First Food

Ian and I have been looking forward to giving Evan food for a while. When we went to the doctor for his four month check up he said that we should wait until six months for purees and other foods, but we could start rice cereal as soon as he showed an interest in what we were eating.

So, last week, Ian was sitting with Evan and eating a bowl of oatmeal. Evan grabbed his spoon and put it in his mouth just like Ian had done. So, we put him in his high chair for the first time so he could watch us as we were eating. He was definitely showing more interest. So, we brought out the rice cereal.

The rice cereal definitely wasn't what I was picturing when people were talking about rice cereal. I was picturing Rice Krispies, and it really is more like instant mashed potato flakes. You mix it with milk and babies eat it that way.

So, on Wednesday night, when Evan's gram arrived in town, we decided to give it a try. The first two days we tried the cereal, he didn't want anything to do with it. But we kept persevering, and on the third night he started to like it. Whenever we put the spoon up to his mouth, he would open wide. Now, he's definitely figured out the spoon thing and can polish off a whole bowl full.

We can't wait until January so we can start on other kinds of food! I've already brought out the food processor and am making all kinds of purees. Should be an adventure all for us and for the carpet. (I've already christened the carpet with a bowl of rice cereal, ughhh!)

(The first night he wasn't so sure about this cereal thing.)


(But now he opens up his mouth wide!)



(A happy baby, full of food)

Bedtime with Gram

This week, Evan's Gram has been out to visit from North Carolina. We have all been having a great time, and Evan and Gram have loved spending the time together. For the most part we have just all been hanging out at home and enjoying some baby bonding time, but we have also gotten out for some good walks and baby shopping time. Tonight, we're all headed downtown for a night out at Etta's seafood restaurant which we're really looking forward to.

Last night, Gram decided she wanted to put Evan to bed. So, she started with bath time, one of Evan's favorite times of the day. Then she progressed to story time where she read him one of the Christmas books that she had brought him.

When Gram first arrived, Evan was not sure what he thought of her, but as you can see, he thinks she's pretty special now. He's so glad he gets to see all of his grandparents again in just about a month!

Evan just loves bath time...

Evan and Gram had fun drying off after the bath...

Evan in a thoughtful moment...

Gram and Evan share storytime together before bed.

Hook 'Em Horns

On Monday, Evan decided that he wanted to support his Aunt Audra and Uncle Tommy's favorite team and wear his Longhorn shirt they bought for him. As you can tell he thought he looked very handsome.

That night, our friends Jason and his mommy Meredith came over for dinner. Evan and Jason had a great time playing on the floor together.

Here are some pictures of the big day!

(Evan and Jason sharing secrets)

(He's trying to make the "Hook 'Em Horns" sign, but is not quite there.)

(Some handsome smiles for the camera)

Baby Exercise

Evan is really starting to move! Over the course of the day, he is busily figuring out the world. This involves lots of hard work...

Not only does he practice jumping in the jumper...

He stretches on his back while lifting the teething toy into his mouth at the same time...


He practices rolling over from his back to his stomach, but really only makes it halfway most of the time...


He does baby push ups while on his tummy. Hey, it's hard holding up that big head...


And he practices sitting by himself. He can make it about 10 seconds on his own!! (The Boppy pillow is providing a little extra support and cushion in case of tipping over.)


What a tiring day for a baby!

The Davis Family Businesses

Wow! I married into an entrepreneurial family! There are businesses starting left and right around here. I've never been one to stick myself out there and try anything like that. But the Davises certainly are willing to take the risk and give it a try.

So, first was Ian's grandfather starting a portrait company. Then, about the time we got married, Ian's dad decided to follow in his dad's footsteps and start another portrait company, Portrait Innovations, which I'm sure everyone has heard about in the blog so far. (If not, visit the website located in the blog side bar.)

Next, Ian decided he needed a business, too. So, Ian and two of his friends from grad school started Phd Posters to print scientific research posters to grad students at prices that were significantly lower than their competitors. I was a little nervous about putting out all of that money to buy the printer, but it has worked out. We now have three franchises that are doing well and are ready to start more.

The most recent Davis family members to get in on the action are Ian's newly married brother and sister-in-law and Ian's mom. Reid and Candice have always taken beautiful photographs, so now they've decided to sell them through their business Davis Photo{graphy}. They have a great website where you can buy the photographs.

They've also convinced Ian's mom to start selling the dog collars and leashes that she's been making for a while. Up until now, Rip and the other Davis family dogs have been the only ones to benefit from her leash making. (Rip always has the most fashionable leashes and collars for every season! HA!) Now, anyone can go to the Dabby and Doodle Designs website and buy her wonderful creations.

I have links to all of the websites on the sidebar of the blog, so everyone should go check them out and support the Davis family businesses! :) I guess I should come up with one of my own now!

PEPS

Every Tuesday evening our little family goes on a field trip to our PEPS group. PEPS is an organization in Seattle that helps to support new parents. As soon as I got pregnant everyone was telling me that I had to join PEPS. So, we did. As soon as enough people had joined in our part of town, a new group was formed. So, our group meets once a week and has about eight couples with babies that are within a month or two of Evan's age. We also have a facilitator that was a PEPS member last year. They give us a topic, and we discuss it for a little while. But mostly, it's just an opportunity to share our experiences with parents who are going through the exact same thing.

Last week, when all of the grown ups were chatting, Evan decided that he needed to meet some of the other babies. He was watching Jonah who is about a month older than him, and was very envious of his sitting up ability. So, he got together with Jonah and had a great time socializing. Although, I'm still not quite sure if they knew whether they were looking at other babies or a mirror. Here's a picture of Evan and Jonah in the midst of an intense conversation.

Parties and Playdates

Evan and I have had such a busy social calendar lately we thought we'd update you on all of the fun! Last week was full of playdates and opportunities for Evan to interact with other babies.

On Wednesday, we went to a baby play date at our friends Meredith and Jason's house. It was nice because all of the babies there were under a year so is was nice and calm for the little ones. It was a great outing except for the trip there. I don't know what has happened to my sense of direction since I had Evan, but I have spent more time lost since June! I printed out directions from google to get to Meredith's house, but I didn't realize until I got in the car, I didn't bring my cell phone with her phone number. So, I got to the street that her house was supposed to be on, and they had every house number but hers! What did people do before cell phones?! I had no way to call her and find out how to get to her house. Finally, after circling streets aimlessly for a while, I happened upon a builder's office that let me use their phone and figure out how to get there. (two streets with the exact same name, who knew?) Back to the play date, there were about 5 moms with their babies there and we all had a great time talking and letting the babies hang around.

On Thursday, we went to a place called the Tot Spot Cafe. This place was great! It had places for the older kids to play and a smaller section for the little ones. The best part was that they had coffee and treats for the mommies too! Evan and Jason had a great time on their tummies watching each other. They couldn't decide whether they were looking in a mirror or not! This was also the first play date that we had been to where Evan was not the youngest. He felt so grown up.

Friday was Halloween, of course. So, we had our Halloween party. This party was full of babies and toddlers in their Halloween finery. There were pumpkins, poodles, elephants, ladybugs, bunnies, and many more. Moms had to dress up too, so I had to get creative. Since Evan was a pumpkin, I thought I would be clever and go as a farmer. So, I pulled out my old boots that were up in the closet, my jeans, an old flannel shirt, and put my hair in pig tails. I might have looked a little like a farmer, but once I had the outfit on, I realized that I looked more like I dressed in high school than a farmer! Oh well, I tried. The Halloween party was great fun! Mom ate far too many snacks, and Evan had a grand time. He held hands with a girl for the first time! (She was the three month old bunny.) He also fell asleep during story time. All in all, a great day!

(the happy couple, Evan and Abby)

(what a flirt!)

We are looking forward to a little more peaceful week this week. A few less play dates and a little more rain. Evan's looking forward to a few days where he doesn't have to be at his social best, but mom is glad that he's starting to interact more with some other babies. He's not quite to the point where he plays with anyone yet, but he will be before we know it!

the party begins...

the party continues...

Is Evan ready for all this partying?