Fun in the tub with his pj's on...

Making a mess and cleaning it up!

I said that I was going to start updating the blog on Sunday nights, but I don't have much to report on right now. Just that our little guy is quite sneaky!

I went into work for a little while on Saturday morning while Evan and daddy hung out. When I got home, Evan was eating lunch and had food smashed into his hair. We had a b-day party to go to, so I decided to give him a quick bath. I had the water running and had just turned to get something off of the shelf when I heard a splash. Evan was in the tub with his pj's on! Agh! I guess he was so excited to get into the tub that he couldn't wait. I think he would have been happy to just swim in his pajamas, but I thought he'd get more clean if I took them off!

We went to my friend Jane's house to celebrate Cole's first birthday. It was a great party and Evan had fun playing with Cole's toys and seeing all of his friends. I was looking for Evan at one point and found him in the bathroom. He was sitting on the floor and watching Jane's little niece go to the bathroom! I guess he was keeping her company!

I forgot to post last time about my missing car keys. A couple of weeks ago, Evan was playing with my keys. Later that night I realized that I couldn't find them. We looked everywhere, even creeping into his room while he was sleeping to try and find them. We looked in all of the drawers, cabinets, and even in the garbage. My other set was in my purse, which happened to be locked in my car! I had to call the Crystal police department to come and open my car so that I could get to work! We still haven't found the keys, but are hoping that Evan will tell someone where he hid them!

He is growing up so fast and is always into something...he is definitely keeping us on our toes!

15 Months Old!

Big boy climbing in the chair all by himself!

Loves his new sled!

The Pasche grandkids...Evan, Hailey, Sophia, Maddy, & Peyton

Brushing his teeth

LOVES his banana!

And the banana peel...

Petting the horses with Kirsten & Laura

Playing with grandma's phone & mommy's old Cabbage Patch kid!

Evan & Lars in their matching Christmas shirts...made by Betsy

Evan will be 15 months old tomorrow! One of my resolutions this year was to update his blog more often, but I'm not off to a very good start! I'm going to try updating on Sunday nights...we'll see how it goes!
We had a wonderful Christmas with family. We went to Alexandria on the 23rd and were supposed to spend Christmas Eve with Aaron's family. Due to the weather, we ended up doing an early lunch and heading to Eau Claire in the afternoon. We stopped at our house quick to pick up a few things and then got to Eau Claire in the evening. We spent Christmas Day with my family and had a nice time relaxing and playing with Evan's new toys. Last year Evan was only 2 months old, so it was fun to watch him open presents and play with his toys. He seemed to have more fun playing with the boxes and bows and loved being the center of attention!
We went on a sleigh ride with my mom's side of the family, which was great fun! Evan was bundled up and thought that the horses were very cool. We even stopped for a bonfire, hot chocolate, and smores in the woods!
Evan is on the move and getting into something different everytime we turn around. He loves playing in the kitchen cupboards and chasing Maddux around. He thinks it's funny to grab Maddux's fur, which makes the dog growl. We're trying to teach him to be nice to Maddux, but it hasn't seemed to work yet. The poor dog puts up with it, but I think he's happy when Evan goes to bed at night and he doesn't have to worry about him!
It is fun to see how much he is learning. When we say it is time to brush his teeth or take a bath, he runs into the bathroom. He does a good job of letting us brush his teeth, but likes to do it himself too. He has been saying more words, including "hi", "baby", "mama", "dada", "pup pup", "kitty", "Hannah" (sounds like "anna"), "pretty" (sounds more like "itty"), "ba ba" (his word for any drink), and lots of other sounds that we can't quite make out.

This past weekend we were in Alexandria having Christmas with Aaron's family. We got together with his aunts, uncles, and cousins which was fun. Evan had a great time playing with everyone, especially Hailey and Maddy. They played outside with him on Sunday and pulled him around in his new Christmas sled. He loved being outside and cried when it was time to come back in!
Hannah (my brother's fiance) is staying with us for a few months while she does her internship at Children's Hospital. She is here on Tues, Wed, and Thursday nights. It has been fun having her here and will be really nice to have her here when Aaron is working his long nights!
Enjoy the new pics of our little guy!

Off and Running...

1 year pics...

Proud of himself for finding the remote...

So easy to entertain!

Putting his money from Grandpa Marv in his piggy bank...

