Uncle Tim Visits

Prepare for a long post. I have lots to share.

On Tuesday, Ethan had his vaccinations. He was 18 lbs, 8 oz and 28 1/2" long. This puts him in the 30% for weight and 75% for height. I thought he was 20 lbs for sure. He eats so much! But, he is still well under that mark. Ethan did well and did not have any real reaction from his shots. He has started to eat cheerios and rice crackers. He loves to feed himself and seems quite proud of his accomplishment.

Evelyn has progressed from just dressing herself up to dressing her rocking horse too. She put boots on the runners and a hat and necklace on the head. It was pretty cute. She has also started to try to build animals with her Duplo blocks (not just towers). She will build what looks to the untrained eye like a thick tower and say "Look at my horse! I made a Horse!"(or dog, or cat, or pig...)

On Wednesday, we went and picked my brother Tim up from the airport. Evelyn made him a little sign saying "Welcome to Alberta, Uncle Tim!" This was his first flight and he enjoyed it. We then drove to West Edmonton Mall (WEM) to mostly window shop. Ryan played a couple games at the midway, Tim, Ella and I checked out the pirate ship, I bought a nail buffer kit, (shiny nails without painting poison on my nails) we looked at a lot of DVD's and video games (The girls were outnumbered - what could I do?)

After the mall, we went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner. I had never been and always wanted to go. It was fun! I think we will visit again. The whole meal, drinks and 30 game tokens (one token for each game) came to about $34. Evelyn and Ethan loved the Merry Go Round and Ella thought her ride with Barney was pretty neat too. Whenever the Merry Go Round music started, She would run over and try to climb on and share the other kids ride. After dinner, Ryan and Tim went to see Transformers and I took the kids to Ikea. Then, we spent the night at the Sahota's.

Evelyn and Casey played together really well. They played with Casey's little animals and Evelyn tried out the trampoline (with a very nervous Mom watching her closely). Shane even played his didgeridoo for us! The next morning, after some of Bettina's yummy pancakes, we went to watch a baseball game.

This was Tim and Ethan's first baseball game. I love the experience of a live game. The stadium was really nice and looked pretty new. We watched the Edmonton CrackerCats vs. Kansas City. This is the North American league and is outside the Major League framework of teams. I think the level of play would be AA or A equivalent. Evelyn called the mascot "kitty" and said hi to it in kitty language (Meow, Meow!). There was a lady dressed as a bumblebee clown who juggled. When she came near us, Ethan stared at her - totally entranced. Until, that is, she looked at him and spoke. Then, he got really scared and cried and cried. All the while, he could not take his eyes off her! Ah, poor kid. He was really tired at that time too. Evelyn had fun clapping and cheering along with the fans.

After the game, we went to Costco (we just bought a membership) and Walmart and headed home. We have played a lot of Wii the past few days and Ryan has reduced his Wii fitness age to 32 (down from 40-something) The Wii is kind of cool in that you have to move around to play. When you play tennis or baseball, you have to actually make the pitching and hitting movement. After a while, you feel tired and even a bit sore! Kudos for Nintendo for developing a game system that forces kids to be active! I taught Tim how to change a flat tire (Our Honda is plagued by flat tires) and we signed out a few videos from the library in Boyle. Evelyn has really enjoyed her new playmate in Uncle Tim and has made him play ponies and trains with her. Just daily life stuff....

On Sunday, we went to Long Lake Provincial Park for a church picnic. Shane and Bettina, I have found the perfect place for you to day trip to. This was the nicest lake I have visited EVER! Nice groomed, sandy beach, large, shallow wading area for the kids, nice playground, concession, showers, warm water, soft sandy lake bed with almost no wood splinter debris in the lake (no splinters to dig out of little feet). It was great. And, most important, NO ITCH! The lake is about 30 min from our house. I think we will have to visit again! Evelyn and Elizabeth had a blast splashing and floating in the shallow water. Evelyn also made a sand castle and got partially buried in sand by Daddy.

