Christmas 2009

We were lucky to have the extended Nelson family together for the first time in years. Little boys even sat still for pictures.

Evan had so much fun with his cousins like he does everytime he sees them, they have so many cool toys. He especially liked the chalkboard, the fishing game, and all the cars and trucks.

Evan was such a good helper on Christmas Eve, passing out gifts. He was so enthusiastic that he started moving gifts from one person to another. Then the opening of gifts commenced and he was very curious to see what everyone had.

On Christmas morning there was more in the stocking, it was like a bottomless stocking with so many cool trucks.

The video shows why Evan slept in the morning after Christmas, his cousins wore him out.

The official Santa portrait

This picture was taken about 5 minutes after a bout of crying. We think Evan thought we were leaving him with this man dressed in red. Santa's elves entertained Evan enough to stop the tears but not quite enough to get a smile. Merry Christmas!

A night with the Kases

Evan is gettin' down the the beat of Erik's drums. His attention span is fairly short but he sure liked it.

Uncle Warren is helping Evan with his first slam dunk, not bad for a one year old.

Christmastime is here

Last weekend we went to a local park for the tree lighting festival. We got bundled up from head to toe and saw all the pretty lights. We even had a little hot chocolate. Thankfully we've already talked to Santa so we didn't have to wait in line to see him.

These are more examples of how Evan is just too busy to pose for pictures but he is getting into the spirit of the season. Santa may have come a little early to our house and brought a play table. It's already been put to good use, especially with Evan's new favorite toys: matchbox cars (see below). He likes to line them up and park them in the garage. Then he'll go and run his walker or fire truck back and forth 20 times (see above). We're glad when he blows off some energy but it's hard on mommy and daddy's backs when we're instructed to join in.

I'm a good helper

The vacuum was at first a little scary, Evan stared at it and watched it very closely. Then he was brave enough to touch the hose. When he got his own toy vacuum he could help in his own way. Now that he's a big boy he can really help. Too bad it would take him all day at this rate. Do you think he'll want to do this in 10 or 12 years from now?

Skol Vikings

This was taken a whole year ago, at a time when Evan would actually sit still for pictures. The jersey was given to Gary by a former co-worker. He looked so different then. The current pic show his evolving style. It also shows Evan's new habit of taking mommy or daddy with him at his command. He can also pull down on our fingers to get us to sit down. I guess we know who's boss around here.

Cool...big machines!

We recently had a large tree taken out and luckily, they came on a day that we were all home. The second floor bedroom window was the perfect viewing spot. We also saw them the next day when they came to remove the stump. There were a lot of loud machines to watch.

Halloween 09

Evan started his day with a little piano playing. That was followed by standing on the bench, followed by falling off the bench.

Mommy and Daddy couldn't get their little bumble bee to sit still for pictures. We had to entice him with Daddy's phone just to get this one. We did very limited trick or treating, Evan's favorite treats were goldfish crackers and mini Oreos. Mommy and Daddy will have to take care of the candy bars.

Free fun

Notice the state of Evan's books behind him, we love that he likes reading time but half the fun seems to be pulling books down.

Hardwood floors plus a large cardboard box equals hours of fun. At this point in the ride, Evan waves at Daddy and yells at full volume "Dad-deeeee" repeatedly. Sometimes Mommy wonders why she started this game, we were having lots of fun using the box for peekaboo.

This is a daddy only activity, one of many that Evan enjoys that involves swinging, hanging upside down, jumping into his stuffed animals or piles of laundry. He's even started doing somersaults (with a little help).

Fall festival times two

This fall festival was put on by the city and included trick or treating to local businesses which we skipped but Evan played Batman to get into the spirit. The other fall festival was sponsored by the park district. Here, Evan is doing the candy hunt but he liked the hay more than the goodies. The whole thing confused him more than anything.

There was a hayride at this festival as well but the new experience was the pony ride. We couldn't really tell if he liked it or not, confusion again seemed to be the expression on his face.

Pumpkin patch, here we come!

We made our 2nd annual visit to the pumpkin farm, the calendar says fall but it felt like winter. We could have probably skipped the hayride and just watched the tractor go by, that seemed to be Evan's area of interest.

