heavenly evan

19 months and growing strong!

2008-11-25T21:56:00.000-08:00

Evan is 19 months old now. He continues to love the alphabet and has been drawing letters for some time now. Evan has excellent fine motor skills and is very adept with pencils, pens and crayons. He has started to spell words also - for example, he knows how to spell Evan, Mommy, Dog, Hug, Baby, Cat, Moon and Star.

Here are a few photos from a recent visit with his birthday buddy, Stephanie, at and around Alki Beach.

Oh and have I mentioned he loves to climb up on things - the bumps and bruises years have started...

Halloween 2008

2008-11-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos of us having fun at a pumpkin patch a few days before Halloween. Sorry, no pictures of Evan in his Halloween outfit - he refused to wear it...

18 month old trapped in a 3 year olds body....

2008-10-16T20:27:00.000-07:00

Evan had his 18 month check up today and got an A+ bill of health from his doctor - well, except the sleeping part.
We all got a D in that department - spared an F for our efforts, as we are all trying very hard to sleep!
18 month update: Height 50%, Weight 10% (doctor says that's great - not underweight - not overweight).
Evan knows all of the letters of the alphabet, can point them all out when asked and can verbalize most of them clearly.
He also knows his numbers from 1 - 10, can point them all out when asked, and can say some of them clearly.
Evan can "read" a few words - he recognizes the words baby, mommy, mum mum, evan, dog, apple, star and more.
He can say about 30 words and has been stringing some words together.
Evan has started to write also - he can draw letters and numbers best of all. Not all of them, but quite a few.
Doctor Christina says Evan is a 3-4 year old trapped in an 18 month old's body!
In addition to his appetite for learning, Evan has been enjoying gymnastics class and climbing all over our furniture.
Here are some recent pics - mostly from our recent trip to Mt. Baker.
We are exhausted but totally in love with our smart, amazing, funny, loving, beautiful boy...

Friends, Big Boy Baths and Peaches

2008-08-31T21:39:00.000-07:00

Nothing necessarily related here, nor much to post about. Evan has been meeting new friends and seeing old ones but he seems to be enjoying socializing more and more. He hugs friends and plays with them more - sharing, not sharing and crying when they take things from him. The sharing extends to inanimate objects - here is a photo of Evan sharing crackers with "Duck".

We saw friends from our birth class and Evan and Bo hugged and kissed. I'll update with last years picture of the two of them for comparison at another date.

He LOVES baths so much that we can't even mention it if we're not serious about giving him one. He requests it several times a day. He started taking baths in the regular tub all by himself and he thinks this is the greatest!

The peaches? We're enjoying boxes of produce each week from a local farm and Leslie caught this delicious peach one morning in such nice light. It's a little homage to our friend at Alki who take gorgeous photos.

And we'll end with a sleeping baby in the car ride home from seeing my dear friend Kelly with her kiddos in Olympia. I guess we wore Evan out! We wish they weren't moving back to KC!

Back to School

2008-08-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

It's back to school time!
Although Evan doesn't have new shoes and won't be filing in to meet his teachers yet, his love of learning is evident. "M" is still a favorite, but it's clear now that he recognizes all the letters of the alphabet and numbers one to ten. His favorite number is nine and he says it clearly.

We bought an activity table with a paper roll and some crayons for his room. He's so happy to work on it everyday - all the time. But we try to strike a balance and find other things to do as well - this means hiding all writing instruments in the house. Sometimes this doesn't even cut it because then he wants us to write letters in the dirt at the playground, with water on the slate floor, with his fingers on whoever is holding him...

He's keeping us on our toes!

He is also stringing two or more words together when talking. "Apple butter" and "apple bar" are favorites. Mommy (Leslie) is "Monny" and I am "MumMum". He's quite fascinated by the moon and if it's not out then we have to find an image of it - "book, moon".

The smile that melts his mommies hearts

2008-08-02T21:27:00.001-07:00

Who is the cutest of them all?

2008-07-31T22:07:00.000-07:00

random pics from the past month or so.
evan is growing in leaps and bounds - sweet and smart, brave and adorable...
we love, love, love, love, love this boy!

