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Memorial Day

Didja have a nice 3-day weekend? If not, sorry, but we sure did! In addition to the swinging and park-walking and general fun-having we did on Sunday, we also went to a parade Monday morning. We decided to go at the last minute, so we only caught the last half of the thing, but Eva didn't seem to mind.

A little known Eva fact: That girl loves flags.

When we see one while we're walking in our neighborhood, she gets all excited and points as hard as she can. Let me just say: there are a lot of flags in the Memorial Day parade. And our kid pointed them all out to us. She didn't have much use for the clowns, but when representatives of the National Democratic Party walked by, she practically dislocated her elbow making sure we saw The Flags! All The Flags!

You can begin to see why half a parade was enough.

(Yes, I know. It looks like she's pinching that lady's butt. Eva and I actually set the picture up that way. Ok, not really.)

Later that same day, we went to a fabulous picnic. And I'm not just saying that because I got to have a beer at the picnic(!). And cake(!!). It really was a good time. And once again, I ended up in the best seat in the house. Look who was next to me:

That Keegan, he's always sleeping.

Didn't Last Long...

...but I got 'em in there:

And for you trash-talkers, knocking our Eau Claire swings...here's proof that they have actual leg holes and stuff:

Sorry my posts have been so sparse lately. I haven't had a lot of time to write. It seems as babies become more and more mobile, you are expected to spend more and more time chasing after them and watching out for them and playing with them and things like that.

And they like to be fed fairly regularly too. Geez.

 

It's Eva!

Guess who got to go swinging for the first time ever?

Our Thursday in Three Photos

Yesterday, when I went to get Eva after her nap, she kept peering out at me through the slats of her crib. More accurately, she kept mashing her face against the slats of her crib and staring at me. Over and over again. She kept it up long enough for me to go get the camera and take about 80 pictures.

As of yesterday, when you ask Eva where her nose is, she shows you her toes. Close, Baby, so close.

Last night, Eva and I went to watch a show her daddy was part of. Lucky us: we got to sit next to little Keegan and his mama. I totally hogged him all night because he fell asleep in my arms and everyone knows you don't wake a sleeping baby. Eva kept patting Keegan on the face like he was one of our kitties, which I think meant "It's ok, I'll share my mama with you." She obviously expected him to return the favor though, when it was time for his bottle. Poor girl just couldn't understand why they couldn't share that, too.

The show was good. I think. I'm pretty sure. You see, I was a little distracted by my view:

Happy Friday, all. Enjoy the long weekend. Eat a brat or something.

A Great Moment

Hi, guys – Daddy here. I’ve been working a lot of extra hours lately finishing up some big projects at work. Shannon’s been amazing, taking care of Eva, sometimes from morning till night. We know there’re lots of single parents out there who do that every day of the week, so Shannon’s not quick to feel sorry for herself, but I think it’s OK if I feel sorry for her. How those single parents don’t get utterly burnt out, I’ll never know.

For my part, I’ve really missed Shannon and little Eva. And even when I’m home with them, it’s hard not to be too distracted by the details of my projects. I can’t wait until this busy period ends. But last night all that junk left my head as I stepped into the backyard with Eva right before a storm blew through our neighborhood. It was cool and breezy, and the lawn was covered with helicopter seeds from the giant tree in the next yard. I picked one up and gave it to Eva. She considered it for a little while, holding it gently in her little fingers. Then she held it out in front of her, looked at it for one more second, and then shook her hand back and forth until it fell and flittered around and around back down to the dark green grass.

We did that over again about 10 more times, and while I watched Eva – mesmerized by those tiny bits of  tree – there was nothing else in the world.

The Best Part About Summer Coming

Easy access to Delicious Baby Feet.

Funny Girl

Lately, Eva puts whatever she happens to be holding (her sock, the arm of her monkey, a giant plastic spoon from the kitchen, whatever) in her mouth, drops her hands by her sides, and sits there staring at me until I notice what she's doing.

Cracks me up every time—little ham.

And the Love of Crackers Grows

Since Eva enjoyed her crackers so much at Thursday's lunch, I gave her a whole (quarter of a) graham cracker on Friday. Previously, I'd been breaking them into small pieces and giving them to her a few at a time because she has a habit of shoving all the food available to her into her mouth at once, and Mike and I prefer that she NOT choke and force us to perform the Heimlich.

Clearly we're turning a corner here in the land of Eva's eating habits. Because not only did she take very sensible, tiny little bites. She ate that entire cracker while holding her pinky in the air. Classy, eh?

Lunch Date

Yesterday, our friend Cherie was in town and Mike and Eva and I met her for lunch. Cherie gave Eva her first cracker, and Eva spent the rest of lunchtime staring dreamily at her. That woman knows how to make friends with kids.

Next She'll Be Asking if She Can Drive

Well, it's official. Our girl is growing up. Yesterday, Mike installed her "Big Girl" Car Seat into the car. Sigh. It goes so fast...

Here she is kicking the tires and looking under the hood—checking out her new ride.

Sorry for the blurry photo—flash was off and that girl does not sit still.