Last night, we played the bean game (correctly called Bonanza) with Tim (I won!). And, Tim and I played Guess Who and Mancala. I have to remember to bring the bean game to the lake next year. It is a fun game of trading, wheeling and dealing to get the most coins by harvesting your fields of different beans.

This morning, Ethan started saying "Ma Ma" He almost seemed to use it in context. He said it on two occasions when he saw me and was trying to get my attention. We shall see, I doubt it is actually a first word.

Tomorrow, Ryan helps one of his co-workers move out of his apartment. Tim and I will check out LLB and I will visit the chiropractor. We may visit the LLB Mission too. They filmed an episode of 'Creepy Canada' there and Tim is interested in seeing the real place. I took some neat pictures there a couple years ago when we first moved to the area. It is a neat collection of original buildings and hosts one of the most extensive collections of Vestments in Canada.

That's all folks!

Swings and Make-Believe

We have been very laid back the past few days. The kids have been low-key.

Evelyn is working on becoming potty trained again. She has had more accidents than successes at this point. Last night, she climbed onto the coffee table and left a huge puddle. Yuck! I am glad that there are Chlorox wipes! She has continued to enjoy playing with Ethan and will bring him toys to play with. Sometimes, she will knock him over in her play. When this happens, she goes to her room, and when she is ready, she comes out and apologizes. "Sor-we, Ee-Fee". He is always quick to forgive and gives her a big smile. (Probably thinking 'Wow! She is taking to me!)

Ethan is working on lunging for toys and pulling himself up on furniture. He has started to reach so far forward that he is on his knees (with his feet tucked under him and still crossed) He usually gets stuck in this position and cries for rescue. He has also started to regularly turn onto his tummy when he is in bed. Sometimes he is fine with that and will fall asleep. Other times, he screams for rescue again. He is able to turn from tummy to back. He just seems to forget when he is worked up. He loves to pull all his toys out of his toy box. He leaves a ring of toys around him.

We had a little picnic in a park in Boyle. Ethan quietly loved the swing. No squeals of delight from him! Just a huge smile and rotating wrists to show that he is excited. Evelyn played with a little boy and was very obedient in coming when we had to go.

On Sunday, Ryan took Ethan into the adjoining nursery during the service. He bounced him for quite a while, then, Ethan settled in and fell asleep. No crying, and no soother! When the service ended, I looked back into the nursery and saw Ethan sound asleep on Ryan's lap, arm stretched out. SO CUTE!

That is about it!

Enjoy the video of Evelyn dressed up in one of her outfits. She does a sort of interpretive dance to show it off. Note that she has not one, but TWO pairs of wings on! There is also a clip of her enjoying the feel of her ringlet pigtails on her cheek. I can remember doing the same thing when I had long hair. Finally, a short clip of Ethan on the swing. The video is about 37 seconds long.

Visit with K-A and Sarah

After leaving Victoria, we visited with my good friends K-A, her family and Sarah at K-A's house. The names of K-A and her family, and where they live are not allowed to be posted on the internet, so, if you want to know more detail, you can give me a call.

We spent a good portion of every day outside. In 37+ degree weather. It was hot. Thankfully, they have central AC in their home! We visited 2 lakes and a splash park. On Friday, Sarah, K-A and I went out on a no-kids shopping trip. We hit a few thrift stores and bought a few great finds. It is so easy and pleasant to shop without kids! I was surprised by a gift of a massage from K-A and Sarah as an early Birthday gift. The masseuse really worked on my knots and I felt much more relaxed.

While we were out enjoying a girls afternoon, K was taking care of all 4 kids! He did a great job and even had the house clean when we got back! Thank you K!

The kids had a Curious George Movie Night. D had it all planned out. They would have popcorn, sit on the bed, and watch the movie. He even wore his Curious George PJ's, underwear, and held a George stuffy during the movie!