The Letter M and more

2008-06-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, sleep has been our biggest challenge in parenting. All the sleep "experts" say to introduce a lovey for your child to sleep with. Apparently the idea is that they will take this small stuffed animal to bed with them, feel it in the middle of the night and be soothed back to sleep knowing that they are safe. However, I would like to gently explain to these dear experts that whenever we offer a lovey Evan throws it overboard declaring Leslie and I the only lovies worth mentioning. But today for his nap, Evan fell fast asleep clutching his letter M. I had to go grab the camera because it was so cute! He didn't even let go of it even after falling asleep!

Letters remain THE activity. Here is another picture of Evan showing us the letters he knows on a license plate in a parking lot. We don't get anywhere very quickly, for as you know, letters are EVERYWHERE! Good times!

We ask him, "what word begins with the letter M?" And he signs "moon". We are trying to teach him his web site address but so far all he's got is "dub, dub, dub" - which is probably a pretty good start for a fourteen month old. One more cute picture of a smiling and blurry boy who was very proud for climbing on top of his box. Check out the cute frog shirt that his Auntie Karla got him!

School Is Out

2008-06-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

Evan and I attend a baby and parent class once a week at our local community college.

It's a great way to meet other parents, learn new games and songs, and watch Evan play.
These are some pictures that another parent took on the last day of school before summer break because she was smart enough to remember her camera.

As you can see, he was looking quite dapper in a new sweater from his Great Aunt Jane!

14 Month Update

2008-06-12T11:28:00.001-07:00

P1040509
Originally uploaded by hrharman

It's been FOREVER since we've posted anything. Needless to say, Evan and life (Evan) are keeping us very occupied. We are having a blast with him! He's almost 14 months. He's walking (running), climbing, and exploring.

His favorite thing to do is read. We go to the library at least every other week. Right now we have 18 books checked out and we read them all. Books about the characters Maisy and Max and his sister Ruby are favorites as are the alphabet books.

Evan L-O-V-E-S letters. He recognizes letters everywhere we go and says sounds for many of them. We will try to get it on video soon. "M" is his favorite letter and you must say it back to him and point to it when he says it. Otherwise toddler meltdown and yelling will ensue!

Among his other favorite things are gardening, basketball, Legos, and climbing the slide.

We've been working on sign language with him and it's really paying off. Instead of yelling for what he wants he can now communicate with us. It's also given him a lot of confidence. The signs that he uses the most are: bird, moon, hat, ball, dog, water, flower, more, book, cow, mouse, and milk.

It's so fun watching him develop. Leslie and I are amazed by his growth everyday and can't believe how quickly it all happens. It's so much work but at the same time I realize that some day he'll be off to college and I'll be missing him so much.

Scarsdale, New York

2007-11-19T15:53:00.001-08:00

Bright Eyes
Originally uploaded by hrharman

Sorry I'm a bit slow on blogging these days. We have a moving/non-sleeping boy on our hands which makes it difficult to get much done these days!

Our next stop was Scarsdale to see Grammy Mary and Pop Pop. I like this photo of Evan and Pop Pop because they both have smiling blue eyes. In this photo we were eating sushi with Leslie's father.

It was wonderful to see Grammy and Pop Pop, some of their friends, Lainie and the boys, Petra, Michaela, Nadja, Michael, and Tom. Thanks for the hospitality!

Albany, NY

2007-11-16T12:13:00.001-08:00

Mommy & the black cat
Originally uploaded by hrharman

Our next stop was Albany to see Grammy Jane and Uncle Pete. We enjoyed dressing Evan up in his first costume (thanks to Leslie and Ebay). He made a very cute black cat for about 15 minutes. It was great to see Grammy and Uncle Pete was very good at entertaining Evan with peek-a-boo.

Berea, Kentucky

2007-11-15T16:04:00.001-08:00

Jeff, Evan and Heather
Originally uploaded by hrharman

We've been back for over a week now, but returning to our new "normal" is taking some time! (so is downloading all of our photos!) So, slowly but surely I wanted to share with you our photos from our travels.

Our first stop was Berea, Kentucky where we went for our dear friends, Jeff and Ashley's beautiful ceremony. It was great to be there, see them, and see other Appalachia Service Project folks. I miss all those wonderful people and wish we could have spent more time with them. Mostly we were all wrangling kids and it was hard to truly catch up. Gone are the days when we used to admire each others Birkenstocks, sing and play guitar, and discuss poverty and homebuilding...perhaps those days will return when the kids are in college???

