How Could I Have Forgotten Santa?

The week after Thanksgiving, I convinced Ethan to take Evelyn to see Santa. The thought of fighting crowds in the weeks to come, definitely helped my cause!

Evelyn did a really good job with Santa, but I could tell she'd had about enough of the guy in red. Because we were the only ones in line, the photographer asked if we wanted another photo (What? This one isn't cute enough?) Doing our best to avoid a melt down, we kindly said thank you and went on our way. This is what we got. Not too bad for the first time!

I can't wait to see how next year's picture turns out! Let's just hope she does better than her mama did at that age. Stay tuned...

Merry Christmases

3 Christmases... what more could a girl ask for? First, a Christmas celebration while Bama and Papa were visiting, then a Christmas celebration with the entire Owens family in Creston, and finally, a stocking from mama and daddy when we got home. I hope Evelyn doesn't come to expect this every year!

Christmas #1 with Bama and Papa

This pretty much sums up Christmas #2. Chaos. It may not look like it, but the girls had a wonderful time together.

Evelyn getting a little help from cousin AJ.


Soooooo excited!! Evelyn would clap each time someone opened a new present.

We were all spoiled this Christmas, but especially Evelyn. She had so much fun opening her gifts - or maybe it was that she got to tear paper and play with tissue and ribbons.

We wish all of you a very happy holiday season and all the best in the new year!

Happy Happy Birthday Evelyn!!

It seems like just yesterday that we were welcoming our sweet baby girl to the world. Until I had a child of my own, I never believed my friends when they would tell me how quickly they grow up. Now, I believe.

Evelyn was spoiled and got lots of new toys, a quilt made by Grandma Janis and so much more. She even helped open some! (Personally, I think it was the tissue paper that grabbed her attention.)

Evelyn is usually a VERY "enthusiastic" eater, so I was surprised at how dainty she was with her cupcake! Of course, when the candle was lit, she wanted nothing more than to grab it.

After a little help from mom, she was back to her usual self - shoving as much in her mouth as she can (including fingers!) Have I mentioned that this girl loves to eat?!?

We had a wonderful little birthday party for her and were so lucky to have so much of her family there - Bama & Papa came all the way from Oregon; Uncle Eric & Auntie Kylie made the drive from Kansas City; Grandma & Grandpa came up from Creston; and Uncle Rusty, Aunt Leanne, and cousins AJ & EJ made the drive across town to help us celebrate.

At one, Evelyn waves hi and bye at the drop of a hat - when Daddy gets home from work, the first thing she says is "Hi Da!" She loves to give hugs and kisses, although she hasn't quite figured out that not everyone wants a kiss with an open mouth. :) She has also mastered signing for "more" and has recently picked up "milk." Although they all are within months of age, she is the only "baby" at day care that is not yet walking - however, our babysitter assures us that she definitely gets where she wants to go! She cruises around the furniture with ease and will walk a few steps with help, but is not quite ready to step out on her own. She LOVES to play peek-a-boo and has the sweetest laugh when she gets surprised. We have yet to find a food she doesn't like and we are also still trying to find her "full" switch. She continues to be a happy, mellow little girl, however she gets busier by the day and is showing more attitude than ever. She has recently begun throwing herself on the floor and crying when she doesn't get her way. Stubbornness runs deep in her gene pool, so we are very lucky that it has taken this long for that trait to show up. We continue to count our blessings every day and are so lucky to have such a wonderful little girl in our lives. We love you Evelyn!

99th Percentile... or Bust!

Seriously, if there were a prize for the most consistent stats, this girl might win! Here are the stats from Evelyn's 12 month check-up:

Height: 30 1/2 in. (99th percentile)

Weight: 26.4 lb. (99th percentile)

Evelyn got 3 shots this visit, plus a finger poke, and she took them all like a champ! Not to say there weren't any tears, but what tears she did cry were gone with a little snuggle from mom. That's my girl.

Dancing Queen!

One of Evelyn's favorite things to do these days is dance. I don't know where she gets it, though, because neither her dad nor I are big dancers. But for Evelyn, the bigger the beat, the better. Here, she gets down to a little Carrie Underwood.

11 months?? It can't be!!

I look at my little girl and I can't believe I can love something so much. I look at the calendar and I can't believe that she'll be one in just one short month. Although she's slowing down, she's growing like a weed and is getting so big!

She is walking all over the furniture, but still prefers to crawl wherever she goes. Just tonight, she stood on her own - walking isn't far off! She is a pro at feeding herself and would much rather do it herself these days. Her favorite toys are the things she can't have - daddy's remote, toilet paper... you get the point.

