The Best 6 Months Ever

Post doctor visit, we stocked up at Target

We've reached the 1/2 year mark and time has FLOWN!   6 months could have been 6 weeks as fast as it feels time has gone.  And what fun it has been!  The rate Evan is growing and learning is so rapid...every day is a new ability!

Official stats: 18.25 lbs and 27 inches of pure joy!  What a little bruiser...our little man cried for about .5 seconds after getting his 6 month shots and was smiling before we left the office.  What a tough little bugger!

Didn't take long to figure the cup out!

Evan is sitting up with some support and rolling all over the place.  He scooches on his belly all around the tile floor downstairs.  He's making a gazillion noises, however his favorite is to put his tongue between his lips and blow, making a slobbery "nener-neener-boo-boo" face and noise.  He follows this lovely action with a laugh and a smile. Evan is pretty sure that he is the funniest guy around (and his father and I agree, however biased our opinion may be).  Evan is SO close to crawling, too.  He has successfully gotten up onto all fours, lifting his belly off the ground, but hasn't figured out what to do from there.  Time to baby proof!!!

Evan helps Ainsley use the exer-saucer.

The amount of food he takes down seems like a lot to me, but I guess he's a growing boy!  He'll take down a jar of food at night mixed in with a bowl of cereal.  Then he gets an 8 oz bottle...and then he nurses.  The boy loves to eat!  I have been making my own baby food lately.  Lizzie (and Ainsley!) came over yesterday and we spent hours making peaches, sweet potatoes, avocados and squash.  We would have made the pears, apples and mangos I have waiting to be pureed, but we ran out of ice cube trays to put them in for freezing. It'll be enough food to last Evan for at least a month!  And so much cheaper and healthier than the jarred stuff.

Celebrating Tyse's Pregnancy in Marshalltown

Evan's 6 month mile mark falls at the end of summer...where did it go???  Rhett, Stokes, Chris and JJ golfed 36 holes last Saturday, book-ended between 2 indulgent nights of grilling (the perfect summer weekend!).  Evan and I traveled to Marshalltown for my cousin Tyse's baby shower, which was definitely memory-making as Lizzie, Ainsley, Lorena, Evan and I all made the trek north together.  Poor Lizzie was sandwhiched between 2 crying babies who seemed to play off each other the entire trip up...and back. Of course we had a trip to the Iowa State Fair recently, too (Evan loved it!).  All of this molded around the crazy busy goings-ons of the farm as time winds down to this years Polo On The Green, the charity polo event held at the farm which brings around 500 people yearly.

I have to say - I'm looking forward to the fall.  Polo activities will be done mid-September and our roommates will eventually leave for their winter destinations (I will miss their company, but I'm definitely looking forward to only cleaning up after JJ and myself for a few months).  Of course we're staring down the barrel at a whole season of Hawkeye tailgating and the 1st Anniversary of our marriage.  How did I get so lucky? We have so much to look forward to!  I leave you with a video of Evan and his buddy Jim (sorry it's sideways...our technology is extremely limited here). :)

Busy Busy!

Wow! It's been a busy minute since I've posted anything about out little guy!  Things have been full and fun the past few weeks.  We enjoyed a trip to Traer over the first weekend of August.  The Wilson family BBQ and golf tournament couldn't have been on a more beautiful day and Evan enjoyed getting attention from many family members.  We got some cute pics of him with his Great Grandpa Evan, Grammy Rhonda and (second) cousin Hayden.  Riding in the golf cart with Dad during the shotgun golf tournament was pretty fun and new for Evan, too...If this kid doesn't grow up to love golf (like his cousin Jack), I'll be very surprised.

Evan and Evan

Last weekend we had our first big road trip and Evan was a champ!  I think being an awesome road-tripper runs in our family. ;) We drove to Spring Lake, Michigan for my friend Libby's wedding.  The drive took us about 8 hours (although the trip out was longer with traffic). Our accommodations for the weekend were at the Holiday Inn, which was, for the most part, quiet and clean.  We arrived on Friday and attended a cocktail party with all of the wedding guests.  Evan was, as usual, very well behaved even though we stayed out long past his bed time.  We have such a good baby!  Saturday was rainy and Mom and Dad were a little tired from restless nights (it's so much tougher to sleep when I have Evan in a crib by the bed and I can hear every toss and turn!).  So, we ordered pizza and at it in bed with cheap wine while Evan napped in his portable crib.  It was my favorite part of the weekend!  Just some laid back family time....which I can honestly say we haven't had all summer!  The wedding was beautiful.  I attended solo as Libby didn't want Evan at the wedding and we weren't comfortable leaving him with an unknown 14 year old babysitter in a hotel room at such a young age.  But, JJ and Evan had fun walking around Spring Lake and I was glad to be able to see my friend's big day.

Relaxing after arriving in MI

Hotels are fun!

On Sunday, we drove home and got to see Lori, Mark, Brooke and Charlotte on their way out of town. I can't believe Charlotte is 1 year old...and running all over the place!  I wish we could have spent more time with them!! But, we had fun visiting and seeing the cousins together. And we did get some bonus time with Papa Mark before our trip to Michigan, which was a nice plus!  Brooke made Evan a super-soft blankie, which is now his favorite thing, ever.  We have taken it nearly everywhere with us (except the YMCA where other kids have sometimes wandered off with the toys Evan beings).  Having Charlotte here and being so mobile was a good tutorial on what we need to baby proof around the farm (ie EVERYTHING).  We have lots of sharp edges, dirty/nasty rugs and flooring and open garbage cans, amongst many other small swallowable things.  Thanks for being a sport about it all, Charlotte!  Next time you come through, I promise a more baby/kid friendly abode.

!!!!!Cousins!!!!!

Practicing for tailgate season in Charlotte's chair.

Evan and his Blankie

 Other than our travels the past few weeks, we've been plain old busy with fun things like checking out Dad's dirt work for the various new structures being built around the farm as well as feeding the ducks (actually, neither of these things have been the cause of our full schedules, but they did make for good photo opportunities).  We are getting geared up for the rest of the month which is full of baby showers and family visits, as well as Polo on the Green (the huge polo benefit that occurs yearly at the farm) and hopefully a trip to the Iowa State Fair!

Lookin good, Dad...lookin good.

Polo Shots

We spent a long overdue day watching polo last weekend.  Despite the heat, Evan loved it.  Robin Allen, the wife of a long time polo player in town, has an excellent camera and snapped a few photos of Evan and I...which I LOVE because I have very few pictures of my little guy and myself (I'm always on the other end of the camera).  I've always wanted be able to have a nice camera that take some professional quality pictures like these...someday I will! But until then, I'm so glad to have to have friends who do.  And, of course, we have a wonderful little camera right now that does a fine job of capturing memories.  But, I digress...enjoy these pictures!