Gymboree!

With long Maryland winters come LOTS of time indoors. Anyone with a "busy" toddler knows this is not a best case scenario! So, after looking into a couple of "enrichment" programs (as the books call them)I decided on enrolling Evan into Gymboree classes. We started going weekly back in February and continued for two months until our last class at the beginning of April.

While there was no question Evan enjoyed the atmosphere; jumping, running, climbing and throwing balls, he definitely was not interested in the group activities - or "circle time". This is when all the mommies and kiddos head over to the center mat for bubbles, parachute time, and tap, tap, tapping on the giant "air log". I learned very quickly on day one that Evan was NOT INTERESTED. Let's just say I tried to push the idea on him and ended up with a very embarassing toddler tantrum!

So, from that point forward I decided he should play as he pleased. After all, I was paying for him to have fun, right? So, for eight weeks we went and he enjoyed playtime. Sometimes he joined in for bubbles with his friends but mostly he could be found running and climbing (usually with at least one other rowdy little boy!) . Rather than fret that maybe he's a B-R-A-T who doesn't want to follow instructions, I prefer to believe he's a natural-born leader and couldn't be bothered following the crowd. It helps me sleep better at night....

Here are a few pictures of our last day....and luckily my parents were here to tag along and see Evan in his element!

He loved checking out all the other Evans in the mirrored box - it was hilarious!

Climbing...and stopping for a quick pic!

Sliding with his ball - two of his favorite things!

Pushing the ball up the ramp...and getting a wee bit irritated when it rolled back toward him!

We Wuv Woobie!

About a year ago I noticed Evan had become quite smitten with his little blue dog lovie. What started as a cute baby gift sitting on his shelf has turned into an omnipresent, drool-soaked companion Evan cannot live without.

Early on I began calling him woobie because seeing Evan toddle around with a corner of it always stuffed in his mouth brought me back to "Mr. Mom" and the little boy with his blankie called "woobie". I never thought the name would stick but it has. Evan now says either "oobie" or "bee" to refer to his lovie.

It wasn't long before I realized we'd have to have more "bees", since Evan's incessant teething on the original had left it stained and, well, kinda gross. I scoured the Internet and came upon the identical little blankie...of course it has to be Gund, one of the most expensive stuffed animal brands! Sheesh!

Over the course of the last year we have accumulated 4 more woobies. We cannot leave home without him. Woobie goes with Evan to Debbie's when I'm at work, to the gym daycare, and everywhere in between. I describe woobie as having magical powers. Anyone who's seen it in action understands. When Evan cries, woobie usually saves the day. I hear myself saying "where's woobie" many times a day.

And you should see his face light up when we find woobie.

Ultimately, I love the little blankie as it has saved us from many a meltdown and I just think it's the sweetest thing to see him curled up with it when he sleeps! But woobie has created a little more work on wash day.

Evan usually gets a "fresh" woobie everyday. The collective woobies get washed several times a week but, I have found that one good scrub per week is absolutely necesssary. It's just embarassing to hand over a "clean" woobie to the gym ladies while explaining to them, "really, it's clean".

So imagine, five woobies, each with four "feet", two "paws", two ears and a tail, each part being individually scrubbed after soaking in Oxyclean. It's at least a 30-minute chore! Usually I can only do four at a time since one always has to be in circulation!

I think Evan's doctor described it best last week when he helpfully picked it up from the office floor during our visit; He said, " This blankie looks well-loved." Yes, woobie certainly is well-loved.

Woobies getting ready for their weekly bath! Can you guess which one is newest?

Sneaux Day!

While it's been a typical Maryland winter, way too long and way too cold, we were oddly short on snow this year...at least any that actually accumulated to much.

But on a cold Monday morning in March we woke up to a beautiful white, blanket of snow...roughly 8 inches. Granted it only stays beautiful and white for a very short time and then turns into brown slushy yuck! Oh yeah, and you have to shovel it...and brush it off your cars...as I said, only beautiful for a minute.

I was really excited this time because it would be Evan's first (and likely last for a long time, should we move this summer!) real snow! I, as usual, had high expectations. Last Fall I bought a pair of second-hand snow boots that I knew would be perfect for a day just like this! Scott made sure all cameras were charged and ready to capture the excitement on Evan's face as he romped and played in the soft, fluffy goodness.

(insert screeching brakes sound here)

It took about 5 minutes for Evan to decide he was not a snow-playin' kinda guy.

He enjoyed walking in it (the snow came up to about his knees) but once walking became difficult (about 4 steps in!) and he didn't find it easy to turn around, he began to cry. He fell a couple of times and, given his thick layers and boots, wasn't able to get himself up again. Although Scott and I found this to be quite cute, Evan didn't think it was so amusing.

Once it started feeling more like we were torturing him and less like he was actually enjoying it (like I said, about 5 minutes!), we took the few obligatory photos and called it a day. Not a snowball was thrown or a snowman created. Maybe next time....

His first glimpse...

Tried to walk...

...but usually resulted in falling!

And then the tantrum that ended the "fun"!

548 Days

Little Evan,

548 is a big, big number but it's about how many days you have been in our lives...18 whole months, one and a half years!

