Boy Oh Boy!

Just recently I looked at Scott and asked, "Do you think a little girl would play the same way Evan does?" I find it amazing to watch Evan as he maneuvers around the house, finds interesting ways to play with mundane objects, and explores things like cause and effect. I wonder sometimes what I am doing in my daily interaction with him to cause him to play as he does; play as a boy.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a bad thing, just something I ponder as I watch him. For example, am I physically rougher with him than I would be a girl? Do I talk the same way, ask him the same questions, respond to him the same way I would a girl? Obviously he's hard-wired differently than a girl but I do think there's so much that he learns from Scott and me about how to be a boy. In any case, let me describe some of his latest antics!

Ah, the ride-on Little People school bus! He plays with this in many ways. On occasion Scott will push him around the house while he holds on tightly, reclines back against the pulley and relaxes for the ride. You really have to be there but it's one of the most hilarious things he does lately. As he rides he has that look of, "that's right, push me around for my enjoyment as I kick back" with absolutely no regard for the killer backaches Scott endures!

I have also taught him how to lift the seat to put things inside. Sometimes we watch as he stuffs blocks, books and yes, woobie, into the compartment and then gets very upset when it doesn't shut correctly!

Mostly, though, he enjoys walking the toy over the entrance to Scott's office and then pushing it down the stairs!

"If I could just position it correctly so I can throw it down these steps!"

"There we go!"

"That was fun! I think I'll try it again!"

The ride-on toy isn't the only thing he enjoys tumbling down the steps. Just last weekend I was cleaning the house and placed Scott's trash can near the steps so that I remembered to empty it. I came around the corner and this is what I saw...

"Hmmm...how did that happen?"

Lately Evan's also been very interested in Scott's work boots. Scott usually keeps them in the laundry room for easy and quiet access in the morning. When he sees the opportunity Evan will follow me into the laundry room and take off with the shoes.

On this particular day he grabbed both and headed for the living room.

"Slowly but surely I will get both boots up these steps!"

"I think I can, I think I can!"

I think after all the work it took to get one heavy boot up the stairs he decided to leave the other one behind.

Finally, there's just nothing that compares to playing with shoes in the coat closet. Honestly, you would think we don't buy real toys for this kiddo! Again, when he sees the opportunity, i.e. the open closet doors, he crawls in and sits himself right in the middle of them. Mostly he enjoys pulling on all the shoestrings. You know Evan's been in the closet when you go to put on your shoes and have to loosen all the laces to get your foot in!

The way I have descibed this current stage to others is that it's like a switch flipped and Evan is into everything. If he's not grabbing the remote it's the phone. If he's not trying to open drawers he's reaching as far as he can on the counter tops and grabbing things he can't even see (which has caused us to carefully watch where we place knives and hot pans!) It seems that everyday he's more aware of his surroundings and those surroundings provide such fun challenges! He definitely keeps us on our toes but it's also a lot of fun to watch him learn and explore.

Other fun pictures from recently...

Evan already seems to have a love of books (yay!) and sometimes can be found just sitting and flipping the pages of his favorites!

Debbie recently brought over a bag of toys and in it Evan found this kazoo. He must have walked around for hours blowing into it (and drooling all over it!). The drool marks more teething...fun times!

Mommy and me...the best I could do with one arm holding down the alligator and one taking the picture!

Sex (-y Mommies) In The City

It was just last January that my friends, Nancy, Irma and Debbie embarked on the 1st Annual Girl's Trip to New York City. They apparently had so much fun they started talking about a second trip planned for November and invited two more; Loryn and me!

Debbie handled all the planning and logistics (thanks, Deb!) that made for a truly great weekend with the girls. We started out very early last Saturday morning, all meeting at around 6:30 am to ensure we were on the road for 7. After a quick stop for coffee and breakfast we were on our way!

We were able to check in early to the awesome San Carlos hotel where we quickly dropped our things and headed out for shopping. During the shopping excursion it began to rain; but never fear - the street vendors were prepared, selling umbrellas for $5 to all those who had been silly enough to leave the hotel without them! (Later that afternoon when we returned to our rooom we noticed the hotel offered complimentary umbrellas - dang it!) After Nancy toured us around American Girl (she has an uncanny knowledge of all things American Girl - I guess having two girls helps!) we then headed to the theater for a matinee showing of "A Tale of Two Cities" which was fantastic! After the show we headed back to the hotel for some wine and snacks before dinner.

