I Feed Myself

What? No, really. What?

Evie Lu has become little miss independent. On Friday she decided Kaia and I function merely as waiters bringing the food to her. Evangeline can handle the actual feeding herself, thank you very much.

Evie Lu still needs us if she wants any nutrition, although we are thinking of auctioning off her high chair tray as modern art.

At the Gerber drive thru I asked for the super size. I got ripped off.

We Will Not Speak Of This Again

A three game sweep? That was ugly, dad.


Evie Lu informed me the Cubs were swept by the Diamondbacks tonight. I told her pitchers and catchers will report in February and the boys will try again next year. I also asked her not to speak of this again for several weeks.

The Stats

I threw my ring out, but they still have this dumb chair in my way.

Evie Lu had her 9 month check up today and we've got your up to the minute stats. Evangeline's head circumference is 45.9 cm which puts her in the freaking huge category. (Also known as the 95th percentile.) Her length is 28 and 1/4 inches which puts Evie Lu in the 75th percentile. And the number you were all waiting for . . . Evie Lu weighed in at 23 lbs 1 oz which places her above the 97th percentile. We have a large baby. A very healthy baby Dr. Ann assured us. Evie Lu gets to move on to cool new foods in the next couple of months and I'm super excited.

And now for the bad stats. Evie Lu's beloved Cubs are down two games to the Diamondbacks. It does not look good, but Evangeline reminded me the Cubs are playing in Wrigley tomorrow and that is good news.

Will being cute get me out?

Flower Hat

Okay, take the picture now. I'm posing.


Shortly after Evie Lu was born, we were given a really cool fleece hat with a flower on the top. For the first six months of Evangeline's life it was massively huge and so she didn't wear it, but now it fits just right. This is fortuitous because cool weather has definitely won out in the great northwest. I get a kick out of going to the store with Evie Lu wearing the hat. People do funny double takes as they notice the baby with the flower hat.

There's a what on my hat? Ha!


Back in June, Kim from the office said to me, "Enjoy putting hats on her now, because Evie Lu will take them off when she gets older." That time has come. We try to keep Evie Lu's head warm, but our daughter is far more interested in taking things off her head than leaving them on. I try to tell her how fashionable she looks, but to no avail.

You're dismissed. We're done.

My Grandpa Taught Me This

Grandpa Wayne reads to Evie Lu in February


Our camera usually sits on the table because you never know when Evie Lu will do something funny. I had just taken a couple of goofy Evie Lu pictures and I was showing them to Kaia in the kitchen when we walked out and saw the picture below.

I had put Evangeline in her high chair, but apparently I put her too close to the table because she reached out and grabbed part of the paper. I was glad I had the camera in my hand so I could capture this. I tried to tell Evie Lu the section she really wanted was Sports, but she seemed more interested in local news.

Evie Lu reads to herself before dinner in October

Having A Ball

It is a Dora the what? I don't get what I'm supposed to do.

Kaia and I lead extremely exciting and sophisticated lives. For example Friday night we had some errands to run and decided to have dinner out. This was capped off by a trip to Target! Does it get any better? Actually if you got to hang out with Kaia and Evie Lu like I do, you'd say there wasn't any place you'd rather be. We walked into Target looking only for those things that cover up electrical outlets and managed to walk out with a big bag of stuff (mostly for Evie Lu).

Oh, I get it! I hold it here . . .


One of those unintended purchases was Evie Lu's first bouncy ball. We found an awesome Dora the Explorer ball and since it was made in China made sure it only had a little bit of lead. (We've been limiting Evie Lu's intake of China produced toothpaste and dog food too.)
Evie Lu had no idea what do with her new toy at first and even cried a little when it rolled away from her.

. . . and I can hold it up here!


It didn't take Evangeline long to get the hang of rolling the ball away and chasing it. It is light enough she can easily lift it and hold onto it when you roll it to her. I told her she's good enough to play for the hated St. Louis Cardinals already. (Oh and by the way, the Cubs begin their playoff run tomorrow night! Thanks to Evie Lu's Great Uncle Dan for the support from Brewers country. My team needs it.)

Will you come play with me?

What I Had For Breakfast

Dad, should I be serious?


Is Evie Lu getting into the goth scene already with dark lipstick? No, that is just prune residue.

I realized I couldn't talk about our great nine month old baby and only have an old picture, so here is Evie Lu enjoying her prunes. It is the circle of life really. You start out eating prunes and then eventually you need to start eating them again. And for the same reasons I think.

