My turn! I have 3 months of blog-worthy pictures piled up on my hard drive. If I don't post them now the pile is just going to get deeper. Here we go, in chronological order...
First up, let's set the way-back machine for mid-May, when Liz and Evelyn took a trip back to Chicago to visit with the Bacon clan. Here they are, departing from PDX:
And here's Evelyn looking very much none-the-worse-for-wear upon their return:
A week later we discovered the clay room at the kid's museum. Evelyn was totally into it. So much so that we went back the next day. She really likes Jeanette, the "clay woman!" I think the feeling is mutual; Jeanette was marveling at Evelyn's attention span as we spent at least an hour each time we stopped by.
This one's funny. Here's Evelyn at the exact moment she discovered that she doesn't like pickles (although, late breaking new flash: as of this week she does like pickles! That'll teach me to sit on pictures for 3 months...)
Evelyn has been fascinated by the big pile of her baby stuff out in the garage. Here she is sitting in her swing, which we retired when she was about 6 months old. She also likes to take her baby doll out and have it swing.
Trying on mom's shoes:
Sidewalk chalk is a big hit. Here's she's helping color a kitty that mom drew:
Excavating dinosaur bones at the OMSI:
Studying the lights of the train tunnel flashing by. Usually we take a picture to remember an event; occasionally I'll take one to remember what I was feeling when the event occurred. This one's for me.
Maybe this is a had-to-be-there, but here's Evelyn encountering a giant SpongeBob for the first time, quickly deciding he's lame and then setting off to investigate what's behind-the-scenes at the fair.
Mom and Evelyn at Nature Park, one of the many awesome parks within easy driving distance. Evelyn loved this stump and spent quite a while posing on it and decorating it with dirt and rocks. She hams it up pretty good for pictures nowadays (and endearingly hollers "CHEESE," usually while you're still getting ready to take the shot) and often likes to "see!" the picture after it's been taken.
We used to do "flying baby!" Now it's "flying kid!"
Dr. Crazyhair! I don't know what they make these slides out of (and maybe I don't want to) but they all generate insane amounts of static electricity. The kids slide down, their parents grab them, then ZAP! Lather, rinse, repeat. Anyway, here's she's sitting almost 2 feet away after sliding down and yet her hair is standing straight up.
One of Evelyn's great loves of late is tractors. So she was pretty psyched when we went to Home Depot to buy a new grill and they had some snazzy demo models on display.
Evelyn and Kitty at "Airplane Park."
First Happy Meal at McDonalds. She sat up in a regular chair and ate just like a big kid.
First time riding in the cart-car at the local supermarket. She was so into this that we had to do a few laps around the parking lot when we were done shopping.
Another great enthusiasm: fire hydrants. She loves 'em. She hugs 'em. Once she even gave one of them a kiss (don't tell Mama about that one!).
Liz with K. and her mom at Nature Park.
Evelyn's first ever teeter-totter ride, with friend H.
The name is Cool...Ace McCool. We finally got her to wear some sunglasses! It didn't hurt that they have Thomas The Tank Engine on them.
We got a kiddie pool for the back deck. Evelyn loves it although she only actually went in two times. Mostly she just uses it as a source of water for her endless pouring and decanting exercises. Here are Evelyn and K. enjoying a play-date (Sassy subsequently popped the pool but we replaced it with a non-inflatable model).
Mom and E at the big "music party" (blues festival) on the 4th of July. When we got home we set off some fireworks up the street near some neighbors who were launching contraband rockets. Evelyn digs the "boom boom pop!"
Another new toy: the $15 wagon from Target. A huge hit.
Evelyn's first ever Mr. Potato head. She played with it at the bank while waiting for Daddy. She really liked it so we bought her one a couple weeks later.
Crazy mirror at the library. She runs for this thing every time we go.
Hiding is still a big activity, and she's getting more sophisticated (less inept would be more accurate, but that characterization isn't in keeping with Doting Daddy mode).
Sight-reading. I wrote these with bathtub crayons and she identified them correctly.
Another book recital. This time it's Elmo's ABC book.
Still into strip curtains.
Still loving tractors.
Still mad about hydrants.
Still crazy for the water room at the Kid's Museum.
'Puter! We have to strictly limit Evelyn's computer time to 30 minutes a day. She loves her Sesame Street programs as well as www.poissonrouge.com which is an awesome site for kids (or anyone for that matter).
Still swoony for trains.
Kickin' it in the construction zone.
Evelyn adores her fire engine and plays with it every day. She pushes it around, gets in and out of it, puts kitty inside, loads stuff in and out of the trunk, and of course makes the siren go. We were going to buy her the plain vanilla, car version of this toy but the store was all out of that model. It was either the frilly pink girly model or this one, and I'm very glad we made the right choice. Evelyn is super into firefighters lately so it was very much the right toy at the right time.
"See messy girl!" Evelyn likes to see herself in the mirror after a meal before we clean her up.
Bathy tub crayons. Note awesome train rendition by dad.
Evelyn with birthday girl K. and guest Z. at Nature Park.
Sleeping on the way to the beach.
First ever sand castle. Evelyn was so excited for the beach. She was talking about building a sand castle long before we got there. We also got to fly a kite for the first time.
Tree-climbing at the Jerry Birthday Bash.
Clay-room masterpieces. Note "guy going 'whoa!'" on the right.
First time face-painting with Mama.
Portland Ink.
Cheers everybody!
-- Mike
