Downtown Cincinnati

Early this morning, Papa dropped us off at T.F Green and we made our way to Cincinnati, Ohio.  We are in town until Sunday to celebrate Uncle Gary's 60th birthday (ssshhhh....he doesn't know we are here!) and to have a Brunner family reunion...the first since before our wedding!  We checked in, got settled, took naps and then headed out to explore downtown a bit.
We had appetizers in the bar at the hotel which Evan loved because he could stand right by our table and look out the window at the bustling city.  After that we walked down to a couple of parks and playgrounds by the Ohio river.  It was a beautiful day to explore the city.  The playgrounds that we found were some of the nicest I have ever been to and what was even better...we were the only ones there!  At least at first.  Evan had such fun exploring around, swinging and sliding.  He even made some music on the big xylophone.  Before heading back to our hotel we stopped at Walgreen's to get a few things and let's just say that was an interesting experience!  We ordered some (bad) sandwiches and called it a night.  Not a bad first day in Cincinnati!

Waiting for Irene

Just hanging out, waiting for Irene to show up...

Ooo, I think she is here. I better show her how I can spin so I can impress her.

Tropical storm Irene came to town this weekend, causing us to spend the majority of Saturday and Sunday inside. I wasn't sure how it would go because Evan LOVES to be outside but he was great. We danced to Pandora Toddler radio, video chatted with Omi, Auntie Kristina and Hannah, and watched Despicable Me. It was nice to be "stuck" inside with my boys for the weekend!

Just Silliness

Evan does something silly everyday! Sometimes we capture it on camera, sometimes we don't. Here are a few that we did.

Perfect Summer Weekend

While I don't like to think about it, summer is winding down. This past weekend we had a perfect summer weekend. It started out on Friday with another concert on the common. This band wasn't as good as the last two but daddy was able to join us because he was working from home.

Saturday we got up early and headed to Narragansett Beach. It was cloudy on the drive down but started clearing up as we got closer. We found a great parking spot and the weather was perfect all day. We introduced Evan to Allie's Donuts but he wasn't a huge fan. I think he was just too busy playing in the sand and in the waves. On the way back to the car, we stopped to get Del's...perfect on a hot summer day!

After the beach we stopped in to see Gramma and Papa and to clean off in the pool. There is nothing better than taking a dip after a day at the beach when you are sandy and salty! We ended up having pizza, watching the Red Sox and having a sleepover! Sunday we had an impromptu cookout with all of the usual suspects. What a perfect weekend! The only thing that could have made it better would have been chowder and clamcakes...oh well...there's still time for that!

Popped Collar

We couldn't pass up the opportunity for a quick photo shoot of this super GQ little boy with his popped collar. Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?? We think so!

Three Little Monkeys

Three little monkeys went to Roger Williams Park Zoo today. Their names are Keaney, Kingston and Evan! We saw some of Evan's favorite animals...elephants, giraffes and monkeys (gibbons). The giraffes were so close, it seemed as though you could reach out and touch them! After the zoo, we had a nice picnic lunch in the park. These little monkeys had a fun day! So did their moms!

Gangsta'

Dude, I just woke up from a 14 hour nap!

Yo, Yo, Yo!

Reading with Daddy

Look, Dad! Row, row!

Something's Wrong...

There is one thing wrong with this picture. Can you find it?

Silly boys!

Stone Zoo

Today we had another Free Fun Friday adventure! This time we went to the Stone Zoo in Stoneham and this time Daddy joined us!! We got started a little later than I had originally hoped but it turned out to be ok because the zoo wasn't that big. We started the afternoon with a picnic lunch and then started our stroll through the zoo. Because of the Free Fun Friday event it was quite crowded. But once we got going, it thinned out a bit. This was Evan's first trip to a zoo and I would say that he liked the black bears and the big kitties (the cougar and jaguar) the best. He had fun looking at all the animals and making as many animal noises as he could! We ended our day with dinner at Red Robin where Evan was a big fan of the balloons and not a fan of the "Happy Birthday" singing.

A Budding Photographer

Tonight as Evan was finishing his dinner, he looked out into the dusky sky and said "Ball". Bruce and I both looked over to see what he was talking about and realized he was seeing the moon. We explained that it wasn't a ball but it was the moon to which Evan replied "Moon!" It was so beautiful that Bruce decided to take a few photos and he had a little helper.

Lollipop, Lollipop, Oh Lolli, Lolli, Lolli

After a visit with Em and Annalia, we popped in to see Papa and Gramma for dinner. Much to our surprise Uncle Dan, Auntie Karin, Danny, Sean and Grammy were also there. We had a fun night being entertained by three silly little boys!

15 Months!

The last few months have brought big changes. Evan started walking about a month after he turned one and each day his vocabulary expands by at least one or two words. I am continuously amazed by how much he knows and can do. I love that we can now communicate quite clearly with him. He can tell us what he wants and we can ask him to do things or explain things to him. It's great! I wanted to make a list of all the words that he knows but I am sure I would be forgetting some. Here are some of the most frequently used: Mama, Mommy, Dada, Daddy, Papa, Gramma, Danny, Bumpa, Gigi, Omi, (Grandpa) Bob, Hannah, ball, puppy, kitty, milk, juice, please, thank you, more, spoon, fork, bowl, eat, snack, Pooh bear, (Curious) George, Fitzy, Go-Go-Go (Red Sox), buh-bye, nah-night, truck, saw, book, shoes, back, oh no, I need, Elmo, outside, mail, cheese...among others. Not bad for 15 months!

Yogurt Face!

As you can see from the photos and video, Evan is a good eater and can feed himself quite well. His utensil use has really improved lately which makes our lives much easier (and a little messier) because he is so proud to use his fork and spoon. He had a couple of rough days this month as he was getting more teeth but I think they are pretty much all in now, except for his molars. He is wearing mostly 18 month clothing (some of which is still too big) and sleeps 12+ hours at night. We are having so much fun and can't wait to see what comes next as he continues to amaze his mommy and daddy! Love you, pal!

Looking at pictures of the baby with Gramma

Watching while Papa talks to the birds

Nicole's BBQ

Finally a nice day for one of Nicole's BBQ's!! Poor Nicole...it always seems to rain on her party but not today. Today it was nice. Not super sunny but that was ok because it was hot even still. We had a good time hanging out and playing cornhole on Daddy's freshly painted boards. Evan was entertaining everyone as usual!

Springfield Science Museum

Today Evan and I took advantage of the Free Fun Friday's summer program and went to the Springfield Museums. We went to the science museum and walked through the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden then had a picnic lunch. Evan enjoyed the science museum especially seeing all of the animals from the African plains and the life-sized replica of the T-Rex. As you can tell from the photos, Evan was more interested in looking around than looking at the camera. That's ok though...that is after all, why we went!

Evan checks out the chimp and the leopard

After we are done with the elephant, can we go over there, Mom?

Evan and the lions

Pre-Bedtime Routine

Knowing that the days are getting shorter and fall is just around the corner, we are soaking up every possible minute of outside fun time these days. We generally have dinner on the deck and about half-way through our dinner, once Evan has finished his, he gets up and runs around the deck. Sometimes he plays with a ball or his lawnmower or riding giraffe but mostly he just runs around in circles being silly! We love to sit and watch him! And the later it gets, the sillier he gets! What a goofball!

Golfing with Papa

Evan always has so much fun playing with Papa. Lately, he has been practicing and refining his golf techniques every time we go visit Papa and Gramma. Guess his mini-golf outing left a lasting impression. I wouldn't say that he is the next Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus but he sure does have fun!