My sweet baby girl.

Happy Anniversary!!

40 years ago Thanksgiving weekend, Janis Anderson & Larry Owens tied the knot, and this is all they have to show for it. :) Congratulations!

Happy Halloween!!

Here in Iowa, all of the action happens on Beggars' Night, the night before Halloween. I don't get it. And, instead of saying "Trick or treat?" when they come to the door, the kids tell a joke. Again, I don't get it. But, it is what it is and we had a great time on Evelyn's first "Halloween."

Earlier in the day, Evelyn was decked out in all of her Halloween duds!

Our little bunny, before we headed out to see Sara and her boys.

You can't see it, but Evelyn's holding her first treat, a Rice Krispie Treat (don't worry - Ethan gave her a taste before he ate the whole thing!)

When we got home, Evelyn was content to sit at the front door looking out for all the kiddos. She may have liked all the costumes more than we did!

Checking out the stash at the end of the night.

Here's wishing you and your little ghosts and goblins a happy and safe Halloween!

10 months old!!

It is hard to believe that our little girl is 10 months old already!

Some of her current favorite things include eating (still), however she'd much rather feed herself these days; putting her arms up for a touchdown; climbing on any and everything; bath time; and dancing. She continues to be such a happy girl and she LOVES to play with her cousins and her buddies at daycare.

Save Second Base!!

October 23, 2002, our family got an angel - Peggy "Piglet" Cockrell.

October 23, 2010, our family walked for Piglet at the Des Moines Race for the Cure.

Not only do we walk for our Piglet, we walk for all the other women (and men) who have fought and continue to fight this horrible disease.

In memory of Peggy Cockrell & Nancy Curran.

In celebration of Betty Roberts, Rita Schroeder, JoAn Miller.

Let us know who you celebrate and remember.

Steady As She Goes

Miss Evelyn is nothing if not consistent. She had her 9 month check-up today (I can hardly believe it!) and, as is her style, hit the 99th percentile across the board.

Weight: 22 lbs.

Height: 29 3/4 in.

Looks like she'll be living up to her Great-Grampa Elmer's nickname: Big E. He would be so proud.

At 9 months, Evelyn is crawling all over the place, pulling herself up on and cruising around the furniture and climbing stairs (with supervision!!) She will even walk a few steps while holding on to your hands, but is more interested in crawling after that - it's faster. This morning she signed "more" while we shared a banana, she inconsistently waves bye-bye and, just in time for football season, is learning "Touchdown!"

A Day At The Beach

This summer's vacation to the Northwest included a trip to my favorite city on the Oregon Coast - Seaside. I have so many fun memories of trips to Seaside when I was younger - I hope that we get to create some fun memories for Evelyn too! This was her first official visit to the Oregon Coast (technically, she was along for the ride last year.) This was also Ethan's first trip to Seaside. I'm pretty sure they both had a great time. We lucked out with the weather - we arrived early Tuesday afternoon to blue skies and no rain! We couldn't have asked for better weather on the coast, in September. :)

Here, we pose for a family photo at the end of the promenade.

After we checked in to our hotel (with an ocean view!), we headed to the market and picked up some delicious Oregon beer. Evelyn had her eyes on it too - girl's got good taste already!


After taking in the sights and sounds from our balcony, we decided to let Evelyn get up close and personal with the beach.

She loved it!

Daddy & Evelyn.

Evelyn got her feet wet and didn't even bat an eye! She danced and splashed all over the place! She is still, most definitely, her daddy's girl.

On The Move

It's official! Our baby is mobile! This weekend, Evelyn mastered the art of the army crawl. She's still working on crawling on her hands and knees, but, have no doubt, she gets where she wants to go!

I think I can, I think I can...

Got it!

So proud of herself!

A Day at the Park

Saturday, while wasting time, waiting to pick Bama up at the airport, Evelyn and I walked to our neighborhood park to play for a while. We spent most of our time on the swings (as usual) but we also went down the slides a couple times! It's a little interesting trying to get this 32-year-old body on to a slide designed for children WAY more than half my age. It's even more interesting trying to do it while holding a child WAY more than half my age. It wasn't pretty, but we made it work.

This girl loves to swing!!

She's a big fan of the slide too!

