Ellie Turns 1!

Does parenting exist without guilt?

Every time I log onto the blog I feel guilt at the time that has passed since my last post and the reality that I have forgotten something about my kids' lives that would have been fun and interesting to share. It was brought home especially for Ellie's birthday when GG gave me a copy of the past year of the blog, for Ellie, and I realized how much smaller her book was than Nathan's.....poor Ellie! So here I am, trying to catch up again, even though I am sure I will miss something.

Another interesting fact is that this is the first blog posting I have done from the air as I am currently on a flight from DC to Dallas for a work meeting! Being on the internet while in the air just feels so wrong and yet is really cool at the same time. So sad that this moment when I am captured in a plane with no place else to go and nothing else to do is when I am able to catch up. Life is crazy but boy is it fun!

So, our dear "baby" Ellie is 1. I re-read the last post and have to say that she has become significantly more "independent" which is a polite way of putting it. She constantly cracks us up with her infectious, mischevious smile, and is a lover of music. She has her own unique moves, just as Nathan does, the most recent being waving her arms up and down while swaying side to side. The music just hits her whenever she hears it....we often keep the radio on in the kitchen and as she makes her rounds she will stop by the radio, do a little dance, and keep moving. It is a riot. She loves rock (her current favorite). OH - forgot to say that she started walking while we were on vacation in Maryland. One day before her 11 month birthday, she just got up and walked. A couple of days of being wobbly and she has been going strong ever since. She is very stable and has her own particular swagger, another thing that makes us laugh. For the moment she is in love with her brother's toys, but not her brother's interference in her doing her own thing which has resulted in a couple of pretty serious bites. We try to warn him.....

For her 1st birthday, we threw her a party in our backyard (seriously just wanted an excuse to have another moonbounce and some neighbors over - I recognize it is pretty extravagant to throw a 1 year old a birthday party). Ellie had no clue what was going on but seemed to have fun making the rounds. She is pretty social. Nathan of course loved the moonbounce and the fact that "friends" came over to play. On her birthday Ellie had her first taste of cake and icing and really loved it. She is still a picky eater and still initially refuses something new until she can be in control of putting it in her mouth and trying it. She is not a fan of baby food anymore as she prefers to feed herself. Still loves all fruit, chicken, green beans, gourmet cheeses, mac and cheese/pasta, yogurt, any kind of bread product (muffins, waffles, pancakes) and recently had a first sip of orange juice which she thought was GREAT.

We still have not taken her to her one year doctor appointment because she has been sick off and on for the past few months and was sick at the time of her appointment. I am not a shot fanatic but am definitely opposed to her getting shots when her immune system is already fighting something. She has had about 5 ear infections to date so seems to be following in her father's pattern of ear infections and also is quite prone to bad diaper rash which is just awful. All new experiences that we never had with Nathan so we are adjusting and have become a frequent visitor to the pediatrician. Ellie also shows some food sensitivities, most recently to milk, so my long awaited transition to whole milk and saving money on formula has been postponed until we can get to the pediatrician and figure out what our options are. She liked the taste of milk, but it resulted in screaming and diaper rash the 3 times I tried it so we are back to formula. Another transition that didn't go so well was my attempt to get her to use a cup for formula instead of a bottle. Again, Nate had no issue and easily took a cup, but Ellie threw the cup of formula in my face and walked away. Did that twice. Can we say stubborn and determined? We will try again on a day when I have nerves of steel and am up for the battle.....

Ellie's favorite toys these days are anything that is Nathan's and baby dolls. They say that gender is not in the genes, but seriously, I disagree. She has loved baby dolls since she first saw one and hugs and carries them around all the time. It is really cute. Kiss me? NO. Kiss the baby doll? OH YES. Also likes airplanes, which could also be in the genes. This past weekend she fussed and fussed while Grandpa Wilson was showing Nathan an airplane movie on YouTube but then got so excited when he showed the movie to Ellie and she sat there and put her hand up in the sky and made the airplane noise. Also makes "vrmm" noises when she is playing with cars. Amazing. Quite the mimic and I swear she can say a ton of words...just not distinctly enough for us to understand. "shoe" has come out a few times (uh oh). She is always chattering, with inflection, and seems to have an opinion about everything. She is quite a little character, our Ellie, happy birthday!

Nathan has had a milestone as well, starting preschool a few weeks ago. He is going 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon which initially bothered me but seeing as how we are not really morning people in terms of a "get up and go" type of attitude, I think it is working out great. He really likes it and I think is getting comfortable with the other kids. The pressure to have a show and tell object every day has me constantly stressed out but otherwise the transition has been smooth and i secretly think Ellie likes having a little time without her brother during the week.

