Festival Fun!

A few weekends ago, Evelyn and I went to the Holy Cross Indian Summer Festival with my family.  It was such a treat because we hadn’t had the chance to go to any festivals this summer!  I think Evie was a little overwhelmed by all of the people and commotion, but she was well-behaved and had fun.  She loved watching the kids jump in the bounce houses.  Maybe next year when she’s a little bit bigger, she can actually jump too.  She loved watching the duck race (floating ducks the numbers written on them) and Pops’ number almost one!  Aunt Shannon got Evie a huge lollipop which loved and she got to meet some of her Pops, Aunt Holly and Aunt Shannon’s friends.  We had so much fun and we can’t wait until next year!

Fun at the Zoo with Grandparents!

We’ve been having lots of fun at the zoo the past few weekends.  We had an adventure with Grandma Rita one Saturday.  We saw tiger cubs playing, wolves running in circles and eagles soaring.  Evie loved hanging out with Grandma Rita!  

The next weekend, we took Kiki and Pops came to visit and on Sunday we went to the zoo for Fall Fest.  We saw so many amazing carved pumpkins and fall decorations, we visited elephants and manatees, saw the gorillas on their playground and hopped around with the kangaroos (okay not really – they were sleeping).  It was another beautiful day and we really had a great time!!

18 months old!!

Our sweet girl is 18 months old!  That is so hard to believe.  The other day we were watching a few of the videos that we’d taken of Evie when she was about a month old.  She was just starting to roll over a little and she looked so tiny.  Fast forward 18 months and we have a walking, talking bundle of energy!  She's 25lbs and 33 inches tall!

Just like Daddy :)

Evelyn is doing so many things these days.  She is running everywhere and she’s started to climb.  She has not attempted to get out of her crib yet thank goodness!  I am not ready for that.  She is learning to jump.  We sing the song “Pop Goes the Weasel”, and she will jump at the end.  Right now, jumping consists of bending her knees and then springing up. Her feet rarely leave the ground, but she’s getting there.

Evelyn likes to use a fork &/or spoon at dinner.  This has been helpful in trying to get her eat new things because she’ll try just about anything if she can do it all by herself.  We’re still having trouble getting her to eat non-pureed veggies.  She loves green beans and carrots from a jar and she will suck down the pouch baby food in snap, but it is rare for her to really eat veggies any other way.  She does like celery – especially if it has peanut butter on it.  We sneak veggies into food, but I’m really hoping I can get her to eat plain vegetables someday.

Evelyn and her G.G Mitchell... Love :)

Evelyn still loves to read.  Her current favorite is a Winnie the Pooh lullaby book.  It’s one of those books that play songs when you press the button.  I read it to her no less than 10 times the other night.  Her favorite song is “Are You Sleeping Little Roo?”, an adaptation of Frere Jacques.  She bops her head back and forth, and actually ‘sings’ along with me. :)  I’m so happy my girl loves books.  We started reading longer books and she is crazy about the Dr. Seuss book Go Dog Go.  We actually brought it to the grocery store with us the other day and it kept her pretty occupied in the cart while I shopped.  

Big Foot?

Evelyn is talking up a storm these days, but we cannot really understand half of what she says.  She will babble on and on, telling us things that only she knows.  She does say quite a few words – dog, ball, nana (banana), nigh-nigh (night-night), buba (bubbles), yum, mama, dada, papa, ee (kiki), hi, hello, bye, boo, no, yes, ease (please), tanks (thanks), wuv you (I love you), all done and all gone to name a few.  I love it when she says “oh no”.  She sounds so serious, like something awful has happened.  She knows some animal sounds, including the “Grrr” of the UK Wildcat (thanks Pops for teaching her that one)!  She tries to repeat a lot of what I say these days. We don’t always understand it all, but she’s trying so that’s all that counts.  

Walking for a good cause

Evie likes to watch her shows on TV – ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’, ‘The Chica Show’, ‘Barney’, ‘Pocoyo’ and ‘Sesame Street’ are favorites.  We limit the time she spends in front of the TV, but we do allow it.  She also loves my IPad.  She knows how to turn it on, flip through the apps and find the one that she wants.  Same goes for the IPhone.  Again, we try and limit these things, but they can be a complete lifesaver in the car during long drives.  Evelyn has turned into quite girly girl.  She loves headbands, purses, bracelets and necklaces.  She loves to have her hair brushed and when I put on my lip balm, she likes me to put a little on her as well.  She looks so proud when I put a dress on her – she prances around like she’s a star and I love it!