Overall, the kids played very well. Evelyn had her share of emotional dramas, but she is working on controlling herself. It was neat to see each of the big kids play with Ethan on at least one occasion. They would sit next to him and show him some toys, or just hug and kiss him or pat his head. He loved the attention from the little people.

Ethan decided to sleep like a newborn while we were there. This means up every 3 hrs. Since we shared a room with Evelyn, I did not want him to wake her, so, I did not let him cry it out. It is good to be home now. We have so many fans going to keep the house cool that I can barely hear him! I am sleeping very well now!

On July 16th I drove about 11 hrs to pick Ryan up at the Edmonton Airport, then another 2 hrs home. We arrived just before midnight. That was a long day. Ryan had a great time in Whitehorse.



Enjoy the slide show

Victoria Videos

Here is a video and a slide show of our visit to Victoria. We were there from late on July 5th to very early on July 11th. We visited my Grandma Agnes in Langley each way. We paced our visits well and managed to have the kids nap most days.

We saw Orca Whales at a distance on the Ferry, as well as seals, seagulls and jelly fish. Evelyn LOVED to stand at the rails and watch the waves from the ship break.

Evelyn really enjoyed the Undersea Gardens and exploring at the beach with Auntie Dawne. She saw crabs and little fish and sea anemone's there. I think she is a West Coast Girl at heart.

Evelyn had a sleep over with Auntie Dawne and asked for more when we picked her up! "More, Auntie Dawne!?, Again?!" While the kids were enjoying Auntie Dawne, Ryan and I went out for dinner at Kelseys. (I had a really good cheese and broccoli soup, yum!) Ethan SCREAMED for about an hour while we were out and, of course, fell soundly asleep about 10 min before we came to get him! Poor Auntie having to listen to all that crying! When she asked Evelyn if her brother always cried like that, Evelyn replied "Mmm Hmm!"

The rest of our time was spent visiting and visiting! We arrived at around 9pm on July 5th. We spent the first two nights at the Parrish house while they continued to enjoy the lake, then we stayed with Ryan's Mom and Step-Dad Al (Nana and Papa) for the rest of the time.

Day 1, July 6, Auntie Dawne at the beach and again with Grandma and Grandpa. Evelyn has a sleep over with Auntie Dawne. Ryan and I have a date.

Day 2, July 7, Nana, Papa, Ryan's Step-Family and all the cousins as well as Auntie Dawne and Dawne's friend Avan.

Day 3, July 8, Oma, at her house, then Grandma and Grandpa's house with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa as well as Auntie Dawne.

Day 4, July 9, Oma at Beacon Hill, then the undersea gardens, then a quiet night.

Day 5, July 10, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's with Grandma and Grandpa for lunch. Nap time. We visit with Great Grandpa Roberts, then, Daddy goes to see 'Transformers".

July 11, leave for the ferry at 5:30 am. Ryan is dropped off at the Vancouver Airport at 9:30 am to catch his flight to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. I drive to Surrey to pick up my friend Sarah. I am very proud that I navigated and drove in Vancouver traffic without incident! We stop in Langley to visit my Grandma (Great Grandma Agnes). We then drive to K-A's and arrive there about 5:30 pm.

Whew!, no wonder I was so exhausted at K-A's! (the fact that Ethan started to sleep like a newborn did not help either :-p )

Anyway, here is the video and slideshow.

Shuswap lake video

We went to Magna Bay on Shuswap lake in the Northern Okanogan area for the first 5 days of July.

We had a great time with the extended Parrish family.

I have enjoyed reading everyone's blogs about the lake. Ruth summarized it so succinctly, Bettina made a great slide show, K-A told great stories. So, I decided my contribution to the memory preservation would be video.

This first clip is under 4 min long and is not Evelyn focused. The second clip is also about 4 min long, but, understandably, has a focus on our little princess ;-) There is some overlap in the clips.

So, if you belong to the Parrish Clan, you might prefer the first clip. However, if you read this blog to see pictures and video of the Cracknell's, you would probably prefer the second clip.