Nathan also started gymnastics which he seems to have a knack for and also LOVES...it is everything he already loved to do - jumping, climbing, swinging...why didn't we think of this sooner?! Still keeping up with swimming. His third time in "pre-fin" and he is the most advanced in his class but since he still does not like to jump in which is kind of the final test for the beginnger class, we decided to enroll him a third time to get him really comfortable. He is forever going underwater while the teacher is trying to teach the class something (paying attention is not his strong suit) but really looks forward to the class and has shown great progress. I cannot believe he is swimming without floaties or anything and underwater at 3! BTW - another milestone I forgot to document...he learned to swim underwater thanks to GG and Pop Pop's patience at their house in July while I was in Orlando for a business trip....

Nathan still worships airplanes and anything to do with airplanes and can tell you more airplane maneuvers than some experienced pilots. It is really cute - quite the connection with his grandpa Wilson. He has made friends in our neighborhood and loves getting out to ride his bike or play with them. We are still enjoying the neighborhood, more and more each day, and are particularly excited about Halloween. Nathan is going to be a pirate! Our first Halloween in a real neighborhood with tons of kids. Scott and I are fighting over who gets to go trick or treating!

In other news, we have been going regularly to church, which was another one of my hopes once we found a community we liked. We found a relatively small Methodist church locally which is so far a great fit - really like the people, the minister, and the sense of community and support and structure that it provides. It is pretty small so each person makes a difference, but I like that is is not as political as some of the big churches can be and we won't get lost in the shuffle. Still undecided on membership but look forward to going each Sunday, as does Nathan.

So all is well on the home front. I will end this post now even though I still feel guilty that I haven't "caught up" on all the activities since June. Many visits from GG, a trip to Orlando, vacation week in a rental house in Cambridge, MD with Virginia, Patrick, Evelyn, and Olivia (and Gabriela and Isabella and Alex), many visits from friends, our first Nationals game as a family, Navy-Air Force, football...the list goes on and on. It has been a fun summer and now we are into fall where the days are cooler and shorter and we are preparing for what to do with the kids when it is too cold to go outside. Yikes. Also looking forward to our first Thanksgiving and Christmas at home with the kids so we can start to establish our own traditions and not have to lug everybody all over the place. Really looking forward to that actually.

Road Trip to Atlanta

Whew. Remind me why I thought driving 12 hours with two kids in the car was a good idea?!

We made it! Drove to Atlanta for my cousin Catherine's wedding and back (not in one day...we stayed a week). It was truly a vacation which is awesome to say....very relaxing as I didn't have the constant "to do" list hanging over my head that exists at home. God bless Grandma Wilson because we certainly added to her to do list, but I got a break to swim and play with the kids. We had a great time. Nathan improved his swimming abilities exponentially after getting in the pool every day. He started out nervous and apprehensive with his life vest and noodle and by the end of it was jumping off the 4 foot wall of the pool without a life vest! Still can't swim without a vest, but he puts his head in the water, blows bubbles, and generally has a blast in the water. It was so fun to witness.

Ellie has become a little mover which definitely spells trouble. She is figuring out how to get up on her knees to get places and boy is she into everything! She is a little nosy noserston, always grabbing or pulling at something. One of the fun things we did while in Atlanta was feed the neighbors' fish (koi) every day and Ellie grabbed a food pellet out of the cup before I even knew what was happening. I guess it wasn't poisonous because she is still here but she is definitely one to watch, just like her brother. Between the two of them, we are in trouble....As Grandpa Wilson said "two smart kids...boy are you guys in for it." I agree. We're too tired to stay one step ahead of them too!!!
My cousin Catherine's wedding was beautiful and Nate and Ellie did well with two new and different babysitters so Scott and I could enjoy our evenings together. It was really nice. The only incident on the vacation was a busted lip on Nathan....yes, his nonathletic mother should know better than to try to play basketball with a three year old! We played "keep away" and I kept him away pretty well....enough that he fell and bit his lip. Poor guy. Thank goodness we got his 3 year old picture done the day before that incident...

Also of note is Nathan's newfound tennis ability. It has gotten better and better and wow can he whack the ball. Great follow-through also! Puts me to shame. He seriously could come to my beginner tennis class and show me up. And he loves it! We just throw the ball to him in the backyard and he hits the ball, with a full sized adult tennis racket, back to us. I will say it again...he is so naturally athletic it is crazy.

