1 Year Portraits

When Grammy came for her visit, we took Evelyn for her 1 year photo shoot.  Because all of the Sears portrait studios have now closed, we had to try Portrait Innovations which is 30 minutes away and a bit more expensive.  Our first attempt was a Thursday afternoon after a nap in the car, but she was not having it!  We re-scheduled for the following day, late morning, which was much better.  All of the pictures turned out so great that it was hard to choose and narrow it down.  These are only a handful of the good ones.

This is how she started with a little attitude...but she warmed up!

We brought a cupcake for her to smash at the end and get some funny pictures.  She touched it one time and then freaked out!

This is how it ended...poor baby!

Our Week with Grammy

Last week we got a special treat as Grammy came for a week long visit.  It was nice to sleep in a few days since Evelyn has been waking around 5 am the past few weeks.  And Grammy consoled her a few nights when her sore, new teeth were waking her up.   Eddie and I were also able to use our spa gift certificate we received a whole year ago from the dancers for our retirement and enjoyed a dinner out one night.  Basically the week flew by!

Evelyn showed Grammy how good she is at climbing into boxes. 

Hanging out in the morning. 

Grammy and Evelyn played a lot of soccer. 

Spontaneous lounging. 

Grammy showed Evelyn how to set up the bar in the window sill.

She was giving Grammy pats on the head but my camera missed it. 

Always checking stuff out... 

We had a busy week.  Grammy trimmed all of the shrubs for us, I weeded, and Evelyn watched from her stroller.  We also took Evelyn to her 1 year photo shoot which I will post soon.

Thanks for all of your help last week, Grammy! 

Evelyn at 13 Months

 Well, Evelyn has been keeping us busy as she explores the entire house and opens every cabinet.  This explains my lack of blogging for the past 3 weeks!  She is very silly and makes us laugh all of the time.  She can officially walk now as of Friday, and she likes to walk and talk holding anything to her ear just like it's a cell phone.  She is also very loving and likes to give hugs and pats to us and her stuffed animals.  Other favorites...


She REALLY loves hanging out in the refrigerator.  Maybe she is very warm-blooded.  Who knows?

She likes to crawl into small spaces like her toy box. 

She LOVES avocado and peanut butter.  She has also just started mastering a spoon and fork. 

She enjoys sitting on things like her step stool and her caboose. 

And she still likes necklaces. 

She enjoys the ipad mini.

But she also likes to pretend she is writing or drawing with this tiny empty pen and notepad. 

Her new favorite spot is under the dining room table.  She still plays with her mini wine bottles from the Easter hunt in Texas. 

She is also fond of lounging.  Several times a day she will suddenly lean back against something or go all the way down to the floor on her back.  Here she is lounging in her toy box. 

Meet Me in St. Louis

A few weekends ago, we helped our friends, Brendon and Emily, move the first load of their belongings to St.Louis where they will be living for 3 years while Brendon attends chiropractic school.  Emily, Evelyn and I headed out on Friday so that Emily could do some interviews.  Eddie and Brendon left on Saturday in the moving truck.  At the Childrens' Hospital, Evelyn discovered corded phones for the first time in the lobby.

Robert Poe lives a few blocks from their new apartment.  It was so good to see him again!  

We ate dinner at a great Thai restaurant on Friday night.  Evelyn likes those big soup spoons.

Back at the apartment on the air mattress, Poe reads us Goodnight Moon. 

The happy couple outside of their new place. 

Fuzzy group dinner shot. 

Poor Evelyn was not feeling so great.  The next morning, before we left for home, she had her first bout of severe constipation.  Lucky for us, Emily is a nurse, and she fixed her right up!  She also got a new bottom tooth that day, too. 

Not wanting to eat...