I was not able to open K-A's video files in my editing program, so these are just what I captured. The disks you are all going to get from K-A have all the clips (I think). Enjoy!

Ryan Goes to Whitehorse

Here's a couple of shots I took on a hike today in Whitehorse. Enjoy!

Two more days till we leave!

Thursday to run errands, Friday to pack, and Saturday morning we go! Well, I hope we ALL go...

Ryan has been in the little hospital in Boyle since Sunday night. He has been battling an ongoing infection from a procedure he had done on May 31. On Sunday, we decided enough was enough, the pills were not working, and it was time to get it looked at, NOW.

So, he has been on IV antibiotics (Abx) since then. The first Abx did not seem to be working, so he was switched to a second one yesterday. Tomorrow, I drive him to a different Hospital in Westlock so he can have an ultrasound to check for an abscess. He has been having some pain, but it has improved since starting the IV therapy. Our hope is that the second Abx will work, and he can be discharged on Friday taking oral Abx. We shall see how it goes.

So, yesterday, I played chaperone to 4 Jr. High girls while the school visited Ft.Edmonton. Wow, they have done a great job in that park. You can even stay overnight in the hotel that is in the middle of the 'town'. The park has become one of the 'you gotta check this out' attractions for people who visit us. Like all heritage type parks, it is not very stroller accessible, but that was my only criticism. Evelyn threw one great big fit, then settled in and was well behaved. Ethan just loved being in the hip hugger carrier and did not make a peep - even though he missed a nap!

Today, Ryan got a 'daypass' to leave the hospital for a few hours and we went to school for the last day and award ceremony. My little sister got two awards for 'most improved' and 'citizenship'. Ryan really wanted to say goodbye to the kids. I am glad he was able to go.

Evelyn was generally naughty and not listening, so I decided it was time to go. (Ryan had work to do, so we were going to come back and pick him up at 2 pm). Well, Evelyn did not like that we were going without him and she escalated into a massive tantrum. Screaming, kicking, scratching, crying... not a pretty sight. I wrestled her out to the car, then went back in to collect Ethan. She was still screaming, and screamed all the way home (all 1 km) then continued to scream and kick when I stopped the car. I was not able to even undo her seatbelt. So, she stayed in the car while I took Ethan inside, then, when I went out to get her, she managed to calm down a bit. Once she could actually hear what I was saying, I asked if she wanted yoghurt and strawberries for lunch. Immediately, she stopped all her sniffing and whining and was bright and happy. I think I was more emotionally exhausted by her drama than she was!

Evelyn and Ethan have been interacting a lot more this past week. I think that Ethan starting to make real verbal sounds has gotten Evelyn interested in him. He will start "Ba Ba-ing" in the car, and Evelyn will answer. Ethan thinks that is pretty funny, Evelyn loves to be funny, so the game continues. Now, when Evelyn is tired and in the car, all the rules change. Ethan can do nothing right. She gets upset that he kicks his foot, or does a raspberry, or looks at her, (or looks in her general direction for that matter). Ethan is totally nonplussed by her drama and seems to just be thinking "She is paying attention to me! Cool!".

They played a game of hide n' seek a couple days ago. Ethan was on my lap and Evelyn was popping up beside the chair in the living room, then crouching down, then up... Ethan would lean toward her whenever she popped up and they would both giggle.

On Sunday, just before I took Ryan into the hospital, Evelyn fell asleep in her high chair while she was eating her dessert. It was so funny to watch. She kept tilting and starting and leaning and jumping. I washed her hands without her waking up, and she only opened an eye for a moment when I washed her face. She slept spread-eagle while I put her night time diaper on, then, the moment she touched the bed, she was wide awake. "Stories?, book? sing songs?" I thought I might get her to bed without a fuss. Nope. She was awake until about 9 pm. She fell asleep cuddling Serena. What a monkey!

