us became fussy and began screaming, they were about 5years old. Evelyn was rubber necking to see what was going on and finally yelled out, "Ahhhh!" She was just trying to fit in. It was pretty hilarious. Once we bundled her up and got into the car she was completely content holding her lovey and was silent the whole way home. Man, am I lucky. She is SO good!

My Baby Can Read!

You've seen proof! I posted a video a blog or two back. She will crawl over piles of toys to get to books and sit and look at them for hours. She is completely content independently playing. She'll go through her books one by one flipping the pages and babbling up a storm. If she notices you watching she will drag a book over to you and say "book" wanting you to read to her. I totally take advantage of it because it's a chance to cuddle her. And so do a few other people.


And here's a shot of my little princess, pinky finger fully extended. She is royalty, ya know.


One more that was too cute not to share!

Bath Time Horder

Taking a bath is Evelyn's favorite pastime, aside from eating dirty kleenex, digging poopy diapers out of the garbage in her room and playing with empty cardboard boxes. But, hey, what can I say? She's easy to please. I'm glad we wasted money on the zillion toys she has for her to enjoy such cheap thrills! It really is amusing to see her joy when presented with a spoon to play with or a clean washcloth, her favorite bath toy. Check it out!


She definitely leads well by example, too. She's learned to mimic coughing and all kinds of words, baby is her newest. She loves to explore new things and teaches herself new skills everyday, such as hording. It's her latest thing. She hordes books and all kinds of toys. Different things. Even in the bathtub.


Here's more bath time fun.

Walking, Talking Baby Girl

Yep. Evelyn is definitely my daughter. She has a recent obsession with talking on the phone...or anything that even looks like a phone.


And here she is again reading a book. I've tried to catch her doing this so many times. This video is kind of long but I was just trying to capture her when she gets really into it. She babbles like a madwoman in her deep voice when she's reading.

Beautiful Reminder

I am thankful to have such a wonderful, and very handy, family. My Uncle Jim spent the day putting wood flooring in my kitchen and it looks amazing! The end result is even better than the vision I had. I couldn't be happier with the job...unless they had painted my bedroom for me, too.

The day went smoothly-Uncle Jim and Gary got right to work while I put Evelyn down for a nap.


She slept through a nail gun, electric saw and laughter, waking just before the revealing and contently playing through the loud sounds of tools. She was a little curious, however.

But, every job needs a supervisor Uncle Jim says.


I couldn't help but tear up watching my Uncle work so cooly. From his glasses to his meticulous work, every second I watched reminded me of my Grandpa Eli who would have been so proud. He never left a job unfinished and obviously taught those morals to my Uncle who proceeded to shop vac the kitchen, living room carpet and breezeway before returning all of my furniture and appliances to their proper positions. I am so grateful for his love and hard work. I dearly miss my Grandpa Eli but it's the greatest feeling to know I have a reminder of the most generous, admirable man I've ever known. Thank you so much, Uncle Jim. Job well done!



Oh and sorry! But I have one more little thing I want to do in the kitchen before revealing the pictures. Sorry!! :)

Where's Waldo

Can anyone find Evelyn in this picture?


Big girl drinking out of a cup.


Who's going to fall first??

Look Who's Talking 2

First off I'd like to apologize for stealing your blog title, Karen. Evelyn is the sequel to Cole.

Here's a clip with a few words Evelyn can say. She can say pretty almost perfectly but was lacking a bit of enthusiasm here. I blame it on the jar of stage 3 baby food and 2 carrot wagon wheels she had eaten just before the video. She was spent. Also, the noise we're making in the video is her acting like a monkey-her latest talent taught to her by Grandma Nanc. It is more hilarious when you're in person but still funny here.

Hell's Angel

I mentioned before that we nurse at an earlier time so Evelyn can put herself to sleep. During this time alone in her crib she usually changes the settings on her mobile, babbles a little to herself and then begins rattling the rail of her crib like a wild animal in the zoo. Her latest attention getter is throwing the entire contents of her crib onto the floor-her lovey, pacifier, bottle (of very watered down juice) if she has one and sometimes the blanket makes it half way out. She then begins crying pretty hard and you walk in to find her standing with a big smile and not one single tear saying "ooh-ooh" because you KNOW this was an accident, right? We're strict about using the Nanny911 approach of not talking when we walk in but can't help the smiles. She's totally trying to play us and it's hilarious. She definitely has my personality. We're going to get a run for our money when this little angel turns 13.

R&R

Today I was looking forward to spending a relaxing day at Grandma Jo's with my cousins and our children. The visit consisted of the kids running around screaming and banging toys in the basement (can't wait til Ev can join in), a somewhat rushed lunch so the kids could continue to play, Grandma missing out on the conversation while washing the plastic, disposable plates we used for lunch and of course showing off Evelyn's walking abilities. It was great to see everyone and I enjoyed watching all of the kids...for the few seconds they were upstairs. But the truth of the matter is relaxation is not a part of my life anymore. Even during a simple family visit with a baby Evelyn's age you constantly have to be on your toes. Whether she is playing with Renee's very small magnets, walking along the child-unproof cabinets or crawling at an increasing rate of speed towards Grandma's poisonous Poinsettias. Let's just say the ride home was more relaxing than anything-Evelyn fell asleep before we left the driveway and mommy enjoyed some silence and her heated seats. Evelyn was clearly a little heated herself. When I got her out of her carseat and laid her in her crib I later found her wriggling out of her clothes.

CopyCat

Evelyn. Our little parrot. She now repeats "uh-oh" by saying "ooh ooh", "mmm" and what we believe to be "pretty" and "day doo", meaning thank you. Today as she was walking back and forth between Jared's mother and I she plain as day said "bye-bye" and started to wave. She learned to wave bye-bye a few months ago and now loves to return the gesture when parting from friends. Here's a clip of our little copycat.

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I should have waited to make my Christmas cards, this would've been perfect.



Watching for cars.


Christmas