First Word

Evan's first word is...

Da-da!!!

A couple days ago, he inadvertently started putting together the DA sound and so I've been working with him, asking him to say "Da-da" and pointing to pictures of Scot and just talking about him. SO yesterday afternoon right before Scot got home, I said once again, "Evan, say Da-da" and he looked at me and said it, clearly!! Oh, was I so excited!! SO when Scot came home, oh course I made a big deal about it and told Scot that Evan had something to say. And thankfully, Evan once again said Da-da after I did!! And now anytime you say Da-da, he says it too! Now I know that he doesn't KNOW who Da-da really is or that what he's saying is really a word, but it's still so cute. The other funny thing is that this morning, since he had Da-da down so well, I figured I would try "Ma-ma", (forget that he hasn't said the MA combination yet) and he gave me a funny look and said "Da-da"! Scot and I were both laughing at that!

Speaking of Scot, he started his Surgery rotation yesterday and loved it! There's also a chance he'll get to do mostly OR stuff and not a lot of clinic! The Doc he's following has a partner, so whenever his Doc is in clinic, he's free to work with the partner Doc in the OR - needless to say, he's pretty excited! :)

helpin' mom...

my favorite picture at the moment...




He had lots of fun helping me with the laundry!!

little signs of progress

I know that each and every day I see something new in Evan - either in his behavior or actions, his verbal ability or his physical capacity. But sometimes things happen and you go "wow" - where have I been that I missed that?! This morning, for instance, I noticed that he didn't cry when I left the room momentarily. It's part of the morning routine and he typically cries, but this morning, and I think yesterday morning, too, if I think about it, he just sat and watched me from the bed and smiled at me!! Also today, while on our afternoon walk he leaned back and looked UP at me through the little window in his stroller shade!! I was SO excited, you have no idea! For the next 3 or 4 minutes, he kept looking up at me and smiling, like he was making sure I was there. It was priceless. This past week I've also noticed that he's understanding a little, I think, of the very basic sign language we're introducing. We're not going to do any more than "eat" and "more" and "please", and right now, we've just done "eat" and "more" when I'm feeding him his solid meals. This past week, though, when I've been signing and asking him if he wants to eat, he gives me this big grin, like "yes, momma, I would like to eat!" He does the same thing with more. So maybe he is catching on!!

While there are all these little progressions towards future independence, I'm really cherishing the cuddle moments I have with him, and I secretly like the fact that he cries when he can't see me, even though I don't give in, and that he wants me to hold him when I make Scot hold him...is that wrong? He shows us so many times a day how he's able to do more things for himself and needing us a little less (granted, it's not like he's crossing the street without our help, or feeding himself, or taking a bath by himself, but still...), so I'm going to cherish the moments where he does need us, because I've been told that it all passes too quickly.

All this being said - he can scoot anywhere he wants now, but he's still in size 2 diapers. He can sit and play by himself and almost climb, but he's still in some 0-3 outfits and the 3-6 are still a little big on him. He can verbalize when he's hungry and tells us very clearly when he's tired, but he still likes to cuddle and best of all, he still gives that "mommy/daddy you're the best in the whole wide world" smile - melts your heart like nothing else...

Proud Sister

Jared marched in the inaugural parade last night and I wanted to share the video with you!!! When you watch, he's the third guy from the right in the first row. When it gets closer in, he's the tall guy in front of the white flag! I'm so proud of him!! Thanks for letting me share!!

Mr Happy Apple

His favorite toy! He'll sit for 10 - 15 minutes just playing with it - it's great!!

my little man is...

...already picking out his favorite commentary!!! Into Matthew Henry at 6 months...what's next!?!


...a player!! And while he does have quite a few little girlfriends at church, that's not the kind of player I mean!! He plays so well by himself! Here he's playing while I make dinner or do dishes - can't remember.


...still so little!! I always have people telling me that he looks so big in pictures. Well, here's a picture so you can see how little the little man really is!


...a snuggle bug! Whether before bed or mid-afternoon, the little guy is always up for some good snuggling!!


...on his way to being a typical guy! Step 1 - find remote...


...Step 2 - claim it as your own...