We had 8:30 dinner reservations at Becco; a small little Italian restaurant in the theater district. After three hours of wine, delicious pasta and bread, yummy dessert, and great conversation, we departed for the hotel. The original plan of walking until we hailed a cab quickly turned into walking entirely. Why does this kind of thing always happen when you're wearing your "meant for standing or riding, not walking" shoes?!? Luckily the rain had passed and it was a nice crisp night for walking.

Amazingly we got to bed at a reasonable time and woke up Sunday ready for more shopping! Our first stop was a street fair just a few blocks from the hotel. It wasn't an intended stop since we had no idea it would be happening but boy did we find some great things there! We continued shopping throughout the day, ending with a stroll through Toys-R-Us in Times Square so that we could pick up a few things for the kiddos.

It was a great "girl's getaway" and prompted us all to start talking about the next one; did someone say Upstate New York winery tours in May?!? Hmmmm...

Some of you may ask how Scott faired during his first time having Evan all to himself for 48 hours; he did absolutely great! I think I was actually more concerned than he was (just ask the girls how many times I was on the phone with him!!). He never really complained even though Evan ran a fever and was crankier than usual. I do think he's already contemplating the next boy's trip, though!

Some pictures from the weekend....

Loryn, Nancy, Debbie, Irma and me in Times Square

You can't tell very well but Radio City already had it's Christmas tree up!

At dinner; Irma, Nancy, Loryn, me and Debbie

A -Tisket-A-Tasket... Evan Loves His Basket...

My how this boy loves climbing in baskets!

Since the time he could move, Evan has been intrigued with the basket in the living room. Pre-baby I used it to store old magazines. Once Evan came along I decided it would be a great place for diapers, wipes, and other baby essentials, saving me from excessive trips up and down the stairs! It turned out to be as handy as I thought...until a certain someone learned mobility!

This was taken when Evan was about six months old. His method of movement at the time was rolling; he would roll and roll until he reached what he wanted. He absolutely loved rolling over to the basket and pulling everything out. This continued through the crawling phase; crawl to the basket, pull everything out, watch mommy put it back and do it again!

Then just two short months after crawling came walking. Ever heard the term, "be careful what you wish for"? Walking very quickly led to climbing. It started with the stairs but Evan, being the gross motor skill master, figured out he could use that same climbing movement to get himself into the basket. The following picture was taken at around 11 months.

Once I realized that Evan having access to his diaper cream wasn't the best idea (see the older post on Boudreaux's Butt Paste for that story!) we began using this basket for books and puzzles. While he still enjoyed climbing into it on occasion, it had become less frequent that I found him sitting in the basket.

Then came height. It's amazing to me how Evan learns what his little body can do; I guess it's just trial and error and when something new works out for him - BAM - it becomes his favorite new activity. Hence, sitting in his toy box and blocks basket. Both of these containers are quite a bit taller than the basket he had been accustomed to climbing into so it took a combination of him growing another inch and being curious enough to learn how to scale the new buildings, so to speak!

In the last two weeks this is what we've learned to do...

Sitting in the basket where his blocks are normally kept
(and he sits on top of the blocks - OUCH!)

And sitting in his toy box (which is actually a clothes hamper that we use as a toy box!)

Whichever he decides to sit in you can count on the fact that he will begin the fun that is throwing everything in the basket onto the floor! You can imagine how many times a day I put toys away - something we're working to teach little Evan!

Now if he could only learn how to exit the baskets...his current method is a demanding grunt or yell as he tries to swing one leg over the side but can't quite figure out what to do after that!

Boys are GREAT, aren't they?

Call The Zoo...A Monkey's Loose!

Happy Halloween!

I was so excited about Halloween this year. I had sweet visions of this first true trick-or-treating experience; Evan would run (more like a waddle in the monkey costume!) from house to house, hold out his little treat bag and smile with glee when it was filled with yummy goodies...

...My expectations may have been too high!