Ellie on the other hand is an athletic eater and has her own floor moves. Rug burns don't seem to bother her nor does hardwood or tile floor. Also a good sleeper from the standpoint of going down easy. At 8:00. She cannot make it past 8:00. VERY different than Nathan. She has an incredibly infectious smile and a sense of pride in her accomplishments that is very cute to watch. Still works hard to figure things out and can play by herself with a toy for a while....Grandma Wilson bought Nate a toy - construction something with plastic hammer and screwdriver and a "chain saw" and other buttons that made noise and Ellie figured it out in no time. She had zero interest in the baby toy keys that Grandma bought her. I felt bad. We are trying to dumb her down when she is ready for 3 year old toys!

Overall a great trip...lots of fun with family and friends and even the drive wasn't horrible. The cool thing was on the way back we got to meet one day old Eaden Wright (Joel and Becca's baby boy) in Chapel Hill, NC. Of course since we were supposed to hang out with them for the night, the baby came early! Very cool to witness our friends as they embark on new parenthood. It is such an amazing journey.
Zonked out Nathan napping after a morning of swimming. I could not wake him up!

David, Virginia, Catherine, me, and Lauren

Nathan jumping to daddy. What trust.

Flying the airplane (remote control airplane) with Grandpa, Uncle David, and Aunt Lauren

Grandma and Grandpa Wilson with their grandkids

Gardening with Grandpa, Activities Galore

Farmer Nathan

Farmer Scott and Farmer Grandpa

Mommy shows Nathan her favorite caterpillar. He is a little hesitant. City boy! We'll knock that out of him....

The ladies....

Nathan after a round with my lipstick. He was supposed to be napping. Why did it have to be the expensive lipstick? And he did a pretty good job of actually covering his lips....hmm...

Yay! We are officially "those parents" that shuttle their children around everywhere....and it is AWESOME! Nathan is enrolled in soccer, swimming, music, and lacrosse and is really enjoying them all. After an unsuccessful t-ball experience, we switched to lacrosse which he loves. And of course Scott loves too since it is a sport near and dear to his heart. We are also proud to say that our son has skills at tennis. Too bad you have to wait until 4 to start that! haha. He actually is really good at hitting a tennis ball, inspired, I guess, by mommy now resuming tennis lessons. I am loving those as well.

Our other great passion is GARDENING! So much fun to dig in the dirt and plant things and be outside. This past weekend Grandma and Grandpa Wilson came to visit and boy did they get busy. Their work ethic could potentially rival GG's which is amazing. Grandpa got inspired by our pretty yard and planted our first vegetable garden. Green beans, okra, tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, and every herb you could possibly ever want to cook with...too bad I have never actually cooked with fresh herbs. Guess I should get on that. However, I just got a slow cooker cookbook for my birthday so I guess I have to start small and think big. Anyway, while Grandpa was planting the vegetable garden, Scott started our "till the entire yard and plant grass seed" project while I mulched and weeded. I still do not like weeding. It is a never ending, back breaking chore.

Nathan really enjoyed being with Grandma and Grandpa. Ellie unfortunately got an ear infection and was sick at first so Grandma and Grandpa took Nate to music class.....Grandpa said "you didn't tell me I had to participate..." but I think he secretly enjoyed it. They also flew airplanes together, played lacrosse, and read Breakfast with the Blue Angels (Grandpa's favorite book). Grandpa also got to take care of Ellie while I went shopping with my mom. He got a kick out of being with her and she was all smiles. This of course after a very tough initial greeting where Ellie refused to smile and looked at Grandpa like he was some stranger she had never seen before. She warmed up after Grandpa promised her a BMW convertible. Did I say she takes after me or what? Smart girl.

This past week Ellie has really started scooting and can move across the floor pretty quickly. I was thinking she was never going to move and I was pretty okay with that, recognizing how much harder things are going to get from now on. She is happy as can be, still loves to eat, still bosses everyone around, and her thick blond hair is growing every day. If I can just keep her well for a few days. ...the germs are circulating everywhere. It rained last week every day and that, in conjunction with the nationwide "Swine Flu" scare kept everyone indoors.

Nathan is beginning to say some really cute things. I cannot decide which phase of our kids lives I like best...I love the cuddly squishy smily baby phase that Ellie is in but I also love the little person that Nathan has become. He spontaneously spouts his love for us all the time which is so adorable and heartwarming and is also making observations on the world around him which only a 3 year old could make. The other day he said "the big bad wolf no blow down my house mommy. My house made of brick." Smart kid. Also told me (after I said he could pee in the yard) "I no pee in the yard. Dogs pee in the yard." Yep.

