We're biased but we think he's the cutest!

Evan won't smile for pictures when Mommy or Daddy takes them but apparently he will for the school photographer.

A very belated congrats to cousin Erik on his bar mitzvah

Cousin Erik's bar mitzvah was back in March so we're very late in getting pics up but we didn't forget. We had a lovely time and congratulate Erik on all his hard work.

It's nice to clean up once in awhile. Below you can see what Evan did during dinner. It's a good thing this other little boy brought 2 light sabers.

Costume=candy? I'm all in.

Here is Evan with some friends from school. His best buddy, Chris, is right next to him. Apparently, they are inseparable at school.

Halloween festivities started 2 weeks before the acutal day so Evan got to wear his costumes a couple of times each. Here he is showing off his muscles.

What a difference a year makes, last year he was crying when we put him in the Superman costume.

This was Evan's first official party, he even got a written invitation. Here are the contestants before the cutthroat game of musical chairs.

Here he is with a couple of his buddies trick or treating in the downtown area. We often meet Dorothy and the lion at the playground.

It never gets old

These are all songs learned at school. This is the newest one.

This one is called Bear Hunt.

This last one is the Tidy Up song, something about being finished for the day, we think.

It's Pumpking Farm time again!

The infamous pumpkin eating dinosaur who belches after each pumpkin.

We had another beautiful day as long as you don't mind the hundreds of other people who also come to the farm.

This jumping pillow is something new for us this year. No surprise, Evan loved it.

Uncle Reid and Auntie Suzie's visit

Sorry, uncle Reid, in both of the pictures we took, you have your eyes closed.

Grandma and Grandpa's visit

We went with Grandma and Grandpa to a conservatory and had a lovely time. Evan got to dig around in the dirt. There were vegetables and flowers but he wanted to dig up the bugs. Can he be any more of a boy?

I guess this is the definition of ear to ear smile. He's a pirate in case you weren't sure. He has his sword in his belt and his parrot on his shoulder.

We sure are glad Grandma and Grandpa came to visit!

First day of pre school

First day of school? How can that be? We have been telling Evan that school is starting soon and he then asks if he can go right now, no matter what day or time. When he finally started, we'd ask what he did in school and every time it's "Nuffin'". Then a few days later he'll sing a song we've never heard before. He's also learned a blessing before eating. So far, it's money well spent.

Labor Day festival

I just had to put both the picture and the video just to show how much he liked it.

We went to the annual Labor Day festival called Last Fling. They had some new things to do. The police car was like a magnet to our young man. He went on this ride a couple of times because he liked it so much.

Summer happenings

This was Evan's second time to Arlington Park but I don't think he remembers the first time. Seeing the horses race didn't seem to register as much as the ambulance that follows the race or seeing a horse up close go poops. Those two things got a much bigger response.

So...Daddy may have splurged a little for this toy but he got a great deal at a garage sale and the young man really likes it.

Growing up

Our little boy is growing up. We recently gave up afternoon naps. Mommy and Daddy weren't as sad as they thought they'd be because it came down to napping and staying up all night or skipping a nap and going to bed at a decent time. Not hard to guess what we chose. This is how Evan has been sleeping lately. One day he said he wanted to sleep on the floor and this is how it's been for a couple of months now. Another change is one day he started calling up Mama and Dada, who knows why.

Our first foray into popular music

Evan's first experience with popular music was influenced by his cousins who sang this song when they visited. In case you can't tell what he's singing (which was the case for Mommy the first several times he sang this), it's "We could have had it all...rolling in the deep". Also note the right eye which was almost swollen shut but an encounter with a coffee table. There were no tears, no blood, no black eye but it still looked very bad.

Evan gives his perspective

"Look Mommy, I'm standing on one yeg"

When people get bleeds, they go to the hosbable to see a doctor.

When told that police men sometimes stop people going over the speed limit, Evan declares " I want a speeding ticket".

When unhappy with a decision, Mommy is sometimes told that we are no longer best buddies.

There are police cars, firetrucks and alla-bances.

Evan is deep into the "why" questions. Mommy and Daddy do their best not to just end every line of questioning end with "because that's the way it is" but it takes a long time to get to the bottom of things.

Evan has been picking up on his parents' phrases. For example, when calling for him to come brush his teeth, Mommy was told "just a minute" while he kept playing with his cars.

When you want to watch a movie, just put the DDD in the player.

Mommy was recently told that when she grows up to be a baby, she will go in a black stroller.

Cars with no roof is called a "vertible"

A "mackin" is what you use to wipe your hands and face after eating.

An action packed 4th of July weekend with the cousins

If you can't tell from the pictures, I'll inform you that we had yots and yots of fun with the cousins and Auntie Aimee. Evan kept calling Josh "that little boy" but even though he kept forgetting him name he sure had fun playing cars and trains with him. We had great summer weather for going to the local festival (see above).

We couldn't miss the zoo, that's something we've done every time the cousins come.

We also went to the splash park one day and the "zooseum" on another day (better known and the childrens' museum).

We were able to walk to the parade this year and we came prepared to collect candy. The buckets aren't full in the pic below but Kinsey's was overflowing by the end of the parade. It was like Halloween in July.

