A Sad Day

Evangeline's teacher Mrs. Ana is leaving today to move closer to family to support her husband who is fighting cancer. Without Mrs. Ana potty training would have been a much bigger struggle and Kaia and I have received more daily updates from Mrs. Ana than from any other teacher. We will miss her.

Western Washington Sunshine (aka rain)

My rain boots are looking at you!


Evangeline welcomed the rainy season by convincing us to buy her new rain boots. (How can you turn down a kid who just wants to jump in puddles?) After a brilliant summer of warmer than expected temperatures we are settling in for what looks to be a long wet fall/winter/spring. Thankfully this suits Evangeline just fine. As long as she can get dirty and play outside in her new rain boots, Evie Lu has a smile on her face. Doesn't it make you want to jump in a puddle too?

Parenting Is Hard Work

Okay, you need more blankets.


Kaia used to make fun of me for letting Evie Lu put blankets on me and pretend to sleep. What better way to keep my daughter occupied and get a nap at the same time? As you can see, Kaia has come to see how much fun this is. Evangeline clearly is proud. Ah, the hard work of parenting.

I put mommy to bed. Aren't I special?

Scissors and Boyfriends

Evie decides who gets cut next.


How do you keep an Evangeline occupied these days? Scissors. We picked up two pairs of plastic safety scissors (the first pair died after trying to give a doll a makeover) and Evie loves them. She will spend long stretches shredding whatever you put in front of her. All sensitive financial documents now get put on Evie Lu's desk.

Press play


Evie Lu's boyfriend at daycare continues to be Zeke. They've been in the same class since May of 2008 and the first question Evie asks every morning is if Zeke is at class yet. Miss Ana tells me that they act like an old married couple during the day. Evangeline tells Zeke how to do things and he responds about as you would expect. If anyone besides Zeke is dancing with Evie, he gets upset and says, "my Evie!" I watched them for about ten minutes one morning this week and it was a crack up. Although I will be worried if any boy Evie brings home in the future spends as much time in a pink play dress as Zeke does.

Dance Party

I'm sure it has been mentioned previously, but to catch you up Grandma Bev instituted morning dance party time when Kaia and Evangeline were in Minnesota this summer and it has continued now into the fall. If I get Evie ready quickly enough we have a little time in the mornings to jump around. Although niether side of the family has a lot of grace (why do you think we've learned to play instruments?) I love seeing Evie Lu figure out where the beat is in a song. Of course you don't really need the beat if you are just jumping and spinning.

Dogsitting

Everyone knows you color better with a dog at your feet.


Lots of kids ask for a dog, but Evie Lu got a dog in the best way, Mabel the dog is just staying for the weekend. Erik, Cam, and baby Reece needed someone to watch their beautiful pup and Evie has been having a great time. When she went to school the first thing she said to Ms. Ana was, "I got a dog!"

Evangeline has been a little skittish around dogs, but she's really warmed up to Mabel. I think having a dog on her home turf has helped. It is a riot to see Evie tell "Mabel Dog" to sit or to follow. Oscar the cat always keeps one eye on Mabel. They are coexisting, but I'm sure Oscar is hoping this is a temporary situation.

Not every member of the household is as excited about Mabel as Evie.

Say Goodbye!

It's been fun, but I'm saying goodbye to diapers.


From the information only close family will care about department, we can proudly tell everyone that Evie has been completely dry for three days! It was just last week that Kaia and I were wondering if she was really ready for this whole potty training thing, but she has proved us wrong. It is a real kick to see how proud she is of herself. We are very proud of her as well.