So things are continuing to go well. We had such a great time with Grandma and Grandpa and can't wait for all of our vegetables to start growing. We are becoming Farm Evans. : )

Thomas and Spring cont'd

Happy girl

Ducks in the backyard...first fox, racoon, mouse, ducks....are we in the country?

Nate at the train museum

Front yard. The marigolds I planted. The rest is au natural

Happy Ellie in the backyard

A true Evans moment....can't get all three to cooperate

Thomas the Train!

Spring, Activities, Thomas the Train

At the train museum

Ellie "watching" nate at T-ball

Up at bat

Ellile exploring grass. She is not a fan.

Nathan off to soccer!

Well, spring is finally here. Hahaha. Try 90 degrees.

The good news about it being spring and Nathan being 3 is that he can finally do activities!! I think I am more excited than he is....BUT when you are 3 you can do t-ball, soccer, swimming, lacrosse, gymnastics,...there are almost too many to choose from. So we signed Nathan up for t-ball, soccer, swimming, and music class which started last week. Soccer was awesome. The kids are constantly in motion which is perfect for Nathan. Swimming was cancelled due to weather (it is an indoor pool but apparently that doesn't matter when it is raining. They cancelled class because of thunderstorms. We had to console Nathan with sushi he was so upset). Music class is Music Together, like we did in Jersey City, and something Nathan and Ellie and I can do so it was great.

T-ball, not so good. We apparently were not prepared and were supposed to have a glove for our kid which we didn't so that set Nathan up for a fit because most of the other kids had gloves and he didn't. Actually Nathan had a glove but it belonged to another kid so the kid's dad came and yanked it off his hand which was what set him off. The other bad news is that all the rest of his class is 5 years old so he is a little young for this class. The coach is great but is gearing his instruction toward 5 year olds, not a just turned 3 year old. Plus Nathan has no concept of why he has to stand around to get ready to "field" a ball and would rather hit the ball. So we (me) are contemplating cancelling out of that class and waiting until next session....

This past weekend we went to Baltimore B&O museum to see Thomas the Train! It was really fun. Actually the museum would be fun even without Thomas the Train. So cool to see all the trains. Also cool to think that my grandpa actually used to drive one for a living. They are so big close up! We took a VERY S L O W train ride with Thomas pulling, jumped in a moonbounce (did I say we? I meant Nathan), had lunch, and toured the trains. Fun fun. Then a "quick" trip to Ikea on the way home. NOT. Who can resist the hour of free childcare for Nathan at Ikea? I mean, I would drive out there just for an ice cream cone. Just kidding. Nathan loves playing in the playroom and scott and I always find things there that we "need." It is becoming like Target for me. Very addictive. But fun.

Then more yard work wrapped up the weekend. We planted tomatoes which I can't wait for, flowers, and Scott did more transplanting. If it weren't for a dreadful attack of allergies I would be out more right now but I just can't breathe. Hopefully it will pass soon as the yard is getting more gorgeous by the day and we really like enjoying it. Grilling, sitting outside, and listening to our stream rush by with our two kids is one of the most beautiful experiences. Last night we had our first power outage which apparently happens often but it was fun to just hang out with Nathan and not have tv or computers or dishes or other distractions. Makes you think that we have gotten too far away from the simple things in life.

YAY. So all caught up now and feeling good. Off to do more housework and hope that I can keep up the blog!

Easter

After a great birthday weekend, we had GG and Pop Pop come to visit (the Tuesday before Easter). They drove all the way from Orlando to bring Scott some of his childhood stuff. I will pause as some of you can anticipate my panic at having more "stuff." This house is almost full of stuff already (how did we ever live in an 1100 square foot apartment?) so I have heart palpitations at the idea of any more. The good news is that most of it was trains passed down in the Evans family and set up as a Christmas tradition so I am super excited for that, since this will be our first Christmas in our own home.

GG and Pop Pop (especially tireless GG) helped a lot in the yard and around the house again. My husband is obsessed with yardwork and is out there daily with new projects and ideas and plans. It is funny and neat at the same time. He is really turning our yard into a work of art. I know that the owner of our house really appreciates it. Bad news is he'll probably get burnt out by the time we buy our own house and have no desire to do any more yard work. Oh well. We really do have the most amazing backyard and the house is our home however long we stay here so we are going to make it beautiful and special for us and the kids to enjoy. Scott put his mom to work pulling weeds, mulching, and transplanting lilies, while Lee dredged the stream. While they were here we had beautiful, chilly weather and the flowers were just starting to bloom. Since it was cherry blossom time, they went and saw the blossoms (there's always next year), took Nathan to an easter egg hunt, and then we all celebrated Easter Sunday with brunch at Scott's club in DC. It was great, especially because both the kids were very well behaved. Another fun time with GG and Pop Pop.