Evan is walking and the race is on! He is still a little wobbly, but already I'm having to chase him around. I took him to the doctor to get his second round of the flu shot yesterday. While we were waiting, he kept taking off and trying to get into the back area. What happened to my little baby that would just stay where I put him or let me hold him?! It has been very fun to watch him learning to walk. He gets more confident everyday and I'm sure he will literally be running any day now. Yikes!

Evan is quite the little comedian. He has realized that he can make us laugh and seems to enjoy that. The other night I was putting clothes away in his room and Aaron was out in the living room. I looked over at Evan and he had a clear plastic bowl on his head. He was looking at me just waiting for my reaction. I laughed, which encouraged him to do it again. Pretty soon he was walking around the house with the bowl on his head. Very funny! He will look at us and crinkle up his nose, which also makes us laugh. I think he is going to be our little class clown!

He is also very social and loves to be around people. Every time we go out to eat, he "talks" and waves to people. It gets very excited when he gets their attention and likes to make faces at them. He is very vocal and seems to have a lot to say...just like his mom! We stopped at Target after work today and he was "growling" at people. (We encouraged him to growl on Halloween when he was a tiger, but this is getting to be a little much!) Most people just look at him and smile, but one guy actually growled back! Evan was amused and growled louder...ugh.

He loves books, balls, and anything else that isn't a toy...like TV remotes and phones. He says "bah bah" for bottle, his sippy cup, mom's coffee, or anything else in a glass. He also says it for ball, book, and balloon...hmm. He also says "cracker", "tractor", "mama", "dada", "na na" (banana?), and "uh oh" (which sounds more like a naughty word). He like to help get himself dressed and undressed, is starting to be okay with us brushing his teeth, loves to eat blueberries and finger jello, and is VERY ticklish!

We went to see Santa while we were in Eau Claire for Thanksgiving. Santa was just going on his dinner break when we got there, so we had to wait for an hour. Evan was already getting tired and wasn't overly interested in him. Santa had a ball, so Evan was content to sit on his lap for a few minutes. I couldn't get our scanner to work, but will post the picture later. We're trying to convince my dad to dress up as Santa next year so that we don't have to wait in line or pay $15 for a quick pic!

We are excited for Christmas...and a 2 week break from work! (For me...a perk of working at a school!)

Cake, Candy, & Cookies...

My little tiger...

Looking guilty after swipping a cookie off of Grandma's table!

Everything goes in the mouth!

Very inquisitive!

Love this little guy...

Helping mom with laundry...

Serious boy!

We have been busy! We celebrated Evan's big first birthday with some friends and family, had a fun Halloween, and had Evan's 12 month doctor visit.

We had a fun party at our house on the 26th and I am so grateful for the wonderful people that are a part of Evan's life! He has so many people that love him...it warms my heart as his mom!

We ate finger jello, homemade mac-n-cheese (thanks Grandma Mary Jo), cake, and lots of other goodies. Evan played with his little friends, opened presents, and tried to eat his jungle animal headbands (thanks to Theresa for making those...they were amazing!)

Evan and I headed to Eau Claire on Saturday for Halloween. Last year he had only been home from the hospital for 2 days, so he didn't have a costume. This year he was a tiger and he was adorable!!! He even sat still for 10 seconds while I used my eyeliner to make whiskers and a nose on his face. I had a hard time washing the eyeliner off, so he woke up on Sunday morning with still looking like a tiger! We went to Matt and Hannah's, my Grandpa's, and our neighbors' house...very fun!
Evan had his 12 month appointment on Tuesday. The doctor was running behind, so we ended up being there for almost 2 hours...ugh! Trying to keep a 1 year old occupied in a small room is not an easy task. He kept pulling all of the kleenex out of the box and trying to get the instrument that they use to check reflexes. He also had to get his shots, which is never fun. He is a healthy boy though and is up to 27 pounds and 32 1/2 inches. Whew!
He is now saying "bah" (ball), "bah bah" (bottle), "tractor" (really...he has a tractor book and has said it many times), "mama", "dada", "pup", and lots of random noises. He continues to walk around hanging on to furniture and can reach higher up on the shelves. Now we really need to childproof!

Happy Birthday Evan!

LOVED the frosting!

So did Maddux...

Excited about his Fisher Price parking garage!

