Fun, Fun, Fun

Swimming in Aunt Kim's pool with his clothes on!

Playing with Macie

Swimming with Cole

Jumping...his favorite thing to do!

Trying on his outfit for Matt & Hannah's wedding

Getting into mommy's lotion

Picking (and eating) blueberries

Playing with mommy and uncle Matt's old barn

Fun at Como Zoo

He loves playing with his animals!

I can't believe that it is almost August and almost time to go back to school! I have been having a wonderful summer home with Evan and it is going to be really hard to go back to work. We have been having lots of fun! Playdates, swimming at the pool and beach, running at the park, picnics, ice cream, Como Zoo, Underwater World, picking blueberries, and other fun things.

This is a short posting because we are getting ready to head to Alexandria to visit Grandma and Grandpa Pasche, then to the Dells with my parents next week. I'll post more when we return!

Loving summer

Enjoying the long car ride to Door County!

Throwing rocks into Lake Michigan

Feeding the baby pig

I can't believe he lets the goats eat right out of his hand!!

Playing at the park in Sturgeon Bay

Yummy blueberries!

Helping Grandpa Marv wash mommy's car

Drinking the lake water!

Swimming at the Crystal pool

Doing dishes and getting water all over the place!

Evan loves mommy's sun glasses!

Playing with our friend Cole (drying off after being in the pool)

We LOVE summer! My summer vacation is flying by and I'm trying to enjoy it and not think about going back to school in a month!

We had a great time in Door County. We stayed in Sturgeon Bay at a place that Aaron and I had stayed a few years ago. We were right on Lake Michigan and enjoyed waking up to a beautiful lake view every morning. Evan would say "water, boats" and run over to look out the window. We spent our week playing in the water, visiting various parks, feeding the animals at a local farm, eating at fun restaurants, and just enjoying being together.

My parents were dog sitting for us, so stopped back at their house on our way back. Aaron headed back home and Evan and I stayed for a couple of days. There was a neighborhood parade on the 4th and then we headed over to Carson Park in Eau Claire for a mini train ride. Evan seemed to be a little out of it and was more clingy than usual. He ended up being sick for about 4 days with a high temperature. He would sit in my lap or lay on the floor with his blanket, so I knew that he was not feeling well. Usually he is up and running non-stop! It was good to see him finally acting like himself.

We have been getting together with friends for play dates, swimming at the local beaches, and playing at the park. I am really enjoying my time home with Evan, but am also realizing how hard it is to get things done around here! I have a list of projects that I want to get done this summer, but I'm not sure they will all happen. I figure if I can get some laundry done and the house picked up once in a while, I'll be good!

Last weekend my mom came up to babysit so that Aaron and I could go to the Basilica Block party. We have been talking about going for a few years, but just hadn't made it there. We ate dinner downtown on Saturday and then went over to the Basilica. The music was great and we had a lot of fun. Evan and Grandma went to the park, played outside with the hose, and Grandma even gave Evan his first shower!

Evan will be 21 months on the 21st...my baby is almost 2!! Is is talking a lot and copies everything that we do. He LOVES to play outside, go to the park, chase the dog, run, jump, and make a mess! We are loving every minute with him!

Summer Vacation!

Being silly in his pj's...

Climbing at the park

Full of giggles!

Playing the piano with his buddy Lars

More interested in the horse's ball than in the horse!

A ride around the barn with Rusty the horse and Judi...he looks serious, but he didn't want to get off!

He LOVES ice cream!

Doing dishes with grandma Mary Jo

Getting wet at the E.C. Children's Museum

Pretending to be a puppy!

Fishing with Grandpa Stan...he wasn't too amused once they actually caught one however!

"Catching" his own fish

Toothless grin...

I haven't posted in a long time, so I thought I'd include lots of pictures...

I'm officially done with work for the summer, but went in yesterday and am going in tomorrow to finish some stuff up. It has been so nice to be home with Evan and we are excited to be heading to Door County next week. It will be a great, relaxing trip! I have been very stressed with work, so some relaxation is much needed!