On Monday night, I had Serena come and babysit while I went to visit Ryan without the kids. Evelyn knew I was going, and decided to come too. So, she went and put her boots on, then her hat, then she asked me to hand her her jacket. Thus attired, she waited, and waited, and waited at the door so she would be ready to go visit daddy. She was hanging out there for at least 20 min. Not getting into anything, not making a fuss. Just waiting. I finally convinced her I needed to change her diaper (See previous posts on potty setback) and managed to get the hat and boots off. The jacket had to stay though. When I tried to get her PJ bottoms on her, she looked at me with a quizzical expression and said "No jammies. See Daddy!" By the time Serena arrived, she had lost the fight and let me go pretty easily.

So, that has been our life for the past few days. I have much more respect for single parents than I did before (which was still a lot of respect). I also have a lot more respect and understanding for K-A and all that she had to do when K was away.

Nana and Papa visit

Ryan's mom and step-dad came for a short visit from Monday night to Friday morning. Evelyn really enjoyed the extra attention and special Nana time. Ethan was not sure what to make of his Papa and kept giving him these intense and serious stares.

While they were here, they replaced our back stairs and deck. What a huge help for us. When we were removing the old ones, I realized the extent of how unsafe they were. We are lucky they did not collapse while we were on them! The new stairs are very well built, wider and have a larger landing at the top. I think we will be able to fit a BBQ on there when we get one. They look pretty nice!

I played softball on Thursday night and got my first run! The game was forfeited because we did not have enough players show up. But, we borrowed from the opposing team and played a fun game anyway. We actually won the game (but it won't count).

Yesterday, I did 6 loads of laundry, de-cluttered the house, and baked a few dozen rhubarb muffins. I really like this new recipe I found online. Very yummy. I should post it.

Today, I had a little photo shoot with Ethan. Now that he sits up pretty well, I was able to get some more interesting shots. They are at the end of the video, but here are a couple of my favorites.

Evelyn has had a big setback on the potty. I think it was the visiting and being so busy playing in the dirt while we worked on the stairs. We will have to regroup and start over. (I washed 12 pairs of her pants that were from a 5 day time span!)

Enjoy the video!

Happy Father Day

Daddy, I love you

For all that you do.
I'll kiss you and hug you
'Cause you love me, too.

You feed me and need me
To teach you to play,
So smile 'cause I love you
On this Father's Day.

author unknown

Thank you for playing with us, reading to us, holding us, hugging us, kissing us, and loving us. We know you love us, and we love you too.

We appreciate your care for us, providing for us, shielding us from the bad things in the world, comforting us when we hurt ourselves, or wake trembling in the night.

We respect you for the man that you are (though not always for the authority that you represent...) (We're little kids, that will come later!)

Today is your day, Daddy. We'll try to be good... But no matter how we act, we always love you!

Adoringly, Evelyn and Ethan

A day in the life of Ethan: Age 7 months

These clips were all taken on Saturday, June 16th, 2007. Ethan is 7 months old today. They represent a fairly typical day at our house.

Track and Field

We went to participate in the Track and Field day at the school. Evelyn had a blast. I did not know she had figured out how to climb a ladder until she was already climbing high!.

Tasting, Playing, Making and Laughing

Here is some new video. Yesterday, Evelyn and I made birthday cupcakes for Ryan's co-worker Melissa. Today, Ethan had a laughing fit when I imitated his hiccups.




Aside from what is in the video, the kids and I dressed up. Or, more correctly, Evelyn told us what to wear... I am a bunny fairy who likes necklaces. Evelyn is a ballerina princess who also likes necklaces. Ethan is a lizard of some sort.

My 'little sister' finished scrapping all the pictures she had brought. She will bring more for the last two sessions before school lets out. She has done a great job!

This afternoon, we are going to head to the school for Track and Field day. This evening, I am going to play softball with Melissa and Ryan is going to come to watch and score-keep.

Life

I did not take many pics this week, and almost no video (nothing of interest, anyway). There were a few amusing stories I can write about though.