Lazy (NOT!) Days of Summer

Miss Evelyn is napping and my work day is getting a (much) later start than usual. So, I thought I'd sit down and update you on our summer so far. This spring, our summer calendar started filling up one weekend at a time. Then we stepped back and looked at the whole - the craziness started in June and we won't have a free weekend until the end of August! Where is our summer going?

It all started June 17, when we attended the wedding of our friends Michael and Amanda, which took place in Creston. It was Evelyn's first wedding and, with only a couple minor meltdowns while being stared at, poked at, and goo'd at by strange women, she did great! Grandma and Grandpa left the party early to take Evelyn home, which meant that mom and dad got to enjoy the evening with friends!

The following weekend found us in Creston, yet again. This time, we went to a BBQ at our friends', the McKie's, Friday night before Ethan and Corey played in a golf tournament Sat. and Sun. Now, this is no ordinary golf tournament, and keep in mind, we're in Iowa. The big prize for winning here is PORK CHOPS! For all of you Northwesterners, these are not the pork chops you're thinking of. We're talking the biggest, tastiest, most delicious pork chops you've ever laid your eyes on, Iowa Pork Chops. At least 2 inches thick of moist (yes, I said moist) tastiness that is the other white meat. Now, ususally, I wouldn't go on and on about how wonderful pork chops are, however, due to my husband's amazing golf skills, I now have a freezer full of said pork chops. I have to keep reminding myself how good they are so I don't get tired of them!

While daddy was out golfing, Evelyn took a dip in the pool with cousin AJ. As we sat in the shade of a tree in the back yard, Evelyn in nothing but a diaper and some sweet shades we found at Grandma's, we shared an afternoon of laughs.


For the 4th of July, once again, we made the trek to Creston. Our wonderful friends Amy & Pat were in town from Colorado. We only get to see them once or twice a year, so we take advantage of every opportunity we have. Saturday was a beautiful day and we spent the entire afternoon poolside at the Coen's. Unfortunately, there were too many big kids in the pool and they were too busy making whirlpools, so Evelyn didn't get to take a dip. However, she did get to go for a swing. This girl LOVES to swing!

We headed home on Sunday so that Ethan could help out with Waukee's festivities. However, this year we had a very Northwest 4th - cool and drizzly all day. No parade, no concert and no fireworks. That didn't stop us from having fun though. We had friends over in the afternoon, Ethan grilled under the eave of the garage and, once it cleared up, we watched fireworks in the distance from our driveway. It was a perfect way to spend the 4th.

Monday, Waukee tried again. This time, we got in the parade, but again, concert and fireworks were cancelled. Evelyn got to go to her first 4th of July parade and was such a good girl. You can just see all the excitement on her face!

Here, your Waukee Park Board members slave away to keep the crowds at bay.

Last weekend was supposed to be our "free" weekend in July - no so much. We ended up in Creston... AGAIN. This time, we attended a party for our friends Lori & Quentin who are getting married in August (I almost forgot about that one - there goes our free weekend in August!) Once again we had a great time out with friends while Grandma and Grandpa watched Evelyn for the evening. I headed home "early", around 11 (which is about 2 hours past my bedtime these days!) and Ethan shut down the bar and wandered home around 2:30. The following morning, Ethan woke up with a headache and growled "I should have come home with you. When will I learn?" Fortunately for him, he'll have plenty more opportunities this summer.

We are headed to McCook, NE on Friday for the Owens' family reunion that happens every 3 years. The last one took place two weeks before we got married, so neither of us were able to attend. It will be great to meet the entire other side of the family. I will post as soon as I can when we get back. There should be enough comic releif to go around!

6 months old!!

My, how time flies when you're having fun! Evelyn "turned" 6 months old back on June 20, and our summer has been a whirlwind ever since! We did manage to make it to the pediatrician, so here are the latest stats:

Height: 27 1/2 inches (99th percentile)

Weight: 22.2 pounds (99th percentile)

We are all off to Nebraska this weekend for the Frick'n Owens reunion (that is the Frick family and the Owens family (Grandpa Larry's families) - the Frick'n Owens family!) this weekend where Evelyn will meet all of her aunts, uncles and cousins from Grandpa Larry's family. We will post lots of pictures when we get home!

Bama & MK's 3rd Annual Summer Visit

Evelyn's first Memorial Day weekend was extra special this year. Not only did she get to meet two of Daddy's best friends, Brian (who came all the way from New Mexico to meet her) and Pat (who came all the way from Colorado, via Creston), she also got a very special visit from her Bama and cousin MK (who came all the way from Oregon) who celebrated her 5th birthday with us a few days early! The weather was beautiful all weekend and we got to do lots of fun things outside, which included daily walks to the park, the girls' first trip to Living History Farms and Evelyn's first dip in her swimming pool!

