Happy Birthday Pops!

Happy birthday to you Pops! We wish we were there to help you celebrate! May is only weeks away!

Lots of love to you!

Get Well Soon Pops!

We were trying to get Evan do to his "Muscles" pose but never seems to work on command with a 2 year old!

So, Alex is in Savannah this week helping his dad recover from surgery last week. Rob was diagnosed in December with prostate cancer. It was not good news to receive two days before Christmas. Right now, it looks like last week's surgery should be the only treatment required which is truly a blessing considering it could have been worse. We pray that Pops has a speedy recovery so that when we visit in May he can keep up with Evan! We love him and miss him very much! Get well soon Pops!!!

A few pictures of Evan and Pops:

March is finally here!

I couldn't be happier that March has finally arrived. We've had warmer weather (30s) so the snow is melting. Last week, it was almost 50 degrees!!! Evan was excited to ride his bike in the driveway. I was happy too, especially since we didn't have jackets on! Although, it feels extremely warm when it's 33 degrees out and usually we don't wear jackets! Layering is quite the skill to be mastered when you live in Minnesota! We're supposed to get some winter weather tomorrow and we got 2 inches yesterday, but it was the thick wet stuff...yuck!

Evan is so fast these days and soooo difficult to get a good photo. I think I need a camera with a faster shutter speed! Any suggestions would be great. I hate to complain about it since Alex just got me a new digital last year.

Lately, we've been working on colors, numbers and the alphabet. He can count to eleven, but skips 4 and 5. Colors seem to be more of a challenge as everything used to be yellow. Mainly because he loves to say the word. Now, it's blue. But, we are practicing and he's doing better.

Evan loves to sing the alphabet and although we get to A, B, C, D and then R,S, T followed by clapping!! His favorite song to sing is "The Wheels on the Bus". Last week, he imitated the singers on American Idol and sings with them. He didn't get it from me, (we all know that) but he can carry a tune!

He's definitely all boy. Trucks, buses, cars and trains! Alex and Evan play a game in the car. Alex points to a house and says "Is that a bus?", Evan replies "Noooo, house". They continue naming objects and then when they pass a bus...everyone goes crazy. It's quite funny.

His teacher says Evan is very observant and good about telling her he's wet or went Beep-Beep (#2). A few of the kids in his class are using the potty. So, I have ordered a potty training book and bought a potty today. He's still only 2 so, I'm not expecting any miracles. But, he's the one talking about it, so I figured we could explore the potty and play with it!

Evan's Party!

Conductor Evan on party day!

So, Evan had his 2nd birthday party yesterday!  Everyone came and it was a full house!  We had three 3 year old little girls, Avari, Ryley & Kenzie, and 8 bigger kids and everyone's parents plus 5 or so more grown-ups!  We enjoyed lots of pizza and drinks.  I made "Pin the nose on Elmo" game for the little ones and they played it a few times.  Just drew Elmo on posterboard, painted him and cut out orange sticky foam noses! So easy!  Later the older kids made picture frames and decorated them with foam stickers/letters.   They enjoyed helping the little ones too.

Happy Birthday Evan!

Pin the nose on Elmo!

Little Firepeople!  Aunt Anna gave me these last fall!

I made Evan's cake ---it turned out great!  The engine was a cake mold and then I added the cars.

We gave Evan a train table for his birthday!  Grandma got him the wooden train piece set that goes with it.  It has a mountain, airport, gas station and more! Evan loves it and couldn't wait to go downstairs this morning to play.  He woke Daddy up to say "Come on Daddy, downstairs!"  He loves the helicopter which for a 2 year old he prouncounces quite clearly!  We had a blast with all of our friends and wished our family could have been here too. 

Evan loved his presents...especially opening them!

Happy Birthday Evan!

February 18, 2007

February 18, 2008

February 18, 2009

Our sweet baby boy turned two today! I'm still amazed that he has grown into this little boy! He's silly, smart and all around a happy child. I couldn't ask for more! We are so blessed to have him in our lives and that God gave us this child to raise. Evan is truly a precious gift from above!

Today, I took an Elmo Cupcake Cake to daycare for his friends to celebrate there. Miss Julie gave him a birthday hat and book. When I arrived Evan was ready to go home and a little confused why we weren't going just yet. He calmed down and enjoyed his cupcake with his friends, especially his "girlfriend" Brylee. She's adorable and Evan just beams when he sees her in the class picture. She's also the one that gave him his first kiss last week!

When Daddy came home, we had dinner and then the Hart's came over for cake and ice cream. Evan opened presents with just the two of us and enjoyed his new Crayola Color Bubble Maker during bathtime.

Evan's birthday party is Saturday...so we'll have many more pictures to share!!

Here are the pictures from today!

Birthday Morning! Just getting out of bed!

Yes, he takes inventory of all his animals, just in case one is missing!!

Birthday party at Apple Lane

Evan wanted to go home when he saw me

But, Elmo saved the day! Mini-cupcake cake!! Too cute!

Evan's daycare party!

Our silly silly boy...wearing his hat upside down...wonder who he takes after?

The boy and his red balloon!

Evan was running around with Elmo while waiting for cake!

My last minute cakes for tonight. At least they tasted good!

So excited for his 2nd cake of the day!

