tomaid's Xanga

Four years ago today ...

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 21:38:54 GMT

It was Emmett's 31st birthday. After having contractions all night long, we drove to the hospital early in the morning. After a long day, Evan was born at 5:02 p.m. I remember thinking "who is this baby?" It took a while before I had any sense of his personality. And now I know him so well.

I'm sure everybody thinks this way, but ... how is he FOUR years old already? When did that happen? When did he get this big? He can ride a bike (with training wheels). He sleeps in a twin bed. He can use the potty by himself. He can play video games. He helps me set the table. He goes to preschool. He can write his name.

Evan is just a fascinating kid. Evan is a rule-oriented kind of guy. He doesn't always follow the rules, but he likes to know what they are. And he's a negotiator - like his dad. He's got a vivid imagination and loves to tell stories. And he's a cuddly fellow. He wakes up slowly from his afternoon naps; we likes to sit on the couch together and snuggle while he gets used to being awake.

He loves pizza and ice cream. He's into dinosaurs and super heroes. He sends a toy with his dad to work every day. He makes me crazy some days.

Happy Birthday Evan! I love you!

Fun Holidays

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:38:16 GMT

We went to the parade downtown on Thanksgiving morning. Very fun!

Here we are on the el afterwards:

Emmett and I celebrated our 10th anniversary with a day out on Saturday.

I have so many things to SAY about all that's been happening lately, but it's hard to find the words. Maybe later. :P

Returning Home

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:37:57 GMT

Emmett's brother, Elliott, passed away on Monday, October 6th. We went back out to see family and be there for the funeral. Emmett gave the eulogy.

Here are a couple of pictures of Elliott from August. He and Corrie and I hung out a few afternoons while Evan napped:

I'm not sure what else to say, except ... we miss him.

Snacks!

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:47:08 GMT

Evan was a little hungry after preschool today. He demanded a honey bun. Since I fed him a honey bun and yogurt this morning for breakfast, I nixed the honey bun snack idea. Only one honey bun a day, dear. He glared at me for a minute, then said, "I am very cross at you." After asking for the honey bun again, and being told he could have fruit instead, he said, "I just want some sugar." Then, sternly, "I am very, very, very, very, VERY cross at you." When I did not relent, he sighed and said, "I think you will not be my mother anymore."

Poor fellow! He's stuck with me.

In other news, I lost my car key while picking Evan up from preschool. I had the rest of my keys, clicker and all, but the car key had slipped off my key ring. After praying for help and searching the sidewalk from the school building to the car, the key was located in the car. Hallelujah!

Drama!

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:17:47 GMT

We've been crazy busy since mid-August, so today's post will (hopefully) catch everybody up.

Let's see ... we traveled to Hawaii for two wonderful weeks to visit Emmett's family. The absolute best part was an all-family weekend vacation on the north side of the island. Emmett's parents, his sister, her husband and their two kids, plus Emmett's brother, and the four of us shared two condos at the Turtle Bay Resort. The accommodations were incredible! There was a pool just steps from our patio, with a beach just beyond the pool. The children (and adults) spent lots of time in the water. I'll post pictures later.

We returned to Chicago and jumped right into fall. Our church small group took an overnight camping trip to Indiana, and we picked apples at an orchard. We came home with 20 pounds of apples. I have made lots of applesauce already, and plan to make some apple pies for the freezer this week.

The next Monday, we received a call from Emmett's folks. His brother Elliott was back in the hospital. It was (and is) a pretty serious situation, so Emmett flew back out to Hawaii for 10 days to help out.

Meanwhile, the kids and I stayed busy at home. Evan got a haircut, Corrie learned to crawl, and church activities resumed (MOMS group, Sunday School). We also had an exciting incident with a rat. I'm not sure if I'm prepared to blog about that particular adventure, but I'd be glad to share the story. Email me if you are desperate to hear about Chicago rodents.

Emmett got back this morning (hurray!), Evan had his first day of preschool today, and AWANA and small group begin tonight. Whew!

I have lots of pictures from the past month. I'll try to post them later this week.

Conversations

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:52:43 GMT

About Physical Fitness ...

Evan: I am the best exerciser in the history of the world.
Mom: Well, there have been some other good exercisers. There was a man named Jesse Owens who loved to run and jump. I bet he was a good exerciser.
Evan: Is he living?
Mom: No. He lived a long time ago.
Evan: Then I AM the best exerciser.

About Careers ...

Evan: Daddy, do you have to work today?
Dad: Yes.
Evan: Could I come with you?
Dad: Not today. Maybe another day.
Evan: I want to have the same job as you, Daddy.
Dad: It would be fun to work together.
Evan: You should change jobs. You should drive a boat near our house.

Wrapped around her little finger ...

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:47:48 GMT

Big Brother, Little Sister

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:46:41 GMT

It's been fun to see them having fun together.

Evan has been pretty good about sharing his toys with Corrie. He gave her all of his cars, trucks and trains one day. She promptly tasted the yummiest-looking dump truck.

Later she sampled one of the race cars.

Although, we have hit a few rough spots. Today, Evan put her in a cage:

I think he may have been reacting to her first destructive act. She has now officially "broken" one of his toys. He got one of those birthday party blowing toys (I don't know what they're called). You blow on the end and the paper unrolls. Evan blew it near Corrie to show her his toy, and she tore the paper off. Oops. Evan wailed, "BABY! You tore my proboscis!" Luckily, a piece of masking tape fixed the damage.

Note: We had gotten the blowing toy at a bee exhibit at the Garfield Park Conservatory. He made some bee eyes and antennas, and the blowing thing was supposed to be the bee's tongue, a.k.a. "proboscis."

Evan's First Pet

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:03:09 GMT

Technically, I guess this is about Evan's second pet, since Rosie is our family pet. However, Rosie came along many years before Evan did, and she is almost more qualified for the title "First Child" than "First Pet."

Evan's buddy Jalen came over yesterday to play for a few hours while I did chores. Jalen is in middle school, and Evan admires him a lot. Evan often makes statements about "When I am as big as Jalen, I can ______." Fill in the blank: ride a roller coaster, cross the street by myself, ride a bike without training wheels, etc. They played ball in the yard, assembled train tracks, and raced cars. Somewhere in the middle of all the activity, Evan's favorite ball rolled through the grass. When they chased it down, the boys discovered a slug riding on the surface. Delight! Amazement!

They brought the ball and slug into the house, found a shoebox, and tossed some potato chip crumbs and water inside. Jalen carefully poked holes in the top of the box and cut out a window for light. Evan named the creature Mug.

After Mug was settled in his new habitat, he was forgotten until much later. Jalen went home. Evan and I had lunch, then he napped. Just before dinner, we opened the box again, and .. well ... there in the corner of the box, was a dry little curl of dead slug. Farewell, Mug. We hardly knew you.

Fortunately, Evan wasn't too broken up about it. And I'm just as happy not to have a slug living in our house - although Mug's relatives may be all over the yard.

Spicy!

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:00:13 GMT

Evan takes after his father. Lately, he asks for "something with hot sauce" when I ask him what he wants for snack. The boy can wolf down a dozen Ritz crackers with Louisiana hot sauce.

Evan tries everything his daddy eats, and he likes most of it. Although, in the car the other day, we had this conversation:

Mom: What's your favorite food?
Evan: I love limes. And bananas. And everything in the whole wide world!
Mom: Wow. That's a lot of food.
Evan: Except wasabi.

We've been eating a lot of noodles lately (with optional wasabi) - and practicing with chopsticks. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help a child learn to use chopsticks? Is 3 years old the right time to learn? He clearly hasn't mastered anything yet: