Road Rash!

What could be better than sunshine and record-breaking temperatures in the middle of February? Perhaps a last-ditch effort by Daddy to wear out the little one before nap-time? Perhaps! Unless, of course, said little one is still figuring out how to walk, and Daddy's last-ditch effort takes place on the driveway! The result?

Road rash!

This Chick Was Made For Walkin'!

For months now, we've been telling ourselves "It's going to happen any day now." Seriously. Evelyn has been cruising around the furniture for months, so we were just sure she'd take off walking. Much to our suprise (and delight!), she took her first steps last night! She was SOOOOO proud of herself - maybe almost as proud as we are (I love the way she claps for herself.) :) I can't believe how big our little girl is getting. Way to go Evelyn!!

Water Baby!!

Last week, Evelyn and I started Water Babies - a class to get her comfortable in and around water - at the YMCA. She LOVED it! We practiced scooping with her arms and kicking with her legs. At one point, the kiddos sat on the edge of the pool to "jump" in to their mom or dad. Believe it or not, by the third or fourth attempt, Evelyn was leaning toward me and "jumping" in the water! Our class is once a week and I am already looking forward to the next one. Another bonus, Evelyn went to bed early and slept in!

Kick! Kick! Kick! Who's grabbing my legs?!?!

Look at me go!

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.