Aww... baby's first shiner

Tile floor, toddlers and short-height dogs don't always mix. The other night, we came in from an enjoyable dinner out and as we went into the kitchen, Bullit ran in front of Evan, tripping him. At first I was relieved because it looked like Evan fell on his hand instead of his face. Yeah, not so much. His under-eye immediately turned blue and swelled up like an egg. We gave him a popsicle to make him feel better. Funny thing is, as the days go by, it's looking worse, not better! And I just love the questions and looks we get when we go out. PS-- These pictures don't do it justice. It looks a lot worse in person! This morning, Evan's teacher asked if he got into a bar brawl.




1 minute after








1 day after







2 days after

Flowers planted

We finally decided on some knock-out roses and a second butterfly bush to plant in our new garden area. I just need something small and green to use as filler-- then it will be complete.

Yard projects continue

After sodding the back yard, we were left with a few designated garden areas. We're finally getting around to fixing them up. In the smaller area, we built a stack stone border/retaining wall and added in a nice layer of topsoil. I would love to say that I did this project from start to finish. Well, I started the project and it just so happened that Jason ended his long training run as I was laying the first couple of stones. I reluctantly let him finish the digging and laying of the stones. I did spread the topsoil! We're very happy with the finished product-- now we need to figure out what to plant! Suggestions?

As you can see, Evan thinks it's a lot of fun to play in. Must figure out how to keep him--and Bullit--out of the new garden!

Making friends

I've posted here before about Evan's friend Tai. Tai is about 1 year older than Evan, but the last few times they've played together, the change in interaction has been incredible. They are such good friends. They run around the house, push each other on their trucks and Evan just laughs and laughs at the things Tai does. He's enthralled with his cool older friend. Tai and Yuki came over this past weekend and the two boys wore each other out!

Fall Training Update

Jason's Ironman is less than six weeks away and he's knee-deep into long bikes and runs. On his shorter bike rides, he takes Evan out for a spin. Evan loves the bike trailer (also a jogging stroller). He's good for up to 2 hours before he either falls asleep or gets antsy. Jason seems to be much more prepared and confident for this Ironman. He's been extremely consistent with his training and has gotten into amazing shape! Evan and I are very proud.

Should be in bed...

But instead, I'm blogging. I thought it was time for some updates, and I can't keep Evan's adoring public waiting for too long. As usual, he has been a busy kid-- constantly on the go and always entertaining us. Here's a pic of his new chair. We've been wanting something like this for a while and it finally went on sale at Target. Evan loves it! He loves furniture in general--anything he can climb on, roll around in and stand up in (although the latter is a no-no). His new chair is where he plunks down in the morning for a rousing episode of Sesame Street and a snack.

And a cute "off to school" picture. Evan loves his school. He has so much fun, the teachers love him and he is so excited to see me when I pick him up. I can tell too that he's learning new things and is getting really good at interacting with other kids. The report I get from his teachers, other than "he's so happy and such a good kid!" is that he eats other kids' food and imitates them when they cry. Great.

School bugs

Evan brought home his first school bug last week and it has infected us all! The first of many I'm sure. So, for the past week, we've all been walking around like zombies, hopped up on TheraFlu and Robitussin. The one good thing is that the weather around here feels like fall and we've been enjoying the fresh air out in our back yard. I love this time of year, but dread the bags-full of leaves that we'll have in a few months time--ugh! If anyone is handy with a rake and wants to help, call me!

G&G Terreri visit

G&G Terreri visited us over the race weekend. They had a great time witnessing Evan's antics and enjoying our new backyard. We had fantastic home-cooked meals each night, courtesy of Grandpa Hugh and Jason's Weber skills. And Sunday morning, Evan and Grandma Barbara whipped up a nice breakfast. Evan is becoming more and more interested in what we do in the kitchen-- cooking, putting the dishes away, the exciting microwave, etc. I have a feeling that he might inherit his Daddy's (not Mommy's) love for cooking. Won't I be lucky to have 2 men in the house who like to cook?!

Star triathlete

Jason raced the sprint distance triathlon in Peachtree City a couple of weeks ago. He had a phenomenal race and came in 9th in his age group (out of 44). He was 5th out of the water in his age group! It was a sprint distance, which means .5mi swim, 13 mi bike, and 3.2 mi run. His time was 1:13:50. He was very happy with his performance, especially since we're on the countdown until Ironman, part deux, which happens on November 3 in Panama City, FL.

And the bruises keep coming

Evan fought with the coffee table... and lost. Thankfully we have rounded corners on our coffee table, otherwise he might have lost an eye.

So many pics, so little time

Sorry so overdue with pics. It gets a little crazy around here with my work schedule! Here are a few pics from Heather, Bella & Sophia's visit down to Peachtree City. Bella and Evan played so well together. Her nickname for Evan is "Ian" pronounced like the letter "i". Apparently ever since she has gone back home, she keeps saying, "Want Ian? Ian? Nice boy, Ian?" Sophia didn't get in much play time, but we enjoyed her just the same. She's getting so big, and cute!

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!

Favorite time of the day

Nearly every night, Evan takes a bath before going to bed. He loves it because he gets to play and be silly. I love it because it means that bed time is less than 30 minutes away!!

Independence comes with a price

Like most kids his age, Evan likes to assert his independence. Whether exploring on his own or insisting to use the fork/spoon himself, he can be a very determined and insistent little boy. So, instead of allowing me to hold his hand and walk with him on the cement around our friends' pool, he insisted he walk by himself (with me closely behind). The picture below shows the results: top and bottom fat lips. This little incident comes two days after Evan decided to pick up a glass and shatter it on our tile floor. Let me tell you how much fun it was to search for and remove tiny shards of glass from a squirmy 14-month-old. Thankfully, there were just a few small cuts.

Seriously? Only 14 months old? How many more of these "little incidences" do I have to look forward to??