Kid on a mission

Life in our house these days is... unpredictable! From the moment Evan started pulling up, he hasn't stopped, and is now able to reach the ledge of many things that were once considered "out of bounds." Shortly after this picture (above) was taken, Evan pulled himself up far enough to lift his feet off the ground!




This is an expression we often see on Evan's face. Sure, it's cute, but it's also terrifying. Look closer-- see the little horns peaking out from underneath his blond hair? Trust me, they're there.


Caught!

An uncanny resemblance

Vertical baby

Some pictures of the below-mentioned standing...

AH!

I went into Evan's room yesterday to get him up from a nap and to my shock and fear, he was standing up holding onto the crib railing! And to prove it wasn't a fluke, he did the same thing this morning when he woke up. Please tell me climbing out of the crib isn't next on his agenda...

Fair warning: video of screaming baby

This is Evan's newest and most charming behavior.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Evan's no angel, but if you could see the rolls on his chubby little thighs, he does look a little like Cupid. Here are some Valentine's Day pictures. No, the red outfit wasn't staged (I actually forgot what day it was when I dressed him this morning), but the pictures are. And, being the cheeky little monkey that he is, Evan was more than willing to pose.












See all of his top teeth!









Ready to crawl!









Bath time... he loves the water!

And you thought he was kidding!

Some of you have at one time heard Jason talk about crate-training... for children. Thankfully, Evan's mommy watches out for him, so this is as close as it will get:

Edited on 2/14/07: Some of you have asked, "What in the heck is this a picture of?" It's Evan inside his toy basket.

Family man

Lately, Evan has been on several play dates with his new friend Isabella (my college friend Heather's daughter). Even though they are a year apart, they have a great time together and it's very sweet to see them interact.

Here, Evan (who is very comfortable in his masculinity) demonstrates to Isabella that he's a great "family man."

Isabella takes it a little too far by trying to coerce Evan into liking Barney.





Evan shows off his sweet crib.

Fun with finger food

Bundled baby

Like most of the rest of the U.S. right now, it is COLD here! Yesterday was a low of 18 F with a high of 42 F. Aren't we supposed to be in the South? I mistakenly thought that meant warmer weather. Evan dressed the part yesterday morning when we went out for an appointment. His cute little bomber jacket was a present from Grandpa & Grandma Taylor.

Golf-watching Sundays

Evan relaxes with Dad on the weekend...

My favorite picture

This is my favorite recent picture. It truly captures Evan's personality and attitude. It also captures his newest trick-- hamming it up for the camera.

Shiny metal objects

There are just a few things that really motivate Evan to army crawl across the room-- Bullit's collar is one of them. Unfortunately, Evan doesn't yet know that Bullit is a moving target. This has been really funny to watch.

Must... get... Bullit's... collar!

Mission accomplished.

Evan's newest target...

Already a heartbreaker

Last week, Evan and I drove to see my friend Heather, her husband Andy and their daughter Isabella in their new house just north of Atlanta. While she is a slightly older woman, Evan gave it his best shot to attract Isabella's attention. He did his best "look how cute I am" impression and brought her a cuddly stuffed toy. His charms must have worked because by the time we left, she had smothered him with hugs and kisses.

Let the games begin...

Now that college football season (and Christmas) is over, we felt it was safe to post the following picture:











As many of you know, the extended Terreri family are HUGE Notre Dame fans.* Well, the Taylor and Opperman side are equally big Purdue fans. Unfortunately, Evan is now caught in the middle of this broiling rivalry. All we can hope for is that once he's old enough to understand, he'll make an educated choice (with Mommy's help and suggestions).

*Not mentioned here are the additional loyalties to Virginia Tech. Evan also is a Hokie fan.

Evan updates

Just a few updated pics since Christmas. Evan's stats at 7 months are 21.6 lbs. and 29 in. He's starting to "creep" on the floor to get to his toys, so it's only a matter of time before we install baby gates... Evan has 4, possibly 6 teeth all coming in on the top, front. This is in addition to his 4 teeth on the bottom! Won't be long before he's eating corn on the cobb.

Paper--not presents--a hit at Christmas

As you might expect, Evan was much happier with the wrapping paper than his presents at Christmas. He seemed to enjoy the fact that, after a few minutes, it melted in his mouth. It can't taste any worse than the pureed peas he's been eating!

We spent Christmas in Hilton Head with Grandma & Grandpa Terreri and Aunt Kim & Uncle Shane. Evan was a great traveler-- he slept soundly in his pack 'n play and adapted well to the new environment. We had a great time-- as usual, we ate way too much and enjoyed good wine. Evan received some nice gifts, including some of the typical noise-making baby toys (read: obnoxious) from an uncle who shall remain nameless...

Some pics from Christmas are below. The last picture is Evan after his first haircut. His bangs were getting a little long, so I snipped a little off the front-- some of the last strands of brown hair left from birth. He's now almost completely blond. With his haircut, I learned two things: 1) scissors and a wobbly baby don't mix, and 2) cutting Barbie's hair when I was 6 does not a beautician make. This was Evan's first and last haircut from Mommy.

Evidence that Evan is growing up

Within the last two weeks, we've put away most of Evan's/my favorite baby things: the bouncy seat, the infant car seat (1lb away from outgrowing the 22lb weight limit), and (gasp!) the baby swing! He didn't reach the weight limit on the swing per se, but seeing as how his legs were hanging more than a few inches over the seat, I figured it was time to put it away. I am happy to report, however, that almost immediately, Evan learned to take solid naps in his crib. I was terrified he would never sleep without our sacred swing!

To replace these items, we now have: the highchair, the Jumperoo (Evan loves a good jumping session in the afternoon), and the playpen. A note about the playpen-- I came to learn that most parents today don't use/believe in playpens. In fact, when I searched for one, I could only find it on the Internet and only one company made it! However, Grandma Terreri insisted that we would want one. "Get him used to it now," she said, "before he's starts crawling and walking." Well, I'm glad she insisted-- I, uh... I mean, Evan loves the playpen! It's colorful, has all of his toys and he stays easily within my sight!

Here are some new pics for your enjoyment. Note about the last few pics: Evan loved Santa; hated Rudolph.

Get your baby fix

I was chastised yesterday by three different people for not updating my blog, so I guess I'm really behind!

Evan is six months old today and I am amazed at how much he is developing. From his expanding baby talk vocabulary to his unique facial expressions, he seems to understand the world around him a little more each day. He also continues to grow-- 20lbs 4oz and 28in. He's wearing 12 month clothes! Here are some pictures to amuse and satisfy your baby fix.