Or should I be happy?

Who Is 9 Months Old?

Dad, I told you the Cubs would win!

Evie Lu is nine months old, can you believe it? I sure can't. Evangeline is doing things today that I didn't know when she'd learn. Her newest trick is mimicking. She heard me say "up" on Saturday and even though she doesn't know what it means, she keeps saying it. How cool is that?

The picture above is from April 2 and Evangeline is just three months old there. Why was she cuddling the Cubbie bear and holding onto Cracker Jacks? It was Opening Day of course! The Cubs lost that day and quite a few of the days after that, but Evie Lu's beloved team turned things around and now we're all atwitter for the playoffs.

It Might Be. It Could Be. It Is!!!!

Get ready for a Chicago Cub themed week at Rainy Day Baby!

Caught Red Handed

What? I'm not supposed to be here?

Evie Lu's got teeth, she's got crawling figured out, and now she's pulling up on furniture and whatever else is around. I was working at the computer today and when I looked up to check on Evie Lu I found a laundry bandit. You can see all the toys she has to choose from and of course Evangeline wants the laundry. Evie Lu doesn't look even a little guilty does she?

Evie Lu Loves Her Mom

"I have a story for you mom!"

What do you do when confronted with love like this? You drink it in and try to remember exactly how it feels and what it looks like. Seeing Kaia and Evie Lu together can be an overwhelming experience because of the bond between them and the love that is so clearly there.

Look at Evie Lu's little feet grabbing onto Kaia's side. Evie Lu now gives amazing hugs. Before she would just hang onto you, but now she'll give you a real honest to goodness hug. They are the coolest.

"Will, quit taking pictures. We're having a moment."

A Postcard For Me!

Did you see my postcard?

Yesterday was a big day for our little family. Kaia successfully passed her Topics Exams (there was much rejoicing and great Thai food) and Evie Lu got a postcard from her far away Aunt Megan. The Topics Exams were stressful, but Kaia was amazing and we are incredibly proud of her.

What does it say?


Evie Lu's postcard was a nice topper for the afternoon. In a pile of junk mail there was a gem addressed to Evangeline. The last time we saw Megan in person she had just gotten married and Evie Lu was still two months away. It may be that by the time Evie Lu meets her Aunt Megan and Uncle Chris she'll run to them. It was so good to hear from loved ones from so far away.

Rome to London to Rome! When are they coming home?

Two More Teeth

Can you see them dad?

They've been a long time coming, but Evie Lu's top two teeth are now prominently on display. We were certain they'd break through while Kaia and Evangeline were in Minnesota in July and we kept waiting until just a couple of weeks ago. It used to be kind of cute to let Evie Lu gnaw on your finger, but not any longer. She bites hard! We'll have to keep her exposure to her Aunt Megan's biting ways at a minimum. I can imagine it now . . . "Evie Lu stop biting your Aunt Megan. Megan stop biting Evie Lu."

How about if I tilt back?

The Unstoppable Evie Lu

Searching for the target . . .

What do we do these days? Mostly we chase Evie Lu and make sure everything within her reach is soft or plastic. I actually lost Evangeline two days ago. I turned my back for a second and when I turned back around she had vanished. I freaked out for a moment and then looked under the coffee table. Sure enough, there she was.

We've transformed our living room from an entertainment focused space to a baby focused space. Toys are in the basket and big pillows provide soft barriers. If I wasn't me, I'd make fun of myself. It really is goofy.

I'm locked in . . .


As if crawling wasn't enough of an adjustment, Evie Lu is now trying to pull herself up. I'm not so worried about the pulling up as I am about the inevitable falling over. Evie Lu doesn't seem to mind too much unless she's overtired.

Target crushed! I'm onto my next goal.

Crawling Is For Everybody

Do we look alike dad?

It has been a week since Evie Lu kicked crawling into high gear and everything has changed. I rearranged my office so fewer musical instruments were in Evie Lu reach and we are rejoicing that Kaia's living room redesign idea came just at the right time.

Shoe laces and paper of any kind are Evie Lu's favorite targets. She won't crawl just to Kaia or I just yet unless we have some incentive, but I'm sure it won't be long.

L. P. S.

From the comic strip, "Mutts"

Evie Lu is a constant source of amusement and amazement. There are little things she decides to do that stump Kaia and me about where they came from and why Evie Lu thinks they are necessary. One of those things is the removal of socks. If she can reach them, they're coming off. It feels like a running joke every time I go into the office and I get one of four reactions.
1) "Wow, the socks are on today!"
2) "You're about to lose a sock Evie Lu."
3) "Will, do you know you lost a sock?"
4) "No socks today, huh?"