Evan has been so much fun lately that I can hardly stand it! He loves to laugh and is always doing and saying funny things. He is talking alot and loves to mimic what we say. He also is really into labeling what belongs to who. "Daddy's shoes", "puppy's food", "Evan's milk", "mommy's coffee" (which sounds more like mommy's copy, but we know what he means), etc. He is excited about every little thing, which is fun. He especially loves going to the park right now, so we have been exploring some new parks. We have been to a few by our house, a couple in Maple Grove, and went to Teddy Bear park in Stillwater with some friends today. We plan to spend a lot of time at the park, beach, and pool this summer!

We have had lots of visitors in the past week. Hannah graduated from grad school last weekend (congrats Hannah!), so she was here for a few days last week. Matt came up and stayed a couple of days too, which was fun. Grandma and Grandpa Pasche came down last weekend and brought Hailey and Maddy with. Evan is wild about playing with the girls and they are so good with him! My parents came up yesterday to hang out while I went into work. They went to the park and got caught in the rain, which Evan loved! He was the center of attention and seemed to enjoy every minute of it. He is definitely social and loves to be around other people...especially kids!

We have been busy in the past month. We went to Alexandria for a weekend and went for a great boat ride. He wasn't thrilled about the life jacket at first, but got used to it. He even fell asleep on the boat for about an hour! We were in E.C. for the weekend and spent part of the afternoon at the Children's Museum. We hadn't been there before, but will definitely be heading back. Aaron, Evan, and I also spend Memorial Day at the Como Zoo. Evan was very into the giraffes, monkeys, and the train. We're planning to spend more time there this summer as well.

My co-worker Judi had us out to her house after school one day. She boards horses and also has a few of her own. Evan liked being there, but was more interested in the giant horse ball and playing in the mud! He was a little afraid of the big horses...he did like riding with Rusty the miniature horse though!

Evan has been Mr. Independent lately. He likes to try to put his own shoes on, buckle the belt in his car seat, go up and down stairs holding onto the railing, and walk instead of being carried. He'll say "Evan do", and then is determined to do it himself. We don't always have time wait for him to do something, but we try to be patient and let him attempt it. He is talking lots and is a very smart little guy. He loves to point out things that he sees. His favorite things right now are trucks, trains, airplanes, tunnels (bridges), animals, water, parks, and rocks. He is such a boy!

We are looking forward to a GREAT summer and will be posting lots of pictures of our little adventures!

18 Months Old!

Checking out the pinecones at the park

Playing in mommy's car

Trying to take a drink??

Playing in his new sandbox

Being silly at Grandma & Grandpa's house

Evan is 18 months old today and I can't believe that our little baby is now such a big boy! He is always on the go and doing something to entertain us daily. He is smart, funny, sweet, and VERY busy! He has his 18 month appointment next week and I'm anxious to see how much he weighs and how tall he is. He seems like such a boy to me!

Every morning on the way to school we have to look for buses and trucks. He'll keep saying "bus" or "truck" until I acknowledge it and then he'll want "more". My dad found a little school bus for him at Farm and Fleet, which he thinks is very cool. Grandpa Stan drives a school bus, so maybe we'll get to see it the next time we're in Alexandria!

Evan is defininately very social. He loves to say "hi" to everyone he sees and smiles at everyone. Whenever we go somewhere, he makes sure to get the attention of the people around us. He especially loves to follow other kids around when we go to the park. The other day we were at the park and he kept trying to get the attention of another girl that was there. She kind of ignored him and was doing her own thing, but that didn't seem to bother him. He just kept smiling and saying "hi". Such a friendly little guy!