Tuesday day was nasty and wet. We had thunder storms all through the night and into the day. When we were driving back from Boyle, I saw lightening strike a power pole about 800m ahead of me. A couple seconds later, it struck the ground in the field nearby. The pole erupted into a plume of light. It looked like powder ignited. The light lasted for about a second and a half, then the pole looked like nothing had happened. The rain at that time was so heavy. The drops were huge. It was so loud against the windshield, I thought the impact might break it.

On Tuesday night, just before bedtime, Evelyn and Ethan played peek-a-boo. Evelyn popped out from behind her closet door and surprised Ethan. They were both tired and ready for giggles. It was so cute. Evelyn pops out, Ethan starts giggling and squealing, so, Evelyn starts to giggle and squeal too. Then she hides behind the door and it starts again. They have similar laughs, so it was hard to tell who was doing the giggling at times. I wish we had gotten a video.

Wednesday, I did some scrapbooking with my 'little sister' she got 3 pages done in a little over an hour!

Thursday was the airband competition at the school. Ryan was in Edmonton on a field trip with his class, but Evelyn and I participated with the grade 4 class. They did the Wizard of Oz and the kids were munchkins. Their teacher (Melissa) was Dorothy and I got to be the Good Witch Glinda. Evelyn wore her Cinderella dress, a tiara and a wand. She was kind of like a mini-me little Glinda. She went up with the kids and stood there while they danced their routine. I thought our group did the best, but we came in 4th. All the classes did a good job. It was a fun afternoon.

Thursday night, Melissa and I played softball with the "Family of Faith Worship Centre FLYERS" (the church we have been going to). I did not hurt myself! This is a first! Evelyn has come to associate baseball with hurts and owies. Either Ryan or I get injured every week. Evelyn played in the sand volley ball court with her little friend Elizabeth. They had a great time. Her pull-up diaper was full of sand when we got home. Oh, we saw a bear and 2 moose on the drive to and from the game. Ryan also saw a bear on his trip from the city.

Evelyn has started to breastfeed her dolls. I have been waiting for her to do this, and, I had been a bit disappointed that she had not done it before now. Anyway, she started by nursing her little 2" tall "Boots" figure (the monkey from Dora the Explorer), then, she started to feed her dolls too.

Ethan had a growth spurt. I went to put 3 different PJ's on him only to have them all come up about 1" short. He is now wearing 9-12 month PJ's. His moodiness has settled, and his gums are not swollen anymore. Overall, he is returning to our cheerful little boy. He has figured out how to turn on his 'Ocean Wonders' crib activity thingy. So, now I will check in to see if he is really still asleep and having a long nap, and find him watching the lights and listening to the crashing waves.

Evelyn is counting down to her visit from Nana and Papa. She is also asking several times a day when she gets to see Casey and B and D. I am also counting the days until summer vacation!

She has also started to sing the alphabet song. She does a pretty good job of it too. I will try to get a clip of it. When she plays with the foam letters in the tub, she knows the D is for her friend D, the B is for his sister B, the J is for Juliana and the C is for Casey.

I had a baking fest on Saturday and made over 100 muffins and 3 loaves of Banana bread. My snack contribution is ready and waiting in the freezer for the lake. Pina Colada muffins, choc chip and walnut banana muffins, peach and coconut muffins, rhubarb muffins, and rhubarb filled streusel muffins.

Today, I made my supper for the lake. It is also waiting and ready in my freezer right now. I feel such a sense of accomplishment.

This past week....

Here is a video to sum up our week in only 2 minutes and 20 seconds!



Evelyn had a few rough days with potty training, but is on track again. She was even dry one morning! Her new motivator is Jelly Beans. She gets one when she uses the potty. She spends about 2 minutes (no exaggeration) choosing which colour she wants. Then, she spends about 5-10 minutes just eating the Jelly Bean! She licks it, she takes a little nibble out of it, she licks it some more... Her fingers and face become stained with colouring... But, she is going consistently. I can put up with sticky red and green fingers if it means no diapers!

