Friday, August 29, 2008

A chat with Evelyn

While hanging out on her play gym early this afternoon, Evelyn was rather chatty, so thought I'd shoot a short video of her to share. She's been smiling at both Mommy and Daddy today, but we haven't had any luck catching a photo--the smiles are very quick right now! Hoping to post a wide awake smile photo soon.

Sam's vacation

Sam and Jager wrestling on the porch













Sam just checking things out



















Murphy checking out Evelyn



















Cooper is very happy to see Sam













Excited dogs as David arrives home from work


So Sam gets his turn on the blog. He had an exciting vacation too. He was able to wrestle for five days with his buddy Jager (who belongs to the Milewskis.) Jager originally taught Sam how to wrestle two years ago and Jager was the dominate dog. This year, Jager was surprised by Sam's dominance and ran away a few times!

Next Sam was able to stay with his cousins, Cooper and Murphy. He was in 7th heaven! David and Becka have a large fenced in yard so the dogs can really run around and chase each other. Sam also wrestled with Murphy quite a bit over the week. Since we've been home, I think he's a little down in the dumps and missing his doggy friends. We'll have to schedule a playdate with the Golden Retrievers next door soon.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

On to Grosse Pointe Farms

Aunt Becka and Evelyn (looking so serious!)












Uncle David holding Evelyn












Grandma and Evelyn on the porch

















Grandpa and Evelyn snuggling











After our visit with John & Julie, we headed to Lara's parents' house in Grosse Pointe Farms. Grandma and Grandpa couldn't believe how much Evelyn had changed in the two weeks since they left our house!

On our way to G.P.F., we stopped off in Oak Park at Uncle David and Aunt Becka's house. Sam stayed with them and their two dogs, Cooper and Murphy, since Grandpa Tom is recovering from back surgery (Sam has a way of getting under your feet and trying to trip you!) We spent a nice evening with David and Becka, hanging out and having dinner at Anita's Kitchen on Woodward (excellent food and atmosphere.)

Road trip to Grand Rapids









We took Evelyn on a road trip to Grand Rapids to visit the Milewski family August 10th-14th. She did great on the ride down. Just a few extra pit stops for a change and a bottle.

John-John wasn't quite sure what to make of Evelyn at first, but he eventually took a liking to her, "oooh, baby!" Of course, he had to be right by his Mommy when ever she held Evelyn. This was good practice for Julie and John as they are expecting their second child in December.

Uncle Brian and John-John spent some time together playing Mario Kart on the Wii or "babies" as John-John likes to call it. We also just hung out on the porch (they have the perfect porch swing) and played at the park. It doesn't matter what we do, we just really enjoy being with the Milewskis.

8 Weeks already...


Just can't believe that Evelyn is 8 weeks old already! Amazing! She is growing like mad. We had a quick doctor's appt. last Friday and she weighed in at 9 pounds, 12 1/2 ounces and measured 21 inches! We'll be going to her 2 month doctors appointment next Friday, 9/5 for the dreaded (0n my part) 4 shots! She really howls when she gets a shot (she's only had one in my presence so far)--it just breaks my heart!

As you can see in this photo, she still likes to have her hands near her face while she sleeps. Check out the dimples on her elbow, too!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Three Lakes

Evelyn showing off her rosebud hat (handcrafted by Auntie Marcia)Grandma Rice and Evelyn snuggling at camp
Grandpa Rice feeding Evelyn at camp
Grandpa Rice and Evelyn checking out Lake George

Evelyn took her first trip to Three Lakes to stay at the Rice Family Camp on Lake George.

We went up Thursday afternoon (around 4:00) and realized early on that we need to upgrade if we want to travel. Current plans are looking at a car-top carrier for the Subaru Outback and /or getting a van. But, that is another post.

We stopped off at camp, got Sammy settled and then continued on to L'Anse for a concert by Whitewater. Turn up the sound and copy and paste this link to hear some of their music: http://www.white-water-associates.com/audio/cradle.mp3


After the concert, it was back to camp where Evelyn had a good nights sleep - all things considered. Thanks to the Army Corps of Engineers, Evelyn was able to sleep in her Pack-n-Play and it was a fairly uneventful night.

The next day brought some time on the front porch where we were able to visit with Grandma & Grandpa Rice. They watched Evelyn as Mommy & Daddy went to take a sauna. Good thing Evelyn & Sam were in good hands because a very strong storm came through. The rain was so hard we could not even see across the lake!

A stop for ice cream on the way home had us get in just after dark. Sad that we can tell the days are already getting shorter - it is dark again before 10pm. But, like everything else, we will just enjoy what we have while we have it.