Evan

There is only so much a camera can capture in the life of a seven year old boy....

** climbing on his favorite playground **

** a new face -- now contorted with hands **

** always loving on the kitties -- I mean always **


** brooding boy self-portrait **

** FLYING!!!!!!!!!! **

But I really need to get better at documenting what the camera can't capture, since the older he gets, the more internal all his changes become. Here are some things you don't see with a camera...

** doing math all the time in his head. He started out playing around with small numbers (two, four...) and is now onto sixes and sevens: "Three sevens is 21. Two sixes and a three makes 15. Two sevens and a six is the same as two tens." Yeah. Amazing. I know.

** practicing the art of 'farting with his armpit' and cracking up wildly when his dad shows how he can do it too :-) Powerful bonding moments.

** learning to play the big brother role well -- entertaining Chloe, taking turns peacefully, suggesting ways to get along, compromising when needed, making her laugh when she starts to get angry or frustrated... such a difference even from just a few months ago.

** hugging me and holding me around the neck and staring at me, promising he will never want to move out. Ever. That he will live here. With me. And Dad and Chloe too. "I'll just never stop loving you so much."

** helping others when he sees a need: holding the door, running to find something, clearing a path on a cluttered floor, opening things, closing things.... anything that makes him feel useful and appreciated. And he is. And we do.

I love this kid.

It's Been Two Years

since our whole family has been in the Jeep for a ride together.

Todd has worked so hard to save money,
research parts, replace parts, and rebuild parts....

it was a labor of love :-)

And now we're back on the road!!!

To Play or Not To Play

We went to the playground yesterday morning to celebrate the fact that all the kids in the city were going back to school (this means NO ONE is there :-)



It seems, though, that these two would rather explore and run about on the trails and in the field nearby than climb on the empty plastic playground. So we did that instead.




And Chloe could just run wild (you know, since she would be easy for me to spot in all her technicolor get-up).

So we probably won't be frequenting the playground much at all anymore. Since, for us, that is not where real playing happens.

{disclaimer for this photo: I did not fix my hair. And I do not care.}

The Farm

We drive out to a farm once every two weeks to pick up lovely pure raw milk. It's a small organic farm with about 30 cows and one horse and half a dozen cats wandering around.








Evan loves the cats. Chloe loves the horse. We all love the milk.

Random Snapshots

Yet Another!

Three teeth out on the bottom.
And one new one growing up right smack in the middle :-)

He said it was the worst part of the day when he lost it, but quickly changed his mind right before bed at the prospect of making "a hundred" tonight under his pillow.

Um......

Observe

*Chloe's hair in a poof-tail and a headband. Solves all kinds of sweating and broken hair issues she has.

*Evan's long hair in his eyes. He says he loves it and still wants it to grow even longer.

*Chloe's bright red knee socks. Her favorites and always her first choice.

*Collections of favorite toys for to take while visiting friends: Evan's transformers and Chloe's bag filled with horses and cuddle blankets.

*Outfits picked out by two independent kids. Not so bad when most things in their drawers mix and match.

*A brother and a sister who really don't look anything alike. Not even a little bit.

*Two faces that say, "Mom, enough with the pictures" even though I rarely make them look at the camera. And on this day I only took one. They just won't have it.

Special

Evan and Chloe got some great gifts this year for their birthdays, but I wanted to share two different things that were extra-special.

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Since Uncle Keir and Aunt Jessica live far from here, they surprised the kids with birthday packages that arrived in the mail for them on three separate days! They loved this!I didn't get pictures of Evan with his great white shark model or his microscope, but he is really enjoying them too. Thanks guys!!

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Uncle Chris framed these caricatures of each of them that we hung on their walls right beside their beds. Evan especially is fascinated and inspired by Chris' artwork (and I know Chris is equally fascinated and inspired by Evan's face :-)Here's Chloe's:
The detail on these is amazing! We adore these treasures, Chris!

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Wild Horses

Evan and Chloe love to pretend they are wild horses who run free in the pasture (our neighbors' front yards). They gallop and whinny till they are completely exhausted!

The Big Day

She woke up, made her bed, got dressed and ran out to the kitchen to see the birthday set-up.


The decorated chair really got her attention :-) Then she grabbed her gift from us and got to work.
Right after opening her spotted mother horse and nursing foal set, we started special breakfast time. Her request this year: chocolate yogurt (Stonyfield makes this) and peach jelly toast.

After breakfast, she colored some horse pictures which we had put out on the table, and did our weight and height traditions -- she is 31 pounds and nearly 39 inches tall.
Then we had to get ready for church.
She got a brief nap and put on her party dress before everyone came at 3pm. As the family was arriving and we were waiting for everyone invited to get here she kept asking, "When's my party mom?" which really meant when do I get to eat cake.

Turns out a horse picture on a cake costs about eight dollars more so.... we opted for the plastic add-ons from our toybox which she really thought was a good idea.

Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!

It was too hot and humid to move the festivities outside so we crammed into the living room for presents. She was all smiles and silliness and narrating in her sweet cartoon voice as she went along. Horses and more horses and a huge jar of pop beads and play-doh and magnetic 'paper' dolls and a harmonica and SPOKE BEADS for her bike!!!! Those stole the entire show. For real.

She hugged everyone and thanked everyone and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the day!
Here she is, all grown into a big kid! Well, technically I told her she's not four till 10:20pm when she was born that day. She did not like that idea AT ALL. So I let it slide.

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This morning Evan and Chloe played for almost two hours with the horses and the lego horse barn and this was all before eating breakfast!

Then it was onto the beads for another hour.I'm sure today will be filled with playing!!

She was blessed with some wonderful gifts and the presence of her family here to celebrate. Thanks to everyone who made her days so special!!