We did the candles again because he loved it so much!

Mmm...he wasn't as graceful after this picture!

Messy Messy

Time to open presents from Mommy & Daddy!

Thanks for my new paint set Aunt Beth, Uncle Jeff, Syd & Addi!!!

I love my new outfit too!!

Ooh, a new toy for the tub!!

Turns the water colors and makes fun bubbles!

Evan's Surgery

We just got home from the hospital and all very sleepy.  However, Diego and Elmo seem to keeping Evan awake!  Everything went well today although I was worried that they wouldn't go through with it today. Evan was complaining about his ears yesterday, so I thought there was a possibility that he had an infection. 

We arrived this morning at 6:30 am and they got Evan ready for his surgery.  He hasn't been too happy taking his pj's off so that was interesting.  He didn't mind the bracelet too much, until the nurse added another one for his allergies.   At 7:30 on the dot, the same anethesiologist that performed by epidural came in to go over steps for putting Evan under.  Since the surgery is so short, he was not intubated...just a gas mask flavored with cherries!  The hardest part is having two nurses whisk your baby away from your arms to the operating room.  I was prepared for that, but still very anxious.  They keep you busy with paperwork. Truly by the time we made it to the waiting room, the doctor came out to give us an update.  Sure enough, Evan had ear infections in both ears.  Dr. Gaut was encouraging that it's not uncommon, and it confirmed any doubts about having the procedure done. 

Evan woke up upset and the nurses called us back.  I went back first and he leaped into my arms.  What a great feeling!!  And, Evan started asking for Daddy and was worried where he was.  So, Alex came back and we all waited for the final tests and paperwork before being discharged.  Of course it wasn't that easy!  We did have to wait with Evan for another hour to make sure he didn't have any side effects from the anethesia.  Other than being a little cranky and wobbly on his feet, he is back to his silly self.  We drove through Mickey D's for breakfast before picking up his prescription and he asked for a french fry.  We had to explain we didn't have any french fries and he seem confused....understandably...how do you go to McDonalds' without ordering french fries!!  Too funny.  So we are spending the day resting and watching Diego, Elmo and I'm sure we'll have to watch Madagascar 2 for the 10th time!

Thanks for all your good wishes and advice!

Randomness

Today's blog features randomness.

#1 "Mommy boo-boo" I got a papercut last week...have no idea how, but it swelled up under the fingernail and proceeded to get infected. It is one of the most painful things ever!! Until this week, I never knew how much you need your LEFT pointer finger... Needless to say, the doctor gave me antibiotics and I have a bandaid. Evan quickly realized the boo-boo and looked so concerned about Mommy with pouty face and sad eyes. I asked him to kiss it and he runs away.... He's been showing everyone his boo-boo on his finger except there's no boo-boo!!! Too Cute

#2 "Mommy saw someone kissing ..." Yes, I witnessed Evan's first kiss ever!!! So sweet and innocent. I dropped him off on Wednesday morning and Evan was welcomed into the classroom by all the kids as he usually is. They all run to him and get excited. Then as I'm hanging up his coat ...his little girlfriend, Brylee, sneaks up to us and gives Evan a big kiss on the lips and says "Hi Evan!" It was adorable and so is she!!! Cupid is definitely in the air!!!

#3 "Timeouts & Tempertantrums" The terrible twos have arrived. Evan is no longer a baby and he's a typical 2 year old (his birthday is only days away). He no longer sits in his high-chair, he eats at the table in his booster. He's a big boy and blesses the meal with us. He eats well, but as soon as he's done ...it's over! He shoves his plate and says Mommy/Daddy ALL DONE!! Emphasis on the ALL DONE! We've managed to bribe him with dessert (yogurt) to eat a few more bites...Evan has also joined the Dora & Diego fan club. He loves the shows and I'm sad his pals on Disney (Handy Manny, Pooh & Friends, Mickey) and PBS (Barney, Clifford) have been replaced. I know it's just a phase and we'll go back & forth. He still can't get enough of "Roar" which is Madagascar (it's dubbed roar b/c of Alex the Lion). I'm so excited the sequel is out b/c I've had enough!! As far as timeouts go, he does well. He walks right over to his corner and pouts. He's adorable and it's hard not to laugh. The tantrums however have recently gone public ...which makes it all the more sad that he's not a baby any more!! Instead of the "oh how cute" comments from passerbys, I've noticed a few "not so cute" stares...but we did it as kids ourselves and it's only human!!

#4 "The end of an ear-a" (i hope the pun worked on ear-a vs era!) So, Evan had his pre-op check up today for his surgery next week. He's finally getting tubes in his ears. I'm nervous but relieved. I was torn about their necessity b/c of his age. We decided to put the surgery off and wait and see...well that came to end a few weeks ago when he had another double ear infection. Every month since August he's had a least one. Dr. said it can be genetic and also age thing. So, Thursday the 12th Evan will have the minor procedure done and hopefully we'll be "ALL CLEAR!"

#5 "Facebook Junkie" Much to Alex's dismay, I have joined Facebook. I admit it--it's addicting. I am a novice and yet to understand all the tagging/notes/etc. But it's fun and I feel so connected again! I'm trying to convince Alex to join, but he doesn't seem interested. He doesn't know what he's missing....