We sowed a little flower box with a "butterfly blend" of seeds. It has only been a couple days, and they are already sprouting! I was not sure how they would do because Evelyn dug her hands in and scooped out a bunch of dirt (and seeds) after we had planted them. I scraped as much back in as I could. I am looking forward to seeing what happens.

Ethan has been a real grouch. I palpated his lower gums and felt a bump. So, I think he is teething. Poor kid. I think Evelyn had it easier when she teethed late. I also think he is starting to have separation anxiety. He puts up a real stink when he is left in the living room by himself.

Aside from that, Ethan is improving his sitting skills. He can now sit without hands for a few minutes and has even been able to chew a toy while sitting. Ryan and Evelyn are trying to get him to say "Ba". He has mimicked them a few times.

Evelyn did some colouring this morning. Like many a child before her, the marker caps became 'fingernails'. I remember doing the same thing. I put nail polish on all her nails on Saturday, and she proceeded to colour her nails again with the markers. Good thing they are washable and come off easily!

I set up our hose sprayer to be like a sprinkler and let her play in the mist on Sunday. She enjoyed that. The mist made a nice rainbow.

Oh, speaking of Rainbows! Wow! We had a brilliant double one over the weekend. On the inside arch of the more intense one, the spectrum actually started to reverse and mirror itself. Ryan took a couple pictures.

That is all I can remember. The video fills in the gaps and tells the funny stories.

Round the Garden...

Here is Evelyn saying her favorite poem. I love that she has it memorized and can recite it. She is a bit of a ham at the end... Turn up the volume on your computer to hear her better.

Visit with Little Lillian-Ruth

We went and met Lillian on Saturday. She was so tiny! Her little squeaks and sounds were so quiet. She seemed to be a pretty laid-back girl. She just went with the flow. Bettina has regained much of her figure already (Good for her!) and looked great.

Evelyn basically ignored her completely. Ethan took a look at her and tried to touch her. It reminded me of when Evelyn met Lillian's cousin B when she was first born. Evelyn tried to eat B's hand! Evelyn and B are about the same age apart as Ethan and Lillian.

Evelyn and Casey played well together. Evelyn loves saying a rhyme that Casey taught me and she said it for him too. (Round and round the garden, goes the teddy bear! One step, two steps, a tick-el-y under there!) They watched a Baby Einstein that Evelyn does not have. She remembered that Casey has this one, and has pointed it out to me several times in the Baby Einstein catalogue saying "Casey have!"

When it was time for us to leave, Casey was such a gentleman and helped Evelyn put her sandals on. It was so cute to watch him try to get the strap over her heel.

I am looking forward to seeing how much Lillian grows in the next 5 weeks. She is already well over her birth weight. We will see her again in July!

I took a little video of our visit. Turn up the volume so you can hear Lillian's little squeaks.

Potty update

Okay, I know the only person who has looked at the previous two posts is K, but I want to post an update on the potty situation. (If you HAVE looked at the other posts - why didn't you leave a comment!?!?!?!)

So, Evelyn has done amazingly well. She has used the potty consistently for 1 1/2 days now. She was wet when she got up this morning, but aside from that, we are having success. Her big motivator is getting some "Dora diapers" and I made a little chart to show her when she can have one - if she uses the pot.

After we put her to bed last night, she called "sit potty!" This is a normal stalling tactic for her, so we ignored it. I heard her a few minutes later in the bathroom, then I heard her return to bed. A little later, Ryan went into the bathroom and saw that the pot from the potty was on the counter, and there was a puddle under the potty. Evelyn's PJ pants were also strewn on the floor.

She had gone in, taken her diaper off, peed, tried to empty it in the toilet - but spilled it in the process, put her diaper back on, and went back to bed. Wow!

During the day, she goes and tries to empty the potty on her own. She will tell me after she is done. I am trying to get her to tell me before she tries to empty the pot. I also put a disposable absorbant pad under the potty to collect the spilled contents.

So, we are very pleased with her. Yah for Ella! I hope this trend continues.