FRIDAY

At Bama's request, Evelyn got her first taste of carrots over the weekend. As you can see, she wasn't super impressed the first few bites. She quickly hit her stride, though. Since then, we've also tried green beans and she eats both like a champ!

SATURDAY

LIVING HISTORY FARMS

Des Moines has an attraction that is very unique to this part of the country - Living History Farms (www.lhf.com). It features the town of Walnut Grove, which is set up as a town would have been circa 1895. There is a farmhouse, a doctor's office, veterinary clinic, school house, general store, cabinet maker, broom maker, black smith shop, etc. It also 3 fully functioning farms to visit - one is a farm as it would have been in the days of the Ioway Indians, one as it would have been with the pioneers and one from the 1900's. Each farm is run using only the tools and methods from that particular era. The staff cook & eat lunch as it would have been done at the time and they also perform all of their daily "chores" as they would have been done at the time. Not only was it fun for this suburbanite, MK also enjoyed learning new things and helping out where she could!

Here, MK pumps water in the farmhouse in Walnut Grove. You can also get a glimpse of MK's 2 french braids! She'd never had her hair braided before and was REALLY patient (for her)!


The schoolhouse was MK's favorite stop of the day. Here she is as the teacher where she was more than happy to have you follow her rules. :)

(Disclaimer: Bama does not approve of the posting of this picture, but it is one of the few I have of her from the entire weekend. Therefore, Bama is SOL.) MK and Bama riding the tractor from Walnut Grove to the farms.

Here, MK poses with Katie at the pioneer farm. Katie had just finished tending the smoke in the smokehouse behind her. You should have seen the bacon in there! Yum-O!

Here, MK helps Katie gather fresh eggs from the hen house - yes, these are real and yes, they were warm. And no, MK didn't drop any!

At the 1900's farm, MK got to check out the work horses.

MK waits patiently to pull on the rope used to hoist bales of hay into the barn (don't worry, she didn't have to do all the work by herself - there were about a dozen other kids helping out, and one jack of a dad, setting a REALLY good example for the kids!)

After a long day in the sun, we took MK to make her own noodles at Hu Hot, a Mongolian grill. She had a great time picking out all of her noodles, meat (sausage, of course) and veggies. She even went through the line an extra time to watch the guys make Bama's noodles! And what meal would be complete without ice cream for dessert? We hit Maggie Moo's afterwards to top it all off.

Chocolate with sprinkles, please!

Sometime between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening, Miss E figured out how to sit up all by herself! Sitting is now her favorite thing to do - I think maybe because it involves some sweet new toys!

This photo of Evelyn and MK was taken right before the video from the last post. These girls just love each other and are going to be great buds.

SUNDAY

After I snapped a few pics of Evelyn sitting by herself in the pool, MK decided she wanted in on the action and wanted her picture taken "by myself!" Notice the pink hat just over MK's shoulder. Yeah, that's Evelyn.

Sunday evening, after a fun trip to the park with our neighbor Kristin and her daughter, J, we celebrated MK's "pretend birthday." At her request, we had barbeque'd shish kabobs with chicken, peppers, pineapple and mushrooms, "just like we had in Kauai." We also had birthday cake, chocolate with sprinkles. :)

And for the climax of the visit, Zhu Zhu pets!! Who knew battery-operated hamsters were such a big deal. Uncle Jeff later informed me that I'd secured my spot at the top of the list - I didn't know I'd ever fallen from that spot. :)

As if the previous night's antics weren't enough, after at least 2 pieces of cake, and probably 2 or 3 scoops of ice cream, MK dubbed herself "Captain Underpants!" (Note to self, DO NOT load your child up on cake and ice cream an hour before bedtime!)

MONDAY

Monday morning, MK and I had our special time together "just me and Auntie." We walked up the street and got everyone donuts for breakfast and Bama and Evelyn were NOT allowed! MK is convinced that all the robins in the world live in Iowa - here she points out another one, without losing a step.

While MK was playing next door with C & J in their pool, Evelyn enjoyed another dip in hers. She absolutely loves splashing around in the water and even enjoyed it when we would squirt her with her toys! Yes, for all of you doubters, she is wearing sunscreen - SPF 55!

We didn't make it to the zoo this time around, but as you can see, there was no shortage of fun at our house. Thank you very much Bama and MK for coming to visit!