Christmas 2009

This year was Brandon's first Christmas, and we were able to celebrate three different times across the state of Pennsylvania.



Happy Holidays to everyone! More from Christmas on Flickr.

Still Crazy

They're up to 260,000 animated lights over at the crazy lights house. We had to go take a look.

We watched. We danced. We took pictures. We went home and turned on all 300 of our lights on the front porch railing.

And we can't wait for next year.

Snow Weekend

It started snowing on Friday night and didn't stop until Sunday morning. We didn't have anything scheduled, so Evelyn decided to call it a snow weekend and do some fun things without leaving home. Things like making paper snowflakes...



baking cookies...

and playing in the snow.

More of our snow weekend activities are on Flickr.

Christmas Is Coming

There are only two weeks until Christmas. The decorations are up and the kids are ready...

We are not.

More Christmas prep is on Flickr.

Evy Bakes A Cake

Evelyn was very excited about my birthday. Every morning she would remind me how many days were left until I turned 34. She wanted to pick out my present and even bake and decorate my birthday cake by herself.



Evy did a great job. Then, of course, she wanted to help me blow out the candles.



More photos of Evy celebrating my birthday are on Flickr. Since she was so happy for me it was easy to have fun getting older. Plus I still have one year left in the all-important entertainment and advertising target demographic...

Brandon's First Road Trip

For Thanksgiving we jammed the car full of stuff and took Brandon on his first road trip. Just like Evy's first time on the turnpike, Brandon slept most of the way. The only difference is the color of the neck wings.



More pics from Thanksgiving are on Flickr.

Air Traffic Control

We took advantage of some mild November weather and visited the county airport this weekend. Evelyn had a great time showing the planes and helicopters which way they should land and takeoff. I'm sure the air traffic control team in the tower appreciated her help.



She wore ear protectors the whole time even though the runway wasn't very loud. I think she just liked not being able to hear her parents.



Evy has already talked to a pilot and she knows that you have to be 16 years old before you can fly solo. Well, she's not allowed to drive a car until she's 25, so she might actually have a better chance of flying a plane first...

More from the county airport on Flickr.

Snow White and the Eighth Dwarf

Evelyn came up with several costume ideas before deciding on Snow White. She didn't really know the story, but she knew that the costume was made for her Aunt Julie in 1986.



Here is Evy in 2009.



It's like Snow White was restored for re-release on DVD and Blu-ray.

Since Brandon couldn't voice his opinion about a costume, he became an accessory for Evelyn. She even helped to sew his "dorf" hat.



Evy only trick-or-treated at nine houses. It could have been because her sparkly shoes were a bit too big and hard to walk in. It could have been because she had more fun giving out candy to the "customers" that came to our door. It also could have been that her parents made her wear a winter coat over her costume. What? It was cold out there.

Evelyn asked if she could sleep in her costume. We said no.
It needs to be saved so that someone else in the family can wear it in 2032.

More Halloween fun is on Flickr.

A Day At The Parks

Evelyn enjoyed the recent heat wave and managed to get in a little more outside fun before the return of the cold weather. After preschool she went to the park for a picnic lunch and some climbing on the playground apparatus.



Later in the day she went leaves jumping at a different park.



Let's do it again in May.

Behind the Scenes

You may have seen a few of Brandon's Thursday pictures. Since he was born on a Thursday, we're taking a photo of him every week to watch him grow.

What you haven't seen is what's happening in the background while these pictures are being taken...



Big sister Evy loves to be around her little brother. She talks to him and gives him kisses and tries to make sure he's happy. Brandon loves it too. He smiles and coos at her whenever she's around.



Which, as you can tell, is a majority of the time. We know that she just wants to show affection to the little guy. But we're going to have to get him a suit of armor (or bubble wrap) at some point.

Field Trip

Evelyn's preschool class went on a field trip to Trax Farms yesterday. They took a behind the scenes tour of the store which included the wall of bees, the refrigerator room and the apple washing machine.



Then the kids listened to a presentation about all different kinds of gourds before taking a hayride around the farm.



The field trip finished up with a snack of an apple and three cups of fresh cider.



She had a great time and even got to bring home a small pumpkin. What a fun way to spend a Thursday morning.

Garbage Pals

Over the past year Evelyn has become friends with our garbage man, J.R. They greeted each other every Monday morning with a wave, and he would honk the horn as his truck pulled away. He said that Evy was the only girl on his route that would say hi.



Unfortunately, J.R. is moving to an office position with his company and won't be stopping by our house anymore. The new guy waved to Evy on his first Monday but didn't honk the horn.

He has a lot to learn.

Band of Evys

Evelyn finally got the whole band together for a practice (it can be difficult with their rock star schedules). They started rehearsals for the upcoming Band of Evys Endless Energy World Tour.



Can you imagine really having three Evys running around the house? Oh, my...

One Month Old

Brandon turned one month old today!