He loves to go to the park, ride in his wagon, play with water, climb onto everything, and play with his toys. He is at a very fun age right now and thinks that almost everything we do is fun and exciting. Hopefully he won't grow out of that anytime soon! We have been spending a lot of time outside and have been going to various parks. He seems to have no fear and thinks nothing of going down the big slides or climbing up high onto the playground equipment. Makes mommy and daddy a little nervous sometimes, but I guess we'd better get used to that!

We are VERY excited that tax season is done and that we actually get to see Aaron! We get home around the same time, so we're able to hang out and do things before Evan goes to bed. We spent last weekend just hanging out at home, playing outside, and doing some fun things as a family.

I have been wanting a bigger vehicle for awhile, so we decided to trade my car in for a Hyundai Santa Fe. We were really happy with the dealership where I bought my car, so we decided to go back there. They had a play area with a little kitchen, trucks, dolls, etc...Evan was giddy about it! He was having so much fun, that he was very sad when it was time to leave. He "helped" me clean out my car on Sunday and now he wants to play in the car everyday. We got my Santa Fe on Monday, so he thinks it is very cool to "drive" mommy's new car!

Evan continues to talk more everyday and is very inquisitive. He loves to check things out and notices everything! He loves to laugh and is VERY ticklish. We are having so much fun with him and love him more everyday. We are even getting used to his "toothless grin"! I hardly even notice anymore...who would have thought?!

Rough Day

This is going to be a quick posting since it is 10pm and I need to get to bed...I'll post more later in the week. I just wanted to post a picture of my poor little guy and his missing tooth!

Evan fell at daycare today and knocked out his front tooth. When Betsy first called me to tell me that he had fallen, his tooth was just bleeding. When I called back awhile later to see if it was any better, his tooth fell out while I was talking to her. I panicked a little and left work to go and pick him up. He gave me a big smile when I walked in...he looked like the kid on the cover of the "Mad" magazine! I took him to my dentist to get him checked out. Luckily, the whole tooth fell out, so there is no risk of infection. They took an x-ray (which was a bit tricky) to make sure that there was no damage to the other teeth. There is nothing that they could do, so he will be missing his front tooth until his permanent one grows in. Agh!! I know that it is a petty thing, but I am so sad that my baby doesn't have his cute little teeth anymore. I'm grateful that he is okay, but am having a hard time knowing that he will have a missing tooth until he is 6 or 7. I guess the tooth fairy needs to come tonight...a few years earlier than I thought!

Busy Boy

Riding the carousel at MOA

Trying to feed Maddux his yogurt

Helping mommy clean

Our sweet Valentine!

Evan LOVES playing in the snow!


So much for my goal of posting every Sunday! Life is just too busy around here!
Evan has been climbing onto everything, opening doors & cabinets, and exploring a lot lately. He loves to climb onto his little red stool or his highchair to look for "cars" out the window. He climbs onto the chairs, couch, and now has learned how to climb onto the closed toilet seat. What a little monkey!

He is obsessed with babies right now. He will point to pictures of himself in the house and say "baby". He likes to carry around his little baby doll and has to have her in the crib at night. When we are out and about he always points to other kids and says "baby". I don't think he understands that he is actually a baby, but it is cute!

It is so fun to watch him discover new things and to see him get excited over the smallest things. He squeals with delight when he sees a balloon, chases the dog, plays outside, eats blueberries, gets to push the garage door button, carries around his blankets, sees a school bus or car, plays with other kids, and listens to his music. He is such a happy little guy!

Evan is getting really good at eating with a fork and spoon. He eats yogurt, applesauce, and cereal by himself...and likes to try and have Maddux lick the spoon off! He tries to eat things with his fork, but is still sometimes having a hard time getting the food onto the fork. He also LOVES to drink out of a straw! Whenever we are at a restaurant, he goes nuts when he gets his milk in a little cup with a straw. He'll take a drink, but then also likes to play with the straw. We have had a couple episodes of milk being flung across the table...luckily it usually hits mommy or daddy and not a stranger...though that did happen once!

