Happy New Year!

Daddy is finally feeling a little bit better.  We are going to a New Year's Eve party at Uncle Dan and Auntie Karin's house.  I am going to play with Danny and Sean all night.  And Mommy comes home tonight, too!  Happy New Year, everyone!  I know 2012 will be a great year!

Mommy Went to Mexico

Mommy went to Mexico and enjoyed poolside drinks for three days at this resort.

Swam in (well at least put her feet in) the ocean.

Celebrated the wedding of a good friend to a special man.

While I stayed home with Daddy and did this!

Yummy chocolate!  You can go away anytime you want to, Mom!

Christmas with the Skarin's

Well this was certainly the Christmas season that kept going and going and going!  Today is finally Christmas day and we have been opening gifts everyday for a week!  I think Evan might be disappointed next year when the gift giving is all done within two days.  We had a fun day, most of which was spent opening gifts and stockings and eating.  Evan and Hannah had fun playing with all the new toys and were both extremely well-behaved considering how overwhelming Christmas can be, especially after a week long celebration.  Christmas is definitely much more fun when there are little ones to share it with!

Fun with Hannah

Most of our time spent in Washington for Christmas revolved around watching Hannah and Evan play together.  The last time they were together in the same room (not on video chat) was in August of 2010 when Evan was only 4 months old.  Needless to say, he wasn't much fun to play with then!  This time, however, things were different.  The kids had so much fun playing with each other, with the exception of the occasional meltdown by either Evan or Hannah.  But in general I think they both would say that they love their cousin!

Beach Time?!?

If you are from the Northeast, you probably don't think much about going to the beach in December.  Unless of course you are boarding a plane before you go or are longing for the days of summer to return as you watch the snow fall.  Well I know two toddlers who had tons of fun exploring the beach on the Puget Sound in a different sort of way...one that required rubber boots (thanks to Omi!), winter coats, mittens and digging tools.

Seattle Aquarium

Today we took Evan and Hannah to the Seattle Aquarium.  You would think that between the four adults and the 5 cameras (not including phones) we have, we would have remembered at least one of the right?  Wrong! I guess that just means we will have to go back for another visit some other time! Here are a few photos that I took with my phone.

A Christmas Surprise!

Everyone loved all of the gifts that were given and received this year but Evan had the biggest Christmas surprise of all!

The reaction of the grandparents and great-grandfather caught on camera

Posing for a photo for Papa

Sharing the news with Omi, Grandpa, Auntie Kristina, Uncle Ty and Hannah too

Everyone was surprised, including ourselves when we found out!  I am due at the beginning of August and am feeling good so far.  Evan will be such a wonderful big brother!  Can't wait to welcome our new little one into this world!

Visiting Emily and Stephen

Before heading to see the Omi, Grandpa and the Smucker's for Christmas, we were fortunate to spend a couple of days in Seattle with Emily and Stephen.  It was so nice to see their new house and to have time to get to know Stephen a little better.  It worked out perfectly that they live so close to the airport in Seattle and could pick us up after what was already a long evening of traveling.  We got settled in for the night and went to bed shortly after considering it was already well after midnight EST.  On Monday, we had a lazy morning and then spent the afternoon and evening touring Seattle.  The city was all a bustle with holiday events and it was great to spend sometime outside after a nice lunch.  We rode a carousel (Evan loved his green horse almost as much as Stephen loved his red one!), we walked through Pike Place Market, strolled past the light display by the waterfront and even saw Santa at Macy's.  What a fun day! After our day out and about in the city, we headed back to Emily and Stephen's adorable home for a relaxing evening being entertained by Evan and his dancing skills.  Thanks for a great visit, Em and Stephen!

State List

When we traveled to Alaska in 2008 to celebrate Mark and Laura's wedding, Bruce completed his tour of the United States.  After our trip to Ohio last weekend, I got to thinking that in Evan's short lifetime, he has already visited quite a few states.  So here it is, the beginning of Evan's state list.  A new photo will be added each time we visit a new state.  He's already got 12 out of 51...not bad for only being 16 months old!!

