Christmas 2007

Evelyn had a great Christmas! She had a lot of fun opening gifts (like the garbage truck she requested from Santa Claus)...



...and digging in her stocking for goodies.

You know it's a good year when you get to open presents that are as big as you are.

Evy also enjoyed:

• Jingle barrettes
• Cookies
• Getting Christmas cards in the mail
• Unwrapping other people's gifts
• Her first attempt at karaoke
• Spending time with her family and friends

Since our Christmas celebration lasts for an entire week, it's already time for New Year's Day.

Happy 2008!

Crazy Lights (and Music)

Nothing says "Merry Christmas" quite like 150,000 lights and 27 inflatable lawn ornaments. Especially if the display is synchronized to holiday music.

We had to go see it for ourselves.



Evy liked the lights but she was most excited by the music. That's good for us - we can play Christmas music at our house without upgrading the electric service or climbing up on the roof. Or annoying our entire community.

However you show your Christmas spirit, we hope your holidays are merry and bright!

Hi, Santa!

With less than a week and a half to go until Christmas, I know Santa must have a packed schedule. It's his busy time. But he (and Mrs. Claus) managed to take a few minutes yesterday to visit with Evelyn.



She was happy to see him, starting with a wave and a "hi, Santa!" before climbing up on his lap. They chatted for awhile. Then Santa asked her his famous question.

"What do you want for Christmas?"



Evy replied with the phrase she had practiced all day.

"I...would like...a garbage truck...please."

Every elf within earshot gave a little chuckle. Santa said he would do his best and complimented her manners. You can't rattle the big guy - he's heard it all.

Happy Holidays! Hope you get everything you want for Christmas.

First Snowfall

We had the first measurable snowfall of the season last week, and Evy was consumed by looking at it. She spent countless hours by the window - watching it fall, looking for snow plows, and urging others to join her.

Then it finally warmed up enough for her to go outside. She couldn't wait. After half an hour of snowsuit preparation, she ran into the backyard with reckless abandon. Well, waddled into the backyard, anyway. She immediately fell down, rolled over, and said, "all done."



We convinced her to stay out a little bit longer. Long enough to shovel the sidewalk and driveway.

Let it snow!

Remember That Scene...

...from the movie E.T.?



She started out sitting next to one of her stuffed animals but kept saying "more, please" until the chair was full.

All In

Or all out, depending on how you look at it.

Happy Halloween

Evelyn dressed up as a Chinese princess this year for Halloween. The dress and headpiece are actually from China - Evy's Pap has been working there recently, and he and Gram brought them back for her as souvenirs.

We decided to just write her name on the pumpkin she picked out from Trax. After all, it is tough to carve a jack-o'-lantern with a plastic spoon.

This year Evy got her first taste of trick-or-treating by visiting four houses. She ended up with a bag of chips, two fun size candy bars, and a special goodie bag complete with her name on it.

But most of her evening was spent on our front porch in her beach chair handing out treats to the neighborhood kids. And getting her first taste of apple cider.



Evy had a really good time this Halloween and maybe next year she'll even be allowed to eat the treats she gets.

Other than the Kit Kats. Those are for Daddy.

Pumpkin Picking

We took advantage of what could be the last warm day for a while and visited the pumpkin patch at Trax Farms. Just like last year, Evy had a lot of fun climbing on the piles of pumpkins.

We told her she could pick any pumpkin she wanted...



...as long as she could carry it to the car.

She ended up with this one.

After choosing her pumpkin and running circles around the corn stalks, Evy took a quick ride on the tractor. She still can't reach the pedals, but she can turn the steering wheel.



It was a beautiful day to continue our tradition.

Animals Everywhere

Evy went to the zoo for the first time this morning. She had a great time seeing all the real animals that she has just read about in her books.

This fish was almost as big as Evy. I wonder how it felt about being called "fishie."



Not a real turtle.

After she watched the sea lions swim underwater, we got to see them do tricks for their lunch. She cheered and clapped her hands as they waved and did flips around the pool.





You might think that was her favorite part of her first zoo experience. But if you ask Evy, she'll tell you it was the garbage truck. Or the elevator. Or the giant metal turtle.

At least the last one is an animal.

Welcome, William!

Evelyn has a new cousin!

William Albertus made an early appearance last Thursday afternoon.

Congratulations Uncle Rob and Aunt Missy! We are all thinking of you and Will.

Another Fun Day

"Guess where I went yesterday?"