Evan turned a year old yesterday...I can't believe it! It is amazing to me when I think about how much life has changed for us this year. I can hardly remember what life was like before our sweet little boy was in it. I cried when he was born...I was so overwhelmed with excitement, joy, and feelings of love for this little one that I hardly knew. It seems so long ago that I was spending his first 8 days with him in the NICU, just waiting to take him home. I could hardly stand to go home at night and leave him there. When we did bring him home, I thought I would never be able to sleep, between feedings and creeping into his room at night to make sure he was still breathing! (A common new mom thing I think!) All the nights that he wouldn't sleep unless he was curled up in our bed, and my fear that he would never sleep in his crib. He would fuss if I put him down and just wanted to be held all of the time. I thought I would never get anything done, let alone be able to shower or brush my teeth! Now I long for those lazy days of him sleeping while I was holding him or him letting me cuddle him. My little boy is growing up...

He is standing by himself more and more, is walking holding onto furniture, has 7 teeth, wants to hold his own spoon when he eats, just got his first pair of big boy shoes, makes lots of sounds, and gets into everything! He doesn't want to be rocked or cuddled much, is always on the go, and is starting to look more like a boy than a baby. I look at him and wonder where this year went...do they all go by this quickly?!

We are having so much fun with Evan and love him more everyday. Parenthood really is an amazing thing.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!

Our Little Monkey

Always full of smiles...

Our sweet boy...

His "Stevie Wonder" look...

Loves to eat...notice the cheerio on his chin!

Cleaning out mommy's purse...

Playing with Maddux's water dish...

Fun with the pumpkins...

My little baby is almost a year old!!! Where has the time gone?! Evan is definitely turning into a "little boy"! He is pulling himself up on everything, starting to take steps holding onto furniture, and has mastered climbing the steps (but not quite how to go back down them). He is eating lots of different foods and LOVES blueberries, squash, bananas, cheese, yogurt, and grilled cheese. He is not a picky eater, but squeals with delight when his favorites are brought out! He holds his own sippy cup and is all about feeding himself. He also likes to rub his sticky hands through his hair...mom doesn't love that as much!

Evan is very vocal. He says "mama", "dada", "nana", "baba", and enjoys his high pitch squealing! He is also quite the comedian. His new thing is to squint his eyes shut and laugh...very cute!

He is standing for periods of time on his own and is starting to walk around holding onto furniture. I'm sure he'll be walking (and running) in no time.

We have been busy visiting both grandmas and grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Evan had a great time with his first visit to the apple orchard a couple of weekends ago. He crawled around in the pumpkins, went for a tractor ride, and sampled some little bites of apple. We're hoping to make it to the orchard again before it gets too cold!

Other than that, we are just enjoying everyday with him. He is so funny, sweet, and full of life!

Back To School

Outside bathtub...notice the sticks and leaves!

Playing the piano at Grandma's house

Evan, Maddy, and Hailey

Laura and Evan

It was a great summer, but it is good to be back to work too. I feel very fortunate to have a job that I love and a great daycare for Evan! He was excited to get back to Betsy's house and to explore all of the toys, cupboards, and other things that he couldn't get into the last time he was there! He was just starting to crawl at the end of the school year, but hadn't been able to really get around. Now it is a completely different story! He and Lars (Betsy's little guy) are going to keep her busy this year!

We enjoyed the last few weeks of summer. We went to the State Fair a couple of weeks ago with both sets of grandparents and cousins, Hailey and Maddy. We had a great time and Evan seemed to enjoy watching all of the people. Aaron got sick from eating corn dogs, fries, and cheese curds all in an hour, but other than that it was good. Aaron's parents and the girls stayed over, and Evan loved having all of that attention!

The week before Labor day we didn't have daycare, so Evan got to spend time at home with different people. My cousin Laura came up for 2 days, my mom for 1, Aaron stayed home 1 day, and then I was home on Friday. Whew...it was a busy week!

We went to Eau Claire over Labor Day and did the Buckshot run for Special Olympics on Sat. Aaron, Matt, and Hannah ran the 5 mile...my mom, Evan, and I walked the 2 mile. The weather was perfect and it was a nice course through Carson Park. After that we had lunch and then headed to my parent's house to paint the outside of their house. We ended up painting the whole house over the weekend and took turns entertaining Evan! He played outside in the pack-n-play, in the swing, and swam around in the little pool. He is very good natured and pretty much goes with the flow...we are very lucky!

We had a nice weekend at home and Evan had a bath outside in the pool tonight. It was very cute to watch him crawl in and out of the pool! He loves to crawl out and collect leaves, sticks, and anything else he can find. What a BOY!

Next weekend we are heading to Alexandria to visit our new TWIN nieces! We can't wait to meet them!