Evan's first day of school

I sent my little boy off to school today. Ok, so it's not really "school," but a mom's morning out program. He'll go to class on Mondays and Fridays from 9-1. Then, he'll come straight home for a nice long nap, giving me lots of time to work uninterrupted!

From what I can tell, Evan had a great first day. He didn't even blink as I dropped him off, but he greeted me with a huge grin when I picked him up. As planned, he came home and took a long nap.

If you look closely at the picture, you'll see a pair of brand new Stride Rite sneakers. You may remember an earlier post where I vowed never to buy from that over-priced store. So why have I succombed? Because Evan wears a size 7.... extra wide! And where, do you ask, does Evan get this feature from? I can hear the snickers from some of you who know I have big feet, but no, this one is from Daddy! Jason wears a 4E, which is apparently, the widest size you can get. I see before me a lifetime of expensive shoe shopping!

Exlploring the yard

Evan loves playing in the new back yard. I let him play out there while I water the lawn-- which, by the way, is a pain! Thankfully, we've had a few nice storms pass through. While I would like to say that it's the new grass that Evan likes, he seems to find the only patches of dirt to play in. All that new grass, and what does he do? Play in--and eat-- the red Georgia clay dirt. Gross. Here are some pics of my dirty little boy.

"After"

We have a back yard! The guys finished up early this afternoon and now the process begins of endless watering to make sure the sod takes. Here are some pics.




Look at all that sod!




Before sod

After Sod










No more sink hole!

Back yard construction

Ever since we moved into our house 2 years ago, we've wanted to re-do our back yard. And while we've done little improvements here and there, it needed a major overhaul--drainage, fill dirt, erosion control and sod. A few weeks ago we contracted a company to fix it up and the work started this morning. Jason & I are so excited because it means that Evan will finally be able to enjoy our yard.

Here are some before and during construction pics (apologies to anyone who hasn't seen our yard-- these pics will be boring). "After" pics will come tomorrow.

Before















During Construction




Root structure of our fig tree-- it's gone!!



The hideous 1970s gas grill-- it's gone!!






Filling in our sink hole and adding drainage. Note the red Georgia clay soil (also referred to as "Georgia death soil").

Busy kid

Evan is non stop from the moment he wakes up. From climbing onto the couch, chairs, the stairs, the coffee table... it never ends! It is really cool now though because his level of comprehension is so great. He understands so much of what we tell him. He's also (finally) starting to talk. He says Mama and Dada more and now says "nana" for banana. It's no wonder that's one of his first words-- we go through about 15 bananas a week between Jason & Evan!

Brief

Quick note to say sorry no new posts lately. With my work steadily increasing combined with Evan's level of activity rising, it's tough to focus on much else!

No pics at the moment, just some cute notes about Evan. He just revealed to us this morning that he can point to his nose, ears and mouth. While not really talking, he walks around the house constantly jabbering in his own language. The funniest is when he puts his toy phone to his ear and has a "conversation." It sounds so real-- he inserts appropriate pauses and paces from room to room. He also is learning to share.... with Bullit. This includes snack time, sippy cups, dog food and toys.

Will post pictures as soon as I get a chance!

Activities

Now that Evan is older, mobile and awake for more than 3 hours at a time (he's no longer taking 2 naps a day, sigh....), I try to take him on fun outings/activities throughout the week. The key is to do things in the morning hours to tire him out for a great afternoon nap. Almost weekly, we go to the park, swimming, story time at the library and get together with friends Evan's age. This past week, I met up with Heather and her two little girls at the Children's Museum of Atlanta. It is a great place for kids, with lots of fun things to explore and climb on. Evan had a blast and fell asleep within minutes of driving away!