why are toys just not cool enough???

This afternoon, Evan left all his fun toys (red party cup included).....



...for this! Someone takes after their mom! haha

Also this afternoon, while I was staring at the computer screen trying to figure out which airport would be best to fly in and/or out of or if I should get a rental car or not for Jared's graduation, Evan started playing by my feet. Scot keeps his mammoth jar of Vitamin C down there (don't worry, it's childproofed) and Evan likes to shake it! (What is it with non-toys being the best play things?!?!) And then, I could hear him, but not feel him! This is what I saw...



Which then turned to this when he saw the camera....



And finally he got stuck....this was the moment before he realized it, though. Look at that little impish smirk - what am I going to do with him?!?!

lions and tigers and....polar bears!!!

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous! It got into the mid 70's (I know, gotta love CO the end of Feb, huh?) and it just so happened that the zoo was having its last free day til the fall!! So Evan and I took advantage of the nice weather coupled with this great deal! We went with some friends and saw almost the whole zoo! Everything minus the monkeys and reptiles!!! Minus the crowds, it was great! Evan was awake the whole time and surprisingly enjoyed the animals! He didn't pay much attention to the animals that didn't move too much or blended into their landscape, but he did enjoy looking at the giraffes, the spotted leopard, the penguins, and the seals!! All the animals were out and it was quite a treat for him and me!!

My folks came over last night for dinner - dad had to work up here - and Evan had so much fun playing with grammy and seeing grandude! He loves it when they stop in to play - he even recognizes them and reaches out for them!! It's so sweet to see their relationship develop. I saw a grandfather and grandson (maybe 4 or 5) in the market the other day and it was so cute. They were in line behind me talking a laughing and all they had in the cart was a pizza, mini Oreos, pop corn, and a toy dinosaur. A total boys night by the looks of it!! I though to myself, that's Evan and my dad in a few years - how fun!!!

So it was a busy day, but totally worth it!! I get it now why museums and zoos were such popular places when I was a kid - my mom probably had just as much fun as we kids did!!!

getting into everything...

The other day I looked over to see Evan getting into our magazines...specifically, one with the President's face on the front. haha. Anyways, I thought they were cute/funny pictures. :) Here's just one, before the full destruction occurred.

On a different note, we have a nice week ahead of us. Today is all domestic, but we have play dates and dinner parties planned for later in the week, maybe a trip to the zoo tomorrow if it's nice. It's a free day, so I figure why not. But then I realize that my almost 8 month old wouldn't appreciate it, so it would only be for me....so we'll have to see.

Scot starts his Family Medicine rotation today and he'll be doing this for the next 2 months. Considering how much he loved his surgery rotation, I'm not banking on the fact that he'll like FM, but hopefully it won't be the same thing over and over again like cardiology was. He just doesn't like the repetition.

Standing

So within a week, Evan has pretty much mastered crawling and no longer army-crawls. He climbs, and now...he stands!! I think we have an early walker on our hands! haha. This is the sight that met my eyes yesterday afternoon when I went in to get him from his nap . He had woken up earlier than he typically does and I let him fuss to see if he would put himself back to sleep. All of a sudden, he started screaming and it was different than normal. So I went in to see what was wrong. Well, as best as I can tell, he didn't know how to get back down from the standing position. I have to let you all know that he looks so mad here becuase he saw me before I dashed down 2 flights of stairs to get the camera and then back up again. I just had to get his first standing expereince on film, mad face and all!!

Otherwise, we're doing so well. His sweet personality is showing through more and more each day. He plays really well with other kids and loves to explore. On my end of things, I'm staying pretty busy with life around the house, stuff at church, book clubs, toutoring, dinner parties, the whole 9 yards. But I like it like this, so it's all good!!

valentine weekend

Scot and I have never been big Valentine's Day people - I honestly would rather get flowers or chocolate any other day of the year. So we exchange cards and I make a nice dinner instead! This year was especially nice. Friday, we had a wine and cheese party and that was such a blast!! A gal from church watched Evan for a couple hours on Saturday afternoon while Scot and I went to get coffee and just walk around the mall people watching and talking. It was delightful! Per tradition I made a nice dinner of salmon over rice with glazed carrots and a spinach-strawberry and almond salad. We had our favorite mango sorbet for dessert - it was delish! Sunday was gorgeous with warm weather! After church, we walked our favorite park and then hit the outlets!! I actually bought sunglasses! Those who know me well realize how huge this is - haha. I'm not a sunglasses person and i'm not all that stylish, so for me to get semi-stylish sunglasses is indeed huge. haha. Here are some pictures...enjoy!

growing up

I'm kind of sad today - happy, too, but also a bitter sweet sad - I put Evan's boppy away because he no longer needs it to help him sit up. I put the swing away because I don't even know when the last time he needed it was, and the same went for the play mat. He no longer eats the very-quickly-dissolving puffs for he can eat cheerios with the best of them. But while I'm sad about him losing some of the infant qualities, I have to remind myself that he has a long way to go yet...