548 days ago your daddy and I finally got our first glimpse of your tiny little face, your ten wee toes and your sweet little fingers. I remember how your whole body fit on my shoulder. How could I have known that one day soon I would be holding you down, mostly unsuccessfully, just to change your diaper? I loved your sweet little gummy smiles and never imagined one day I would be telling you "small bites!" as you used those new chompers to feed yourself a banana.

I knew you'd grow up I just didn't realize how quickly it would happen. With every new phase you move through there is a certain sadness and also big excitement. I miss the days when you didn't wear shoes and continuously pulled off your socks. But it's been fun buying you "big boy" shoes and watching you walk and run on the playground. The inevitable is happening; more and more you're a boy and I'm slowly saying goodbye to your baby days.

You, on the other hand, seem more than happy to move on full speed ahead!

You run! You run from us, you run as you kick your ball (I think we have a soccer star in you!), you run and throw yourself on the ground very dramatically (sometimes for play and sometimes when you're upset!). You run while swinging your arms wildly over your head. It's those moments that remind me of your tender innocence; you have not a care in the world.

You talk! You're starting to try out those vocal cords, slowly but surely. Some new things you've said recently include "juice", "please", "ball", "bat" and "pow pow"! You're still using your sign language. Now you will walk to the counter where the bananas are, point upwards and sign "please". Such a big boy!

You organize! Oneof your new games lately is removing all mommy's hair products from the basket, standing them up on the floor, and "counting" them (you point to the cans while mommy or daddy counts!). Once you're done, you begin the arduous task of moving them around the room, can by can (you're very serious and deliberate about your can-moving!). I can always count on finding my leave-in conditioner behind the closet door and my mousse under the bed! It's like a little scavenger hunt we have everyday.

You give affirmation! You've been able to shake your head "no" for a while now but just the other night when you were bathing mommy asked you to say "yes". You responded with a very thoughtful, open-mouthed single nod of the head! It's very funny to watch you really think about the motion of nodding before you do it!

You climb stairs! You've been up and down the stairs for a while now. You're so good, in fact, that mommy now lets you go up and down on your own. But walking up stairs without holding on to the walls is a new feat...

You read! Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration but you are now very good at pointing to pictures when asked to find something on a page. You're favorite book right now is "My Big Book of Words". It's page after page of hundreds of labeled objects and my guess is you can correctly point to 30-40 of them! I hope you develop mommy's love of reading!

Today I brought you to the doctor for your 18-month appointment and was amazed to learn you now weigh 28 pounds and are 34.5 inches long! You've come a long way from 7 pounds 20 inches! No matter how tall you grow or how much you come to learn you'll still be that little baby boy to me!

Happy 18 Month Birthday, big boy! We love you so much!

Mommy and Daddy

Sick of Sickness!

Let me just say it'll be a happy day when we say adios to cold and flu season! Last week it was Deb's turn with two sick kiddos and this week it seems I got passed the "Your Turn For a Sick Baby" card (even though we kept Evan home last week so he wouldn't catch anything - ha!)

Since he was 6 months old, like all babies, Evan has gone to the doctor every three months for "well-baby" visits. After every visit I tell the doctor the same thing; "We'll see you in three months, hopefully!" There's always hope we won't be back in between for a "sick-baby" visit, although that's yet to be the case. We came close this time as his 18-month check up is just next week. Yet, there we were on Tuesday waiting to be told the good news...aka, here's your Amoxicillin prescription for Evan's ear infection!

You would think this would be easy since I'm home with the little man 5 days a week. Oh, how wrong you would be! Don't you know babies only get sick on the days mommy has to be at work? So this week I arranged to work Wednesday and Thursday so that I could bring Evan to the doctor on Tuesday. It was all going fine until yesterday when I got the dreaded call from Debbie that Evan was awake after a whopping 1 1/2 hour nap and not happy. So, I left early to get him home. I thought we would try it again today, since he would have even more doses of antibiotics in his system. He had other plans. He woke up with a fever and the most pitiful little glassy eyes. I will say the sweetest thing about sick babies is that they want to be cuddled all day; well, it's sweet for the first couple hours, anyway!

Lucky for me, my boss is always super-supportive. Sometimes I wonder which they're thinking: "Who cares, you're only here two days a week!" or "You can't even make it TWO days a week??" Given the fact that our company is hurting like most others, I'm going to call it doing my part to save them money! They can thank me later...

I Don't Mean To Offend You, But...

Usually not the best way to start a conversation...with a complete stranger...in the gym! But this opener led to a conversation that would inevitably make my day.

My usual Monday morning Body Pump class was just finishing and I was starting the daunting task of putting away my equipment (which is as much a workout as the actual torture - er, I mean class). A woman who I have seen many times before in this very class stops me and says, "I don't mean to offend you but you look GREAT! You've really slimmed down!" Offend me??? I couldn't express my gratitude to her fast enough! Not only was I pleasantly surprised that a stranger would take the time to compliment another but also validated in my almost year-long effort to stash the baby weight somewhere other than my back end!

As I picked up Evan and walked to the car I thought about how simple it really is to make someone's day and decided to challenge myself in the coming weeks with paying it forward...and then I got myself a nice, toasty supreme bagel with cream cheese! A girl's gotta celebrate, right?

Jibber Jabber

Scott recently caught some footage of Evan jabbering...