Update 12/19/2011: We traveled to Washington state for Christmas this year.  This was the first of many trips Evan will take out west during his lifetime.  13/51

Santa Came!

Santa is a really smart guy.  You know how I know?  He knew we were going to Washington and that Evan wouldn't be home on Christmas morning so he came before we left!  How do you think he knew?!?!  Well I suppose it doesn't matter because Evan was excited to get up, go down stairs and see what he brought!  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Christmas with the Kavanagh's

With a trip planned to Washington for Christmas this year, we celebrated Christmas with the Kavanagh's the weekend before Santa was set to arrive.  Sean decided he needed a nice long nap at home so we were able to have a good visit with Bumpa, Grammy, Gramma and Papa before everyone else arrived.  Evan was entertaining everyone and enjoying the hors d'oeuvres.  Once everyone arrived, our house looked as if Santa had already arrived!  It is crazy to think about how much money is spent on gifts when we all say that we "don't need anything"!  We had fun opening presents and watching the little guys get so excited about each gift they opened...well except for the clothes!  The biggest hits were the Elmo guitar from Uncle Dan and Auntie Karin and the keyboard from Gramma and Papa.  Shortly after we finished opening gifts Santa drove by on a fire truck.  It was a little disappointing though because usually he comes by twice (up and down the street) but he only came once this year.  Oh well...Evan was the only one who really liked it anyway.  We also enjoyed Bruce's wonderful lasagna and other side dishes and of course we all ate too much!  And to think...this is just the beginning of the Christmas celebration!  Oh boy!

Making Christmas Cookies

We have a Christmas tradition that started a few years ago of making cookies and giving away tins to family members.  This is something Bruce used to do as a child and it has been fun for us to continue the tradition.  Some years get quite out of hand...making six or seven different kinds and multiple dozens of each.  This year, for a number of reasons, we scaled back our production.  I thought about skipping them altogether but then thought that too many people would be disappointed so we chose to make less kinds and only ones that were easy.  Evan enjoyed helping unwrap (and eating) Rolos and Kisses...especially the eating part!  Next year we will be back to full production with our great little helper!

Decking the Halls

We decided to decorate a little earlier this year than normal.  It's a good thing we did because it took us an entire week to be completely decorated!  We had lots of help from our best little pal and so far he has been really good about looking but not touching too many of the decorations.  Thankfully!  With all the fun we had decorating, I can only imagine how much fun is yet to come!

Donuts!

As a special treat this morning, Bruce bought a few donuts when he went to Dunkin' Donuts for coffee.  Evan was very excited and stuffed his face.  What kid doesn't like donuts?

Cheeks full of donut!

A big fan of the chocolate ones...just like Danny!

A Computer Nerd in the Making

This morning Evan got a hold of the keyboard that we use for the entertainment center.  

I think he thought Santa came early this year.

But he knew just what to do with it!

Wonder where he learned that from?

Cleaning for the Party

We are having a holiday cocktail party with a few friends tomorrow and today Evan was helping me get ready for it.

Helping mommy clean the floor

Squirting mommy!                                      Hammin' it up for the camera

 Laying down on the job!

Play-Doh with Daddy

Evan played play-doh with daddy for the first time tonight.  He loves it but we don't do it too often yet.  Daddy was making some pretty advanced things (a fancy car, an airplane and an elephant).  Evan will quickly learn that Daddy is a much better play-doh-er than Mommy!

Watching the car assembly and requesting an elephant at the same time

Lia!

We had a play date with Em and Annalia today.  On the way there, with about ten minutes left in the drive, Evan started screaming, "Lia! Lia!" from the back seat.  I guess he was really excited to see her.  You would never know this from the way he "played" with her though, or rather the way he ran away from her multiple times.  Poor little Lia, she was so sweet and even gave Evan big kisses when they were both sitting on the couch.  Such a love bug!  The feeling is mutual though.  Evan talks about her constantly when they aren't together.

One of the few moments when Evan actually played with Lia

This was more the norm.  "Help, Mom, she is trying to touch me again!!"