My best to you all in Eastern Kentucky and the others scattered here and there. Come visit us in Seattle sometime!

First Babysitters

2007-10-07T14:14:00.001-07:00

first babysitters
Originally uploaded by hrharman

Leslie and I had our first date since Evan came into our world. We went to brunch on Saturday and our good friends Beth and Amy came over to hang with Evan. It was so wonderful!! Thanks Beth and Amy!!

baby bootcamp

2007-10-07T13:53:00.001-07:00

baby bootcamp 1
Originally uploaded by hrharman

It's a weekend of baby bootcamp here at our household! And we have forward movement!! Evan has been practicing crawling for at least a month and he's so thrilled to be mobile. It's not your typical crawling but sort of slow leap frog movements. So fun!

Baby, it's cold outside!

2007-10-07T13:49:00.001-07:00

it's cold outside
Originally uploaded by hrharman

Heather's mom has a friend that made this matching sweater and hat for Evan. We're so glad that it fits right now because it's gotten chilly here. And look how cute he looks!

William Tell Overture for Moms

2007-09-28T11:34:00.001-07:00

I saw this video on another blog and loved it. It's hilarious! For all the moms we know...enjoy!

Madi & Evan

2007-09-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Speaking of Olivia...her and her daughter Madi came over the other day to hang out. Here's some cute pics of them hanging out with us. We're sad because they are close to selling their house and moving to Philly. But we LOVE Philly and look forward to visiting them there.

Self Portraits

2007-09-20T15:35:00.001-07:00

Family Self-Portrait 1
Originally uploaded by hrharman

We've been taking a lot of self-portraits lately. Just thought we'd share a few...Oh! And check out the cute as an acorn hat - my friend Olivia made for Evan while he was still in the belly. We got our first hint of Fall the other day and I was excited that he could finally wear it!

I love the beach!

2007-09-17T14:21:00.001-07:00

I love the beach!
Originally uploaded by hrharman

We headed to Orcas for a last minute getaway this weekend. Our first trip out of Seattle with Evan! It was fabulous! Evan loved being outside, watching the water, walking on the beach, and meeting new people. Scout swam, played ball, met new people and slept. Leslie and Heather didn't want to leave as they continued their dream of the day that they can live on Orcas...

The kitchen floor, nursing pillows and cloth diapers

2007-08-07T10:16:00.001-07:00

standing
Originally uploaded by hrharman

We spend a lot of time on the kitchen floor. We hang out while one mom cooks or cleans, we eat picnic style, and we play. That's why I'm thankful that Leslie covered up our hideous linoleum with a product called FLOR. Yes, we have carpet in the kitchen! If one tile gets dirty, you can take it up, rinse it in the sink, let it dry, and return it to its original spot. Evans playroom will have it next!

It was the kitchen floor where Evan first started rolling from his back to his front last week. And where he likes to practice standing and "walking".

Also, I got a new nusing pillow last week. I love it! Evan is fast asleep on it right now. It's from a small company in NY called Blessed Nest and it's filled with buckwheat. No more near roll offs or falling through the cracks! It's also where Evan discovered that sometimes a magazine is interesting reading - although not as good as Good Night Moon (his favorite).

Finally, we are back on the cloth diaper wagon! We received our Fuzzi Bunz last week and they are excellent! These are an all-in-one diaper with a pocket for an insert. They are soft and so easy to use.

And there are my product reviews for the day!

The cousins came for a visit

2007-08-07T09:36:00.001-07:00

three cousins
Originally uploaded by hrharman

We had out of town guests this weekend - my cousin Emilee, her husband Jeremy and their fabulous children, Kaleb and Sophia. We had a great time with them and Evan was enamoured with his cousins.

Future Baby Sitter

2007-07-27T09:09:00.001-07:00

P1020565
Originally uploaded by hrharman

I'm behind on the posts for the week. We've had a busy week! This included a visit from our friends and neighbors, Hattie and her son Willie. They brought wonderful gifts: Legos (for the future), and two Eric Carle books. Willie read to Evan and prepped him for future games of tag and basketball with the boys in the alley. Evan was mesmerized!
Thanks Willie and Hattie!