We started the evening at my neighbor's house where we joined all the other kids in the neighborhood for some fun and pizza before leaving for trick-or-treating. Evan had a great time running all around the yard in his costume (which, surprisingly, he didn't bother with too much!) and playing with the other kiddos.

We decided to walk to just a few houses for the "experience" and then call it a night. We loaded Evan into the stroller and away we went. I think it was at about house number two that I realized this was not the experience of my aforementioned visions. Evan just sat in his stroller wondering, I'm sure, why we were taking a walk in the dark, while I walked up to the house holding out his bag and saying "trick-or-treat" for candy. Knowing Evan wouldn't be eating any candy, it felt a little odd to be trick-or-treating for him! At that point we decided to return home to give out candy to all the other little ghosts and goblins.

So, even though Evan was obviously (to everyone but me!) too young to really understand or enjoy Halloween we had a great time dressing him up and watching him play with his little friends. I can't wait for next year when he really will enjoy the night!

It's All In The Genes!

With any new baby comes the age-old question, "Who does he look like?" and Evan has been no exception. On any given day you can talk to someone in my family who says he looks so much like me and someone on Scott's side who says he looks exactly like Scott. We've even had people tell us he looks like both grandfathers and remote cousins!

I must admit, when Evan was born I thought he definitely looked just like his daddy. For the most part, I still do. There are those moments, though, when Evan makes a face or looks at me in a particular way and I see myself - as scary as that is!

So, I thought it would be cute to post baby pictures of Scott and me as well as one of Evan and let you be the judge!

My initial reaction to seeing these pictures right next to each other...holy cow, the resemblance to his Daddy is undeniable! Look at those mouths and smiles!

But, I do think he has my head shape (more narrow than wide) and nose. I'm still deciding on the eyes; it's too close to call!

I'm a Big Boy Now!

Sunday we reached another major milestone with our monkey - his first hair cut. It was a success in the sense that his hair is cut but I'm quite sure he wouldn't consider it his most enjoyable experience!

We decided to brave it and go to the mall before nap time rather than after, hoping to beat the crowds and not compound Evan's as-of-late afternoon crankiness. So we get to Cartoon Cuts just before it opened at 11 am. There was already a line! The first woman in line had THREE kids getting hair cuts. I think at the point I have three kid's hair to cut I would learn to do it myself! (but don't worry - it'll NEVER happen that I have THREE!!!)

So, we sign Evan in and stroll around the mall for a bit, figuring this is going to take a while. Surprisingly (and thankfully!) they called for us at 11:20. I fully expected that Evan would sit calmly in a booster while the woman cut his hair. That's laughable now! I was instructed to sit with him, we were both covered, and she started going to town with the scissors. These people definitely know how to work fast. The scream-fest began at the first cut. While I did manage to console him with Cheerios and a book, most of the time Evan screamed and cried. What felt like an eternity in that chair was maybe 7-10 minutes and he was done. One look at him and I almost cried myself; he looked more like a boy and less a baby. All I had left of his little baby curls were snips in an envelope. How time flies...

Before he realized what was going on...

Feeling pretty confident!

I HATE THIS!




I think I was singing to him...nothing worked!

The end result...big boy!

Zoo Much Fun!

When my friend, Lisa, asked about getting the kiddos together last Friday my first thought was to hang out at the indoor playground at the mall. What Lisa suggested was far more exciting - the local petting zoo!

What a hit! Evan had a great time running up to all the animals to pet them. I thought he might be at least slightly apprehensive - not so much! Inside the petting zoo was a smaller area where there were chickens, ducks, rabbits, and some miniature goats. Being a bit on the germ-o-phobic side, this area made me increasingly anxious; Evan pet the tail of a goat who had just - ahem - relieved himself, tried to climb into the chicken coop, and picked up straw from the ground (but luckily never put it to his mouth!). I resisted the urge to hold him the entire time and instead let him do what he wanted - and then scrubbed his little hands with antibacterial wipes when we were done!

We ended the afternoon with lunch and playing at McDonald's before returning home for some great napping!

Evan petting the goats!

...and the sheep!

Emily and Evan taking in the ducks!

Petting the goat's tail...

Only 6 weeks apart - so cute!

Definitely 100% BOY!!