Little Traveler

During this last trip to Utah, Evan became very interested in luggage. While in Utah he would constantly climb in, sit in, stand on, and even attempt to drag our two pieces of luggage. When we got home it took me a few days to get to his bag. During the days it sat unpacked he was always climbing in it and pulling things out, and trying to move it around his room. When I began to unpack his bag and put things away he sat and watched me, with a very curious look on his face. The minute I took the last item out of the bag he stepped his way into the bag and sat down. He was content to sit there and entertain himself for about 25 minutes. It was really cute, funny and had I known that a piece of luggage would provide several minutes of entertainment, I may have broke it out a while ago.

My Little Energizer Bunny

The thought just occurred to me that I could dig up a pink bunny outfit similar to that of Ralphy in "A Christmas Story" and take a photo of Evan for the sole purpose of this blog post. After all isn't that what moms with blogs do...take photos and while taking them construct their next blog post in their head....well, if you won't admit it, I will. I do that. I take pictures and get excited about putting them up and typing out a post. That's why I started a blog in the first place. Anyway, back to the original point of this paragraph, I will save Evan the future humiliation of a photo wherein he dons a pink bunny suit, and, thankfully for him, he does not have a crazy aunt that will make him one for Christmas....at least not that I can foresee.

Okay, to the purpose of this post. Evan never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever stops moving. I am not sure from where he gets his energy. If I had his energy I would be a size 4, simple as that. He is either moving around doing something, or sleeping. Even when he eats if music comes on the television he starts to "dance" in his booster seat. It is just amazing. I remember when I found out that we were having a little boy, people would always make remarks as to the energy level of the munchkin-aged male species, and I would basically blow them off and think "thanks for sharing." Not sure why I had that level of arrogance. After all, what did I know, I had yet to actually encounter this behavior. (And let me just note, that no level of babysitting whatsoever can prepare you for this level of energy).

There is the commercial currently on TV, I have absolutely no idea what they are selling so if it is something completely inappropriate I apologize, but the commentator makes a statement similar to this: A body at rest tends to stay at rest, while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. Evan is proof positive of this statement. If i didn't already know the statement to be true, all I would have to do is look at Evan.



Though I am exhausted at 8:30 when Evan goes down to bed, and I still have a list of things to do, I am so very thankful for my healthy, energetic, constantly in motion Love Bug. He is such a blessing in my life and, hey, maybe him combined with my trainer will get me down to that size 4....we shall see.

In order to curb this energy level as best I can, I make an effort to take Evan to the park or the arboretum a couple times a week and just let him run (there are no toys at either of these places, and this in on purpose-seems heartless, but I really don't need tempt fate with ER visits just yet). And he does run, and run, and run, and run. We chase each other and laugh, and stop for just brief moments to check out something interesting. So, i have posted pics from a couple of these excursions....enjoy!

Salt Lake City - Saturday, February 12 (Brighton Ski Resort)

On Saturday, my wonderful dad took my brother, Evan and I to breakfast at one of my favorite spots, Midvale Mining. They have the best .... well, everything. After breakfast, my dad, Evan and I drove up to Brighton Ski Resort so Evan could see "real" snow. At first he wasn't quite sure, but the longer we took pictures, he grew to like it. This made my husband very happy! We can't have a warm weather child when his parents hail from the likes of Montana and Utah. I had a blast taking Evan up to the resort. I cannot tell you the number of times my family made the drive up the canyon for various photo ops. It is a tradition. Plus, it gave me some extra time with my dad, let's face it, I miss him A LOT...almost as much as my brother!

We had a wonderful time in Utah. It is always hard to leave and come back, but we missed Kyle and, for now, Texas is home. Saturday evening, Tim and Sarah had a get together to celebrate Tim's success, Sunday one of my good friends did my hair and Kyle's folks watched Evan, and then that afternoon Evan and I hung out at the Witherspoon's. The trip flew by, but I guess that happens when you are having fun!