The rest of April has been filled with illness as we are becoming frequent visitors at the doctor's office here. Ellie has had thrush and a couple of colds and Nathan has had an ear infection and colds too. Can't seem to get everyone well as they just seem to pass it back and forth to each other. That's where their sibling love has gone bad...

Hopefully now that warmer weather is here, kids will get well. Today was 90 degrees which is amazing considering it was in the 50's last week. Craziness.

Other than the colds, Ellie is doing well. She has been sitting up for the past couple of weeks all by herself, rode in a shopping cart for the first time sitting up which she loved, and we have been gradually introducing new finger foods (tofu and avocado today) for her to try. She has an amazing pincer grasp and as I said before an insatiable appetite. Unlike Nathan she does not have an inner sensor that says when to stop eating which could mean trouble in the future. She seems to always have an eye on what anyone around her is eating and on her next meal. Hmm actually that sounds familiar. Maybe she is adopting her mommy's "food mood" quirk. She is not moving much otherwise though I think she can do it. She does an army crawl when she really wants something but otherwise prefers to sit up or stand (when we hold her). As with Nathan, her favorite activity is the jumpy which hangs in the kitchen doorway. She is WAY too big for it now but we just can't stop putting her in it because she loves it so much. Also like Nathan she loves being outside. The similarities and differences between the two kids is just so amazing to watch. Between the gender and birth order differences, combined with natural genetic differences, it is fascinating.

Nathan's 3rd Birthday

Nathan with the babies

The ladies - me, Ellie, Virginia, Olivia

Nate and Evelyn

The moonbounce

Nathan jumping in the moonbounce

Ok, so here we are in April...it's not over yet so I still have time to post about Nathan's birthday without feeling dreadfully behind.

Nathan's actual birthday was on a Wednesday so we spent a little family time going to sushi (his favorite) for lunch and giving him a new bicycle to ride in the afternoon. Then we had cake and presents (throughout the day actually). Balloons too. Nathan loved opening presents and kept saying "more presents" even after we were done. He got some good ones...we had asked for outdoor items so that we could enjoy our new yard and we got some great garden tools, picnic table, Big Wheel, wheelbarrow, etc. Very exciting.

For Nate's birthday weekend, Virginia, Patrick, Evelyn, and Olivia drove down for a visit which was just awesome. Nate and Evelyn resumed their friendship just where they left off and were so excited to see each other. They also played nicely (almost) all weekend which was really great for the adults. On Saturday we had a party for Nathan in our backyard, renting a "moonbounce" with a slide for entertainment and having hot dogs, hamburgers, cake, and beer for refreshments. Beer was for the adults. Scott and Nathan had made the rounds of the neighborhood inviting anyone they met so I struggled to follow their verbal invitation up with a written one (boys just don't know how it works in the world of etiquette and that no mommy is going to allow her kid to just go over to someone's house on a verbal invite...). So I had absolutely no idea how many people were going to show up, especially because Scott didn't remember where some of the people he invited even lived so I couldn't give them an invitation. It culminated in a panic around 11:35 when no one was at our house for the party! Nathan could have cared less at that point, as his moonbounce arrived early and Evelyn was there so he was happy as a clam. He had been running around with Evelyn all morning and didn't eat..so I should have seen the recipe for disaster coming. The day was gorgeous and sunny though a little windy and we ended up with probably 15 kids and 20 or so adults. It was really a great time. Nathan came out of the moonbounce only to blow out the candles on his cake and then went right back in....Around 1:00 he told me he went poo poo in the potty and I discovered he was having diarrea. In my head I thought "uh oh. there goes potty training." BUT diarrea really put him to the test and Nathan responded. He went to the potty every time. ALL DAY LONG while his stomach was upset and then kept going outside to run and jump. I finally had to kidnap him and take him to his room to force him to lie down and drink some water. At this point he had a fever too so he was a mess. I think the combination of no food except cake and juice, crazy activity and excitement, and no nap really made him a mess. He had a great time though and the next day recovered just fine. My favorite part was having our friends in town. We miss them.

OH I would be remiss if I didn't mention the drama at the party which was the moonbounce blowing over!! How could I forget? Thank goodness most of the kids were out but it scared Evelyn a bit. The other kids thought it was a fun ride, Nathan included. A gust of wind just got right under the moonbounce and blew it over. Crazy.

Here are some photos from Nathan's birthday weekend.