On their last day we went to an indoor jump place. Evan's always been a little hesitant at first but not this time. Bodies were sliding and jumping from the start.

The fireworks were a hit this year again. Evan did a running commentary with either the color of each firework or the statement that "that's the biggest one I ever seen".

Financial advice

"Evan, what are you going to buy with all your money?" Here he is proudly showing off his money, kept in a bank that formerly housed peanut butter.

His answer: "Buy a bigger bank."

The first pie ever baked in this house

Evan is quite the DIY type of guy. Many times this means it takes much longer for Mommy or Daddy to get something done but we appreciate the enthusiasm. Here he is making a real pie which was technically edible but we'll leave the baking to the experts, that is, no one in this house.

Check me out!

Hey, check out my tats! Evan got some free temporary tattoos from the library for Free Comic Book Day (that's what the tatoos say). Who knew?



This was our first real bike outing, we went for a couple of miles on the running/walking/bike path by our house. Do you think the young man likes it? Mommy and Daddy hadn't been on their bikes in years. I guess it's just one more thing we do now that there's a little one around.

It's official: we like Easter

Evan's Easter activities started a few weeks ago at the park district egg hunt. There was a wall of people but our big boy did just fine. He looks so happy with his eggs and this was before we opened them and found candy.

This picture with the bunny looks like others with large costumed holiday characters. Evan went to another egg hunt at a local indoor pool which was a lot of fun but Mommy didn't dare bring the camera with her.

Coloring eggs took about 5 mintues because he wanted to drop them into the colored water one right after the other. Mommy did get him to stir a few of them.

The finished products!

His excitement at finding eggs at home was palpable which was fun for Mommy and Daddy. For some reason finding them at home created a much bigger reaction than the other egg hunts.

Happy 3rd birthday

We had a low key birthday celebration with homemade cupcakes that Evan will tell you that he made all by himself. He does give Mommy credit for helping.

Here he is showing off one of his gifts. I think he likes it.

We have a healthy and very active 3 year old. His stats are 31 lbs which is at the 50th percentile and 38" which is about the 70th percentile. He knows his colors and numbers but is still working on his letters. We've been going to the potty for several weeks now but only in the last few weeks have we been productive. Thomas and Lightning McQueen big boy underwear sure is fun to wear!

Life and times of an almost 3 year old

Here is Evan's car and plane collection which is currently his favorite toys. He plays with them at least once a day. Specific favorites are firetrucks/police cars/ambulances and monster trucks.

Our little dude makes us laugh almost every day. Here are some random things he's said or done that have entertained us:

Driving anywhere has the potential for emergency vehicle, train, garbage truck, airplane, or school bus sightings and Evan has an eagle eye for spotting them. It's like he has a sixth sense. UPS trucks are chocolate mail trucks, in case you weren't aware.

Not all words can be precisely enunciated so firetruck sounds like "siretruck", see you later sounds like "see you yater", and he likes seeing youtube videos on my "puter".

When we come inside and take off shoes, Evan lays completely down on the floor. Mommy laughs, he laughs, and now I'm sure he does it just for the reaction.

If you ask the young man what his name is, he'll tell you "Evan Jose Kafe".

One of our favorite books lately is "Poke ee no" aka Pinocchio. We've read it so many times that he points out the pictures that go along with the words.

Too much snow

With so much snow on the ground, we tried to have fun. It wasn't easy because the snow was deep and fluffy so little legs could not walk around in it. The sledding hill was much shorter than last year because the snow wouldn't pack down easily. In case you can't tell, he says he lost his bowling ball.

Surprisingly, a week after this outdoor fun, the snow was gone due to above freezing temps everyday.

Snowmageddon 2011

Snowmageddon, snowpocalypse, whatever you want to call it. I think the official total was 22 inches, they are calling it the 3rd most snowfall in Chicago history. Whatever it was, for us it was a real live snow day. The lights flickered twice so we got the flashlights and candles out. We hunkered down for the day and stayed in our pajamas until the afternoon.

This was after the initial removal was done and the blowing snow was over. We had only one lane for traffic on our street for 2 days while the plows did the major streets.

Look, it's a wall of snow! It looks so neat and pretty in the sun.

Even more singing

The floor sliding is another one of those things that just happened, we don't even know how. The ABC song completes our knowledge of songs at this point in our lives.

Multi syllable words

This was a Daddy invention and for some reason we both thought it was funny. Evan sometimes throws in his own words like "18 wheeler". Of course, that gets a laugh from Mommy and Daddy.

More singing

"Ipsy ipsy bider" was actually the first song he ever sang and he only knew the first 2 lines. Now we know the whole song.

A new development is that Evan will act out what he sees on tv. We saw part of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy is locked in the castle and is rescued. Next thing you know we're taking turns "rescuing" each other from the castle (the playroom). An episode of the Backyardigans had a librarian go after an overdue book by becoming the Masked Retriever. Soon after, Evan was chasing me as the masked retriever as I ran away carrying a book.

Apparently Old MacDonald only had ducks

A little entertainment for the new year! In case you didn't know, Old MacDonald also doubles as the place where you get Big Macs and Happy Meals...