It might be a little too big and heavy, little guy. That doesn't stop him from trying.

Chillin' at the pumpkin farm.

18 month check up

We love that Evan likes his books. His style is to "read" them very quickly and then start over several times. He knows what we mean when we ask if he wants to read books. He'll even take our fingers to do the touch and feel books.If he likes something we know it. The time for table manners will come soon enough.

Evan had his 18 month doctor visit including the flu shot. Same reaction but he did very well. His stats: height 33" and weight 24 lbs. 11 oz. That puts in the 50th percentile and 33rd percentile respectively. We opine that the constant activity burns off the calories almost as fast as he takes them in. The doctor said with the obesity problem, the slower rate of weight gain is just fine. Oh, and his head circumference is at the 50th percentile, too, so I guess his brain is growing nicely. Here he is helping with the yard work.

Fun with Reid and Suzie

Evan likes dogs so here he is getting reaquainted with Gertie. Sometimes we're not sure if he's saying doggie or Daddy. It's always funny when curious little boys want to be right where you are no matter what you're doing. It's even funnier when it happens to someone else, Evan had to get a closer look at what was going on but he didn't forget his snacks.

Look! A tub of balls large enough for big AND little people. This playroom is like a safe room, every surface is padded.

It takes two of us to keep up, we just don't have the energy or the enthusiasm as a 1 year old.

Mega mall

We had so much fun on what's becoming our annual fall trip to the Land of 10,000 lakes. As these pictures tell, we didn't do anything related to lakes. The first picture is during the ride and it may be fuzzy but the expression is priceless.We're all smiling in this next picture betraying the fact that Reid's legs barely fit and Evan and mommy filled up the whole seat.

Really, I like carousels!

Does Evan have the look of "is this all"? Or maybe all the colors, people and noise are hard for a little boy to take in.

Daddy had the same leg issues as uncle Reid but everybody got to do rides that day.

Apple orchard time

It must be fall again, time to go to the apple orchard (even though we didn't eat or pick any apples). Evan had more fun playing with the corn than going through the corn maze.
The train didn't actually run on tracks but nobody seemed to care.I think this is Evan's expression after tasting the straw. Thankfully, things like straw, rocks, grass etc. don't taste good.

We sure did have fun with our friend Elsa!

Fun can be found anywhere

This is one of our new games, no claustrophobia here, but we will need a bigger box soon if we want to keep playing this game. Another new past time is taking our finger and leading us around the house aimlessly many times a day. The only destination is occasionally to the fridge which means get me something to drink. Mommy and Daddy are also good for riding like a horse, climbing on like a jungle gym, see example below.

Labor Day '09

We had another fun filled weekend with lots of great summer weather. One highlight was taking a train ride with the whole family at a nearby festival.
Evan got to play with the biggest tinkertoys ever! These were courtesy of the local children's museum so we'll have to go there soon and see what else they have.We also went to a local zoo which was small but very cute. It's for little kids so everything was at their level as you can see. Here's Evan checking out the llama.

They also had a lot of ducks. The zoo is close to home and free so we'll definitely be back next year.

I love Grandma and Grandpa!

We had another wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa. Since Evan is not afraid of strangers, months can pass and he's just as friendly with them as the last time he saw them.

We discovered the children's garden at the arboretum which was very popular. We could have spent the entire time at this fountain, Evan likes running water, like at the pool or even when getting ready for a bath.

We also saw a colonial village complete with a log house. We also saw a blacksmith demonstration and a real old fashioned school house. We didn't make it through a full lesson, though.

My first state fair

We picked a lovely (hot and humid) summer day to head north to the Wisconsin state fair. We ate brats, cheese curds, tacos and drank beer and lemonade.
We saw lots of animals and this was the first time Evan saw a horse up close and these were really big horses. He was a little scared when one of these moved around, he didn't reach out to touch like he does with goats and chickens.

Remember the John Deere we saw at the county fair? Well, this is how they do it at the state fair.

Mommy and Daddy were unaware of the cream puff phenomenon but we had to check it out.Evan seemed to like it, big surprise.

And after a long day and lots of people and food, our little guy promptly zonked out. With his pacifier and lovey, he was all set.