...Step 3 - don't let anyone else have it!!!

snow day and the beauty of craigslist.com

I loved snow days when I was a kid. Granted, I was home-schooled for more years than not, so those days were few and far between, but still, I loved waking up and seeing all the snow. Today was no different!! I relished the fact that I didn't have anywhere I HAD to go. Poor Scot, though...it took him an hour to get to work this morning. His commute is usually only 8 minutes. Yeah....you'd think people in Denver would know how to drive in snow!! So Evan and I played this morning and while he napped I did a little research! :)

So those of you who know me well, know that I really enjoyed the Harry Potter books...as in like, I've read them 3 times and I really want the whole set so I can re-read them each summer....or, anytime I want. What you all don't know is that I was recently introduced to the Twilight books...I know what you're thinking....but really....they're good. Yes, they are for teen girls. And, yes, they are fluffy books (although written surprisingly well). And, yes, I want the whole set of them. Haha.

When I was hesitant to read HP, someone asked me if I liked the Narnia books. And, well, yes, I love them. And when I was hesitant about a series of books about vampires (I mean, come on...that's TOTALLY not me. A fictitious world of witches and warlocks is one thing...but vampires??) I was asked if I liked the HP books. So with GREAT trepidation, I read. And I found out that the books aren't ABOUT vampires....there just happens to be some vampires in the books. Don't worry. My mother laughed at me when I told her what I was reading. Anyways...I've read the first 2 books and I'm waiting to read the last 2 which brings me back on the main path here...during my research this morning, I decided to look on Craigslist to see if anyone was selling the books. And low and behold, there were!! I found a guy who is selling all 4 Twilight books for only $30!!! And someone else is selling 1-6 of the HP series for only $10!! Needless to say, I called both parties and secured the books for myself. Now I just have to pick a day to go get them!! I have to say, I do love craigslist....we've been so fortunate on there!! Our bookshelves, our bedroom furniture, a computer screen, Evan's johnny jump=up and an extra Bundle-me for his stroller....the list goes on, but really...if you haven't experienced the beauty of craigslist.com, you really should fix that!

6 months drs appt...

We went to the drs today and other than the 4 shots he got, he's doing great!! Evan's still on the 25% track for his height (just shy of 26 in) and head circumference (43cm), but he remains to be a little low (6%) on his weight (14lbs 4 oz). But try to image what he would have been had I not started him on solids til now? YIKES!!! So the doc told me to bump his solid feedings up to 3 a day instead of just 2 (something I'm not really looking forward to...) and trying to make them like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Dana, I think you were the one who told me that it got annoying carrying food around with you when it got to this point...I think I'm going to side with you in a few weeks when we really start to implement this. I'll probably wait to do the 3 a day thing til after the FL trip, but who knows....any suggestions besides always having a banana on hand? Otherwise, the doc said everything looked great and he's doing great developmentally, too!

pictures are worth...

...a thousand words. So I'll let them do most of the talking!


Christmas Eve at my folks house


We strung popcorn and cranberries for the birds


Christmas morning!


Opening the first present


My family came up for dinner


Katie was here for almost a week - we cooked a lot


We walk a lot...

A lot...


And made 8 pans of cinnamon rolls


Scot and I went to the springs...


...and met Jared's girlfriend, Madeline.


Such a sweet gal!!

All in all, a busy but fun week!!

quick catch-up

Hey all - here are the highlights of the past week or so....we've been busy, so bullet points are going to have to do for now!!

• One of my very best friends, Katie, came to visit all last week. We had a blast. We did lots of walking, talking and cooking. We made YUMMY cinnamon rolls and just had a blast.
• New Years was quiet for us. I think we were asleep by 10 or 11 - thankfully Katie was cool with that plan and we just played games and talked. Lovely, really.
• Evan is crawling and sitting. I know. It's amazing what a week will do. He still mostly army crawls, but once in a while he'll get up on hands and knees and rock and go forward just a little. We're getting there....which means I need to get on this whole baby-proofing thing.
• I met Jared's girlfriend, Madeline, and she's really sweet.
• I just got back from the springs, and now I'm going to try to put all my Christmas stuff away....we'll see how that goes.

I hope everyone had a great New Years!! I'll be back on later in the week to post pictures and such!!