puppies, the zoo, basketball & swimming

Friends of ours recently had a rather large addition to their family: 8 puppies. So, of course, we had to go visit them. Evan really wanted to get his hands on them, but we managed to let him pet them without squeezing or mangling them. Also this weekend we were dogsitting for some other friends, and those dogs were crazy. They kept jumping on and licking Evan. But he loved it. We were laughing so hard just watching them play.

The afternoon was spent at the zoo, where they were having a huge fundrasier, so there were lots of extra activites and food. It was a beautiful afternoon, and my sister brought the kids she was babysitting. Kelly, Eric’s sister, and her family also joined us. We had a great time.

Saturday night we went to my friend’s birthday party, and Evan got to play with his buddy Cam.

Sunday Eric again played basketball but this time we got to watch him struggle up and down the court (just kidding, Eric.) Evan did really well just sitting in his stroller watching. But as soon as they were done, he wanted to get out and crawl after the ball. We are so proud.

After basketball, we headed to the pool, where we were joined by our cousins. Although it was a little cold, it didn’t seem to bother the little ones too much.

Finally, to end the weekend, we went to Dairy Queen for dessert. Ms. Wrigley watched from the car. And, as I went out to take a picture of this rainbow, we thought it would be funny to stick Evan in the bottom corner :)

happy father's day!

The weekend was a mixture of work and play...Eric at the pool and me babysitting and working overtime at the paper. But we did manage to relax a little and spend Father's Day together (although Eric did get to play basketball, something he has been trying to do for about 3 years!). We had dinner at my parents house and the dad's opened their presents.

Saturday we went to a city-wide party in Middleton - lots of sidewalk sales, live music, and tons of activities everywhere. Then we headed to a birthday party for our friends now 1-year-old son, Cameron (sorry, I don't have any pictures from it.)

Oh, and the deer that lives in our backyard came out for a little while, only to be scared off by Wrigley, the intimidator.

playtime

Evan rarely sits still. All these pictures were taken in the span of about 2 1/2 minutes. I can't wait 'til I can put a broom or vacuum in his hands and let him go. He seems to be so close to walking...he can "hover" (stand) for about 5 seconds. If he can lean on it or push it, he will (see first picture). So, if he has help from a toy or object, he can walk. It's funny to watch him get so excited about it and seem proud of himself. He also has this new thing where he will just put his hands up and look at them, as if to say "Um, I don't know?" (see last picture).

Friday afternoon was very exciting. Evan had his first eye check-up...with Grandpa! We tried our best to get Evan to cooperate, but he just did not want to sit still. But, Grandpa was able to get just enough information to determine that Evan’s eyesight is normal :) Oh, I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago Evan had his 9-month check-up with our pediatrician. Not too much to report, but he has jumped up to the 80% in height, so Eric is very happy.

Anyway, after the eye appointment Evan went with Grandpa home to his house to hang with Grandma so that Eric and I could go out on a “date.” The State Journal is a sponsor of the Parade of Homes, so we got to go to a fancy preview party and then a tour of the homes. We weren’t expecting too much, so we were pleasantly surprised to find amazing food and even more amazing homes. I think Eric got somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 plates of food. But with items like roasted duck confit wontons with dry sake plum sauce, fried mini fish tacos with cabbage and avocado lime cream, ancho rubbed beef tenderloin on crostini with garlic boursin cheese and aged balsamic drizzle, who could blame him! (Free booze didn’t hurt either).

Check out this awesome home:

The weekend also brought more graduation parties and what seemed like gallons of rain. That put a damper on the opening weekend of the outdoor pool, where Eric will be once again managing (and still doing his full-time job at the indoor). It will be a busy summer for him, and I’m very impressed at his commitment and excitement towards all he does. Evan and I will visit him whenever we get the chance.

I just love this photo, and really wanted to use it as a wallpaper...but I accidently deleted the original photo. So, the only version I have is a vertical 4x6 and that won't work. So, I created this and when people pass my station at work, it has gotten a few laughs.

I realize the blog has turned into mostly a re-cap of the weekend, & in future posts I will make an attempt to get more detailed as to Evan’s personality (I will say, however, that on Saturday Evan wore his very first pair of shorts & real shoes. It was a big day). But for now, here are a few pictures from Emily’s graduation party & “Festa Italia”, a festival that was practically in our backyard.

Evan with Emily. Emily is a lifeguard at the pool, and loves to take Evan swimming, and, last week was the first non-relative to babysit him. Although she is graduating H.S., we are glad she will be attending UW-Madison and will be nearby so she can sit anytime!