Getting close...

...to walking on his own. Since yesterday Evan started to really enjoy walking behind his car. He initiates it and is very proud of himself.

Hometown Fun

Our summer is bookended by busy, but for most of July we have been in town and enjoying every minute of all that this great city has to offer. Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to...

Concerts in Millenium Park (we got rained out after a while!)

Picnicing, biking, and running the lake front

Cooling off in the fountains at Millenium Park

Celebrating Jeremy's 30 years with family. Evan and Baylee loved their adventure to the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Millenium Park fountains, Cconcert in the Park, and the next day to Uncle Alex's work and picnic at a nearby park.

How to keep the Spartan out of my cupboards?

15 months (today) and Evan is into everything right now! He is definitely not lacking in curiousity or determination. If it interests him he finds a way to explore it. It is very fun for Jeremy and I to observe. Well, most of the time, til it gets toward the end of the day and I am so exhausted from picking up the trail he leaves behind him! :) Our walks provide a different sort of break these days...just some time to strap him down and get a rest from constantly supervising his explorations. His favorite things to "check out" are anything non-toy :) ...Daddy's alarm clock is a big hit (we end up with music serenading us through our morning routine), the toilet and toilet paper roll, and any cupboards or drawers (he has become very good at opening drawers at various heights). I don't close off any rooms, yet, so it is all fair game to him! All this and he doesn't even walk or stand alone...can't imagine it when he does!

Disney

Grandma and Grandpa took all the grandkids (and their parents) to Disney this past week. We had a great time! Fun to watch all the kids discover it for the first time and fun for the parents to be back in the place of some of their own good childhood memories. We spent 5 days visiting the 4 parks - Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot. There was so much to see and do and the heat was intense (heat index of 100 to 110 degrees most days), but we made a lot of memories. During the brief times we were not at the parks, we cooled off in the pools at our condo. We captured much of the time on camera. Here are some of the highlights.












Dinner at Chef Mickey's with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. Evan loved them and seemed especially interested in their noses - probably because they are so large!







We had to capture this one...the Dutch boy by "It's a Small World" the Dutch section.






Evan's favorite part of the trip? Probably all the time he got to spend with his cousins.

Memorial Day

We spent the long weekend at the cottage celebrating the start of summer! Jeremy and I are excited that Evan can appreciate the sand and water at the cottage this summer. He also enjoyed his first boat ride!

Time for a haircut?

Progress and Projects

When we were initially referred to Physical Therapy for Evan he was not getting from a lying to sitting position or pulling up on any furniture. Since then he has made a lot of progress. He has only had 2 sessions so far, so hard to believe it is all related to the therapy. Either way, I find myself shocked and proud of the many different positions I find him in lately.

He often enjoys snacktime standing up now. I think just because he thinks it is cool that he can coordinate it standing up!



So proud of himself!


Saturday, we were busy with outdoor projects and Evan kept busy too...playing in the water bucket, helping daddy lay wood chips, and trying out the new swing.




Watching intently as Daddy hangs his swing!

Swing = fun, Mommy pushing me with my hat on her head = extra fun


You'll notice Evan has received some great new accessories lately as well! The hip shades usually stay on for about 10 minutes before he gets sick of them. Thanks for the great belt, Oma. My pants stay on so well when I do my Army Crawl.