You take the pink sock off . . .


Evangeline always starts out with socks, but they don't stand a chance. And now we think Evie Lu is hiding them while we sleep. We were given a package of six pairs of knee socks by a church member and now we only have three pairs and two singles. I really hope Evie Lu isn't eating them.


. . . and you shake it all about.

Extreme Close-Up

Did you think you could get away from me? Silly dad.

Taking pictures of Evie Lu has turned into a full contact sport. I was trying to get a good shot of her "I'm serious face," but she kept moving towards me. Attack of the 50 foot baby!

Search And Destroy

What is it? I'll point at it.


Evie Lu has her own way of exploring the world around her now. When she sees something new, Evangeline will point at it cautiously until she just makes contact. It is a riot to see her investigate. Evie Lu loves flowers of any kind, but after the initial inspection the flowers are in trouble.

Don't worry, I made it go away.


Evie Lu's next move is total annihilation. In the pictures above Evie Lu decided to grab the poor dandelion, pluck it out of the ground, and try to put it in her mouth. Plants of the great northwest, consider this a warning.

Dad, this is kite flying hill, not baby flying hill.

Batton Down The Hatches . . .

. . . Evie Lu is on the move!

Here I come!


It has been about a week since we saw Evie Lu do her first rudimentary crawling. In the past week she really hadn't put all the pieces together and we could still count on Evangeline being basically stationary. This is no longer the case.

The Hulk baby will not abide by chairs in her way!


Friday afternoon saw the delivery of the new Sports Illustrated and the premiere of Evie Lu Crawling Mach II. I mention the Sports Illustrated because the magazine was what caused Evie Lu to really get going. I place the magazine on the floor for a second and Evie Lu was on top of it.

I'm still coming for you. I'm like the Terminator, but cuter.


For the rest of the afternoon we experimented with placing different things in front of Evangeline and she came to us more quickly each time. Evie Lu crawled the length of our living room/dining room at one point. Wow, are we in trouble.

Eyes on the prize.

The Daily Grind

Ugh, I just woke up . . .

Now that Evie Lu has top and bottom teeth, she has discovered the ability to grind those teeth. Wow, is that a sound that puts you on edge. Of course Evangeline doesn't know what she's doing, but she sure enjoys the reaction she gets from us.

Those top two teeth are coming in nicely though and as soon as I can get a picture you'll see them here.

Mom, don't laugh at my sweaty head, you try falling asleep on dad's arm.

Mmm, Mmm, Good

Listen closely to hear Evie Lu's love of sweet potatoes.



Evie Lu is now doing this funny breathe through her nose and scrunch up her face trick to express her joy. It cracks me up.

If you can't see it above, just look under Evie Lu Movies to your right.

Evie Lu's Big 24 Hours

Aunt Kaitlin, read with me!


It isn't very fluid, but Evie Lu has crawled for the first time and she's getting better at it all the time. Kaia was working away last night and I was watching Evie Lu when she unmistakably put on hand forward in time with one leg and repeated to move towards her goal. I was amazed.

The other trick she pulled today was moving to a seated position from her belly. Kaia and I are now looking around our place and dreading all the things Evangeline can now get into. My office has never felt so small as it did today when everything seemed to be in Evie Lu's reach. Yikes!


Hey, Aunt Kaitlin your side of the book is dry. Are you sure you know how to read?

Dinner With Friends

Now listen to this story . . .

Whew! What a weekend. Our little family was running crazy during the last couple of days. Evie Lu continues to almost crawl and worm her way towards the things she wants. It really is going to be any day.

On Saturday we had dinner with our good friend Erik and Evie Lu got to meet Erik's sister and her two little ones. Evangeline loved being able to sit with people closer to her size. We really need to find some playdate buddies.

Cutest couch ever.

A T-Shirt From My Favorite Band

I'm so excited to show you my shirt!

Our good friends Brady, Tricia, and Annabelle went to see Ralph's World (one of Evie Lu's favorites) play live and they picked up a gift. Not only did they get a rock star onesie, but Ralph himself signed it for Evangeline. How cool is that?

If you've never heard Ralph's World I highly recommend any of his discs, but don't ask Kaia because I may have played Ralph's World non-stop for a while. Like weeks non-stop.

Ralph signed it! He signed it for me!