"OK, so that was pretty easy. But did you know that in addition to rides, they also have Potato Patch french fries and funnel cakes? What a ridiculous good time.

I can't wait until next year."

Art Studio

Evelyn has new favorite activity. She loves to color. Inspiration usually comes while sitting at her picnic table in the family room.



Evy is very passionate about her art. In fact, she learned very quickly that the harder you press, the brighter the colors.



This masterpiece is entitled Ocean, 2007, wax crayon on paper.



It also contains a baseball and a triangle. She seems to be leaning toward abstract expressionism in her early works.

Kennywood '07

Evelyn visited Kennywood yesterday. We started with a quick photo in front of the giant Garfield statue.

Then we went fishing. The pond was well stocked, and it wasn't long before Evy caught a fish and won a prize.

It was a pink plastic whistle. Woo hoo!

Then it was time for a train ride. As you can see, she was pretty excited about it.



She got even more excited when it started moving.



Evy had a really good time on her second trip to Kennywood, especially since she was able to ride more things than last year. In addition to the train, she also experienced the carousel and the shuttle bus to the parking lot.



She is already looking forward to her next visit - she was saying "Kennnyyy.....wood" the whole ride home.

Hula Girl

Aunt Julie & Uncle Tim returned from their honeymoon and brought back a little something for Evy from Hawaii.

Mahalo!

Aunt Ju-ya & Uncle Tii's Wedding

Evelyn went to her first wedding this past weekend. Her Aunt Julie and (now officially) Uncle Tim got married!



Congratulations!

More pictures of the big day are on Flickr.

All Wet

Now that it's summer, Evelyn's "helping" around the house has moved outside. She's still not quite tall enough to push the lawn mower. But she does like to water the flowers and plants.

Of course, she mostly just waters herself. Since she won't use both hands to hold her watering can, her legs and shoes get soaking wet.

Maybe that's why she's getting so tall.

The First Cut

Evelyn finally let us cut her hair this morning. Below are some pictures of the process.

She was unfazed by the whole thing and it didn't take long at all. If only trimming her fingernails was this easy...

Sitting on the Floor in a Tutu Eating Cold Peas

What? What do you do for fun?

Duck Spotting

Evelyn has seen plenty of ducks. Well, she's seen pictures of ducks, played with rubber duckies, and been wrapped up in a towel that looks like a duck. But she just got her first glimpse of an actual duck.



She now knows what a duck really looks like. And sounds like.

Instead of saying "quack" she now says "whatever that noise is that ducks actually make." You know what I mean. It's not spellable. The duck noise.

The one you're making right now.

Back to the Beach II

Evelyn enjoyed her second visit to Ocean City, Maryland, last week. She had lots more fun this year than during her first visit.

She posed for the camera in her bikini.



She jumped the waves with her friend Annika.

She played with her bucket in the sand.

She got tired of us taking her picture.



All in all it was a good time. You can tell by the amount of sand that made it back to our house.

Daddy's Girl

Evelyn had a good time just hanging out with her daddy on Father's Day.



Her daddy had a good time, too.

Strollin'

Now that the weather is nice, we're taking walks around our neighborhood again (for exercise or whatever). Evy enjoys riding in her stroller and pointing out various things to us. Her favorites include flowers and people cutting the grass, as well as dogs, kids on bikes, cars, trees and airplanes.

This is how she looks when she's ready to go.



The protective hat and sunglasses are joined by a generous helping of SPF 145 sunblock. Only the hat and shades need reapplied every 30 seconds.

Weee & Baubbles

That's "swing" & "bubbles" to anyone who doesn't speak Evy.



When she's outside, chances are we're doing one of these two activities, if not both at the same time. Weee!

Upward Mobility

Although she's been toying around with taking a few steps for several weeks now, Evelyn finally feels that it's time to walk.



She's getting more steady every day as her confidence grows. But for now, Evy still resorts to crawling if she needs to get somewhere fast. Like to her high chair when she's hungry.

Mmmmashed Potatoes

Evelyn has decided that she wants to use a spoon to eat...
All by herself.





The actual consumption rate is hovering around 55%.

That New Car Smell

See why Evy didn't want us to cut her hair? She needed it to grow long enough for pigtails - so she can see clearly out the front of her brand new car.

She has quickly learned to say "riiiide" to tell us when she wants to get in it and go. And go. And go. In NASCAR circles around the living room. Every now and then she even takes a pit stop to check under the hood.



Thankfully Evelyn hasn't asked us to change all four tires or adjust the splitter for more front downforce yet...