Happy girl!

She still loves her blanket and her pacifier.  We are going to start taking the pacifier from her during the day (except for naps) and only allow it at bedtime now that she’s 18 months.  Our goal is to have it gone at 2 years so we are starting small.  She’s not completely attached to it during the day, but if she sees a pacifier sitting anywhere, she wants it.  I’m not looking forward to the meltdowns that I know are coming.  Our girl is stubborn and not likely to give up her pacifier without a fight!

So that’s Evelyn right now in a nutshell.  My spunky, stubborn, sweet little girl.  Every day I love her even more and I literally cannot imagine my life without her.  

Hilton Head!

We took our first family vacation to the beach last week.  We spent one wonderful week in Hilton Head Island, SC.  It was so nice to get away from everything and just have a week to relax and be together.  My mom came for the entire week and Pat’s mom joined us for a few days at the end of the week.  We all had a lot of fun and made so many good memories.  

Evelyn loved the beach and the ocean.  The look on her face when a wave first brushed her feet was incredible.  She wanted to run right into the waves – I literally had to hold her back.  I loved seeing her innocent amazement.  As adults, we just don’t get to experience this most of the time.  I know too much about the world and what could happen.  I worried for her safely, but Evie just wanted to jump right in those waves and splash.  I think we all need to be reminded of that innocent enjoyment more often.

Going on vacation with a small child was definitely a change.  Pat and I discovered that our vacations for a while aren’t going to be about us relaxing as much as they are about running around after our kiddo.  We enjoyed semi-lazy days at the pool and the beach.  Evelyn loved playing in the sand.  She didn’t like it when I buried her feet (I think she was worried that they were gone forever!), but she had fun digging with her shovel and fill her bucket with sand and salt water.  She loved putting her feet in the water, running from the waves and sitting with her Kiki in the beach chair at the water’s edge.  She spent time exploring the beach with Grandma Rita and made friends with a little boy who had caught a shrimp in the water.  She’d pick up small seashells, and then throw them back in the ocean.  I told her to give them back to the ocean in an effort to keep her from putting them in her mouth, but inevitably Evie got a taste of sand and salt water despite my efforts.

Pat and I enjoyed a date night while my mom babysat.  I enjoyed getting to see some of Pat’s favorite places from when he lived there.  I met a few of his old friends and enjoyed the dinner, drinks and adult conversation.  It was so nice to have Pat with us since he knew all of the good restaurants.  I’ve never been once to care much about when we eat while on vacation, but we definitely enjoyed our dinners out while in Hilton Head!  I think my favorite was The Black Marlin.  The seafood was amazing and we even got some free appetizers courtesy of Pat’s friend who co-owns the restaurant.  Evie ate like champ all week. She had new things like crab legs, shrimp, grouper & flounder.  Pat and I made a decision to stop ordering her kids meals when we are out because they are all the same – corn dogs, mac & cheese and spaghetti.  We have started giving her bits of our dinners instead and so far it’s worked out great!  She likes to try everything.  Sometimes she spits it right back out, but if she wants to try it , we let her.  We want her to be an adventurous eater.

We stayed in the Palmetto Dunes Plantation in a condo that sat on a lagoon and was across the street from the beach.  Our first day there we met the lagoon’s resident alligator, whom we affectionately named Peg as she only had three legs.  She made a beeline across the lagoon and stared at us while we stood on the deck, but we never actually saw her get out of the water.  My mom didn’t believe me at first when I told her that most lagoon and lakes in HHI had alligators so it was kind of funny when once swam right up to the deck our first hour there!  We met up with one of Pat’s good friends Anthony and his family for dinner one night.  Of course it was at an Ohio State themed pizza place owned by another one of Pat’s friends. We had a lot of fun.  Anthony and his family were so nice and his boys really seemed enthralled by Evie (and she was by them too!).  They kept each other entertained.  I really enjoyed getting together with people that had children because we don’t get to do that often.  They understood when our conversations were interrupted constantly and didn’t mind the constant chatter, noise and commotions that having children brings.  I wish they lived closer to us!