Video. See previous post for story and Pictures

A Day at the Farm...and other stories...

Last weekend, Ryan and I set up a swing set for Evelyn. She promptly had a "Funny Video's" moment. She was swinging on her belly and slid off, then, the swing came and bonked her on the head. She started to get upset about the bonk, until Daddy said "That would have been a good 'Funny Video'!"

America's Funniest Videos (AFV for short) is Evelyn's favorite show (aside from Dora the Explorer and Little Bear) and she loves to say "Doof!" while she holds her head when she sees people hurting themselves. She thinks it is hilarious.

Anyway, her attitude quickly changed with Ryan's comment. The next evening, when we were watching AFV, Evelyn expected to see herself on the show! I wish we had taken a video!

Way back in March, the students from Ryan's school danced in a nearby town. We went to support them, and Evelyn enjoyed dancing.

Anyway, Ethan was presented with a hand woven Metis sash in honor of his birth and as a thank-you for the support we have given the kids. It is really beautiful and a huge honor to have been given a hand made sash. Evelyn was given a regular, commercially made one that is also nice.

I took these photo's last week (now that the weather is nice) to print as a thank-you note. Evelyn is doing a little Jig and Ethan is looking very handsome.

I also took this picture with a thank-you in mind. Auntie K-A sewed this shirt and pants for Evelyn last year. They fit now, and the shirt will probably fit next year too. I love the print of the fabric. K-A did such a meticulous and precise job of sewing the blouse. Great job K-A!








This picture is from last night. Ethan and Evelyn had a great time playing together. I will get a video collection edited and will post it shortly. I love how Ethan is looking at Evelyn with such affection and admiration. It is like he appreciates the honor of having her attention.

Soon after this pic was taken, Evelyn hopped out of the box and closed it on Ethan. He went along with it for a minute or so, then decided he was not into "Hide / Seek" and did not want to be mailed anywhere right now!

This morning, we went to the Mom and Tot group again. This week it was hosted at one of the participants homes. Evelyn had a blast. She is such a leader. Even though she was younger than many of the kids, she got them all going to see the chickens. She also barreled right under the fence and started chasing them around (argh!). She enjoyed herself, but I am not sure the hens will be laying tomorrow!

We also saw some baby chicks too. Ethan even got to touch one. I was afraid it might nip at his fingers, but the chick behaved, and Ethan was delighted.



There were two Llamas also. Thankfully, Evelyn respected their size and did not go barreling into their pen too!











After a lunch of fire roasted weenies, Evelyn enjoyed an ice cream cone.
I like how the light worked in this picture.











Finally, after all the treats, it was time to play in the hay bales. Evelyn was in there with all the boys. She slid down the smaller piles, she threw hay in the air, she climbed the bales, and she just looked at all the swirled hay. Getting her to leave was not an easy feat! We had to play "I Got Ya" (AKA tag) to slowly herd her in the right direction.


It was a fun morning, but I am beat!

We took Evelyn's soother away from her on Saturday. She is putting up less of a fuss at bed and nap times, but still protests for about 15 min before giving up. She has become an expert staller in the past week. "Cup of Water?, One More Song?, Cuddles?, Kisses!?" .... I hope that we will be back to normal in another week or so.

I let Evelyn go commando yesterday after seeing how effective it was for B's potty training. She did not pee all morning. Then, I put training pants on her for a nap (after I had her sit on the potty) and she proceeded to pee in the training pants within about 10 min of wearing them. So, I got her dried off, put a new pair on, and she had her nap. When she woke up, she had pooped in the training pants. I cleaned her up, left her bare.... nothing. Then when Ryan put her into her PJ's he noticed a wet patch on the carpet of her room. So, she had peed at some point, but, surprisingly, did not fuss about it. She really wants to have some "Dora diapers" (pull-ups) so I am using that as motivation. She will get her Dora panties when she uses the potty all the time.

I will try again this afternoon and tomorrow... We shall see!