Evan's Video

On Saturday mornings, when we don't have anything going on, my awesome hubby lets me sleep in! One Saturday, Evan, Doug, and Ainsley were playing and making videos with our camera. When Doug took Ainsley up for a nap, Evan decided to make a video all on his own.. so, here it is, Evan's video directing/acting debut..

My 6 Month Old Baby Girl...

My sweet little baby girl is now six months old! Unbelievable! The past few months have flown by - and all I know is that Doug and I both feel so blessed to have Ainsley in our lives. She is so happy and sweet and just goes with the flow. She has the biggest smile - so big that she actually "falls" over when she gets a really big grin. Her eyes light up all the time. She is also such a studier - watching everything that goes on.

She is still talkative, but loves to observe. She is pretty good at sitting - going for a minute or two before tumbling over. She still loves the exersaucer and she's really good at the jumparoo. She has started playing "shy" when she sees someone new. She loves her brother and tolerates all his love. She is a good sleeper, just waking up once a night. She rolls everywhere - forward and back and is able to roll/reach herself to whatever is interesting nearby. I love my little girl!!

Enjoy some pictures from the last month:

New trick - sticking out her tongue!

The whole family.
My little sweetheart!

Still smiling with Evan love :)

Don't start crawling yet!!

Every once in awhile she will still fall asleep in our arms.

First swing ride on the new swingset.

First cold :(

Ready to go!!

4th Birthday Party!

Evan has had one dog on his mind lately - Scooby Doo! So, of course, he wanted a Scooby Doo birthday party! It was so much fun to plan a party with a theme that was easy :) We had a great birthday party with our friends - and 4 of Evan's closest friends - Brayden, Avery B, Avery J, and Olivia! Here are some pictures from the fun day:

Scooby Cupcakes and Scooby Snacks!

Fun with party horns! (They were Evan's request)


All the kids helped Evan open up his presents. Evan would ask them to help and then say that he'd want to open them. It was too cute.
Singing Happy Birthday!
Turning Doug into a Mummy - the kids were then chased by him. This game went over a little better than pin the nose on Scooby!

Our "Baby" is 4!

4 Year Appointment

I took Evan to his 4 year appointment today. First, his stats: 35.5 pounds and 39.5 inches.

I loved his 3 year appointment because he was so chatty with his doctor. I was looking forward to this year's appointment so he could show off his 4 year old "skills"... well, Evan didn't come to the doctor today - Scooby did. The whole appointment Evan would answer everything "roh" and "reah"... He was also jumping all over like a dog. Oh well! At least he showed off his imagination! I just had to laugh - life with a 4 year old is already definitely fun and I keep learning to expect the unexpected!!

Oh yeah - and the shots. I didn't tell him that he was getting them ahead of time, but he took the news better than I thought. He cried for about two minutes and then all was well with a Scooby sticker.

Another Birthday Post...

On Evan's actual birthday, we asked him what he wanted to do. Without hesitation, he decided that he wanted to go to Johnny's Toys. On his birthday, a Wednesday, he got up and went to school. I got to take in treats for his classmates (pumpkin cookies) and got to sing with them. Evan was slightly embarrassed, but really like it. Doug then took off a half day off work and we headed straight for Johnny's Toys (with a stop for Wendy's in the car). We got to Johnny's Toys around 12:30 and Evan was so excited!! He loves that place. We played, and played, and played - all the way until they closed at 5. It was so fun to see him have so much fun! We ate dinner down in KY so we'd miss the traffic, and on the way home, around 7, Evan fell asleep in the car! It was a fun, exhausting day for us all.

Evan is 4

Today my little boy turns 4. I can't believe it - 4 just seems so old. I remember the days when it was just the two of us all day - I would hold him and let him nap in my arms.

Evan has been so much fun to watch grow up. The last year has been even more enjoyable and more challenging than any other. He loves school! He has been acting older since he started 3 weeks ago. He loves his sister so much. (He tells me he loves Ainsley more than me :P.) He has been obsessed with Scooby Doo the last few months - books, videos, pretending to be Scooby. He makes us laugh all the time and is really starting to become his own person. He is very slow getting out the door. He likes to play Wii and wrestle with Doug and loves to play any type of games. He's really interested in how things work. He is super cautious about new things. I can tell he's really into other kids now - as opposed to just wanting to play with us. If he doesn't want to do something, it's really hard to convince him otherwise. He cracks us up with his vocabulary. He has been a blessing in our lives and has taught us so much. Happy Birthday to our sweet BIG boy!!

Water!

We learned a lesson while we were away in OBX... always have someone watch your house while you are away! Thankfully, my parents were watching our house. On Tuesday late afternoon, they discovered water all over our kitchen floor, leaking from the refrigerator. They cleaned it all up and tried to figure out where the leak was coming from. They checked back again on Wednesday and.. more water! My dad worked and worked on the fridge, and kept checking to make sure the water wasn't all over. After trying all kinds of things, going through the manual, etc, he figured out that it was the replaceable filter leaking. It was an easy fix once he figured it out, but had they not been checking, we would have come home to a very soggy house!

OBX Trip

At the end of August, we took a family vacation to the Outer Banks with our friends who have two boys Evan & Ainsley's age. We had a great time of relaxing and enjoying time with the kids and our friends. The first day (Sunday) we had hot, sunny weather, and went to the beach and the pool (which was at the house we were staying in). Evan was tentative about the ocean, but eventually got in, and Ainsley enjoyed a nap on the beach as well as watching the boys play.


The next few days were cooler (in the 70s), so no more swimming. But, we enjoyed going indoor glow bowling, eating at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, visiting the Kitty Hawk sand dunes...





We also enjoyed the local shopping center and the playground there..
The boys had fun hanging out..
doing arts and crafts (paper bag masks)...
and later in the week, walking the beach to find shells and build a sandcastle...


We couldn't let the boys only swim once, so they enjoyed the "warm tub" the last two days...

And Evan picked up a souvenir too..
At the house there were a few boogie boards that Evan got to play with in the pool the first day. He loved that they had a string attached to them that he could hook up anywhere. So, on the last night, we let him get a mini-boogie board. It was so cute - he waited at the cash register and the cashier handed it to him. He asked, "did you buy it yet?" We said yes and he immediately ripped off the paper and put the strap on. He was so excited that he even asked to keep it in his bed that evening.

All in all, it was a great vacation in the Outer Banks with great friends!

First Day of Preschool

Evan started preschool this week. He went last year, but only for 1 day each week. This year, he's going 3 days a week, so it's a big change for us all. I was preparing myself for a rough time since Evan's not big on new things, but he did great! He has been talking about school every day (happily) and has had the "Days of the Week" song stuck in his head and has been singing it all the time.

Here are some pictures from his first day: