The Next Picasso

Last Friday, Ian and I decided we needed a night out. So, we headed out to Macaroni Grill for some yummy pasta. One of the best things we discovered about Macaroni Grill is that they have paper tablecloths and crayons. We set Evan on my lap, put a crayon in his hands, and watched what happened.

He didn't really know what to do with the crayons, but we showed him how to draw on the paper, and he gave it a shot. Needless to say, he's very talented and created a beautiful work of art. Well, he was creating a beautiful work of art until he started sticking the crayons in his mouth. That was the end of that.

It was a nice dinner out! Evan was able to sit in a high chair and eat Cheerios like a big boy while we ate. We ended up taking Evan's work of art home for the baby book. Hey, it will probably be worth millions someday!

Walks and Socks

Here's the moment everyone's been waiting for...the results from the most recent quiz. As I was dressing Evan before his walk on a cold morning this week, I realized I had just layered three socks on each foot. Since Evan's been developing a taste for socks and feet, and since I've been finding his socks everywhere, I didn't have much hope that the socks would stay on his feet. So, I thought of the quiz before we went on the walk. I have to say, I would not have predicted the results.

Evan must have been comfy and cozy on the walk because when we got home he was sound asleep in his stroller with all six socks still firmly in place!! So, I'm afraid no one guessed the right answer. Even though I got luck that day, I don't think I will have that same kind of luck with Evan's footwear in the future!

(Pre-walk...who would have thought those socks would stay on there?)

(Post-walk...snugly sleeping all socks still firmly in place.)

Museum of Glass

On Sunday Ian and I decided we needed an adventure, so we packed Evan in the car and headed down to Tacoma. We hadn't really heard anything about Tacoma, but there was a museum there which sounded interesting, The Museum of Glass. Since Ian does stained glass and attempted blowing glass we thought it would be especially interesting.

(Ian and Evan in front of the museum)

So, we headed down south as the snow speckled our windshield and arrived in Tacoma for Evan's first museum experience. When we first arrived we headed into their "hot shop" to watch some artists making a piece of art. They were creating a blown glass monster based on a child's sketch. It was really neat to watch this collaborative effort on such a large scale especially after watching Ian during his glass blowing class. Unfortunately, after watching the head of the monster being made and almost finished, we heard a crash and the head fell to the floor. Quite a few hours of work was gone, but it makes you realize how difficult it is.

(people watching and working in the hot shop)

(the ceiling of the hot shop)

(Ian and Evan watching the work)

We also took a gallery tour of the exhibits in the museum. Evan stayed quiet through the whole thing staring at all of the glass sculptures wide-eyed. Our favorite was a huge Chihuly chandelier that filled a whole room. Wow!

After we had taken in the whole museum we headed up to the room to see the Bridge of Glass. The Bridge of Glass was created by Chihuly and was absolutely amazing. There were probably close to a hundred vases placed in the walls of the bridge, some huge blue glass sculptures that looked like rock candy, and part of the bridge whose ceiling was filled with beautiful stained glass flowers. We would have stayed up there longer and taken in the beautiful glass, however, the wind was howling and it was a bit too cold up there for a little Evan.

(the bridge of glass)

(Evan and his mommy in front of the bridge of glass)

(looking back on the bridge)

We had a lot of fun, and it was great to get out and have an adventure with our little family!

Go Duke!

After Duke's total thumping of Maryland today (85-44), Evan thought that he needed to show some support for his beloved Blue Devils. He looks forward to their new number one ranking!


He's hoping to be the next Duke basketball star...Let's hope he doesn't get his height from either his mom or dad!

Finger Foods

When we were in Texas for Christmas, my parents wanted to give Evan some Cheerios. I hesitated, I didn't know if he was old enough for finger foods, and I didn't want him to choke. But, in the end, we decided to put a couple of them on his high chair tray and see how he did. At first, he tried to grab them in his fist. When he was successful, he would bring his fist up to his mouth and be stuck because the Cheerios couldn't make it from the fist into the mouth. Every once and a while, he would accidentally rub one into his mouth, and he would be so surprised. He would spit it out after a few seconds.

