Halloween

This Halloween was especially fun as Evan was more excited than I have ever seen him get about anything. In the weeks leading up to 'the big day' he perused costume catalogs with Aaron and I and every costume he saw he wanted. Ultimately he waffled between a ghost and dark vader as he called him (he has no idea who he is!). He started waking up in the middle of the night for the last few weeks saying that he saw ghosts in his room so I decided that any scary costumes were out. He had just recently showed a lot of interest in super heroes so I went out on a limb and bought him a Superman costume. Boy, was it a hit! The best $17 I have ever spent. He wore it every single waking minute that I allowed him to. It entertained him for hours. It was so sweet seeing him flying around the house and jumping up and down in his little red cape. By the time Halloween rolled around the costume had numerous holes in it and several food stains. We could barely contain him before we headed out to begin trick-or-treating, he was bouncing off the walls. Finally my Dad (a.k.a. Papa), Evan, Ava and I met up with our neighbors and hit the pavement. After about six houses Evan was more interested in his friend's light saber than he was trick-or-treating, he kept asking me to hold his bag. Ava was a trouper (as she usually is when I drag her around doing activities for her big brother) for the 45 minutes we were out.

Today Was a Good Day

The last two months have been the most challenging I have experienced as a parent. Evan's behavior has been extremely difficult from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed. He is defiant, hyper, aggressive and the list goes on. My patience and ability to cope with his behavior has been pretty terrible due to the fact that Ava wakes up at least a half a dozen times each night. I will not be winning any mother of the year awards! At my wits end I visited his pediatrician a week ago and she made some suggestions that we have been implementing. Miraculously they have been working it seems because his behavior seems a little better every day. Then today I woke up to a completely different child. Aaron mentioned on his way to work that Evan was awake. I got up and went into his room to find him playing quietly waiting for me (this NEVER happens). All day long he was sweet and listened and used his manners every time he asked for something. It was amazing, I actually enjoyed his company again! We did not have one single time-out all day! He ate a great dinner with no fights, we played on the floor together and he hugged me repeatedly and told me how much he loved me. Then Aaron, Evan and I cuddled together on the couch and watched part of a movie. I was practically holding my breath, it was so great! We were actually having fun with our son again! He just went to bed and I am hopeful that tomorrow the same little boy that I saw a glimpse of again today will return. I've missed him!

Funny child quotes to make you laugh:

Overheard at a play date with his friend, Oliver (age 2 1/2): After a discussion of one of their favorite shows Evan tells Oliver "We don't have cable anymore". Oliver walks up to Evan, put his hands on him, looks him right in the eye and says "I'm sorry Evan".

I had just returned home after getting my eyebrows waxed in preparation for our family portraits. The first thing Evan said to me was "Mommy, why are your eyebrows so small?".

As we are walking through the grocery store Evan begins pointing out all of the things he recognizes. To my surprise he points out a display of instant coffee and says "Mom, that's coffee." I say "How did you know that?" Evan responds loudly and with great confidence "Because I am a genius!".

Beautiful Day at the Farm

We had a great day last Sunday at the Farm working on various projects. It rained on our drive up there and I was worried what I was going to do with Evan all day. It turned out to be an amazingly picture perfect fall day. Evan, Ava and I helped my aunts Nancy and Betsy remove tree protectors in the riparian area along Kristoferson Creek. Ava seemed to like the bouncing motions in the Bjorn and slept almost the whole day away.

The farm is such a great place to let a little boy with A LOT of energy run free. Evan had a great time playing in puddles, moving piles of cut hay, and of course riding in the Gator. He and Nancy also cut a flawless pumpkin out of the farm's garden that will make a fantastic jack-o-lantern. We are so fortunate to have a place like this to go to, both Evan and Ava are going to have such great memories growing up of going to the farm.

More Caspar Babypants Fun!

We attended our 6th Caspar Babypants concert last weekend with our friends the Devereuxs and the Fishers and we had a ball! He just rolled out his newest CD and as you can see Evan was very excited about getting it! It was held at a children's museum so the kids got to play during the concert which made it even more fun for them. It was a risky endeavor taking Ava out at that time of night because she melts down around 7 pm if she's not put down for bed. Fortunately she did amazingly well and seemed to enjoy all the stimulation of the music and all of the kids running around. Eventually she managed to fall asleep amidst the chaos.

Happy Kids!

4 Months Old

Ava turned 4 months old last week - hard to believe! She is now just under 12 pounds and is a very sweet, happy baby. She giggles and smiles all the time now, especially at Evan. She rolled over for the first time a few weeks ago and did it several times that day but has not done it since. She has started to play with toys which is fun to watch, she has a few favorites that really make her smile.

Last week Evan had his first preschool field trip! We went to a farm about 30 minutes east of Issaquah called Oxbow Farms. They had a pumpkin patch but the focus was more on teaching the kids about where the food they eat comes from. It was a great tour and the kids really seemed to enjoy it. They had a very cool area specially designed for kids which included a tunnel and tipi made out of vines and a corn maze.

Salmon Days

We had a great day last Sunday as a family spending the day at Issaquah's Salmon Days Festival. Evan got to hear his favorite band (Caspar Babypants) play, we saw salmon jumping up the fish ladder, we rode a train, ate a ton of fatty food, and Evan rode a pony. We were there for over 4 hours and we managed to get by without any meltdowns which these days is a rarity!