First, we worked on the whole hand to mouth thing. Check. 100%. Now, however, we're working on getting the things from the hand into the mouth....we're about halfway there.




And, not only are we crawling everywhere imaginable, but we're also climbing! (and no more army crawling for this little man)



Mommy, I think you need to baby proof the house now, unless of course you'd like me to get into all those drawers I've only been eying for the last few weeks!

little Abby

I went down to the Springs for a couple days and minus the fact that I think Evan is starting the whole teething process and fussy because of it, it was a great trip! (Have you guys ever stopped to consider what poor Eve thought when Cain started to cut his teeth? I sometimes think I'm lost in some of this stuff, but I then I just realize that no, I'm not, at least I know that he's supposed to be teething and not just wondering why my child is running a fever, fussy, clingy, and extra drooly!!) I went home because my dear friend, Britt, just had a baby last weekend and I wanted to see both of them. Abby is beautiful and Britt is doing so well! I also was able to spend some good time with my mom. The weather was great so we went on some walks, made some birthday cards, cooked, and just hang out! She was able to watch Evan while I hung out with Britt one of the afternoons, and that was such a God-send! Here are some pictures of the new little one!


Little angel baby - Abby


2 tired but very happy mommies....

Florida fun

Ok, so my house isn't completely back to rights, but I do have the pictures downloaded and since I have a busy week ahead of me, I figured I would leave the house work and blog. Maybe not the best decision, but hey...here I am. :)

Evan I and got back from our week in FL and we're glad to be home. It was a nice visit, but there's just no place like home! It was a nice change weather wise, though! I teased my grandmother that I brought the bad weather with me. Bad for FL, that is. It was between 65 and 75 the whole time there, but my grandmother, along with all her little friends, kept telling me to "...put some clothes on that baby - it's COLD out!" Needless to say, it was a mite too cold to go sun bathing, but that's not why I was there. My grandmother's husband, Morrie (and he's been more of a grandfather to me than anything) turned 90 this past week and we were there to celebrate! Funny thing is that my grandmother's mother also has a birthday the same day - only she's 2 years younger. I know. Like I said...funny.

I was pleasantly pleased with how Evan did on the flights to and from FL! We had a middle seat open on both flights there and he did so well. I was pretty nervous but looking back, I shouldn't have been! The flights back were equally as pleasant. Both were booked solid, but the second flight had one open seat, and it just so happened to be between me and another gal with a little girl only 4 days older than Evan!! We talked the whole time and the flight went by quite quickly! The life saver on the trip, though, was my little Boon squirt!! It made life so much easier and cleaner!!! I highly suggest getting one! I use it all the time!

While enjoying the "cold" FL weather, I discovered a few things about this part of the country:

• Cold = 75 degrees or less. And I mean that. We weould go out and people would be wearing long sleeves or coats - and here I was in shorts and a t-shirt!! (the must have thought I was some scandal! haha )
• You can buy frozen chopped onions. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't think I've ever seen those in a store out here. Granted, I haven't ever looked for them, either, but still, I was amazed.
• They have "Wet Umbrella Bags" at the entrance of the grocery store. All those unstable legs walking around and such, it's a precaution they have to take. But again, like the onions, I was amazed!! I snagged one for a souvenir!
• All the cars have 2 things in common. They are town cars, and they are one of three colors: white, grey/silver or tan/beige.
• The servers at restaurants are used to the older population. While out to eat one night (and by night, I mean 5 o'clock) I noticed I was the only under 65 patron at the restaurant, and I also noticed that our server took my grandfather's near deafness in very good stride. (You have to understand that my grandfather talks to people as if he didn't have a hearing issue, and then somehow magically expects them to know that he can't understand them when they talk back. It was quite the experience.)
  

All in all a good trip. Mostly just hanging and visiting. Evan got to meet his great-great-grama, great-great-uncle and great-grandfather along with other family friends! We hit the beach for a little bit and just had fun! Enjoy the slide show!!!

I'm back..

..and have lots to tell, but you'll have to wait for it! I need to download pictures and get my house in order first!! :)

I'm leavin'...

...on an airplane!!! That's right, early early tomorrow morning, E and I will fly to FL for the week to celebrate my grandfather's 90th birthday! Evan will get to see his great-grama Hilda again and get to meet his great-grampa and his great-great-grama, too!! So, here's to the next time I blog, which will hopefully have pictures of sun and sand!!