He is really developing his fine motor skills. He can pick up quarters off of the floor and put them into his piggy bank, put a cap onto a pen, and put the cover on my Blistex. He concentrates and doesn't seem to get discouraged if it doesn't work right away. He has also started to get into stacking blocks. He was working on it on Saturday and I wasn't paying much attention. All of a sudden, I noticed that he had 10 blocks stacked up!!! Yea!!! I think that is even more than I can stack up!

Listening to his music in the car has become one of his favorite things. My friend Kristen had given me some CD's for my baby shower. We have been listening to them in the car and now Evan is obsessed. When I turn the CD on he will squeal and rock his head from side to side. When the song ends he will say "more, more" until the next song starts up. The songs have been stuck in my head constantly...agh! Thanks Kristen!

He has been talking a lot lately. He says "baby", "mama", "dadda", "bumpa" (grandpa), "pup", "cacker" (cracker), "cheese", "anna" (Hannah), "ca" (car), "uck" (truck), "stinky" (I guess I say it alot when I change his smelly diapers), "ball", "keys", "baba" (any sort of drink), "itty" (kitty), "retty" (pretty...mommy's earrings and rings), and "nana" (banana). He has also been saying "Whoa!" alot when he thinks something is cool. Very funny!

He has been dealing with a bad cough and runny nose lately, so we're anxious for that to get better. He had pink eye last week, but luckily caught it before it got too bad. I can't wait for spring...fresh air and fresh everything!

Feeling Better

Dancing with his balloon

Playing at the mall

Practicing his climbing skills

Playing is fun, but exhausting!

Evan had a bad cold most of the week, but is finally feeling better. He didn't sleep well and coughed for a few nights. He would sleep for an hour and then wake up with a stuffy nose. I know how yucky I feel when I have a cold, so I always feel bad when he has one. Other than not sleeping great at night, it didn't seem to slow him down any during the day. He was still on the move and getting into everything that he could.

We had his 15 month appointment on Thursday and he continues to be in the 95-97th percentile across the board. He is 28 pounds and 33.5 inches...a big boy. He loves the doctor's office because they have a huge fish tank. When we got there, he was having a grand time watching the fish, running around, and saying "hi" to the other kids in the waiting room. He did a good job, but was not happy when it came time for shots. (Not that I blame him!) He usually cries for a minute and then is fine, but he cried for a good 15 minutes in the car. I think it was a combination of not feeling good, being tired, the shots, and the fact that he had a HORRIBLE diaper rash! The doctor gave us a prescription for "Poop Goop"...seriously, that is what it is called...and now he is as good as new!

My mom and dad came up this weekend to hang out, since they hadn't seen Evan since New Year's. We went for dinner on Friday night and they played while I went into work for awhile on Saturday. I got home and my mom said Evan had discovered how to open the freezer and take ice cubes out (we have a bottom freezer) and had climbed up onto a chest in his room to look out of the window. Agh! Now he is even more mobile than before! He loves to climb and finds a way to climb onto almost everything.

Saturday night I was hungry for "breakfast", so we went to Perkins. Evan spent the entire time staring at the 2 little old ladies at the table next to us. He would stare at them, the squeal with delight when they looked at him. We kept trying to get him to turn around and eat, but he was obviously more interested in them. He loves to be Mr. Social!

Today I took him to the mall and let him play at the play area. He LOVED it! I was a little overwhelmed with the number of kids and the noise, but it didn't' seem to phase Evan. He squealed when he saw the other kids and spent most of the time following another little girl around. (And watching an old man sleep...he is easily entertained!) He is very brave and was trying everything out. It was great and we will definitely do that more in the months to come.

He started saying "car" this week and it is very cute. It sounds more like "ca", but he says it and points out the window. He is also starting to mimic sounds that we make and words that we say.

Work has been hectic and busy, but Evan is such a bright spot in my day. I love when he says "mama" when I walk in to pick him up at Betsy's. His smile and giggle warm my heart everyday!