The Sippy

2007-07-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Evan won't take a bottle. We've tried many times with several types of bottles and various nipples, but it just wasn't happening for him. We tried warm, cold, me in the house, me out of the house... So far this hasn't been a huge issue, but at some point I would like to get out of the house - (ahem) - alone, or maybe even for a date night with Leslie. With advice from others who struggled with this issue, we've moved on to the sippy cup and he seems to like it - even straight from the fridge and even from me!

NooNoo is a Hit!

2007-07-22T15:27:00.001-07:00

Evan is teething. Poor guy! I bought him this tiny washed wool blanket the other day and it is a hit for the little fusser. It's called a NooNoo. It has different textures on it and he holds on to it with his hands and rubs it on his face and gums. Thanks to our friends over at the blog babycakes who we first heard about it from and the wonderful store, Birth and Beyond that sells it. I can hear my mom. She's saying , "I could make one of those!"

Naked Time

2007-07-21T09:00:00.001-07:00

Naked Time
Originally uploaded by hrharman

Here's Evan enjoying a naked romp on his soft blanket.
Happy and strong 3 month old boy!

Playing w/Madi & her mom

2007-07-17T09:55:00.001-07:00

Playing w/Madi & her mom
Originally uploaded by hrharman

Yesterday we got to hang out with a friend from prenatal yoga class, Olivia and her baby, Madi. The two moms had lunch while the babies slept. What a treat!
Madi was kind enough to share her playmat with Evan. He loved it! Thanks Olivia and Madi!

going for a walk with mommy

2007-07-16T22:23:00.001-07:00

going for a walk with mommy
Originally uploaded by hrharman@speakeasy.net

Happy Birthday Evan

2007-07-16T22:21:00.001-07:00

standing
Originally uploaded by hrharman@speakeasy.net

Evan is 3 months old today. He had a busy day celebrating - but no cupcake. Sorry Evan.

Skills building...

2007-07-15T21:00:00.001-07:00

Our little boy works very hard on his skills. No pressure from his mommies, he really has amazing will power and self determination. The trick is to figure out when the best time to change his surroundings before he gets overstimulated. Here he is working hard on multiple skills: balancing his body to sit in the bebe pod, using his hands to steady himself and reaching out to spin the toy on the tray... Whew, that is hard work!

Smiles!

2007-07-15T10:22:00.000-07:00

Ah, Evan's smiles....
They light up the sky and fill our hearts with so much joy and love. Evan has been smiling for weeks now, but it has been very difficult to capture them with the camera successfully. Now that he has better head and body control, he stays still long enough so we can capture his incredible smiles in focus! Evan smiles all of the time, even in the middle of a crying jag... Happy boy! Happy Mommies!

12 Weeks

2007-07-14T09:30:00.001-07:00

This was week 12 of Evan's life. He's teething, working on sitting up in his new bébéPOD, reading books with his moms, standing with support, rolling over, talking up a storm, and melting our hearts with his smiles.

Babywearing

2007-07-13T13:28:00.000-07:00

Evan prefers us to "wear" him rather than be in his stroller. It's usually how he takes his naps and it's how we are able to be free to get things done while he snoozes. That's the good part. The not so good part is that he wakes up if we sit down.

He's currently on me napping in the Moby Wrap and has been for 3 hours! This is an unusually long time but he's literally snoring. I wish I was napping too! Instead, I've walked the dog, done a load of laundry, eaten lunch, written thank you notes, caught up on email, downloaded photos and posted on this blog.

With the heat rising this week, I stripped him down to nothing but a diaper and put him in the ring sling facing front. He discovered himself in the mirror while I attempted to take a photo of us. Then we walked up to the cafe on the corner for an iced tea. He loved being front-facing and having people engage with him.

We have a few ways of wearing him and being hands-free. Here are some more babywearing photos from the past few months:

Here he is!

2007-07-12T08:51:00.000-07:00

Our baby boy, Evan, was born on April 16th, 2007. He is 12 weeks old now, and we are in love! We have decided to start a blog to share photos and daily life with our boy for our friends and family to see. We have been sending tons of photos, but we think this is the way to go for now. Here's a recent photo of our beautful boy - more to come...