Coming home (and back to reality) was hard.  I enjoyed to time off work, getting some extra sleep and spending a week with my family.  I loved getting to spend time with my mom.  It’s been a long time since I’ve had that much time with her.  I miss her a lot since I live in Columbus so it was really nice.  I am definitely looking forward to our next family vacation!

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer...

Summer is flying by too quickly and Evie has been very busy…

Riding in her new wagon (a gift from Grandma Rita) at the zoo…

Counting her bubble wands…

Blowing bubbles with Daddy…

Eating lollipops and being silly…

Learning to fly with Kiki and Aunt Shannon…

Enjoying a night out with everyone at Walt’s Hitching Post…

Learning to use an IPhone (and having it figured out in 1.5 seconds!)…

Feeding the ducks at GG Mitchell’s house…

Eating Popsicles….

Loving on her animals…

And generally just being the super sweet girl that she is!

A visit from Pa Pa aka Pops

My dad came to visit this past weekend.  It was a last minute thing, but we were so happy that he came.  He had a rough week – he had to say goodbye our family dog Buffy.  Buffy had been with our family for almost 15 years and we’d all had some crazy adventures with her.  We will all miss the Buff Puff :(

I think Evelyn cheered my dad up quite a bit.  We kept it low-key, but we had fun with him.  Evie just loves her Pops.  Before he came, I was trying to get her to say Pops.  She wouldn’t so I asked her to say Pa Pa…and she said it!! It so cute!  She whispered it at first and then, when she could see how proud I was, she said it again louder.  When my dad got there, Evie said it for him too and his eyes just lit up.  It was such a special moment.  We had dinner with him and got ice cream.  Evie was in heaven!  She had some bites of mine and when it was gone, she ignored me completely in favor of her Pops (who still had part of a cone).  Evelyn eventually managed to score the last bit of his cone.  She was one happy girl.  The next day when my dad went to leave, Evie was upset.  She really didn’t want him to leave.  And why would she – he gave her ice cream, they played outside, he pushed her on her swing, tickled her, made her laugh and never told her no!  When he left, she was stuck eating veggies and doing boring stuff with her ol’ mom and dad. ;)  Can’t wait til next time – we miss you Pops!

Chicago!

A little over a month ago our family traveled to Chicago for my cousin’s wedding.  It really ended up being a fun trip!  We drove up on Friday morning in our new minivan.  Love the extra space!!  We were lucky enough to get to stay at my sister’s friends’ condo and it was fabulous!! It was so big that our family, plus all of my siblings and my parents stayed there.  Not only that – the condo was in Lincoln Park so were close to everything!!  Friday night we all had dinner at a nearby pizza place.  It was a beautiful evening and it was so nice to sit outside, talk, and enjoy some Chicago-style pizza.  After dinner, Pat and I took our tired baby girl back to the condo and put her to bed and everyone else hit the town.  Saturday morning Pat and I walked to get donuts for everyone.  I love being in the city and being about to walk most places!  The afternoon was spent sightseeing.  It rained almost the entire time and we were drenched, but we still had a great time.  The wedding was Saturday evening.  Miraculously, the weather cleared up and my cousin was able an outdoor ceremony at the Chicago History Museum.  The bride, my cousin Abby, was stunning in her gown and it was such a beautiful ceremony – my mom, sisters and I all cried!  Evie slept the entire time, only waking when all clapped when the newly married couple was presented.  After the ceremony we all enjoyed the cocktail hour outside.  Evelyn insisted on walking up and down the large concrete staircase multiple times and her Pops happily obliged until he was worn out.  We went inside for dinner and dancing, and we all had a fantastic time!  Evelyn was so good.  She just seemed enthralled by it all.  She danced with her Daddy, Pops and Uncle Adam and everyone took turns walking her around the reception hall.  What a fun night!

Sunday we headed home and again she did great.  I couldn’t have asked for more on this trip!!

Talking with Aunt Holly

Fun times!

Evie slept thru the Bean!

We had a wet walk thru the city!

Evie needs a new pair of shoes!

I love my Kiki and Pops!

Having fun with Pops :)

Evie ans her Godmother - pretty girls!

Evie and her Uncle Adam

Dancing Queen!

Love my lil' family!