De-Fense!

You may remember the touchdown video from earlier in the Pats season.



Well this week during the game, Evan was yelling for a touchdown when the Eagles had the ball.  We didn't want him rooting for the wrong team (sorry, Chuck!) so we taught him to say "De-Fense!"

I Scream, You Scream...

...We all scream for ice cream!  Who doesn't love an ice cream sandwich?  Especially when it's "free" with the purchase of a kids meal!

Sledding! (Sort of!)

Who needs snow to go sledding?  Not this little guy!

Fixing the Hot Tub

We finally had a long weekend without too much going on and nice weather so that we could take care of a few things around the house.  One of which was fixing some jets in the hot tub.  Bruce was hard at work and assisted, as always, by the cutest little helper in the world!

Over there, Dad.  That's what you need to fix.                 Here, Dad.  You need the needle nose pliers. 

Do you want me to do it?  My hands are little.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We sure have a lot to be thankful for this year.  We have a wonderful little boy who gives us so much love and joy every day.  We have so many special people in our lives, both friends and family, who help us create many wonderful experiences and memories.  Bruce has a good job where he is appreciated for all of his hard work and is challenged on a daily basis.  We are fortunate enough that I was able to take a break from my teaching career to spend my time raising Evan.  We have what we consider to be a lovely home that keeps us warm and dry.  The list goes on and on.  At a time when so many people are finding themselves in tough times, we are very blessed and grateful for all that we have!

Mama called the Dr. and the Dr. said...

...no more monkeys jumping on the bed.  Well, according to Evan anyway.  What the Dr. really said is that Evan has bronchiolitis and he needs to use a nebulizer for a few days to get rid of the wheezing.  Evan started coughing with a runny nose last week and then was worse over the weekend.  With Thanksgiving coming up, we didn't want to take any chances on him just getting better on his own.  Plus we wanted to rule out an ear infection and pneumonia (his cough had gotten pretty nasty!).  Evan had two breathing treatments at the pediatrician's office and then she sent us for a chest X-ray just to be sure.  Thankfully, everything came back negative and Evan was such an angel all afternoon.  After just one day of using the nebulizer, we already see him getting better!

Helping daddy hold the nebulizer

Seriously, what 18 month old semi-smiles during a nebulizer treatment?

Feel better soon, Angel!  

Leaves!

Bruce decided it was a good idea to take advantage of a free weekend with nice weather to do some fall leave clean up.  It is strange to think that we had 7+ inches of snow on the ground just three weeks ago but that today it was beautiful out.  Evan, who always wants to help, was eager to get outside and rake.  He helped get the lawnmower ready while Daddy did some raking then had some fun in the leaf pile...until he got a little too much in his face.  So glad we can still get outside to enjoy the weather!  It's so nice that Evan helps to make a "chore" fun again!

Post Office

Evan's vocabulary amazes us everyday.  He can say just about anything we throw at him pretty much perfectly the first time. Here is one thing he can't quite say...which is what makes it so cute!



The story behind the this post: About a month ago I took Evan to the post office.  I told him during his lunch that we were going to go after lunch and all during his lunch he kept saying "Ka-foffice", his version of post office.  Later that day (and since that day) I tried taking a video of his cute new phrase but I can never quite capture it on camera.  These are the best I have and I'm sure if I wait much longer he will be able to say "post office" like a pro.

Bye, Bye Droid

A couple of months ago, Bruce and I said good-bye to our first Droid smartphones and hello to our new Bionic's.  With so much else going on, it has taken me this long to actually download all of the pictures off my old phone.  Looking back I am amazed!  It is hard to believe that Evan was really ever that little...or that chubby...or that we had a life before him!  Here is a sampling of those photos.  (Sorry not all have captions.  Feel free to suggest one!) Enjoy!

Say Cheese, Mommy!

I am always taking pictures of Evan so today I guess he decided that it was his turn to take a couple of pictures of me (while Daddy took pictures of him!).

