Happy Halloween!

Fall Parade at school, October 31

Trunk or Treat at Asbury, October 30

Fall Festival at Nana's church, October 22

For Aunt Sue

At Evie's six month photo shoot with our very own personal professional photographer, Amy "MiMi" Steenwyk :), we decided to take some pictures outside since the weather was beautiful.  We quickly found out that Evie is not a huge fan of grass.  But I think these pictures are priceless! 

Luckily, we had the perfect solution: a family heirloom that Aunt Sue brought down with her on her visit this summer.  Evie's great-great grandma (my mom's dad's mom) made the quilt for my oldest cousin, Julie, and it has been handed down through the family since.  Amazingly, it's in perfect condition!  Evie certainly appreciated it.  :)

Thank you, Great Aunt Sue!

Wardrobe Wednesday, Part 7

Happy Wednesday!

A New Ride

Gavin surprised us last week with a new running stroller!  Our other stroller is great, but it's more for shopping and errands, not really for walking/jogging our very hilly neighborhood.  The new one is made specifically for that, complete with a handbrake and a tether to secure it to me.  The need for a tether became painfully obvious a couple weeks ago, when I slipped on an acorn while walking Evie down a big hill back toward our house.  Thank goodness my protective mothering instincts kicked in and made me hold onto that stroller for dear life, or poor little Evie would have gone zooming down the hill.  Instead, I just skinned my knee and hurt my wrist a little as a result of that iron grip on the stroller, but Evie was completely unharmed and unphased.  As I fell, I pulled her back toward the ground, so that she ended up lying face up.  She just looked at me upside down with a "what is this about?" look, and we went on our way (after I made a few glances around to see if any neighbors had witnessed the embarrassing incident and brushed myself off).    

Evie likes her new sporty ride just as much as I do.  It certainly doesn't hinder any nap taking!

Even though the weather has turned cooler, we're still making do.  Unfortunately we don't have much longer until daylight savings kicks in, and it will be dark before we can make it out.  Oh well, we'll have still have weekends and the anticipation of long walks in the Spring!  Then again, by then, Evie might prefer to be the one pushing the stoller!  Yikes. 

Picture Day, Take Two

Well, Evie didn't have her picture made yesterday.  The photographer was running behind.  :(  So, we got all dressed up again this morning.  If they don't take it today, we might give up!  Here is outfit #2.  Hopefully the real pictures will turn out better than this one.  We were running short on time! 

Picture Day!

Today is picture day at school.  I had a hard time choosing her outfit.  We'll see how they turn out.  Here's how she looked when I dropped her off this morning. 

Worn Out

After a long day of playing at Nana's.  It's a rough life!  And yes, yesterday was cold(er), but not really cold enough to warrant such a hat.  But isn't it precious?!  She didn't mind it... obviously.  :) 

Wardrobe Wednesday, Part 6

Happy Wednesday!

Evie's Top Seven

In honor of Evie's turning seven months old, I thought it was time for another list of her favorite things like the one I did two months ago.  I hope these are a good way to capture who she is at various stages and that they'll be fun to look back at as she grows up.  Here are seven of her current favorite things, in no particular order:

1. Walks

We are loving the nice weather we've been having and are taking full advantage of it.  Every afternoon, Evie and I go for a walk around the neighborhood.  She enjoys the fresh air and looking around at everything, as well as the occasional nap (if she's had a long day:)).  And I enjoy the exercise!  I actually really look forward to our walks and will be so sad when the weather turns too cool to keep enjoying them.  In the meantime, these walks are a great replacement for the Baby Bjorn, which Evie likes a lot more than mommy's and daddy's backs do!!  She's getting heavy!!  :)

2.  Blankies
Nothing new about Evie's love of her blankies!  But she does love to chew on them now. 

3.  Books

I'm so glad Evie loves books!  Her teachers at school realized she loves them right away, even without my saying anything about it.  In fact, Evie and Emma (the only other little girl in Evie's class) love to go back and forth with a certain book at school, grabbing it from each other over and over.  Nevermind the fact that there are two other copies of the exact same book within reaching distance of both of them!  Funny. 

She also loves to look at books, flip the pages, and have them read to her.  Right now her favorites are Good Night Moon, Time for Bed and Baby's Day (a Disney book with buttons that talk when you push them).  She lights up whenever I start that one. 

4.  Anything that is Not an Actual Toy
If it's not approved for babies, Evie is sure to love it!  :)

She just looks like a little troublemaker here, doesn't she?!  Yes, that is a wipes wrapper and a tube of Orajel.  Don't worry, she's never left unattended with any of these things!! 

5.  Fruit

Evie really likes fruit.  And would you believe her favorite is prunes??!!  She scarfs those right up every time.  She also loves pears, apples and peaches.  As for veggies, she is not yet a huge fan.  I thought she was actually going to throw up when I gave her peas for the first time.  She also gags with carrots.  She does like sweet potatoes, however, and green beans are growing on her.  She's a pretty good eater, but it varies from day to day.  She really likes feeding herself (the messier the better, of course) and is pretty good at getting the spoon straight into her mouth. 

Yes, she is sitting in a bath seat suction cupped to the island.  Again, never unattended.  :)

6.  Peek-a-Boo

Sorry, no pictures of this one.  But Evie loves it when she pulls a blanket from over her face and hears, "there she is!  Peek-a-boo!"  She also thinks it's hilarious when you hide behind the corner and jump out and yell "peek-a-boo!" 

7.  School

No pictures of this one either, and I must be sure to get some.  I am so, so thankful that Evie loves her school and all of her teachers.  She is the oldest in her class (by a whopping two weeks), and as mentioned above, is one of two girls and four boys.  It is obvious that her teachers love all those babies, and I know she is being very well taken care of.  That makes all the difference in the world! 

Maybe I'll be able to add church nursery to this list in a couple months.  I'm not holding my breath.  :) 

Wardrobe Wednesday, Part 5

Seven Months Old

Another month has gone by already??!!  Evie is growing so fast, it's almost hard to keep up.  I know I say this every time, but she's so much fun.  I think/hope that she's coming out of a brief separation anxiety phase where she didn't like to be left alone in a room, even if just for a moment.  She also did not apprciate being left in church nursery and cried the whole time, for two weeks straight.  This past Sunday, however, she did much better, and hardly fussed at all. She may just be getting used to it, but whatever the reason I hope she keeps it up!  Thankfully, she has never cried when I drop her off at school.   

She weighs about 22 pounds now, and is already starting to outgrow some of her size 12 months clothes. She's eating fruit and cereal in the morning and usually a fruit and veggie with cereal in the evening.  She's not too sure about most veggies just yet, but we're working on it.  She is still on her same schedule and eats about 6 ounces four times a day, waking up between 5:30 and 6, taking a morning and afternoon nap, and going to bed at 7. 

I'm sure every parent feels this way, but we couldn't possibly love her any more!!  :)