Salt Lake City - Friday, February 11 (Graduation Day)

Friday was the big day! Tim graduated from the Salt Lake City Fire Academy. I have never been so proud of Tim. You must understand that since about the age of 4 Tim has dreamt of being a firefighter, and to see his dream realized was awesome. As an added bonus Tim graduated number one in his class (there were 11 of them). The graduation was wonderful. Tim's wife, Sarah, got to pin his badge on him, which I thought was very cool. And my mother-in-law came through with flying colors on Evan detail so that I could watch the graduation ceremony. Tears brimmed my eyes as my brother took his firefighter oath, was handed his helmet, and made his way across the stage being congratulated. The sibling bond is like nothing else. I have been through a lot with my brother, and this experience tops the list! Congratulations Tim!

Salt Lake City - Thursday, February 10 (Children's Museum)

On Thursday, Kyle's Mom and I took Evan to lunch and then to the Children's Museum at the Gateway. We took Evan the last time I visited, and this time was much different now that I Evan is upright and 100% mobile. We had a wonderful time, and I think we were all ready for a nap when we left. Evan started in the ball area, where he was more focused on learning how to go up and down the stairs (since we live in an apartment, his exposure to stairs is minimal). Sandy did a wonderful job teaching Evan how to hold on to the railing and go up and down. It wore me out to watch them. From there we went into the main area, where Evan got his hands on something to push around, he played in the water, went up and down the slide, played dress up - as a fireman of course, and read books with Grandma.

I love this museum! It is wonderful. One of the many treasures we miss. Enjoy the pictures above - If I can ever figure out how to put them anywhere else I will. :)

Where Have We Been (Part II) - Salt Lake Bound

On Tuesday, February 8, Evan and I flew to Utah (a big thank you to Victoria for coming through last minute to deliver us to DFW). I traveled with Evan at 4 months, 7 months and now at 13 months. This was, by far, the most difficult trip. It is difficult for a 13 month to grasp the fact that he must sit still and cannot get down and run laps in the aisle for nearly 3 hours. Thankfully I sat next to some very understanding and helpful people, and Evan cooperated much more on the trip back to Texas.

We had a wonderful time in Utah. Our trip was short as it was mainly to see my brother graduate from the Salt Lake City Fire Academy...pictures in another post.

Where have we been (Part I)

I just took a look at my blog and realized it has been nearly 3 weeks (January 30) since my last post...so much of that "almost daily dose" part of my blog. Though, I do believe that I have a few decent excuses.

Wednesday, February 2, I woke up not feeling well. I am not one to frequent the doctor's office, so I chalked up my wavering health to nothing more than the cold or the flu. As the day progressed, I went further and further downhill. Eventually I called my dear husband at work and told him, yes told him, that I desperately needed him to come home so that I could go to an after hours urgent care. Knowing that I do not just skip off to the doctor at any given chance, Kyle knew that this was not to be questioned, and made his way home after stopping at the store to get my necessities for being sick...noodle soup, cough drops, theraflu, gatorade and crackers. He is a saint! The diagnosis....Strep Throat! I knew when I left for the urgent care that was the case.

Now, I have failed to mention that this same week, I encountered my first Dallas Ice Storm, so my trek to the urgent care involved my first late evening drive in ice covered roads of this nature. Obviously, due to the fact that I learned to drive in Utah and lived there for all of my driving years up until now, I know how to drive on winter roads, but this is something different...mostly because Dallas does not have the capability to remove the ice and snow like Utah. I have never been more thankful for my four wheel drive Explorer.

The next few days were interesting. Thankfully it was easy to stay in because the snow and the ice did not stop coming.....for what felt like for-ev-er! The hard part was taking care of my energetic one-year-old. No One ever told me about this part of motherhood. It really gave me a new respect for my mother. It was hard. I am not going to lie. It was hard. Evan was a trooper, as always. I was doing everything I could to not get him sick. I can't imagine his little body dealing with strep, and we were leaving to go out of town to Utah the following Tuesday. I do not think I have ever read as many books as I did those few days - I didn't really make it out of the house until Saturday. You can see from the photo of Evan, that we read and read. I didn't put those books back on the shelf until Saturday afternoon. He picked through them, I would read and then make a stack of books to disinfect.

Thankfully Evan made it through without getting strep and I am healthy and strep free!