However, he was so interested in the Cheerios that we kept it up. It turned out to be a great way to keep him occupied and happy during our meals. Over the next couple of weeks he got better and better at the pincher grip. Now, he can happily down as many Cheerios as we are willing to put on his tray.

(Cheerios)

It's probably about time to move on from Cheerios to other finger foods. So, we've been trying to introduce other foods he can pick up and eat himself. We've tried bananas. He enjoys them, but they become even more of a gooey mess than the Cheerios. Most recently, we've tried toast sticks. (Just make a piece of toast and cut it into strips.) He has been very generous with his toast sticks. On Wednesday, he was trying to put them in Ian's mouth in an attempt to share, and last night he felt it would be nice to offer them to the dog by dropping almost all of them on the floor. (Thank goodness for the "mess mat".)

(toast sticks)

We've been having so much fun introducing him to new foods. We'll not sure what we'll let him try next, but you can guarantee it will be messy and probably pretty entertaining!

Inauguration Day

This week we were all fortunate enough to witness history when Barack Obama was sworn in as president. I don't need to fill anyone in on the details of that occasion because I'm sure you've seen or heard just a little bit about it by now. It's pretty exciting, and I'm anxious and optimistic about what the future will bring.

To celebrate the big day, Evan and I headed up to our friends, Meredith and Jason's house to watch the inauguration with some other mom's and babies. It was pretty early in the morning out here on the west coast, so we had a bit of trouble mobilizing ourselves on time. While true, I don't think that excuse would have worked on the Snohomish County sheriff that decided I was going a little too fast on the way to Meredith's.

After I slowed down a little, we arrived safely and set about watching the festivities. The babies all enjoyed playing on their mat while the mommies enjoyed watching the celebrations and enjoying tasty muffins and mimosas. Evan was even allowed to watch television during the actual swearing in and inaugural address. He can say he watched it on TV even though he probably won't remember it.

Obama will probably be the first president that Evan remembers. I wonder what the future will bring for both of them.

(Evan is ready to watch the festivities in his red, white, and blue)

(Mom actually let him watch TV for this one.)

(Evan is entranced by the new president.)

(Evan and his dad celebrate--no they didn't plan the matching outfits!)

7 Months Old

Today is Evan's 7 month birthday! I can't believe he's over the six-month hurdle and on the way to being a year old. I remember when Evan was born and everyone was telling me the things that he had to wait until he was six months old to do--like sit in the jogging stroller, sit in the hiking backpack, go swimming, eat solid foods, etc. Well, here he is at a ripe old seven months and he's doing all of those things! Time certainly has flown by.

This month has been a big month in the movement department. He's not quite crawling yet, but he certainly is trying. He gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. He's even gotten to where he'll move the tentative arm or leg out, but he just can't quite get the hang of it just yet. This has gotten him completely frustrated, and I'm expecting to see him crawling across our floors any day now. He also is starting to show more interest in standing up leaning against things and walking with mommy and daddy. Evan loves to make laps around the house holding on to my hands. He just wobbles along, one foot in front of the other, and talks up a storm as he goes.

He's also been trying lots of new foods, and he hasn't found any that he really, truly can't stand. Broccoli took him a while, but he eventually came around. This month he's tried green beans, broccoli with potatoes, avocados, Cheerios, and bananas. His new favorite is definitely the Cheerios. We'll put a handful on his highchair when we're eating dinner ourselves, and he's gotten to the point now where most of them end up in his mouth. It's definitely not an exact science however, his bib is still always covered with a gooey mess of soggy Cheerios. Ripple waits in anticipation under the high chair for each escaping piece of cereal.

Here's our most recent car seat shot, plus a few for comparison. Happy January!

(One month old)

(3 months old)

(5 months old)

(7 months old!)