We spent the day doing all kinds of fun things to celebrate. First we went to the park to ride bikes, feed the ducks and swing at the playground (Brandon slept). Then we stopped at Rita's for a cold treat (Brandon was still sleeping). We also had porch picnics for lunch and dinner (Brandon slept outside).

OK, so it may not have been very exciting for him, but it was fun for the rest of us.

NFL Kickoff

Tonight marks the beginning of the NFL season. The Steelers host the Titans in to kick off a new year of football.

Of course we're ready to cheer for the defending Super Bowl champions!



Here we go!

First Day of Preschool

Today was Evelyn's first day of preschool. Somehow we took a few pictures and still managed to get her there on time.

After last week's orientation she knew right where to go. And she went there. This was the last time she looked back.

Evy walked right inside, hung up her backpack and started playing. Afterward she told us that she liked preschool and had a great time with the other kids.

Since it was the first day the schedule was shortened and coffee and donuts were available for the parents. I chose a vanilla iced glazed with orange sprinkles.

So far I like preschool, too. We'll see what happens on Thursday when no breakfast items are included.

One Week Old

Brandon had a successful visit to the doctor yesterday. He weighed in at an even seven pounds - up from his discharge weight of 6 pounds 9 ounces and already surpassing his birth weight. At this rate he'll weigh 200 pounds when he starts kindergarten.

They also measured his length (the same) and his head circumference (34 1/2 cm). This would make his fitted cap size 4 3/8 (if they made them this small).

Since he was born on a Thursday, we're planning to take a picture of Brandon every Thursday to watch him grow week by week. Here is today's picture:



Future installments will be uploaded to Flickr in the set called Brandon's Thursday Pictures.

Family of Four

Brandon and Steph are both healthy and back home after a couple of days at the hospital. We took our first picture as a family of four while we were all there.

Evelyn is doing a great job as a big sister - she just wants to be around her brother all of the time. She's even sharing her room and her books and her music with him.



She is also giving him lots of hugs. Hang in there, little guy...

Updated pictures of Brandon are on Flickr!

It's a Boy!

Brandon Mathew was born today at 1:09 a.m.!

He is 6 pounds, 15 ounces and 19 1/4 inches long.

More of Brandon is on Flickr!

Eat It!

Evy took a trip to the game preserve this morning. She was able to see the buffalo and hang out on the bridge over the pond.



Evelyn had fun throwing bread into the water and yelling at the ducks to eat it.

Then an entire gaggle of geese arrived and chaos ensued...

Car Cruise

Evelyn had a chance to visit a different car cruise tonight. It had more cars than our usual one, but no Italian ice.



Evy had a lot of fun looking around and was pretty excited when her favorite purple Bel Air showed up at this car cruise, too.

One Month To Go!

Late Bloomers

We planted a few flowers today. I know it's two months late, but the weather makes it still feel like spring outside...

Before and after pictures are on Flickr.

Kennywood '09

Evelyn visited Kennywood Park this weekend. She expanded her portfolio of rides this year and now counts the Whippersnapper among her favorites.

Evy also had fun driving everyone around. She told us that it was her turn to drive since she is always the rider in our car. Thank goodness for the guide beam in the middle of the ride's path...



The lines were short and the weather was much better than predicted. Everyone had a great time.

More pictures of our Kennywood day are on Flickr.

A Sparkling Smile

Evelyn enjoyed her first visit to the dentist today. That's right, she enjoyed it. She chatted up the front office ladies before making her way back to the room with the purple chair.



Evy hopped right up and had a conversation with the hygienist. After putting on the special sunglasses, her teeth were counted (20) and cleaned with the tickling toothbrush (using cherry paste). They sparkled...



The dentist came in for a final check and he said that everything looked great. Then Evy was sent on her way with a bag full of goodies which included a little tube of toothpaste, a new toothbrush, four stickers and a parachute toy. It's no wonder she enjoyed her visit.

Happy Fourth!

Beach Week

Evelyn had a great time at the beach last week. She spent a lot of her time covered in sunscreen while she ran away from the waves or dug holes in the sand.



We even got out to the links for a round of golf.

All of this fun (plus an ice cream cone with sprinkles at the Boardwalk) can make a three-year-old tired. Very tired...



More pictures of fun and sun are on our Flickr site.

Two Months To Go

From the balcony in Ocean City...

Another Purple Day

Evelyn declared today to be another purple day. So when we went to Rita's for their Saturday night car cruise, it was pretty obvious which car would be her favorite.

City Of Champions!

Pittsburgh is having quite a year. The Steelers won the Super Bowl in February and last night the Penguins won the Stanley Cup!

Evelyn was their good luck charm, making sure to watch the beginning of each game during their playoff run.

So does this mean that in October the Pirates will win the World Series? Well, two out of three isn't bad...

Porch Picnics

One of Evelyn's favorite warm weather activities is the "porch picnic." It's exactly what you think it is. We sit on the porch and eat at Evy's picnic table. The menu tonight included corn on the cob.



And sometimes we end with an ice cream cone.



Yum!