From Collages

Na-night with Friends

Lately, Evan wants to take Curious George and Pooh Bear every where he goes.  Upstairs, downstairs, in the car...it doesn't matter he wants them to come too.  He has also started pulling his blankets and other animals out of his crib to play with during the day.  It is quite cute!

Cooking with Mommy

Bruce was going to be late coming home from work tonight due to traffic and needing to stop at the Verizon store so I was trying to have dinner ready when he arrived.  Thankfully I had the best little helper to cook right along side me!

From Collages

Rocking George and Pooh Bear

Evan loves to drive his hocus pocus chair that was daddy's when he was a little boy.

Today, he decided to take Pooh Bear and George for a ride.

It worked out perfectly because Pooh was a great pillow when Evan needed to rest.

He even gave Pooh Bear and George a turn driving.

Silly little monkey!

Auburn High School Playground

Today was our third trip to a playground within one week.  Maybe that is why Evan was so independent and a little explorer.  He generally sticks close to me and doesn't try to do to much climbing or playing on his own.  Today was a different story.  He was climbing all over, going down slides, swinging and having tons of fun while doing it.  We met another little boy who was born one day after Evan at the same hospital...small world.  Hopefully the weather will stay nice so that we can visit the Auburn High School playground again soon.

Weekend at Papa & Gramma's

This past weekend was our first weekend away from Evan since he was born.  Bruce has taken business trips or been places over night like camping but I have not had a single night away from Evan in a little over 18 months.
We went to Luray, Virginia to celebrate the wedding of Adria and Avi and it was a much needed weekend!  It was nice to be able to come and go as we pleased without considering nap time or whether or not Evan would enjoy what we were doing.  We both love our little guy but it is nice to have some "us" time too.
We had a wonderful weekend celebrating a special couple and were so glad to hear that Evan was an absolute angel for Papa and Gramma.  They had so much fun together that I don't think Evan really missed us at all...which is just fine!  Sorry, no pictures of Evan's weekend this time...just pictures of ours.

Yuppie Playground

Today we met Auntie Karin, Danny and Sean at the "yuppie" playground in Pawtuxet Village.  Auntie named this playground a few years ago and today was our first time visiting it.  It was a beautiful fall day, likely one of the last ones we will have this season, and the playground had something for everyone.  We brought a picnic lunch to enjoy when the boys needed a break from playing.  Evan loved driving the "woo-woo" (fire truck), Sean loved the slides and Danny was such a good big brother and cousin, always making sure the little boys were safe and having fun.  Danny and Evan loved the spin bucket and Sean knew to stay away...smart boy!  It is so nice that Auntie is home on Wednesday's so that we can share these special days together!

18 Months!

What? I am 18 today...I can drive! Oh wait, I'm only 18 months...guess I'll have to wait then.  

Checking out the new Super Why app with mom

What an amazing 18 months it has been! 

Tractors, Ponies and Pumpkins

A few weeks ago we received a flyer in the mail advertising the Harvest Home Festival at a community farm in Grafton. It sounded like a fun thing to do if the weather was nice and we didn't have much else going on so I saved it.  Turns out, it was a fun thing to do when the weather was nice and we didn't have anything else going on!  There was good food to eat, tractors to climb on, ponies to ride on, muskets that went "a-boom" and lots of other family fun to support the farm.  After lunch and climbing on the tractors, Evan decided that he wanted to ride a horse.  The line was long but we waited and waited so he could have a turn.  I wasn't sure what would happen when it was actually his turn but we put him up on the horse and he loved it!  I was so proud of him!  We had a fun fall day close to home!

Like Father, Like Son

Read...Read books

Evan has always loved to read and be read to.  It is adorable to watch him "read" on his own.  Just by looking at the pictures and identifying familiar objects he really can practically read some books.  He also likes to read books in mommy and daddy's bed.  Such a great excuse for a little extra snuggle time!

Reading in bed with Mommy

Sharing books, blankets and milk with George

Reading to George

Teddy Ballgame

Today we met Papa, Gramma and Gramma's friend Marsha at Jerry Remy's Sports Bar & Grill behind Fenway park for lunch.  Marsha is here visiting for a few days and is a big Red Sox fan so Gramma thought it would be a fun place to go and she was right.  The food was good and the restaurant itself is really nice.  It wasn't too crowded on a Thursday afternoon and Evan had fun sitting like a big boy in the booth between Mommy and Gramma.  After lunch, we took a quick walk over to Fenway.  Even though the 2011 season ended on a sour note, we are still faithful fans!

Evan "meets" Teddy Ballgame

Happween!

We had a fun, action pack Halloween weekend.  It started out Friday when I took Evan to the Millbury Public Library for story time and parading to trick-or-treating at Town Hall.  All the kids were so excited and cute in their costumes.  It was a nice day so we decided to take a ride to see Daddy at work.  I knew Bruce didn't have any lunch meetings because of the Halloween potluck.  What I didn't know was that everyone eats in a big conference room together!  Everyone was thrilled to see Evan and it was fitting because Aptima's "mascot" is a sock monkey so Evan fit right in.
Saturday was low key which was good because on Sunday, we took Evan practice trick-or-treating at some of my relatives houses.  We were able to make five stops: Uncle Glenn & Aunt Chris (who we almost missed while they were out), Bumpa, Aunt Donna & Uncle Rick, Gigi and Gramma & Papa.  It was a busy day but nice to be able to visit a little bit with out too many other people around.
Today was Halloween.  We took Evan trick-or-treating to four of our neighbors houses.  He was really quiet at first but by the end he had figured out what to do and say.  And of course, once we were back home Evan said "Trick-treat" and "Thank you" all night long!  After dinner, we video conferenced with Grandpa Bob, Omi, Auntie Kristina and Hannah.  It was fun to be able to see Hannah in her dinosaur costume and to show off our little monkey!

Surprise!

Just a blanket on the couch, right?

 Wrong! Surprise!

Snowtober!

This year we had a freak snow storm in October, before Halloween!  We were inside all day on Saturday watching the storm until later in the afternoon when we decided to take Evan out to play in the snow.  We had record amounts of snow last winter but Evan was really too young to enjoy it much and then there was too much to even really play in it, at least for a 9 month old.  We all got suited up...not a quick event...and headed out to play.  We pulled Evan along in the sled (listen for his laugh around 6 seconds), ate some snow (I know, I know...I'm a terrible mother to laugh...but come on, it was funny!) and built a snowman...everything all in half an hour!  As far as I'm concerned, we've had winter and we can go back to 70's and sunny but I think Evan would beg to differ!

Strike a pose

I don't know about you but I'm pretty sure this kid should be a model.  Might be a good way to help pay for college!

From Collages

Giddy up, Hess Truck?

How come I'm not going anywhere?

Pillows!

With the weather getting cooler, we have been snuggling to keep warm a lot more.  Plus it is so fun to play in the pillows!

O'Malley

Evan has an "Irish" bear that he was given when he was born with a handmade sweater to match.  Bruce and I named the bear O'Malley.  Lately when I ask Evan to get a sweatshirt so we can go outside, he has been opening his drawer and coming back with his "Malley one".  Thank you, Adrienne and Michael!

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Pullano!

What a wedding, celebrating a wonderful couple!  We brought Evan to the church with us and had no idea what to expect.  I think it is safe to say that we could not have asked for more from our little guy.  He was an absolute angel through the entire ceremony.  He loved watching the organist and soloist and most people didn't even know he was there.  Unfortunately, we don't have many pictures of the ceremony or the reception...guess we were too busy dancing and having fun! Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Michael Pullano! 

Daddy and Evan in church

The Newlyweds! 

GEOINT Toys

Daddy has been doing a lot of traveling lately.  He was gone for almost two weeks straight with only a 36 hour visit back home.  First he was in Seattle for a project kickoff and then in San Antonio for a conference.  Daddy brought lots of fun toys home from the conference.

A cowboy hat

A fun bouncy thing

Flashy light up magnets

A football

But the BEST thing to come home was Daddy!